al-Ahram reports pension for the dead

Which is now an anti-Mubarak newspaper, reports that there will be a monthly pension of LE 1500 for those killed in the revolution. HERE.

At current exchange rates, the monthly amount would be $255. That may sound tiny, but when compensation has been given in the past in Egypt to accident victims and the like, it’s generally been a one-off payment rather than a pension. Use of the term “monthly” suggests to me that they really are making some effort to placate the public by treating the dead as public heroes whose families deserve some ongoing thanks rather than as tragic accident vitims.

Also, keep in mind that the riot police earn LE 400 per month. Within that framework, paying the families of the dead LE 1500 per month is not a meaningless gesture. (But let’s see how the Egyptian populace reacts to this amount.)

Supposedly al-Ahram is also reporting that Mubarak is in a coma, though the only story I can find simply refers to deteriorating health, not a coma specifically.