All he did was work in the souks, the old markets of Aleppo, waiting in vain for the tourists to come back.

CNN: In Syria, searching for loved one taken away

But they are afraid of spending money in vain attempts that won't work.

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Trier and his co-scenarist, Eskil Vogt, have a keen sense of the rivalries and resentments at work in an ingrown circle of friends, but the vain gamesmanship pushes it to the sidelines.

NEWYORKER: Reprise

Congress and the Securities and Exchange Commission have been coming up with rules and regulations for decades to try to ensure corporate boards and the executives who work for them are good citizens, but a quick review of recent history shows such efforts have largely been in vain.

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