Friday, November 09, 2007

The really real Sicko

In his new "documentary," Sicko, Michael Moore criticises US healthcare, which he is quite right to do, since it is a ridiculously flawed system. However, he controversially compares it with "socialised" healthcare systems in the UK, France, Canada, and... Cuba. Yes, Cuba. This is interesting, because, early in the film Moore shows his audience a chart from the World Health Organisation ranking countries by the effectiveness of their health care. He does this to show how bad the US ranks, way down at 37. He doesn't comment on the fact, and hopes his audience has missed it when he holds the chart up, that Cuba ranks 39, worse than the US!

In Sicko Moore rounds up a group of 9/11 heroes, police, firefights and the such, and takes them to "the only place in the USA where healthcare is free": Guantanamo Bay. Unfortunately the military won't let them in, so they go to Cuba instead. The results... well, you can see them in the video from John Stossel below. The short Stossel video is a trailer for a show I will post at some other date.

Stossel Takes on Michael Moore about Cuba healthcare myth:



And here is, first, an interview from YouTube introducing some videos from hospitals in Cuba, and then the videos themselves:

Videos taken by doctor Darsi Ferrer and smuggled out of Cuba by therealcuba.com's webmaster show the real health care regular Cubans receive. Very different from the flagship hospital for the Elite, paying foreigners and special interest useful idiots where Michael Moore went for his Sicko propaganda movie. This is only the beginning, there is plenty more this came from and a lot of the raw videos are already here in this youtube profile. These are the hospitals from the other side of the apartheid for regular Cubans that Sicko wouldn't show






Miguel Enriquez Hospital for regular Cubans


This is the outside of the Miguel Enriquez Hospital, in Havana. Notice the garments hanging from windows; broken windows; near the end there is a view of the inside staircases and you can see that the exterior panel glasses are missing. Some pieces of wood have been placed on the floor against these windows to prevent people from falling. See another video titled: Elevators / Garbage containers in Hospitals for Cubans


Elevators / Garbage containers in Hospitals for Cubans.



This video was taken at the Miguel Henriquez Hospital in Havana. Only one of the elevators is functioning. The panel glasses at the end of the hall by the elevators are missing and now they have placed some pieces of wood on the floor and against the window to prevent someone from falling down. For more videos visit www.therealcuba.com


Dead Patient in Hospital for regular Cubans



This video was filmed in August of 2007 inside the 10 de Octubre Hospital (formerly known as "La Dependiente") in Havana, Cuba. This is a hospital for regular Cubans, very different from those hospitals for foreigners and tourists where regular Cubans are not allowed. In the video, a relative of another patient is told by a nurse to watch when the patient on the next bed stops breathing, because that would be a signal that he was dead. If you watch closely, 24 seconds into the video, you'll see a fly landing on top of the dead patient's pajamas


Patients in Hospital for Cubans part 2


More videos showing patient's rooms at the 10 d... (more)
More videos showing patient's rooms at the 10 de Octubre and Miguel enriquez hospitals in Havana. Notice how some of the beds have bed sheets that are not the typical white sheets used in most hospitals. This is because many patients have to bring their own bed sheets, pillows and towels.


Room at a Hospital for Cubans


This room at the Miguel Enriquez Hospital (Formerly known as Benefica) happened to be empty at the time and it was possible to take a more detailed video. Notice the filthy conditions of the patient bathroom; the mattresses; pieces of plastic and rags covering the broken windows.

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

"He does this to show how bad the US ranks, way down at 37. He doesn't comment on the fact, and hopes his audience has missed it when he holds the chart up, that Cuba ranks 39, worse than the US!"

Sure, Cuba is two places below America! How terrible! Yes, "socialised" medicine is so bad that a poor nation is two places below one of the of the richest countries in world!

I'm always impressed by how right-wing "libertarians" always miss the point...

And I think it is fair to say that Michael Moore is not advocating implementing exactly the same system in the US as is applied in Cuba. I'm sure that an American "socialised" system would be more like, say, the French system than one implemented by a Stalinist dictatorship.

So not only do we have a total unawareness of the point Moore is making, we have a straw man argument to boot!

I guess it is true, "libertarianism" goes make you stupid!

9:33 AM  
Blogger Richard said...

"He does this to show how bad the US ranks, way down at 37. He doesn't comment on the fact, and hopes his audience has missed it when he holds the chart up, that Cuba ranks 39, worse than the US!"

Sure, Cuba is two places below America! How terrible! Yes, "socialised" medicine is so bad that a poor nation is two places below one of the of the richest countries in world!


Ah yes, it is because Cuba is poor. New Zealand must be even more poor, because it ranks below Cuba and the US. Same with South Korea. Or Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic must be rich, given that they outrank both the US and Cuba. Or Maybe Mike was being dishonest again by not pointing out the relevant facts?

And I think it is fair to say that Michael Moore is not advocating implementing exactly the same system in the US as is applied in Cuba. I'm sure that an American "socialised" system would be more like, say, the French system than one implemented by a Stalinist dictatorship.

So why did Moore bring up Cuba at all? He claimed that the hospital he visited was the norm, the standard, and boasted about how his companions, 9/11 and boasted that Guantanamo was the only place his 9/11 hero companions could get free health care in the US - so, if he wasn't trying to say that the Cuban system was worthy of emulation, why did he raise it at all?

7:44 PM  

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