Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Shotgun

A couple of things, today. No real theme, and the promised rundown of Xmas songs has yet to occur. However, a sneak preview: Christmas at Ground Zero makes the list.
Pastor forced sex on women, jury told: My favourite part is the pigeon bit. That's some Old Testament shit, there. But the biggest revelation in this story? This guy likes GIRLS!

Dad charged in teen's death: This guy's first mistake was emigrating to Canada. If you want to beat your disobedient daughter to death (*cough*honour killing*cough*), stay in Saudi Arabia. Or whatever. What should Canadian authorities do to this guy? I say 200 lashes and a public beheading. And 60 lashes for his son.

Serial-killer Pickton has no chance of parole for 25 years: You know how in the movies, serial killers always kill the sinners and think they're acting on god's behalf? Welcome to East Van.

That's it for tonight. Happy Solstice, all!




4 comments:

Anonymous said...

About the "honor" killing, given that there's no getting back Aqsa, I hope all involved are punished as they would be for any other kind of murder. No special treatment.

Ellen R. Sheeley, Author
"Reclaiming Honor in Jordan"

Father Shaggy said...

I agree. My tongue was planted firmly in my cheek. You just can't see it. In Canada, we don't cotton to this type of behaviour. And the worst part about the joke is that in nations where "honour" killings usually happen, the punishment I suggested would be far too severe, I think, for the father.

People here are shocked. There are three articles in the Star today about it:

http://www.thestar.com/article/284824

http://www.thestar.com/article/284823

http://www.thestar.com/article/284796

First about the murder, the second about the father & brother, and finally about how this is just the tip of the iceberg. In all honesty, I'm surprised it hasn't happened sooner.

And as a correction, the family is from Pakistan.

Karen Tintori said...

No, it is not our "custom" in North America to murder our women for real or imagined infractions of family "honor." And when newcomers to our countries break our laws, commit heinous murders, we need to speak out and speak up and prosecute and punish the crimes to the full extent of our laws.

To remain silent or to refuse to acknowledge the crime as one of "honor," is an abhorrent disregard for basic human rights.

Karen Tintori, author
Unto the Daughters: The Legacy of an Honor Killing in a Sicilian-American Family
www.karentintori.com

Father Shaggy said...

Quite right. I can only assume that Aqsa's family emigrated to Canada for a myriad of reasons, including more opportunities for the children.

And to be honest, it's still conjecture that this is the reason for her death. All we know is that he strangled her, and that her brother interfered with the investigation. It doesn't look good, I'll admit, but there is not proof yet that this was an honour killing.

It's a fine line that immigrant families walk, some fleeing persecution at home, to adapt to the customs of Canada (or Germany, or the US, or wherever). Assimilaiton is to some degree necessary: language is only the most obvious example. The preservation of their own customs is vital, but must be tempered. Obviously, Canada wants to accomodate newcomers as much as possible. We must draw the line somewhere. And though we haven't quite figured out where to draw it, this is very obviously beyond it.

I suppose it's fortunate for the father & brother that the Canadian justice system has to deal with this. I don't know what the penalty for murder is in Pakistan. Probably more sever than life in prison.