BAHH

My cousin died today or last night in car accident. He lived really far away in a different state then me and I didn't know him very well. Its strange when someone you don't know that well dies. You feel sad and have this hollow feeling after it happened knowing that you may never meet them again.

Mostly it feels like such a waste. Please pray for my family.

In this great diverse nation people often bring with them beautiful cultures with rich traditions, religious beliefs and different approaches to life in general.
In America’s youth it sometimes threw out the cultural baby with the bathwater in fear of things unusual.
Now days we are so PC we can’t even criticize with out being labeled “Bigot” “Hate Speech monger” and other names that are unmentionable.
But I feel it’s important to talk about a subject that is sure to inspire ire and controversy.
Honor killings in America.

According to Wikipedia
An honor killing (also called a customary killing) is the murder of a family or clan member by one or more fellow family members, where the murderers (and potentially the wider community) believe the victim to have brought dishonor upon the family, clan, or community. This perceived dishonor is normally the result of (a) utilizing dress codes unacceptable to the family or (b) engaging in certain sexual acts. These killings result from the perception that defense of honor justifies killing a person whose behavior dishonors their clan or family. Honor killing is mostly widespread in Islamic countries or countries with predominantly Muslim population.[1]
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimates that the annual worldwide total of honor-killing victims may be as high as 5,000.[2]
Often it happens when the family thinks that the girl has some how shamed them. Often they murder them in their own home and they go unreported.

17-year-old Rifqa Bary who’s Family hails from Sri Lanka said her father would kill her or put her in a Sri Lanka asylum for her faith in Christ. According to her video interview he found out on her face book and threatened and swore at her nearly flinging her laptop at her.
[link]
More information on the case as it stands.
[link]
here is her parents defense (I won’t have you guys saying I’m not doing all sides of this story.)
[link]

Anyway this case got me to wonder if honor killings happen in America as well.

The New York post had a story in 2008
[link]
about Chaudhry Rashid who strangled his 25-year-old daughter San- deela Kanwal with a Bungee cord in her bedroom because she wanted to end her arranged marriage. According to the piece this may have been the first documented case of this type of killing, but it also mentions the twin murders of sisters Amina and Sarah Said in Irving, Texas, on New Years' 2007.

I guess what I’m really surprised about is how many people are so skeptical of Rifqua’s story. I’ve seen her video on YouTube titled
“Fake Honour killing girl Sheds crocodile
tears in US from Sri lanka” I understand the idea of taking everything with a grain of salt.

But what if she is telling the truth? Sure there is a possibility that she dramatizing this with teen angst but think about this. But would you want her death on your head knowing that you may have silenced her?
This piece may seam like its picking on Muslims, but in reality this is about culture that prevails in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. And ultimately culture is a creation of man not of God. And it is a fight we should engage here in America.

...of existence, yep I can be in a bar and not get in trouble well I must say I'm looking forward to dancing at clubs I seriously get crunk on music alone (not kidding at all)....well maybe the sodas might have something to do with it.

Do any of you (or someone you know) has a birthday that falls on a sad day. Mine falls on the 6th of August the day when the first A-bomb was dropped. What is it like for you?

for those of you who would like to have an updated progress of my study of illustration check out my blog here
[link]