Anime and manga legend Hayao Miyazaki has directed sharp criticism toward Japan’s newly-elected Prime Minister, Taro Aso. Seems Miyazaki isn’t fond of Aso’s conservatism, and sees his avowed love of all things otaku as a cynical attempt to make himself more palatable to Japanese centrists.

Prime Minister Taro Aso, a conservative and often gruff political veteran, has tried to soften his image by casting himself as someone who understands the culture of “otaku” (geeks) whose hobbies border on obsession.

But Miyazaki said Aso had no need to advertise his earnest reading of comics.

“I think it’s a shame. It’s something that he should do secretly,” the 67-year-old Oscar-winning animator told reporters Thursday when asked about Aso’s public declarations of admiration for Japanese comics and animation.

Aso chose Tokyo’s Akihabara district, a noted centre for Japan’s comic book subculture, for his first street speech after taking office in September, hailing comics and complaining he could not find enough time to read them.

Miyazaki said Japan should create a proper environment for children rather than building bridges and roads to stimulate the economy.

He warned Japanese children today were surrounded by virtual reality such as television, video games and e-mail.

“I feel a big contradiction as what we are doing may be depriving children of their power,” he said. “But I want to continue this job, believing it is also a happy experience that a child has an unforgettable movie.”

I really don’t have it in me to be snarky about this, so I’ll let the original material speak for itself - suffice to say that religion and governments make really shitty bedfellows.

Last year the Chinese passed a law that gives Beijing the power to approve the reincarnation of living Buddhas or lamas, of whom the Dalai Lama is the highest in the Tibetan hierarchy.

In turn, the Dalai Lama has raised the possibility to forgo his rebirth, or to be reborn while still alive so that he, not China, can choose his successor.

Reincarnation, the migration of the soul from one body to another in a continuous process of rebirth so that lamas or senior monks can carry on their religious work, is a basic tenet of Tibetan Buddhism.

The current 14th Dalai Lama who is considered a reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, was discovered, through various forms of rituals and divination, while still a young boy, more than two years after the death of the previous Dalai Lama.

But while the issues of afterlife and rebirth seem like ones of strictly religious belief, for China’s rulers, they also involve the deadly business of political control over Tibet. The current Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize-winner, has become an international icon and the peaceful face of Tibet’s struggle for autonomy.

There is a fear among some observers that the Dalai Lama’s death could trigger even more violent uprisings than the recent riots that challenged Chinese communist rule last March.

If I may be blatantly partisan for a moment, I’m pleased to see that my fellow Ohioans handed over their 20 electoral votes to Barack Obama. Nicely done, neighbor-folk. I hate you just a little less right now.

Today’s the day - for us Americans anyway. No matter what political views you have, get out there and put them in action…no doubt some of us will spend a good long time standing in lines, but don’t let that dissuade you. That’s what they make PSP’s and iPhone’s for! Or, uhm, books. Yeah, those are good for killing time too. (Not so much for killing brain cells - although some books are better at that than others.)

Anyway, get off your lazy butt and make your opinion count…!

Tibetan spiritual leader Tenzin Gyatso, better known as the Dalai Lama, has apparently given up hope that China will come to some sort of agreement on Tibet. I can’t say I’m surprised. China is supremely recalcitrant, especially with regards to land masses they consider to be their property - and the Dalai Lama is nothing if not a realist.

One wonders if the recent death of his brother has affected his outlook, as well. Either way, it’s sad to see Tibet’s most ardent proponent throwing in the towel.

[...]it appears that after decades of fruitless negotiations with Beijing as part of an attempt to gain some concessions for his homeland, the 15th Dalai Lama may have finally reached the end of his tether. “Mr. Patience has run out of patience,” says Robbie Barnett, a professor of Tibetan studies at Columbia University in New York City. “It’s really very serious indeed and a major disappointment, though not so much of a surprise. The Chinese must have know this was coming — some of the responsible officials in fact must be very pleased that they have managed to provoke this reaction. Now they can say that it was the other side that broke off negotiations, and claim the moral high ground.”

The eighth round of talks between Beijing officials and the Dalai Lama’s representatives was scheduled for late October. It’s not clear how the statements by the Dalai Lama will affect them. On the day after the speech, the Tibetan leader’s spokesman Tenzin Taklha told reporters that the talks were set to go forward as scheduled, stressing the need to “keep the door to dialog open.” Taklha also confirmed that the Dalai Lama had called a consultative meeting of exiled Tibetans for mid-November at which the group’s approach to achieving their goal of a freer Tibet would be completely examined from the ground up. He said “everything will be on the table” for reconsideration except the fundamental principle of non-violence.

Did anyone watch the debate on Friday night? No, not the one where your parents spat expletives at each other after drinking copious amounts of alcohol - the one between John McCain and Barack Obama.

During the debate, McCain brought up the height-gap between presumptively healthy South Koreans and impoverished North Koreans…and while I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on that one, I was interested to read this article from the New York Times about a similar difference between Americans (presumably slobs who feed their kids Happy Meals three times a day) and Europeans (who probably eat nothing but caviar and Weetabix).

While the conditions for North Koreans are troubling, Americans have a similar height gap to worry about, and it also appears to be due to a lower standard of living, poor health care and inadequate nutrition. Last summer, the journal Social Science Quarterly reported that Americans are, quite literally, falling short of Europeans. In 1880, Americans were the tallest people in the world. But by 2000, American men, at an average height of 5-feet-10.5-inches, ranked 9th, and women, at about 5-feet-5-inches, fell to 15th. Several Northern European countries rank the highest in height, with the Dutch coming in first, at just over 6 feet for the men and 5-feet-7-inches for the women.

The height gap between Americans and Northern Europeans can’t be explained by an influx of short immigrants. Experts say the United States takes in too few immigrants to account for the disparity, and the height statistics cited in the article include only English-speaking native-born Americans, and don’t include people of Asian and Hispanic descent.

‘Too few immigrants?’ Good thing they brought that up, because I was sure McCain would have blamed our shrinking height-advantage on lax immigration laws passed by dirty liberals.

Otaku-friendly right-wing politician Taro Aso has been elected Prime Minister of Japan. Whether this will result in new trade regulations prompting a tide of hentai and vinyl figures onto U.S. markets is unclear - but is a much-hoped for result, if you ask me.

Aso has also managed a rare feat among LDP members — he’s popular among the young. He’s an avid fan of “manga” comic books, and has spent years arguing that Japan should use its pop culture as a diplomatic tool.

Snap elections, however, would be a major gamble for the party, which is bleeding public support and facing widespread anger over mismanagement of pension funds and a general dissatisfaction with the status quo.

“This could be the beginning of the end of the LDP,” said Jiro Yamaguchi, a political scientist at Hokkaido University. “Aso cannot be another Koizumi. He has no clear policies — just look at his Cabinet lineup, which looks like he only invited his friends.”

Taro Aso, the Japanese politician known for his love of all things otaku (I wonder what kind of vinyl toy collection he has) has been elected leader of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party, bringing him one step closer to attaining the position of Prime Minister.

Aso, 68, a former foreign minister and grandson of a prominent prime minister, received 351 of the 525 votes cast in the Liberal Democratic Party ballot. His triumph over four rivals had been widely expected.

The former Olympic skeetshooter immediately vowed to rejuvenate his troubled party and lead it to victory in as-yet-unscheduled elections in the powerful lower house of parliament.

“Who else but our party can achieve policies in order to address the public’s concerns?” Aso said at LDP headquarters. “I am committed to winning the elections and take a further step to achieve economic recovery and pursue reforms.”

When McCain announced Sarah Palin as his running mate, I kept thinking she looked familiar - and it hit me just a minute ago…

…and so as not to play favorites…

North Korea, take a word from the wise - just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean they’re not after you.

“We see such reports as not only worthless, but rather as a conspiracy plot,” Song told Kyodo in what the agency said was North Korea’s first reaction to the reports. “Western media have reported falsehoods before,” he said, according to the report from Pyongyang.

It was not the first time North Korea sent a message to the outside world through Kyodo. Kim Yong Nam also gave the news organization an interview two days after North Korea carried out its first-ever nuclear test blast in 2006.

In another indication that the North’s leader is alive, Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency said Kim sent a birthday greeting Wednesday to Syria’s leader.