A cabal is a number of people greater than two together in some close design, usually to promote their private views and interests in a church, state, or other community, often by intrigue. Cabals are sometimes secret societies composed of a few designing persons, and at other times are manifestations of emergent behavior in society or governance on the part of a community of persons who have well established public affiliation or kinship. The term can also be used to refer to the designs of such persons or to the practical consequences of their emergent behavior, and also holds a general meaning of intrigue and conspiracy. Its usage carries strong connotations of shadowy corners, back rooms and insidious influence; a cabal is more evil and selective than, say, a faction, which is simply selfish; because of this negative connotation, few organizations use the term to refer to themselves or their internal subdivisions. Amongst the exceptions is Discordianism, in which the term is used to refer to an identifiable group within the Discordian religion
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The term cabal derives from Kabbalah (a word that has numerous spelling variations), the mystical interpretation of the Hebrew scripture, and originally meant either an occult doctrine or a secret. It was introduced into English in the publication of Cabala, a curious medley of letters and papers of the reigns of James and Charles I that appeared in 1654.[1]
The term took on its present meaning from a group of ministers of King Charles II of England (Sir Thomas Clifford, Lord Arlington, the Duke of Buckingham, Lord Ashley, and Lord Lauderdale), whose initial letters coincidentally spelled CABAL, and who were the signers of the public Treaty of Dover that allied England to France in a prospective war against the Dutch.[2] However, the Cabal Ministry they formed can hardly be seen as such — the Scot Lauderdale was not much involved in English governance at all; while the Catholic ministers of the Cabal, Clifford and Arlington, were never much in sympathy with the Protestants, Buckingham and Ashley, nor did Buckingham and Ashley get on very well with each other. Thus, the "Cabal Ministry," never really unified in its members' aims and sympathies, fell apart by 1672; Lord Ashley, who became Earl of Shaftesbury, later became one of Charles II's fiercest opponents. The explanation that the word originated as an acronym from the names of the group of ministers is a folk etymology, although the coincidence was noted at the time and could possibly have popularized its use. The group, who came to prominence after the fall of Charles's first prime minister, Lord Clarendon, in 1667, was rather called the Cabal because of its secretiveness and lack of responsibility to the "Country party" then run out of power.
During the rise of Usenet, the term was used as a semi-ironic description of the efforts of people to maintain some order over the chaotic, anarchic Usenet community (see backbone cabal). As in this specific case, references to an alleged cabal often fall within the realm of conspiracy theory.
Valve Software, the creators of games such as Half-Life, use "Cabal Rooms" when working on projects such as new games or bug fixes. These rooms usually comprise 10-15 people, many computers and design technologies, and at least one whiteboard. (See adjacent image).
The following are two recent examples of the use of the word 'cabal': the first came in an accusation by former United States Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff, Lawrence Wilkerson, who claimed that the Bush administration's foreign policy is run by a "Cheney-Rumsfeld cabal" implying a sinister intent;[3] the second was by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who has rallied the world community to support UN sanctions against Zimbabwe, denouncing the regime's leaders as a "criminal cabal".[4] Currently on the Comedy Central program The Daily Show, the phrase "a global cabal of Jews" is referenced from time to time, as a spoof on antisemitic conspiracy theories. The existence or otherwise of cabals has led to the Internet phenomenon originating on Usenet, "TINC" (standing for There Is No Cabal). Many Masonic conspiracy theories have pictured Freemasonry as an international secret cabal.
Other negative words that arose from descriptions of religious extremism or religious sects include:
CABAL (through the Fr. cabale from the Cabbala or Kabbalah, the theosophical interpretation of the Hebrew scriptures), a private organization or party engaged in secret intrigues, and applied also to the intrigues themselves. The word came into common usage in English during the reign of Charles II. to describe the committee of the privy council known as the "Committee for Foreign Affairs," which developed into the cabinet. The invidious meaning attached to the term was stereotyped by the coincidence that the initial letters of the names of the five ministers, Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley and Lauderdale, who signed the treaty of alliance with France in 1673, spelled cabal.
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Categories: C-CAL
Cabal | Table of Contents | Walkthrough
| Cabal | |
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| Developer(s) | TAD Corporation |
| Publisher(s) | Fabtek |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Shooter |
| System(s) | Arcade, MS-DOS, NES, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Amiga |
| Players | 1-2 |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Co-op |
Cabal is a 1988 arcade game by TAD Corporation (licensed to Fabtek for US production). Cabal was followed in 1990 by Blood Bros., though the sequel had a western theme as opposed to Cabal's Vietnam-era theme. Cabal was ported to several home computers of the era, including the PC (under DOS), Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST and Amiga. It was also ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System console, which was ported by Milton Bradley. The quality of these ports varied based on the target system's capabilities.
Two players could cooperatively play this game, simultaneously. The game's cabinet is a standard upright. Each player uses a trackball to move the player from side to side. On later board revisions, a joystick was installed instead with an optional sub-pcb for use with a trackball.
The player assumes the role of an unnamed commando trying to destroy several enemy military bases. The player's character is seen from behind and initially starts behind a protective wall (the wall can get damaged by enemy fire). The player must use a limitless ammunition gun and a limited number of grenades to fend off enemy troops and damage the base. At the successful completion of a level, all the buildings onscreen collapse and the player progresses to the next stage. Boss fights, however, restart the battle if the player dies. This feature is criticized by many players but can be circumvented if two players play simultaneously and at least one stays alive at a given moment.
 Arcade machine with original trackball controls. |
 Cover art for the early computer systems. |
 Cover art fot the NES port. |
| Cabal | |
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| Developer(s) | TAD Corporation |
| Publisher(s) | Milton Bradley |
| Release date | Arcade: 1988 NES: 1990 (NA) |
| Genre | Fixed Third Person Shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player 2 players Cooperative |
| Age rating(s) | N/A NES |
| Platform(s) | Arcade Amiga Atari ST Commodore 64 ZX Spectrum Nintendo Entertainment System |
| Media | Cartridge NES |
| Input | NES Controller |
| Credits | Soundtrack | Codes | Walkthrough | |
Cabal is an arcade game released in 1988. The game was later ported to home computers and the Nintendo Entertainment System.
The player controls a commando, viewed from behind, trying to destroy various enemy military bases. The player's character is seen from behind and initially starts behind a protective wall (the wall can get damaged by enemy fire). The player must use a limitless ammunition gun and a limited number of grenades to fend off enemy troops and damage the base. At the successful completion of a level, all the buildings onscreen collapse and the player progresses to the next stage. Power-ups appear from time to time, being released from objects destroyed onscreen. Some power-ups give special weapons, many of which are formidable.
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A cabal is a group of people who try to control things in a secret way.
Sometimes people say "There Is No Cabal", or use the abbreviation TINC to mean "There Is No Cabal".
A cabal does not mean people who are in power because they are meant to have power. A cabal means people who have more power than they are meant to have.
One new example of the use of the word Cabal is that the former chief of staff, Lawrence Wilkerson, of the Secretary of State Colin Powell said that the foreign policy of George W. Bush's administration were run by a "Cheney-Rumsfeld cabal". With this word he meant that the President had not really the power that he is given by the constitution and that the Vice President and the Secretary of Defense had more influence than they should have. [1]
   | Former Powell Aide Says Bush Policy Is Run by 'Cabal' - The New York Times > Log In |
| | The Occult Technology of Power - The Occult Technology of Power |
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