Lithium will also play a vital role, as she bluntly acknowledges.

Mr. Klein bluntly acknowledged the complaints yesterday.

In the Time excerpts, Khrushchev bluntly acknowledges political and economic failures of the Soviet system.

But it is filled with footnotes that bluntly acknowledge that the information is incomplete and not totally reliable.

But Mr. Olson bluntly acknowledged another factor.

"It is a problem which we cannot solve on a stand-alone basis," he acknowledged bluntly, adding that customers flee as soon as the bank closes branches.

On Friday afternoon, as he met with several of his top advisers to discuss the bill that sat on his desk awaiting action, Mr. Pataki bluntly acknowledged that the Legislature would probably override a veto.

But complicating the picture this year is the political backdrop, with some officials bluntly acknowledging that a robust budget fight might help Mr. Vallone, who is one of four main Democrats in the mayoral race.

In it, he bluntly acknowledged that Russian efforts to rebuild bombed-out Grozny were ridden with corruption and that many ordinary people "fear a knock at the door in the middle of the night" by Russian soldiers.

Mr. Armey bluntly acknowledged the scramble going on in the wings to oust the leadership.