The Great Oz Gamble.

Since the 2015 Oscars I seem to have been constantly talking about this US TV Show "Oz." Initially I brought it up because being set in a US prison it address many of the issues surrounding crime and punishment that have suddenly become very current due the wave of anti-police protests that began with the killing of Micheal Brown in Ferguson, Missouri back in August 2014.

However since then I've noticed that the references have become a lot more specific - as if the show is being used as the inspiration for many current diplomatic plays. In fact I'm starting to get the impression that bets are being placed on which specific episode I'm currently watching. I of course got a little bit behind during the Eurovision Song Contest.

One of the most important characters in the show is "Kareem Said." Obviously across the six years and six seasons the show ran for there is a lot of character development and narrative arcs. Also none of the characters who are serving sentences in the maximum security prison are particularly noble or even likable. For example as a black supremacists Said is in prison for what these days would be considered a terrorist attack against a white owned business. However Said represents what I would consider to be a true Muslim. I mean that in the sense that he has a very deep understanding of not only Islam as a religion but particularly its moral and philosophical implications. Said uses this to offer moral advice to many of the other prisoners and staff very much making him the conscience of the show.

As part of his journey Said faces challenges to his power as leader of the prison's Muslim faction. The first of these comes from "Hamid Khan" whose knowledge of Islam is not as strong possibly causing him to be more militant and ego driven. The Khan character is a not particularly subtle reference to the black supremacy "Nation of Islam" movement. Later on Said faces a leadership challenge from the "Supreme Allah" character who openly represents the "5% Nation" which is an even more extreme off-shoot of the Nation of Islam.

What makes the Said character even more interesting is that Oz began in 1997 and ran until 2003. This means that it was in production during the September 11th 2001 (11/9/01) terrorist attacks when America really lost it's innocence and the entire World changed dramatically.

In the season that was broadcast in the winter/spring of 2001 Said goes into this really self-destructive spiral becoming increasingly angry, aggressive and even violent. As a result there are lots of frantic discussions amongst the prison staff along the lines of; "What's wrong with Said," "We must do something about Said" and "Said's going to hurt someone."

In a parallel story line a former Irish Republican Army (IRA) terrorist is brought into the prison as he fights extradition to the UK. Upon learning that his asylum claim has been rejected this IRA character decides that he is going to build a bomb. This leads to lots of discussion about the pros and cons of terrorist ideology and the season ends in a massive fiery explosion.

Those complimentary storylines is the sort of thing that fuels plenty of 9/11 conspiracy theories. However I should point out that back in July of 2001 - two months before the 9/11 attacks - the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) were concerned enough about the terror threat posed by Afghanistan that they unanimously passed Chapter 7 resolution 1363 (2001) authorising the use of military force. Although it was a just before my time I suspect that everybody suspected that "It" was coming even if they didn't know what it was until it happened.

Perhaps reflecting the rather oppressive political atmosphere in the US at the time the season of Oz that was broadcast in the winter/spring of 2002 doesn't mention the 9/11 attacks at all. However it does begin with a bus crash that kills many of the prisoners loved ones giving way to lots of storylines about grief, loss and tragedy. Also some of the older prisoners share their stories about being soldiers in both the Vietnam and Second World War. The over-riding message being that sometimes people have just got to take the hit.

Obviously post-9/11 Said and all the Muslim prisoners became highly controversial. In a effort to redeem him Said is given the job of mentoring this prisoner called "Omar White." Despite having an Islamic name Omar is not a Muslim and if anythings seems to represent a crack cocaine addict. That is to say that he never sits still, he never stops talking, his thoughts are very chaotic and he is very impulsive leading to him getting into lots of fights. At the start of mentoring Said tells Omar to make his bed and after noting that he's made his bed Said gives Omar the mantra to repeat; "I must not fight." This strikes me as a very liberal TV show trying to warn the US not to invade Iraq.

Saving me the effort of separate post while I was catching up on these Oz episodes last night the FIFA Women's World Cup began in Canada with a match between the hosts and China. I didn't watch all of it because due to the UEFA Champions League Final earlier in the evening I was a bit footballed out. Also I have no problem admitting the fact that in light of recent events the CONCACAF nations haven't been suspended from the competition leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

The match actually provided a prime example of the corrosive effect that CONCACAF are having on World football. In the 15 minutes of the first half and the last 20 minutes of the second that I watched it was clear that China were parking the defensive bus in an effort to eek out a 0-0 draw and with it a point. They were succeeding in this right up until the 90th minute (90+4stoppage) when China's Zhao Rong was guarding the ball in her own penalty area with her arm outstretched as she is entitled to do. Canada's Adriana Leon then headbutted Zhao's arm and tumbled to the ground. The Ukrainian referee then wrongly awarded a penalty that won the match.

The referee - Kateryna Monzul - is Ukrainian. Canada has a large Ukrainian diaspora population and in frequent, transparent attempts to appeal to that section of the electorate Canadian PM Harper likes to rail against Russia. Just on Friday (5/6/15) Harper claimed that Russia had no place in the G7. China is of course considered an ally of Russia.

By contrast the Champions League final was a clean if uninspiring contest. You can't help but wonder though whether it was the influence of their Qatari sponsors that allowed Barcelona to sign match winner Suarez at a time when Suarez was banned from all football activity and Barcelona were banned from the transfer market.

11:15 on 7/6/15 (UK date)