Magic Statistics

Six Baptists arrested in an August raid on an unregistered place of worship in Qarshi in southern Uzbekistan have been fined.  The court also ordered seized Bibles and hymn books burned.

Two pastors were fined the equivalent of US$438—a significant sum in the impoverished country—and four church members received smaller fines.

Christian literature seized during a 27 August raid on the church – one Bible, 21 copies of the "Wisdom of Solomon" (the Old Testament Book of Proverbs in Uzbek), one copy of the "Song of resurrection", eight copies of the hymnbook "Jesus' youth" (published by the Baptists' Christian publishing house), and seven copies of the Baptist magazine "Herald of Truth" – was burnt on court orders.

Judge Alisher Jalilov of the town's criminal court fined the Baptists under Article 240 of Uzbekistan's Code of Administrative Offences, which punishes "breaking the law on religious organisations". Those fined are members of the Council of Churches Baptists, who reject registration in all the former Soviet republics where they operate as they believe it leads to unwarranted state interference in their communities' internal religious life.

Forum 18, an Oslo-based organisation that monitors religious freedom, says that literature confiscated from unregistered religious groups is routinely ordered burned in such cases, even though possession of Bibles is not illegal and Uzbek law does not empower authorities to have seized books burned.  An official with Uzbekistan's Religious Affairs Committee told Forum 18 that unapproved literature is sent back to the country of origin.

Last year Forum 18 reported that Christian literature confiscated from an unregistered Baptist group was ordered burned.  At the same time, copies of the New Testaments were also grabbed.

Earlier this month, a Pentecostal church in Tashkent, Uzbekistan's capital, was raided by thirty police who took away hundreds of videotapes and audiotapes without cause.

Another Pentecostal church in the capital has been abruptly informed that its registration must be renewed within thirty days, or it will be stripped of its legal status.  Given the torpidity of Uzbek bureaucracy, the church's registration will certainly lapse, at which time all its activities will become illegal.

h/t: Mere Comments

Previous related post: Uzbekistan: We're a free country, so butt out!

The growth rate of carbon dioxide emissions has more than doubled since the 1990s.  Atmospheric concentrations of CO2 have also climbed at extraordinary levels in the past five years.

CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research scientist, Mike Raupach, said that from 2000 to 2005, the growth rate of carbon dioxide emissions was more than 2.5 per cent per year. "In the 1990s it was less than one per cent per year."

In 2005, 7.9 billion tonnes of carbon were emitted into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
. . .
Paul Fraser, also from CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, said the findings were supported by measurements of carbon dioxide levels in the air, which grew by two parts per million in 2005.

This was the fourth year in a row of above-average growth, Dr Fraser said. "To have four years in a row of above-average carbon dioxide growth is unprecedented."

CO2 emissions and CO2 atmospheric concentrations have both risen at unprecedented rates for the past five years.  Why then has there been no significant change in global temperatures since 1998?  That doesn’t make sense.  Shouldn’t the planet be frying by now?

h/t: Greenie Watch

Previous related posts:

• Europe’s GHG emissions increase again
• CO2 emissions up in Europe, stable in US
• Has global warming been oversold?

The Conservative Party has reinstituted a policy from the last federal election in time for today's London, Ontario, by-election.  Tory candidate Dianne Haskett has declined to respond to questionnaires on the abortion issue.  LifeSiteNews says this is because of orders from party headquarters and has received an internal memo to support the charge.

LifeSiteNews.com has learned that the Conservative Party of Canada is once again enforcing a policy barring its candidates from responding to questionnaires that would allow voters to cast an informed vote on issues of importance to them.  The party policy is especially targeted at the controversial abortion issue. Despite denials by Conservative Party officials, the policy was in place during the last federal election in January and LifeSiteNews.com obtained a memo from party headquarters forbidding candidates to answer a pro-life questionnaire.
. . .
The Conservative candidate in the London, Ontario riding where a federal bi-election is currently underway is unexpectedly refusing to answer questionnaires from life and family groups which could be among her strongest supporters.  Dianne Haskett is the only one of seven candidates refusing to answer questionnaires from Citizen Impact London which focussed on family issues and from Campaign Life Coalition which focussed on life issues.

The Conservative Party's decision to bring back its unwritten policy of not allowing candidates to answer abortion questionnaires clearly inhibits voters' ability to take into account valuable information when deciding how to cast their ballots.  Stop pressuring candidates to avoid responding to questionnaires concerning this important social and political issue.

This post is part of a blogburst organised by Big Blue Wave to coincide with the London by-election.

Previous related posts:

• Impossible for Canada to be more extreme on abortion
• Abortion: Risk factor for “major depressive illness”
• Abortion: Risk factor for breast cancer