Tanks a lot

European Union foreign ministers are discussing British and French calls for an easing of sanctions against Syria so that weapons can be supplied to the rebels. France and the UK are expected to argue that the move would increase pressure on Damascus for a political solution. I too would support such a move, but then there's the problem of making sure Bashar's forces don't get a hold of them first. In fact, they should bring tanks in to help the rebels. And speaking of tanks, it took six years, but Jim Montgomery's dream to bring a battle tank to the South Haven American Legion post has come true. Last week, a tank that had been at a Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW) hall in Au Gres, arrived at its permanent home on a concrete pad just east of the South Haven post on Michigan Avenue, overlooking the harbour. The tank at the post is an M60-A3, which was put into production in 1960. It's only fitting that the tank arrived at the post just days before Memorial Day. Also fitting is the fact that an intimate love story about two young French women has won the Palme d'Or for best film at the Cannes Film Festival. The movie in question, Blue is the Warmest Colour, is a three-hour coming-of-age movie in which Adele Exarchopoulos plays a 15-year-old who falls in love with an older woman played by Lea Seydoux, and it prevented US film-makers the Coen brothers from repeating their Palme d'Or success of 1991, when they won for Barton Fink. Their latest film Inside Llewyn Davis, about the 1960s New York folk scene, won this year's Grand Prix, effectively the runners-up prize.