In this case, the 16 member Expansion Era Committee will serve as judge, jury and executioner.

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The Monday morning announcement that Pat Gillick had been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the 16 member Veterans Committee analyzing the Expansion Era was met with mixed emotions.

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The clash concerned the expansion of the 12-member Supreme Court to 17.

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French used to be the lingua franca for most EU business, but with the expansion of the EU to 25 member states, English is becoming even more dominant.

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One of the strongest supporters of expansion is Republican Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee.

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Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, ranking member of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee, for instance, last month called for an expansion of the scope of the authorization.

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Gary Cooke, KCC deputy cabinet member for education, said the west Kent schools were among 44 across the county being considered for expansion.

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"We have found that with the expansion of the European Community there certainly has been an increase in individuals from those new member communities presenting to us, particularly Portuguese and Polish people, " said Mr Carroll.

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