Mr Chirac can at least console himself with the thought that his chief political rival will carry much of the blame.

ECONOMIST: Chirac shuffles the pack | The

At any rate, the sheikh can console himself with the knowledge that the metro will be the world's biggest computer-operated train system, and its Union Station will have the world's biggest underground railway concourse.

ECONOMIST: A metro for the Emirates

He can console himself with his salary which, according to The Economist's researches, is the highest of any rich-country central banker, and more than four times that paid to Alan Greenspan, chairman of America's Federal Reserve.

ECONOMIST: Bank of Italy

Ganguly can at least console himself with the thought that he, like Sir Don Bradman, scored a duck in his final Test, and after 188 innings his final average was an impressive 42, although Bradman's, of course, was a remarkable 99.4.

BBC: India set Aussies daunting total

Health care entrepreneur Randall Pittman quickly discovered his 140-foot cruiser, Whirlaway, was better suited for a voyage to the Galapagos than for quick maneuvering. (He has a 90-foot racing boat, Genuine Risk, to console himself.) A 66-footer collided with New York real estate owner Harry Macklowe's 111-foot Unfurled and limped off with a hole in its side.

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