Blackwater gets OK to resume Iraq duty

Did anyone really think that the Iraqi government has anything to say about what goes on in Iraq? That'll teach 'em!

Blackwater

Question of the day (week, month; choose one):

? is to Blackwater what Continental Air Services was to Air America?

Plus ça change...

Our new sponsor

The less said the better.

PEP'S

I ordered a walking stick. Not that I do a lot of walking, but sometimes I like to "put some stick about and make 'em jump" to quote the inimitable Francis Urquhart. With this in mind, it was obvious that something out of the ordinary was called for, which led me to the doorstep of PEP'S in le Passage de l'Ancre in the third arrondissement.

The proprietor, Thierry Millet by name, is what the French refer to as un Monsieur, a gentleman let us say, who appreciates things done properly and with all due elegance. This shows in the way he speaks with well chosen words (recalling Philippe Noiret) and in the way he crafts repairs to the umbrellas that are his specialty. He took my order for a cane that Fred Astaire would have felt at ease with as a prop, but not before taking my measure both literally and figuratively. We spoke at length about a number of subjects, most unrelated to the purpose of my visit.

He demonstrated a superior intellect, an engaging sense of humor and a respectful curiosity; all that one would hope for in a friend but seldom finds in a casual exchange. The hour spent in his shop transcended the mere act of a retail purchase and served to remind me why I love living in Paris.

Merci M. Millet !

U.K. NATIONAL LOTTERY

PO Box 1010 Liverpool L70 1NL United Kingdom.

Ref: XYC /26500460037/08

Batch: 74/00319/IPD

BONUS LOTTERY PROMOTION PRIZE AWARDS WINNING NOTIFICATION

This is to inform you that you have been selected for a cash prize of £2,532,137 (Two million, Five hundred and Thirty Two Thousand, One Hundred and Thirty Seven pounds sterling) held on the 3rd of September 2007.The selection process was carried out through random selection in our computerized email selection system(ess) from a database of over 25,000

Email addresses drawn from which you were selected. Your e-mail address emerged as one of the lucky winners in the category \\\"A\\\" with the following

Winning information:

Agent Name: Smith Stanford

Email: uklottoclaimsdepartment07@yahoo.co.uk

Phone: +44-701-115-0452

Fax:+44-707-500-4840

Fill the below:

1. Name: Ray D. Shosay.

2. Address: Hotel Georges V, Paris, France.

3. Marital Status: Unconvinced.

4. Occupation: Screenwriter extraordinaire/Price gouger.

5. Age: Dark.

6. Sex: Thank you, yes.

7. Nationality: Worldly, if itinerant.

8. Country of Residence: Well,as you may recall...

9. Telephone Number: Only five people have my phone number and three of them are me.

MODE OF PAYMENT

1: certified cheque issued in your name couriered to you.

I don't like strangers appearing at my door. Post traumatic shock, you might say, as a result of certain mis-adventures with Désespérée, not to mention the broken window.

2: Bank to Bank wire transfer.

Must you use banks? They're all in it together!

Once again congratulations...

Cordially,

Sir George Arisson

Online Co-ordinator

U.K NATIONAL LOTTERY

"Connivers, Back-Stabbers and Fear-Biters"

I have just about completed my new novel "Connivers, Back-Stabbers and Fear-Biters" which is an appreciation of my inner circle and how they helped put me where I am today. In anticipation of its release, I have asked the hotel staff to research the history of my (junior) suite to discover if any grand figure(s) from the literary world ever passed away, succumbed or gave up the ghost within its confines. In the event they find even one such person who has done so, I have prepared invitations to the major television interviewers that they might put questions to me on the subject of the book as I sit in the bathtub.

If any of the above registers, you truly are intègralement branché, an insider's insider. Chapeau !