Listening to the director of the film discussing it.

If you are in Washington DC or in New York City in the next couple of weeks, there is a rare chance to see some films you may not have come across.  You may also be able to hear several of the directors of the films discussing them as part of a panel about the theme they are in.
At a time when old fashioned copyright can be transformed into a form of modern censorship, when concealed censorship is probably as common as direct censorship in some countries...but at a time when, happily, there is so much protest against the disregard for individual privacy, liberty and the freedom to know... then this is perhaps a good time to find out from films, that history which governments would perhaps prefer we did not know.
This chance is being brought to the USA by the travelling Uranium Film Festival. The films are being shown at the Goethe-Institut, Washington DC from February 10th-12th 2014 and at the Pavillion Theater in NewYork City, from the 14th-19th February 2014.
One of the films to be shown is  "Nuclear Savage: The Islands of Secret Project 4.1". This is about the nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands in the 1950's and the subsequent treatment of the people of Rongelap. Another is "Tailings", about a 200 acre heap of toxic uranium waste.. just outside Grants, New Mexico where after 30 years of failed clean up, the waste has contaminated the air and the water.
Both directors will be on the panels for themed discussion and there are other excellent films to be seen and discussed.  More details are on the Uranium Film Festival website; the Washington and the New York City films are there with pictures and links to previews, and there is plenty of real information about all the films.
At last, some countries are waking up to the bright and powerful future of solar and wind power... If  ever there was a cogent reason why this is so utterly necessary... as well as being wonderful (!) I would suggest that you visit the website to find out...or better still, if you are in Washington or New York and can make it....see the films.

If you want people to learn from history, it helps if you let the people living throught it, write it.

"What's the point of learning about history?"  I remember kids asking, and the stock answer always came back  "You can learn from it," or even "You can learn from the mistakes people made and not repeat them."
Well, that's fine, if people at the time are allowed to record history and later generations are allowed access to it. A shining example of learning from history is the collection of evidence from the accident at Chornobyl, papers from people who had the moral integrity and courage to collect and publish.
 The publication is Chernobyl, Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment, and it has given the rest of the world a far better insight into what happens and goes on happening after a nuclear accident.
When I think of the nations involved, it is the honesty and bravery of these individuals that comes into my mind.  It isn't a criticism of what has happened; that is history.
We seem to be going through yet another period of governments thinking that enforced censorship is a good thing.  I find it strange that folk who purport to be elected by "the people" then seem to find it their duty to keep the truth from the very people who put them there to represent them.
There is a piece in nuclear-news by Ralf Nader, published in Common Dreams, which I found enlightening.
http://nuclear-news.net/2014/01/25/ralph-nader-warns-on-nuclear-power-and-civil-liberties/#more-62409
The United Kingdom, which I come from, doesn't exactly have an exemplary history of not putting the public in its own country, or overseas, at risk.  Anyone who has ever watched "Silent Storm" must be aware of this.... and this is just one episode in our nuclear history that we know about. 
In the USA, a rare film showing is about to happen. Film goers in Washington DC and New York City will be able to watch Nuclear Savage:The Islands of Project 4.1. The film director, Adam Horowitz will be at the panel discussion in Washington.. but you must register to see this film at the Goethe-Institut.
The film is one of many potent stories being brought to the USA by the International Uranium Film Festival, and I wonder how many U.S. citizens know about the testing of the nuclear weapons in the Marshall Islands, I mean, really know about the testing of nuclear weapons in these islands. The organisers of the festival have supplied some background reading for this film and even if you aren't in Washington DC or New York City, this is, to my mind, worth reading. You may then understand why you might not have seen it on your television screen.
The link is http://www.4thmedia.org/2014/01/11/media-coverup-of-impacts-of-u-s-nuclear-weapons-testing-on-native-people-in-the-pacific/
To find out more about dates and locations, go to the International Uranium Film Festival website and hover over the traveling festival tab to show the details. http://www.uraniumfilmfestival.org/index.php/en/
or go direct to the Goethe-Institut, Washington or the Pavilion Theater, New York, websites.