Then they assemble in the forward lounge for a talk on procedure given by three of the discouragingly capable staff members.

NEWYORKER: Stone Mattress

Discouragingly, even in Britain, which along with France has led the new European defence effort, there is little sign that the money will be found to do it well.

ECONOMIST: On the cheap doesn��t pay

But the problem with any collectively produced good is the free rider in the case of (especially European) religion, the church members who turn up only at Christmas and Easter, leaving the pews discouragingly empty in between.

ECONOMIST: Christianity