But none of the 'stans has become a member of the Council of Europe (another talking shop and human-rights guardian, based in Strasbourg).

ECONOMIST: ��Eastern Europe��: Wrongly labelled | The

The Dakar Conference will just be another talking shop if governments are allowed to give lame excuses about shortcomings in girls education, run-down schools, inadequate teaching-learning aids, poor teacher supply, and funding.

BBC: You are in: Talking Point

Labour MP Margaret Curran, the shadow Scottish secretary, said the country was trapped between "a UK government that cuts tax credits for working families and a Scottish government that's prepared to launch another talking shop instead of a real plan to get people back to work now".

BBC: Scotland politics

This convention may look too much like just another EU talking shop, but its founders insist it is revolutionary.

BBC: Analysis: EU gets down to business