It's no secret that I like weird, quirky, off beat movies...just ask my husband. That's probably why I like independent films so much. Check out Independent Lens on PBS sometime if you feel the same. I finally got to see, "The Girl in the Cafe," over the New Year's holiday and I really enjoyed it. The film is about a lonely, uptight British cabinet aide who happens to sit next to a girl in a crowded cafe. This girl winds up rocking Lawrence's buttoned up world. Gina, is a free spirit with a past that slowly reveals itself as the film unwinds. Although Gina seems like she's a mousey sort at first, she later reveals herself to be a smart and very opinionated woman. The film shows the unlikely pair traveling to Iceland for the G-8 Summit. Lawrence and his boss are involved in intense negotiations with the other 7 most powerful countries in the world to reduce world poverty through a series of proposals called "The Millennium Goals." Gina fouls up the trip by strongly expressing her views on the negotiations to Lawrence's boss and other powerful dignitaries. Lawrence is devastated that his brush with love may cost him his job.

The sign of a great movie in my opinion is that you are still thinking about the plot hours and even days later. I'm still thinking about "The Girl in the Cafe." It was an interesting look inside diplomatic negotiations and a revealing insight into how insulated these powerful people are when it comes to opposing opinions and or criticism. Gina's passionately held beliefs made the powers that be suspect that she was a plant, a rebel protester that had somehow penetrated security to invade their sanctuary.

I was reminded of the movie again this morning when I ran across a story on-line about UN Ambassador John Bolton's first few months on the job. Ambassador Bolton is doing his best to live up to his bull in the china shop reputation. He personally sidelined and nearly destroyed negotiations over the Millennium Goals, deleting all references to poverty reduction in the draft document. Delicate diplomatic negotiations that had consumed months to arrive at an acceptable draft document were destroyed in short order by Mr. Bolton. For all those who didn't pay attention to the long drawn out fight over Bolton's nomination to the United Nations, I highly recommend that you read the American Prospect account of his tenure thus far. http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewPrint&articleId=10749 President Bush defied Congress by installing John Bolton as our new UN Ambassador while the lawmakers were in recess. This recess appointment is yet another example of a president who insists on getting his way, much like a spoiled child. If you ever thought to yourself, "How much havoc can one person create?" you need to read about Ambassador Bolton. He's not just an obstructionist, he's a terrorist. But apparently John Bolton's long standing relationship to Vice President Cheney was more important that the need to install a true diplomat, committed to representing the best interests of the United States at the United Nations. Why am I not surprised?