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WikiLeaks: Cuba banned Sicko for depicting 'mythical' healthcare system

I do not know what rational creature could buy this:

The film-maker said on his blog that the diplomatic cable, dated 31 January 2008, was "a stunning look at the Orwellian nature of how bureaucrats for the state spin their lies and try to recreate reality (I assume to placate their bosses and tell them what they want to hear)".

As I said, this puts ALL Wikileaks cables in doubt, not just the ones inconvenient to Moore. :lamo
 
The cable existed and was leaked. It contained incorrect information. Such is the nature of raw intelligence.

Moore's film was highly complimentary of the Cuban medical system in comparison to the American system. And why not? The whole film was about the cruelty imposed by the American healthcare insurance industry which sells inferior products that don't cover real life issues and which when exposed to significant pay outs, cuts off the beneficiaries on any technicality available. The penalties and fines imposed on the industry by the courts and state regulators that were described in Moore's film are real; this is an industry rife with corruption and deceit. The American system is awful and any system, such as the Cuban system which provides universal coverage to all its citizens looks pretty damn good in comparison. Thank God, Obama and the Democrats have reformed our system; it was literally killing us.
 
Wikileaks leaks the cables. The veracity or lack of same is down to the sender, in this case a diplomat who told the Bush junta what it wanted to hear. As a Bush appointee, he probably half-believed it himself anyway, such was his motivation to throw mud at Moore, who seems to have touched a raw nerve in the Righterati.
 
So I guess Wikileaks has no more credibility than a tabloid. Some things may be true, but then again, some may be total fabrications.
 
So I guess Wikileaks has no more credibility than a tabloid. Some things may be true, but then again, some may be total fabrications.

You can't blame Wikileaks for what people in the US government said. Wikileaks is only leaking the cables. They are not the ones creating the content. That being said, we must take each cable we read with a grain of salt. What is in those cables are from the minds of people in the Bush administration. Some of what they said might be true, and some might not be. You have to have the ability to think independently when you read them. From what I have seen, so far in this thread, people are posting from their respective ideologies (Liberal or Conservative), and not paying any heed to independent thinking. And, of course, this leads to the faux anger we are seeing from both sides.

Did Castro really ban Sicko in Cuba? Utilizing a novel idea, known as thinking logically, I can't see how he did. After all, here was a perfectly good chance to smear the US. Yea, Castro is not an independent thinker either. His statements are also based on nothing but hate and bias. In fact, he reminds me a lot of some people in this country, known as Democratic and Republican ideologues.
 
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Thinking logically, Moore has quite a bit more reason to lie than the author of the cable did. And Moore has had plenty of problems with the truth.

And besides, there's also nothing actually inconsistent with the cable and what Moore claims as the "truth." He talks about things which happened after the cable was written.

I just think it's hysterical that the people who were cheering the loudest for Wikileaks are now nearly unanimous in that this cable, which makes one of their own look bad, MUST be unreliable.
 
“Moore has quite a bit more reason to” tell the truth than anybody concerned, left or right, because he knows the underlying truth supports his position that the American health insurance is unjust, unfair and inefficient. It really is that simple.
 
This whole thing confuses me. Is he saying years ago those cables were sent because they somehow knew they would get leaked someday?
 
The leaked cable quotes an unidentified source stating that “Cuban authorities have banned Michael Moore's documentary, ‘Sicko,’ as being subversive.” It doesn’t show that Cuban officials banned Moore's documentary, or that American diplomats hoped to discredit Moore by inventing a story that Cuban authorities banned the film.

The Real Cuba Website host, George Utset found out the source of the “banned” documentary:
I remember what Dr. Darsi Ferrer said back in July of 2007 when I was helping a producer for ABC 20/20, who was preparing a program to contradict much of what Michael Moore had portrayed on ‘Sicko.’

I was on the line with the producer, who didn't speak Spanish, and Darsi in Cuba and we were telling him what was shown on the part of the documentary that was filmed in Cuba about how wonderful health care was in the island and how, according to Michael Moore, all Cubans had access to the hospital and the medical services that his American guests received at Hospital Hermanos Ameijeiras in Havana.

When he heard what we said, Darsi's immediate response was: "That documentary will never be shown in Cuba."

The ABC producer was surprised! "Why wouldn't it be shown if it was complementary about Cuba's health care?"

"Because here everyone knows that is a lie and it would be considered counter revolutionary to show regular Cubans the medical services that only foreigners can receive," was Darsi's response.
Moore’s attempted rebuttal falls short. The State department cable was dated 1 January, and Moore’s claimed showing of the film to have been 28 April. So even if Moore’s claim is legitimate, it still does not refute the State Department cable.
 
The leaked cable quotes an unidentified source stating that “Cuban authorities have banned Michael Moore's documentary, ‘Sicko,’ as being subversive.” It doesn’t show that Cuban officials banned Moore's documentary, or that American diplomats hoped to discredit Moore by inventing a story that Cuban authorities banned the film.

The Real Cuba Website host, George Utset found out the source of the “banned” documentary:
Moore’s attempted rebuttal falls short. The State department cable was dated 1 January, and Moore’s claimed showing of the film to have been 28 April. So even if Moore’s claim is legitimate, it still does not refute the State Department cable.


Why is it so difficult for some of you to read simple facts??? The movie was shown in Cuba in January. Not on TV but in theatres.
 
The cable existed and was leaked. It contained incorrect information. Such is the nature of raw intelligence.

Moore's film was highly complimentary of the Cuban medical system in comparison to the American system. And why not? The whole film was about the cruelty imposed by the American healthcare insurance industry which sells inferior products that don't cover real life issues and which when exposed to significant pay outs, cuts off the beneficiaries on any technicality available. The penalties and fines imposed on the industry by the courts and state regulators that were described in Moore's film are real; this is an industry rife with corruption and deceit. The American system is awful and any system, such as the Cuban system which provides universal coverage to all its citizens looks pretty damn good in comparison. Thank God, Obama and the Democrats have reformed our system; it was literally killing us.


So I assume that you'll be making the flight to Havana when you need medical services? We wouldn't want you to have to put up with the inferior American system.....


j-mac
 
Why is it so difficult for some of you to read simple facts??? The movie was shown in Cuba in January. Not on TV but in theatres.

Dude it's Sandokan he spouts anti-Castro rhetoric for a living. Look at his post history it's all anti-Castro crap. Most of it isn't even true, and if you attempt to debate him he just covers his ears and runs away.

I mean ffs he's quoting The Real Cuba website, which is one of the most hilariously dishonest anti-Castro sites I have ever seen.
 
Dude it's Sandokan he spouts anti-Castro rhetoric for a living. Look at his post history it's all anti-Castro crap. Most of it isn't even true, and if you attempt to debate him he just covers his ears and runs away.

I mean ffs he's quoting The Real Cuba website, which is one of the most hilariously dishonest anti-Castro sites I have ever seen.


Is there a problem now with ABC's 20/20 as well, or is it just a narrative you can't allow to stand so you must attack the poster, and not the message?


j-mac
 
The message is a lie. The movie was shown on Cuba state TV. Keep on keeping the fear alive.....
 
so how do we know who is telling the truth... Micheal Moore or the source in the OP?

well, who benefits from propogating their claim?
 
“Moore has quite a bit more reason to” tell the truth than anybody concerned, left or right, because he knows the underlying truth supports his position that the American health insurance is unjust, unfair and inefficient. It really is that simple.

:lamo hilarious, i almost thought you were serious :D
 
Why is it so difficult for some of you to read simple facts??? The movie was shown in Cuba in January. Not on TV but in theatres.
Moore’s response on his site includes this info:

'Sicko' had just been playing in Cuban theaters. Then the entire nation of Cuba was shown the film on national television on April 25, 2008!

“Or, how ’bout this little April 25, 2008 notice from CubaSi.Cu (translation by Google):

Sicko premiere in Cuba
25/04/2008
The documentary Sicko, the U.S. filmmaker Michael Moore, which deals about the deplorable state of American health care system will be released today at 5:50 pm, for the space Cubavision Roundtable and the Education Channel.

The story speaks of the April 25 TV showing as a “premiere in Cuba.” It doesn’t mention any theater released previous to the TV showing.

In the Internet Movie Database worldwide release dates for Sicko, Cuba was not listed among the release dates for many countries and film festivals. Google searches of “Sicko” with release date in Cuba did not return any other information.

Can you provide the “simple facts” of when the movie was shown in Cuba in January 2008? It shouldn’t be difficult for you to provide reliable sources of the theatrical showing in Cuba in January 2008.
 
Moore’s response on his site includes this info:

'Sicko' had just been playing in Cuban theaters. Then the entire nation of Cuba was shown the film on national television on April 25, 2008!

“Or, how ’bout this little April 25, 2008 notice from CubaSi.Cu (translation by Google):

Sicko premiere in Cuba
25/04/2008
The documentary Sicko, the U.S. filmmaker Michael Moore, which deals about the deplorable state of American health care system will be released today at 5:50 pm, for the space Cubavision Roundtable and the Education Channel.

The story speaks of the April 25 TV showing as a “premiere in Cuba.” It doesn’t mention any theater released previous to the TV showing.

In the Internet Movie Database worldwide release dates for Sicko, Cuba was not listed among the release dates for many countries and film festivals. Google searches of “Sicko” with release date in Cuba did not return any other information.

Can you provide the “simple facts” of when the movie was shown in Cuba in January 2008? It shouldn’t be difficult for you to provide reliable sources of the theatrical showing in Cuba in January 2008.

Corrections and clarifications | From the Guardian | The Guardian

Contrary to a claim made in a leaked US diplomatic cable whose contents we reported, Sicko – a documentary by film-maker Michael Moore – was not banned in Cuba. The film, which examines US healthcare through comparisons with some countries' publicly funded systems, including Cuba's, was in fact shown in film theatres throughout the island and on national TV (Cuba 'vetoed' healthcare film, 18 December, page 7).
 
Corrections and clarifications | From the Guardian | The Guardian

Contrary to a claim made in a leaked US diplomatic cable whose contents we reported, Sicko – a documentary by film-maker Michael Moore – was not banned in Cuba. The film, which examines US healthcare through comparisons with some countries' publicly funded systems, including Cuba's, was in fact shown in film theatres throughout the island and on national TV (Cuba 'vetoed' healthcare film, 18 December, page 7).
You too have omitted to answer the question of when the movie was shown in Cuba in January 2008. Please provide reliable sources of the theatrical showing in Cuba in January 2008.
 
If it were shown in Cuba in January 2008, it would most likely have been sometime between the 1st and the 31st.
 
Dude it's Sandokan he spouts anti-Castro rhetoric for a living. Look at his post history it's all anti-Castro crap. Most of it isn't even true, and if you attempt to debate him he just covers his ears and runs away.

I mean ffs he's quoting The Real Cuba website, which is one of the most hilariously dishonest anti-Castro sites I have ever seen.

Yeah, according to the "official" Cuban Ministry of Propaganda ??? Right ??

Have you been to Cuba ??
 
You too have omitted to answer the question of when the movie was shown in Cuba in January 2008. Please provide reliable sources of the theatrical showing in Cuba in January 2008.

You kind of answered your own question... Are you looking for specific dates...? Because once a film has a theatrical release, it is shown on that date and a few more weeks before they stop playing it in theaters. You are being so disingenuous that it makes it appear as if you have never been to the movies.
 
rofl. So this is how pathetic WikiLeaks is.
 
You kind of answered your own question... Are you looking for specific dates...? Because once a film has a theatrical release, it is shown on that date and a few more weeks before they stop playing it in theaters. You are being so disingenuous that it makes it appear as if you have never been to the movies.
In other words, you haven’t be able to answer the question. Let try again.

Can somebody provide reliable sources of the theatrical showing in Cuba of Sicko prior to the State department cable dated January 01, 2008?

“That Wikileaks document is just Bush-era propaganda to undermine my ‘truth to power.” – M. Moore. And Wikileaks proves that he is wrong.

Does that mean Moore’s check for Assange bail is going to bounce? Does Assange read everything he releases? He may lose the support of the left if he is not more careful with his Wikileaks.
 
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