There was a fire today at a community center started by Ayman Nour. There is no reason to believe the fire was anything more than accidental, but this was a good line by Nour’s wife, Gameela Ismail:
The board of the Nour Association, which ran the centre, has decided to send ashes from the fire to US President George W Bush “as a gift for his announced support for democracy in Egypt”, Ismail said.
Ismail and Nour’s two sons, now in their early teenage years, will have graduated high school by the time their father is released from jail. They must be really appreciative of US support for democracy in Egypt.
I don’t suppose Nour/Ismail realize that this evokes the cricket Ashes…the imagery would work so well if England were still the imperial power rather than America.