I tried using the exact same command also but it says

SQL> select * from [email protected];
select * from [email protected]
*
ERROR at line 1:
ORA-12154: TNS:could not resolve service name

and thats right because the service name pointing to the database is louise_news and not sid8.

btw which service names do the database links use...
clients side or the servers side.

Thanks
Anurag