import time
from datetime import time, date, datetime

createdAt ='Wed Jan 12 00:00:00 +0000 2011'
print 'CR= ',createdAt
struct_time = datetime.strptime(str(createdAt),'%a %b %d %H:%M:%S +0000 %Y').strftime('%s')
print "returned tuple: %s " % struct_time