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...than 40% of government revenue came from vodka. The distillation process had improved (vodka was now filtered with charcoal and occasionally flavored), leading to increased consumption. By 1913, Russian citizens could boast one unlicensed, bootlegging distillery for every 10 households. Drunkenness was so rampant that in 1914, Czar Nicholas II took the drastic step of making alcohol illegal. (See "Fashions of the Russian Czars...
...midnight to mark the exact end of the year. The first ball to drop - an illuminated 400-pound iron-and-wood orb - was lowered from a flagpole. Tradition took root and the ball has heralded a new beginning almost every year since - in 1942 and 1943, during World War II, the ball was temporarily put out of commission by a war-time "dimout." Instead crowds gathered in the square and observed a moment of silence before hooting and hollering...
...part of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), an island nation in the western Pacific Ocean that was formerly part of a U.N. trust territory administered by the U.S. after World War II. Under an agreement signed in 1986, the islands were granted independence but citizens were given the right to live and work in the U.S. and serve in its military. Initially, few enlisted. But these days, U.S. military recruiters visit local high schools annually and students sign up in droves. For FSM youths, military service means money, adventure and opportunity, a way off tiny islands with few jobs...
...author invoked the triumphalist narrative of the U.S. and its western Allies winning World War II and later toppling communism. First of all, the Soviet Union and the Allies won World War II in concert. The U.S.S.R. lost over 25 million people in WW II, whereas Americans half a million. Secondly, the U.S.S.R. was collapsing without very much external influence - succumbing to pressures unrelated to U.S. policy whatsoever. The greatest feats are not always American ones. Nodira Karimova Queanbeyan, Australia...
Because Thursday's incident took place inside St. Peter's, and the Vatican is an independent city-state, it is up to the Pope whether a criminal investigation will proceed against Maiolo. Both Paul VI and John Paul II made a point of forgiving the men who tried to kill them. And though he didn't mention the incident during his Christmas day ceremony, Benedict is likely to make a point of forgiving what was a much less severe attack. Along with mixing amongst the faithful, forgiveness is part of the job description...