Your code isn't doing an LWP::Simple request. It's doing its request through LWP::UserAgent (LWP::Simple will use LWP::UserAgent itself as well). Do one to three things:

• Forget about LWP::Simple. You seem to cope with LWP::UserAgent fine.
• Use LWP::Simple, and have it export $ua. Set up the proxy through $au, as in your code (But the method above is just as easy).
• Either use LWP::UserAgent or LWP::Simple as described above, and setup the proxy using environment variables and a call to $au -> env_proxy.

Futher note that the second argument of the proxy method must be the proxy you are using - not the site you want to reach via a proxy.

Abigail