“We are reviewing our procedures for verifying letters to avoid such an incident in the future.”

Huh? Was that actually said with a straight face? Did the New York Times just open its doors last week? Verifying the identity of letter writers is ho-hum journalism 101. A phone call placed in New York City to Paris probably does not cost more than a few dollars. Double-checking the authenticity of the letter should have taken no more than an hour. I would also think that the Times has a number of people who speak adequate French. This incident, alas, is merely further evidence of the once great paper’s lowering standards.