The State of a Nation

Cogs in The Machine!!!

And what a well-oiled machine it is!!!

As each wheel turns it drives another, and another, and another ... The Machine groans on relentlessly, unremittingly, unstoppable.

The average cog:

If we understand how The Machine operates then we have a better chance of throwing a spanner in the works!

When referring to The Machine I like to use this analogy as a generic title. It refers to the system of control as a whole, all the rules, regulations, manipulation, indoctrination, moral guidance and governance including those forced upon us without permission, by a whole host of organisations, companies, conglomerates, departments and quangos ...

It’s not necessarily a negative term, many of the laws and conventions by which we live are excellent.

But ask yourself this: "Where is the line drawn between a set of laws designed so that we all live peacefully and harmoniously together on this over-crowded planet, and oppression?"

The UK have had hundreds of years of unbroken rule - they made most of the laws a country could possibly need in the first couple of hundred - so where are all the new ones coming from and what are they all for?

I understand that as we advance there will be a need for change, but I'm sure 95% of the new laws are being made up simply to justify a department, a job position or they attract votes. There are so many laws now it’s impossible to get through a day without committing some misdemeanor or other - there are laws for laws!

You can now be arrested and thrown in prison for simply talking about a crime!!!

If I said to a couple of mates in a pub: "Fancy robbing a bank?" and my friend replied positively, we’d be committing a very serious offence - that of 'conspiracy to commit a crime'; we could genuinely be put away for a very long time indeed!!!

Every time I write something that’s a little close to the knuckle I’m half expecting the door to come crashing in, to be torn from my office chair by riot gear clad automatons, and to be thrown kicking and screaming into the bay of a waiting helicopter from which they’d just abseiled in from.

OK, it’s not that bad - yet!!!

There is a writer whom I greatly admire called Stuart Goldsmith. I was heavily influenced by his early work - but as he developed he seemed to become more and more paranoid. More convinced that Big Brother really was a reality in the 21st century.

Personally, I thought he’d gone off the rails - but now, as I grow ever more aware of
influences upon my life, infringements of my freedom, I can see that much of what he
predicted was not the ramblings of some mad old fool, they are a real and present danger.

-------------------------------------------------------------
Keep an eye on the news and begin to look for the real motive behind the next knee-jerk policy implemented in the name of ‘preventing terrorism’
-------------------------------------------------------------

I wrote that prophetic paragraph before 9/11. Now look at the world post that awful event. The knee-jerk reactions have affected us all ever since. 9/11 was the perfect opportunity to enforce laws that simply would not have been accepted prior.

Now, what I am about to write may shock some and raise defensive questions in the minds of others but I make no apologies for it.

For a while, I believed that 9/11, although not endorsed or encouraged, was 'allowed' to happen.

I can't and have no desire to prove this or point the finger in any direction other than the great, grey mass which is The Machine but my feelings are that this was 'too good an opportunity' for those who have benefited from it these past years.

As I rewrite this section it is now clear that my original worries are now shared by millions and there are so many questions that need answering.

Not that it matters! Through Omniscience I am hoping that you will become open enough to be see that although there are questions they will not be answered and that the freedom comes from knowing that, from not accepting blindly the original 'lies' and to know there's nothing you can really do to change it!

I truly believe that 9/11 and other atrocities including the London 'Al Qaeda' bombings of 7/7 have been used as an excuse to undermine our freedoms, to bag and tag those who pose a threat to no one.

Yes, there may be a threat from radicals but ask yourself this: "will any of the myriad of new laws they are introducing in the name of prevention, really stand any chance whatsoever of stopping the next massacre?"

Take the new worldwide 'Money Laundering' regulations brought in to track down 'illegal earnings' from terrorist organizations - bollocks!

They have been brought in to expose anyone saving money they should be paying dues on to the tax man - nothing wrong in that - just saying it for the purposes of fair comment and criticism!!!

There was recently a mad rush to move money around the world to new tax havens as The Machine bullied smaller countries into passing legislation which forced their banks to pass over their customers' details. And how many fucking terrorists do you think they flushed out???

Supermarkets have been forced to pass over customer records appertaining to their Store card Loyalty Programmes ... why?

Is it because those working for Al Qaeda shop at Wall Mart or Tesco and as a salutation on their card put Terrorist? My arse! They want to compare shopping habits against declared income - if you only declare $15,000 a year income, how is it that you can afford $1,000 a month in food???

I grew up under the bombings by the IRA - surely, if the laws the governments are bringing in now that invade every facet of our lives would stop the maniacs, then they'd have used them in the thirty years of terrorism on the mainland?

In my opinion, 9/11 was just too good; too perfect an act of terror, too spectacular. Just big enough to ensure the whole world woke up and took notice ... Then if it was so perfectly planned and executed by radicals, then why didn't they hit the towers mid morning or afternoon when most of the 50,000 people who worked there would have actually been in the building and reap maximum carnage from their actions ... which, after all was the whole point of the operation wasn't it?

And what was the point? Most terror attacks have a specific motive. As far as I have been able to work out, the supposed motive for 911 just doesn't warrant that attack ... I don't know and as there is absolutely nothing I can do about it so spend little time thinking it through.

There is much discussion over the net about conspiracy and complicity, hologram cloaking and disguised missiles, thermite bombs and insurance claims ... and I don't want to get political, but for me, the events had consequences that suited The Machine beyond anything it could possibly have wished for.

All countries enforce some degree of 'control' they have to, otherwise there would be anarchy. To what extent the control is enforced depends upon whoever happens to be in office at the time.

There are extreme cases where rulers have such a tight grip on the nation that the people literally, live in fear of their lives - The Taliban of Afghanistan and more recently Mugabe of Zimbabwe being cases in point.

Thankfully, we do not have to endure that sort of insane oppression, but no matter whether we like it or not, we are under the influence of The Machine - wherever we live.

Throughout our daily lives we endure a huge amount of 'attempted' manipulation, control and intrusion. It is said, that in an average day out we are captured on camera more than 25 times!

Every monetary transaction is logged, every attempt to gain credit is logged, every move we make is watched ... and as technology advances the grip is getting ever tighter!!!

In this module we are going to study how The Machine enforces its will upon us. This is not because I am suffering from extreme paranoia, but because we must be aware of the weapons being used against us; we need this knowledge as we are looking to maneuver into a more advantageous position ... and if we don't know where we are how can we plan for where we're going?

But always bear in mind: WE ARE NOT OUT TO CHANGE THE WORLD!!!

Before we go on I’d just like to make something clear about the examples we are about to cover.

We are going to take an in-depth look at exactly where you are positioned in the grand scheme of things.

Flipping heck!!!

Listen - this is very much an integral part of our growth.

I know some readers will have a grasp on the importance of planning, but believe me if you don’t get this part of your development right, you’ll never be free.

We all know the saying about acorns and oak trees - If you’re not absolutely aware, accept, and embrace the fact that you’re starting out as an acorn, you’ll never grow to become an oak.

In this module we’ll be talking money again!!! It’s important to understand that, although I write in pounds sterling throughout this study, the denomination is irrelevant and the exchange rates are only very loose.

What we will be looking at is what your income actually buys; the real standard of living. It doesn’t matter what currency you use, the end results are pretty much the same for most western countries when you consider what comes in verses what goes out.

In Japan the average salary is quite high, but in contrast so is the cost of living.

When I first visited Greece you could live for a week on £20/$30 bed, beer, women and food - on the other hand the average local salary was less than £50/$75 a week.

So study the figures and if you have to, convert them to reflect your average salary and expenditure in your particular currency - the percentages will still apply and the results are pretty much universal.

To keep The Machine working at optimum levels a cog needs to earn a quoted ‘average, annual salary’ (at the time of writing) of around £20,000/$30,000 - £25,000/$37,500

This will go up each year at, or slightly above the rate of inflation.

Twenty to twenty five thousand pounds, up to thirty seven thousand dollars! Loads of dosh right?

This figure is not something I have plucked from the abyss. You will be told several times a week in the media that: "The Machine has manipulated the system so that this year’s requirement, from the masses, is to all earn £20,000 - £25,000." (Remember to just alter this figure to represent your country’s ‘average annual salary’, the point of this section will become clear).

Of course you’ll never hear these words specifically, but when you translate: "the nation's average salary is" ... that’s what is being said. Listen to the news and you will regularly hear this figure quoted.

Why this figure; why an ‘average annual salary?'

It’s not a bad wage is it?

Who do they think they’re kidding!!!

It’s just enough to keep people off the bread line.

Firstly, it is a figure that most of the major political parties subscribe to. It’s also a figure that has been spun by the spin-doctors, been manipulated by the manipulators, exploited by the exploiters, misused and misrepresented.

For the purpose of this example I’m going to take an average monthly income per household, after taxes of around £1,000/$1,500. This will vary depending, of course, on which part of the world you happen to come from but for now just accept this as red.

Encounter With a The Tax Lady

When I first came back from my travels ... "Here we go again!!!"

All right, all right!

When I first came back from my travels, one of the first things I did was to check out how I stood with the taxman.

No, I’m not crazy!

I needed to know so that I could get on with my business.

I didn’t want to be worrying about the Grim Reaper-in-as-much-as-I-can-get-from-you,
knobbling me for some un quantifiable, unknown levy extorted from yacht skippers who had enjoyed themselves for the last fifteen years. You know, a sort of ‘sitting on the beach in a foreign country tax’, kind of thing.

I walked into the local tax office, explained my history, and asked: "was I all squared up with them?"

The grey, prissy lady looked up after a well rehearsed pause, peered over the top of her bi-focals and gave me a down-the-nose once over.

I watched from the very edge of my seat, sweat running down my temples; I winced in
anticipation as the clerk tapped in my details.

"There you go Mr Money King, just a couple of seconds, my computer’s on a go slow
today" ... Why do they always say that?

Well, to my amazement the screen came up blank. She met my gaze and sneered: "You don’t seem to exist on our records, as far as we’re concerned, you owe us nothing!"

Yaaahhhooooooo!!!!

Well not quite. This was not such a great event as you may think. It is some people’s wildest fantasy (one of them!!!) not to be logged on any national computer database, but believe me it creates a whole new set of problems.

To not exist within the system totally excludes you from any of the benefits available from it, which many take for granted ... such as being able to borrow cash to buy a house. This was serious because one of the reasons I came back to Britain at that time was to establish a base, a home where I could resume my former free life from at a later date.

I had a reasonable deposit, but the only way for me to get into a property was to take out a mortgage. Not so easy to convince a company to lend you tens of thousands of pounds when you have no proof of who you say you are!

"Who are you?"

"I’m Mr Mr Money King, but I haven't got oodles of cash yet!"

"How much do you earn?"

"Enough."

‘Can I see proof?’

"Of course. My money is paid into an offshore numbered account."

"Oh really!!! Where do you live?"

I reel off my address.

"Ah, now we’re getting somewhere. How long have you lived there?"

"Three months."

‘OK! ... mmmmmmmm ... Where did you live before that?’

"All over, but mainly on boats in the sea" ...

‘Oh! ... Well Mr Money King, I’ve put your details into our computer and frankly,
you’re a non-person, you don’t exist! You’re not on any voter's register, or housing tax register, or known to credit reference agencies or" ...

"I know that, but couldn’t you just see your way to lending me a couple of hundred thousand for a nice little cottage I’ve found???"

See what I mean? The answer was that I had to get into the system in order to take advantage of its benefits.

I had to start living a new life outside the twilight zone.

I ... I ... I ... I had to do it; I had no choice, ... I had to become a cog!!!

I had to re-invent myself; I had to become a hardworking slave to autocracy.

But, because I had always lived outside the infrastructure my eyes were wide open to the dangers within it ... or so I thought!

As I built a new life within the system, as each piece of the jigsaw slotted into place, I could see how it affected the new order I was trying to create in my life.

However, it soon became clear how well The Machine had done its job. The Machine is a chameleon, master of illusion; you don’t even know it’s there until it’s too late.

I, the big, wise adventurer slowly and surely became trapped and no matter how aware of manipulation I thought I was, I wasn’t even close!

I had wondered into a modern day ‘Predator Trap.’

Anatomy of a Victim