It's not your common or garden peace dividend. But the name Jollibee resonates so strongly in the Philippines that when President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in her annual address to the nation applauded the army's success in tackling Muslim insurgents, she described how the Philippines' home-grown fast-food chain has now opened a store in the heart of the rebels' old stomping grounds.

The Jollibee outlet on Basilan island, the home of the Abu Sayyaf militant group in the deep south of the country, is Jollibee Foods' 500th store. Like all the rest, it offers slightly sweetened spaghetti topped with sliced hot-dogs, ...

Glorious state vistas becoming big garbage heap

President Jefferson believed that "government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves." A noble belief to be sure. But given the undisciplined behavior of countless numbers of illegal dumpers - locals and tourists - in Greater Sedona, the Red Rock Ranger District of the Coconino National Forest, the Prescott National Forest and the Verde Valley, it is, sad to say, empty rhetoric.

Time was when public lands were used for recreation, camping, partying and, around Sedona, vision quests and New Age ceremonies. These days, however, hikers on many of Sedona's most majestic trails, the area's greatest tourist attraction, encounter illegal dump sites, construction debris, toxic paint cans, rusted computers and even a boat, a 25-foot fiberglass fishing boat.

County finances main issue facing commission election

Callaway County planning and zoning and a half-cent sales tax are two hot topics facing the County Commission in 2007, and two men hope to be at the helm when the election dust settles.

Newcomer Russell Nelson squares off against incumbent Presiding Commissioner Lee Fritz in November's government elections. Fritz is seeking his fourth four-year term and Nelson is entering politics for the first time.A central issue facing next year's commission is resolving the county's stagnated revenues as expenses continue to rise. Approximately $750,000 was eliminated from this year's Road and Bridge budget; and if changes are not made soon, transportation maintenance and projects will continue to decline.A half-cent sales tax has been proposed by the commissioners to raise funds for the Road and Bridge and public-safety departments.

Letters to the Editor

Sir, Jerry Latham (letter, Oct 14) says of General Sir Richard Dannatt that “he is a government employee”. Perhaps Mr Latham has been under the influence of our cousins across the water too long: the British Army does not form part of the British Government (neither does the Civil Service).

If the “State” was what was meant, then Mr Latham should bear in mind that the highest duty of army commanders — of any agent of “the State” — is to the country and its people (including soldiers and their families).

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