Hiroshima after the A-bomb

Monday, March 1, at 7 pm

Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering (AME) Auditorium on UA campus, 1130 N. Mountain,
Northeast corner of E. Speedway Blvd. and N. Mountain Ave.

Free, and open to the public
Free, easy parking east of building
sponsored by Voices of Opposition, http://www.voicesofopposition.com/, call 520-622-6419

“With shocking archival footage, stunning photography, and heartrending interviews, this extraordinary documentary gives a deeply moving look at the painful legacy of the first use of nuclear weapons in war. Featuring interviews with fourteen atomic bomb survivors – many who have never spoken publicly before – and four Americans intimately involved in the bombings, this film provides a detailed exploration of the bombings. It is an important documentary for all to see in this nuclear age.” (from email sent from the Tucson branch of WILPF the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom)

Released on August 6, 2007 (on the 62nd anniversary of the bombing on Hiroshima), this HBO documentary is by Japanese American Sansei (3rd generation) filmmaker Steven Okazaki who met with 500 survivors. Read more here.

I wrote about a Hiroshima/Nagasaki Never Again event back in August, 2009 (click here), since my paternal grandfathers left Hiroshima in 1892 for the Kingdom of Hawaii, but we must have had relatives still living there in 1945.

“Fatally Flawed” by Tucsonan J.T. Waldron documents the investigation spearheaded by the Pima County Democratic Party and their attorney Bill Risner, with the assistance of election integrity advocates John Brakey (Audit AZ) and Libertarian Jim March (Black Box Voting). These three men became obsessed with seeking the truth about the May 2006 RTA Election that authorized a sales tax increase totaling $2 Billion to fund the Regional Transportation Authority. You can read about the events leading up to making of the film at www.fatallyflawedthemovie.com.

“The film allows you watch events as they unfold through the eyes of seasoned lawyer and activist Bill Risner. As the story develops, it becomes evident that what initially appeared to be a public mandate to expand the city’s roads was a likely case of election fraud. At every step of the way, citizens seeking answers are met with resistance from election facilitators, local politicians and even the state’s own attorney general. Persistent unanswered questions generated by the lawsuit and new evidence of wrongdoing on the part of elections division personnel led to an equally suspicious investigation by the Arizona attorney general. This investigation culminated in a recount conducted under conditions that made meaningful public oversight impossible.” (from the movie website)

I sat in on the Tucson Citizen editorial board meeting (as a “My Tucson” columnist) when these three men came to present their findings in 2008, and I saw the movie’s premier on September 16, which was well attended. Many local Tucsonans are seen in this movie, including attorney Vince Rabago, then Chair of the Pima County Democratic Party, activist Mike Hayes of the Campbell/Grant Northeast Neighborhood Association, and Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll at their board meeting fighting for transparency in releasing election data files.

If you can’t attend the movie, the cost of the DVD is $25 online.

movie poster

Seeing this locally produced documentary on the big screen is worth the price of only $3. This second showing is sponsored by an independent Tucson group called Voices of Opposition (to War, Racism and Oppression). The Crossroads 6 Grand Cinemas is located on the NE corner of Grant and Swan, behind the Fry’s shopping center.