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In today's episode: NATO debrief; McCarthy weighs in; protests fizzle out.
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Last night I had a casual chat with a French delegate on the ride back from the press center. He asked for my general thoughts on the summit, and I told him that I hadn’t heard anything more than standard protocol: no details or revelations other than the safe script. Afghan President Hamid Karzai fell in line, saying what was expected of him given the situation on the ground. The U.S. response was no different.
I also had a question for my new French friend: Hypothetically, if the U.S. pulled its troops out of Europe, could the continent defend itself from missile attack? NATO’s ballistic missile defense is supposedly about protecting Europe and its allies and providing security across the European continent, not the North American continent. Could Europe afford to defend itself, I asked him, with American defense budget cuts looming at the end of this year and most of Europe in a period of austerity? If they can pay for it, why should we?
The French delegate (who, as it turned out, was co-author of one of the key topics for Monday’s discussion) thought my hypothetical was completely unrealistic. The U.S.
After a long weekend of NATO coverage, we sort out the rest of the summit's action on Monday's Afternoon Shift. Our reporters in the field keep us up to date on the official resolutions and protests winding through downtown. We talk with security experts to assess how the Chicago Police Department handled a standoff with protesters on Sunday afternoon. Ken Davis and Niala Boodhoo join us for The 3@3 to discuss, you guessed it, NATO in Chicago.
Finally, to try to ease the headache of international arms agreements, M. Ward and his band perform in our studios in advance of their Tuesday show at the Vic Theatre.
Listen to the first hour of this show:
Listen to the second hour of this show:
The list of artists and bands that Matt Ward has played with could fill this entire blog post. I could shorten it and name-drop a few: Bright Eyes, My Morning Jacket, Neko Case, Jenny Lewis, Norah Jones, Zooey Deschanel, Cat Power, and Monsters of Folk. He even appears on the new album from Chicago's Kelly Hogan.
But the Portland, Oregon based musician has also released a number of albums-this makes seven-under the name M. Ward, the newest one being A Wasteland Companion. It contains 10 originals and 2 covers.
One of those covers is a tune by Daniel Johnston, a songwriter whose material Ward has mined in the past to good effect.
His Zelig-like ability to seemingly be jamming everywhere with everyone is given further cred by the fact that Ward recorded this album in 8 different studios on 2 different continents with 18 different musicians.
Stylistically, A Wasteland Companion draws from 50's roots rock and rockabilly, 60's Phil Spector wall-of-sound, and 70's easy-breezy AM radio. It contains rockin' moments, pop thrills, and beautiful acoustic guitar riffing.
Rain, rain, rain on the Cannes parade is making it a stressful festival for many, especially since everything in Cannes means waiting in line. The rain does not improve efficiency, or comfort: Two screenings in a large tent were canceled because organizers were afraid the tent might collapse. Then, 200 soaked journalists waited in the rain for 45 minutes to get into the screening of Abbas Kiarostami’s most recent film, Like Someone in Love. Once inside, they were treated to air conditioning blowing on their feet from underneath the theater seats. A chilly reception, to be sure.
Lest you think the weather has made us all grumpy, some films have garnered warm reception. Big hits so far: definitely Michael Haneke’s Amour. A switch in style from his White Ribbon, the film features Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant. An emotional 20-minute standing ovation ended the Amour screening.
Some other celebrity-watch tidbits:
The actor Sean Penn is here for a benefit for the victims of Haitian earthquake.
Editor's Note: Worldview contributor Robert L. Price is at the NATO summit Monday and will blog throughout the day on NATO policy and summit outcomes. First, he considers summit protests in light of his own experiences:
As a college student and young adult at the University of Notre Dame, I protested around civil rights issues, due process of law and other aspects of U.S. public policy. Back then, I felt our efforts were productive because national public policy received much needed attention and in some instances, positively enhanced policy. We organized student protests around eliminating apartheid in South Africa and pressured our university to divest. Later, we created a process for facilitating and documenting grievances of minority students. I witnessed community protests against the unfair incarceration of black men in the Indiana prison system and opposed the death penalty.
Such work inspired me. I met selfless, committed people who worked for the betterment of our human condition.
Image-making is everywhere in Cannes: banks of photographers line the red-carpeted steps to the Grand Theatre Lumiere, locals set up ladders in a thin median between the streets, which they occupy from early morning.
Every day, there are five festival trade dailies that cover films and deals about films, which may or may not ever get made. Filmmakers and producers descend on Cannes in part with the hope of getting a meeting that may lead to money for a project. In reality, the thousands of films talked about and shown in the Cannes Market (producers, sales agents and distributors rent theatres here for screenings) are films no one’s ever heard of and probably never will hear of again. At any one moment, you could check out 20 to 30 films playing. Right now one could see Drift (about Australian surfing moguls), She (a Thai film about a woman dying of cancer who finds love at the end) or Excision, described as “life sucks at 17.”