From: adventmagic@gmail.com   
      
   intermediary   
   1.   
   a person who acts as a link between people in order to try to bring about an   
   agreement or reconciliation; a mediator.   
      
   faction   
   1.   
   a small organized dissenting group within a larger one, especially in politics.   
   2.   
   a state of conflict within an organization; dissension.   
      
   It should be clear to everyone by now that our country is divided into   
   factions. In politics there are conservatives and liberals. In business we   
   have wall street and worker unions. In philosophy we have science and   
   religion. Of course there are even    
   smaller factions, that aren't at the top of the heap.    
      
   Magicians are a small faction, and alt.magick is an even smaller faction. But   
   what do these groups do when there are conflicts with other factions? Usually   
   that's when intermediaries are needed. Sometimes this means an attorney. Other   
   times it means    
   industrial espionage or corporate warfare. Good intermediaries won't have to   
   resort to that. If only because of their reputation. However bribery,   
   blackmail, etc. are still used everyday in our society and in politics.    
      
   I mentioned wall street is a faction.  Most people are already aware they are   
   criminals. And the people on wall street are powerful enough that they don't   
   care. Wall street takes money from your 401(K) and puts it into companies on   
   your behalf. Once the    
   money is invested they become share holders in those companies. This is   
   nothing more than a knife in the back to a free market.   
      
   When Google was first created their motto was "Don't Be Evil", and hackers   
   everywhere loved them. But Larry Page and Serge Brin were bought out by wall   
   street. And the same wall street tycoons also bought facebook, and amazon.   
   These apparently different    
   companies are all owned by the same share holders.    
      
   Someone once told me that competition in a free market benefits the consumer.   
   That's not possible when wealthy share holders have their hands in every   
   corporation. It also doesn't help us when our sensitive data is shared between   
   companies. Which is    
   exactly what they are collecting for advertisements.   
      
   What about the military? It was not long ago the government drafted 18 year   
   old kids and sent them to die in Vietnam for no good reason. Today they don't   
   even show pictures of the war on cable news networks. We just had an election,   
   and pulling our    
   troops out of the middle east wasn't discussed. I'm not going to tell you I'm   
   against having a strong military. The point I am getting to is that they are   
   still pushing us into the military with lies and manipulation.   
      
   I have strong feelings about how bad the education system is in America.  Even   
   if you manage to get out of high school. And somehow afford college. The class   
   rooms are just as dusty and boring, and the work is even harder. But,   
   education system aside,    
   the government can create poverty to fuel their hidden wars with soldiers.    
   Some people say the world is powered by oil and money. But it is truly man   
   power that built this country.   
      
   Spreading disinformation is a tool used by powerful factions. I know that   
   magic is real, and it is important to the established order that magic remains   
   secret. I believe this secrecy started with the church. When saints performed   
   miracles they would    
   solidify the faith of the believers. Of course this would happen in every   
   religion. Today you can see magicians doing magic in Vegas, but they will   
   never tell you what they are doing is real.  Even though it is!   
      
   To understand the idea of intermediaries better, think of the game "Magic: The   
   Gathering". You play a wizard who secretly has his hand in everything. No one   
   can touch the wizard until he is exposed and the conspiracy is defeated.   
   Another good example of    
   this is in the movie "John Wick". In that movie a secret group of assassins   
   solves problems between wealthy elites. But no one knows these assassins   
   exists. John Wick an assassin who goes to war against the whole organization.    
   Its really a good movie,    
   you should watch it.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)