The 787 Dreamliner Bit

Annoyingly it seems that parts of the US' little outburst yesterday are becoming pertinent sooner then others. So what I intend to do is cover them in a series of posts of deteriorating quality. Tomorrow I will then edit those posts together into a more coherent single post provisionally entitled "Performance Rih-View Time!" However with the first US leg of Rihanna's tour beginning on Friday (8/3/13) I may need to think up a classification system for this type of post. At the moment I'm torn between "Operation Diamonds" or "Operation Misery." However if you give me a while I'm sure I'll come up with something much ruder.

Anyway back to the title. Yesterday it was reported that the US' Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has lifted it's ban on Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft using US airspace. While there is a legitimate teething problem with the 787 fleet the story has long been used as a metaphor for Rihanna's Diamonds Tour or more accurately Chris Brown's role within that tour. Therefore the news that the FAA are allowing the Dreamliner to fly again could be interpreted as the US giving it's full endorsement to the Rihanna/Brown reunion and giving Brown permission to join Rihanna on tour.

However the FAA is only granting permission for Dreamliners to operate within US airspace on condition that they install a technical fix. Basically the legitimate problem has been traced to a single section of the aircraft's lithium-ion battery which is referred to as either "Cell 6" or "Chris Brown" depending on your translation service. The technical solution involves confining each of the individual cells (particularly Cell 6) into their own small protective box rather like a prison cell. Therefore the story could also be interpreted as the US saying that Rihanna's tour can only go ahead on condition that Chris Brown goes to prison. However it's worth noting that the US have firmly rejected a Japanese suggestion that Brown is electronically tagged while under strict bail conditions and awaiting trial. This is obviously likely to have a negative effect on Rihanna's mood because if justice is allowed to run it's course Chris Brown will be going to prison for a very long time. The current sentence that is being bounced is 15 to 20 years with the possibility of early release.

What will have a negative impact on Rihanna's and everybody else's mood is that this also raises for debate the very real possibility that if Brown were to attempt to join Rihanna on tour the host nation may simply refuse him entry, deport him back to the US and declare him persona non grata preventing him from re-entering that country ever again.

In response to the FAA news on the Dreamliner UK tour operator Thomson have announced that they will be switching all passengers booked for 787 flights in May and June onto 767 aircraft. This could be interpreted as the UK registering it's disapproval at the Rihanna/Brown reunion. However it is much more likely to be the UK enquiring about what has essentially been a complex bilateral between the US and Japan. This is further emphasised by my father today theatrically and annoyingly making a big show out of recharging his car battery. See also yesterday's plane crash in the Diamond Republic of Congo (DRC).

Also yesterday in the US British bankrobber Edward 'Fast Eddie' Maher was jailed over a USD1.8 million security van robbery in 1993. 'Fast Eddie' is also the nickname of Edward 'Fast Eddie' George the Governor of the Bank of England between 1993 and 2003. So I think the US and the UK are going to have to try much harder to convince people that the current Rihanna/Chris Brown operation is something other then a Protestant circle-jerk.

In other news US pop-star Justin Bieber is currently in the middle of something of a Twitter storm after disappointing fans by turning up some 2 hours late for his concert at London's 02 Arena. Exactly how late he was is still a matter for discussion. However Beiber has since taken to Twitter blaming the delay on technical problems caused by the venue. This could be interpreted as a hint to Rihanna about her disastrous 777 Tour or an attempt to promote discussion about possibly retaliations Rihanna could face due to her needlessly aggressive behaviour.

The real reason though is far more gossipy and therefore far more interesting. Back in January 2013 Bieber split up with his long term girlfriend Selena Gomez and by all accounts he's not been taking it well. Since then he's been making lots of these sort of overture towards Rihanna. Therefore I stand by my comment about Rihanna being able to do better then Chris Brown. But not by much.

(Orginally posted) 16:00 on 5/3/13.