Keepers of the Lost Ark?

A fascinating piece in the Smithsonian.

Monks lead largest Burma protest

This just in from the BBC:

Tens of thousands of monks and civilians around Burma have held the biggest protest marches against the military government yet. Eyewitnesses say up to 100,000 people marched peacefully through Rangoon with monks demanding better living conditions and national reconciliation. The military government has so far showed restraint over the protests. Monks are highly revered in Burma and any move by the junta to crush their demonstrations would spark an outcry.

Monks seize troops in Burma town

Yes, folks, you read that headline correctly. The BBC reports:

Twenty Burmese security officials who were taken captive for several hours by Buddhist monks have been released. The officials arrived at the monastery in the town of Pakokku to apologise for injuries caused during a protest on Wednesday... but angry monks set fire to their vehicles and refused to let them leave.... The officials were freed after a senior abbot intervened.

Reality is far stranger than fiction.