Well, Tony Blair is a 33rd degree freemason. Probably a little bit too much for samantha pia to comprehend. Say no more.
The free masons are a "Society with secrets" (their own words) that used to be a secret society. They are a fraternal order, and claim their origins among masons that worked on the pyramids in Egypt, but were not slaves. They require you to be of a faith that believes in the god of Abraham (Jews, Christians, Muslims, ect). Masons are encouraged (not outright required) to at least hear out a fellow mason out when they propose a business venture, and at least give them serious consideration. If the proposal would be bad for your business, or isn't something you want to take a risk on, you needn't go any further. All brothers of the order are also encouraged to render aid to one another. The owner of the small buisness I work at is a Mason, and we have gotten buisness specifically because of that fact. There's a Mason shrine not 3 blocks from my place of buisness, and they attempted to recruit me. However my stepfather has told me that joining a society like that is against some interpretations of the bible, and I don't really feel like paying dues to yet another organization when I only make $10 per hour, so I'm putting off a decision on joining.
I knew a guy in the military that looked to join a the Free Masons because he knew he could get favors. He was one of thsoe guys who liked ot mooch off people so it would seem the Masons would fit his needs well.