#Winners and #Losers - Feeling Liberated

The Week in Liberating Mosul

Winner: Mosul’s contractors—the UN estimates that it will cost at least $1 billion to rebuild the city’s basic infrastructure. Bad news for the city’s residents, good news for the city’s unemployed. #IfYouRebuildItTheyWillCome 

Loser: Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi—getting rid of ISIS, believe it or not, will be the easy part. There’s a reason Iraq didn’t come together after Saddam; Kurds, Shia and Sunni groups have their own political aims, often conflicting. So taking a victory lap after the fall of Mosul—while understandable—feels a wee bit presumptuous. #MissionAccomplishedPt2

The Week in Chains

Winner: Beachgoers in Florida—one of the best stories I’ve come across in 2017. A Florida tide pulled a family out to sea, and all individual attempts to rescue them failed. 80 people then jumped into the water, formed a human chain, and pulled them all to safety. #NoOneLeftBehind

Loser: Donald Trump Jr.—either the guy is breathtakingly stupid, or releasing the email chain with his Russian contacts minutes before the New York Times was set to publish the story is the ballsiest crisis communication strategy I’ve ever seen. Guess which way I’m leaning. #DoYouLoveItNow

The Week in Jailings With Symbolism

Winner: Brazilians—Former president Lula was convicted of corruption and money laundering charges this week and sentenced to 9 years. While it’s still a coin flip if current President Michel Temer gets impeached on the corruption charges already leveled against him, make no mistake—Brazil has the strongest rule of law of any country in Latin America. #GoodReminder

Loser: Russians—Russian social media users were none too pleased to see a 28-year old man with spinal muscular atrophy sentenced to jail for assaulting a former special forces officer and stealing his scooter. Despite his debilitating condition that confines him to a wheelchair, prosecutors say his condition is not on a government list of disabilities that exempts him from jail time. The outcry got so great that Russia’s human rights ombudsman is now wading into the proceedings. #SeriouslyThatsARealJob

The Week in Mixing Art and Politics

Winner: French army band—at the end of a two hour military parade to mark Bastille Day, the French army band played a rousing Daft Punk medley, including the duo’s signature hit “Get Lucky.” All seem amused—maybe even Trump. #NeedsAllTheLuckHeCanGet

Loser: Russian Theater—Moscow’s Bolshoi theater cancelled a performance about a famous gay Russian dancer three days before its sold-out world premiere. TASS news agency reported Russian culture minister Vladimir Medinsky was involved in the decision. The performance will be replaced by “Don Quixote.” #DontAskAboutSancho

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Ian Bremmer is president of Eurasia Group, foreign affairs columnist at TIME and Global Research Professor at New York University. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook.