Demagogue

It's tough being an ex-Dutch colony these days. People here have been making donations to flood relief in Suriname (where the U.S. government is also helping out). Meanwhile, Indonesians are waiting for Gunung Merapi to erupt. Mrs. California and I climbed this volcano overnight 15 years ago to witness sunrise from the summit (a popular side trip for young Western tourists in Yogyakarta). The last time it erupted, in 1994, it killed 66 people. If there's a really big one this time, expect the U.S. media to discover the existence of a country with more than 100 million people stretching out into the Pacific from Southeast Asia. Also expect to hear the phrase "the world's largest Muslim country" many times.