Blue Monday

Russia's going nuclear, the U.S. is going nowhere, and Cambodia's going wild

We hope you had a chance to relax this weekend, to cast aside your cares and spend hours soaking in the jasmine-scented bubble bath of life. Because now it's back to the putrid mudbath of reality. From Russia comes news that the country is planning to build two nuclear reactors a year through 2015 and four a year by 2020, aiming to generate at least 25 percent of its energy the Chernobyl way by 2030. And really, what could go wrong? From Germany comes "news" that the U.S. stood in the way at a G8 summit as delegates discussed addressing climate change through carbon trading and developing-country reforestation. The stubborn mofos' position, said German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel, was "regrettable," but "not a surprise." And from Cambodia comes a report that part of the Ho Chi Minh Trail has become a haven for threatened wildlife. Oh wait, that's good news: it means even a hopeless quagmire has its heartwarming follow-up stories. We'll look forward to that Fallujah bird sanctuary in 2040.