Alex Bay in the rain...

This last Saturday, rain or shine, I was fixin' to head on over to Alexandria Bay, NY. It was the 4th Annual Thousand Island River Run. I had attended last summer with my eldest daughter, just before she was deployed to Afghanistan. It had rained just as I was getting to her place and again, just as I was dropping her off.

I should have taken my cue from last year, but no. I had to go on Saturday. So early Saturday morning, my friend Claude and my younger daughter met me at our place and we got set to head out. Well I gotta tell you, it rained on our sorry asses all the way down there and all the way back. Mind you, it was not a heavy, drenching downpour of rain. That would have killed it pretty much from the get-go and we would have re-scheduled it for the next day.

But it was 'showers'. Light rain which at times got a bit heavier, then eased up again for a bit, but it remained with us... a constant companion. Still, we did not let it dampen our moods. We headed out from Orleans and made a stop in Manotick for a quick coffee, then a rest stop in Merrickville, where we had a late brunch consisting of sausages, eggs homefries and a toasted bun. It was delicious and my 'little girl' scarfed hers down like a trucker.

A lot drier and with happier guts, we re-mounted our steeds and headed South down the 15 which took us all the way to Hwy 2 along the St.Lawrence. We didn't stop in Brockville this time but toodled through the town and linked up with the 2S, after a brief and hair-raising dash along the busy 401. But then there we were... cruising sedately along the 1,000 Islands Parkway. Rain or no, it is always a beautiful spot to ride through. In fact, the moisture kind of softened the edges of everything and lent an ethereal, phantom-like feeling to the lush greenery which surrounded us.

There were no critter sightings this time out, but it was just as well. I was happy not having to make any abrupt changes in direction or emergency stops. My main concern was in making the trip as fun and enjoyable for my daughter as I could. It was our first trip together on the bike and I really wanted the experience to be a positive one. She had donned my better half's riding gear (Joe Rocket 5.0 jacket and matching pants...) and was as happy as a clam. Totally weatherproof. She was a real trooper throughout the whole trip and we really did have an enjoyable time of it.

She got excited when we crossed the 1,000 Islands Bridge. It does tend to provide a unique perspective of things when on a bike. The view is astounding. We rolled into Alex Bay and the bikes were everywhere. We parked off the main drag in a little parking lot across from Chez Paree. After dismounting and squaring our gear away, we sauntered down the street to the registration booth. My daughter was duly impressed not only with the number of riders who had shown up, but with the seemingly unending variety of the bikes on display.

After registering and picking up our goodie bags (t-shirt, pin, patch, bandana, sticker and coupons), we headed up the hill to the bandstand where the vendors had set up shop. On the way, we had to traverse the area where the bike builders were showing off their wares. The shops represented spanned the New England States. There is a lot of talent down there, I'll have to admit. Not all were my cuppa tea, if you know what I mean, but that didn't stop me from appreciating the talent and vision that went into each one. I met and chatted with one of the fabricators whose name tag identified him as "Nobody". He was a good ol' boy (Southerner), modest and with a keen sense of humour. I got my daughter to take a shot of us together.

The vendors tents offered up everything from leather goods, to skid lids (helmets), to accessories, to Baker 6-speed trannies. If it had anything to do with the biker lifestyle, you were guaranteed to find it there. The boys from the 'Red and White' were there with a table full of their 'support' merchandise. My daughter liked their one t-shirt which proclaimed: "Silence is golden...duct tape is silver." I don't think she realized who all they were though... Just as well.

I took a couple of minutes to go and pay my respects to PFC Jack T.Sweet and the lads of the 10th Mountain Division. Following which Claude and myself checked out more custom scoots which were displayed under the bandstand. There were many models which evoked that Old School cool. Rigid frames, girder and springer front ends, 21" front wheels, Webber carbs, Panhead engines, Z-bars... the variety and excellence of work was truly noteworthy. There was one bike which was roped off from all the others, which was a tribute bike. It had been built to commemorate the service and ultimate sacrifice of 4 young Marines. It was technically jaw-dropping and emotionally inspiring.

The hand shifter was a Marine ceremonial sword (cutlass). The front downtube was lined with buttons from a set of Marine dress blues. The sprung solo seat was hand-stitched and featured the names and ranks of all four Marines. The rear fender was adorned with a remarkable picture of their likenesses. The bike was done in black, red, white and gold... standard colours of the USMC. The bike itself was an eye-catcher. The tribute theme made it simply stunning...

Before our heads exploded from taking in so much classic steel, we decided to make our way down the hill to the shopping on James Street. As we moseyed along, Claude and my daughter began taking notice and reading the various 'biker theme' stickers that many riders had adorned their helmets with. These range from the irreverent, to the downright scandalous, but are always sure to provoke a smile, if not an out and out laugh. Aaaaaahhh... such cheap entertainment.

We stopped into one of the many t-shirt shops and picked up another River Run t-shirt. From there we headed to a shop called Good Dog Charlie's, as I was trying to locate a specific type of raincoat for my better half. Unfortunately as it turned out, they no longer carried it. We began making our way back up the street, on the other side. Again we were treated to all kinds of bikes and riders. We saw a member of the 1st Cav. (another Canadian military riders' group) who was bimbling down the street with a hat shaped like a stuffed crab. My daughter snapped a pic for posterity (or possibly future blackmail...).

It had pretty much stopped raining by this point and we decided that our stay was just about done here for today. We made our way back to the bikes and it immediately began raining once more, even as we stood there donning our gear. It's like it knew we were preparing to leave... We mounted our steeds and headed slowly out of town. I knew we'd be coming back later this summer, when the sun would be shining...

The ride back was just as pleasant and uneventful. In fact, as we headed North up Highway 31 out of Morrisburg, the rain actually stopped. A little further, just outside Winchester Springs, the sun actually came out and we were rolling along on dry roads. Perhaps it was Ma Nature's way of rewarding us for sticking it out so long. In any event, it was a welcome experience and a nice way to finish the day. We arrived home and peeled off our wet layers, as a wonderful spaghetti dinner awaited us, courtesy of my better half. I felt badly that Claude had to put his soaking boots back on for the ride home after supper. My daughter stayed overnight with us and I gave her a ride back home the following morning, after a breakfast featuring one of Dad's old school cheese omelets.

It was a great weekend and despite the rain, a very nice father/daughter experience. I for one, enjoyed it immensely.

Another case of over-educated and under-smart...

I have to say that I was tickled by this particular e-mail we received. Again, it serves as a classic reminder that any level or degree of university education, does not provide the guarantee of an intelligent human being.

"Dear Sir/ Madam,

My name is *** ** and I am PhD student from ***. I am writing this letter to explore the possibility that the ticket I got on June 12th can be re-considered based on my situation.

To make long story short, my wife and I took our son to ********* beach on June 12th. Before we went, I got a fishing license for my son, but we did not have licenses for my wife and myself. I thought one license should be OK for the family if we stay together and do not retain more than 4 crabs, which is the limit for one license. A fishery officer came to us and told us we need licenses for each individual one and this is the first charge he gave to both of us.

Then he measured the size of the 4 crabs I caught, which were from around 15.95-16.2 cm and 3-5mm (about 3%) smaller than required (I heard these when he measured the size), and charged us the 2nd item as catching undersize crabs. I measured the size when I caught them, but I am not good at controlling them and they were struggling all the time, I must have not measured them correctly.

The last item he charged us is that I collected some clams. I really did not know that it is illegal to harvest clams now. When I applied the license, I briefly checked the website and only saw that it is illegal to catch clams without license. The officer then showed me the sign on the beach. Finally we are fined 550 CAD all together.

My point here is that I know it is my fault to be unaware of the fishing regulation. I should have known that every single one must have their own license to fish there, I should measured the size more accurately and I should have noticed that sign prohibiting harvesting clams in that area. I am terribly sorry for the mistakes I made there and I have really learned this lesson. By all means, I promise I would never make such mistake anymore.

But my situation here is I really cannot afford that big fine ticket, 550 CAD is the amount we paid for our food for 2-3 months. Besides that, I am graduating this fall and I am looking for my job now. My ideal position will be a civilian member in RCMP because I was a forensic biologist myself when I was in China and I really love that job. This record for sure will be a sensitive issue for that application.

So you may trust me now, I really did those terrible mistakes unintentionally. If by any chance, I knew they are wrong, I would not take any risk for sure. So here I am really asking your big favor to consider my situation here, and cancel the ticket. I would like to do some volunteer work to compensate my mistakes.

If by any chances you believe me, please set a time when you are are convenient then we can talk on phone and I can explain the thing, or I can go to the your office (is that *** - *** ******* Street?).

Thank you so much for your time and consideration.

***

So basically...: "Please cut me some slack because I am part of the educational elite"?

I don't think so... LOL!!!

Cry me an islamic river...

The anti-Islam vote in the Netherlands electionson 06 23rd, 2010

The enormous success of the right wing anti-Islam party in the recent elections in the Netherlands indicates a widespread schism within the Dutch and wider European societies where the presence of the Muslims as equal participants of society is disputed.

(As well it should be. Muslims have as little in common with European cultures as they do with North American cultures. - Crypt.)

"Stop migration from the Muslim countries! Block the building of mosques or Muslim schools! Stop subsidising the multicultural programs," were prominent slogans of Geert Wilders, head of Freedom Party (PVV) during the election campaign in the Netherlands. His party obtained 1.5 million votes and increased its number of seats from 9 to 24 in the parliament. It is probable that the PVV may enter into a coalition with the mainstream liberal party VVD to form a government. This can lead to an extremely xenophobic and an anti-Muslim government in western Europe.

(It appears to me that someone should go look up the meaning of the term 'xenophobic'... xenophobia is an uncontrollable fear of foreigners. This is more a visceral dislike of a segment of 'humanity' who seeks the corruption and destruction of our way of life. There is a big, big difference between the two. - Crypt.)

The anti-migrant propaganda of Wilders appealed to certain quarters within the Dutch society. The old working-class neighborhoods that traditionally supported the Labor and Socialist parties got disillusioned with the presumed ‘elitist’ attitude of these parties. With increasing unemployment, economic downfall, changing neighborhood demographics – with more migrants, caused a feeling of isolation among these groups ("this is not my street" is a complaint heard often). The migrants are easy targets of such socio-economic isolation. Add to this the fast integration of Europe that increased distance between the people and decision-makers, thus ‘evaporating our national symbols’, as neo-nationalist like Wilders will argue for.

(Maybe it's rather that it's adherents are throwbacks to the stone age and are intent on turning back the evolutionary clock by some 2,000 years... - Crypt.)

The traditional polarisation of the Dutch political scene further added to the election win of the PVV. Wilders chided the traditional political parties for ignoring the worries of ‘common man’ on burning issues of migration, criminality and security. Afraid of loosing their vote bank the other political parties, the traditional parties did not present a clear opposition to Wilders’ accusations. In the process they lost to Wilders’ sentimental political ploy on such issues.

(You say 'sentimental'... I'll say 'common sense'... - Crypt.)

The success of parties like the PVV is a dangerous development with respect to the future of democratic values in Europe.

('Democratic values' meaning freedom for Islam to spread unchecked throughout Europe... - Crypt.)

Wilders’ party does not follow the rules of a traditional political party: it does not have a membership or party hierarchy or hold any party elections. In this sense it is mere a ‘movement’. Wilders successfully avoided any questions about bringing democracy within his own party. For the PVV, Wilders is a party ideologue, he formulated his party’s election program, chose the candidates and acts as the main media person of the party. An acceptance of such one-man demagogy within the Dutch political system shows an approval of certain undemocratic tendencies within a society that projects itself as a tolerant one.

(Muslims, regardless of where they hail from, are the world's most out-of-touch beings when it comes to any discourse on even the most rudimentary form of 'democracy', theirs being nothing short of a totalitarian society which bases their every law and belief on the fairy tale of Mohammad and Allah. - Crypt.)

This is even clearer if we look at Wilders’ ideas and his political program. In the past he advocated to "ban the Quran" and he likes to declare "Islam as a fascist ideology."

(Um-mmmm... Hello??? Because it IS...???!!! - Crypt.)

Such a theme is also reflected in the film ‘

fitna‘ that he produced about the negative aspects of Islam. In his election campaign he asked for banning migration from the Muslim countries, and deporting the ‘criminal’ Muslims to the country of their origin. His anti-Islam program is based on the notion that European civilisation is founded on ‘Jewish-Christian tradition’ thus denying any role of the Muslims in the recent history of the country.

(I think his anti-islam program is based more on a sense of reality... in that it simply does not mesh with the culture of his homeland. Very much like every single Muslim country in the world, derides, minimizes, attacks and insults every other religion but their own. When non-Muslims begin slaughtering Muslims in the street, simply because we feel that you might have slighted our 'religion', then you can talk about prejudice. And at that point, it will simply be the beginning of retribution. An eye for an eye, right? - Crypt.)

Moreover he even asked for ‘ethnic registration’ of non-white population thus importing the kind of practices that the Nazi-German applied to its subjects.

(Poor analogy, you witless moron. It is rather Muslims that seek to emulate the Nazis in their quest to rid the world not only of Judaism, or the Jews specifically...but of everyone who is NOT Muslim - Crypt.)

Even more worrying is that Wilders’ political agenda was received without a broader outrage within the Dutch public space. It indicates a clear indifference, if not an implicit support, within the broader public space about Wilders’ program. The political win of the PVV nonetheless present a dangerous tendency within the Dutch society where the majority of voters elected a group that tries to usurp the democratic rights of a minority.

(Yes, dangerous indeed. Imagine the nerve of the Dutch to want to retain their homeland for the Dutch... Enough of playing the minority, the race card! People will only buy into that politically-correct bullshit for so long and then what these so-called miniorities really want, becomes all too apparent. You want democratic rights? You will have to become a democratic people. You CANNOT do that and cling to these retarded beliefs that themselves usurp any freedom or rights which might be offered by any other form of society. - Crypt.)

The win of Wilders in the Netherlands cannot be seen without taking into account the broader debate about Islam and Muslims in the European countries. Whether it is debate about banning of hijab in public spaces in France and Belgium or the issue of height of minarets in Switzerland, Islam has become a politicised subject in Europe.

(Hm-mmmmm... and who exactly was it again who actually 'politicized' your entire religion, eh? That's right... Other fucking Muslims. While you stood gleefully and silently by... If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. - Crypt.)

These reactions to the Muslim presence however indicate non-acceptance of the emerging realities within the Dutch or European societies.

(Wrong again... what it does represent the unequivocal non-acceptance of a backwards, xenophobic and dangerous culture, which cannot be allowed to flourish amid progressive societies. - Crypt.)

M. Amer Morgahi is an extern researcher at the VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He can be reached at morgahi@yahoo.com

(Mr. Morgahi may be a researcher of a sort, but he has no experience to match that of the Dutch themselves, who I'm sure remember only too well what it is like to live under the tyranny of a totalitarian 'master race'. It was Canadian troops which were largely responsible for their liberation during the Second World War and we rtemember that particular page of history very well indeed. They saw their freedom and their human rights taken away once before against their will. I dare say you will NOT find many of them willing to repeat this same scenario, trading the Nazis for Islamists. - Crypt.) 

"Is there a phone number...?"

Okay... so what has to be the quote of the week so far, was received by one of our agents this morning.

The female caller was calling from Quebec to get information on how to get a pleasure craft license for her new boat. She seemed a little confused about the whole process. Our agent, whom we'll refer to as M-E, told her what she would need to bring to the Service Canada office as far as documentation went and that she could get the application form directly there, if she wished.

She also advised the caller that if she preferred, she could download and print off the form from their national website.

M-E asked the caller if she would like to copy down the website URL and that's when she pulled out her now famous line:

"Is there a phone number for that website...?"

Discussion with a suicide bomber...

This entertaining entry is from today's edition of Pakistan's DAWN.com:

Goodbye seventh sky
by Nadeem F. Paracha on 06 17th, 2010.

Last Monday (June 12) in the National Assembly of Pakistan, a member of a breakaway Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI), Maulvi Asmatullah, suddenly rose from his seat and started to recite the azaan (Muslim call for prayer).

It didn’t matter to him that the muezzin of the assembly mosque had already sounded the call, and the fact that Asmatullah was not facing the qibla (Kabah) while reciting the azaan.
I am sure I would have burst out laughing had I been there, enough to burst the stitches I just got while playing football.

To me, this behaviour of Asmatullah is a classic example of what is called, ‘black comedy’ – a real life situation ripe with irony where something is done in all seriousness but ends up sounding or looking absurd.

I’m sure the self-righteous among my Muslim brethren (especially of the politico-religious kind), just like the JUI man, actually think he did something stunningly pious.

But never mind the odd holy eccentric politico, I’ve always wondered how does one talk to a suicide bomber? No black comedy there, or is it?

With paradise on the suicide bomber’s mind, there is, of course, also that attractive matter of hoors awaiting him there – wide-eyed maidens pending for those who have done good deeds in this world.
How is one to reason with a person who exhibits the ultimate extreme of irrationality by willingly ready to blow himself up in public in the name of religion?

For one thing, one should try to talk to him in his own language and imagery. No need to talk to him about politics, economics and society. Talk to him about paradise.

Yes, but wouldn’t this further encourage him? Because after all it is paradise he thinks his soul is headed to after the body explodes into bits, taking along with its self-inflicted mutilation, all those who are still not ready for the seventh sky. And good (or better than good), is what this soon-to-detonate jihadi believes he is doing. Because you see, according to him, Allah wants him to explode. Preferably in public.

So, what to say to someone so demented and desperate?

Simple. Talk to him about rapture. But with a twist.

Tell him that paradise is running out of hoors. Thanks to so many recent suicide bombings, scores of bombers have already reached heaven and bagged all the blissful fair maidens. Tell him it’ll take a bit of time for the new hoors to grow (on trees, of course) and that it would be wiser for him to delay his dramatic, headless departure by, say, another twenty to thirty years.

Let him know that in the meantime, he can do a lot of good, for instance, by chasing away people celebrating basant, blackening ‘obscene’ billboards, delivering fiery, loud sermons from his favourite mosque every Friday and so on.

This way at least he won’t be murdering innocent people, at least not directly. All this we have lived through (even if with firmly-clinched teeth), but bomb blasts and the sight of severed limbs and quivering burned bodies that follow are something else all together.

You can also try appealing to the suicidal jihadi’s individuality streak by telling him how overdone and passé suicide bombing is and how the hoors are not impressed anymore with all this overkill of similar looking jihadis arriving in paradise, all speaking and looking the same way. Actually not speaking at all because they usually arrive without their heads!

I’m sure if he agrees to delay his martyrdom for those crucial twenty to thirty years, his stance will eventually soften. At most, he will end up becoming an instructor at a madressah.

Who knows, he may also get the opportunity of being interviewed by Hamid Mir or even better, he could end up joining a politico-religious party and drive his very own Prado.

In fact, there is now a chance for our suicidal jihadi for bagging a career in television as well. As we all know there is always a lot of space for loud denouncers and jihadis on talk shows. Also tell him that hoors find TV personalities rather dashing.

As a talk show host on TV, apart from shouting down conspiratorial infidels, he can also add his bit to the conventional political gossip. And since this gossip on the news channels is treated as insightful political discourses, he too can become known as a “constitutional expert” or a “senior tajziya nigar.”

If news channels are not his style, there also are dedicated twenty-four-hour religious channels for him to join. Channels devoted to discussing intricate, serious and vital issues such as the status of the cow in Hinduism or whether a second cousin is na-mehram to a third cousin but only half-mehram to the first and conditionally mehram (or na-mehram or both) to the adopted first and second cousins, so on and so forth.

And if all else fails for our struggling jihadi, there is always a spot or two available on ‘Aalim Online,’ even if only for a fleeting moment of light comic relief.

Remember brothers, the idea is to explain to him in his own language and his logic, why he should delay the violent departure of his paradise-bound soul.

So, I appeal to the peace-loving tableeghi jammat brothers: don’t come to me, go to the jihadis instead and tell them about the impeding shortage of hoors in paradise. I mean, what’s a paradise without hoors, right?

*** Nadeem F. Paracha is a cultural critic and senior columnist for Dawn Newspaper and Dawn.com.

http://blog.dawn.com/2010/06/17/goodbye-seventh-sky/

No pardon for Homolka...

Taken from the pages of today's Chronicle Herald in Halifax, NS:

Parties co-operate to head off Homolka pardon bid

By JOAN BRYDEN The Canadian Press

Thu. Jun 17 - 4:54 AM

OTTAWA — Federal political parties have joined forces to ensure notorious sex killer Karla Homolka won’t be pardoned for her gruesome crimes.

The four parties struck an 11th-hour deal late Wednesday to hive off measures in a pardon-reform bill that would effectively ban Homolka from receiving a pardon.

The measures are to be passed at all stages by the end of the day Thursday, when the House of Commons is expected to adjourn for the summer.

The Senate, which will sit several weeks longer, must also pass the bill before it can go into effect.
Other more contentious provisions of the bill will proceed at a more leisurely pace when Parliament resumes in late September.

Homolka, who served a 12-year sentence for her role in the rape-murders of Ontario teens Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French, is eligible to apply for a pardon as of July 4.

"My family is forced to relive the pain and horror every time that woman’s name is in the news. A pardon would be unthinkable," said Talin French-Doyle, one of Kristen French’s relatives, in a press release.

"Forgiveness is the right of a victim, not a requirement of the State."

There is no confirmation that Homolka actually plans to apply for a pardon. But the theoretical prospect led to an ugly round of finger-pointing Wednesday among the four parties over who would be held responsible if the pardon reform bill isn’t passed in time to prevent a possible Homolka pardon.
With no party wanting to take the blame, a deal seemed inevitable despite the overheated rhetoric.

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews confirmed late in the day that a deal had been struck.

"On the critical area of our bill so as to prevent notorious criminals from receiving a pardon, we have an agreement," Toews said.

As to Homolka, he added: "That kind of a person would not be able to get a pardon."

Toews would not go into detail but sources said the parties have agreed to essentially split the original bill in two.

Under the provisions that will pass immediately, anyone convicted of a serious personal injury offence — including manslaughter, violent assault and sexual assault — will have to wait 10 years after release from prison before applying for a pardon. Currently, they must wait three to five years.

Moreover, the National Parole Board, which now rubberstamps most pardon applications, will be given the discretion to deny a pardon if it would severely damage the reputation of the justice system.
The latter provision is meant to ban someone like Homolka from receiving a pardon.

Provisions which will wait until the fall to proceed include a proposed ban on pardons for anyone convicted of three indictable offences. Opposition parties are concerned that goes too far, potentially denying a pardon to someone who may have committed relatively minor offences in their youth, such as forging several cheques.

Earlier Wednesday, Toews and his fellow Conservatives used the spectre of a Homolka pardon to try stampede the three opposition parties into speedily passing the entire pardon-reform bill.

***************************

Now, maybe it's just me being cynical here, but for as much as I truly believe some criminals should never be eligible for a pardon, due to the nature of their crimes, with regards to Homolka, it's a little late for our justice system to save face.

They're stating that the National Parole Board will be given the discretion of refusing or denying a pardon "if it would severely damage the reputation of the justice system."

Oddly enough, they make no mention of how actually releasing a "notorious sex killer", who has served a paltry 12 years in prison for 2 particularily heinous and sadistic murders, might severely damage not only the reputation, but the very credibility of our vaunted 'justice system'. I find it practically amusing that here are all these political party reps tripping over one another, to ensure that Ms. Homolka cannot apply for a pardon. Where were they when she was nearing her release date?

Go ask any member of the victims families, if they don't find the fact of Homolka walking around free to be offensive in the extreme... to be an absolute travesty of justice, when they know full well how their loved ones died at her hands and how they are never, ever coming back.

Saving the reputation of our justice system...?

It's a little fucking late for that, lads...

Another 'honour killing' for Islam... in Canada!

Her name is Aqsa Parvez and she was murdered in December 2007.

The following was taken from today's CBC national website:

Father, son plead guilty to Aqsa Parvez murder
Mississauga, Ont., teen strangled in 2007 after argument over hijab
Last Updated: Tuesday, June 15, 2010 7:47 PM ET

The father and brother of Aqsa Parvez, 16, have pleaded guilty to killing the Mississauga, Ont., teenager in 2007.

Muhammad Parvez and Waqas Parvez pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Tuesday and now face automatic life sentences.

Initially it was believed by police that Muhammad Parvez had killed his daughter, but in court it was revealed that the brother had strangled Aqsa.

"[Muhammad Parvez] decreed she should be murdered, but Waqas Parvez is no less guilty. He had so many opportunities in those days to stop his father," said Crown prosecutor Mara Brasso inside the court in nearby Brampton.

"The plan was in play at least two or three days before it happened. He never warned Aqsa. He never warned police. Even when they got to the home he obviously didn't falter on the threshold, on the doorstep and he carried on and murdered her," said Brasso.

"Home," said Brasso, "was the most dangerous place for her."

Aqsa Parvez wanted to get a part-time job and be allowed to dress and act like other teenage girls in her neighbourhood, but those desires led to a deadly conflict with her family that ended with her being strangled.

The Parvez family had moved from Pakistan to Ontario. Aqsa was 11 years old when she arrived — the youngest of eight children.

The statement of facts released in court about the December 2007 death revealed that when she entered her teen years Aqsa began rebelling against her father's strict rules.

"[S]he was experiencing conflict at home over cultural differences between living in Canada and back [in Pakistan]," the statement said.

Aqsa was in almost constant disagreement with her father and her siblings.

She told her father she did not wish to wear the hijab any longer. She wanted to dress in Western clothes and have the same freedoms as the other girls in her high school.

The statement revealed that Aqsa "did not have a door on her bedroom, her freedom to talk on the phone with friends was restricted, she was required to come straight home from school and expected to spend her evenings and weekends at home as well."

In September 2007, Aqsa told a counsellor at Applewood Heights Secondary School in Mississauga "that she was afraid her father wanted to kill her ..."

The school made arrangements for Aqsa to stay at a shelter — but she stayed only three days.
Soon after, she was permitted to wear non-traditional clothes to school but the conflicts within the family did not end.

Aqsa spent time living with friends, but during that time her father and other members of her family asked her to return home.

Taken from bus stop.

On Dec. 10, 2007, Aqsa was taken from the school bus stop by her brother at approximately 7:20 a.m. It was just 36 minutes later that her father called 911 and told police he had "killed his daughter."

Police arrived and found Aqsa on her bed.

"She was fully clothed and had her jacket on. She had no vital signs. There was blood coming from her nose," according to the statement.

She was pronounced dead later that evening.

Peel Regional Police took Muhammad Parvez into custody and charged him with murder. But it was Waqas Parvez that actually killed Aqsa, according to the statement of facts.

Waqas Parvez, 26, was charged on June 26, 2008. His DNA was found beneath his sister's fingernails.

The agreed upon statement of facts contains an interview with Aqsa's mother, Anwar Jan, who attempts to explain why the murder happened.

In an interview with police, she says her husband told her he killed his youngest child because "this is my insult. My community will say, 'You have not been able to control your daughter.' This is my insult. She is making me naked."

Police asked if things would have been different if the family had stayed in Pakistan.

"He would have killed her there too," she says.

***************************

This event is an insult. To me... to you reading this... to every single person living in this country. It is an insult to everything this country stands for. It is an insult to every one of our values. It is an affront to our culture. It is an insult to those who have given their lives in the service of this country and to those who presently serve in our military. In truth, it is an insult to every person who lives on this North American continent.

This event demonstrates with incredible clarity, the backwardness, the total lack of civility and common decency as exhibited by those who would follow Islamic fundamentalism. This culture as practised in Pakistan (or in any other Muslim country), cannot mesh with our Canadian society. It is as simple as that. These beliefs are a most malignant form of social cancer. The same applies in Saudi Arabia, where they still put people to death for the crime of witchcraft.

Crimes committed under the name of any religion, should be considered as hate crimes. Hate crimes against the evolved, if you will. This kind of mental sickness cannot be 'cured'. These are the types of crimes that really make one consider the viability of the death penalty. These individuals must be excoriated from our civilization.

And for any idiot out there who is going to spout that old platitude of how the death penalty does nothing for reforming or deterring violent criminals, I have this to say to you: The death penalty was never intended to reform or deter criminals. It is there as a punishment, pure and simple. And I'll tell you something else... it may not deter anyone, as you say. But it sure as fuck cuts down on repeat offenders!! And that, in the end, is what we're ALL after.

Here is this young 16 year old girl who wants what? To be able to live in freedom, just like any other young Canadian teenage girl can. And for that she is murdered by her own fucking family? Hm-mmmm... let's employ a little Canadian realism here. Any group of people that would kill you for wanting to live free, is first of all NOT Canadian (and they certainly have no place in THIS country...), and secondly they CANNOT be considered a 'family', not by any twisted, cultural stretch of the imagination.

Immigration means that you are wanting and willing to become as those in your host country. There is no second option. You are either immigrating or you are invading. There are two choices, pick one. When you manage to slip by our dormant and inept immigration officials, you had better understand that we do have a Charter of Human Rights that you are compelled to live by. There is one law in this land and we are all held to live by it. (Yes, there is a separate one for the rich, but that is another story, for another time.) One thing I will tell you, you are not going to invade MY goddamn country. Not while there is a breath left in this body.

A message needs to be sent out to these reprehensible individuals that this type of caveman lunacy will not be tolerated in our society. We don't give a fuck how they do things in Lahore or Peshawar. You supposedly left your country of origin in order to provide a better life for your family. You are not there anymore and we will not tolerate that you bring your country HERE. Actually, I have a better idea. If you really want your children to have a better life, just send them here. We'll see that they find a family that will actually raise them as a family should, and not like a group of psychopathic jailers.