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James C. Scott writes powerfully in favour of marginalised peoples' refusal to be subjected to extracting rulers in The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia.

THE ART OF NOT BEING GOVERNED An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia by James C. Scott 337 Pages. Yale University Press

At the same time, Scott pinpoints the difficulties of states that have tried to wrest control over people constantly on-the-move. The anthropologist and political scientist draws extensively on works done by other scholars before him. But original and a source of the author's pride is his development of "friction of terrain" _ or the ruggedness of hill peoples' choice of environment and remoteness _ as a major constraint for state-making in pre-modern societies.

Looking back 2,000 years from the time of the Han Chinese state up until World War II, Scott covers people living in a mountainous area stretching from Central Vietnam across Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Burma and four provinces in the southwest of China to India and Bangladesh.

He credits William van Schendel with being the first to call this area Zomia in a paper published in 2002. He dwells at length on Edward Leach's 1954 study of minorities in the highlands of Burma, and pays tribute to Pierre Castre's 1987 paper on frontier peoples in South America. Duly cited is Thongchai Winichaikul's opus on the mapping of Siam.

In Southeast Asia, Scott says the upland peoples evaded rulers "to avoid incorporation into state structures" and escape "peasant status". Those on the move in Zomia included egalitarian Hmong or Miao, as well as the hierarchai Tai or Shan, who were widely dispersed through the area.

He says his discussion of the limits set by hill peoples' choice to stay distant from centres of power and in terrain difficult to reach is intended to generate a new way of understanding state space.

James C. Scott

Scott refuses to refer to the 80 to 100 ethinicities in Zomia as tribes "in the strong sense of the word". The book's longest chapter _ called Ethnogenesis _ spells out why as it elaborates on the hill people's origins and practices. Scott is witty and cites examples that should make sense to specialists and generalists. He emphasises the "symbiosis" of hill and valley peoples, and in particular, their mutual benefits in trade.

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The ultimate freedom

A train station is where passengers begin a journey, or change direction. For the past year, Freedom Station has been a place where San Diego sailors and Marines with broken bodies start their journey to a new life.

It looks much like many apartment complexes in old San Diego neighborhoods. A handful of cottages circle a courtyard.

But every detail is ready to pass a drill instructors inspection. The grass is military-style neat. There is a white picket fence in front of each door.

And the residents, most in their 20s, arent ordinary. Josue Barron is missing a leg above the knee, and one eye is glass and bears the emblem of his infantry unit 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines. Timothy Read also lost part of a leg, and one wrist bears scars where doctors stitched it back on after a roadside bomb blast.

Barron likes to sit on the small porch of his cottage in the afternoons. Other residents call out greetings as they come home from their doctors appointments.

Being combat wounded, with all these guys here, I felt comfortable. If I was living in any other neighborhood, I wouldnt be able to talk to my neighbors because they have nothing in common with me, said Barron, 22, who lives with his wife and their dog in the small house while waiting for his medical discharge.

Here, we all are transitioning, and we all have our own demons, said David Smith, 23, an injured Marine veteran who was one of Freedom Stations first residents. But were all doing it together, so its easier.

Operated by a grass roots San Diego nonprofit group, Freedom Station officially opened one year ago, on Memorial Day weekend.

Since that time, the quiet complex has been home to 15 injured service members, who were once resident patients at San Diego Naval Medical Center in Balboa Park. An additional 23 are on a waiting list.

Sandy Lehmkuhler was volunteering at the Navy hospital, one of the militarys national centers for amputee care, when she got the idea.

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Next stop for wounded vets: Freedom Station

Student Loans Company head Ed Lester will stand down when his contract expires next year in the wake of controversy over his tax arrangements.

Lester was paid through a company in order legally to reduce his liability for tax until ministers intervened in February this year.

The Student Loans Company said his contract expires at the end of January next year and work had begun to recruit his replacement.

A Student Loans Company spokeswoman said: "Ed Lester's two-year contract ends on 31 January 2013.

"The process to recruit his replacement is under way now to ensure that there is a smooth handover in the change of leadership at the Student Loans Company."

The arrangement for Lester's pay was disclosed in an HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) letter obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by Exaro News and BBC Newsnight.

Following the revelations in February, Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander said the way in which Lester received his 182,000 salary would be changed and launched a review of similar arrangements across Whitehall.

The review identified more than 2,400 cases of public sector staff being employed indirectly - some potentially avoiding full income tax for a decade or more.

Since January, 350 such contracts have been ended and tighter rules have now been introduced.

Yesterday Alexander said everyone in the public sector "should be on the payroll and paying the correct amount of tax".

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Student Loans Chief To Stand Down Over Tax Controversy

Since 1967, south Sacramento resident C.T. Weber has been registered as a third-party member and continuously fought for issues he feels are not being raised by the Democratic or Republican parties.

Many of the candidates say jobs are the top priority, but he said both parties have contributed to the bleak economic situation.

"Both Democrats and Republicans have switched the taxes from corporations and the rich over to the working class and poor people. We think if the super-rich would pay their fair share, the budget would be balanced," he said.

Weber said he would like to see a split roll tax, where commercial properties would have their property taxes increase at a higher rate than residential properties.

To reduce the state budget, Weber also recommended decreasing the number of people in prison for non-violent drug offenses.

"If they were put into a program outside of the prison system, it would save millions of dollars," he said.

One of the other main causes his party supports is state funding of elections to give all candidates a more even starting point.

"It would really open up the system. If we had a system that was fair and open, all four of our alternative parties would have members in the Assembly and Congress," he said.

Weber has been to Lodi to go winetasting, and said he imagines that agriculture issues are the top priority for the area.

In the past, Weber participated in acts of civil disobedience when necessary, and has been arrested for protesting education cuts and advocating for improved accessibility for those in wheelchairs.

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C.T. Weber, Peace and Freedom Party

PARKERSBURG - A letter written by attorney Andrew Woofter to Wood County Commission President Blair Couch about delinquent personal property taxes owed by Couch's former business was released pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by Couch's political opponent Harry Deitzler, officials said on Friday.

The Parkersburg News and Sentinel on Thursday reported taxes of $16,582 remain owed by A.W. Couch Inc., a car rental firm that ceased operation when the franchises in the area were taken over by the Hertz Corp. The debt was first reported two years ago.

Couch, a Republican and the incumbent county commissioner, in the November general election will face Deitzler, a former Wood County prosecutor who is with the Charleston law firm of Carper, Bee and Deitzler.

Wood County Prosecutor Jason Wharton Friday said the FOIA request was made around April 6.

"The FOIA request was from Harry Deitzler," Wharton said.

While Woofter, special counsel for the sheriff's tax office, on Wednesday said he believed the letter was privileged communications between attorney and client, Wharton said it was his opinion under FOIA that the letter was a "disclosable document."

The letter outlined a repayment plan with Couch, but was never mailed to Couch after the agreement was never approved by the tax office, Woofter said.

"The FOIA policy is to keep the public informed and disclosures are to be liberally construed. Looking at this particular document, although attorney/client privilege is recognized under FOIA, it was my opinion it was a disclosable document," Wharton said.

Wood County Sheriff Jeff Sandy said the FOIA request came to the tax office.

"The tax office is handled by chief tax deputy Dennie Huggins and we were advised by legal counsel, (Wood County Prosecutor) Jason Wharton, to release the letter. We were advised by the prosecutor that everything that we had in that file needed to be released pursuant to the FOIA request," Sandy said.

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Delinquent tax letter released pursuant to FOIA