Synonyms:
1. collusion, sedition. 2. Conspiracy, plot, intrigue, cabal all refer to surreptitious or covert schemes to accomplish some end, most often an evil one. A conspiracy usually involves a group entering into a secret agreement to achieve some illicit or harmful objective: a vicious conspiracy to control prices. A plot is a carefully planned secret scheme, usually by a small number of persons, to secure sinister ends: a plot to seize control of a company. An intrigue usually involves duplicity and deceit aimed at achieving either personal advantage or criminal or treasonous objectives: the petty intrigues of civil servants. Cabal refers either to a plan by a small group of highly-placed persons to overthrow or control a government, or to the group of persons themselves: a cabal of powerful lawmakers.

Rather than sources for inspiring debate and the presentation of ideas, most of what is bandied about here is just “pseudo-intellectual” grafitti.

Given the prolofic output of this group of people, easily accessible here on the net, this kind statement speaks volumes.

One of the clearest explanations of what has happened, is a system complex beyond our understanding.

- neither was I alerted to it by anything else from the novel*) to long journalism
*) maybe I should have mustered the patience to read Dan Brown – might have taught me about it ;-)

- I’ll try to learn to understand it as it is meant but feel deeply unhappy about the discovery
- if everything is called the same name as the really big bad stuff then the smaller fry provide a very good smoke screen for the really powerful guys/girls

whereas we are talking about (I think)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_%28civil%29

– in my book a conspiracy is aimed at damaging or toppling the sovereign which means the GunPowder Plot though it is called Plot qualifies for me as a conspiracy whereupon the Great Train Robbery http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronnie_Biggs doesn’t qualify because they were after enriching themselves and not interested in doing something to the sovereign
of course it is hard to draw a definite line, there always will be debatable cases
- as to the mob and the drug cartels from the little I think I might know for sure I doubt that it would be really in their interest to damage or topple the sovereign*)
- dominate yes but that’s something I’d rather call a state within a state

maybe that sounds like hair-splitting to you, but I just can’t forget the havoc the fake claim of a conspiracy known by the name of “-lders of Z–n” managed to contribute to and probably still is able to do again

Also any attempt to harm or topple the sovereign will hopefully even today be taken just as seriously as on 9/11 the invasion of a terrorist entity was taken

if we start calling any backroom get-together of local “nobles” for the purpose of hatching a plot to enrich themselves a conspiracy we will need another word for the really big stuff.

*) current activities of the Taleban probably contradict that assumption but they are said to have been very successful in preventing poppy growing while in power

- all those who are not content with just making their place in life as comfortable as possible will get fired up, coalescing, outrunning eachother, coalescing again in all kinds of different combinations

of course there are price-fixing cabals when they think the risk is manageable but a cabal to self-destruct in order to be able to rob the state coffers
- I try hard but I can’t find a motive for that
- and they better than anybody else must have known that they were about to blow up
- after all to know such things made them worth their ridiculous salaries – and little me was constantly told that the pure size of those incomes was proof that things were in safe, trustworthy and expert hands