Word: collectible
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...fact, the Coast Guard has no primary mission--and it may be its eclectic history that explains its success in dealing with Katrina. For 215 years, it has always had to manage a litany of unrelated chores. The Revenue Cutter Service was established by Alexander Hamilton to collect taxes from a brand new nation of patriot smugglers. When the officers were out at sea, they were told to crack down on piracy; while they were at it, they might as well rescue anyone in distress. They made their first drug bust in 1890. Over the years, the Coast Guard fought...
Charming British accent? Check. Tuxedo-ready shoulders? Check. Minimal prior blockbuster experience? Check. Liverpudlian DANIEL CRAIG, 37, possessed all the prerequisites to collect the next license to kill from the producers of the James Bond films last week. He also brings one novel quality to the $4 billion franchise: a blond pate--less obvious here, thanks to hair gel and lighting. The naming of Craig, best known for his roles in last year's gangster caper Layer Cake and as Paul Newman's son in 2002's Road to Perdition, ends the papal-succession-like speculation about who will play...
...taxation reforms of 1993, China's central government has taken the majority of tax revenue for itself and has left many local institutions without sufficient resources. In small, poor places, cadres want better working conditions, better incomes and better education. Since they don't get money from Beijing, they collect it from the farmers, many of whom are too poor to pay fees, taxes and other levies. This burden has been a classic cause of rural unrest. Faced with excessive fees, farmers complain to higher authorities, petition Beijing, sue the local government or, in more radical cases, surround government buildings...
Historically, rankings have been, for the most part, a force for good. Before the first U.S. News rankings in 1983, schools did not systematically collect reliable data like selectivity and graduation rates, and those that did refused to make them public. By providing more information to parents, applicants, counselors, and universities themselves, college rankings demystified the admissions process to a large extent and became not only a useful, but perhaps even an entirely honorable, enterprise...
...pulls out Sohil's identity card and strokes the photograph of a strikingly beautiful boy, whose date of birth makes him 14. "He wanted to be a shopkeeper. He used to collect toffees and candles and toys to open his first shop with. I guess they're buried with...