Communism’s a dead ideology,
as dead as dead can be;
it killed off all the bloody commies,
and now it’s killing me, thank you NHS.

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OBJECTION!

Just because something's dead doesn't mean it can't haunt something else as a spectre, I put it to you.

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OBJECTION!

I didn’t say false.

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OBJECTION!

I call in my next witness - the prosecuting lawyer himself, Mr Miles Edgeworth!

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False.

Communism's anything but spectral.

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What about Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion-al?

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It's missing a P. That's what.

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Uh uh. SECTRE is the Sexual Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion, a different beast entirely. But of course you'd know that very well, wouldn't you, SECTRErebel?

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True - in 1840-whatever anyway. Take off the quotation marks and it's a different thing. Right?

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A spectre is haunting Verlaine's LiveJournal - the spectre of pedantry! (See also, almost all the responses to the previous post.)

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not the specter of vague question-asking?

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That is no specter. That is the elephant in the room.

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My mistake. I could've sworn I saw that elephant holding a cardboard sign that said "pedantic answers encouraged." apologies!

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Spectral elephants in the room are quite normal on the interwebnet. Fact.

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Shouldn't this be #2?

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Oh dearie me, no, it's not THAT sort of series.

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How naive of me! I have exposed myself as quite the fool.

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Is that quote like the format of billboards in the vicinity of Atlanta?
"Don't make me come down there - God."
"A spectre is haunting Europe - God."
"A spectre is haunting Europe - the spectre of Communism."

I think it's obvious from the way I ordered these that the answer is 'true', since the spectre of Communism and God even agree on this one.

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The spectre of Communism and God are in cahoots? Egad! This is a plot twist that frankly I was not expecting.

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One spectre? Haunting the whole of Europe? Poor thing must be knackered.

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Music: "do do do do InSPECTER Gadget, do do do do do---HOO HOO".

Claw: "NEXT TIME, GADGET, NEXT TIME...in EUROPE!!! WA-HA-HA-HAAA!!!"

Gadget: "Wowsers! But don't worry, I'll save the day!"

[Penny, Brain: ROLL EYES]

Penny: "Yes, you'll save the day from that Evil Communist Bastard, for sure! [thinks to self: Good thing I took that self-study Anti-Commie Espionage course awhile back!]"

Brain: "RUFF!"

Meanwhile years before...

Nixon: "I am not a book! Er, hook...Look. *jiggles jowls* Youuu knoowww what I meaaan!"

And sometime later, after lunch...

Reagan: "Communism? Oh yes, I talked with Gorbachev about that a bit. He's a nice guy, really. We're all human, after all. He's great at crazy eights. I myself like playing fish better. Uh...sorry, what was I talking about just now?"

And far in the future...

Heston: "DAMN YOU ALL! DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!!! [pounds ground]"

Reincarnated-Ape Moore: "But people kill people, not guns. Isn't that right, Mr. NRA?"

Heston: "OH SHUT UP!"

And right now...

Bush [thinks of a new speech]: "A specter is haunting America---the specter of TERRISM. Uh, no...wait...A specter is haunting....EUROPE, that's it, and it's uh...COMMUNISM. No, wait a minute. TWO specters are haunting Europe AND America today...COMMUNISM and TERRISM. TWO specters, like the TWO towers that haunt our daily mem'ry of 9-11..."

And a few days ago...

Grim Reaper: "Sure, there's a spectre haunting Europe alright. Hm, I dunno about Communism, though. Ever since 1989, I've been having more fun in Russia, anyway. OH, my pager's ringing. Gotta go to Finland, see ya! Then it's off to bloody Iraq and Afghanistan...again!"

And my so-far evaded answer...

Spectre? Communism is more like a faded past or a reference for nostalgia for many in former Eastern Bloc countries. It's more like a niggling itch in the back of one's head, Communism---not really a spectre, so much. Now NAZISM...that's more of a spectre. Neo-Nazi ghosts keep popping up to say "boo" all the time, and there's more of a fear of the past associated with that, ESP. in Europe.

So I guess my answer is "No...but I could be dead wrong".

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one of my fave bands :-)
http://www.myspace.com/aspectreishauntingeurope

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Hmm, I'd be more likel to call it a ghost. And perhap to say it only haunts pats of Europe, the gloomy ones with mist and preferably trees or castles.
A proper ghost needs a proper setting to encourage people's minds to believe in it.

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I thought it was haunting Latin America these days?

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I only wish.

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False, mostly because #1 in your occasional series was in fact "The medium is the message - true or false?"

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