They stood there, almost as if frozen. The look on their faces was the best appearance of innocence they could muster. Most kids are pretty good at trying to look innocent. And though the evidence of a massive pillow fight between the two sisters was everywhere, when we suddenly caught them at it, well, you probably know what we got.

“OK, who’s responsible?” we asked.

“Nope,” said one, and she quickly turned to her sister.

“Not me,” said the other.

I experienced a similar feeling of disbelief, on the weekend, when I read a quotation in the Toronto Star from MPP Steve Clark. The minister of municipal affairs was responding to criticism from David Crombie, the outgoing chair of the province’s Greenbelt Council. Crombie announced on Sunday he was resigning because of the Conservative government’s intends to limit the ability of conservation authorities to assess environmental impact of developments.

“(I’ve) been steadfast in my commitment to protect the Greenbelt for future generations,” said Clark in the Star story. (more…)

There’s a story I learned back at school. It tells the tale of an extraordinary deception. Two civilizations, the story goes, were at war – one inside a fortified area, the other outside it. The siege between the two had gone for years, without a victor. Then, those outside the walls withdrew, leaving behind a relic of war – a wooden horse. Rejoicing at their apparent victory, the people inside the walls, pulled the relic into their midst. That night, spies hidden inside the wooden horse crept out, opened the gates and allowed the outside army inside the walls.

“Trust not their presents,” the Trojan priest Laocoon had cried. “Is surely designed by fraud.” But his countrymen had ignored him. And victory belonged to the Greek outsiders.

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Ted Barris

author | journalist

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Where feathers lie

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