Opinion: Where is TVO?

I cannot be the only one missing him. His is totally MIA or Missing In Action. It is like his vanished and ceased to exist. Tom Voltaire Okwalinga or TVO has just stopped to operate. The last post on Facebook was back in the 1^st November 2020. Since then there has been radio-silence. Not a word, memo or anything. It just stopped…

TVO went from stirring things up online. Dropping nuggets of intelligence and internal government leaks. He spoke with analysis of the political landscape and with disdain for the Museveni presidency. TVO went hard on the authorities and the government in general. There wasn’t a day or a moment he didn’t cease the moment to reveal the brutal truth. However, here we are in 2023 and it’s been years since he uttered a word.

TVO came onto the scene in 2010 ahead of the 2011 elections. He gotten himself a name and was well known for his theatrics ahead of the 2016 elections. The years between 2011 and 2016 he dropped gems after gems. The authorities has arrested several of people they claimed to be him. However, nothing has ever been proven, if it was Robert Shaka, Titus Seruga or Roland Kaweesi. There was even speculations that it was a IT Crew and hackers based in Albania doing it. Therefore, the knowledge of who he is or what he does is unknown.

That’s why you can be even more curious after a man has been in the wind for so long. Especially since he did for a decade. Suddenly just stopped… without any fanfare or final goodbye. He just stopped. Went back into ghosting society and being another citizen. Instead of being an internet nuisance to the state.

On his about page on Facebook he proclaims to be “the last one standing”. At this very moment it is hard to know anything. Everything is just speculation and nothing is verified. It’s just hearsay and guessing games. Because, a prominent man like this doesn’t just go silent over nothing. That happens for reason… especially when his so tech-savvy and able to go under the radar for so long. As his mocking the authorities for arresting the wrong fella. That’s the sort of dude, TVO was… and that’s why it’s bugging me.

We can just wonder what happened… did the man get bored? Because, he wasn’t a fan of the red-wave and the NUP… is that why he went silent? You can really wonder if he died or just wanted to spend time with his family…. There is no word or statement… neither is there any signs or reasons for the silence. It just occurred and now there is nothing.

TVO was a master and did make headlines. He was able to stir a conversation and also challenge the ones in power. That’s why so many followed him and took his “intelligence” seriously. Alas, now that’s all gone… and his in the wind. A man whose either missing, incommunicado or just took a long “vacation”.

It is just striking that a man who created such a fuzz. Just didn’t continue and didn’t even say a “goodbye”. He just left and didn’t think much of it. TVO is just a distant memory and we will not forget. Peace.

Opinion: Daniel Hale follows a pattern of the U.S. incriminating whistleblowers

In the United States of America it is not acceptable to be a whistleblower or leak vital information of war-crimes, or even secrets from within the Republic. If a person does that… than the person will be charged and face serious crime like the puniative actions of the Espionage Act of 1917. 

Daniel Hale is the latest victim of this. Who leaked about the lethal drone programme and documents who was connected about this program. Hale showed the journalists documents, which produced articles that explained the military drone programme. So, that the general public knows what the U.S. Army does and to what extent it uses it. This would and could easily been kept under wraps, as a “secret” missions and only known by the U.S. Commanders and their allies overseas.

In the same way the U.S. has gone after Julian Assange of the WikiLeaks, Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning or Reality Winner. There are so many who can easily be mentioned as people who leaked intel and gotten into legal trouble.

Hale isn’t significant in this case, but the latest victim. As the United States, no matter what Party has the President or the majority in Congress. They are all seeking to keep these secret “missions” hidden. The war-crimes and the crimes against humanity isn’t supposed to be leaked.

If it is torturing “terrorists” in Guantanamo or in Abu Ghraib, Iraq. The leaks have shown what the U.S. is willing to do and it has been of public interest to know this. Because, the state and the Pentagon wanted to keep this a secret. These was the words and the programs that the imperial army didn’t want to have out.

The U.S. was supposed to keep this things hidden in an archive and if so… deal with it internally. That’s why Hale and other people are troublesome. They dare to challenge this and they deceive the empire. They are as bold as showing the true face of the Washington D.C. and it’s foreign policies.

This isn’t shocking, but follows a pattern. There are certain things Washington and its authorities never accepts. That is to leak what sort of war-crimes or possible crimes against the humanity the U.S. Army is up to elsewhere. This is never acceptable, but nevertheless everyone else is supposed to be transparent and held accountable. Though that never seems to apply to U.S. and their schemes of armed interventions across the globe. Peace.

Opinion: Tired of certain types of Politicians who are snake-oil salesmen with their political speeches and writings!

“Every time I hear a political speech or I read those of our leaders, I am horrified at having, for years, heard nothing which sounded human. It is always the same words telling the same lies. And the fact that men accept this, that the people’s anger has not destroyed these hollow clowns, strikes me as proof that men attribute no importance to the way they are governed; that they gamble – yes, gamble – with a whole part of their life and their so called ‘vital interests.”

― Albert Camus

It already decades since Albert Camus graced this blue earth with more water than soil, still his words could be used today and his wisdom is still able to question our leaders of today. The resembling manner and tone, the bristling and blatant words that is still has the sharpness of a blade and cut into the bone.

Why? Why can it cut because the manners of politicians decades ago, seemingly is the same today. As the lies and deceit hasn’t left the politics. Neither has the foul play to gain power instead of serving the public. In general theory the Local Council Members, State Representatives, Governors, Senators, Members of Parliament (MPs) and the Executives are supposed to honour their pledges and be accountable to their caucus, constituency or district. Instead they are more loyal to their own careers than serving their voters. So often feels like a broken bridge between the public, the voters and the representative.

The bridge as they only appear right before the die is cast, sorry, the voters has to cast their ballot or polls as their job is on the line; their legitimacy and their relations has to be kept in upkeep as the liability towards the public sphere is important to promise and pledge to fix housing, roads, hospitals, civic education and save the kids. If not they will save the nation or district from biblical disasters, terrorists and unknown dangers.

We have all heard it and know the clichés and the artificial blend of phrases in a rhetorical manner, especially in a coded manner that could fence the xenophobia, the fear and the destructive tone. Some uses the coded language not to promise or really say that they will build the bridge or fix the schools; more that they see the effort and will stay strong together with the politician and his ruling regime.

Still, we accept this for the faith that the fake and lively attitude to collect the votes from us. The reality is that the lies and fakes to satisfy the play of guards and the sovereign measures of needed institutions to control and have oversight of the state. We should still ask questions to the needed for the lies in speeches and care as the politicians rather spend their time with family, than cutting bonds on roads in the province of nowhere with a local mayor who hate the guts of the Infrastructure Minister who feels betrayed by the locals as they wouldn’t vote for his party if their lives dependent on it.

The seasoned man, who has been in rain have made you wet, who has been in the sun has gotten burned. The measures men does to secure itself with umbrellas and jacket to keep each other dry, the same with sun-cream and others to keep the skin-away from the burning sun. Therefore the men who does so should also be able to pick away the men and woman who lies for their trade.

The quack-sellers and the snake-oil salesmen are in the trades of the Politics. Therefore some politicians earn coinage on their pivoting, their change of heart and their tricks to always stay in the good graces. But this is the not the men of solitude or the men of honour or trustworthy. You never know what they really stand for or what their ethical background as their choices are more a popularity contest of American Idol or Big Brother than of politics.

That is the reason why men like Nigel Farage, Donald J. Trump or other rascals with very little soul for their initial policies or political framework can get space in the political landscape as our tabloid headline dramatics can give space and airtime on radio and TV for their message. The message creates high ratings and secures advertisement monies to the Media Houses who couldn’t care less about the outcome of an election as they are there for profits; not for the common-good or service delivery of the politicians.

So we are at the time of day where the words of Albert Camus are righteous as the politicians are not telling about secret meetings, keeping the main objectives between the government funding, the multi-national companies and the trade-agreements; also with the bilateral agreements between nations and international organizations that are happening between the closed doors and is why the dossiers through whistle-blower’s are hurting the campaigns and the national security. But most likely also destroying the façade the politicians create and their level of PR expertise and also beholden to the laws they are supposed to keep.

The mentality of this together with the double-edged swords of public perception can cross through the flesh and destroys careers of an ordinary politician as the sexual adventures of Dominic Strauss-Kahn (DSK), but a few blunders haven’t stopped the Republican Nominee Trump. But at these times the lies and fakery seems to let him win over the American nation, instead of them repelling from his words.

So the political speech should be coded and with current words that express the views and place in the political landscape. Still, today there are more worrying signs of the way it is portrayed and accepted as the men behind the words are not stopped or feasible destroy the character not give the politician the space on the mainstream media.

This should be a worrying and not be a place our modern society should be in, where we let stone-age rhetoric and hatred towards fellow humans beings get away with their malicious attempts of gripping power by the teleprompter and by the social media machine of the political parties and the PR experts supporting the Politicians. Therefore the Citizens Kane of the world usually gets discredited on their way to public office, but now it is free-for-all.

Just like Citizen Kane as Charles Foster Kane in his final speech in his campaign for becoming Governor of New York:

“It is no secret that I entered upon this campaign with no thought. That I could be elected Governor of this state!  It is now no secret that every straw vote, every independent pole, shows that I will be elected. And I repeat to you – my first official act as Governor will be to appoint a special District Attorney to arrange for the indictment, prosecution and conviction of Boss Edward G. Rogers!” (Citizen Kane, 1941).

Other Politicians of these days are convicting fellow politicians without trials as a political gain and earn coinage on their bad moral. This is their moral and bad judgement that deserves to be punished with conviction and getting on trial through going courtside for their acts and activity. So with this in mind, the lying political speeches and does it with vital interest of the public sphere.

Main question after this triad from me; why should we accept his behaviour and accept these men leading us without any real discredit or any real consequence for the politician? This is what the society gets together with the public who is eating the bullshit from the politicians. But, that isn’t it, right? Peace.  

“Greed is Good”, is it really so? There are more Gordon Gekko’s out there then we could imagine.

“The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed — for lack of a better word — is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms — greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge — has marked the upward surge of mankind” – Gordon Gekko (Wall Street Movie 1987).

There are stories that fun, there are stories that are deep, there conspiracies, as I usually digs deep into things, there is more again of showing that the Corrupt behavior is not only set in Nigeria or in any other place there expected to be Corrupt civil servants or corporate businessmen, they are all around the world, as I like to show that there not a place without people wanting to take the short-cut and gain extra for their job or under their role at some function in society or in business.

This here is international issue, it’s in the skin and heart as the opportunity to gain quick funds and money. That is proven, as the Pharma Industry is implicated, FIFA scandal continues, former Belgian biker, NYPD, Prison Guards in New Zealand and civil servants in the Philippines; take a look!

Pharma industry corruption:

“It is shocking that despite scandal after scandal involving pharma companies, still policy makers simply are not taking seriously the corrosive effect of corruption,” Sophie Peresson, its head of pharmaceuticals and healthcare, said. “The red flags are being ignored.” (…)”GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L), for example, paid a record fine of nearly $500 million in 2014 for bribery in China and many companies face investigation under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act” (Hirschler, 2016).

The ball is still round for FIFA:

“Per AP, Bill Burck of American law firm Quinn Emanuel, which is retained by FIFA, said: “The evidence appears to reveal a coordinated effort by three former top officials of FIFA to enrich themselves through annual salary increases, World Cup bonuses and other incentives totaling more than 79 million Swiss francs—in just the last five years.” In a statement, FIFA said it “will refer the matter of these contracts and payments to the Ethics Committee for its review.” (Simpson, 2016).

Tour De France Winner caught red-handed:

“The prosecutor, who spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make public statements, said Merckx is accused of corruption and the use of false documents in the sale of 46 bicycles by his then-company Cycles Eddy Merckx to police in southern Brussels in 2006-07” (…)”The contract, worth an estimated 15,000 euros ($16,700 U.S.), was allegedly obtained after a policeman furnished Merckx with inside information. Merckx allegedly rewarded the officer by selling him a carbon-fiber bicycle at a low price and giving a bicycle to the man’s wife” (Dahlburg, 2016).

NYPD Corruption Probe:

“An NYPD official said the planned retirements wouldn’t affect the ongoing investigation and denied that the cops were being forced out — even though Police Commissioner Bill Bratton last month said some may choose to leave to avoid humiliation.“No one was told to retire. If they’re being advised by their peers, or union, or families, that’s a personal decision,” the official said.“These guys are making personal decisions. They’re reading the writing on the wall.”But a rank-and-file source said the situation was “not going over well with us lower-ranking guys.” (…) “The feeling from the ground troops is that they all should be fired,” the source said” (…) “If it was us, we would be crucified. Now we’re looking at these chiefs and wondering if there’s a double standard here. Because they’re high ranking, they get to retire, they get to avoid discipline and collect their pension.” (…) ”Roy Richter, president of the Captains Endowment Association, cautioned against a rush to judgment” (…) “No one has filed for service retirement with administrative charges pending or has been identified by federal investigators as a target of their investigation,” he said. The police corruption probe is among several investigations that also target fund-raising efforts by Mayor de Blasio and his closest associates” (Cohen & Golding, 2016).

Convicted justice:

“Davis says he was contacted by the family member of a prisoner in Serco-run South Auckland Correctional Facility, Wiri Prison. “The guard will make an arrangement where they meet at a Caltex station not far from the prison,” said Davis.”And the family member will give over $500, and two 250 gram packets of tobacco will be taken in to their loved one.” (…)”Collins confirmed the Department of Corrections had taken the allegations seriously and made a complaint to the police. She was critical of Davis going to media, rather than going to Corrections. She revealed since 2007, four Corrections officers had been imprisoned because of smuggling or bribery charges, and two more were currently before the Courts. The Department of Corrections said the introduction of contraband into prisons, and corruption, was very serious. “Thorough security measures are in place at all New Zealand prisons to prevent the introduction of unauthorised items,” a spokesperson said. “Drugs, weapons and cellphones pose a serious risk to the safety of our sites. Prisoners, visitors, contractors and staff are all subject to random and targeted searches on entry to a prison, and anyone found to have facilitated the entry of unauthorised items will be held to account.” A Serco spokesperson said they have “zero tolerance” for any actions that compromise security. There is robust anti-corruption training and there is on-going supervision of all staff” (Price, 2016).

On the Next Philippine Government:

“Philippine Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano warned corrupt public officials that their days are numbered under the administration of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte” (…) “Under the Duterte administration, there is no room for corrupt, slow and inefficient officials. It’s either they shape up or ship out. They have one month,” (…) “President Duterte is used to quick action and brave solutions. We must therefore match his political will and the people’s expectations for real change by making sure that we become the best agents of change,” (…) “The days of corrupt government officials are numbered. If you cannot mend your ways, you better resign. The Duterte government will give no quarter for the corrupt,” (…) “I have always believed in President-elect Duterte’s vision and leadership. I will help him by pushing and passing laws that are necessary for him to build a government that will be truly responsive to the people’s needs and aspirations,” (Ager, 2016).

Is greed really that good, then all kind of societies and all over the world when the money is spent on the government officials and used by sportsmen and others on corrupt behavior, instead of being used as they we’re supposed to be, either on the sport, on the people or generating business? Peace.

Reference:

Ager, Malia – ‘No room for corrupt govt officials in Duterte administration’ (01.06.2016) link: http://www.asianews.network/content/no-room-corrupt-govt-officials-duterte-administration-18511

Cohen, Shawn & Golding, Brian – ‘Massive corruption probe is sparking an exodus at the NYPD’ (01.06.2016) link: http://nypost.com/2016/06/01/massive-corruption-probe-is-sparking-an-exodus-at-the-nypd/

Dahlburg, John-Thor – ‘Former pro cyclist Eddy Merckx to be charged in Belgian corruption case’ (31.05.2016) link: https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2016/05/31/former-pro-cyclist-eddy-merckx-to-be-charged-in-belgian-corruption-case.html

Hirschler, Ben – ‘Anti-graft group says drugmakers failing to tackle corruption’ (01.06.2016) link: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-pharmaceuticals-corruption-idUSKCN0YN624

Price, Rosanna – ‘Whistleblower investigated over Corrections corruption and bribery’ (02.06.2016) link: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/80656844/labour-mp-kelvin-davis-alleges-corruption-in-nz-prisons-over-tobacco-smuggling

Simpson, Christopher – ‘FIFA Raided for Evidence in Corruption Investigation: Latest Details, Reaction’ (03.06.2016) link:  http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2644045-fifa-raided-for-evidence-in-corruption-investigation-latest-details-reaction

Kanjo Kingdom of Nairobi; This is how the County Officials harrass small scale traders in Kenya (Youtube-Clip)

“County Police in Nairobi taking bribes corruption at it best” (Felo Wizzy, 2016)

Joint Statement: “The Commonwealth should play a leading role in the fight against corruption” (27.11.2015)

Unchecked, corruption can choke off development, rob people of faith in their governments and sow the seeds of instability and conflict. But against this challenge, the Commonwealth has a tremendous opportunity to lead.

Corruption afflicts the Commonwealth in many ways. The Commonwealth includes both countries where vast amounts of wealth are stolen from the people and major financial centres that can be used to launder corrupt wealth. It is a community of nations with a set of shared values, shared sense of rule of law and a shared history of institutions. Because of all we share, the Commonwealth is a vital international forum to tackle this agenda.

Today, at the start of CHOGM 2015, we set out an aspiration for the Commonwealth to lead the world in tackling corruption and the laundering of the corrupt wealth around the Commonwealth.

Ahead of the proposed Anti-Corruption Summit in 2016, hosted in the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth can build a consensus on tangible steps to address corruption and on a leadership role that the Commonwealth can take.

These steps need thorough debate, but they should include:

1. Considering a formal Commonwealth scheme for cooperation and mutual legal assistance to fight corruption

2. Expanding the Commonwealth Secretariat’s existing technical support to anti-corruption agencies and bringing professionals and practitioners together to help countries exchange ideas and find solutions tailored to their needs

3. Learning from the insights of the Commonwealth Associations of Anti-Corruption Agencies and the Commonwealth Africa Anti-Corruption Centre

4. Strengthening Commonwealth financial centres to lead the world in standards of transparency, integrity and effective anti-money laundering systems

5. Ensuring that all Commonwealth States meet the standards of beneficial ownership transparency that the G20 has agreed

6. Building better frameworks for sharing information on corruption and money laundering risks, so that strengthening one financial centre does not displace the problem to another jurisdiction

7. Raising standards of access to information rights for the public and whistleblower protections, across the Commonwealth

8. Reviewing the legitimacy of immunity for officials that guarantee against criminal proceedings across the Commonwealth and whether it can be reformed to end unnecessary high levels of protection that block justice for the corrupt

This week at the People’s Forum, the Business Forum, the Youth Forum and the Women’s Forum, as well as the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, we have called for the entire Commonwealth community to support this aspiration. If the Commonwealth can build a joint compact across all of its communities, we can break the strangle hold that corruption has on so many parts of the world.

A Statement written and Co-Oped by:

Transparency International and Hon Joseph Muscat, Prime Minister of Malta