Billionaire businessmen portrayals and Richard Gere seem to be a natural movie fit these days. Gere, a handsome leading man for over 30 years has a long history of being in mainly successful films, and as he barely ages in contrast to the rest of us, those roles fit him like a $1000 pair of Gucci shoes or a $200 pair of patent leather gloves.

His latest film “Arbitrage” from first-time writer director Nicholas Jarecki, makes sure that his handsome visage is in practically every shot of the suspense/thriller/drama about a New York billionaire businessman who gets caught up in his own money-making schemes with other Wall Street billionaires; as well as the police on a homicide investigation.

Titans of the finance world tend (at least in the movies) to be insular, self-made, self-obsessed, arrogant-because-they can be, and are used to getting their own way thanks to their money.  In their world almost everyone can be bought for a price, and oh, yes, they always seem to have a sensational-looking young woman stashed away in an upper-scale NY condo that the wife and family know nothing about.  Well, we’ll see about that issue later.

In Jarecki’s banal and somewhat predictable “Bonfires of the Vanities” style tale, we meet New York hedge-fund magnate Robert Miller (Richard Gere) on the eve of his 60^th birthday. He appears the very paragon of success in business and at home.  But behind the gilded walls of his mansion, Miller is in over his head.  He’s desperately trying to complete the sale of his business empire to a major bank before the depths of his hedge-fund fraud surfaces.

Struggling to conceal his duplicity from loyal wife Ellen (Susan Sarandon in a wasted role) and his brilliant daughter and heir-apparent Brooke (nicely played by Brit Marling), Miller is also balancing an affair with French art-dealer Julie Cote (Laetitia Castra) that I alluded to as “the stashed mistress”.  Just as he’s about to unload his troubled empire, and slip away scot-free, unexpected developments force to him re-evaluate his plans.  To help extricate himself from his self made Gordian knot predicament, Miller asks for the help of Jimmy Grant, a world-weary ex-con, and a face from Miller’s past (a fine understated performance from Nate Parker).

     Miller’s one wrong turn, however, ignites the suspicions of NYPD Detective Michael Bryer (Tim Roth in a blatant and over-the-top Lt. Colombo impersonation – with none of the subtle tongue-in-cheek we got from watching Peter Falk over the years), who apparently has been reading too much Victor Hugo in his off-hours, and who will stop at nothing to get his man.

Which brings us to the “man”.  Richard Gere has always been an interesting actor to watch – he still is.  He has charm, charisma, and star quality, and more than that he’s an excellent actor.  I just wish “Arbitrage”, had been a stronger, more believable plot vehicle for his talent.  Gere deserves better. Also, I realize that the film will probably receive Oscar nominations: one for Gere, and hopefully, one for Nate Parker, and a couple for special effects. I’m not sure what that says about critics and their reviews (or the Academy, for that matter), but for me, the movie’s technical credits are stronger than Jarecki’s screenplay.

To loosely paraphrase Humphrey Bogart in the classic film “Casablanca”, the problems of billionaires in trouble and their privileged lives doesn’t amount to a hill of beans in today’s economically-challenged world of ordinary people.

The Pentagon has awarded Academi, the security company previously known as Blackwater, part of a $20 billion five year contract to train military intelligence agents. It comes despite the firm earlier being fined by a US court for illegal arms trade.

The US Defense Intelligence Agency announced on Thursday that it would hire six private security companies, including Academi, for the contract. The contractors are to train agents“before they leave on overseas deployments, to provide them with a foundation of hard and soft skills relevant to living and working in hostile and austere environments,” the document says.

Academi declined to comment on the contract when asked by Wired’s Danger Room blog, saying it is not finalized yet. But it may be one of the first US governmental contracts it received after changing ownership and re-branding for a second time. Blackwater dropped its scandal-tainted name and became Xe Services in 2009, but in late December 2011 changed it again.

In August, Academi struck a deal with the US Justice Department and agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle what the company described as a “legacy matter” left behind by former managers and owners, including founder Erik Prince, who sold his interest in 2010.

The fine covered 17 violations, including arms smuggling and providing security services to foreign governments without US approval. In 2010, it agreed to pay $42 million in fines for almost 300 violations of arms trade laws by the company under the previous management.

The new management insists the firm has now little to do with its earlier incarnations, having undergone a profound reform and audit.

“Today, Academi is working to become the industry leader in governance, compliance and regulatory matters. It is fair to say – and important to note – that the company that was once known as Blackwater simply does not exist anymore in the company that is now Academi,”a spokesman for the firm told Politico.

But some remain unconvinced and criticize the US government for the lack of proper accountability for Blackwater’s misdeeds.

“I think that was threatened by Erik Prince at one point that, if there were a prosecution, things would come out that would be damaging to the US government. And I think we see from the settlement agreement, the papers behind it – there seems to be a lot of substance for that, because a lot of what Blackwater is doing is under the auspices of the US government,” Scott Horton, contributing editor to Harper’s Magazine, told RT in an interview.

“They’ve changed their name two times and they’ve changed some of the personnel in senior echelons, but the reputation does not seem to be materially changed. They are still more or less the cowboys of the industry operating on the edge… I’d suspect they are involved in an awful lot of business that they don’t want to see come out, and that the US government probably also doesn’t want to see the light of day,” he added.

An Arizona state prison is on lockdown after a fight broke out among 200 inmates, causing several prisoner hospitalizations and injuring a staff member’s ribcage.

The fight broke out around 5:30 p.m. in the Santa Rita Unit yard of the Arizona State Prison Complex-Tucson. It took prison security 30 minutes to contain the fight. One prison staff member was injured in his ribcage. Multiple inmates were also injured in the fight and 10 were hospitalized, Arizona Corrections Spokesman Bill Lamoreaux said in a press statement.

Two inmates were seriously injured with one in the operating theatre and one in intensive care, late Thursday evening, the Arizona Daily Star reported.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the fight, which they believe was a racially motivated brawl between Hispanic and African-American prisoners. Prison personnel are conducting interviews with inmates to figure out what happened.

The Tuscon complex houses 5,150 beds. The Santa Rita room, where the fight occurred, holds 768 beds, 727 of which were filled on the day of the fight.

Birther Orly Taitz has been granted a court hearing to keep President Obama off the Kansas state ballot due to suspicion surrounding his US citizenship.

Taitz, who works as a California dentist and a lawyer, claims that Obama’s birth certificate is fraudulent and that the president is using a fake Social Security number from Connecticut. Taitz says that as a result of forging his US citizenship documents and committing identity theft, he should not be eligible to run for president again, the Huffington Post reports.

The Kansas state Objections Board ruled on Monday to drop the lawsuit to consider removing Obama from the ballot, but Kansas District Court Judge Larry Hendricks scheduled an Oct. 3 court hearing to overturn the board’s decision.

After claiming that the board ignored evidence that should have disqualified Obama, Taitz was granted the hearing.

Joe Montgomery, a Kansas resident who initially objected to Obama’s eligibility but then withdrew his claim, stated last week that Obama could not be US citizen because his father was a Kenyan and UK national.Citizenship, he said, comes primarily from the father. After Montgomery and his family received threats, he withdrew his objection on Sept. 15 – the claim which the board based its decision on.

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An Iranian military official has warned that military conflict between Iran and Israel could “turn into World War III.” He added that if Israel “is putting the final touches on attacking Iran,” a preemptive strike against Tel Aviv would ensue.

Israel “cannot imagine” the force of Iran’s response if Tel Aviv attacks it, Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh told Iran’s Arabic-language television network. “It will sustain heavy damage and that will be a prelude to its obliteration,” he said.

Hajizadeh added that Iran does not see this happening at the moment because he does not believe that Israel will conduct an attack without its strongest ally – the United States.

If America does decide to back an Israeli plan to strike Iran, Hejizadeh insists Tehran will retaliate against both Tel Aviv and Washington.

“Tehran will definitely attack US bases in Bahrain, Qatar and Afghanistan…there will be no neutral country in the region,” Hajizadeh said. “To us, these bases are equal to US soil.”

The statement comes after the head of the Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, said that a war between Iran and Israel “will eventually happen.” Jafari did not speculate on a possible date or location of the war.

“If they begin [aggression], it will spell their destruction and will be the end of the story,”Jafari told local news agencies.

Jafari’s deputy backed up his statements, telling Fars news agency that Iran will not start a war with Israel, but will respond to provocation.

“Iran’s defensive strategy is based on the assumption that we will engage in a war, a massive battle against a global coalition led by the US,” Deputy Commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Brig.-Gen. Hossein Salami said.

“If the Zionists act against Iran, it will be a historic opportunity for the Islamic Revolution to wipe them off the world’s geographic history,” he continued.

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Young pro football fans will have the opportunity to exhibit their football skills when the Town of Yucca Valley hosts the local NFL Punt, Pass & Kick competition on Saturday afternoon, September 22nd, at the Yucca Valley Community Center softball field from 3:00 to 5:00 pm. The competition is free and open to boys and girls ages 6-15.

The NFL Punt, Pass & Kick football competition allows youngsters to showcase their talents in punting, passing, and kicking with scores based on distance and accuracy. Competitors must be 6 – 15 years old, as determined by their age on December 31st of the current year. Boys and girls compete separately in the following age divisions: 6/7 year olds, 8/9 year olds, 10/11 year olds, 12/13 year olds, and 14/15 year olds. All equipment, other than shoes, is provided. Participants may wear regular athletic or tennis shoes; no cleats or turf shoes are allowed.

The top finishers from each of ten age groups at the Local competition will advance to a Sectional competition in Banning, California. The winners at the Sectional competition will have their scores compared with other Sectional champions; the top four scorers will advance to the San Diego Chargers Team Championship to be held during a home game this fall. Age–group champions at this level will be declared the NFL Punt, Pass & Kick Team Champions. The top four finishers in each division will qualify for the National Finals to be held at an NFL playoff game in January.

Every year more than three million youngsters nationwide compete in the NFL Punt, Pass & Kick Program. Interested competitors can pre-register online at www.yucca-valley.org or in person at the Yucca Valley Community Center. Office hours are Monday through Thursday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. On-site registration will be taken from 2:00 – 3:00 pm the day of the event.

For more information about the PPK program visit NFLPPK.com. For more information about our local competition please contact the Town of Yucca Valley Community Services Department at 369-7211.