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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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.

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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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