CBS News' Lara Logan Assaulted During Egypt Protests

Originally posted by Darce
reply to post by Malcram

 

Take a quick look of the picture of Logan "moments before she was attacked". Does that croud behind her look like a mob of of the plainclothes policemen and hired thugs? It doesn't to me.

Now that being said, I understand where you're coming from, and in all fair judgement we should wait until Logan is willing to give her account of what happened, if she chooses to do so.

Let's just reserve judgement and use some common sense for now. We can't know who was behind this, but I agree with the OP in that it seems unlikely she could have been kidnapped all of a sudden by a mob of 200 pro-mubarak thugs in the midst of a large croud of 'peaceful demonstrators'. I'm not saying it's impossible, just unlikely.

If the rapists and attackers were not hired thugs or police, then it surely does shine a forboding light on the motivations of the revolution as a whole, does it not? After all, they were stopped by women (and 20 soldiers), does that not suggest they were not hired brutes, but the common pupulace? It does to me. 200 hired brutes would be unstoppable, no?

Let's all just pray for Lara Logan in her recovery for now and make our final judgements when the facts are straight. I repect her and her reporting so much, this saddens me. Hired thugs, police, or civilians, those who did this can only be describes as "animals". It's not right to hijack this in order to spout personal hatred, certainly, but how can you not hate those who would do such a thing?

edit on 15-2-2011 by Darce because: (no reason given)

Are you kidding me? "Forboding light on the motivations of the revolution as whole"???? The revolution was driven by the middle class, which are immense in egypt, these are the educated people you saw on tv. The pro-mubarak crowd are a mix of gov employees, plain clothed police/secret police, criminals controled by police, and impoverished uneducated low class youth. I think the last group of people are the ones who did this to logan, tahrir throughout the protests didnt have these kind of mobs among anti-gov people but they only appeared after mubarak resigned celebrations began and tahrir opened up to everyone. A lot of people from all kinds of places in cairo poured into tahrir and among these were these low lifes.

Originally posted by thePharaoh
FIRSTLY....

THEY WERE MOST LIKELY AMERICAN BACKED, MUBARAK CRIMINALS, WHO HAVE BEEN DOING THIS TO THE EGYPTIAN PEOPLE, UNDER ORDERS FROM LARA LOGANS COUNTRY....FOR YEARS. HAVE A WORD WITH YOUR GOV. FIRST!

AND...DO NOT SEND LAME MEN WITH LAME WOMEN TO COVER A REVOLUTION.

LASTLEY....THIS COULD VERY WELL BE PROPAGANDA...I HAVE SEEN A STRING OF US REPORTERS TRYING TO TURN THE REVOLUTION INTO A DIRTY ONE....KEEP THE ISSUE OF REVOLUTION JUST THAT..A REVOLUTION...TO THESE COREOGRAPHERD SIDE ACTS I SAY ....I SAY # OFF AND GROW UP TO ALL FOREIGN ANXIOUS TWATS WHO DONT KNOW WHEN TO BACK OFF AND DONT SEND DUMB REPORTERS TO COVER SUCH SERIOUS STORIES...

TAHYA MISR....TOZ TO THE PROPAGANDA SNAKES

edit on 16-2-2011 by thePharaoh because: (no reason given)

Dude have you forgotten about all the sexual harrassments that plagued cairo streets for the past 3 years??

this was 2 years ago:

Last month, Egyptian police has ordered a massive clampdown on harassment, arresting 550 youth in one day. A similar operation took place this week, during Eid al Adha, where 50 youth were arrested. Elijah Zarwan, an Egyptian blogger and human rights worker disagrees with the repressive, and somewhat arbitrary, methods:

topics.blogs.nytimes.com...

Originally posted by burdman30ott6
reply to post by conspiracy nut

 

Take from that whatever you will, but it tells me that women were safer in Egypt before all of this Western governemnt driven, media manipulated uprising took place.

The Mubarak government was a tyrannical dictatorship supported by the U.S. as well as other western governments. There's your backing right there.

As far as women being safer in Egypt during those years, clearly you've been trumped by DuneKnight's knowledge. He has lived in Egypt for years and can state otherwise.

You're as clueless as clueless can be. And you're a moderator? Wow, ATS really is sinking.

I feel sorry for her. Poor woman. I know they're not all perverts but from what I have read, groping women and other sexual assault is a normal occurrence in Egypt. They didn't go into any details and sexual assault applies to different act's. I hope it wasn't anything too serious so that she is not traumatized. Those who looted, and those that sexually assaulted and beat this woman do not care about their country. They are thugs and nothing more.

Let's wish her a full recovery, especially mentally. This should show you what kind of people we are dealing with.

Originally posted by Malcram
reply to post by wrkn4livn

 

Rape is constantly used as part of a political agenda, around the world. Even men arresred and tortured by the Egyptian police were threatened with rape as an intimidation tool. Its used extensively as a political tool of intimidation in certain african countries. So yes, its entirely possible it was politically motivated, and nothing to specifically to do with 'Islam'.

And dont twist my words please. I never said it was pro-Mubarak people who committed this crime. I said we DONT KNOW who did it or why. I just said that it makes infinitely more sense that it might be Mubaraks anti media criminals. Its you and the OP who makes assumptions: that it was the pro-democracy protesters who did this and that it was because they were Muslims.

edit on 15-2-2011 by Malcram because: (no reason given)

OK. Sorry... No twist zone..

In Tahrir Square, the site of 18 days of rebellion that ousted Mubarak, women were from disparate groups, veiled and not, Christian and Muslim, Westernized and traditional. They were as outspoken as men, leading chants and banging iron rods on power poles to sound the alert of approaching pro-regime marchers. It was remarkable in a country where until 2000 a wife couldn’t leave the country without her husband’s permission and until 1999 a rapist could avoid prison by marrying his victim...

Here is an interesting recent article about the role egyptian women played in tahrir square during the protests: www.bloomberg.com...

It gives you a history about egyptian islamic views on women and how they defy them.

Originally posted by robyn
reply to post by robyn

 

Are you aware that over 90% of the women in Egypt have undergone female circumcision? The practice continues unabated despite laws prohibiting it.

en.wikipedia.org...

I don't understand our naivety as Americans believing that everyone in the world is JUST LIKE US sharing the same values and sense of morality. I do support others' right to believe as they do except when their beliefs include that I or anyone else should be MURDERED for their beliefs.

I hope Lara recovers quickly though I suspect emotionally that will be a very hard road.

That happens in villages only and Al Azhar condemns it. So lets say even if Sharia law is implemented and muslim brotherhood takes over, the female circumcision would still be illegal because its not considered "islamic" in any way. But to many living in villages consider it an important tradition and uneducated mothers want to pass it along to their daughters. 90%? not sure about that estimate, that would be shocking if it were true.

Al-Azhar Supreme Council of Islamic Research, the highest religious authority in Egypt, issued a statement saying FGM/C has no basis in core Islamic law or any of its partial provisions and that it is harmful and should not be practised."[36]
Coptic Pope Shenouda, the leader of Egypt's minority Christian community, said that neither the Qur'an nor the Bible demand or mention female circumcision

And I can't say if this is true or not:

A Greek papyrus from 163 B.C. mentions both boys and girls in Egypt undergoing circumcision and it is widely accepted to have originated in Egypt and the Nile valley at the time of the Pharaohs. Evidence from mummies has shown both Type I and Type III FGC present

reply to post by burdman30ott6


That is VERY well said!!!!

I send a prayer for her and hope she recovers,,,
I know who she is quite well...

This is beyond anger with me....

Im sure the evil mob who did this dont EVEN FELL THE LEAST BIT ASHAMED!!!!
She was an infidel...

I feel the mideast is blowing up now,,,

They are even brutal to themselves and especially the women,,,and then the infidels,,,

she was a great reporter and helped people and heard their voices and let them be known,,,,,,,what a stab in the back!

Im sure some extremist will weezle some seats in parliment there,,,you get 10-15% of them thats just the beginning,,,

Tourism is shot,,,investment down 75%,,the bond is junk paper for a bird cage,,,

This is HORRIBLE,,,,I tend to understand this was a long assualt,,,,,,

I thank those who helped her,,and came to her aid,,,,,,,,,

I assume the ones who did help here are thinking whats next for the future in Egypt,,,,,?????

Im sure there where many horrible crimes during this..

I would like to say more on how I feel and I will...

Very worthy news poster..

Kona

I don't know if she has a husband but I'd not let my woman go there.

Shame it wasn't Ed Schultz out there reporting. Would have looked like a scene from Deliverence.

Ok sorry Ed... just because I think your the biggest POS ever on cable news I shouldn't have picked on you.

Does anything think Geraldo Rivera would actually enjoyed it happening to him?

My heart goes out to Lara Logan, but good thing she didn't die, and in the end, whatever bad thing that happens to you, yet doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.

And I would also like to point out, that the pro-Mubarack supporters were the only ones determined to have attacked journalists, just ask Anderson Cooper.

It is common sense, they are the ones who would benefit from a media blackout, while the protesters wanted all the media they could get, common sense, but momma always said common sense isn't as common as you would think.

Originally posted by Malcram
You clearly don't know anything anout Egypt. You've got an imagined generic oppressive fantasy in your mind, as if all muslim countries were the same, rather than the facts. Women don't have to wear the headscarf to escape rape in Egypt, thats absurd. If that were in any way true, then both the western and arabic women reporters for all the news agencies, including Al Jazeera would have all worn scarves, if only to show respect. They didn't, because it's not necessary.

Educate yourself before you make such ignorant and bigoted comments in future.

edit on 15-2-2011 by Malcram because: (no reason given)

Unfortunately not even wearing the veil protects Egyptian women from random sexual harassment. Harrassment is widespread in Cairo, to the point where Egyptian women have created a website to mark the most dangerous areas out and to keep tabs via Facebook and Twitter on the most recent "hot under the belt buckle spots".

www.theworld.org...

Nihad Al Qumsan heads the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights. A 2008 survey the center carried out showed that about 80 percent of women in Egypt have faced some form of harassment.

NIHAD AL QUMSAN: “When they’re speaking generally, men will say that harassment is the result of women wearing provocative clothes. But when they filled out our survey they admitted they also harass women who are veiled. The men try to find an excuse for their behaviour, but most women in Egypt are veiled. And anyway a woman is free to wear what she wants.”

Granted the demonstration was a special celebration, and perhaps some of the people who make harassing women in Cairo a game, thought that going after Ms. Logan made sense under the circumstances.

Interesting how Egyptian activist and women rights proponents in Egypt are showing more compassion and sympathy then some of our own posters, not only here but other forums as well,

Egyptian activists condemn brutal attack on CBS reporter in Tahrir Square

Serious assault on Lara Logan of CBS took place in middle of crowd at height of celebrations after Hosni Mubarak resigned

www.guardian.co.uk...

"It's incredibly sad that this has happened, and it's something that the spirit of Tahrir and the spirit of revolution was resolutely against," Ahdaf Soueif, an author who spent a great deal of time in Tahrir Square, told the Guardian. "Women in the square were rejoicing that they felt freedom on the streets of Cairo for the first time, and [this is] definitely something that we want to stamp out alongside corruption and all the other social ills that have befallen Egypt during Mubarak's regime."

Mahmoud Salem, a well known Egyptian blogger, was one of many of the January 25 activists to express outrage. "Lara Logan, what happened to you was reprehensible, & I hope u don't judge the egyptian people or Tahrir because of it," he tweeted under his moniker Sandmonkey.

Some activists have suggested that the assault may have been the work of pro-Mubarak gangs, whose use of sexual harassment as an intimidation tactic was extensively documented during the revolution, as was their targeting of foreign reporters.

But the investigation and prosecution of sexual harassment cases is already low in Egypt, and the detention of those responsible amid the country's current institutional turmoil appears unlikely.

The harassment of women on the streets has long been a major issue in Egyptian society, although efforts to curb the problem have often met resistance from government officials.

Scepticism about the extent of the harassment extended as far as the former first lady, Suzanne Mubarak, who once accused the media of exaggerating the problem to tarnish the country's reputation.

A survey by the independent Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights in 2008, however, revealed that 83% of Egyptian women and 98% of foreign women had been exposed to some form of sexual harassment, including groping, verbal abuse, stalking and indecent exposure.

Contrary to popular opinion, the incidents did not appear to be linked to the woman's style of dress, as three-quarters of victims had been veiled at the time.

1.The harassment of women on the streets has long been a major issue in Egyptian society

2.survey revealed that 83% of Egyptian women and 98% of foreign women had been exposed to some form of sexual harassment, including groping, verbal abuse, stalking and indecent exposure.

3. the incidents did not appear to be linked to the woman's style of dress, as three-quarters of victims had been veiled at the time

All points that have been brought up in this topic to undermine the attack,
no it doesn't only happen to blond reporters without veils, 83% of Egyptian women have had problems within their own society, that is a huge percentage,

Walk Free ! Stop Sexual Harassment in Egypt & Apology to Lara Logan

www.change.org...

group of bloggers set up an online petition headlined "Walk Free! Stop Sexual Harassment in Egypt & Apology to Lara Logan".

Started by: Mohamed Safi

Sexual harassment is one of the ugliest forms of mental & physical abuse. The effects of which can be long lasting and severely harmful to the mental health of those who suffer this abuse. It remains to be one of the last standing tarnishing factors on the reuptation of Egypt

With our new found "freedom" from an intrinsically opressive system, it is now high time to call for a legal end to this sickening phenomenon.Time to take this revolutionary Tahrir spirit to the streets of the nation to quell the very notion of sexual harassment. Time to make this an offence severely punishable by law.

When, as a nation, we called to "bring down the system", this is the exact sort of thing we were calling for. Not just the dismantling of an ailing, opressive political system, but also the vile, rotten systems of thought and action within a few, perverted Egyptians.

It is safe to say that after witnessing the pure spirit of Tahrir, this sickening phenomenon represents only a few terrible seeds in society. Seeds that have turned into devilish shrubs, that must now be weeded out, for good. True Egyptians were protecting their sisters, wives, daughters and ladies they don't even know in the fight to earn our freedom. The Egyptians that stood up to bullets, tear gas, knives, swords, thugs, sniper fire and petrol bombs can and will stand against sexual harassment

Please add your voice to this peitition, pledging to not accept and to take action against any forms of sexual harasssment. In addition, it will also serve as an apology of the people to each and every single person that has suffered from this. Most recently CBS reporter Lara Logan.

The harassmap.org website is worth checking out. Note all the categories of harassment and also, below the map there is a graph showing a huge spike in incidents/complaints since the beginning of this year.

www.harassmap.org...

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/05aef4fbd975.jpg[/atsimg]

I wonder if there is anything else going on here. Could it be that politically motivated fake thugs went on a harassment campaign in Cairo, preliminary to the demonstrations against Mubarak, in order to increase the level of emotional upset preparatory to taking to the streets? I wouldn't doubt it. If this is what happened, I would be open to the suspicion that this shows the tracks of intelligence agencies at work. It's the kind of thing, sneaky, dirty, that one would expect from some of our favorite three letter agencies, who have whole departments of well trained hooligans thinking of such pranks and tactics.

Rape has been a weapon of war, in Bosnia and in Africa and elsewhere. Is sexual harassment a weapon of political provocation by those with a serious interest in "regime change?"

"60 Minutes" correspondent Lara Logan was repeatedly sexually assaulted by thugs yelling, "Jew! Jew!" as she covered the chaotic fall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo's main square Friday, CBS and sources said yesterday.

Read more: www.nypost.com...

A network source told The Post that her attackers were screaming, "Jew! Jew!" during the assault. And the day before, Logan had told Esquire.com that Egyptian soldiers hassling her and her crew had accused them of "being Israeli spies." Logan is not Jewish.

In Friday's attack, she was separated from her colleagues and attacked for between 20 to 30 minutes, The Wall Street Journal said.

Her injuries were described to The Post as "serious."

CBS went public with the incident only after it became clear that other media outlets were on to it, sources said.

"A call came in from The [Associated Press]" seeking information, a TV-industry source told The Post. "They knew she had been attacked, and they had details. CBS decided to get in front of the story."

Most network higher-ups didn't even know how brutal the sexual assault was until a few minutes before the statement went out.

Lara Logan Assaulted--and Then Blamed

Tragically, reporter Lara Logan didn’t need to go to a region of political unrest to be the target of vicious personal attacks and misogyny. She got it right here at home.

www.usnews.com...

It was a literal a punch in the gut that took my breath away as I read the post on various forums last night,

I must say ATS was one of the more respectful forums, comments on other forums beyond imagination,

What is happening to us?

reply to post by ipsedixit


Could it be that this is nothing unusual according to the stats supplied by Egyptian womens rights activist themselves?

reply to post by Stormdancer777


You might not have seen the graph I just added to my previous post. There is a definite upsurge in harassment of women since the beginning of the year. The graph speaks for itself.

Looking closely at the graph, you can see the months along its lower edge. The upsurge in harassment started in September and peaked in January.

To my eyes, this is highly suspicious and fits right in with the notion that the harassment of women prior to Mubarak's fall was a coordinated campaign.

Egyptian Center For Women's rights,

ecwronline.org...

ecwronline.org...

I found this interesting,
The constitutional committee has starts working while neglecting and excluding female legal experts
ecwronline.org...

reply to post by ipsedixit

To my eyes, this is highly suspicious and fits right in with the notion that the harassment of women prior to Mubarak's fall was a coordinated campaign.

I too suspect it was coordinated,

and the increase during this time period may have more then one reason.

Interesting reading the twitters and post from that link you posted.
harassmap.org...

I was watching the videos, and these are some brave women, that put their lives in danger for their cause,

One feature of the harassmap.org map is that one can call up the numbers of complaints for each month going back to 2004.

Here are the numbers from July 2010 to February 2011;

2010 July 5 complaints
August 7
Sept. 10
October 12
November 72
December 156
January 210
February (to date) 219 !!!

I was thinking this might be a seasonal phenomenon in Cairo, but I checked the number for January 2010, a year ago, and it was only 4 complaints.

This phenomenon of a surge of harassment complaints must be connected to this political event. The worst of it is that for every complaint, there are probably twenty incidents not reported.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt once wrote words to the effect that you can bet that if something happens in politics, it was planned. This kind of tactic, if that's what it is and it certainly looks that way, is the sort of thing one would expect from someone like Kermit Roosevelt, who organized phony demonstrations against Mossadegh in Iran, prior to the overthrow of his elected government and prior to the assumption of power in Iran of the US puppet, Reza Shah Pahlavi.

This sexual harassment surge is too cute to be unplanned. Who pulls these kinds of stunts? MI6, MOSSAD, the CIA.