But the Ergenekon investigation, along with its sister case, called Sledgehammer, rapidly evolved into something much more pernicious: a campaign to crush Erdoğan's political opposition.
And don't buy into the pernicious whisper campaign from dictators that a more democratic Middle East will be fundamentalist, anti-American or anti-women.
After accusing the Musicians' Union of running a "pernicious lying campaign", Dr Howells, for one, does not seem to want to listen.
Every time a celebrity is acquitted of rape allegations, a pernicious media campaign clamours for anonymity for defendants to stop women and children from wrecking vulnerable men's lives.
After an earlier setback, the drive to end the secrecy surrounding a pernicious form of campaign fund-raising is gaining in the House.
That's why the helmet and fluro clothing sections are so pernicious, as Roger Geffen, campaigns and policy director of Cycling UK, tells me: "If a cyclist gets hit and suffers a head injury, but they weren't wearing a helmet or high vis clothing, the driver's insurance company will exploit that to make them less liable.
And in outlining how he wants to revamp the party, Perez spoke about making strategic expenditures to turn the tide on what he sees as a pernicious, Republican-led voter suppression campaign.
"But it will give the public information regarding one especially pernicious weapon used in modern campaigns".
Even before Seattle this looked tricky, given the prevalence in Congress of protectionist and anti-Chinese views, and the pernicious influence of the presidential election campaign.
He had run a lonely but fearless campaign against Pakistan's pernicious blasphemy law and was gunned down in broad daylight in Islamabad by one of his own police guards.
