Tis the Season to Spread Good Cheer.

Monday December 25th (25/12/17) will mark Christmas Day in the Gregorian calender.

For Christians this is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ who they consider to be the son of God. Muslims may also choose to mark the day as a celebration of the birth of Jesus - one of God's messengers.

Regardless of religion many people choose to mark the day by gathering together with family and loved ones. Together they eat a big meal, exchange gifts and the often watch a lot of television and movies.

For children the most important figure in this celebration is Santa Claus or Father Christmas. He is the jolly old man who breaks into their homes over Christmas Eve night and delivers them lots of presents.

For adults and particularly parents the even more important figures in the story are Santa's Little Helpers.

Although everyone enjoys the day and the short holiday after the day Christmas involves so much work that everyone dreams of magic little elves that come in and do the work for them.

As you may have noticed this week I have largely been preoccupied with all that extra work. What I would like to have been doing today is providing you with a quick update on the current fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and associated groups. Then move onto something more festive.

Unfortunately I am still stuck dealing with the fallout from the popstar Rihanna's decision to date a senior ISIL supporter. A Saudi by the name of Hassan Jameel.

You can read more about that in Monday's (18/12/17) post; https://watchitdie.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/every-con-leaves-its-mark.html

As I was writing that post there was a security incident at Royal Air Force (RAF) base Mildenhall in the British county of Suffolk. This military base is also used by the United States Air Force (USAF).

Apparently a man drove his vehicle through checkpoints onto the base and came within metres/yards of US V-22 Osprey aircraft before shots were fired and his Volvo estate car came to a halt. The man was arrested uninjured and detained under the Mental Health Act.

RAF Mildenhall had been the focus of a threat from Islamist terrorism back in May 2016. ISIL supporters Junead Khan and Shazib Khan were jailed for plotting to attack either that base or the nearby RAF Lakenhall.

Junead Khan had worked as a delivery driver for a pharmaceutical company. He may well have delivered products made by Israel's Teva or Barry Sherman's Apotex.

In discussing Rihanna's relationship with Hassan Jameel Germany referenced the US TV Show; "The Unit." This featured the actor John Hamm just before he became famous for his role in the US TV show; "Mad Men."

In The Unit John Hamm's character was an anti-war protester who was always demonstrating and trying to gain entry to the base. Although I will need to check the record I think he bonded with the wife of one of the unit members during a shooting incident at or near the base.

The fact that the incident at RAF Mildenhall resulted in a man being detained under the Mental Health Act really underlined John Hamm's role in The Unit. He is of course probably the world's most famous Mad Man.

The primary objective of Rihanna's 2013 Diamonds World Tour (DWT) was to force her into psychotic breakdown/mental health emergency while in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). As a result mental health issues have a been a constant theme in her story.

In the immediate aftermath of the RAF Mildenhall incident there was lots of discussion over whether it was a terrorist incident or not. That reflected the discussion over whether Hassan Jameel and by extension Rihanna are terrorists or not.

The RAF Mildenhall incident forced the US to announce that it did not consider the incident and by extension Hassan Jameel to be terrorist related. That was done both to make the US look like fools and to justify the UK's hosting of the Rihanna/Jameel relationship.

While the RAF Mildenhall incident was underway the US seemed to be realising its error in its own special way. A train derailed and crashed in the Du Pont Circle area of Portland in the US state of Washington.

When a plan or a person is starting to fall apart it is common to say that; "It is going off the rails." If it goes really badly it may be described as; "A Train Wreck." Amy Schumer's 2015 movie; "Trainwreck" was all about a woman's personal life becoming a disaster.

Obviously in the wake of Monday' (18/12/17) train wreck there has been lots of discussion about what caused things to go off the rails. The main explanation offered so far is that the train was moving quicker than the track could cope with.

This explanation rather confirms Britain's theory. The US is trying to flip the Rihanna/Jameel relationship so information about Saudi Arabia will flow to the US via Rihanna. They're obviously upset that the UK was so quick on the uptake about this they were able to put in place a plan to piggyback on the flow of information.

The Du Pont Circle derailment also seems similar to the plot of the 2010 movie; "Unstoppable." This revolves efforts to stop a runaway train before it derails and flies off the tracks. Again I'll need to check the record but I think in the movie they're particularly concerned about a bend in the track by a (Portland) cement factory.

Rihanna's 2013 Diamonds World Tour (DWT) was preceded by her mini "777 Tour" in late 2012.

This saw Rihanna, her entourage and specially selected music journalists packed aboard a Boeing 777. They all travelled together as Rihanna performed 7 concerts in 7 countries over 7 days.

This gruelling schedule left all involved overtired and angry. The journalists were particularly unhappy about being crammed into economy class and then being forced to wait on the tarmac for hours in London, UK because Rihanna and her entourage couldn't be bothered to get out of their beds in luxury hotels.

By the end of the 777 Tour all the journalists involved, the publications they worked for, all their friends and all the publications they worked for were pretty much ready to kill Rihanna. It took a major charm offensive from people like me to stop them taking their revenge on Rihanna's 2013 "Unapologetic" album and the DWT it supported.

In the movie Unstoppable the runaway train is designated by the callsign; "777." As a result it features lots of dialogue such as; "777 Must Be Stopped!" and; "If 777 isn't stopped it will be a disaster!"

Watching the movie right before the start of Rihanna's 777 Tour I found it to be a comedy classic. They should probably have shown it on the plane.

America's Washington state is home to State Attorney General Bob Ferguson. He rose to prominence early in 2017 by leading the opposition to US President Trump's restrictions on immigration. As with all others who followed AG Ferguson's objections have recently been ruled invalid by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS).

On December 11th (11/12/17) a Bangladeshi immigration tried and failed to carry out an Islamist terror attack in New York City, New York, US.

Supporters of AG Ferguson and opponents of President Trump leapt on this as evidence that Trump's so-called Muslim Ban was racist and did nothing to improve America's security. As with so much in their lives in doing this they really didn't think it through.

If Trump was trying to impose a Muslim ban you would think that he would start with Muslim majority nations. The fact that The People's Republic of Bangladesh and its near neighbour The Islamic Republic of Pakistan are not affected by the ban are actually evidence that Trump's immigration restrictions are not a Muslim ban.

Also if AG Ferguson and others had not acted unlawfully in attempting to block President Trump's immigration restrictions they would have gone into effect when they were announced in early 2017. By now they would have been refined so nations who've made changes would be removed from the ban while nations who are now providing cause for concern would be included.

On Tuesday (19/12/17) the US' neighbour to the south Mexico joined the discussion with a tour bus crash that killed 8 US citizens.

To my shame Latin American continues to represent something of a black hole in my knowledge. However I do know that the bus was being operated as an excursion by the Royal Caribbean cruise line.

Although she's often mistaken for an American Rihanna is actually from the Caribbean island of Barbados. This is part of the UK Commonwealth making it part of the, well, Royal Caribbean.

I've also just learnt that the state where the crash occurred is named after Andres Quintana Roo - a key figure in Mexico's 1821 War of Independence. Of all the Mexican states it is also the one which sounds the most like; "Quinta Brigada."

Spanish for; "15th Brigade" the term Quinta Brigada is often used to refer to the International Brigades who fought for anti-Fascist Republican forces during Spain's 1936-1939 Civil War.

There has been a renewed interest in this oft forgotten period of history due to the anti-ISIL Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF/QSD) forming their own, much smaller International Brigade. Apparently under the leadership of commander Wayne Rooney.

Several US citizens have fought for and died for the SDF's International Brigade. Rihanna is currently lining up on the opposing side to those volunteers.

Also on Tuesday (19/12/17) raids were carried out a several addresses in the UK to prevent an Islamist terror plot. Although its not been confirmed it is believed that the raids disrupted an advanced plot to bomb shoppers at Christmas markets in London tomorrow (23/12/17).

Sadly rather than being part of the Rihanna/Jameel discussion I think this was genuine. Rihanna's associates are actively plotting to kill British citizens. If they British security services find out about those plots they are under an obligation to stop them.

On Thursday (21/12/17) Australia joined in the discussion. A man deliberately drove a Suzuki 4x4 into pedestrians outside Flinders Street Railway station in the city of Melbourne. This injured 19 people.

The city of Melbourne has a special place in Rihanna's 2013 Diamonds World Tour.

Throughout the tour one of the key issues was when Rihanna would leave one country and travel to another. Different nations had different political themes and different threat profiles.

For example the UAE had the maximum threat profile. So much so that Israel actually delayed a municipal election in Tel Aviv so they could get Rihanna into the country immediately after she'd visited the UAE.

The intention was that if the worst should happen Tel Aviv could function as something of an aid station. It would allow Rihanna to be assessed and treatment options and medical evacuations decided upon. Even using private jets medically evacuating some in a psychological crisis across continents is extremely complicated.

Rather than being driven by any political motive this was simply Israel showing the humanity it seems unable to extend to Palestinians.

As always seems to be the case Rihanna was extremely hostile to those trying to help her. This meant that she often tried to keep her movements from one country to another secret.

Following her concerts in China on September 13th (13/9/13) and September 14th (14/9/13) Rihanna even made a completely unscheduled trip to Thailand. That resulted in such a backlash Thailand conducted a coup to overthrow the government that agreed to it.

After her concerts in Australia and New Zealand Rihanna was supposed to head to South Africa. The last stop before the UAE this occurred at the most tense time of the tour. However Rihanna didn't go straight to South Africa. Instead she holed up in a hotel right on the shoreline in Sydney Harbour.

At the time Sydney Harbour was being used to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Australian Navy. This meant that Sydney Harbour was filled with 20 warships from 17 nations all showing off their big guns and noisy aircraft. Hardly a restful place for Rihanna particularly as her fanbase; "The Navy" didn't exactly measure up.

So Melbourne suggested it was time for Rihanna to leave Australia. They did this by letting a Kangaroo loose at Melbourne Airport.

As with the RAF Mildenhall incident the Melbourne incident raised the question of whether Hassan Jameel and by extension Rihanna are considered a terrorists. Actually using a Toyota 4x4 like the ones Hassan Jameel has supplied to ISIL would have been too obvious. It also raised the question of mental health issues.

The driver of the vehicle in Melbourne was quickly identified as an immigrant from Afghanistan with a long history of mental health problems and drug addiction. Rather than ruling out terrorism this means that he very firmly fits the profile of a suicide attacker. Particularly one in his native Afghanistan where ISIL are on the rise.

Far from the heroic image they like to project suicide bombers are often mentally retarded, mentally ill, terminally ill or owe massive debts to drug dealers. They either don't understand they're about to blow themselves up or do it in return for money for their families.

Alongside the driver police in Melbourne also arrested a second Muslim man at the scene. He was filming the attack while in possession of a three large knives.

Again this is classic Islamist terrorist behaviour.

I don't think any terrorist group has embraced propaganda quite like ISIL. However even before ISIL is was extremely common for terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan to film their attacks. They would then release the footage on the Internet.

This practice actually formed the basis for a major plot point in the 2007 movie; "The Kingdom." An attack on a compound housing American oil workers in Saudi Arabia was filmed by a terrorist mastermind in a nearby apartment building who then put the footage on the Internet.

If the American oil workers in the movie could learn to hold their bats properly they could well be celebrating a traditional Australian Christmas.

You can watch the first four minutes of The Kingdom here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKppKRnM7cU

The events at Flinders Street were accompanied by an explosion of gas used to power forklift trucks at the Bayside Shopping Centre in the Frankston area of the city. Sometimes known as; "Melbourne Market" this was in reference to the arrests made in the UK on Tuesday (19/12/17).

Rihanna has now returned to the US from the UK. However it's not so much her location that's the issue as the company she keeps.

17:20 on 22/12/17 (UK date).