Despite his occasional ( if serious ) political setbacks — usually at the hands of his great Machiavellian rival, Louis XI of France — Edward was a popular and very able king.

Despite being viewed by many of the Discworld's more Machiavellian power brokers as easy to fool, Vimes is in fact much more cunning than he appears.

Despite his outwardly carefree attitude, he is haunted by the memory of his time in the syndicate, and particularly by his romantic relationship with a mysterious woman named Julia, and his conflict with arch-rival and former syndicate partner, Vicious.

Despite being unpolished, the album established the band's sound and attitude, as AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted that it's filled with " fuzzy guitars, barrelhouse rhythms, dirty jokes, and Texan slang ".

Despite his uncompromising attitude regarding performance of duty, LeMay was also known for his concern for the physical well-being and comfort of his men.

Despite the song's name, Poison Ivy wasn't the inspiration for this song but, due to the lyrics describing a girl with a very similar attitude to Ivy, it was quickly associated to the character.

Despite his somewhat authoritarian attitude, he cares about the bears as if they were his children ... although he once bamboozled them into cleaning up the park for him ( so that he could nap in a hammock ) by singing the jazzy ditty " In the Bag ":

Despite his immaturity and relative weakness as compared to Anpanman and his hero friends, he is courageous, protective of his friends, and has a " never say die " attitude.

Despite the time he spent in England, his attitude toward Loyalists was said to be ruthless.

Despite his conservative credentials, Cosgrave adopted a somewhat positive attitude to the Just Society document.

Despite this rather negative and villainous attitude, the malandro is often depicted as a hero because, in contrast to his methods, he does not use his cunning for true harm and malice.

" Despite the dissent's favorable attitude toward state medical marijuana policies, federal law still controls, and for medical marijuana to be considered legal, change must be effected through legislation by Congress.

Despite his earlier attitude, Lord Ashburton disapproved of Peel's free trade and opposed the Bank Charter Act of 1844.

Despite the general attitude of the Bengalis, Rajaji was highly regarded and respected by Chief Minister Prafulla Chandra Ghosh and the state cabinet.

Despite the change in appearance, Snake's car number and attitude are still intact in the film.

Despite this, Sir Alex Ferguson was full of praise for the striker, who scored three goals in 13 matches in all competitions during his three-month stay, saying, " He's been fantastic for us, his professionalism, his attitude, everything he's done has been excellent.

Despite his favorable attitude towards the poor, he was himself attacked by Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, and other socialists for lacking positive aims.

Despite her popularity ( and apparent attitude problem ), her best friend was Monica Geller ( Courteney Cox ), who was overweight and unpopular at the time.

Despite his often criminal and immoral attitude, Bender is not free of a soft side ; he can feel guilt and remorse over his actions if he goes too far, even for his patterns, indicating that he is not selfish or unkind as he appears to be.

Despite the close links to the banned KPD made the new party liable to be declared illegal, no such declaration was requested by the German government as West German authorities were liberalizing the attitude towards the communist bloc and East Germany in particular.

Despite widespread condemnation, he later maintained in his autobiography that he had no regrets about the incident: " My attitude was, fuck him.

Despite his otherwise " spaced out " attitude, Sword is quick to anger, which often leads to reckless actions on his part.

Despite his later recovery, he did not play any of the Tests ; his personality and attitude to the game did not meet with the approval of the captain, Simpson.

Despite the volatility of the Cold War between the two superpowers, many Americans received Mikoyan amiably, including Minnesota Democrat Hubert Humphrey, who characterized him as someone who showed a " flexibility of attitude " and New York governor Averell Harriman, who described him as a " less rigid " Soviet politician.

Despite its faults, the treatise remains critically successful because of its " noble tone ," " apt precepts ," " judicious attitude ," and " historical interests ".

Despite this cynical and childish attitude, Beetlejuice prove to be a profound and insightful person, frequently reciting quotes of philosophical and humanitarian importance ( but of course, Beetlejuice rarely follow his own lessons and lectures ).

Despite the similarity to its American counterpart in that the outcome of the matches remains predetermined, the phenomena are different in the form of the psychology and presentation of the sport ; it is treated as a full contact combat sport as it mixes hard hitting martial arts strikes with shoot style submission holds, while in the U. S. it is rather more regarded as an entertainment show.

Despite only winning numerically the vote in only 1 state ; the relatively electorally small Federal District which holds the capital of Brazil ; the Green Party interestingly came second to Dilma in Amapa, Amazonas, Pernambuco and in Rio de Janeiro in front of Jose Serra.

Despite what is seen in many movies, access doors between passenger cabins and baggage holds are rare in modern airliners.

Despite much of the originally drafted talent departing by 2004, WWE has continued to separate the shows, taking on younger talent, and holds a Draft Lottery every year.

" Despite initial mixed critical reception, the film currently holds a 71 % " fresh " rating on the film aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 6 out of 10.

Despite the age of these marches, the history it holds and its performance in the United States, they are generally not thought of as " typical American march music.

Despite being a practicing Roman Catholic, she holds liberal views regarding homosexuality and women priests.

Despite being out of print for several years, Civilization still holds a loyal following.

Despite her sexual orientation, Knapp says that she not only still holds to her Christian faith, but feels that by being honest about her sexuality that her faith is actually enhanced.

Despite the colony's relatively short history, Plymouth holds a special role in American history.

Despite claims by the show's creators that SpongeBob is " somewhat asexual ", several annuals state that SpongeBob holds romantic feelings for Sandy, which could be shown in examples where SpongeBob brings Sandy flowers on occasion.

Despite the show's considerable success ( Horne still holds the record for the longest-running solo performance in Broadway history ), she did not capitalize on the renewed interest in her career by undertaking many new musical projects.

Despite being less influential since the fall of the Socialist bloc in eastern Europe, the party still enjoys popularity in large sectors of Portuguese society, particularly in the rural areas of the Alentejo and Ribatejo, and in the heavily industrialized areas around Lisbon and Setúbal, where it holds the leadership of several municipalities.

Despite heavy criticism from liberal and libertarian socialist interest groups, CHP still holds a significant position in the Socialist International as well as being an associate member of the Party of European Socialists.

Despite having wider financial success and being slightly more scientifically accurate than Volcano, Dante's Peak opened to more unfavorable reviews than its rival, and holds a 27 % rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Despite being a Hall of Fame pitcher, Willis holds the post-1900 record for most losses in a single season ( 29, in 1905 ).

Despite being in direct conflict with the Japanese copyright law as many dōjinshi are derivative works and dōjinshi artists rarely secure the permission of the original creator, Comiket is still permitted to be held twice a year and holds over half-a-million people attending each time it convenes.

Despite its size, Burj Al Arab holds only 28 double-story floors which accommodate 202 bedroom suites.

Despite her brutality and Bartertown's chaos, Entity is an intelligent, cultured woman, who holds a hope of one day rebuilding society to its former glory.

Despite being the oldest of the Iron Chefs, he holds the Kitchen Stadium record for most dishes in a battle: eight.

Despite the bad reviews, the movie was praised by audiences, has over 9 million likes on its Facebook page, has 79 % from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, and holds a score of 7. 1 on the Internet Movie Database.

Despite the range of increasingly powerful cultural incentives to sex and orgasm surrounding Matt — scantily-dressed women, billboards, et cetera — Matt's commitment holds, and begins to frustrate a lot of the people around him who had fully expected him to break it long before he could get close to his goal.

Despite its evidently fictional nature, it is the trumped-up romantic version that holds sway today.

Despite its short length, the CVR is home to three ex-mainline steam locomotives and holds Pullman dining services on a monthly basis.