Clinton blasts Egypt's 'shocking' treatment of women [AFP]

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  US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accused Egyptian authorities of failing the …

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday denounced Egypt's treatment of women as "shocking" and a "disgrace" to the state after troops were shown ripping off a female protester's clothes.

In unusually strong remarks, Clinton accused Egyptian authorities of failing the country's women since the revolution that overthrew president Hosni Mubarak, both by excluding them from power and humiliating them in the streets.

"This systematic degradation of Egyptian women dishonors the revolution, disgraces the state and its uniform and is not worthy of a great people," Clinton said in a speech at Georgetown University.

In images widely seen over YouTube, helmeted troops were shown beating a veiled woman after having ripped her clothes off to reveal her bra and stomach.

Other pictures circulating on social media networks that have enraged protesters include one of a military policeman looming over a sobbing elderly woman with his truncheon.

"Recent events in Egypt have been particularly shocking. Women are being beaten and humiliated in the same streets where they risked their lives for the revolution only a few short months ago," Clinton said.

She denounced a "deeply troubling patter" of military authorities and the major political parties alike keeping Egyptian women out of the decision-making process.

"At the same time, they have been specifically targeted both by security forces and extremists," the top US diplomat added.

"Women protesters have been rounded up and subjected to horrific abuse. Journalists have been sexually assaulted and now women are being attacked, stripped and beaten in the streets."

Responding later to a question by a student, Clinton said that Egyptians and not Americans should be the first ones disturbed by the treatment of women.

Beating women on the street "is not cultural, it's criminal and it needs to be addressed and treated as such," she said to applause.

Clinton, who narrowly lost her bid to be the first female US president, has frequently been outspoken about women's rights during her tenure as the country's top diplomat.

She addressed events in Egypt as part of a broader speech in which she argued that peacemaking efforts around the world would benefit from greater involvement by women.

YBFree Review for Neale Sourna's Novel "Hobble" (romantic erotica)

Reviewed By: Jennifer Walford

Have you ever been traumatized by an entertainment property? Well, I have. After years of watching Sex in the City, Queer as Folk, and Six Feet Under I have had my eyes opened to another side of human sexuality. Not being a person that actively seeks pornography I am a little naïve about the sexual appetites of some people. But after a healthy dose of HBO and Showtime you think one would be prepared for anything? Well, everyday there is something new to learn, and Hobble by Neale Sourna taught me much. Hobble was a dark, strange, and pyschologically violent novel that delved deep into how sex can be used as a vile weapon of manipulation and oppression.

Set in the Commonwealth of Virginia, an unsuspecting Native American holistic healer, Ben Gillespie, is jogging on the beach when he trips over a young buxom African-American woman named Day. Day who barely talks, has two large wounds around her ankles, which were almost severed in an accident. Ben assists the young woman home only to find himself enthralled by her sexuality and caught in the middle of a sick relationship with Day and her guardian, an aged British Gentleman, who forces himself literally into her whenever he pleases. For a while the two openly share Day, until Ben discovers the truth behind the relationship and the other sexual encounters Day has with men, women, and even his twin sister to get what she needs and wants in life.

Hobble really does an excellent job, of delving into how sex is more than just an act of pleasure and [more at http://hobble.neale-sourna.com/YBFree-Review.html]