Michael Moore’s Cuban Fiasco

By: Kendall | in: Movies |

Michael Moore

It appears that Michael Moore, the documentary film maker/thorn in the government’s side has landed himself in hot water lately. Moore is currently under investigation by the U.S. Treasury. Apparently, for his new film Sicko, moore brought ailing 9/11 rescue workers to Cuba to prove a point about the failing U.S. health care system. 10 workers from Ground Zero were actually brought to Cuba for treatment because the system was failing them here in the U.S. The plan is to skewer the faltering industry in the same way he went after guns in Bowling for Columbine, and President Bush in Fahrenheit 9/11.
The investigation is in whether or not Moore has broken the U.S. Trade embargo restricting travel to Cuba. A letter obtained by the Associated Press that is written to more reads:
“This office has no record that a specific license was issued authorizing you to engage in travel-related transactions involving Cuba.”
We here at The Plugg would like to know how you all weigh in on this. Are laws being broken? Has it really gotten bad enough in the U.S. that Cuba is a better choice for health care!?

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Posted on May 10, 2007

Comments

12 Responses to “Michael Moore’s Cuban Fiasco”

Alibastard on May 10th, 2007 2:33 pm

Cuba actually has some effective couple of government systems in place. The beauty of Communism. Everyone’s basic needs are taken care of, and the possibility of anything more is impossible. I’d imagine, due to the embargo, that their supplies are sub-par when it comes to medicinal treatment. But their education levels, and level of literacy are actually HIGHER than America’s. This was one of the most amazing aspects of Castro’s takeover (although he’s offset his career with useless tyrranny of the kind he was trying to obliterate with his revolution.) But I could imagine that a higher education rate could impact a higher (and less misinformed) medical system. Our medical industry here is so overraught with lobby subsedized malpractice, devious money-making schemes (under the illusion of new technology) and straight up unhelpful pomposity.
I work in the medical world. Each day I’m privy to the frighteningly narrow-minded practice of MDs and clinicians of all positions. Science has become the new High Priest fixation. And, despite its obvious aid in our modern society, we would do well to employ more informed distrust of the medical institution. Its still an industry.

Phil Urich on May 10th, 2007 2:54 pm

Wow, umm . . . actually, I’ll just stand behind everything Alibastard just said.

I remember an article in Spin (in those last few months that it was worth reading, in my opinion) written by Tom Morello about Audioslave’s trip down to Cuba. Actually, let me dig it out, I think it’s worth quoting.

“May 6. Up early the next morning. We visited the Intituto Superior de Arte, which is built on the site of an old country club where the elite in prerevolutionary Cuba used to pat each other on their backs. It’s now where young musicians study free of charge–we were treated to performances by amazing young jazz improvisers. One of the ironies of Cuba is that there is so much emphasis on education (Cuba has a 97 percent literacy rate), but it has few tools with which to teach due to the U.S. embargo. For example, Cuba exports doctors to poor nations, but the music school doesn’t have enough guitar or bass strings to go around.” (Tom Morello in Spin, August 2005)

And I’ve always thought of the trade embargo as petulant, really, a kind of “take away our cash cow and refute our ideals, will you? Well we don’t care if you’re just off the coast, we’re not going to trade with you at all, see how you do all isolated!”

I often wonder if Cuba would have turned into such a dictatorship without U.S. hostility, surely Castro went at least a bit more hardline in response to the antipathy.

Alibastard on May 10th, 2007 4:01 pm

Phil - dead on. Not that Castro would have taken our help if we had insisted. He just overthru a US puppet on the grounds that he was totally ineffective and not for the people…which seemed pretty true.

But if the Soviet Union hadn’t been so strong, or if Castro had some how found another alternative…some other superpower to fund his revolution (which seems unlikely) its very possible they would not have adopted Communist leanings that destroyed them.

And its totally just a slap on the wrist. Its almost childish at this point. I wish we weren’t choosing between passionate fanatics who evoke change in the interest of integrity (and end up screwing their people in the financial realm) and an baron who’s sychophantic philosophies are just a hollow veneer for their shallow aims at world domination (and the rest of the country follows, depressed as hell, trying to buy as much as they can fit in their dwellings).

There’s a saying (if I can rant just a little more) that in East nothing works and everything matters, and in the West everything works and nothing matters. We’re not talking East and West exactly, but these tend to be the two extremes, no?

Ekko on May 10th, 2007 4:10 pm

this is so fucked up. sometimes i’m ashamed to be an american

Ryan of the RSL on May 10th, 2007 4:53 pm

Whenever the US has a problem, they should look to Canada and see if they are messed up about it. If the answer is no - then ease down. Why is there still an embargo on Cuba anyway? So absurd.

kendall on May 10th, 2007 6:25 pm

Didn’t Castro offer help after Hurricane Katrina, only to be turned down?

Charbarred on May 11th, 2007 12:00 am

I’m a firm believer in individuality so I don’t buy in to Communism.
I do believe, however, that if you’re paying taxes, you should get your money’s worth. Here in England if you have a valid address you’re entitled to free medical care. You don’t even have to be a citizen. Sure, a lot of people still hold private medical insurance, but mainly because they want to increase the quality of their medical care. If you don’t have any money, you’d still be treated for anything free of charge.
As for Michael Moore, he has many great causes and it’s a shame he sometimes has to resort to cheap publicity stunts to make them known. I loved his first couple of movies, but Farenheit 9/11 was a very poorly made film. He had all the publicity he needed and could have made a hard hitting documentary that fights for a great cause, but instead he gave us 2 hours of unfocused propaganda that didn’t really convince anyone. It’s sort of like the class clown speaking out for something important…it cheapens the whole issue, no matter how important it is.
This whole Cuban thing will again get him a lot of attention. Let’s just hope that this time around he actually delivers on the promise.

HMTKSteve on May 11th, 2007 2:14 am

Moore is just a propagandist. He takes things he films and shows them out of context to prove his points.

Charbarred on May 11th, 2007 2:19 am

But can you prove it, Steve?

Peasant Dave on May 11th, 2007 3:40 am

The US’s Cuba policy is so embarrassing. I don’t care if Moore is good or bad; the policy shows that US politicians are whoring to special interests with campaign funds to donate.
We know what they are, we are just arguing about the price…

gav on May 12th, 2007 9:26 am

I went on a camper van trip across cuba a few summers ago. My sister has diabetes and we were worried at first about the health care problems. Turns our we were probably safer there then in Canada. there are so many doctors there its almost ridiculous (ridiculously awesome). the people there (at the risk of generalizing) are very nice and do there best to help everyone out, even hapless tourists such as myself and my family. We felt totally safe walking through havana’s streets after dark, something that would be ill-advised in say the dominican republic, Haiti, los angeles, new york or toronto. Castros obviously got something right. If it didnt mean widespread poverty for cuba’s people, I have to imagine that the trade embargo is almost a good thing. To much American influence might destroy the good thing that cuba has going. Despite all of my love for cuba (and by the comments everyones’ love for it) we have to remember that cuban refugees often risk there lives to raft there way over to miami, and there is an immense hatred for his entire regime in cuban societies. Just something to keep in mind

HMTKSteve on May 14th, 2007 2:27 am

Prove it?

In his anti-war movie he took clips from an interview with a Senator and remixed them to change the message the Senator was trying to get across.