I was able to screen Michael Moore’s Sicko at a special screening before the film premiered this Summer, and loved it. I’m sure it will be on my top 10 of the year. But time is hard to come by now-a-days. I’ve had a DVD copy of Michael Moore’s Sicko on my DVD shelf for a while now, but have been unable to find the time to crack it open.
Today I stumbled upon a deleted scene from the film over on LiveLeak, which features the most healthiest country in the world. Moore was was heavily criticized for his praise of the healthcare systems in Canada, France and Britain, and this clip was left out of the original movie because it was said to be so “unbelievable” that “people wouldn’t believe it” because it was too good to be true. And they are right, this is pretty unbelievable. Check out the clip after the jump. Enjoy!
Sicko is now available on DVD.
November 22nd, 2007 at 9:02 pm
I have a couple of friends from Sweden. Their healthcare is: free. Their college education: free. Their social care system is unbelievable.
I asked them how the government afforded it and their answer was without any hesitation: “We don’t get involved in a lot of military issues.” There was no judgmental tone in the answer, no political angle. They were just stating a fact. The Swedish government is flush.
I can never understand the people in this country who fight for their right to NOT live in a better one. It’s so bizarre how people have been indoctrinated that we have to spend trillions so giant corporations can build military equipment, but we can’t pass a children’s healthcare bill.
I know people on the right who argue with me and I feel like yelling “Dude, you can’t afford your kids’ college! You are struggling to make ends meet!! WHY DO YOU THINK THE REPUBLICANS HAVE YOUR BEST INTEREST IN MIND? WAKE UP!!!!!!!”
Sorry to get on a soapbox. I just don’t get how there are actually people who watch Sicko and aren’t outraged.
November 22nd, 2007 at 9:09 pm
Iam a big fan of Michael Moore
November 22nd, 2007 at 9:44 pm
wow, can’t wait to see the next Michael Moore’s… he kicks ass…
November 22nd, 2007 at 11:19 pm
People don’t like Moore because he states facts and makes Americans jealous to be Americans. Every media outlet declares Moore to be the bad guy when in reality he’s just trying to show & tell the people of our country how other countries live and treat their citizens, hoping we will all do something about it. What happens because of this is people end up taking sides and it gets us nowhere. Bowling For Columbine was a good eye-opening movie, as Sicko probably is. Conservative prejudice is wrong.
November 23rd, 2007 at 12:48 am
Hee hee hee. Free everything. All financed by Oil. Eviiil, evil oil.
Ohh, but we’re not supposed to talk about that part.
November 23rd, 2007 at 5:34 am
@Magic Money; that’s actually NOT true. Norway does not use it’s oil money - but saves it in a pension fund that invests all it’s money in the US and abroad. Four per cent of the annual revenue of that fund is diverted to domestic spending - otherwise it’s all funded by TAXES. In fact the US is a far bigger producer of oil… so how’s that working for you?
November 23rd, 2007 at 1:22 pm
@1 - Very good points. I’ve never quite thought about it like that and I think about politics and America’s spiraling direction too much. However, I can’t quite blame Americans’ general apathy, as the government’s dependance on war contracts has grown so exponentially and powerfully that we don’t have much power as individuals to stop it. It will be very interesting to watch the holiday shopping figures come in - anyone spending the same amount as last year is being reckless what with the dollar falling daily (big drop today as well). The recession will become official after Christmas I think.
What is sad about “Sicko” is that many of the people who need to see it and can understand Moore’s fun and uncomplicated way of communicating these ideas on modern health care will not. Moore screwed himself a bit with “F9/11″ - a film I liked and celebrated its massive success - b/c he did skew the facts and timelines a little too much in a doc that had the entire world watching. He lost a lot of cred with it, while gaining fame and notoriety.
Does anyone else wonder what politics would be like today without the internet? It might sound silly, but I think the internet has hurt public discourse and the protest movement. People who are upset and loathing the current administration and the war simply vent online amongst others (the choir) and those comments get flushed into cyberspace b/c they are ignored by the otherside.
It all reminds me of that scary short film “Googlezon” that appeared online, about the customization of news and world views.
November 24th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
I was there during the summer. Everything in Norway costs double what it does in the UK but they also get paid double what Brits get paid e.g the minimum wage in Norway is $20/hour and my friend over there who was stacking shelves over the weekends was getting paid double time at $40/hour (he was 17)
November 25th, 2007 at 11:15 am
I’m from norway. What he says, is true. But i do not agree with the law in all ways. Like the prisons, etc. This could actually encourage people to to illegal stuff. Another thing is that if u aint got a job, you’ll get payd in something called (uforetrygd) like a support if you are unable to work for various reasons. A friend of mine, earns about 50 000$ a year for not doing anything…
And at last, theres very expensive here.. regular big mac meal for about 20 $ a beer in a bar 10-18 $ drinks 20 +++
But, we earn quite good here. And lucky me, i live 1 hour from sweden wich have much cheaper prizes on almost everything (but they earn like the half of we do in a year) Live and workNorway, shop in sweden. An unbeatable combination :D
November 30th, 2007 at 4:47 am
I’m from Sweden and it’s pretty much the same as Norway in alot of aspects, sure we have our problems that our politics aruge about, but they are on a whole other level then the problems in the US. In the US people wan’t to have guns bcus its in the 2nd amendment, this is totaly stupid, some old law in a gun crazy country, look at countrys that does everything in a totally different way then the US, and everyting is much better, no guns, no killings.
They US should focus on their own country and not start wars in every other country in the world.
December 11th, 2007 at 9:32 pm
Hey guys, im a norwegian and i can dispell some myths and confirm some others about norway.
we do have a great country to live in, but all is not a dance on roses.
for instance we just spent 3 billion kroner (5 kr is about 1 dollar)
on a new national opera when the goverment argued for a whole year about the so called old people billion.
that was 1 billion kroner destined for healthcare and building expansions for retired elders living in retirement homes.
that didnt happen.
old people sometimes get forced to live 2-3 people in the same room and that is no way to live out your life. no privacy.
Also the state of the school system is not very high either.
some schools are falling apart and norway scored 33 place in a european survey about how well kids do it in school.
We have an in efficient imigration law that pretty much lets pakistani’s for instance come to norway and not have a job, drive their bmw’s to the social security center and pick up their check and drive back home and watch tv and form gangs.
the largest criminal gangs in norway are run by immigrants.
January 22nd, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Just when you thought you have seen it all…
Lowest murder rate in the world…… Oo
I have to visit that country sometime…
January 22nd, 2008 at 10:57 pm
Norway is a well tun country, but it needs to be realistic and careful about it’s immigrants.
First of all, Norway has higher birth rates than many of the other European countries, so it needs fewer immigrants.
Secondly, there are many East European Christians who have moved to Norway from countries like Poland and Croatia in recent years. They are easily assimilate in west European countries like Norway.
But bringing in Muslim immigrants is rolling the dice. Those Muslim immigrants may become more secular and assimilate, but some of them might not.
West European countries could eventually end up balkanized, like the Balkans themselves, between Christians and Muslims, with possible terrorism and religious or ethnic warfare.
Western countries need to be careful, if they are going to have immigration, they need to bring in people they know can be assimilated to their population.
February 25th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Surely you mean integrated.
And our birthrates are going down. Actually, the Norwegian population graph is negative.