Hush Hush

by Jordan, Michael; Lapierre, Dominique

• ISBN13: 9781552976074
• ISBN10: 1552976076
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-03-01
• Publisher: Firefly Books Ltd

Summary

Recent scientific and technological discoveries have produced a stunning amount of unintended consequences. For every success there are tens or hundreds of failures. Some of these failures are harmless. Many are not and are kept secret for as long as possible.Hush Hush is a compelling examination of the most notorious cases of scientific malfeasance ever exposed. You'll discover how these tragedies occurred, who was responsible, how they could have been prevented. And what actions have been taken to avoid a recurrence.The book takes you behind-the-scenes of 40 cases, including: Bhopal chemical disaster The fluoride debate Love Canal cover-up Global warming and the selective use of data Agent Orange Tuskegee Syphilis studyThis well-documented and profusely illustrated book challenges government, business, and the scientists themselves. The responsible parties are taken to task for covering-up serious health hazards in the interests of national security, corporate survival, and personal prestige.Is science out of control? Read Hush Hush and keep in mind that for every exposed scientific secret, there are many more still under wraps and kept in the shadows.

Author Biography

Michael Jordan is a television commentator on a range of medical issues. He is also the author of The Green Mantle.<p> <b>Michael Jordan</b> is a television commentator on a range of medical issues. He is also the author of <i>The Green Mantle</i>. </p>

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. 8
Introduction	p. 11
The Secret of Success: Big business keeping the public in the dark	p. 15
The Bhopal Chemical Disaster	p. 18
Asbestos	p. 24
Tobacco, Health and Lies	p. 28
Chlorpyrifos: A Killer With a Secret	p. 32
Cell Phones: How Safe Are We?	p. 35
Deep Vein Thrombosis in Economy Class	p. 38
Vehicle Safety Secrets	p. 42
Doctor Knows Best: Medical ethics under the knife	p. 45
The Thalidomide Tragedy	p. 48
Dow Corning Breast Implants	p. 51
Superbugs and Antibiotics	p. 54
Ritalin and Hyperactivity	p. 57
Gulf War Syndrome	p. 59
Fluoride: Are We Being Conned?	p. 62
A Question of National Security: "Top secret" coverups	p. 65
The Mull of Kintyre Disaster	p. 68
The Manhattan Project	p. 72
Smallpox: How Ready Are We?	p. 76
Agent Orange	p. 79
Radiation Exposure	p. 83
UFOs--A Government Fabrication?	p. 87
Power Corrupts: Political gain takes precedence over public interests	p. 89
Nuclear Power Plant Disasters	p. 92
Is There a Nuclear Power Plant Coverup?	p. 98
PCB Poisoning of North America	p. 102
The Love Canal	p. 106
The GM Food Debate	p. 110
A Green and Red Herring: The separate truths of governments and greens	p. 115
Global Warming	p. 118
The Silencing of Bjorn Lomborg	p. 121
Sweden's Biggest Environmental Disaster	p. 124
Deforestation	p. 128
The Minke Whale Deception	p. 132
Atomflot: A Catastrophe-in-Waiting	p. 136
Space Debris	p. 140
Saving Face: When professional pride comes before public safety	p. 143
Ferry Disasters	p. 146
X-Ray Secrecy	p. 151
Concorde	p. 154
The Human Cost: Violating human rights in the name of science	p. 159
Porton Down	p. 160
Unit 731	p. 163
Shell in the Niger Delta	p. 167
The Tuskegee Syphilis Study	p. 172
Human Testing at Holmesburg Prison	p. 176
The Alder Hey Children's Hospital Scandal	p. 180
What Does the Future Hold?	p. 184
Glossary	p. 188
Index	p. 190
Bibliography	p. 192
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Introduction We are, by nature, secretive creatures. Hiding certain things away from the eyes and ears of others is one of the quirks of human behavior. In this we are by no means alone in the animal kingdom -- birds often hide their nests in the densest parts of trees, and dogs covertly bury their bones. According to the earliest recorded evidence discovered, the desire for secrecy seems to have been ingrained in us. Archeological discoveries from the Ice Age appear to confirm that our Neolithic ancestors created special closed sanctuaries in which their most important rituals were held. Caves in southwest France, decorated more than 15,000 years ago with elaborate paintings and esoteric designs, are often virtually inaccessible, even to this day, and we can guess that the intention was to keep certain .activities known only to those holding the reins of authority. The desire for power is indeed one of the fundamental values of secrecy because, through its application, a limited number of people can generate fear of the unknown in the minds of the majority, thus better exercise control. Much of the secrecy we encounter and follow in our lives today is of no great consequence to the world at large and we often maintain it to protect our personal interests. Just like the dog with its bone or the bird in the bush, we lock our front doors to prevent unwanted intrusion and keep our bank account numbers and the passwords on our computers to ourselves for obvious reasons. Secrecy, however, can always be misused and abused. It can be made a device to screen activities from public gaze because of a wish to hide away conduct that would be disapproved of -- that could perhaps become the object of sanctions were it to be more widely advertised or held open to inspection. Nowhere can this be truer than in matters of scientific secrecy. Until the 1960s, most scientific discovery and progress remained bathed in a somewhat rosy light. We trusted scientists; they were honest people working on our behalf to make our lives and our world safer and richer; they eliminated many of our life-threatening diseases and made our cars, ships and airplanes safer and more efficient. But in today's world, we are a little more cynical, and with good reason. This is not to say that scientists are corrupt as a breed, but history has shown us that not all scientists are altruistic angels either. The scientific establishment can be bought and its integrity can be corrupted, although money is nor always the driving motive. Scientists can be persuaded to use their expertise in a particular, nor necessarily aboveboard, way out of a sense of political or national loyalty or for ideological reasons. Secrecy in science may not always be strictly ethical, but neither does it necessarily result in harm to others. In some instances, however, the desire to cover up scientific activities is seen -- when exposed to scrutiny -- to be blatantly against the interests of society, and this can result in civil actions and even criminal charges being brought against those conspiring to maintain the secrecy. When it is misused or abused, such secrecy often reflects an unreasonable desire for profit or a wish to conceal errors of judgment. Governments and major corporations alike display a willingness to hold on to as much knowledge as they can, on an exclusive basis, because it gives them the advantage of making use of scientific discoveries. Perhaps the most classic illustration of this during the last century has been the Manhattan Project in the U.S. During World War II, the United States learned that German scientists were working on a program developing the use of atomic fission with the intention of producing a nuclear bomb. So alarming was this prospect, and so essential was the need for America to gain the advantage in the arms race. that it orchestrated a vast weapons program innocuously called the Manhattan