This show may contain words that would offend the sensibility of certain habituaries of monasteries.

It's Monday, March 11th, 2019, from slated to the gist I'm Mike Pesca.

And yes, big news, big Algerian news, the leader of Algeria, Abdelaziz, Bouteflika, will not seek a fifth term.

He will not run. Of course, he has not walked or pretty much even wheeled himself for about five and a half years now.

The 82 year old Bouteflika had a stroke in 2013.

He's rarely been seen in public. In fact, his last address to the nation was in 2014, right after he won election.

It was not a shall we say freewheeling. And what's worse for his country, man, the guy doesn't even tweet.

I wonder what's the worst situation to be in?

Country with a bad, very active leader or a bad, inactive leader.

We have a bad, hyperactive leader, but he is wholly ineffective.

He hasn't had a stroke or at least not won all at once.

But Bouteflika in Algeria will step aside or whatever form of locomotion he can achieve and make way for a successor.

In a summary of this story, in the economist, there was a fascinating reference

to the consequences of having an old and infirm leader who sometimes does wacky things.

And they were talking about Nigeria where the president of Nigeria, the daughtering old president,

banned toothpicks seriously. So the toothpick ban, this has been going on for a while in Nigeria.

I found an article from the early Aughts about banning toothpicks, but then the ban was relaxed.

But lately it's been blamed again for bad economic times.

Here's an article from 2017. The central bank of Nigeria has blamed the ongoing economic recession in Nigeria

for overdependence on importation of goods from other countries.

A top official said it was shameful that Nigeria still imported items such as cucumber, apple,

and eggs from South Africa, beef from Zambia, and toothpicks from China.

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