"LE GABON ENERVANT" OR "ANNOYING GABON"

English version The US President, Donald Trump, has decided that he will not be unveiling former President Barack Obama's portrait at the White House, thus breaking a 40-year tradition. For decades, first-term presidents have held ceremonies in the White House to unveil the portraits of their immediate predecessors. Obama did so for former President George W. Bush in 2012. Trump and Obama have the least cordial relationship of any current and former presidents in modern US history. Recently Trump has made baseless allegations that Obama committed an unspecified crime. Before becoming president, Trump spent years perpetuating a racist conspiracy theory regarding Obama's birth. Despite this, Obama was very respectful of Trump during the transition. During his presidency, Trump has frequently blamed Obama for various issues he's faced as president, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Version française Le président américain, Donald Trump, a ...

English version Dear readers, we have received many messages from you telling us that you could not believe how much tribalism was still present in the hearts of some Gabonese who would rather talk about ethnic differences and disagreements than working together for the common good. Our answer to you is that if you are surprised by the fact that some still display overt tribalism in Gabon, where have you been? What do you think Gabon was about? Under the Bongo’s regime, what has been called geopolitics was only a mechanism to normalize subtle, discriminatory, tribalistic behavior in the way the country was being administered. After 53 years of that kind of brainwashing, we now normalize this tribalism with our friends; at work, especially with who gets put in leadership positions, and our hiring practices; and more damaging, we normalize people being reduced to stereotypes based on their ethnic group. We even normalize politicians telling us that individuals...

English version Dear readers, above are pictures of the mausoleum of Omar Bongo’s deceased wife Edith Bongo; built to her memory by her father, the Congolese dictator Denis Sassou-Nguesso. Is such opulence necessary to display the luxuries once worn by the deceased? Couldn’t a sober shrine had been more appropriate? Version française Chers lecteurs, vous avez ci-dessus des photos du mausolée de feue l’épouse d’Omar Bongo, Edith Bongo; construit en sa mémoire par son père, le dictateur Congolais Denis Sassou-Nguesso. Une telle opulence est-elle nécessaire rien que pour exposer les toilettes autrefois portées par la défunte ? Un sanctuaire sobre n'aurait-il pas pu être plus approprié ?

English version Jimmy Cobb, the drummer who played on Miles Davis “Kind of Blue” album, which was released in 1959 and is considered by all musicologists as the best Jazz album ever produced, died last week, he was 91. The Sextet that played on that album was made of: -Miles Davis: trumpet and leader. He was 33 at the time. -John Coltrane: tenor saxophone. He was 33 at the time. -Cannonball Adderley: alto saxophone. He was 31 at the time. -Bill Evans: piano on all tracks except "Freddie Freeloader". He was 30 at the time. -Wynton Kelly: piano only on "Freddie Freeloader". He was 28 at the time. -Paul Chambers: double bass. He was 24 at the time. -Jimmy Cobb: drums. He was 30 at the time. With Jimmy Cobb’s passing, all the members of that all star sextet are now deceased. What is left is the magnificent music they created by recording an entire album without rehearsal, while all were playing live in the studio. The album was co...

English version Dear readers, whenever he has the opportunity, the spokesperson for the Copil, Guy-Patrick Obiang-Ndong, keeps reminding us that if the number of individuals testing positive for coronavirus increases, it’s is because of the lack of discipline and correction by the Gabonese people. But here, the images above are those of the garbage bins in front of the Agondjé hospital which serves as the main hospital institution treating coronavirus’ patients. In these garbage bins, you have used masks, empty bottles having contained only God knows what substance; and all kinds of medical waste. It is not excluded that stray dogs come to nibble on this waste and go on to contaminate the neighborhood. What about the rats and mice that can come to feed in these bins before going to contaminate the houses in the area. How can the Copil justify this state of affairs? It is ultimately not the Gabonese people who lack discipline, but the Copil who lacks ser...

English version Amid the controversy about whether Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine are effective against Covid-19, a new study by Yale university researchers brings clarity about the effectiveness or not of these drugs. As you can see in the graph above, this study was able to determine that Hydroxychloroquine, Azithromycin and Zinc, are only effective when administered to patients who are at the very beginning of the infection, before the virus starts to attack pulmonary tissues. When the disease reaches its pulmonary stage, which is when most people realize that they are sick and must be hospitalized, using Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin has no effect. This study proves that both Professor Raoult and those who published the Lancet study, are right. The effectiveness of Chlroroquine/Hydroxychloroquine only occurs prior to the virus actively infecting the lungs; after that stage, these drugs are no longer effective. Because patients who are hospitalized...

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English version While we were writing the previous post, Minister Limoukou came back to announce that Gabon was abandoning the use of chloroquine. This blog is always asking on what basis was this decision made? By decree or by results obtained in hospitals? Version française Pendant que nous rédigions le précédent billet, le Ministre Limoukou est revenu annoncer que le Gabon abandonnait l’utilisation de la chloroquine. Ce blog demande toujours à savoir sur quelle base a été prise cette décision ? Par décret ou par des résultats obtenus dans les hôpitaux ?

English version The message from the Gabonese Minister of Health, Max Limoukou, which you can read above, poses problems for us. For us, the administration of chloroquine to patients should only meet one criterion, that of efficacy. If this medication is effective, then it should continue to be given to patients with Covid-19. The minister cannot say that he is only giving this medicine to patients because it is a law that requires it. This conception of medicine is very dangerous and goes against the Hippocratic oath. We hope this minister realizes that. Version fran ç aise Le message du Ministre Gabonais de la Sant é , Max Limoukou, que vous pouvez lire ci-dessus, nous pose des problèmes. Pour nous, l’administration aux patients de la chloroquine ne devrait répondre qu’à un seul critère, celui de l’efficacité. Si ce médicament est efficace, alors il doit continuer à être donné aux patients souffrant de la Covid-19. Le ministre ne peut pas dir...

English version Many readers have asked us, regarding the performance of the Gabonese authorities, if these people who rule Gabon even know what competence is or supposed to be? Here we come to provide an answer. The word competence means that one has the ability to do something well. That one is capable of performing a task or job effectively. Competence includes the knowledge and skills needed to solve problems. It can comprise a larger and more diverse clusters of skills, competencies, needed to lead to efficient et effective problem solving. Competence is straightforward and transparent. Competence on a task or job means that you have some ways of thinking, performing or behaving, that matter for your performance on that task. An example of high level of competence are the videos posted above. They show former American Secretary of State, Condi Rice delivering a 1-hour lecture at the Hoover Institute of Stanford University where she is now a professor...

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English version It is said of an itinerant citizen, a person who defines themselves as being rather cosmopolitan, that is to say who does not really have a point of attachment or a fixed origin. These people are citizens of the universe, who adapt to all circumstances, as long as these provide comfort and security. The moment things get tough, these itinerant citizens never hesitate to pack up and go elsewhere. There is nothing wrong with being an itinerant citizen. The only problem is that a country cannot be ruled by itinerant citizens. Gabon has dangerously become the only country in Africa, and perhaps even in the world, whose ruling executive class is entirely made up of itinerant citizens. This is inconceivable! The episode of Liban Soleman’s entry into the upper echelons of the Rwandan state remind us of the lack of quams by of some itinerants. What would the PDG's courtesans have said if Raymond Ndong-Sima, for example, had been appointed to a major economic structu...

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English version Dear readers, we have received numerous correspondence following our post on the Lancet study which demonstrated the ineffectiveness of chloroquine and hydrochloroquine against Covid-19. Some incredulous readers have told us in essence the following: "But how can a drug that we have taken all our lives in Gabon be considered dangerous?" Dear readers, there is unfortunately a huge confusion: the amount of nivaquine that we took in Gabon against malaria was one tablet per day, that is to say 100 mg per day. To treat Covid-19 patients, Professor Raoult administers 600 mg per day in his protocol. Therefore, dear readers, we cannot compare the dosage used against Covid-19 with that of malaria, because for Covid-19 the concentration of chloroquine is 6 times higher than that of malaria. Here's why side effects are more common and severe in Covid-19 patients. In conclusion, it is not chloroquine that has suddenly become toxic, but th...

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English version Several Gabonese citizens were left at the Paris airport this Sunday 24 of May 2020, by the Air France personnel. The reason for this was not very clear, but according to some witnesses, Air France said that some Gabonese travelers did not have tickets. Instead of using a Air-France flight that also can transport regular paying travelers, why didn’t the Gabonese government decide to charter a flight that would have accommodated most of the repatriated citizens? With a charter flight, the state would pay for the plane and staff and the citizens would board according to a list of names. No need to purchase a ticket. In this period while most airlines have grounded their fleet, the state could have chartered a plane from Ethiopian for example, for 20000 euros per hour. The total would have been 140000 euros for 7 hours or about 92 millions cfa francs. This would have solved that problem for more than 300 Gabonese citizens or an expenditure of about 300...

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English version The trials results of the company Giliad’s product Remdesivir, against Covid-19 have just been published; and they are not very impressive. These results were published in the New-England Journal of Medicine. There were 1063 patients enlisted in this trial. The most encouraging data were that a 10 days intravenous treatment with Remdesivir did shorten the time of recovery of patients; but Remdesivir had to be given very early in the infection. The effect was most evident in patients receiving supplemental oxygen via a respirator. Remdesivir was also more effective on younger patients between the ages of 18 and 40 years old. Beyond these modest findings, Remdesivir had no other effect. Version française Les résultats des essais du médicament Remdesivir de la société Giliad contre la Covid-19, viennent d'être publiés; et ils ne sont pas très impressionnants. Ces résultats ont été publiés dans le New-England Journal of M...

English version Dear readers, it is only in the Bongos’ Gabon that a laboratory erected in tents on the floor of a basketball gymnasium, is not a temporary structure. So has decided the Spokesperson of the Copil. On the definitions of the terms "temporary" and "Provisional", we do not understand the language as subtly as Mister Guy-Patrick Obiang-Ndong. "The laboratory is not temporary or provisional, it is a given. What is the laboratory? It is the equipment but also men who work there,” said Guy-Patrick Obiang-Ndong. According to the National Center for Textual and Lexical Resources (CNRTL) which is a wing of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), a laboratory is defined as: “A facility provided with the equipment and apparatus necessary for manipulations and experiments to be carried out within the framework of scientific research, medical or material analyzes, technical tests or scientific and technical education...

English version There is incompetence and then there are the Bongos. The unique incompetence of the Bongos is truly astonishing by any standard. They link bureaucratic ineptitude to political incompetence. The Bongos are so allergic to the Gabonese people being autonomous that they prefer to have our entire administration run in an ineffective manner, even if the results are disastrous, so long as they remain in power. A competent administration must be run by competent people who are confident in their ability to cope with the challenges of running a country. In such an environment, bureaucracies moved quickly to satisfy the people, the administration gets out in front of problems, and challenges rarely become disasters. To have a competent environment, you need competent people; meaning: 1. People with self-discipline 2. People with self-belief 3. People who practice creative and critical thinking 4. People who practice problem solving and not just po...