Suck Ups And Lies
by digby
So one of the Wikileaks cables said that Michael Moore's movie "Sicko" was banned in Cuba --- and it wasn't:
Michael Moore was as surprised as anyone when WikiLeaks revealed a US cable asserting that Cuban officials banned his Sicko documentary because it depicted a "mythical" view of health care there. He was even more surprised when the media picked up on the cable and reported it as gospel truth. (See the Guardian, whose report in turn got widely disseminated.) The problem is that the documentary—a damning assessment of the American health care system—was not banned in Cuba, he writes at the Huffington Post.
Not only had the film been playing in Cuban theaters before the State Department cable of Jan. 31, 2008, it was shown on national television there in April of that year, writes Moore, who references news articles of the time to prove his point. So why would a US official write such a bogus cable? Mainly, the Bushies in power at the time didn't like him and wanted to discredit his movie, which had just been nominated for an Oscar, writes Moore. "It is a stunning look at the Orwellian nature of how bureaucrats for the State spin their lies and try to recreate reality Michael Moore was as surprised as anyone when WikiLeaks revealed a US cable asserting that Cuban officials banned his Sicko documentary because it depicted a "mythical" view of health care there. He was even more surprised when the media picked up on the cable and reported it as gospel truth. (See the Guardian, whose report in turn got widely disseminated.) The problem is that the documentary—a damning assessment of the American health care system—was not banned in Cuba, he writes at the Huffington Post.
Not only had the film been playing in Cuban theaters before the State Department cable of Jan. 31, 2008, it was shown on national television there in April of that year, writes Moore, who references news articles of the time to prove his point. So why would a US official write such a bogus cable? Mainly, the Bushies in power at the time didn't like him and wanted to discredit his movie, which had just been nominated for an Oscar, writes Moore. "It is 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)."
This raises an interesting question, doesn't it? How many of these cables, rather than being the unvarnished facts which reveal the public lies are actually another layer of lies from bureaucrats trying to appease their bosses? It's funny how transparency can reveal all sorts of unexpected things isn't it?
If only there were professional people who gather facts and research issues and interview subjects who could be called upon to investigate such things. I recall that there used to be an organization called The New York Times which was interested in sorting out various secrets and lies but they seem to have gone into another business. (Some strange foreigners still practice this old fashioned craft but here in the US not so much.) Too bad. It could be useful.
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