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Winners & Losers

Winners Russia: Overtakes Saudi Arabia as world’s largest oil producer. Moqtada al-Sadr: Britain’s pulldown in southern Iraq leaves no one but Sadr in charge. Choice: Plan B goes over the counter. Sri Lanka: After weeks of shortages and renewed fighting between the government and Tamil Tigers, aid finally arrives. McCain & Obama: Forget the midterms. ...

By Carolyn O'Hara

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August 25, 2006, 11:52 PM

Winners

Winners

Russia: Overtakes Saudi Arabia as world’s largest oil producer.

Moqtada al-Sadr: Britain’s pulldown in southern Iraq leaves no one but Sadr in charge.

Choice: Plan B goes over the counter.

Sri Lanka: After weeks of shortages and renewed fighting between the government and Tamil Tigers, aid finally arrives.

McCain & Obama: Forget the midterms. Everyone’s talking about 2008. McCain lures former top State Dept hand Bob Zoellick to his team, and Obama wows ’em in Kenya.

Losers

Pluto: Many Very Earnest Men Just Snubbed Unfortunate Ninth Planet (Hat tip:

Kottke/Dave Child)

Tom Cruise: No longer Paramount’s Top Gun. You know you’re in trouble when even Hollywood thinks you’re weird.

Darfur: More rapes, more child soldiers, and it’s unlikely any blue helmets are on the way.

Cricket: The most genteel of games sparks a most ungentlemanly row.

Osama: Ex-girlfriend’s tell-all can’t help his image. Especially given the subject of his obsession.

Carolyn O'Hara is a senior editor at Foreign Policy.

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