WikiLeaks cables: Michael Moore film Sicko was 'not banned' in Cuba

[Joanne98]

American diplomats made up a story that Cuba banned Michael Moore's 2007 documentary, Sicko, in an attempt to discredit the film which painted an unflattering picture of the US healthcare system, the film-maker said today.

A confidential US embassy cable released by WikiLeaks claimed that Castro's government banned the Oscar-nominated film because it painted such a "mythically" favourable picture of Cuba's healthcare system that the authorities feared it could lead to a "popular backlash".

But Moore said that far from being supressed by Havana, the film – which attempted to discredit the US healthcare system by highlighting what it claimed was the excellence of the Cuban system – was shown on national television.

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)".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/18/wikileaks-us-diplomats-story-cuba-banned-sicko-film

[Arctic Dave]

1. Yes, our government is the enemy.

Lie, cheat, steal, murder. There is nothing they won't do for money and power.

[bhikkhu]

2. That's almost comical

I've got a couple of talk-radio listener friends who probably bought into that. Interesting to find that an outright lie didn't come from expected sources, but from the government itself.

[Uncle Joe]

3. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Joanne.

[Quasimodem]

4. That's Sicko!

Kicked and recommended.

[yurbud]

5. k & r

[Canuckistanian]

6. The idea that Cuba would ban it is laughable

It portrayed Cuban people as generous, understanding and compassionate. Which they are.

Besides which, it was a nice propaganda boost for them, showing their health care system as a model for even POOR nations.

I'll never forget the scene of that 9/11 responder who broke down and cried when she realized she could get her medicine there at 1/100th the price of what she could get in the states.
I cried along with her for her predicament and the absolute GREED of the American system that took advantage of her.