The judge sneered at the Government, saying it appeared powerless to fight crime but wasted scarce resources prosecuting "law abiding residents" like Mrs. Kanhema, who is a bookkeeper.
Formations House is about as offshore as a place can be, and our government appears powerless to bring it back onshore again.
The US appears powerless to deal with it.
It has failed to usher in a Palestinian state, and appears powerless to prevent Israeli military incursions or the relentless expansion of Jewish settlements on the West Bank.
But of course China is determined not to allow that, and the rest of the world appears powerless to do anything but mutter about how unfair it all is.
As chief executive, Tsang appears powerless and indecisive.
These cravings become habits as they are taught, encouraged and reinforced by the marketing arm of Big Food, and the federal government appears powerless to change this.
With interest rates near zero and Japan's central bank reluctant to pour more cash into the banking system, monetary policy appears powerless to jump-start growth.
In Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, President Goodluck Jonathan's government appears powerless to stop Boko Haram, which has kidnapped hundreds of girls to demonstrate its pious opposition to the values of secularism and education.
Rather, Goodman locates himself symbolically in the middle of things, from which point he sometimes appears powerless to himself, but from which he can also lecture the theorists on the one hand and the herd on the other.
Yes, I share all their despair and anger about a Labour leadership that appears powerless to stop a truly disgusting Tory government sailing through clear blue water to a third term.
