Michael Moore on Wikileaks on Maddow

Filmmaker Michael Moore was a guest on The Rachel Maddow Show this evening, and the topic at hand: Wikileaks. Moore discussed the confusion around a leaked State Department Cable relating to his film Sicko—the Guardian reported the cable stating Sicko been banned in Cuba. I reblogged that here on Boing Boing. The content of the cable was not true, said Moore tonight (he'd published a detailed explanation earlier on his blog). The Guardian updated their coverage here, and I'd updated Boing Boing's here. Moore (and MSNBC's Keith Olbermann) came under much fire last week for comments on the Julian Assange rape allegations. Count me among the thousands of pissed off women who found those comments objectionable and inaccurate. Tonight, Moore addressed this in a manner that struck me as very respectful for all parties involved (including Assange). Moore seems like a sincere and reasonable person whose heart is in the right place. I'll update the post with video once MSNBC makes it available. Perhaps the most interesting element of their chat related to a newly leaked cable (I can't find it online yet) that apparently documents the U.S. attempting to shut down a screening of Moore's film Fahrenheit 911 in New Zealand, of all places. Update: Video links for The Rachel Maddow Show segments with Moore— 1) Moore on his support for Assange, and on the "Sicko was Banned" cable 2) Moore on the need for transparency, and whether governments should be allowed to keep secrets....

Michael Moore on Wikileaks on Maddow

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Wikileaks/Cablegate: Cuba banned Michael Moore's "Sicko" for fear of public backlash (UPDATE)

UPDATE: Michael Moore responds here. In short, he says Sicko was not banned in Cuba, and describes the cable referenced below as "[A] stunning look at the Orwellian nature of how bureaucrats for the State spin their lies and try to recreate reality." Jon Schwartz of Moore's production company tells Boing Boing, "The online references are clear, it really did play on national Cuban TV, and it really is still playing on a Cuba website." US diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks show that the government of 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." What, those gleaming hospitals aren't available to everyone in Cuba? And you can't believe everything you see in a Michael Moore movie? Say it ain't so! Snip: 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." WikiLeaks: Cuba banned Sicko for depicting 'mythical' healthcare system (Guardian, via Michael Moynihan)...

Wikileaks/Cablegate: Cuba banned Michael Moore's "Sicko" for fear of public backlash (UPDATE)

Backlink: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/XfuNVO6dbkE/wikileakscablegate-c.html

Wikileaks/Cablegate: Guardian reports Cuba banned Michael Moore's "Sicko" for fear of public backlash (UPDATE)

UPDATE: Michael Moore responds here. In short, he says Sicko was not banned in Cuba, and describes the cable referenced below as "[A] stunning look at the Orwellian nature of how bureaucrats for the State spin their lies and try to recreate reality." Jon Schwartz of Moore's production company tells Boing Boing, "The online references are clear, it really did play on national Cuban TV, and it really is still playing on a Cuba website." US diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks state that the government of 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." What, those gleaming hospitals aren't available to everyone in Cuba? And you can't believe everything you see in a Michael Moore movie? Say it ain't so! Snip: 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." WikiLeaks: Cuba banned Sicko for depicting 'mythical' healthcare system (Guardian, via Michael Moynihan)...

Wikileaks/Cablegate: Guardian reports Cuba banned Michael Moore's "Sicko" for fear of public backlash (UPDATE)

Backlink: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/XfuNVO6dbkE/wikileakscablegate-c.html

Wikileaks/Cablegate: Cuba banned Michael Moore's "Sicko" for fear of public backlash

US diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks show that the government of 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."

Wikileaks/Cablegate: Cuba banned Michael Moore's "Sicko" for fear of public backlash

Backlink: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/XfuNVO6dbkE/wikileakscablegate-c.html