N ow that ICORC is over and all the good news has come in about the new pledges,

re-newed old pledges, re-pledged grants already made, future pledges expected,

unexpected past pledges recently received, non-pledged donations expected,

donated non-pledges, and accrued pledges not yet accounted for, if there is

someone out there who can explain what it all means could you please raise your

hand and make yourself known to the media so they can tell the rest of us what's

going on. Surely there must be someone out there with a green eyeshade and a

bunch of sharpened pencils who can sort this out for the interested

public.

Even the donors themsleves are confused. One embassy economic

attache when asked to explain the figures replied: "Er, um, well, I'll have to

get back to you as it may take some time to sort out the figures."

An old

Khmer idiom which has equivalents in many languages around the world has been

given a new twist since the elections: tveu l'aa, baan l'aa - tveu a'krok, baan

lahn chih. Translation: If you do good, you will get good things in return. If

you do bad, you will get a car.

If you're planing on sending any mail to

Rwanda be prepare to get your latter back after several months with a stamp on

the envelope which says: Return To Sender No Service Due to Civil Strife.

A phone tapper was recently nabbed hooking on to Co-Minister of Interior

You Hokry's line outside his house just north of the French embassy on St. 240.

Post and Telecommunications officials estimate that the wiley crook - who

apparently works at the Interior Ministry himself - had filched over $10,000 in

overseas phone calls in the last two months.

A new film, which is to be

premiered before an invitation-only crowd at the FCCC today, will also be shown

on local television in the near future. Its the story of a young girl and the

mine-related tragedies she tries to make known to the world through letters

delivered to the press. Keep your eyes out for budding film star Leo Dobbs, who

plays an ace reporter at the Phnom Penh Post, as always hot on the trail of a

good human interest story. Rumors are circulating that Hollywood has been trying

to contact Dobbs to discuss future contracts but that they're having a heck of a

time finding his telephone number.

Have you been visited by the fire

department lately? If not you can probably expect a call soon. They've been

making the rounds of businesses in town - primarily expat-owned - to have a look

at whether you have the proper number of fire extinguishers on hand. And if you

don't, guess who sells them for a very special price?