Michael Moore Takes Ground Zero Responders to Cuba for Medical Treatment

[Mika]

Source: Fox News & NY Post

From Faux..

Film director Michael Moore has taken Ground Zero responders to Cuba for medical treatment in a bid to show that Fidel Castro's socialized medicine is better than health care in the U.S., the New York Post reports.

The director of "Roger & Me" and "Fahrenheit 9/11" took the responders to Cuba as part of his latest film, "Sicko," which examines American drug companies.

From NY Post
http://www.nypost.com/seven/04152007/news/worldnews/moores_sicko_stunt_worldnews_janon_fisher.htm

April 15, 2007 -- Filmmaker Michael Moore's production company took ailing Ground Zero responders to Cuba in a stunt aimed at showing that the U.S. health-care system is inferior to Fidel Castro's socialized medicine, according to several sources with knowledge of the trip.
The trip was to be filmed as part of the controversial director's latest documentary, "Sicko," an attack on American drug companies and HMOs that Moore hopes to debut at the Cannes Film Festival next month.
Two years in the making, the flick also takes aim at the medical care being provided to people who worked on the toxic World Trade Center debris pile, according to several 9/11 workers approached by Moore's producers.
But the sick sojourn, which some say uses ill 9/11 workers as pawns, has angered many in the responder community.
Responders were told Cuban doctors had developed new techniques for treating lung cancer and other respiratory illness, and that health care in the communist country was free, according to those offered the two-week February trip.
Cuba has made recent advancements in biotechnology and exports its cancer treatments to 40 countries around the world, raking in an estimated $100 million a year, according to The Associated Press.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,266201,00.html

[BayCityProgressive]

1. LOL

Michael always knows how to get the righties heads to spin.

[progressoid]

10. No kidding

Tune in tomorrow to hear Hannity's voice go up an octave and Rush foam at the mouth over this.

[CrazyOrangeCat]

30. This is Pig-Boy's big chance for a stroke.

Hope he's good and jacked-up on Vicodin.

[Sabriel]

2. It "uses ill 9/11 workers as pawns"

Yes, it's SO much better to ignore their complaints and hope they die before you're forced to take action!

And who are the mysterious "some say" people who say this? Inquiring minds would like to know.

Thanks, Michael, for using this approach to draw hugely deserved attention to these people.

[badgerpup]

16. "..used as pawns." Right.

Somehow I just don't see the 9/11 responders as passive ignorant sheeple who will 'allow' this. :eyes:

And wouldn't it be a kick in the head...not to mention wondrous...if the treatments they receive in Cuba are substantially beneficial?
Here's hoping that the Cuban treatments help...

[Ian David]

19. That would be The Fireboat Veterans for Truth, I suppose? n/t

[MindPilot]

29. Good one!! n/t

[PDJane]

3. From what I've seen,

He is right.

If the first responders are getting treated there, it's better than they're getting at home. Why not?

What's so awful about it?

[Subdivisions]

4. Kudos to Mr. Moore. I'll look forward to seeing his new film.

[mahina]

5. Treat them there so you don't have to treat them here.

New definition of terrorism, terrorism by neglect.

[madrchsod]

6. "raking in 100 million a year"?

let me think a minute....i`d say an american drug company would spend that much in advertising some of "new" drugs that are no more than a recombination two drugs to extend the patents.

once again a new york post writer shows than lack of objectivity

[Laughing Mirror]

7. Those sick people getting treatment might not consider it a stunt

Not only onsite over the debris, but in all the apartments immediately surrounding the area there were many many undocumented workers cleaning, vacuuming and sweeping up who knows what kind of toxic dust and poison that penetrated their pores and their lungs. They may all be dead by now, or suffering pretty severely, but who would know? They are the forgotten tragedy in that clean-up effort. EPA lied lied lied and said it was all safe, of course, cough cough.

[earth mom]

8. GO MICHAEL!

:applause:

No doubt those 911 responders are immensely grateful to Moore who just may have helped save their lives!

[Peace Patriot]

9. Yeah, Cuba's in it for the money!

Christ, these people.

[Billy Burnett]

11. Maybe, just maybe this might open a few American's eyes to the gracious nature of the Cuban people.

The membership of the Cuban Ministry of Health is an awesome group of compassionate people. Remember that Cuban doctors treated many children victims of Chernobyl with a great success rate. Cuban Drs volunteer for service in nearly all corners of the earth where victims are in need. They offered to send a medical brigade to assist the needy in Louisiana and Mississippi after Katrina - Bush/Cheney/Rice refused to even respond to their offer in the days of desperation for the people in dire need.

Viva Cuba!

Viva the good, kind, and generous membership of the Cuban Ministry of Health!

[Mika]

13. Right on, Billy.

I've had direct interaction with many members of the MoH, and have been genuinely touched by some of the works they have done and their dedication to compassionate care - often at great personal cost to themselves. The Cuban people hold doctors, as well as their auxiliaries, and educators in very high esteem.

:hi:

[davidinalameda]

36. the people may be gracious

but I doubt the dictatorship running the country would be so gracious if it couldn't get some free press out of it

[hogwyld]

41. As opposed to what?

Our dictatorship??? At least their "dictatorship" cares about it's people. Can you say that about ours?

[cascadiance]

12. I love starting threads on boards comparing our health care to Cuba's!

NEVER fails to get a wacky reaction from the righties!

You can really tell they get frustrated when you point out that statistics show that their infant mortality rate is better, as well as other statistics like that, even though their nation is under economic embargo! It really is a stark example of how making sure everyone has access to health care (no matter how good quality that health care is) is really the determining factor as to how healthy your populace is! Love to hear that Moore is picking up on this strategy for his new film!

[Chulanowa]

27. But, but, but!

Where are all the Cuban multimillionaires? The Cuban Fortune 500's? How many Arabs can a team of Cubans kill? THOSE are the things that make a society great, the size of their top 1%'s bank accounts and the amount of dead foreigners it can produce.

:sarcasm:

[Warren Stupidity]

14. $182 million on federal lobbying

WASHINGTON, April 1, 2007 — Manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, medical devices and other health products spent nearly $182 million on federal lobbying from January 2005 through June 2006, a Center for Public Integrity study of disclosure records shows.

http://store.publicintegrity.org/rx/report.aspx?aid=823

The United States is one of only two developed countries that allows direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs. (The other country is New Zealand).

A November 2006 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office report stated that drug companies spent $4.2 billion in 2005 on DTCA. In comparison the drug industry spent $7.2 billion in 2005 promoting drugs to physicians and $31.4 billion on research and development. However, the GAO found that the amount spent on DTCA "increased twice as fast from 1997 through 2005 as spending on promotion to physicians or on research and development." <1> It estimated that spending on DTCA was growing at approximately 20% per year.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Direct-to-consumer_advertising_in_the_United_States

[Broadslidin]

15. Sick "units" Will Always be Weeded Out of the for profit medical system.

Tis simply, the u.s. way of 'doin business'.

[youngdem]

17. Wow. This would really shame the administration if it had any.

Great move on Moore's part. I bet this provokes Bushco into helping the first responders out of spite.

Hey, whatever works. Good on em. Can't wait to see "Sicko".

[Mika]

18. Years ago, MM's TV show "The Awful Truth" did a segment comparing the h-c systems..

.. of Canada - Cuba - & the USA.

They followed a typical broken leg treatment process.

1st place went to Cuba. 2nd to Canada. USA was last, in both speed/effectiveness of treatment as well as cost.



http://www.theawfultruth.com/

[Tuttle]

50. I remember a segment on TV Nation

The Health Care Olympics with Canada, Cuba and the US... it ran during the summer games, I believe and he had the NBC Sports guys (Costas/Gumble/etc) doing the play-by-play. Really excellent television.

Tut-tut

[Mika]

52. Yes. That's the show I was remembering.

Thanks for reminding me that it was MM's TV Nation.

:hi:

[jarnocan]

20. Michael Moore is incredible, interesting and funny

http://www.michaelmoore.com/ his web site is a good source for a wide variety of information and actions. thank you Michael Moore! He is also another brave person who has put up with tons of insults smears and threats by the far right.

[rodeodance]

21. But others say the workers were pleased with their Cuban visit.

Click here to read the full report.

"He's using people that are in a bad situation and that's wrong; that's morally wrong," Jeff Endean, a former SWAT commander from Morris County, N.J., who spent a month at Ground Zero and suffers from respiratory problems, told the New York Post.

But others say the workers were pleased with their Cuban visit.

"From what I heard through the grapevine, those people that went are utterly happy," John Feal, who runs the Fealgood Foundation to help raise money for responders, told the Post. "They got the Elvis treatment."

[rodeodance]

22. fox is reporting from a NYPOST story -here

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04152007/news/worldnews/moores_sicko_stunt_worldnews_janon_fisher.htm

[rodeodance]

23. and it is not a Report------it is thash mm piece.

[MasonJar]

24. The New York Post at its finest! Which of course is saying little!

[yurbud]

25. house unamerican activities committee will start looking for Castro or Chavez lovers

"Are you now or have you ever been jealous of a country that has a humane health care system?"

[yurbud]

26. one good thing about Cold War: it made corporate bastards treat us halfway decent to keep commies

from looking good.

Once communism collapsed, their thanks to us was to pull out the long knives and dress us for dinner.

[MindPilot]

28. I'd never really looked at that way, but ya know...

you're right.

[yurbud]

33. same thing with blatant assholery in foreign policy--who they gonna run to?

[endarkenment]

40. I've often thought the same thing.

Sucked if you lived in a communist country but it kept our side relatively honest. Things have gone straight downhill for working people since the fall of the soviet union.

[yurbud]

46. It's probably why business tolerated the civil rights movement. They recovered though

by replacing blacks as cheap labor with illegal immigrants, who they now try to whip up racial hatred against so no one will notice the objects of their hatred are getting screwed.

[roamer65]

31. Freeper heads will pop like exploding watermelons over this one.

LOL...They'll whine that he should stay there, yadda, yadda...all of the usual freeper tripe.

[roody]

32. Did Michael ask for and receive permission from

Big Brother? Or is he committing civil disobedience?

[Old Vet]

34. I cant wait for his movie!

I was hoping he would release before the primaries.

[unkachuck]

35. hat's off to ya, Mike....

....can't wait to see Sicko....I do wish the ny post and others would stop referring to you as 'controversial'....our immoral capitalist, profit-off-the-sick-and-dieing healthcare system is what's controversial....

[Mudoria]

37. Must not be that great..

since "El Supremo" had to go to Europe to get treatment..

[Mika]

38. If you're talking about Mr Castro, you're wrong.

He never travelled to Europe to get treatment. Although a specialist in sepsis did fly in to Cuba to give a second opinion.

http://fairuse.100webcustomers.com/fairenough/nyt745.html

---

Easy for so many Muricans to bash Cuba while wallowing in ignorance about the place.

[lovuian]

39. God Bless him

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B2WBD-F-7I

Guliani and Christine Whitman are Bush's puppets

[donsu]

42. Brilliant!

nt

[Faux pas]

43. Go Michael! Compassion and cojones, good combo. n/t

[Mnpaul]

44. NY Post?? Fauxsooze??

I smell BS. No mention of it on Moore's site either:thumbsdown:

[file83]

45. This is the exact key phrase that Fox News always uses, and which the NY Post uses in this sentence:

"But the sick sojourn, which some say uses ill 9/11 workers as pawns..."

"Some say" is their way of making an accusation or inserting an opinion (subjectivity) into what is supposed to be an objective news story.

Typical. Who's the writer, Jeff Gannon?

[Doctor_J]

47. Uh-oh. "some say" it uses 9/11 workers as pawns

The familiar Fox Noise source. Some = Hannity & O'Really

[underpants]

48. Good I was wondering when the movie was coming out

Good for you Michael

[ooglymoogly]

49. Can't wait for this movie from one of our bravest and brightest

truthtellers....some say indeed. Some say the Post is not even good toilet paper....some say it's like trying to wipe sh*t clean with more sh*t....and Faux some say is not even worth mentioning.

[Joanne98]

51. Sicko debutes in one month great. We should start lobbying the theatres now.

The thugs will try to shut it down like they did last time.

[Judi Lynn]

53. Cuba"-related program activities!" The Police Invited To Play Cuba

The Police Invited To Play Cuba
Published: 4/15/07 at 2:37 PM ET
Written By: andPOP Staff

(andPOP) - Reformed rockers THE POLICE have been invited to play their first concerts in Cuba by the communist country's government.

The group is considering ending its American reunion tour on the Caribbean island in December, according to Fox News reports.

The official invite comes after Police frontman Sting and his actress wife Trudi Styler recently met with dignitaries and artists on a trip to Cuba.

Although the proposed show will be a first for The Police, bandmates Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers performed a concert there in 1999.
(snip)

http://www.andpop.com/article/9059