Correspondent of the Day: Slave-like Labor: Just Another Factoid

Blackbird-I saw Mr. Moore’s first documentary. Roger and Me. And I loved it.
I still do.
But as i saw more and more of the “real”
Michael Moore interviewed on tv and in newspapers and magazines I came to dislike him intensely.
Ordinarily I would try not to let an artist’s persona intefere with my appreciation of his work (Picasso comes to mind) but the credibility of a documentarian is crucial.
I have come to believe that over time Michael Moore has lost that feature in his work.
And you can find terrific work on Cuba, by Cubans, in magazine articles and other documentaries and even some Cuban movies.
Bye Bye Havana is an excellent one.
Remember whatever outsiders see in Cuba is totally controlled by the government.
Michael Moore saw what the government wanted him to.
The Cubans have always had a natural talent for all things medical.
Given the freedom and resources of a democratic society they would be leading the world in advances.
And you are one hundred percent correct. I have not seen Sicko and I do not intend to.
I boycott Michael Moore. I will get my opposing viewpoints from someone who I believe tells the truth as they see it.
Even if I don’t agree. That is what learning is all about.
We are not writers or reporters or journalists Blackbird and sometimes what we have in our heads does not always translate well to paper.  But I think that we try to be honest and have a civil debate and I appreciate that and look forward to your replies.

If you are trying to make the Cuban regime the victim here, you are betting on the wrong horse.
There is enough bad blood and bad behavior on both sides to go around.
There are no excuses to be made for how badly the Castro brothers have repressed the Cuban people.
They did that. Not the United States not the Soviet Union.
The Castro brothers are solely responsible.
I am quite sure that I never called the members of the Congressional Black Caucus either communists or traitors.
I remember thinking and possibly even saying that they were just one more contingent of useful idiots. Nobody plays that game better than the Castro regime.
If you choose to form your opinion based on a movie that is your privilege.
Unlike in Cuba the US health insurance companies have no say in whether Michael Moore makes a movie or not.
In Cuba if it did not depict their health care system to advantage it wouldn’t get made.
Please don’t tell me you fail to see that fundamental difference?
In Cuba there is always only ONE side to the story.
You are wrong in thinking that Cuba’s ties to Russia are still not strong. Russia can no longer subsidize Cuba the way that she did curing the cold war.
But they still have powerful ties and Cuba never has to worry about being the ‘little brother” as long as the Big Bear has got its back.
And it is still only a few miles off the coast of Florida.

And yes Blackbird it is still always about money and power. Always has been and always will be.
Sometimes it is about land and water. Or rice or sugar or pineapple. Or religion.
Take your choice.
I have to admit that I despise Michael Moore as a hypocritical opportunist.
I do not fault him for profiting and enjoying the fruits of his labors.
I do fault him for preaching that the very system that provides those fruits as promised is corrupt, doesn’t work and if we all buy tickets to his movies
we will be educated to that fact.

“Cuba’s former dictator, Fidel Castro, has met with U.S. Officials for the first time since he became ill in 2006. He met with members of the Congressional Black Caucus in Havana. This meeting comes as the Obama administration is reportedly considering possibly ending a half-century of Cold War isolation.

Representative Barbara Lee is the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and one of the three members who met with Fidel and Raul Castro. She spoke with Kiran Chetry on CNN’s American Morning on Wednesday”

Remember this Greta?  Remember your comments on this day?  You and all the others were out there calling them “communists” and “traitors”....
are you sure it’s Cuba that doesn’t want to normalize relations?
I don’t believe it.

You don’t assume to be an expert but then you state
“We “know” all about the health care system in Cuba”

Well, I don’t know about the Cuban health care system. I had NO idea what they were doing until the “Sicko” movie. Face it the “Sicko” movie gave a view that doesn’t match up with anything that you say and doesn’t match up with what most Americans believe.  So is it a “lie”?
I don’t know…neither do you. I presume there was some definite Castro “propaganda” in the movie, but when you hear the Guevera’s grand daughter interviewed, you just can’t help but think “I have been brainwashed by American propaganda.“
When you see people who have been snubbed by our health care system get helped by Cubans health care system you start thinking about it.
Ok, maybe it was ALL fanstasy…maybe Castro was using Michael Moore to change his image. But couldn’t American Insurance Companies have “used” Michael Moore also?  I think Castro was just taking advantage of free advertising. That is a very capitalist idea isn’t it?  Why didn’t the insurance companies seize the opportunity to tell their story, why didn’t the insurance companies say ,
“oh, it’s all been a big mistake..we are sorry you can only afford to repair one of you fingers, if you allow us to put your story in our new movie about all the good things American insurance companies do, we will repair them for FREE”....
No, US Health insurance companies ALLOW Moore to persue his strategy with NO ANSWER, because frankly I don’t believe that have an answer. US Health insurance could put out a movie, lord knows, they spend enough on advertising, why not hire someone to tell their side of the story? 
Where are the Cuban exiles? Why don’t they do us a favor like Michael Moore has done, why don’t they tell us THEIR story.  It’s when I don’t here any rubutal, that I can trust, I start to wonder….maybe it is true.
Don’t you wonder , even a little bit, why that movie doesn’t match up with your view? OR do you just want to continue to believe Michael Moore is an anti-American liberal hypocrite? Did you watch the movie? There was nothing anti-American about criticizing insurance companies and drawing on American pride to answer the question “can’t we do better then this”.  That was the MAIN point of the whole movie..“can’t we do better then this”.  I believe we can, but only if we really examine other models and draw the best answers from all sources, not close our mind and fall back on familar “America” is best, cold war propaganda. “Sicko” shows there are other ways that “seem” to be succeeding, I think we owe it to ourselves to examine those models very closely , not blow them off right away as fanatical “socialism”. 
I was reading the other day about Cuba, someone mentioned the real cut in ties from the US happened because Cuba had bought Oil from outside and wanted the US facilities on the island to process the Oil, they refused. That was the start of the whole thing. I haven’t confirmed this, but it sounds like an interesting story.
Also why am I not allowed to buy a Cuban Cigar?  I bought one in London, and then was not allowed to bring it into the US?  I have heard conflicting stories about who really is upholding the division between Cuba and the US. It doesn’t appear to be “just Cuba” who isn’t allowing interaction.  Besides we are the bigger country, it’s kind of like blaming your little baby brother for crying when you hit him.  Does anyone really believe Cuba is a genuine military threat?  They no longer have strong ties with Russia.  Maybe they have ties with Chavez, but so do we. Everyone needs Oil from Venezula. Just my opinion.

unfortunately we aren’t allowed to visit Cuba to talk to any Cubans there.
That would be nice.
I am not an expert, but neither is the author of this letter. Greta you may be a little better informed then the average American, but you are not an expert either. I know you visited/lived there in the 60’s and you have friends from Cuba, but that does not make you an expert. I believe what you tell me, but I also believe what I saw in the “Sicko” documentary. So who do I believe, whom do I trust?  Neither. Sorry. I would rather we normalize relations and deal with them the way we deal every other communist dicatorship. Like China.  I guess China is different?  I guess China is a shining example of democracy and civil rights..that is why we have a different policy toward them?  So why do we pick on Cuba?  China has the same contradictions, yet they get special treatment, a visit from the President during the Olympics.  Cuba is a few miles off our coast and we treat them like lepers.
I lived in Miami , South Florida for 6 years. I know how strong the Cuban ties are and how anti-Castro they are.
Many of the ones that made it out, seem to be doing very well. I also know they keep their own culture and street names rather than integrate.
As a white working in the area, I won’t say I was treated badly, but I wasn’t always welcomed, especially when all of a sudden the conversation intentionally changes from English to Spanish, so that I will be left out. 

I also have read a recent article in the Delta Airlines magazine (i think it was Delta) that shows how once the older anti-Castro Miami Cubans age and pass away, the new generation is much more likely to want to normalize relations.

Are the Cubans you talk to US Citizens or are they still Cubans?