Orange Inflections

Breaking Bad good .. - Pic courtesy of Wikipedia

by Trebor Snillor
It’s been a while since my last entry -- lots to cover. I actually have 3 topics but probably not enough imagination to do a full article on any one of these. I will land on each thing, hummingbird style, and see what I can add to the topic.

IRAQ

Iraq is having a highly predictable meltdown as I write this. A Sunni-Al Qaeda offshoot called ISIS is rolling across northern Iraq. It’s already taken Tikrit and Mosul as well as several smaller towns. President Al Maliki’s army outnumbers ISIS 30 to 1 and it has state-of-the-art weapons donated by the USA. Such a defeat would be surprising if not for a few background details...

MOSQUE/STATE -- The Middle East has no concept of Mosque-state separation. Whatever mainstream religion is in the catbird seat will play its advantage and suppress other strains of Islam. The Iraq government is a patched together group of Shi’ite leaders who have given no acknowledgement to the Sunnis. The Sunnis are a majority in the recently conquered areas and have no allegiance to Al Maliki.

DEMOCRACY -- Jeffersonian Democracy is a hard sell throughout the Third World. It calls for an educated, involved public and one that is uncowed by any particular organized religion. The US cannot side with any religion in that region without alienating large groups of people. Obama probably has a good idea to send military advisors and request that Al Maliki be more inclusive.

HILLARY’S HARD CHOICES

I’m listening to Hillary Clinton’s latest book, Hard Choices. I have to say that it comes across like a campaign commercial -- lots of unabashed bragging about her accomplishments as Secretary of State and a “Team of Rivals”. Her first book, Living History, seemed more genuine and modest. In Hard Choices, she scolds previous Secretaries of State and Defense for taking their eyes off the ball and losing long term focus. Her book was published a couple of weeks before ISIS swept through Iraq -- the irony abounds. I’m only on Chapter 3 of a 35 chapter book so I may have more to say. Overall, I like Hillary but this book is more like a geography lesson from Doris Kearns Goodwin. It tends towards boring when it’s not bragging. Maybe it’ll pick up in the chapters to follow.

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK

Orange is the New Black is a break-out hit on Netflix. The comedy-drama about a women’s prison has garnered a slew of awards and is a top-rated show nationally. I have a new expression -- “Breaking Bad good”. Orange is Breaking Bad good. Like Breaking Bad, it shows complicated, flawed, basically decent people who’ve made some bad choices. The show compels the viewer to sit in and binge watch a whole season in one day.

The main character, Piper, is serving a one year sentence for working as a drug mule. Pretty blonde Piper is challenged immediately in a world which is ruled by gang politics and race-based maneuvering for influence. The threats of violence and sexual aggression are very real -- the women’s universe is very much a mirror of what happens in men’s prisons. The performances are so perfect I wonder if some of these actresses might have served time.

CONCLUSION

Today we had an entire day of gentle, soaking rain. Dallas desperately needed it, but I’m surprised the channel 5 News Team completely missed this in their forecast. I’ll probably relax at home and take in another two episodes of Orange, Season 2.

Hillary’s book is a bit of a chore -- I’ll listen to it on my iPod while I work out, when I work out. The 20 minute segments will be about right for that.

Iraq is a nasty quicksand pit as anyone might’ve predicted. The country is an ill-defined hodge-podge from British Empire days .. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it fracture completely apart along geo-religious lines.

© 2014 Snillor Productions