Accusations that tribal leaders engage in nepotism fall on deaf ears, as the Indians lived for centuries by sharing the spoils of war or hunting with family members.
So little did any of this shake my opponent that I came away from our debate with the grim realization that President Bush's continued insistence on the dangers posed by an Iranian bomb would more and more fall on deaf ears.
Accusations from Mr Basyir's dwindling ranks of supporters and other elements on the extreme fringe that she is being un-Islamic by prosecuting Mr Basyir now fall largely on deaf ears.