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REVIEWS < CENSORED 2004: pendium which includes Project Censored's The Top 25 Censored Stories favourite US and foreign news sources— by Peter Phillips & Project Censored though NEXUS still waits to be listed! Seven Stories Press, USA, 2003 ISBN 1-58322-605-2 (367pp tpb) THE GREATEST EXPERIMENT EVER Availability: Seven Stories Press, website PERFORMED ON WOMEN: http:/Awww.sevenstories.com Exploding the Estrogen Myth f you're disturbed about the messages by Barbara Seaman churned out by the corporate media and Schwartz, Melbourne, Australia, 2003 (first yearn for more media democracy, then published by Hyperion, USA, 2003) Censored 2004 is an essential read. ISBN 1-86395-1091 (332pp tpb) Availability: Schwartz Publishing website, http:/www.schwartzpublishing.com omen who are taking or reconsidering taking hormone replacement therapy or the contraceptive pill would be well advised to read Barbara Seaman's book. A journalist and women's advocate for over 40 years as well as co-founder of the National Women's Health Network in the USA, Seaman has been speaking out against the widespread prescribing of synthetic oestrogen drugs since the 1960s. Her perspective, placed within the context of the history of research into hormones, 7 gives her every right, she asserts, to regard Peter Prillins i op { [ergy this as "the greatest experiment ever per- renieetaieiiemend formed on women"—a description that she uses for the title of her book. This is because women have been prescribed syn- thetic hormonal drugs that cause more prob- lems than they correct—drugs that were known to cause major side-effects including cancers even back in the 1930s when the ini- tial experiments were conducted. Seaman takes on the pharmaceutical com- panies, the health authorities including the FDA, and ill-informed medical practitioners for their complicity in using women as guinea pigs in one huge experiment that earns big profits at the expense of women's health and well-being. While she acknowl- edges that some women do benefit from tak- ing synthetic hormones, she restates even their concerns that it's not advisable to be on these drugs for years on end. Seaman debunks the myths that drug com- panies and some doctors want women to believe about synthetic oestrogens and gives the facts about side-effects such as heart dis- ease, cancers and intergenerational genetic damage. She also addresses the political fallout from the announcement in 2002 of the failure of a major HRT trial. Looking at the broader picture, Seaman rails against another scourge of our times: the pollution of waterways, groundwater and reused wastewater by oestrogen drugs and oestrogen mimics which are causing abnor- mal sex changes in animals and humans. Seaman's well-researched book, with its comprehensive appendices and references, is a godsend for women who want to be better informed about their health choices. {eta [eeocracy in Actian As well as detailing the top 25 censored stories of 2002-2003 (see our summary this issue) and updating previous lists, this com- pilation contains a wealth of resourced mate- rial and commentaries. It also has a healthy dose of satire thrown in by Tom Tomorrow with his terrific "This Modern World" comic strips (I love the one about a parallel America where a pooch was elected Prez). This group's initials may be "PC", but the content of its book is far from "politically correct" from the perspective of the main- stream media—or the Bush Administration, for that matter. Obviously the Project Censored team, which includes veteran alternative media professionals as well as student journalists, has seen the light as to the questionable foreign and domestic poli- cies of the US leadership, especially regard- ing events post-9/11. Contributions include Michael Parenti's Media Moments, Jason Spencer and Christina Cutaia's Junk Food News and News Abuse, and Professor Mark Crispin Miller's mind-boggling list of what the Big Five Media Giants own. There's a collection of articles on media democracy in action, headed up by Project Censored Director Dr Peter Phillips, a biting critique of the US-led War on Iraq by Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber of PR Watch, and a shocking sum- mary of the sections of the USA Patriot Act that set out the freedoms to which American citizens are no longer entitled. There's so much more besides in this com- pendium which includes Project Censored's favourite US and foreign news sources— though NEXUS still waits to be listed! THE GREATEST EXPERIMENT EVER PERFORMED ON WOMEN: Exploding the Estrogen Myth by Barbara Seaman Schwartz, Melbourne, Australia, 2003 (first published by Hyperion, USA, 2003) ISBN 1-86395-1091 (332pp tpb) Availability: Schwartz Publishing website, http:/www.schwartzpublishing.com omen who are taking or reconsidering taking hormone replacement therapy or the contraceptive pill would be well advised to read Barbara Seaman's book. A journalist and women's advocate for over 40 years as well as co-founder of the National Women's Health Network in the USA, Seaman has been speaking out against the widespread prescribing of synthetic oestrogen drugs since the 1960s. Her perspective, placed within the context of the history of research into hormones, gives her every right, she asserts, to regard this as "the greatest experiment ever per- formed on women"—a description that she uses for the title of her book. This is because women have been prescribed syn- thetic hormonal drugs that cause more prob- lems than they correct—drugs that were known to cause major side-effects including cancers even back in the 1930s when the ini- tial experiments were conducted. Seaman takes on the pharmaceutical com- panies, the health authorities including the FDA, and ill-informed medical practitioners for their complicity in using women as guinea pigs in one huge experiment that earns big profits at the expense of women's health and well-being. While she acknowl- edges that some women do benefit from tak- ing synthetic hormones, she restates even their concerns that it's not advisable to be on these drugs for years on end. Seaman debunks the myths that drug com- panies and some doctors want women to believe about synthetic oestrogens and gives the facts about side-effects such as heart dis- ease, cancers and intergenerational genetic damage. She also addresses the political fallout from the announcement in 2002 of the failure of a major HRT trial. Looking at the broader picture, Seaman rails against another scourge of our times: the pollution of waterways, groundwater and reused wastewater by oestrogen drugs and oestrogen mimics which are causing abnor- mal sex changes in animals and humans. Seaman's well-researched book, with its comprehensive appendices and references, is a godsend for women who want to be better informed about their health choices. 70 + NEXUS www.nexusmagazine.com DECEMBER 2003 — JANUARY 2004