Wikileaks: Cuba bans Sicko for showing "mythical" healthcare

[fgalkin]

Guardian

Cuba banned Michael Moore's 2007 documentary, Sicko, because it painted such a "mythically" favourable picture of Cuba's healthcare system that the authorities feared it could lead to a "popular backlash", according to US diplomats in Havana.

The revelation, contained in a confidential US embassy cable released by WikiLeaks , is surprising, given that the film attempted to discredit the US healthcare system by highlighting what it claimed was the excellence of the Cuban system.

But the memo reveals that when the film was shown to a group of Cuban doctors, some became so "disturbed at the blatant misrepresentation of healthcare in Cuba that they left the room".

Castro's government apparently went on to ban the film because, the leaked cable claims, it "knows the film is a myth and does not want to risk a popular backlash by showing to Cubans facilities that are clearly not available to the vast majority of them."

Sicko investigated healthcare in the US by comparing the for-profit, non-universal US system with the non-profit universal health care systems of other countries, including Cuba, France and the UK.

It was nominated for an Oscar for best documentary feature but was also castigated for being naive and tendentious.

The cable comes from the United States Interests Section in Havana (USINT) – staffed by US foreign service personnel and local staff employed by the department of state, the unit is formally a section of the Embassy of Switzerland, although it operates independently of the Swiss in virtually all but protocol respects.

The secret 2008 cable is based on reports from the USINT's foreign service health practitioner (FSHP) of her conversations with local people, unauthorised visits to Cuban hospitals, and experience of helping USINT American and Cuban personnel access healthcare.

The cable describes a visit made by the FSHP to the Hermanos Ameijeiras hospital in October 2007. Built in 1982, the newly renovated hospital was used in Michael Moore's film as evidence of the high-quality of healthcare available to all Cubans.

But according to the FSHP, the only way a Cuban can get access to the hospital is through a bribe or contacts inside the hospital administration. "Cubans are reportedly very resentful that the best hospital in Havana is 'off-limits' to them," the memo reveals.

According to the FSHP, a more "accurate" view of the healthcare experience of Cubans can be seen at the Calixto Garcia Hospital. "FSHP believes that if Michael Moore really wanted the 'same care as local Cubans', this is where he should have gone," the cable states.

A 2007 visit by the FSHP to this "dilapidated" hospital, built in the 1800s, was "reminiscent of a scene from some of the poorest countries in the world," the cable adds.

The memo points out that even the Cuban ruling elite leave Cuba when they need medical care. Fidel Castro, for example, brought in a Spanish doctor during his health crisis in 2006. The vice-minister of health, Abelardo Ramirez, went to France for gastric cancer surgery. The neurosurgeon whoheads CIMEQ [Centro de Investigaciones Médico-Quirúrgicas] hospital – widely regarded as one of the best in Cuba – came to England for eye surgery, returning periodically for checkups.

"After living in Cuba for two and a half years, treating numerous Cuban employees at USINT, and interacting with many other Cubans, the FSHP believes … preventive medicine in Cuba is a by-gone ideal, rather than the standard practice of care," the memo concludes.

This is, of course, assumes that US diplomats are unbiased sources, or even remotely resembling competent, which, given the content of other leaks is very far from truth. But, deliciously ironic if true.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[Phantasee]

Michael Moore posted on his site that it isn't true.

[Chaotic Neutral]

Wow. If there is a poster-child of how incompetent American News is, this should be it.

[Pelranius]

The Guardian is a British paper.

[General Zod]

Michael Moore posted on his site that it isn't true.

I don't see him denying that he misrepresented the actual conditions of Cuban healthcare in there, which really should be the salient bits of the cables. Not whether or not the movie is banned.

[Anguirus]

^ Yes, but the whole narrative falls apart if the movie wasn't banned. Moreover, the "leak" itself is of a cable that was a blatant falsehood, so we have no more or less information on whether Moore went to a fancy-pants non-representative hospital or not than we did yesterday.

[Chaotic Neutral]

The Guardian is a British paper.

Does anyone anywhere bother with actually checking their stories before the put them up?

[Marcus Aurelius]

^ Yes, but the whole narrative falls apart if the movie wasn't banned. Moreover, the "leak" itself is of a cable that was a blatant falsehood, so we have no more or less information on whether Moore went to a fancy-pants non-representative hospital or not than we did yesterday.

Well, considering that Cuba is a fairly poor country, I would expect their health care system to be rather basic and concentrated on treating common diseases curable with generic drugs and well-know basic surgeries like appendectomy etc.

Modern health care is very expensive and Cuba probably does the have the money to buy modern equipment for most hospitals, so even if the system works very well, it will still not be able to provide first world level treatment for many of the patients. In some cases like most common infectious diseases it will not matter, since the cheaper treatments work as well, but for example oncology and such really benefit from modern equipment and facilities.

[K. A. Pital]

What has been found out is that America is full of shit, again. Delicious, indeed. The story hardly made any sense to begin with - the Cuban government would be glad to use a movie which depicts its favourably, especially one made in the USA. *laughs* I love the U.S. cables. They show just how fucking delusional people can be.

[Talhe]

What has been found out is that America is full of shit, again. Delicious, indeed. The story hardly made any sense to begin with - the Cuban government would be glad to use a movie which depicts its favourably, especially one made in the USA. *laughs* I love the U.S. cables. They show just how fucking delusional people can be.

The diplomats aren't actually quoted as stating their belief that Sicko was banned; the entire cable was anecdotal evidence offered by Cubans on the status of their health care:

-- A physician XXXXXXXXXXXX told the FSHP that he works 14 hours every other day, then has to hitchhike home because he cannot afford to own a car.

-- XXXXXXXXXXXX stated that Cuban authorities have banned Michael Moore's documentary, "Sicko," as being subversive. Although the film's intent is to discredit the U.S. healthcare system by highlighting the excellence of the Cuban system, he said the regime knows the film is a myth and does not want to risk a popular backlash by showing to Cubans facilities that are clearly not available to the vast majority of them. When the FSHP showed Sicko to a group of XXXXXXXXXXXX, some became so disturbed at the blatant misrepresentation of healthcare in Cuba that they left the room.

*Name Redacted* is the one making the claim, no the United States government; Moore is the one spinning it as a government claim, something I'm not surprised at. Of course, the United States government is next to completely unreliable/incompetent anyways, and if an official was the one who claimed it in the diplomatic cable I wouldn't be surprised.

[K. A. Pital]

*Name Redacted* is the one making the claim, no the United States government; Moore is the one spinning it as a government claim, something I'm not surprised at. Of course, the United States government is next to completely unreliable/incompetent anyways, and if an official was the one who claimed it in the diplomatic cable I wouldn't be surprised.

Surprisingly enough, the Guardian felt secure enough to publish a header which took the claim as fact. But yeah, the Guardian is a British newspaper.

[mr friendly guy]

Well, considering that Cuba is a fairly poor country, I would expect their health care system to be rather basic and concentrated on treating common diseases curable with generic drugs and well-know basic surgeries like appendectomy etc.

Modern health care is very expensive and Cuba probably does the have the money to buy modern equipment for most hospitals, so even if the system works very well, it will still not be able to provide first world level treatment for many of the patients. In some cases like most common infectious diseases it will not matter, since the cheaper treatments work as well, but for example oncology and such really benefit from modern equipment and facilities.

I believe Cuba sends a lot of doctors overseas to do aid work. No doubt its a strategy of "I will scratch your back, you will scratch my back too" (in the future). In fact I have heard (although I have no quotes, so take it with a pinch of salt) that Castro wants to set Cuba up as a "medical superpower" whatever that term exactly means, but presumably it means they have the ability to easily deploy medical resources overseas, just like how a super power can deploy military forces overseas.

[Talhe]

I believe Cuba sends a lot of doctors overseas to do aid work. No doubt its a strategy of "I will scratch your back, you will scratch my back too" (in the future). In fact I have heard (although I have no quotes, so take it with a pinch of salt) that Castro wants to set Cuba up as a "medical superpower" whatever that term exactly means, but presumably it means they have the ability to easily deploy medical resources overseas, just like how a super power can deploy military forces overseas.

Beyond that, Cuba is a popular place for medical tourism: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1535358.stm

[Shroom Man 777]

But it can be argued that Cuba's medical service will show preferential treatment to paying foreigners, like how the tourists also get better hotels and accommodations than the average Cuban. I highly doubt tourists get surgerized in normal average bog standard provincial crappy hospitals. It's probably like how tourists who come to the Philippines, another popular medical tourism place, end up getting surgerized in nice hospitals for fancy folks while poor people go to provincial hospitals where they can't even pay for their treatments and have to pay by bartering their chickens or livestocks or water buffalos to the doctors who treated 'em.

[Rogue 9]

The Guardian is a British paper.

Does anyone anywhere bother with actually checking their stories before the put them up?

More to the point do you, here, bother with actually checking what you're saying before you post?

[Rye]

*Name Redacted* is the one making the claim, no the United States government; Moore is the one spinning it as a government claim, something I'm not surprised at. Of course, the United States government is next to completely unreliable/incompetent anyways, and if an official was the one who claimed it in the diplomatic cable I wouldn't be surprised.

Surprisingly enough, the Guardian felt secure enough to publish a header which took the claim as fact. But yeah, the Guardian is a British newspaper.

The Guardian also took that article down (personally I find that a bit worse than leaving it there with a retraction at the bottom), and they put this one up: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/de ... NTCMP=SRCH

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)".

He added: "The entire nation of Cuba was shown the film on national television on April 25, 2008! The Cubans embraced the film so much so it became one of those rare American movies that received a theatrical distribution in Cuba. I personally ensured that a 35mm print got to the Film Institute in Havana. Screenings of 'Sicko' were set up in towns all across the country."

The confidential US memo claims that when the film was shown to a group of Cuban doctors, some became so "disturbed at the blatant misrepresentation of healthcare in Cuba that they left the room".

It claims the film was banned because the Cuban government "knows the film is a myth and does not want to risk a popular backlash by showing to Cubans facilities that are clearly not available to the vast majority of them".

Sicko investigated healthcare in the US by comparing the for-profit, non-universal US system with the non-profit universal health care systems of other countries, including Cuba, France and the UK.

It was nominated for an Oscar for best documentary feature but was also castigated for being naive and tendentious.

The cable comes from the United States Interests Section in Havana (USINT) – staffed by US foreign service personnel and local staff employed by the department of state, the unit is formally a section of the Embassy of Switzerland, although it operates independently of the Swiss in virtually all but protocol respects.

The secret 2008 cable is based on reports from the USINT's foreign service health practitioner (FSHP) supposedly based on her conversations with local people, unauthorised visits to Cuban hospitals, and experience of helping USINT American and Cuban personnel access healthcare.

The cable describes a visit made by the FSHP to the Hermanos Ameijeiras hospital in October 2007. Built in 1982, the newly renovated hospital was used in Michael Moore's film as evidence of the high quality of healthcare available to all Cubans.

However, according to the FSHP, the only way a Cuban can get access to the hospital is through a bribe or contacts inside the hospital administration. "Cubans are reportedly very resentful that the best hospital in Havana is 'off-limits' to them," the memo reveals.

According to the FSHP, a more "accurate" view of the healthcare experience of Cubans can be seen at the Calixto García Hospital. "FSHP believes that if Michael Moore really wanted the 'same care as local Cubans', this is where he should have gone," the cable states.

A 2007 visit by the FSHP to this "dilapidated" hospital, built in the 1800s, was "reminiscent of a scene from some of the poorest countries in the world", the cable adds.

The memo noted that even the Cuban ruling elite leave Cuba when they need medical care. Fidel Castro, for example, brought in a Spanish doctor during his health crisis in 2006. The vice minister of health, Abelardo Ramírez, went to France for gastric cancer surgery. The neurosurgeon who heads CIMEQ [Centro de Investigaciones Médico-Quirúrgicas] hospital – widely regarded as one of the best in Cuba – came to England for eye surgery, returning periodically for checkups.

"After living in Cuba for two and a half years, treating numerous Cuban employees at USINT, and interacting with many other Cubans, the FSHP believes… preventive medicine in Cuba is a bygone ideal, rather than the standard practice of care," the memo concludes.

Moore said on his blog that the cable came in the wake of the US health insurance industry deciding to "to spend millions" to go after him and, if necessary, "push Michael Moore off a cliff".

He said the industry worked with anti-Castro Cubans in Miami in order to have them speak out and smear the film.

"So, on January 31, 2008, a state department official stationed in Havana took a made-up story and sent it back to his HQ in Washington," said Moore.

Strictly speaking, the Guardian just reported on the content of the cable, not whether it was true.

[K. A. Pital]

Yeah. But still, they didn't check, which is surprising. The Guardian always struck me as not just a left-wing piece of British media, but also one that checks its stories.

[Todeswind]

Yeah. But still, they didn't check, which is surprising. The Guardian always struck me as not just a left-wing piece of British media, but also one that checks its stories.

The media has been in a rush to be first past the post on the leaked documents. It's unsurprising that some are published without proper fact checking.

[Rogue 9]

Why would they lie about it in a secret cable, though? This was never intended for the public eye; it has no value as propaganda.

[Todeswind]

Because it's a diplomatic cable on a closed server. They send thousands upon thousands of cables every day, it's just a private e-mail server with substantially better security for all intents and purposes. Any halfwit fuck in the government's diplomatic core writes these things like a 16 year old girl tweets. These things are updated weekly, sometimes even hourly and the information included in them is limited to what the diplomats in question are under the impression is the truth.

Because we only have access to segments of ongoing narrative we get a fragmented picture.

[Phantasee]

Well, it's still useful to know that these sorts of thugs go through that channel as well. My father is one of those people who believe governments and their agencies all play a tightly controlled game where they know the exact location of all pieces at all times. I have a hard time explaining it's a group of people and therefore likely to make mistakes upon mistakes and so on.

[General Mung Beans]

And how is Michael Moore more reliable than the US government exactly? If it was Rush Limbaugh or Bill O'Reilly who claimed something contrawise to what the US government has said you'd probably be supporting the claims of the latter.

[Thanas]

And how is Michael Moore more reliable than the US government exactly? If it was Rush Limbaugh or Bill O'Reilly who claimed something contrawise to what the US government has said you'd probably be supporting the claims of the latter.

The guardian apparently is convinced and it has a much better reputation than Limbaugh or Bill O'Reilly.

[D.Turtle]

And how is Michael Moore more reliable than the US government exactly? If it was Rush Limbaugh or Bill O'Reilly who claimed something contrawise to what the US government has said you'd probably be supporting the claims of the latter.

If you look at his blog post, he provides various links supporting his claims (especially that "Sicko" was shown in theaters in Cuba and on TV).