Watches this National security shuffle: Jones out, Donilon in

National security shuffle: Jones out, Donilon in


AP – President Barack Obama watches as outgoing National Security Adviser James Jones, center, shakes hands …
y BEN FELLER, AP White House Correspondent – Sat Oct 9, 2:20 am ET
WASHINGTON – Gen. James Jones, the gruff-talking military man President Barack Obama drafted as his national security adviser, announced Friday he was quitting after a tenure marked by ambitious foreign policy changes and undercurrents of corrosive turf battles.
Jones will be replaced by his chief deputy, Tom Donilon, a former Democratic political operative and lobbyist who in many ways is already the day-to-day leader of the White House national security operation. The move deepens a season of White House turnover near the midpoint of Obama's term, with White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel departing last week, chief economic adviser Lawrence Summers leaving by year's end and other changes expected before long.
Obama described the transition from Jones to Donilon as expected and seamless, thanking both men in a sunny Rose Garden ceremony. The president put an emphasis on the patriotism of Jones, a Marine who served in Vietnam and retired as a four-star general after a career of more than 40 years. The two barely knew each other when Jones took the post.
As Obama's chief national security aide, Jones served during a time when Obama has sought to reshape American foreign policy on many fronts, from ending the combat mission in Iraq to expanding the war in Afghanistan to attempting to improve relations across Europe and Asia.
Jones had quiet clout but found himself in a world of squabbles given the competing demands, ideas and personalities in the government and the challenge of trying to coordinate them through the National Security Council. Questions always seemed to loom over whether Jones' vast military experience translated as Obama had hoped into the job of national security adviser, which requires informing and counseling the president and coordinating views from agencies.
"Jim has always been a steady voice in Situation Room sessions, daily briefings and with meetings with foreign leaders," Obama said. He added that Jones had represented the U.S. before its allies in every region of the world, and he said the American people owe the general a debt for making the nation "safer and stronger."
Jones, 66, is expected to serve in the job for about two more weeks. He recalled that he met Obama just over two years ago and that he was persuaded to join him because of the Obama's desire to take on the hardest issues of the day in a difficult time for the nation.
The general said, "I believe that where we are today in the global playing field and how the United States is held in the esteem of the rest of the world is an accomplishment that I frankly find astonishing in such a short period of time." To Obama, he said: "Thank you for letting me be a part of it."
Donilon's promotion has a significant spillover effect on the rest of the White House. He had emerged as a top candidate to replace Emanuel as the permanent chief of staff. Now that job appears even more likely to go to Pete Rouse, the newly installed interim chief and a longtime adviser to Obama.

Coppied by http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101009/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_national_security_adviser

Watches MGM studio sends out ballots to creditors for prepackaged bankruptcy

MGM studio sends out ballots to creditors for prepackaged bankruptcy


LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. said Thursday that it has begun seeking its creditors' approval on a prepackaged bankruptcy plan in which they will exchange more than US$4 billion in debt for equity in a new company that has rights to the James Bond franchise and the upcoming two-part movie series "The Hobbit."
Privately held production company Spyglass Entertainment, a co- financier of such recent films as "Star Trek" and "G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra," will contribute some assets and merge two subsidiaries into MGM for a 4.69 per cent stake in the company, according to the plan.

Creditors would hold 95.3 per cent of the company after it exits from bankruptcy.

Only approved holders of secured debt as of Oct. 4 will be allowed to vote. The company declined to provide the list of creditors that can participate, but major creditors include Anchorage Advisors LLC, Highland Capital Management LP and billionaire investor Carl Icahn.

Voting continues until Oct. 22, when the company plans to file for bankruptcy and exit the court process in about 30 days.

After exiting bankruptcy, Spyglass co-founders Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum will serve as co-chairmen and CEOs.

The move signals the end is near for a process that began late last year as the company struggled to right itself from a dearth of hit movies, the decline of DVD sales and an overwhelming debt burden brought on by its $5 billion purchase in 2005 by a group led by Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group, Sony Corp. and Comcast Corp.

It also clears the way for production to begin on "The Hobbit," the two-part movie based on J.R.R. Tolkien's novel, which MGM is set to make with Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. The release of the first installment had been slated for December 2012 but the movie still hasn't gotten the official "green light" to begin shooting.

MGM also owns rights to the James Bond movie franchise and has a library of 4,000 movie and TV-show titles including such titles as "Rocky" and "Dances With Wolves."

By choosing bankruptcy over another sale, MGM is rejecting a $2- billion all-cash offer made last month by Indian conglomerate Sahara India Pariwar. MGM also walked away from an offer from Time Warner for $1.5 billion in cash.

Because MGM's creditors had given it a waiver on debt and interest payments since last October, the company has been able to preserve some cash. But it is unclear if it has enough to help pay for the big- budget "Hobbit" movies, or if it will need to clear the bankruptcy process first before raising new funds.

Coppied by http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=cp_i8llnq6kq40&show_article=1

Watches Zimbabwe PM Tsvangirai lashes out at President Mugabe

Zimbabwe PM Tsvangirai lashes out at President Mugabe


Morgan Tsvangirai (R) has shared power with President Robert Mugabe since February 2009
Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has accused President Robert Mugabe of violating the constitution and unilateral decision-making.

Mr Tsvangirai said his MDC party would not recognise any key appointments made by Mr Mugabe in the past 18 months, including governors, judges and envoys.

He also urged the international community to do the same.

Mr Tsvangirai formed a power-sharing government with bitter rival Mr Mugabe in 2009 after disputed elections.

Under their coalition deal, the two politicians agreed to draw up a new constitution followed by a referendum and then fresh elections.

'Racist agenda'
"We will refuse to recognise any of the appointments which the president has made illegally and unconstitutionally over the last 18 months," Mr Tsvangirai said at a news conference in Harare on Thursday.

He said the disputed appointments included the central bank governor, the attorney general, five judges, six ambassadors and the police commission.

Mr Tsvangirai also voiced his "disgust" over Mr Mugabe's unilateral decision to re-appoint 10 provincial governors last week.

"I have defended President Robert Mugabe at my own cost politically. But neither I nor the MDC can stand back any longer and just allow President Mugabe and the Zanu-PF to defy the law, to flaunt the constitution, and to act as if they own this country," he said.

The MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) leader also accused the president of refusing to swear in white farmer Roy Bennett, the prime minister's choice for the post of deputy agriculture minister.

Mr Bennett was tried earlier this year on charges of plotting to oust Mr Mugabe and found not guilty.
coppied by http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11498290

Channel 'crocodile' turns out to be wood

We are enjoy Channel 'crocodile' turns out to be wood

The crocodile in the Channel turned out to be a large piece of wood
Coastguards in Dover and France say a large crocodile sighted in the English Channel was actually a piece of wood.

Officials have said that the wood probably did look like a crocodile from a distance.

Bathing in the sea in and around Boulogne-sur-Mer in France was suspended on Friday as a precaution while a search was conducted

The claim of a crocodile sighting was made in a message which had been sent to a local newspaper, La Voix du Nord.

According to the newspaper, an animal rescue charity which had not been told directly of any sightings asked for the water to be cleared while a search took place.

A spokesman for Boulogne-sur-Mer town hall had previously said it was thought that the claim was "a joke".
coppied by http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11046562

Watches this 'Jarhead' bear gets out of a jam in Florida

The cub was in a life-threatening situation because it could not eat or drink
We are saw this new image enjoy 'Jarhead' bear gets out of a jam in Florida
A bear cub in Florida, which had a plastic jar stuck on its head for at least 10 days, has now been freed.

The cub, affectionately nicknamed "Jarhead", got its head stuck in the container while rooting through rubbish around the town of Weirsdale.

The cub was days away from death as he had not been able to eat or drink, biologists who rescued the bear said.

They sedated the mother bear before grabbing the cub, pinning his ears back and prising off the container.

Residents began calling the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) at the end of July to report sightings of the bear cub with his head stuck in a jar.

The cub, his mother and two siblings regularly foraged in the bins around Weirsdale.

'Tough little bear'
Biologists set traps in different areas, but the wary bears kept clear.

After eight days of sightings, two days went by without any reports of the bear family, and the scientists feared the cub could have starved to death.

But on Friday, the bears returned.

The FWC team, including a specialist bear-response agent, went to the scene.

They shot the mother with a tranquiliser dart before wrestling Jarhead to the ground long enough to get the plastic container off his head.

"But the tough little bear lived up to its US Marine moniker and did not give up without a fight," the FWC said on its website.

The scientists then placed the sleeping mother in a trap, where the three cubs eventually joined her.

After a day under observation in the trap, the bear family were released and have not been seen since - a result the FWC describes as "good news indeed".

"Although the story appears to have a happy ending, it truly illustrates one of the worst things that can happen when wildlife gets into garbage," the FWC said.
Coppied by http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10977657