In Other News... The Cable At The Palestine Is Out

So this is what we've come to. Journalism in Iraq has devolved to the point where the room-bound journalists have nothing to report on but the state of the shabby Paelstine Hotel.

The hallways of Iraq's most famous hotel beg for footsteps. The shiny brass kettles in the gift shop wait for someone to pick them up. The tap at Aladdin's is dry.

The other day at lunchtime, Takeharu Watai, a Japanese journalist, was the lone customer in the coffee shop.

"How do you say," said Mr. Watai, searching for the right words in English, as six waiters with droopy bowties waited to clear his plate. "Black hole?"

God it must suck to be a journalist stuck in a hotel without a decent bar...