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— The cost of basic equipment that soldiers carry into battle — helmets, rifles, body armor — has more than tripled to $25,000 from $7,000 in 1999.

— The cost of a Humvee, with all the added armor, guns, electronic jammers and satellite-navigational systems, has grown seven-fold to about $225,000 a vehicle from $32,000 in 2001.

— The cost of paying and training troops has grown 60 percent to about $120,000 per soldier, up from $75,000 in 2001. On the reserve side, such costs have doubled since 2001, to about $34,000 per soldier.

Source

NEW YORK – The organizers of the Miss USA pageant said Thursday they are evaluating the “behavioral and personal issues” of the reigning winner and will decide her future within a week.

Pageant officials and Donald Trump, who co-owns the Miss Universe Organization with NBC, would not say what Kentucky native Tara Conner, 20, had done to prompt the serious evaluation.

“I can’t really talk about it now,” Trump said. “But we have to make a decision. There is no question about that.”

Internet gossip Web site TMZ.com reported that pageant officials and NBC met Tuesday to discuss Conner’s alleged bad behavior, “including her conduct at New York City bars.” The Web site did not name its sources.

Miss USA is considered a role model and must act accordingly, said Lark-Marie Anton, spokeswoman for the Miss Universe Organization, which produces the Miss USA pageant. Behavior such as underage drinking is clearly prohibited, she said.

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Yesterday in the mail was my 10th and 11th Christmas card since starting my little BagOfNothing experiment. 

Card #10 is my third out of state card coming from Lynn of Florida.  Lynn is hoping for many more BON posts – I’m pretty sure I can deliver on that request.

Card #11 is my second Canadian card, and this one is even partially written in French.  It is from Lyna of Montreal, who writes a nice letter full of warmth.  She also recently lost her mother, so here’s praying that the Holy Spirit will fill any emptiness in our hearts come this Christmas.

 

Watch it here.