Operation Misery: Month 4, Week 1, Day 7.

Since my last post on the subject Rihanna has performed two more concerts in Manchester, UK. Although I've not checked I suspect both of these were the standard five act concert with standard set and costume changes used. The only controversy is that for Rihanna's UK shows she is scheduled to appear on stage at 20:30 (local). This strikes me as a condition of the venues license but is far too early in the evening. Therefore Rihanna only actually appears on stage at around 21:30 - 21:45 (local). This shouldn't be a problem as long as the concert has ended and the venue is cleared by 01:00 (local) otherwise people are going to start incurring fines.

The only big political thing is that on her way to the venue yesterday (13/6/13) Rihanna made sure she was photographed wearing a T-Shirt promoting the 1994 film "Natural Born Killers" and the golden 'Amistad' neck chain that Chris Brown gave to her. If you're not familiar with the film Natural Born Killers it's a very controversial piece that tells the story of two abuse victims who form a highly destructive romantic relationship and embark on a killing spree only to be celebrated by the media. Along with Romeo and Juliet and James Dean and Marilyn Monroe this is another example of a fictional doomed love affair that Chris Brown and Rihanna like to compare their relationship to. Therefore this little photo-opportunity was clearly  an attempt to promote discussion about Rihanna and Chris Brown's relationship with a view to raise speculation that Chris Brown could join Rihanna on tour ahead of the G8 Summit.

The US quickly followed this up with a story about a private jet crashing into a hanger at Chino Airport in Los Angeles. Obviously this can be interpreted in a number of ways. However the fact that the aircraft was undergoing an engine test at the time of the crash is supposed to indicate that the CIA handlers are assessing whether the Chris Brown operation is still viable and beginning the err on the side of thinking its not. Primarily though this was intended to promote discussion of the issue at the G8 Summit.

This didn't stop the UK joining in by announcing that it has informed airlines across the world not to attempt to bring PRISM leaker Edward Snowdon into the UK. That is intended to be interpreted as the UK saying that Chris Brown will not be welcome to join Rihanna in the UK. Obviously they're lying by saying this very publicly while privately urging the US to continue. The intention is to see which other European Union (EU) nations will follow suit by calling for a similar ban on Edward Snowdon/Chris Brown. It must be said though that it really highlights the problems with the operation when the people who are set to gain the most from it feel the need to question its viability.

(Originally Posted) 15:30 on 14/6/13.