"I am aware of the inhuman discipline you both possess, and the hard-nosed tactic by your sister who resents your sexual captivity by another woman."

And they cautioned that the commission's hard-nosed tactics could harm developing countries, which tend to have the least competitive phone markets.

The continued use of such hard-nosed tactics only risks further erosion of trust.

But it is hard to see how his hard-nosed tactics adversely affect travelers.

To do that, he said, the fund will have to engage in "some very hard-nosed tactics with regard to banks and other creditors."

The alliance was a pioneer in this kind of work, which combines the tools of community organizing with the hard-nosed tactics of political and economic pressure.

Mr. Atwater's reputation for hard-nosed tactics is nothing new.

For Mexicans trying to compete with Wal-Mart, a new business culture is emerging, based on those hard-nosed, sometimes cut-throat tactics.