Yardy speaks!
Nigerian president Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has spoken to the BBC, and highlights from the interview can be streamed online here. Speaking in both Hausa and English, Mr. Yar'Adua told Mansur Liman from the BBC Hausa service that he was getting better from treatment in Saudia Arabia for pericarditis and other ailments. "I hope that very soon there will be tremendous progress, which will allow me to get back home... As soon as my doctors discharge me, I will return to Nigeria to discharge my duties."

Although he has now spoken from his private clinic in Saudia Arabia, the Nigerian president is not threatening to take much action over the pressing issue which is on the minds of most Nigerians. Large street rallies and demonstrations are reported today from Abuja, the Nigerian capital. Wole Soyinka and other leading Nigerian dissidents are demanding action against the United States for its treatment of Nigerian passengers flying through American airports. These may force the hand of the legislative branch to take action in spite of the passive response of their executive.

Yar'Adua has refused to turn the reins of power over to his vice president, Goodluck Jonathan. In the midst of the crisis over Nigeria's homegrown underwear bomber, Attorney General Michael Aondoakaa did step up to issue an executive opinion on the issue. Addressing a world press conference in Abuja attended by Lanre Adewole of the Nigerian Tribune, Mr. Aondoakaa advocated a more diplomatic approach in contrast to the ultimatum of the Nigerian Senate. This diplomatic approach does not appear to have found favor, however, with the Nigerian public. Being that today is the last day of the Nigerian Senate's "ultimatum," perhaps we will see a more strident statement from the legislative branch than we have from the executive.

Dismay over Yar'Adua's passive response to this international affair has been voiced not only by his political enemies but also by many journalists, scholars, and bloggers read widely in Western countries. It has been over a week, for example, since Todd Moss penned a widely read post entitled "Where in the world is Nigeria's president??" Bolaji Aluko, the Nigerian Muse asked the very same question again, directing it to those who should be the most concerned. Related comments from other Nigerian bloggers include:

"Nigeria's president absent during crisis" by Solomonsydelle at Nigerian Curiosity.

Babajidesalu is also a must read for a humorous take on this all too serious turn of events at JideSaluDiary

(Tip of my cap on Friday's AG conference to the Caretaker).

Schistosome gene sequence decoded

Schistosomes are parasitic flatworms responsible for diseases variously referred to as schistosomiasis or bilharzia. These diseases occur throughout the tropics, particularly in areas adjacent to still or slow-moving water. The life cycle of the schistosome parasites includes a stint of residence inside a freshwater snail. The initial symptoms of schistosomiasis include fever, fatigue, rashes, and eye infections, but the disease can progress to cause internal bleeding, organ failure, and eventually death. I developed schistosomiasis myself as an eight year old boy, after my family returned to the United States from Nigeria.

Dr. Matt Berriman, of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, is quoted by the BBC saying that gene sequencing "provides a foundation for understanding aspects of the parasite's complex biology as well as a vehicle to immediately identify new targets for drug treatment." According to fellow researcher Dr Najib El-Sayed, of the University of Maryland, "the genome sequence has given us, for the first time, a comprehensive view of the engines that drive the parasite, the strategies that allow it to survive in us, its human host.

I know that treatments for schistosomiasis had already progressed far beyond what I was subjected to as a child. It is exciting to hear of these new potential treatments, and the genetics of these organisms may also yield clues about how to manage tropical environments to more effectively control the parasite.

Plant Vogtle

Georgia Power plans to add two new reactors at Plant Vogtle, a nuclear power plant near Waynesboro, Georgia. Studies completed in mid-June by the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL) found evidence for a much higher rate of cancer deaths in children after the plant went online in the late 1980s.

Georgia Power has now struck back with press releases to the Atlanta Journal Constitution and other news outlets which cast aspersions on the reputation of the scientists responsible for the BREDL studies. As evidence for the safety of Plant Vogtle, Georgia Power cites a six-year study of cancer rates within a 50-mile radius of the Savannah River Site (SRS), conducted by University of South Carolina/Emory University and financed by the United States Department of Energy. While the SRS study does have some bearing on the cancer risks associated with nuclear power plants located elsewhere in Georgia and throughout the southeastern United States, it would seem that Georgia Power should specifically address the findings reported by BREDL for Plant Vogtle. This strikes me as trying to dodge a bullet.

Sicko

Michael Moore's new movie "Sicko" was showing on the Google Video Player this morning. It is two hours long, but I managed to view the entire thing with only a few glitches. The footage of Nixon discussing the launching of Edgar Kaiser's "health management organization" with John Ehrlichman will be particularly powerful to any of us geezers who still have clear memories of those influential figures in 20th century American history.

Hat-tip to Carol, a true "thinking blogger," for alerting me and providing the initial link. Democracy Now's Amy Goodman also spent most of today's program interviewing Michael Moore and showing clips from "Sicko."