0 Is Kasaab Still Alive?

The jail officials hanged him and the medical officers declared him dead but the fact is that Kasaab is not dead. He is alive and with full spirit, he is busy working on his agenda somewhere near us. I am saying this because for me Kasaab is not the name of some Pakistani but it is the mindset which not just exists but spreading fast as well.

As an author put it that we were told by the western media outlets and a number of other people that the bearded lot is the real threat to the mankind and humanity but what we see in Pakistan, it is the social media addict westernised youth which seems to be the real threat. These people, graduated from some of the best universities in Pakistan have made up their mind that if a name of Pakistani comes up in an act of terrorism, it can only be a conspiracy against Pakistan hatched by, as usual, America, Israel or India. Just today after Kasaab was hanged, another educated young guy working in a well known advertisement agency updated his Facebook status in which he ‘declared’ that ‘Kasaab’ was nothing but an Indian drama. I said ‘declared’ because while you have so many evidences that came up supporting the argument that he was a Pakistani, you don’t have a single reason to deny it but still he stood by his opinion just because a certain mindset doesn’t allow a person to admit that his fellow countryman can be involved in an act of cross-border terrorism.

I’ve seen people posting pictures and articles saying that Malala incident was nothing but an excuse for the operation in North Waziristan. Then there were those who keep asking media why it never raised the issue of Dr. Afia Siddiqui with the same spirit. First of all, I fail to understand that even if it was a drama; doesn’t an act of terrorism, for whatsoever the purpose, need to be condemned? Why these people forget that it was the media, which first took up the issue of ‘Pakistani prisoner in Afghanistan’. I still remember the front page of Daily Jang, Karachi that carried this news. But perhaps the ‘Kasaab’ mentality shakes heir beliefsr that not everything in this country is a conspiracy. For me, these posts show only one thing that the supporters of ‘Malala conspiracy theory’ think that Taliban can never go against Pakistan’s interests.

The same old, new crop, during the recent Israeli attack on Gaza, dedicated almost all of their space on Facebook to the innocent Palestinians. There is nothing wrong in showing solidarity with them but then I saw the posts appealing the Government of Pakistan to immediately send its troops and all arms, missiles and whatsoever to help the innocent citizens, obviously by attacking Israelis. Excuse me! who are we to interfere in the matters of two states? If the USA comments on the situation in Balochistan, its an attack on our sovereignty. If India (As believed) is engaged in terrorism in the tribal belt or Balochistan through its consulates in Afghanistan, its cross-border terrorism but if we do so, it is justified. Doesn’t it prove that we, the Pakistanis believe in cross-border terrorism in our interest and that was what Kasaab did in Mumbai.

I was the one to show anger over Indian media projection of Balasaheb thackerey as a heroic personality but then making fun of his religion is something strongly unacceptable for me. But for this young lot, it is ‘cool’ to make fun of other religions and what if a follower of other religion does the same to ours. Obviously they are the first one to call him names and a fatwa for his murder will be issued from ‘Facebook madarassah’ immediately. It’s not just an assumption but a truth and I’ve seen it myself.


I don’t know how the attitude of the generation, raised amid anti-India media and hate based curriculum; can be brought to a neutral level when there is no hope of state giving any attention towards it. These people with the ‘Kasaab’ mindset are the easiest targets of the groups operating almost everywhere in the country who brainwash (if needed) them and send them on the ‘holy cause’ and on their back are the thousands of social media experts ‘Kasaabs’ waiting to save Pakistan from the international conspiracies.

0 ‘People’ Magazine’s Sexiest White Man Alive: Channing Tatum

Yesterday, Channing Tatum was anointed People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive. And while it’s true that 2012 was really Tatum’s year, with three successful movies at the box office—The Vow, Magic Mike, and 21 Jump Street—Tatum is part of a 26-year long tradition of anointing square-jawed white men as the hottest in the land.

The one exception: when they chose a square-jawed black man—Denzel Washington in 1996.

And during the last four years, when there has been an African-American president (who, if he were a Hollywood hunk, should surely have topped the list), it seems preposterous that no other men of color have been picked as the winner. In 2008, square-jawed Aussie, Hugh Jackman took the top honor. In 2009, Johnny Depp and his rotting teeth were selected for a second time. Last year, nobody’s favorite, Bradley Cooper, walked away (shirtless) with the crown. And the year before, perhaps in anticipation of the release of Green Lantern (which bombed), Ryan Reynolds was bestowed this dubious honor. Call it the Sexiest Milquetoast Man Alive.

Where are the Blair Underwoods, the Taye Diggses, the Morris Chestnuts? The Terrence Howards, the Jesse Williamses, the Idris Elbas?

Well, they are inside, scattered throughout like chocolate sprinkles on a vanilla ice cream cone. And if you believe People magazine’s official line, it is what’s inside that counts.

A representative for the magazine wrote, in part, via email: “People Magazine is sensitive to representing people of color in its pages; our Sexiest Man Alive issue is no exception. Every section in this year’s issue includes a diverse group of men.”

How diverse? In recent years, men like LL Cool J, Eddie Cibrian, Usher, Drake, Vin Diesel, John Cho, and Mario Lopez have been featured.

Brett R. Johnson, associate editor of the website The Root wasn’t surprised by the magazine’s stance. “That response is expected,” he wrote via email. “They can’t come out and say black men don’t sell magazine covers.”

Though there are some sports celebrities, like David Beckham, most of the picks skew toward Hollywood. There are very few music celebrities—and then, those picks tend toward teen dreams like Justin Bieber or the Jonas Brothers. If the magazine featured more men from sports and music—they might have had a choice of a few more men of color big enough to push cover stand sales. Kanye West, Kobe Bryant, or Michael Jordan during their primes would have been fine cover stars.

A rep for People explained: “The cover subject is chosen solely on the following criteria: Is he hot at the moment? Is he sexy? Is his career on fire this year? Channing Tatum fits that criteria this year, which is why he was named 2012 Sexiest Man Alive.”

“People’s response places the blame on Hollywood. That’s a copout. They have a lot of power as a media outlet, but their response is akin to throwing up their hands like, ‘Who me?—Not I!’”

The list, then, said Jezebel editor-in-chief, Jessica Coen in an IM interview, isn’t the “sexiest man in general, just—‘handsome man who’s getting the most work right now,’” she said. “What makes the choice so strange is that People is not a trade mag.”

If People’s list is really a barometer for who’s hot in Hollywood, the list is even more distressing. It serves as a mirror to Hollywood’s one-dimensional idea of who can be a leading man. (Hint: he’s a white dude. Or, Denzel Washington.)

“Denzel is the lazy choice,” said Coen. “He’s obligatory. And that’s because whenever there’s a discussion of race in Hollywood and dearth of black leading men, someone always argues that Denzel Washington is ‘proof’ that there’s no race problem. Like, ‘But, but, but here’s this one guy!’”

Coen wasn’t buying the magazine’s PR, response either: “People’s response places the blame on Hollywood. That’s a copout. They have a lot of power as a media outlet, but their response is akin to throwing up their hands like, ‘Who me?—Not I!’ Hollywood and the media—and that includes People—have a highly symbiotic relationship. Putting a man of color on the inside is like saying, ‘He’s hot, sure, but just not hot enough for the cover. Only a white man can be number one,’” she added. “Which is kind of how the world has worked for the past couple centuries.”

Or to put it more clearly: there are no men of color to put on the cover because there are no leading men of color, save Washington and Will Smith.

“They’re pretty much the only black men who Hollywood deems worthy of being able to carry a big-budget movie as its lead,” said Johnson. “Other top black actors such as Sam Jackson, Morgan Freeman, and Laurence Fishburne do consistently great work but they’re rarely regarded as get-the-girl-type leading men—or perhaps more likely they just don’t fit People’s definition of sexy.”

People’s list is problematic for other reasons—the magazine has simply missed the zeitgeist on a number of occasions. For instance, as Buzzfeed pointed out picking Tom Cruise in 1990, years after he was truly hot—post-Risky Business or Top Gun; or celebrating Matthew Mc Conaughey in 2005, when he was in the middle of the most banal part of his career, starring in middling romcoms with Kate Hudson. Alarmingly, Jon Hamm, the man all women want to sleep with—and the man all men want to be—has never made the cover; nor, has feminist favorite and Oscar nominee, Ryan Gosling. 

People also missed a big opportunity in 2010 by not choosing Old Spice spokesperson Isaiah Mustafa—a man who arguably really was the sexiest man of the moment, striding into women’s living rooms topless and riding a white horse, and turning tickets into diamonds. Instead, he was relegated to the “25 Chests To Be Thankful For” spread. 

This, for a man whose video at the time had more than 13 million YouTube views. (Now up to 45 million.) 

People magazine and other old media outlets, as Coen pointed out, could stand to take a few risks, and they might actually change social mores in the process.

“When you don’t regularly expose an audience to men of color as sex symbols, they’re less likely to think of men of color as sex symbols,” she said. “We need to see these men to know they’re out there—and not seeing them because they’re not being presented to the audience as much as white men.”

It becomes a chicken vs. the egg problem. She said: “Then you get into this vicious circle: studios expose audiences to white guys, audiences respond to white guys, so studios cast more white guys. But that would change if the casting were more balanced. Studios expose audiences to a mixed cast, audience responds to a mixed cast, studios continue to cast people of color. I think Shonda Rhimes’s shows [Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice] are a great example of how easy it is to make that work. Visuals are very powerful, consciously and subconsciously.”

Johnson agreed. He thinks stars like Idris Elba, Michael Ealy, Terrence Howard, and Blair Underwood could be perfect choices for People’s cover—but, he said: “They just need to get the right film roles that will put them over the top in terms of having crossover appeal,” he said.

“If Idris Elba, for example, landed a couple roles in big-budget, box-office winners and had a blowout year, I can see him on the cover. He could be an undeniable choice. The stars would have to align just right, though.”

People—and the media, by extension—could take the bull by the horns and lead by example. The issue is a hot seller regardless of who graces the cover—thanks to the loads of shirtless, soft-focused-lens photo shoots featuring topless men—and to the mag’s well-oiled PR machine.

Said Coen: “They could put a panda on the cover and it’d probably sell just as well.”

The lack of nonwhite Sexiest Man Alive winners, though, doesn’t necessarily reflect Americans’ aversion to men of color, just Hollywood’s.

“If white and mixed audiences can listen to and follow and even swoon over black musicians like Trey Songz or Chris Brown, then why can’t they just as easily find common ground and connect to a wider variety of black actors on the screen?” said Johnson. “American moviegoers and mag buyers should be given more credit.”

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Tricia Romano is an award-winning writer who has written about pop culture, style, and celebrity for The New York Times, The Village Voice, Spin, and Radarmagazine. She won Best Feature at the Newswomen’s Club of New York Front Page Award for her Village Voice cover story, about sober DJs and promoters in the nightlife industry, “The Sober Bunch.”

0 Hope Solo, Jerramy Stevens marry

U.S. women's soccer team goalkeeper Hope Solo and former NFL tight end Jerramy Stevens were married Tuesday, according to reports, after an altercation that left Stevens in jail and their wedding plans up in the air.
KING5.com in Seattle reported Solo and Stevens were married Tuesday night in a small ceremony near Snohomish, Wash. Only close family and friends were in attendance, with one of Solo's friends describing the wedding as "beautiful," the station reported.

Dave Mahler, a sports-talk radio host on Seattle's KJR, also tweeted: "Confirmed: Jerramy Stevens and Hope Solo were married tonight. Events of yesterday morning didn't change plans. Sounds like more facts comin."
Stevens was arrested early Monday for fourth-degree domestic violence assault but was not charged. He was eventually released when a Kirkland Municipal Court judge ruled there was no evidence connecting him to an assault.
Kirkland police said the case was still under investigation, and charges could be brought later if prosecutors and police find other evidence, a police spokesman told The Associated Press.
Stevens, 33, and Solo, 31, applied for a marriage license Nov. 8, according to King County records.

In the police report, Stevens said he and Solo had been arguing over whether they would live in Washington or Florida after the marriage.
Solo appeared in the courtroom Tuesday but left without saying anything to reporters, according to KING-TV.
Police in Kirkland responded to a disturbance at a home around 3:45 a.m. Monday involving a physical altercation between eight people during a party, said Kirkland Police Lt. Mike Murray.
He said officers contacted several people in the home who appeared intoxicated and didn't cooperate with police, but determined based on information and observations that there was probable cause to arrest Stevens for investigation of fourth-degree assault. Murray didn't identify the alleged victim, but court records show it was Solo, who received a cut to her elbow.
Court documents show that Solo's 34-year-old brother, Marcus, called 911, and that he and Solo told officers there was a party and blamed the disturbance on two to three unknown men who were at the party. Marcus Solo told police he used a stun gun on one of the men, who left the party before police arrived, according to court records.
According to court documents, a police officer found Stevens, "who appeared to be hiding," lying between the bed and the wall in an upstairs bedroom. Stevens told officers he was sleeping on the floor and didn't hear the fight. The officer saw signs of a fight, and dried blood on Stevens' shirt.
The officer noted in his affidavit for probable cause for arrest that he arrested Stevens based on his admission that he argued with Hope Solo, the injury to her elbow, signs of a fight in the bedroom where Stevens was found, and blood on Stevens' shirt.
One 32-year-old woman was taken to the hospital for treatment of a hip injury, and another man suffered multiple bumps, scrapes and contusions, Murray said.
"If officers find that an assault may have taken place, then we have to make an arrest on who we determine is the primary aggressor," Murray said.
Stevens was selected with the No. 28 pick of the 2002 draft by the Seattle Seahawks after playing at the University of Washington. But he also was involved in incidents away from football that included reckless driving charges for crashing into a nursing home.
He was mostly a first-round bust with the Seahawks, except for the 2005 season when he started a career-high 12 games and had 45 receptions as the Seahawks won the NFC championship.
He also was arrested on reckless driving charges in 2003 in a Seattle suburb and in 2007 when he was charged with driving under the influence in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Stevens' most recent arrest came in 2010, while he was playing for Tampa Bay; he was arrested the night before a game for possession of marijuana. He was released almost immediately by the team.

0 Google's Nexus 4: Understanding your carrier options

Can you believe it? After months of waiting and anticipation, Google's new Nexus 4 phone is finally here.

The Nexus 4 is available now (when it's in stock, at least) at $299 for an 8GB version or $349 for a 16GB model. For those of us in the U.S., that setup is a bit different from what we're used to with smartphone sales: Rather than being sold through a carrier, subsidized and on contract, Google is focusing on direct and unlocked sales with its Nexus 4 phone.

That means you buy the device outright from Google -- no contracts, no subsidies, and no commitments to anyone. Youcan buy the Nexus in a more traditional manner, if you want -- T-Mobile is selling the phone for $200 after a $50 mail-in rebate and with a new two-year contract -- but for most people, the unlocked route will be the better option.

Why? Simple: By going unlocked, you can opt to use the device with any compatible service provider you want. That includes prepaid providers, which offer the same basic service as the big boys at a fraction of the cost. And since you aren't signing a contract, you're under no obligations; if you decide you aren't satisfied with your service or find someone else offering a better rate, you're free to jump ship at any point with no penalties, fees, or hassles.

(By using an unlocked phone, you can also easily utilize native Android features like Wi-Fi hotspot or USB tethering without having to pay more. Your phone is a Google phone, not a carrier phone -- and it has true pure Google software without any carrier crippling or unnecessary meddling.)

So who should you use for service -- and how do you sign up? There are several possible options, but two carriers in particular stand out for their excellent plans and solid reputations:

1. T-Mobile Monthly 4G

If you can manage with a low pool of monthly minutes (and with free Google services, it's more feasible than you'd think), T-Mobile Monthly 4G is about as cheap as you can get for smartphone service. The company's marquee prepaid plan -- which I use myself -- is $30 a month for 100 anytime minutes, unlimited texting, and unlimited data (with the first 5GB per month at 4G HSPA+ speeds).

You pay up front each month, and the total cost is literally $30 plus basic tax -- no 911 fees, no "universal service charges," no "regulatory charges," and no "administrative charges." You can either pay manually at the start of each month or set up an account and have T-Mobile charge you automatically.

Any minutes over your allotment cost 10 cents apiece. Being that this is prepaid service, you'll never get any unexpected bills; instead, additional monthly minutes are available only if you opt to leave an extra balance on your account. (I typically leave about 20 bucks on mine in case I go over.)

You don't have to go for 100 minutes a month, either. T-Mobile has several Monthly 4G plans, including $60- and $70-per month options that include unlimited voice minutes.

To get started, all you need to do is order is a prepaid SIM card activation kit from T-Mo; it costs a whopping 99 cents, shipping included. (The Nexus 4 utilizes a micro-SIM, so make sure you order that type of card.) Once you get the SIM, you'll just pop the card into your phone and follow the included instructions to activate your account. The whole process takes about five minutes.

(If you want to port in an existing cell phone number, you should be able to find an option to do so within the online activation process. If you have trouble, you can always call T-Mobile's customer support after you initialize your new account to get things squared away. Either way, just be sure not to cancel your old cell phone service until after that procedure has taken place.)

2. Straight Talk

Straight Talk is a Wal-Mart-affiliated provider that offers service on your choice of AT&T's or T-Mobile's network. Its best plan is $45 a month for unlimited minutes, unlimited texting, and unlimited data.

There is an asterisk, though: While Straight Talk labels its data as "unlimited," some users have reported being throttled down to slower-than-4G-level speeds after hitting the 2GB mark. Straight Talk doesn't have a clear policy about this, so it's somewhat of a gray area. The vast majority of people don't come close to hitting 2GB of data in a single month, but if you do, that's something to consider.

To get service with Straight Talk, just order a SIM from the company; they're currently 10 bucks, shipping included. With the Nexus 4, you need to make sure you get a micro-SIM, which leads us to one last footnote:

Straight Talk currently offers micro-SIMs only for AT&T. If you want to use Straight Talk with AT&T's network, you're golden. If you want to use it with T-Mobile service, though, you'll have to order the regular-sized T-Mobile SIM and then take matters into your own hands.

The standard carrier plan options

Not keen on the whole prepaid concept? You can use the Nexus 4 with a standard carrier smartphone plan -- even without signing a contract. Since the Nexus 4 is a GSM/HSPA+ phone, it'll work with either T-Mobile or AT&T in the U.S. All you'll have to do is get a micro-SIM from the carrier you prefer and then contact them to activate an account.

(If you already have an account with one of them, you should be able to simply move the SIM card from your current phone into the Nexus 4 and be good to go. If your current SIM card is a regular-sized SIM instead of a micro-SIM, you'll just need to go to one of the carrier's stores to swap it out; most carrier retail locations will do that at no cost if you're a current customer.)

AT&T's individual plans start at 70 bucks a month for 450 minutes and 3GB of data. That doesn't include texting and does include the usual smattering of shady surcharges; realistically, you're probably looking at a minimum of 80 bucks a month. If you want 5GB of data per month instead of 3GB, the cost goes up by $20 -- giving you a grand total of at least $100 a month with all the various fees.

This is precisely why I say most people will do better by going prepaid.

(T-Mobile's standard plans are a bit less painful but still generally less beneficial to most customers than the prepaid alternatives.)

0 Jill Kelley, key figure in David Petraeus scandal, led lavish life

 

When Jill Kelley believed a reporter was trespassing at her white-columned mansion in a wealthy neighborhood this week, the Tampa socialite called 911 and claimed diplomatic immunity.

"I'm an honorary consul general, so I have inviolability," an exasperated Kelley told the dispatcher in recordings released by police. "I don't know if you want to get diplomatic protection involved as well."

Kelley isn't a diplomat; she holds the ceremonial title of "honorary consul" for South Korea, one of many informal ties to prestige and power that the energetic 37-year-old mother of three has brandished to climb to the top rungs of the social ladder in this conservative military community.

Kelley, the wife of a cancer surgeon, has a thin resume, a troubled family, shaky finances and a reputation for being, as one acquaintance here put it, "Tampa Kardashian." Now she is central to an unfolding scandal that has forced out David H. Petraeus as CIA director, threatens the career of Marine Gen. John Allen, commander of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan, and cast previously unknown figures and a sex affair into international notoriety.

Kelley's complaint to the FBI last summer that she was being harassed by email triggered the investigation that uncovered Petraeus' extramarital affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, author of those emails. The inquiry also uncovered what the Pentagon has called 20,000 to 30,000 pages of possibly "inappropriate communication" between Kelley and Allen, whose nomination to a prestigious assignment overseeing all NATO military has been put on hold.

Allen "intends to fully cooperate with the inspector general investigators and directed his staff to do the same," his lawyer, Col. John Baker, the chief defense counsel of the Marine Corps, said in a statement Wednesday. "To the extent there are questions about certain communications by Gen. Allen, he shares in the desire to resolve those questions as completely and quickly as possible."

The Army suspended Broadwell's security clearance, which gave her access to classified information. She is a lieutenant colonel and intelligence officer in the Army Reserve.

President Obama said at a White House news conference that he had seen "no evidence at this point" that classified information had been compromised, but noted that the FBI investigation was continuing. He praised Petraeus, who resigned Friday, for his "extraordinary career" in the military and CIA. "We are safer because of the work Dave Petraeus has done," he said.

From 2008 to 2010, Petraeus headed Central Command, which runs U.S. military operations in the Middle East, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The command is based at MacDill Air Force Base, on a spit of land that juts into Tampa Bay. The base also is home to U.S. Special Operations Command and hosts representatives from 60 nations that joined together to fight terrorism after Sept. 11, 2001.

Balmy weather, a sparkling bay and a military-friendly population have made Tampa a welcome posting for officers and a favorite spot for retirees like Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, who led the 1991 Persian Gulf War. The late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner had a booth at the Palm steakhouse, where his caricature adorns the wall — along with those of two other regulars, Scott and Jill Kelley.

Life here was a step up for Jill Kelley. Born in Beirut, she moved in the mid-1970s with her family to northeast Philadelphia, where they were the "oddballs" in a mostly Irish and German neighborhood, said Kelley's brother, David Khawam. The family opened restaurants in the area, he told reporters.

Scott and Jill Kelley moved to Tampa about a decade ago when Scott, who specializes in surgery foresophageal cancer, was hired by a local hospital. In June 2004, they purchased a 5,500-square-foot red-brick home on Bayshore Boulevard in the city's ritziest neighborhood.

With her dark tresses, high-wattage smile and gregarious personality, Kelley was a natural hostess. She became known for holding Champagne-and-caviar parties on a manicured front lawn, complete with billowing white tents and valet parking. Civic leaders rubbed shoulders with military brass from MacDill, a base so crucial to the local economy that generals were treated like rock stars.

In some cases, they acted that way too.

In February 2010, Petraeus and his wife, Holly, attended their first Gasparilla Pirate Festival, a local version of Mardi Gras. He arrived at the Kelley home with a 28-motorcycle police escort and wore a long string of beads around his neck.

"They became close friends with the general," said former Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, who was a guest at multiple Kelley bashes. "The parties were purely social. It was a way, particularly with the coalition members, to just be a gracious hostess, to say, 'We're glad you're in Tampa.' There's nothing more to it than that."

Allen and Petraeus stayed in close touch with Kelley after they left Tampa. Although it might seem odd for a general running a war to stay in touch with a hostess back home, it's not unusual in the military world, where officers and their families frequently move and need to promote good relations with community leaders.

"She was part of that social connective tissue for generals and flag officers," said one officer.

Two years ago, Kelley strapped herself into a harness and made a tandem parachute jump with Special Operations troops, another official said. She was named an "honorary ambassador" by allied countries at Central Command and even secured a pass that allowed her to enter MacDill during daylight hours without an escort. That pass was revoked this week.

Even before the scandal broke, she had begun to wear out her welcome, flooding senior officers' inboxes with emails and requests for help organizing her social functions. Her constant presence caused some officers' aides to worry about the appearance of an attractive, outgoing woman cozying up to senior military leaders.

Kelley had other ambitions as well.

At the Republican National Convention in Tampa in August, New York energy entrepreneur Adam Victor was introduced to Kelley. She was described as "a very close friend of Gen. Petraeus," who had helped Kelley become South Korea's honorary consul.

Victor, who was looking to establish a major coal project in South Korea, invited Kelley to New York in mid-September. There, she again played up her Petraeus ties. Victor then flew Kelley to Hawaii to meet with a South Korean delegation to help pave the way for negotiations.

But then, Victor said, Kelley asked for 2% of the gross cost of the project for her compensation. Informed that would mean a fee of about $80 million, Kelley persisted until Victor ended the relationship. An industry standard compensation would be no more than $1 million, Victor said.

"It was such an astronomical figure that it suggested she had no experience in negotiating these types of deals," Victor said. "Gen. Petraeus had a lapse in judgment in using his influence to put her in that position."

The Kelleys were making questionable business decisions and falling into financial trouble at home as well.

In 2007, the Kelleys, along with Jill's twin sister, Natalie Khawam, founded the Doctor Kelley Cancer Foundation to "conduct cancer research and to grant wishes to terminally ill cancer patients." The charity filed just one tax return, saying it had raised $157,284 in 2007.

None of the three drew a salary — Scott Kelley said he was devoting 30 hours a week to the charity — but most of the money went for expenses, including $43,317 for meals and entertainment, $36,610 for travel and $5,000 for telephone costs. By the time the return was filed, the charity was already defunct, records show.

The Kelleys formed a property company, Kelley Land Holdings, but in 2010 Central Bank brought a foreclosure suit against them involving an office building they'd purchased in downtown Tampa. Public records showed they owed the bank $2.2 million. A judge ordered the property put up for sale last year.

They also fell behind in payments on their Bayshore Boulevard home, with Regions Bank filing a lawsuit in 2010 saying it was owed $1.7 million and hadn't received any payments since September 2009. They remain in arrears.

Khawam also had legal troubles with a contentious divorce and debts totaling more than $3.6 million. She owed $800,000 to the Kelleys, $600,000 to a St. Petersburg, Fla., man and $53,000 to the IRS. She said she had sold a $15,000 sable coat and a $25,000 Rolex watch and used the proceeds to live on, according to court records.

City police also received dozens of calls from the Kelleys. Their police file, released Wednesday, fills nearly 100 pages, with reports of bike thefts, burglaries, prowlers and harassing callers.

On Tuesday, Tampa police released recordings of five 911 calls placed by the Kelleys since Sunday that complained about trespassers.

Kelley remained secluded in her house Wednesday. A throng of TV cameras waited outside, hoping for a shot of her driving her Mercedes 500 sedan with the license plate "1JK" and an emblem that reads "Honorary Consul."

0 Not letting whooping cough gain ground

Whooping cough is making a comeback. The good news is that it can be prevented and treated when it's caught early. According to whoopingcough.net, "Whooping cough is a contagious bacterial disease chiefly affecting children and characterized by convulsive coughs followed by a whoop."

The "whooping" sound is the noise a person's voice box makes when they can take a breath again after the coughing subsides.

Whooping cough is more severe than an ordinary cough and early on it can be difficult to tell the difference between the two, says Dr. Richard Krieger, chairman of the Infection Control Committee at Chilton Hospital.

"In the first one to two weeks of the illness, it can look like a common cold," Krieger says, explaining, "Unless there is a history of exposure to a family member or other close contact with whooping cough, it is very hard to differentiate at this point. When the cough develops, it generally occurs as severe paroxysms (sudden attacks) which can be followed by characteristic "whoop" (typically in children 6 months to 5 years old) on inhalation after a coughing spell. If a cough lasts over 14 days in the setting of an outbreak, that raises suspicion.

"There are lab tests that can identify the infection or the bacteria (bordetella pertussis) can be identified on culture of respiratory secretions, but these tests will not give an immediate diagnosis, as it may take days to get the results," Krieger says. "Generally, x-rays are not helpful.

"Whooping cough is very contagious. Up to 80 to 90 percent of susceptible persons who are exposed to it will develop the infection," states Krieger.

The good news is that whooping cough is preventable. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website (cdc.gov), the United States has seen more than 32,000 cases and 16 deaths from whooping cough in recent years.

The CDC recommends that the best way to prevent whooping cough in children is to immunize them with the vaccine DTap (diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis). This vaccine is normally given in five increments, the first three doses given to children at 2, 4 and 6 months of age; the fourth dose between 15 and 18 months; and, the last dose between 4 to 6 years old. Adults and children 11 – 12 years of age should have the Tdap booster for continued prevention.

Krieger concurs wit the CDC guidelines and recommends that adults receive booster shots every 10 years, whether it is given in conjunction with a tetanus shot or not.

"A few years ago, the state of New Jersey made it a requirement for children entering middle school to receive the Tdap booster before sixth grade," says Donna Dericks, school nurse at Hillview Elementary School in Pompton Plains. "Fortunately, I've only seen maybe two cases of whooping cough in the past five years."

If someone does contract whooping cough, Krieger says that "antibiotic therapy, such as Erythromycin or Clarithromycin, will help if given early in the course of the infection. However, usually by the time the characteristic cough develops it is too late to have an effect on the course of the illness, though it can at least decrease the period of contagiousness.
"In the general population, there has been a rise in whooping cough cases in recent years. Adults generally don't get too sick from whooping cough that they can't function. Healthy older children won't get disabled from the cough, but they do tend to spread it. Whooping cough is much more serious in young children. Immunization is the way to go to prevent whooping cough."