The dead Russian is Mikhail Lesin, the plane's black box confirms a bomb at 90% and the possibility of a Middle East confrontation is spiraling up.

There has been no reports in the media that I have access to as to the cause of death, other
than "a heart attack" in a Washington hotel room, reported by a spokesperson
for his family. So far there is no autopsy report, so killed" may be a little
premature. The police officer at the scene, Hickman, was quoted as saying that 'the
nature of the investigation could change, depending on what was found the scene and
after an examination of the body'. There were no signs of violence.

At this stage it is all conjecture, and I’m sure some journalists will see a connection
with the poisoning of ex-Russian spy Litvinenko in 2006.

Ordering a hit on his own man, Putin would have to have a really good reason at this period of time. Lesin may have truly had a motive to split from his comrades as he had quite a bit of assets in the west ($28 mil mansion in LA); and, since the sanctions against Russia apparently blacklisted him for the visa to the EU and US, the man may have been somewhat desperate. The question here is whether Putin could have been as anguished to go so far as to risk so much which I really do not believe. How Lesin managed to get an entry visa to the US and what he was actually doing in DC may be a better question than what comrade Putin had on him. The "heart attack" could have been brought by a CIA shellfish toxin. After all, the man was a media mogul who may have had something at this highly dangerous time when the American media is crying loud all sorts of lies. Have you heard the Pentagon Chief today? Have you read the US Military Industrial Complex report on WW 3 prep today? These guys are going crazy about Russia that's looking much better after entering Syria.

It has also been reported that the black box recorder for the aircraft that crashed has been
examined and the audio contains the sounds of an explosion and that the UK was concerned
about airport security in Egypt some time ago.

Some western nations have been concerned about a few Middle Eastern airports for quite some time. What may be worrying is not the lack of security but the rapidly rising anger against nations that are involved in the region. Hard to imagine how much money has been spent to "improve" the situation there, and yet see what's there. We've paid Saddam Hussein, killed him then, created a political vacuum and then ISIL literally out of our money. Now, we send more money and military hardware to Syria's rebels (whomever they are) and our fighter jets with air to air missiles (whomever we want to hit in the sky over Syria).

Unlikely in my view that there will be armed clashes between 'Yanks and Russians" in
Syria. News reports state that Putin supports Assad remaining in control and that the US
wants regime change using proxy fighters - who may or may not have support of US
advisers or special forces on the ground. News sources on all of these events may be
'tainted' by geopolitics.

Although my hope is your view, I am sadly inclined to believe that what is happening is a prelude to a major disaster. The techinques used to fight in the region seemingly are much more serious than just the "proxy fighters". Wars bring money to economies and that is the scariest knowledge at the moment.

Anyhow, had we assisted such people as Assad, Saddam Hussein or Muhamad Gadhafi, we would have had a better shot at taking the Middle East peacefully. However, we have to listen to the drums of war and how much we hate Russians instead of how much we are sorry for them for their Stolichnaya on an empty stomach. What a lame way to take charge of the international politics in regions around the world. To conquer the Soviet Union and then bring it back to life again is more than idiotic.