Wasps rugby director Ian McGeechan and coach Shaun Edwards were among those to hit out at Ashton over his hard-line stance.

BBC: Ashton defends Cipriani decision

Tancredo's hard-line stance on immigration has become a core theme of his campaign.

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Reports have suggested Cole and his representatives have angered Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich with their hard-line stance over wages during contract negotiations.

BBC: Joe Cole set to leave Chelsea - Harry Redknapp

In the Jerusalem speech, Romney defended a hard-line stance on Iran as a deterrent to war, rather than a desire to start one.

CNN: Romney talks tough but differs little from Obama on Iran

Vicki Brackett, who runs Make It Happen for Women, a firm in Denver that professes to do "job search makeovers, " takes a hard-line stance.

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North Korea shows no signs of easing its hard-line stance or curtailing its efforts to acquire long-range ballistic missiles and a stockpile of nuclear weapons.

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The Federal Aviation Administration may be shifting its hard-line stance on the use of personal electronics to allow for a reexamination of the science at work, according to the New York Times.

FORBES: FAA Taking "Fresh Look" At Use of Personal Electronics on Planes

Ms. SABERI: Well, I don't think it has reached that point yet, but at the same time, it's true Ahmadinejad did use strong language and it is in keeping with hard-line stance that he has held on the nuclear issue.

NPR: Iran to Press Ahead on Nuclear Technology

SDLP, deserves much of the credit for getting the Good Friday Agreement signed, but his party has been overtaken by Sinn Fein, whose links to violence and hard-line stance against unionism appealed to those who suspected the moderates of selling out.

ECONOMIST: Northern Ireland

But he will also need to overcome tensions he helped foster with his hard-line stance on immigration and his inflammatory words as interior minister, when, for example, he promised to clean out a crime-ridden housing project with an industrial power hose.

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Referees are a different story as the NFL has taken a hard line Machiavellian-like stance under the false pretenses that quality would remain with replacements.

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