EGYPT: Egyptian beauty queen lost her citizenship

Naglaa Ahmad Abdel Ati Suleiman, who reportedly had her Egyptian citizenship revoked for holding Israeli citizenship without obtaining required approval from Egypt's Ministry of Interior.  (photo by YOUTUBE/FekrA)

How one Egyptian beauty queen lost her citizenship

CAIRO — Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail issued on Nov. 10 a decision to revoke citizenship from Naglaa Ahmad Abdel Ati Suleiman because she also held citizenship from Israel without ever having obtained the required permission. Egyptian law requires that any national who wishes to become a dual citizen first obtain approval from the Interior Ministry.

Suleiman, aka Nana, hails from the town of El Bagour in the Monufia governorate. Her father is Egyptian, while her mother is a Palestinian citizen of Israel.

According to Egyptian birth records, Suleiman, 23, was born in 1992 and left Egypt when she was 5 years old for Israel with her mother and father. The family settled in Nazareth, where her father worked as an accounting manager at a rebar plant owned by a Palestinian businessman. She received an Israeli degree in biotechnology, which is considered a pre-med degree, and she graduated with distinction.

Suleiman won the title of Arab Miss Israel in 2009, and she announced after winning that her participation was “a national action aiming at spreading peace.”

She has said that she refused to represent Israel in the Miss World pageant because she is proud of her Egyptian citizenship. Suleiman also noted that all Egyptian universities turned her down because she has a high school degree from Israel and holds Israeli citizenship, although she also has an Egyptian national ID card.

The decision to strip Suleiman of her citizenship sparked contradictory reactions. Some considered it unjust to take such action against an Egyptian girl just because her mother is a Palestinian citizen of Israel who holds Israeli citizenship. Others believed the decision aims to protect national security and ensure that it is not breached by Israelis.

Saad Eddine Ibrahim, professor of sociology at the American University in Cairo and director of the Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies, told Al-Monitor that revoking citizenship is a serious issue that should only be applied in exceptional cases. Therefore, according to him, giving the prime minister the authority to revoke citizenship might result in an abuse of power. Ibrahim expressed his belief that such power must be in the hands of the parliament, and the members of parliament must have all documents and details that allow them to make such a decision after voting on it. He added that this would decrease the possibility of making a wrong judgment and being unjust to certain citizens by depriving them of their most valuable asset — their citizenship.

Ibrahim stressed that there is a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, and Egyptian law allows for holding dual citizenship. For instance, an individual can have both the Egyptian and American passports or the Egyptian and French passports. Thus, in his view, it is only fair to treat the Israeli citizenship just like all others, especially for the Palestinian citizens of Israel whose lands were occupied. Their only option was to flee and leave their properties to Israelis or stay and hold the Israeli nationality, in the hope that their lands might be liberated someday, according to Ibrahim.

Ibrahim said, “If Suleiman were to [appeal this decision] before the administrative judiciary, the Ibn Khaldun Center would support her because she has not committed any crime against the nation and she is proud of her Egyptian citizenship.”

Ahmed Mekki, minister of justice and former deputy head of the Court of Cassation, said, “Article 10 of the Egyptian Nationality Law states that an Egyptian may not acquire a foreign nationality except after obtaining permission to be issued by decree of the minister of interior. Otherwise, he shall continue to be regarded, in all cases, as Egyptian from all points of view, unless the Cabinet decides to strip him of the nationality according to the provisions of Article 16 of the present law, which tackles the cases of stripping a person of their Egyptian nationality. Article 16 clearly noted in its 10th clause that an Egyptian is stripped of his Egyptian nationality if he has been qualified as a Zionist at any time.”

Mekki told Al-Monitor that the administrative judiciary monitors any decision taken by the executive authority. Moreover, he noted that the decision to revoke nationality is always questionable because the authority might misuse its power as per the individual political inclinations of opponents. Forms of punishment are plenty, but the worst — in his view — is depriving people of their citizenship. He said that there have been calls to strip some opposition figures of Egyptian citizenship, even though it’s the only nationality they hold.

Mekki noted that denying the Palestinian citizens of Israel and all Palestinians the right to hold dual Egyptian citizenship is important to protect the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people’s presence in the occupied territories.

Samir Ghattas, an expert on Palestinian affairs and head of the Middle East Forum for Strategic Studies, an Egyptian think tank, told Al-Monitor, “When it comes to Egypt’s national security, we cannot talk about human rights in general. The cases in which people have their citizenship revoked are individual cases that go against the basics of Egypt’s national security. The Egyptian authorities cannot allow people holding Israeli citizenship to walk around freely in Egyptian administrative centers as Egyptian citizens. If the subject in question, hence [Suleiman], is proud to be Egyptian, she should give up her Israeli nationality, and the administrative judiciary will be fair then.”

Strategic expert in national security affairs Gen. Talaat Musallam told Al-Monitor that the decision was in the interest of the country, considering that citizenship is a legal and political link between the individual and the state, and it obliges the individual to be loyal to the state and the state to protect the individual.

He added that the Cabinet is authorized to revoke citizenship, because it includes all ministers in the executive authority. Therefore, according to him, it understands best the notion of national security from all aspects, as per the different portfolios of ministers participating in making the decision.

Musallam added that citizens who hold Israeli citizenship are bound to have some attachment to it and could face pressure from Israeli parties to work with them against their other nationality.

Egypt

RUSSA/EGYPT: Though I do not trust FOX

British tourists arrive for flights at the airport in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh Nov. 9. Tens of thousands of Russians and Britons were being flown out of the town nestled on the edge of the Red Sea after the crash of a Russian Metrojet A-321 that took off from the resort.

Intel on 'two-hour timer' uncovered in Russian jet crash investigation

Investigators analyzing the deadly crash of a Russian jet in Egypt uncovered intelligence about a “a two-hour timer,”  though it is not clear whether the reference came from intercepted communications between known terrorist operatives, or physical evidence, a source familiar with the investigation told Fox News.

A separate source, also not authorized to speak on the record, said that based on the facts so far, one of the working theories is that a bomb was planted at or near the fuel line or where it attaches to the engine, with the fuel burning off the explosive. This theory would explain the apparent lack of residue immediately found, the source says. 

Fox News was told both scenarios point to an "airport insider."

"If proven accurate, if ISIS did put a bomb on this aircraft which I believe to be true, it's a new chapter with respect to ISIS," Texas Republican Rep. Mike McCaul told Fox News. McCaul -- who receives regular briefings -- cannot discuss classified information, but said the Obama administration has consistently underestimated ISIS by emphasizing its focus on gaining territory, rather than expanding its reach to global plots.

"We always assumed Al Qaeda had this capability but now if ISIS has this capability, the threat to American airlines as well and our homeland, I think is very significant."

More on this... 

Sources believe time bomb may have brought down Russian jet

Rep. McCaul on downed Russian jet, growing terror threat 

Fox News was told that Metrojet 9268 disintegrated approximately 23 minutes into the flight, and investigators are now focused on a “90-minute window” before the flight took off and who had access.

These new data points explain why investigators are interviewing ground crews and those with access to the departure lounge, as well as reviewing surveillance camera video.  The review of surveillance images was first reported by ABC News.

The jet crashed in the Sinai Peninsula shortly after takeoff from Sharm el-Sheikh en route to St. Petersburg on Oct. 31. The crash killed all 224 people on board, most of them Russian tourists returning home.

The Defense Department was asked Tuesday whether C-4, an explosive provided to the Iraqi military by the U.S., had been obtained by ISIS.

"We don't have any reason to believe that any U.S. munitions were involved in whatever transpired with the crash itself,"  Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said. "We're still waiting for the investigation to run its course."

A third data point that goes to the airport insider theory is that ISIS has claimed responsibility, though it has been reluctant to explain how it brought down the jet, leaving the airport mole in place.

The U.S. government and the intelligence community continue to emphasize that no firm conclusions have been reached about the cause of the explosion and crash. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Catherine Herridge is an award-winning Chief Intelligence correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC) based in Washington, D.C. She covers intelligence, the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security. Herridge joined FNC in 1996 as a London-based correspondent

 They're leaving

Sisi you're a sack full of lies

PALESTINE/ISRAEL/EGYPT: Published in Haaretz; the Israeli newspaper

Pro-Palestinian Activists Disrupt Talk by Israeli Scholar at University of Minnesota

Activists attempt to silence IDF ethics code co-author Moshe Halbertal at lecture; Police clear protesters and make three arrests, as incident sparks condemnation from university officials.

Beth Kissileff Nov 05, 2015 11:29 PM

Pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted a talk on Tuesday by Israeli philosopher and law professor Moshe Halbertal at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis

Israeli Experts: No, Ben Carson, the Pyramids Were Tombs, Not Grain Silos

Archaeologists counter GOP hopeful’s view that Egyptian pyramids were built by Joseph to store grain with the known facts.

Ruth Schuster Nov 05, 2015 4:25 PM

Israeli Egyptologists are snorting at Republican hopeful Ben Carson’s latest bombshell – that the ancient pyramids of Egypt weren’t built as tombs for pharaohs, but as grain silos.

Admittedly, said bombshell was dropped in 1998, while Carson was speaking at Andrews University, a school associated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church, to which he belongs. It’s low to trash people for things they did as kids. But Ben Carson is now 64, so he must have been about 47 then, which is old enough to know better.

Moreover, according to the Telegraph, he told CBS News last week that he still holds that opinion, based on ... well, nothing.

“My own personal theory is that Joseph built the pyramids to store grain,” Carson said in the video, which resurfaced Wednesday on Buzzfeed.

No, they weren’t. Let us first of all define what we’re talking about. “When Egyptian pyramids are mentioned, people tend to think of the three huge pyramids of Giza, built circa 2589-2503 B.C.E. But in fact, these are the most spectacular part of a far-longer tradition of pyramid building, from ca. 2686 to ca. 2160 B.C.E., and then again from 1985 to about 1750 B.C.E.,” Tel Aviv University’s Dr. Deborah Sweeney tells Haaretz in an email response to queries about Mr. Carson’s unusual views.

“We can clearly see, from looking at the long sequence of these buildings, that pyramids were built as tombs for the king (and the smaller ones beside the larger ones as tombs for some especially favored queens or princesses),” she writes.

“Pyramids were definitely used as tombs: burial equipment, such as sarcophagi, jewelry, mummies or mummy parts were found in some of them. (The others were robbed in antiquity, or in a few cases the burial chambers are below the water table.)”

Further proof they were tombs, not silos, is funerary text inscriptions inside chambers built around 2375 to ca 2160 B.C.E., to help the dead king in his journey to the afterworld, says Sweeney.

Whodunit? Not ET

On the side of scientific sanity, Carson did also add he doesn’t buy the theory that aliens were behind the construction of the pyramids. “And when you look at the way that the pyramids are made, with many chambers that are hermetically sealed, they’d have to be that way for a reason. And various scientists have said, ‘Well, you know there were alien beings that came down and they have special knowledge and that’s how they were’ – you know, it doesn’t require an alien being when God is with you.”

Carson also said the pyramids had been built by Joseph, the youngest of Jewish patriarch Jacob’s 12 sons, who becomes a key adviser to the pharaoh of the time.

Indeed, according to the biblical account (Genesis 41), Joseph was involved in foodstuffs and storage, advising the dream-bedeviled pharaoh that lean years would come and Egypt should prepare by storing surplus corn and grain. And so Egypt did: “And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph to buy corn; because the famine was sore in all the earth” (Genesis 41:57).

We do, however, have some idea of how the ancient Egyptians stored grain – and it wasn’t in pyramids, whose structure is unsuitable for such use anyway, as Sweeney points out. “Pyramids are almost solid masonry: the amount of storage they offer, relative to their mass, is extremely small, which would make them a fairly poor choice for a large storage project, as would sloping corridors and (in the very latest pyramids) a series of concealed entrances to confuse potential tomb-robbers,” she wrote Haaretz, adding, “Again, the forms of sealing used in pyramids, such as blocking corridors with a series of large stone blocks, might not necessarily be useful for storage, since stores also need to be accessible.”

Where they did store grain was in granaries, in which the ancient Egyptians also had a well-established tradition, Sweeney writes. “These were normally dome-shaped buildings open at the top, which stood near houses and government buildings.”

Joseph who?

There is no evidence whatsoever that the pyramids were built by “Joseph” or anybody else except unhappy Egyptian farmers who, as the Nile flooded each year, had to leave their fields and would be coerced into construction projects, explains Prof. Orly Goldwasser, an Egyptologist from the Hebrew University.

Goldwasser also notes that pyramids began to be built some 5,000 years ago, and there is no record whatsoever of ancient Canaanites or Israelites or anybody but ancient Egyptians being around to do the labor. “The first mention of Israelites was in around 1200 B.C.E. – a difference of more than 1,000 years,” she says.

Nor is there any mention of “Joseph” in ancient Egyptian texts, Goldwasser clarifies. “The pyramids have no connection to the people of Israel or anything of the sort,” she concludes.

Carson is a retired neurosurgeon, which means he has scientific background. Yet this broadside against the scientific consensus, based on no evidence whatsoever, isn’t his only one. The presidential candidate, who’s vying with Donald Trump more or less at the head of the GOP pack, has spoken out against the Big Bang (the theory, not the television show), evolution and even gravity.

Back to reality, Carson simultaneously dismisses climate change as anything to worry about – it’s just weather being weather (there’s “always going to be either cooling or warming going on”) and reveals that he has a plan as the water rises around us, and we shouldn’t worry: Arks.

Modern ones, mind you. “It is important to remember that amateurs built the Ark and it was professionals that built the Titanic,” Carson tweeted. Now we know.

The Great Pyramids and Sphinx at Giza, Egpyt. One slight design flaw as grain silos: they were permanently sealed shut.  

Ben Carson: Pyramids Built By 

For Grain Storage, Not For Pharaohs Tombs

 

Obama Will Call on Netanyahu to Take Steps Against Slipping Toward One-state Solution

At press briefing, top White House advisers refuse to say whether steps include settlement construction freeze, but stress continued expansion isn't consistent with two-state solution.

Barak Ravid Nov 06, 2015 1:56 AM

U.S. President Barak Obama will encourage Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take steps to prevent Israel and the Palestinians from moving toward a one-state solution during their meeting at the White House next Monday, the president's senior advisers said at a press briefing Thursday night.

Controversial Documentary on Six-Day War Hits New York City

But the film ‘Censored Voices,’ in which army veterans do the talking, would do well to include other censored voices – those of religious soldiers.

Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt (New York) Nov 06, 2015 2:18 PM

On a summer night on a kibbutz sometime in 1967, a young journalist sits with a tape recorder facing a reluctant face.

Three Wounded in Two Hebron Shootings

Israeli soldier critically wounded near Beit Anoun; 16-year-old and 18-year-old lightly wounded near the Cave of the Patriarchs; IDF combing area.

Gili Cohen and Chaim Levinson Nov 06, 2015 7:53 PM

Three Israelis were wounded in two shooting attacks in less than two hours in Hebron on Friday.

Reform Jewish Leader Condemns Israeli Occupation and Settlements

Speaking at the Reform movement’s biennial conference, Rabbi Rick Jacobs says occupation causes hardship to Palestinians and alienates Israel’s friends.

Allison Kaplan Sommer Nov 06, 2015 5:12 PM

The president of the Reform movement condemned Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and its settlement policies as causing “pain and hardship to the Palestinians.”

 

 

EGYPT: Taking Isis at its word on the Sinai plane crash could be catastrophic

‘If it turns out that Isis was not involved the narrative is set, and so the boons of publicity far outweigh the drawbacks to being outed as duplicitous.’ Photograph: Maxim Grigoriev / Russian Emergency Ministry/EPA

Taking Isis at its word on the Sinai plane crash could be catastrophic

Charlie Winter

Until we know the final analysis we should keep our speculation rational: Isis has cultivated confusion before, and may be trying to exploit this tragedy too

There is a great deal of information floating around regarding Flight KGL9268. So much, in fact, that it is becoming increasingly difficult to ground the mainstream discourse in reality. In light of that, it might help to re-establish the facts.

So, first of all, what do we know? On the 31 October, a Russian plane operated by Metrojet crashed in the Sinai desert, shortly after taking off from Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport. All 224 people on board were killed. On the day of the crash, Islamic State affiliates released two statements – one written and in multiple languages and one audio clip in Arabic. In both messages, the group claimed Isis was responsible for bringing down the plane but stopped well short of providing any details.

A few days later, on 4 November, the same Isis affiliate released another audio statement reiterating its claim and taunting the Egyptian and Russian authorities investigating the crash, challenging them to figure out what happened. Again, it provided no proof or evidence.

Amid an almighty media frenzy, there has been a great deal of expert analysis. Manpads – shoulder-mounted anti-aircraft missiles that we know Isis in Sinai has – were ruled out by the investigators, which leaves us with two potential causes: sabotage, or error (be it technical or human).

Increasingly, the signs seem to be pointing towards foul play. No evidence has been made public yet, but the British government has suspended all flights to and from Sharm el-Sheikh, leaving about 20,000 Britons stranded in the Red Sea resort town.

Until any concrete conclusions emerge, we are left with three working hypotheses: first, that Isis is freeloading on the publicity surrounding the crash; second, that Isis did it; and third, that someone else is responsible. The last option is the least likely, so let’s put it to one side.

Regarding the first hypothesis, the motivations for opportunism are replete – Isis’s claim of involvement has already thrust it to the forefront of the headlines, bolstered its perceived momentum, and ensured its sustained relevance. If this is the case, is has come at next to no cost. Even if it turns out that Isis was not involved the narrative is set, and so the boons of publicity far outweigh the drawbacks to being outed as duplicitous.

If it turns out that the flight was downed by Isis, the situation is markedly more complicated. It would make Isis – an organisation that has hitherto relied on high-profile self-starter terrorist attacks – responsible for the second deadliest terror attack since 9/11 (the first being Beslan). Furthermore, it would mean Isis had succeeded in blowing up an aircraft in mid-air – something that al-Qaida has tried and failed to do for years.

If it does emerge that Isis caused the crash we need to ask, first of all, how they came to this capability and secondly, why they have persistently withheld any real detail of how they did it.

An image posted on 1 November from a website used by Islamic State. ‘It’s not beyond reason that Isis might release a high-profile video from one of its central propaganda outlets in the near future.’ Photograph: Uncredited/AP

In answering the first question, the ability to pull off an operation like this could be a boon of Isis’s “caliphate” model and the internationalised operational capabilities it presents. Hypothetically speaking, the attack could have been planned by Isis in Syria, the bomb could have been built by Isis in Egypt, and the operative who smuggled it on board could have been from Isis’s Russian affiliate.

Regarding the lack of evidence, there are a number of things that could be at play. First and foremost, obfuscation like this maximises attention. Just as it cultivated confusion surrounding the fate of the Jordanian pilot, Muadh al-Kasasbeh, earlier this year, Isis could just be drawing everything out with a view to milking the operation for all its worth. If – emphasis on if – this is the case, it’s not beyond reason that Isis might release a high-profile video from one of its central propaganda outlets in the near future.

If the rumours of Isis’s sabotage become reality, the consequence would be huge. Among other things, Egypt’s tourism industry would be hit immensely hard; air travel the world over would suffer; and security restrictions would likely be revamped and maximised. Regarding Isis, in particular, the implications would be great, too. After all, it would mean that Isis had resolutely trumped al-Qaida, and would likely lead Russia to step up its anti-Isis military campaign – both things that would boost its recruitment efforts dramatically.

In any case, it is critical that, until the final crash analysis emerges, we keep our speculation rational and our assumptions grounded in real, physical evidence. Taking Isis at its word and believing its claim on the basis of a few statements, as some have been guilty of already, is a potentially catastrophic error.

EGYPT/RUSSIA:Russian plane crash: Airliner broke up in the air above Sinai desert.

Metrojet Flight 7K9268, Flight MH-370 and Flight MH-17 – The Similarities are Stunning

Posted on November 1, 2015 by willyloman 

by Scott Creighton

Though it’s too early to cry “foul play” in the downing of Russian Metrojet Flight 7K9268 in the troubled Sinai region of Egypt, it is possible to take a look at some striking similarities between the tragic crash of this airliner and those of some of the most recent crashes in aviation history.

Watch Video Here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandinhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/article11968155.ece#ooid=hsdGhqeDqvHSAavZ8Omlhg8M44tEYC35dianocean/egypt/article11968155.ece#ooid=hsdGhqeDqvHSAavZ8Omlhg8M44tEYC35

Egyptian authorities who are leading up the investigation into the crash have already ruled out an act of terrorism as being the cause of the crash. Seems kind of odd that they could do that so early into the investigation especially considering the dramatic flight data recording from Flight Radar 24.

As you can see, Flight 7K9268 suffered a sudden and massive loss of altitude. This kind of descent usually suggests a catastrophic event on the plane.

To my knowledge, there are no credible reports of the pilots putting out a “mayday” call which also indicates something catastrophic occurred suddenly to the flight.

At first we were told to focus on the weather in the area at the time of the crash as well as the “mountainous” region they were flying through.That would one with the impression that the plane encountered rough weather and crashed into the side of a mountain while trying to under the front.

A quick Google Earth review of the area shows it was rough terrain, but the authorities were able to get there extremely quickly, with ambulances arriving on the scene within hours.

So that made me wonder about how rough this terrain really was. Then I saw the images from the crash site.

I see a lot of debris and total devastation of the airliner, but what I don’t see are any mountains. So the area might be a mountainous region, but they certainly didn’t crash into one.

Of course, you saw the same thing with Flight MH-17 and MH-370 didn’t you?

MH-17 dropped off the radar immediately and we now know it was because it was struck by either a rocket launched from a ground-based BUK system (probably owned and operated by the government of Ukraine) or it was shot down by a fighter pilot working for that same government.

And though people would like you to believe MH-370 was the most stealthy plane in history, magically flying invisibly from the South China Sea all the way down to Australia, the reality is, it dropped off the radar in the South China Sea just as the other two planes did and probably still rests in those very shallow waters.

I will update this article as more of the technical information on this crash becomes available today.

Right now though, I would like to focus on something that’s not getting as much attention, but should be in my opinion and that is the particular political environment that surrounds this region as well as those surrounding the other two crashes I mentioned.

Just briefly to recap:

Flight MH-17: this flight went down as an attempt at a false flag operation. It was deliberately redirected over a conflict zone and then taken out, by whatever means, in order to point the finger at the separatists in the Donbass region. Of course, Russia was tacitly blamed as well by those who still to this day, without any evidence at all, try to assert that Russia provided the BUK system to the rebels which took out this flight.

The region is important to the IMF and other international financial/oil interests and they wanted a blank check for our new puppet regime in Ukraine to be able to launch brutal attacks on the people in the area in order to reclaim the territory on behalf of interests like Royal Dutch Shell and others.

Not surprisingly, the home country of Royal Dutch Shell led the “investigation” into the downing of Flight MH-17 and their conclusions were not only incomplete, they also seem to be rather disingenuous.

Flight MH-370: this flight dropped off the radar in the South China Sea during a war-games exercise being run by the United States. There were two cruise missile destroyers in the area where a witness saw a commercial airliner burning in the night sky in the exact same area where Flight MH-370 dropped off the radar at exactly the same time. That report was quickly forgotten, the man who made the report via official channels at that time was quickly fired from his job and the wild goose chase was on to redirect the search efforts to everywhere and anywhere that wasn’t the South China Sea.

The area of the South China Sea is heavily contested. It’s an important trade route for the United States and China as well and the oligarchs of this country wish to dominate it and control it in an effort to capture complete control over all vital trade routes in that area. It’s part of the “pivot to Asia” plan and that was the purpose of running a military drill in the area at that time. More than likely, the downing of Flight MH-370 was a horrible accident like the tragic downing of Flight 800 off the eastern seaboard of the United States. And like that horrific accident, the US military couldn’t allow the general population to know of their mistake, so it was covered up and to this day, Flight MH-370 remains the ONLY commercial airliner crash to never be found or recovered.

The reason for that is simple and quite obvious.

As you can see, in both of these circumstances, the geographical location as well as the political environment contributed to the downing of the planes. The subsequent “investigations” or lack thereof, tends to lend support to the theories that something rather nefarious caused their demises.

So let’s take a look at…

Flight 7K9268: The Sinai Peninsula is essentially Egypt.. but it’s not. That’s because there has been an uprising taking place over there for quite sometime.

Some will try to tell you this is “ISIS” and has only been going on for a short while. That’s bullshit.

Back before the Egyptian revolution which replaced our previous puppet Mubarak, the people of Sinai were up in arms against his dictatorship.

For a brief time after the first election in that country after that revolution, when the Muslim Brotherhood won by a landslide and Morsi became president, things in Sinai got better and the violence ended.

But then, John Kerry went over and demanded Morsi sign a deal with the IMF and give up on the new constitution which would make IMF austerity measures unconstitutional and when he refused, Kerry simply convinced the corrupt al Sisi to take over via a military coup.

The political party, the Muslim Brotherhood was declared illegal, al Sisi killed over a thousand protesters to hang onto power and then he started rounding up MB political leaders across the country. They arrested thousands of them, killing many in the process.

Suddenly, the Sinai was inflamed once again.

Not hard to understand, right?

Now, the US is completely behind the brutal al Sisi dictatorship in Egypt. So is Israel, by the way.

The troubles in Sinai have been plaguing al Sisi for a while. They even tried to pretend “ISIS” was in Sinai in order to provide his military some cover for their brutal bombings in their efforts to pacify the rebels.

Of course, “ISIS” always goes where we need them to go, right?

But “ISIS” in Egypt is simply ridiculous. This conflict has been going on for a decade at least and it’s always been about the indigenous people of Sinai refusing to bow down to whatever puppet dictator the West deems necessary for their national interests at the time.

A couple months back, the Muslim Brotherhood put out a call for open hostility toward the corrupt al Sisi regime.  new anti-terrorism laws and the murder of several Muslim Brotherhood officials led them to that decision. The US of course, as they usually do, stood firmly with the dictator.

Egypt’s state news agency MENA says the Cabinet has approved an anti-terrorism draft law as well as a long-awaited draft election law.

The approval came as Egyptian troops struggled to fend off a massive assault by Islamic militants in the northern Sinai Peninsula that killed more than 50 soldiers. On Monday, Egypt’s chief prosecutor was assassinated in a Cairo bombing.

Both draft laws now await President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi’s approval before they can be passed by decree.

The MENA report did not describe the proposed laws.

Egyptian media reported Tuesday that the anti-terrorism law would give prosecutors more powers to detain suspects for long periods of time and enable authorities to inspect the bank accounts of those facing terror-related charges.

The United States has strongly condemned the massive coordinated attack on Egyptian troops that killed at least 53 soldiers in the northern Sinai Peninsula.

White House spokesman Ned Price says Wednesday’s assault is a terrorist attack and that the U.S. “stands resolutely” with Egypt. He says the U.S. extends condolences to the relatives of those who died, as well as to the government and the Egyptian people.

The White House says the U.S. will continue working in partnership with Egypt to address threats to its security amid a series of recent attacks.

Egyptian officials say dozens of Islamic militants unleashed a wave of simultaneous attacks against Egyptian army checkpoints, including suicide car bombings, setting off fierce clashes that are still underway. AP, July 2015

The rebels fighting in Sinai are dismissed as “terrorists” or “extremists”. That’s what they always do when people actively reject our ‘centrist” IMF/World Bank neo-liberal ideology.

But it wasn’t until recently they decided to take advantage of our favorite enemy of the day, “ISIS”, and label these guys as being “linked” to “ISIS” in order to win the “hearts and minds” propaganda campaign globally.

You see, they don’t want the image of their new dictator tarnished quite so soon after he assumes his office on behalf of US “national interests”… so “ISIS” is brought in.

Now you might think that the “ISIS” connection in this case is rather distant, but, unfortunately, the film makers and propagandists who make up the “ISIS” propaganda movement have already inserted themselves into the discussion of Flight 7K9268.

Yes, “ISIS” has already tried to take credit for the downing of the plane. They did that by posting an old video of a plane being brought down and some photos of a plane crash that just happened to be of some other plane.

They’ve even put together nifty graphics featuring what appears to be some Irish “ISIS” guy with one of John McCain’s shoulder mounted rocket launchers.

No one is buying this crap. Not even heavy.com who will buy pretty much any BS propaganda they’ve been fed.

Egyptian security is trying to say there are reports of the pilots requesting an emergency landing after reporting technical issues on board and some unconfirmed stories are out there about the co-pilot saying the plane was in need of some repairs to his wife.

Looks and sounds to me like all those stories about Flight MH-370’s co-pilot wanting to commit suicide via plane crash if you ask me.

 Debris from 

the wreckage in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula

Conclusion

In all likelihood Flight 7k9268 was taken out by some form of military action, probably initiated by the Egyptian military or those, like the US, who support their efforts to pacify the people of the region.

The claims of responsibility by “ISIS” show how some are attempting to take advantage of the ‘crisis’ to serve those interests.

Whether it was downed by accident like Flight 800 and Flight 370 or done on purpose like Iran Air Flight 655 and Flight MH-17 is still anyone’s guess.

And like Flight 17, we can trust the investigating nation to obfuscate as much as possible when it comes to determining the real cause of the crash and the loss of so many Russian lives.

It’s also worth noting that the United States is currently involved in one of the most important negotiations of the Obama administration’s tenure, that which will determine just how much of Syria they are allowed to steal in order to create their new oil dynasty, Greater Kurdistan.

All of this leads me to believe something more nefarious than a tragic accident took place in the clear skies above Sinai yesterday.

More info will eventually leak out and that opinion may change but for now, I can’t help but focus on the political circumstances surrounding this tragic event and I can’t help but remember just how brutal these people are when it comes to using military aggression against civilians targets in order to get what they want.

Were it not for that current climate in Sinai and the recent history of Flight 17 and the Doctors Without Borders attacks, I might not tend to assume as much. But, as they say, if history teaches us nothing….

That said… the Russians are not going to tolerate another Flight MH-17 whitewash. They are already on the ground in the area and will certainly lead the investigation themselves.

Shoulder mounted rockets are designed to take out low flying gunships and not commercial airliners flying at 32,000 feet. They simply can’t reach a target at that altitude.

So any attempts to put this on the insurgents in Sinai would be problematic at best. They simply don’t have the hardware to do it.

I could be that someone hijacked control of the flight remotely. But that would leave tell-tale signs in the flight data recorder and cockpit voice data recorders. A risky gambit considering whomever could or would do that must have known Russia would conduct the investigation.

So that leaves basically two possible conclusions: 1. it came down due to a massive on-board system failure and 2. some kind of on-board terrorism angle. The CIA is fond of suitcase bombs aren’t they? Maybe they’ll blame the Iranians again.

Either way, it’s a horrible tragedy. My heart goes out to the families of the people killed yesterday. We’ll wait and see how the situation on the ground there develops. Unfortunately, when my own government has such a horrible track record, I can’t help but defer to false flag terrorism as my default position. Hopefully I’ll be wrong this time around… this time.