News You Can't Make Up Even If You Tried

China has issued regulations banning reinarnation without permission. Had the big Newsweek banner not been at the top, I would have sworn I was reading the Onion:

In one of history's more absurd acts of totalitarianism, China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission. According to a statement issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the law, which goes into effect next month and strictly stipulates the procedures by which one is to reincarnate, is "an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation."

The purpose, of course, is to limit the influence of the Dalai Lama, but it seems a bit absurd to regulate teh afterlife.

Perhaps China should spend a little more time regulating this life, say their toy manufacturing practices, and get that right before trying to regulate the next life.