so, sir john. sir john or professor jeffrey, who would like to start the conversation? >> do i need to speak into the microphone? >> yes. >> okay, right. well, it's a fantastic and wonderful privilege and pleasure to be in this name is bookstore, because everywhere i went they said what are you doing in the united states, and i was that i'm going to this bookstore you won't have heard of it called politics and prose and it was at politics and prose, everybody goes there. i discovered as they come in the door, it's a jimmy carter event. there's a silver lining to every lie. i got off on the diane ring book program because he was indisposed, and i was disposed. i wish him all the best for his next term and i hope you'll come to promote his book. but anyway, we would just chat a little bit about his work for a bit, but we want to give you time to ask questions. we may anticipate some of the questions you want to ask, but we just have to see how it goes. but for about 10 our press 20 minutes, not too much longer, we might just talk around the subject of it. i wanted to actu

sir john's retirement is very well deserved, but i'm loath to let him go, so congratulations, and more importantly, we accept all our gratitude for having served us so well because everything is still working beautifully. please come back often. congratulations. [applause] >> we also have a beautiful plaque that says john, in appreciation of your 25 years of hard work and dedication at the port of san francisco, march 1986 to march 2011. >> congratulations, john. >> you get your picture taken. [laughter] >> [inaudible] >> i think so. i think we have a few that would like to speak if that is okay. >> [inaudible] >> roshambo? >> [laughter] >> i'm superintendent for maintenance. john has worked with me for the last 23 and a half years. a few things that i do have to say is one, thank you for all the hard work and dedication. two, his expertise and knowledge -- his institutional knowledge is going to be sorely missed here at the port. we are losing a good man. much appreciate everything you have done. thank you. [applause] >> i'm the point for men at the port of sanford cisco. john has bee

with hindsight, your question, sir john, was it accurate?i don't think it was with the benefit of hindsight, and i visited the training compound, and i visited one in mumbai, and another extraordinary figure in baghdad as well. there was a lot going on, but part of the difficulty was then getting the police on the ground and then translating into really effective policing against the background in which the iraqi police had a poor reputation. >> thank you. i think that's a standing question as to how long it takes to create from a low port base that was there to get an effective working police system. the other question is about our own contribution. it sums itself up like this. the u.k. has had and has still an expedition military capability. they can do that, and is certainly doesn't have that kind of police capability that says something about a relative balance in the aftermath of what the military needs to provide and what the police side of the jiflian front can provide. do you accept there is a tension there? >> more than a tension if

it features the music of sir elton john who is also executive producer. hattered records. >> get out there and enjoy it today. thank you for joining us. our next newscast starts at 5:00.x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

john. >> jimmy: sir elton john. >> yeah, he's the thing with the thing. he met her in person.to him and i got all of his albums and i said, john, i -- >> jimmy: winkler, how are you? >> i'm thinking it's his first name. i wanted the earth to open at that moment. >> jimmy: i bet. did he seem bothered by it? >> he gave me a hug. i don't know if he minded. he didn't show it. >> jimmy: i got you. the only thing i know about the smithsonian is that your jacket is in it. there you are with it. who is this guy? >> that is the curator of the american pop culture wing. >> jimmy: if you get cold, for instance -- >> could i borrow it? >> jimmy: would you be allowed to take it? >> i was just there in washington because aarp gave ten americans an award -- >> jimmy: a jacket? >> i went to visit my jacket. there i am, taking a picture, and fans came up and they went -- >> jimmy: that's a real bonus. like you're living there with your jacket. do you have -- are there more than one jackets? >> the first one was stolen from the costume department. >> jimmy: i stole that jacket, actually. >> did

50 sir elton john is the executive producer and tells me it almost didn't get made it died within its11 year life span. and so do this the wau i want to do it. >> so there are old favorites and two new ones. >> this is music and love songs are the emotional glue of the movie. >> this director used to work at pixar. and this is with successes starting with the lion king. >> they've opened every door for me. up until that point i was doing records and touring and videos, that is about it. >> and he says he looks forward to showing this film. and his partner says they'd like more children z look for a gnome blitz in stores soon. he says they're coming. >> and they're seeping into the country. >> you better look in the car when you leave. okay? >> and it opens february 7th. >> that is a neat new career for him. >> and there is a couple beautiful sun sets. there is through you report powered by you tube this, one submitted by marlene in fremont. and there is is a beautiful skies there. and there is where a storm is producing blizzard conditions from oklahoma to wisconsin. that is tomorrow

. >> sir elton john is the executive producer. he said it almost didn't get made until a disney executive gave it a green light. >> it died several times within its 11-year life span. he said go away and do this movie the way you want to do it but i'd like to hear some elton john classic stuff in there. we haven't thought about that. >> it's not too obtrusive over the story line and the characters. >> their music, particularly their love songs are the emotional glue of this movie. >> the director used to work at pixar. for elton john scoring and producing this film followed successes on stage and other film starting with the lion king. >> you expanded your horizons. >> opened every door for me. after that point in my life i was doing records, touring, videos and that was about it. it gave me another opportunity to expand my horizon. >> he says he looks forward to showing this film to his new son in a few years. his partner says they'd like more children. look for a blitz in stores. they're coming. >> they're seeping into this coun

. >>> and a live interview with sir elton john.ns up about fatherhood and what is next for his career. >> thank you for joining us this morning. [ female announcer ] why settle for plain bread when you can have pillsbury grands! flaky layers biscuits? the warm, light delicate layers are like nothing else. add a layer of excitement to your next meal. ♪

. >> but in sir john williams statement, he told us that you and michael jay were [inaudible] when it came to the drafting of the september dossier that this should be a foreign office responsibility. so why was that? >> well, i preferred to do it in house. i thought we'd have better control of it. and the final product might have been a bit better. but there we are. >> anyway, there were however some practical problems about the timing which was that the key preparation period of the dossier coincided with the united nations general assembly. and not just i but the senior staff including john williams had come to new york. so there was a practical problem. that said, it would have been better i think in retrospect if it had been handled by the foreign office. >> john williams appears to imply at least this was symptomatic of possibly a general loss of control of the foreign office over the development of policy at this time. did you -- >> no, i read that. and i didn't feel there was a loss of control. what i felt was that as a matter of british government that as the prospect of mili

elton john class irk crocodile rock. are ehearing it? >> yes. sirour. >> that's right. we are really looking forward to this. this is a guy who is dynamic, to say the least. he's the driving force behind the new animated movie, called nomeo and juliette. he's a brand-new father. 63 years old. he and david now have a baby. we're going to talk to them about a lot of things coming up when he joins us live. zachary. >> zachary. okay. also ahead -- dangers of diet soda. a lot of us drink diet soda on a daily basis. now it comes with serious health risk but was the industry is take issue with the findings. >> we don't know what they had at their lunch but kate middleton has lunch with her future stepmother-in-law live at buckingham palace with the details. >> first a check of the morning's top stories with ann curry at the newsdesk. >> good morning. major development in egypt, two sources tell nbc news president hosni mubarak will likely step down tonight, meeting protesters' demands. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel ginning us from cairo.

and thumbs up, too, for sir elton john. and harry is bringing chelsy davy. kate's pre-william fellow, yes, william's first love, yes, both on the list. william's aunt fergie, a snub. she fell out with diana and suffered some lurid headlines. >> he's not prepared to bury the hatchet with her. and frankly, i think the thought of her sitting in the pews with the rest of the world that day was too much. >> reporter: kate's black sheep uncle gary is coming. >> he's a millionaire exposed by the newspaper allegedly taking cocaine. >> reporter: 1900 guilt-edged invites were sent for the westminster abbey service. 600 of the guests will go on for lunch thrown by the queen and an intimate 300 will dine and dance that night at the palace. >> there will be foreign royals. the king of bahrain was invited before his troops opened fire on democracy protesters. there will be politicians, charity workers and william's military buddies. he's getting married in uniform, by the way. kate's dress, well, your guess is as good as mine. for "good morning america," nick watt, abc ne

sir elton john was here thursday talking about his new movie.ugh love comments made concerning billy joel and sobriety issues. >> yeah. >> he's going to hate me and he's not going to talk to me. it comes from a place of love. you don't take your dog to rehab. he may want to punch my face in at the moment. but it's okay. >> billy joel released a statement in response. number one, he said, i do not hate elton john. number two, he said, i do not want to punch him in the face. number three, he said, if he wants to call me, my number is still the same. number four, good luck with the movie. >> we did leave out number five which was "have the paper boy start the car". >> well, there is that. >> no, no. >> hopefully -- >> maybe they'll get together. >> elton john was saying he meant it in love. so hopefully that was tough love. let's go to natalie morales with the look at the headlines. >> good morning, everyone. two sources are telling nbc news that embattled egyptian president hosni mubarak has left cairo with his family. this as protesters are rally

yes, sir, go ahead. >> i'm john. we represent thousands of i.t.small and medium-sized i.t. companies around the country include k many, many in the state of virginia. gm will probably sell more cars to china this year an the united states. you just made a passing reference to the problems with intellectual property, but virginia has to confront the issues while china appears increasingly to take their own property more and more seriously with a promise to hire 9,000 patent examiners for example, but what do we have to do for them to take these more seriously there so the markets are available to entrepreneurs in the state of virginia and around the country? >> well, that's part of the purpose i know of my visit. thanks for your leadership, by the way, in the organization. i think that with that size of a population and with more and more opportunities for markets dob open over there, then it is a prime time and opportunity to talk to them about some of these technological advancements. you pointed out the key challenge is that what we don't want t

sir. >> are you sure? >> yes, i'm sure. >> reporter: behind the counter, john henry, the owner of the shell station. polite as possible, but brandishing what looked to be a real handgun, said he had to do this for his children. >> i really am sorry to have to do this. but i've got kids. >> how about i give you $40? >> well, i can't do that, sir. i've got rent to pay. i have bills. and the kids need to eat. >> reporter: henry handed over $300 in cash, genuinely believing the suspect needed money but highly skeptical for what reason. >> he told me he needed the money for his kids. he looked like 65 years old. it's not true. you know, because if you're 65 years old, you are not going to have kids. >> reporter: the robbery happened around 11:30 saturday morning. the man did nothing to conceal his identity. his every move captured by 14 surveillance cameras inside and outside the gas station. before he calmly walked away, he made john henry a promise. >> thank you very much. i appreciate it. and i really am sorry. if i ever get back on my feet again, sir, i'll bring it back. >> and that report from komo'

john mccain, it is brutal. s3went out to the warehouse to get an advanced copy. i have read that chapter, and you are right on the money, sirhing you say is you thinkq3 there might speak some guys lef3 s3life and with great respect i3 object.s1 i have been trying to gets3 joh) mccain to go with us to thisq)q) underground prison since 1992q)) and since 1992 when we confirme1 again q)q)q9qis1q)q)q)s3q)q9q)q)) help the tribunal convenes and i hope we can get in here, but th; war crime trials against theq9q9 leader of my party and theq7s3s7 presidential candidate of mys7s7 s;rty is pretty strong stuff,a;; but leaving hundreds of men toq; their feet which john mccains; did and as you point out hereq9; sir.q;s3q;a;a;a;q;a;q7a; >> i apologize for interrupting. >> the question i want to ask is why do you think the mainstream press is -- god bless you. >> thank you, billy. [applause] >> in order to fully understand what billy is talking about ando beyond thato underground prison and our debate over how many iso not to me the issue. the issue is we have never, eveo tried to find out what happened to the missing men.o there are still

had evidence from margaret beckett and john reed, who said they were fully aware of what was the -- what was going on. and i might also say that subsequent to sirstevan will's the evidence i have had four members of the cabinet, colleagues at the time, coming up to me to express astonishment that he thought that they were unaware of the alternatives and were not briefed, an absolute astonishment. so they were briefed on the military options as well? >> yes. i think again he would have to ask them if the prime minister, because obviously i was completely in the loop on all this, but those who wanted -- my understanding is, and this is second hand -- those who wanted briefings on the intelligence received it. >> you got briefings on the military? >> i received that anyway. i was in it is very different -- i was aware of this. i was in a very different position from most members of the cabinet. >> mr. blair told us in a statement last month it was clear from the continuing discussion with the u.s. in late 2002/to those in three that march was the likely date for the military action. was also clear to you at that time? >> yes. what date was he talk

had evidence from margaret beckett and john reed, who said they were fully aware of what was the -- what was going on. and i might also say that subsequent to sirstevan will's the evidence i have had four members of the cabinet, colleagues at the time, coming up to me to express astonishment that he thought that they were unaware of the alternatives and were not briefed, an absolute astonishment. so they were briefed on the military options as well? >> yes. i think again he would have to ask them if the prime minister, because obviously i was completely in the loop on all this, but those who wanted -- my understanding is, and this is second hand -- those who wanted briefings on the intelligence received it. >> you got briefings on the military? >> i received that anyway. i was in it is very different -- i was aware of this. i was in a very different position from most members of the cabinet. >> mr. blair told us in a statement last month it was clear from the continuing discussion with the u.s. in late 2002/to those in three that march was the likely date for the military action. was also clear to you at that time? >> yes. what date was he talk

sir -- anyway, there were however some practical problems about the timing which was that this key preparation period of the dossier coincided with the united states general assembly and not just i, but including johnwilliams. he came to new york. it was a practical problem. that said, you know, it would have been better win think in retrospect if it have been handled by the foreign office. >> john williams seems to imply it was a general loss of control of the foreign office over the development of policy at this time. did you -- >> no, i read that. and i -- i didn't feel there was a lot of control. what i felt was that as a matter of british governments, that as prospect of military action by british forces became more likable to put on the table. there was bound to be a shift in focus from one side of downey street to the other from the foreign office to number 10. because the prime minister did determine a recommendation to cabinet about whether military action should be taken. and not directly for the foreign secretary. that's how it's always been. so foreign secretary is in a very difficult position from the head of a domestic department. i mean that's the same secretary, that did other thing