The trial court's ruling was, of course, wholly consistent with its view that it was powerless to grant a change of venue under Wisconsin law, regardless of what showing of local prejudice might have been made.
Music was again about intervals, rhythm and meter, and, in Stravinsky's famous dictum, it was powerless to express anything outside itself.
Lord Justice Moses and Justice Sullivan, using some scathing language, rejected the SFO's argument that it was powerless to resist the Saudi threats.
But the FAW said it is powerless to prevent Arsenal's Ramsey and Bale, of Tottenham, playing in the tournament, which takes place next July.
The Football Association may change its rules after admitting it is powerless to intervene in the future of convicted rapist Ched Evans.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, Va., ruled last year that it was powerless to decide the law's constitutionality for now, and a prominent judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit agreed.
Derek MacKay, the SNP's business convenor, said it agreed with reforming Holyrood's voting system, but said it was powerless to do so as this was controlled by Westminster.
The ethics office appeared to be hindered in its review because, unlike the committee, it is powerless to issue subpoenas or compel witnesses or lawmakers to testify.
The FA may change its code of conduct after admitting it is powerless to intervene.
The petition to declare the bar a landmark will be heard this month by the city's Cultural Heritage Preservation Board, but the City Council has said it is powerless to stop a landlord from terminating a business lease.
