Canada's smartest stripper:

http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2006/05/19/suzuki-nude.html

I feel proud to be a Canadian when I think about this news story:

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/05/051806mounties.htm

This is an amusing news story about the Saskatchewan Party:

http://www.cbc.ca/sask/story/sask-spelling060517.html?ref=rss

Poem: "Easter Morning," by Jim Harrison.

Reprinted with permission of the poet.

Easter Morning

On Easter morning all over America
the peasants are frying potatoes in bacon grease.

We're not supposed to have "peasants"
but there are tens of millions of them
frying potatoes on Easter morning,
cheap and delicious with catsup.

If Jesus were here this morning he might
be eating fried potatoes with my friend
who has a '51 Dodge and a '72 Pontiac.

When his kids ask why they don't have
a new car he says, "these cars were new once
and now they are experienced."

He can fix anything and when rich folks
call to get a toilet repaired he pauses
extra hours so that they can further
learn what we're made of.


I told him that in Mexico the poor say
that when there's lightning the rich
think that God is taking their picture.
He laughed.

Like peasants everywhere in the history
of the world ours can't figure out why
they're getting poorer. Their sons join
the army to get work being shot at.

Your ideals are invisible clouds
so try not to suffocate the poor,
the peasants, with your sympathies.
They know that you're staring at them.

Here are some Buddhist words of wisdom.

Before, this mind went wandering
however it pleased,wherever it wanted,
by whatever way that it liked.
Today I will hold it aptly in check--
as one wielding a goad, an elephant in rut.

-Dhammapada, 23, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

I hope that progressive members of the Anglican church will prevail:

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/05/051606anglican.htm

Here's a game for people who like to travel:

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/cities/game.cfm

This is an update about Mt. Merapi, the volcano in Indonesia that is about to erupt.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2006/05/16/merapi-tuesday.html?ref=rss

Suharto ruled Indonesia when I visited it in 1986 and 1993. Unfortunately, many of the fascinating countries that I've visited in Asia have or had oppressive governments.


Suharto in critical condition
Last Updated Mon, 15 May 2006 18:26:01 EDT
CBC News

Former Indonesian dictator Suharto reportedly remains in a critical condition and is in danger of a stroke due to complications from his heart medication.

INDEPTH: Indonesia

The head of his medical team, Dr. Marjo Subandiono, says the medicine taken by Suharto improves blood circulation but it has also caused bleeding in his kidney. He says that although conscious, Suharto remains in critical condition.

Suharto, 84, underwent a stomach operation to relieve pressure from gas and fluid on Thursday following an earlier operation last Sunday for intestinal problems.

The former president has been hospitalized several times in the past for the same condition, as well as for stroke and heart problems. Suharto ruled Indonesia for more than three decades, stepping down amid mounting unrest in 1998.

Indonesia's attorney general announced on Friday that a corruption case against Suharto, who is accused of embezzling billions of dollars of state assets during his 32-year rule, had been dropped due to his deteriorating health.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

I like this cartoon:

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/uclickcomics/20060516/cx_crbc_uc/crbc20060516

Here's an amusing news story:

http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2006/05/15/bbc-mixup-interview.html

There's never a shortage of news stories about the self righteous hierarchy of the Roman Catholic church. By the way, I realize that there are many progressive and open minded Roman Catholics. Unfortunately, they're rarely in positions of power within the church.

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/05/051406catholic.htm

This is the latest news about the volcano in Indonesia, including a photo:

http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2006/05/15/indonesia-volcano-monday.html?ref=rss

I saw the Mt. Merapi volcano (from a distance) when I visited Indonesia in 1986 and 1993. It's unfortunate that something so beautiful can be so dangerous, which can also be said about some people, I guess!

Indonesians defy order to leave volcano's fiery slopes

Last Updated Sun, 14 May 2006 12:58:17 EDT
CBC News

Thousands of people living near Mount Merapi in Indonesia's central Java province are defying orders to evacuate their homes as scientists warn that the volcano may erupt soon, officials said Sunday.

Experts have said that the volcano could suddenly spew massive amounts of superheated avalanches of lava as far as 2,300 metres from the crater at temperatures of 1,000 C.

Government authorities have said that more than 30,000 people living in the danger zones must flee. On Saturday, the country raised the alert status of Merapi to the highest level, also known as "code red" or "danger" status.

FROM MAY 13, 2006: Indonesian volcano primed to erupt, experts warn

But by Sunday morning, only about 10,000 people had left for dozens of makeshift shelters scattered throughout the districts of Magelang, Klaten, Boyolali and Sleman.

Despite the warnings and lava flows that have been cascading down Merapi's slopes, other people began returning home because they were worried about their animals and crops.

Some said they would look for more signs from nature to tell them when to leave. Others preferred to follow the advice of local mystics.

The volcano, which is on Java Island about 400 kilometres southeast of Jakarta, began its ominous rumblings several weeks earlier.

Indonesia has the world's highest density of volcanoes, with 500 located in a "Ring of Fire" along the 5,000-kilometre-wide archipelago nation. Of these, 128 are active.

Merapi last erupted in 1994, sending out a searing cloud of gas that burned 60 people to death. About 1,300 people were killed when it erupted in 1930.