There’s something deeply wrong with journalism that scrutinizes and criticizes the institutions of free and successful nations, but produces puff pieces on the supposed achievements of totalitarian dictatorships. On Thursday, CNN aired a piece of Communist Party propaganda about how Cuba could serve as “a model for health care reform” in the United States, complete with an authoritative sound bite from an American medical expert, identified only as someone “who’s lived and worked in Cuba for decades.”
But the expert, Gail Reed, is a longtime admirer of the Cuban revolution, married to the Cuban official who served as ambassador to Grenada in the early 1980s when U.S. troops liberated the island from hardline communists who had executed the leftist Prime Minister Maurice Bishop. She's also worked at Granma, Cuba’s official communist party newspaper.
Correspondent Morgan Neill also recited all of the standard tropes about how Cuban health care is the best in Latin America, is completely free, and “no one falls through the cracks.” While he acknowledged that “critics charged that conditions in Cuban hospitals are appalling and that Cubans had to pay bribes to get decent care,” nearly all of the August 6 report was positive.
Anchor Don Lemon teased: “Cuba as a model for health care reform? Well, we’ll see. It is a poor country. But it can boast about health care. A system that leads the way in Latin America. So, what are they doing right?” Neill walked through a modern clinic, “an idea of where the country wants to go, the future of its health care, all of it free of charge.”
The problem is that the communist government exercises heavy controls on how journalists operate in Cuba, but news organizations like CNN maintain a presence to advertise their international reach. A Media Research Center study found that during the first five years of CNN’s operation of a Havana bureau, coverage was heavily tilted in favor of the Castro regime, with the vast majority of soundbites coming from officials of the communist government, with little attention to dissidents.
Here’s the transcript of the story, which aired during the noon ET hour of CNN’s Newsroom on August 6:
ANCHOR DON LEMON: We have been looking at how other countries deal with health care. Cuba provides its citizens with universal health care. Is it working? Is it working? We'll have a report on that in just about 12 minutes from now, right here on CNN....LEMON: You know, we're hearing a lot about socialism in the debate over health care reform. We're going to look at real socialized medicine Cuban style right here in the Newsroom....
LEMON: Cuba as a model for health care reform? Well, we'll see. It is a poor country. But it can boast about health care. A system that leads the way in Latin America. So, what are they doing right? CNN's Morgan Neill takes a look at the good, the bad of Cuba's health care system.
CLIP OF MICHAEL MOORE FROM "SICKO": Is there a doctor here in Cuba?
REPORTER MORGAN NEILL: When Michael Moore's film "Sicko" came out in 2007, the debate it sparked put Cuba's health care system under the microscope. Cuba's supporters gleefully pointed out that the poor communist island gave its people universal health care, something the United States doesn't do. Critics charged that conditions in Cuban hospitals are appalling. And that Cubans had to pay bribes to get decent care.
How does health care work in Cuba? It's not an easy question to answer, but there are some impressive statistics. According to the World Health Organization, Cuba's life expectancy is 78 years. The same as Chile and Costa Rica and the highest in Latin America. And its infant mortality rates are the lowest in the hemisphere, in line with those of Canada.
This clinic in Managua, a community outside Havana, is one of the country's newest and best equipped. It serves a population of some 15,000 people. The director tells us under one roof she has dentists, general practitioners, physical therapy, homeopathic medicine and a laboratory that makes vaccines.
[NEILL IN CUBAN CLINIC]: Built just five years ago, this clinic is really a symbol of what Cuba wants to do with health care all over the country. You can see the machinery is new. The walls, freshly painted. It's an idea of where the country wants to go, the future of its health care, all of it free of charge.
How does Cuba do it? First of all, the government dictates salaries. Doctors earn less than $30 per month. Very little compared to doctors elsewhere. And priority is given to avoiding expensive procedures, says Gail Reed, who's lived and worked in Cuba for decades.
GAIL REED (IDENTIFIED ON SCREEN AS: ‘CO-PRODUCER, SALUD’): They concentrate on prevention. They concentrate on bringing services closer to people's homes so that the big-ticket items don't really take up, don't sponge up all that small budget they have.
NEILL: But Cuba's system certainly has its problems. Many hospitals and emergency rooms are decrepit and even unsanitary. Equipment is frequently old. And patients often supply their own sheets and food while in the hospital. Health officials admit the system isn't perfect, but, they say, no one falls through the cracks. Morgan Neill, CNN, Havana.
As for Reed, she was profiled in the Miami Herald back in 1983 after she and her husband returned to Cuba after American forces liberated Grenada. She talked about the fear she felt at seeing U.S. Marines surrounding the Cuban embassy, and told the newspaper, “I feel I have a very strong identification with the Cuban revolution.”
“When I first came to Cuba in the ’70s, I was very impressed with their efforts in building a new kind of society,” Reed explained.
According to her bio on the Huffington Post, Reed also worked as a Havana producer for NBC News in the mid-1990s.
—Rich Noyes is Research Director at the Media Research Center.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
If the lefty pinheads in this country want CommieCare...
August 8, 2009 - 12:03 ET by R D Helm...then they can move to Cuba.
This is one of the most hideous pieces of anti-freedom propaganda bullsh*t I have ever seen produced by our lying, corrupt and treasonous media.
-Dave
If it's CommieCare you want, then move to Cuba.
CNN Death Wish?
August 8, 2009 - 12:11 ET by Chris NormanDave,
All I can figure is CNN must want to drive away as many viewers as possible. Why else would they put on on this clap-trap? Even Obama is probably wincing over them bringing in Cuba as a positive part of the debate.
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
Chris,
August 8, 2009 - 12:25 ET by R D HelmI have no idea what they are thinking with this one.
Everybody, even most democrats, knows that health care is "free" in Cuba because there actually isn't any.
Well, there is a syringe tucked away in a drawer somewhere, a used roll of gauze on a shelf, and an old box of bandaids in a cabinet somewhere.
Castro even had to fly docs in from out of the country when he was sick.
-Dave
If it's CommieCare you want, then move to Cuba.
The Bad Old Days
August 8, 2009 - 12:42 ET by Chris NormanAnd I maintain that the way they will "save" on healthcare in this country is by turning the clock back about forty or fifty years. All of our advances in treatments and surgeries cost a lot of money, so if they "treat" people like they did back then, when many diseases and conditions were automatic death sentences - they'll "save" money - just not nearly as many lives.
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
Here is another look at
August 8, 2009 - 12:48 ET by motherbeltHere is another look at Cuba's health care system.
Looks like one of those
August 8, 2009 - 12:58 ET by Chris NormanLooks like one of those horror movies set in a haunted abandoned hospital. Michael Moore is just another useful idiot for the Cuban goverment. He thinks he's smart making money with his fauxumentaries, but he's just a fool.
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
Here's more of Fidel's
August 9, 2009 - 00:20 ET by stratmanHere's more of Fidel's great Cuban healthcare - http://www.therealcuba.com/Page10.htm.
In Cuba's case, "heathcare" is an oxymoron.
cnn
August 8, 2009 - 12:43 ET by east tennessee johnHow low will the white guilt media lower itself to? Afterall, in 1964 when we were sold Medicare we weren't told:
That it would be the largest single threat to our economic wellbeing with $31 trillion in unfunded liability and rising.
That it would cost more than 101Times the estimates of "experts"
That a seperate payroll tax would be put into place to help fund it
That the promises made 45 years ago maybe reneged upon to implement Obamacare. Where's the reporting and analysis on this rather than their "fave" Fidel?
As long as the cure doesn't
August 8, 2009 - 12:05 ET by casel21As long as the cure doesn't require toilet paper, Cuba is an excellent model.
LOL, Case
August 8, 2009 - 12:27 ET by BlondeWhen I heard that this a.m., my reply was "yeah, they quit printing all newspapers six months ago".
I hope he fails, too.
It seems to me that they are
August 8, 2009 - 12:12 ET by MrSnugglesIt seems to me that they are just being honest. Once obamacare takes over, you will have to bribe officials to get the care you need and the hospitals will begin to deteriorate to the levels you see in Cuba.
One of the main goals of socialism.
August 8, 2009 - 16:13 ET by Kingfish17Probably the biggest goal of socialism is doing away with the egalitarian freedom that money bestows on the masses. So when people have money, or the access to that money through private insurance, they become equal in nature when they purchase common medical procedures. But socialism, and the removal of money from the system, places people under control of bureaucrats who determine who gets what procedure.
If socialized government control health care becomes a reality, you better join ACORN if you want that medical procedure.
"I've sentenced boys younger then you to the gas chamber. Didn't want to do it, but I felt I owed it to them." Judge Smails
King, I've felt if I lost everything, I'd make a good democrat.
August 8, 2009 - 16:25 ET by upcountrywaterNo never mind...
Reagan VS Liberalism
"There’s something deeply
August 8, 2009 - 12:21 ET by notonmywatch"There’s something deeply wrong with journalism that scrutinizes and criticizes the institutions of free and successful nations, but produces puff pieces on the supposed achievements of totalitarian dictatorships"
Indeed. But if only it were journalism. It's propaganda dressed up as "news reporting". We're supposed to believe that the 1st amendment covers that.
____________________________________________________________
Graphical conservative commentary - animations & pictures for posting on forums at my FR page
A high school friend was in Grenada, when the commies invaded
August 8, 2009 - 12:37 ET by upcountrywaterShe was taking some courses at a college, and scared to death. She was soo happy for Reagan after American forces liberated Grenada.
YAWN Cuba has liers twiddling out the data.
Now the the lefty and the Cubians can practice one square a day, and I'm not talking meals.
Reagan VS Liberalism
The big story of how
August 8, 2009 - 13:24 ET by RR GOPThe big story of how thousands of South Florida Cubans make their own boats and fight the sharks in order to get back to the Motherland is totally ignored by Faux News.
/sarc
I remember years ago going to a restaurant on Marathon Key(?). They have a homemade "boat" made by Cubans that they used to get to the States. It was a little raft made of wood, Styrofoam, etc. I wouldn't trust that thing on much more than a calm lake.
Those people were desperate to get over here, and risked their very lives. They come here so they can be fat and free. They clearly rejected a state-centered government who knows what's best for them.
Also, I knew a Cuban refugee. He said that they have a huge surplus of physicians. Says a lot of them have to get jobs as cab drivers, doormen and the like.
One of the 34% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 61% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory (yep...approval for Congress now at 39%...do you believe that!?).
So that's where all of those
August 9, 2009 - 04:44 ET by Seabeach4348So that's where all of those 1950s Checker Cabs went!
Socialist Paradise, Eh?
August 8, 2009 - 13:35 ET by KellyRI heard this model of efficiency is running out of toilet paper and may not have enough to last through the year. Guess they'll have to rely on banana leaves. Cuba is flat out broke, and the only way they stay afloat is to get basement discounts on oil from leftist dictator Chavez' Venezuela. Otherwise, they'd truly be in the tank. They're a state that exists on handouts. Yeah, everything is working sooooo well in the communist paradise. <Gag>
Kelly, the use of the 'Eh'
August 8, 2009 - 14:40 ET by mandrakeKelly, the use of the 'Eh' word as punctuation is for native Canadians only. So unless you can produce your birth certificate, and I mean the long form...knock it off. Eh!
Proof that NewsBusters folks think alike: On Thursday, August 6
August 8, 2009 - 13:35 ET by Rush FanI posted:
Today CNN also ran a Glowing Report about Cuba's Healthcare
Here are some excerpts from CNN Newsroom:
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR:You know, we're hearing a lot about socialism in the debate over health care reform. We're going to look at real socialized medicine Cuban style right here in the NEWSROOM.....
LEMON: Cuba is -- as a model for health care reform? Well, we'll see. It is a poor country. But it can boast about health care. A system that leads the way in Latin America. So, what are they doing right? CNN's Morgan Neill takes a look at the good, the bad of Cuba's health care system.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there a doctor here in Cuba?
MORGAN NEILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Michael Moore's film "Sicko" came out in 2007, the debate it sparked put Cuba's health care system under the microscope. Cuba's supporters gleefully pointed out that the poor communist island gave its people universal health care, something the United States doesn't do. Critics charge that conditions in Cuban hospitals are appalling. And that Cubans had to pay bribes to get decent care.
NEILL: How does health care work in Cuba? It's not an easy question to answer, but there are some impressive statistics. According to the World Health Organization, Cuba's life expectancy is 78 years. The same as Chile and Costa Rica and the highest in Latin America. And its infant mortality rates are the lowest in the hemisphere, in line with those of Canada.
-------------------------------------------
Let's face it folks. If CNN, "The Most Trusted Name in News" states that we will live longer if we implement Cuba and Obama's heathcare plan, than let's do it!
Pets in captivity live
August 8, 2009 - 13:41 ET by RR GOPPets in captivity live longer than their feral cousins.
One of the 34% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 61% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory (yep...approval for Congress now at 39%...do you believe that!?).
CNN - Say hello to my leetul freend.
August 8, 2009 - 15:02 ET by acumenSay hello to my leetul freend.
Reed - “I feel I have a very strong identification with the Cuban revolution.”
August 8, 2009 - 15:46 ET by jessieHLet's keep the care we have, but the congress & senate can go on it. I don't think we would mind if they get all of their healthcare from Cuba. Angry Mobster
Cuban Healthcare
August 8, 2009 - 17:21 ET by yidwithlidHere is the best evidence regarding the quality of Cuban healthcare, the whole dammned country is running out of Toilet Paper follow the link below:
http://yidwithlid.bl...
Sammy Benoit
Yidwithlid
Http://yidwithlid.bl...
Re TP
August 8, 2009 - 18:30 ET by slickwillie2001They are just having minor problems forecasting annual toilet paper requirements. It's only been fifty years after all.
Gee, ya think!?!?
August 8, 2009 - 18:29 ET by Texndoc"How does Cuba do it? First of all, the government dictates salaries. Doctors earn less than $30 per month. Very little compared to doctors elsewhere. "
Well KUDOS to them!
Obamacare ammo... Forget
August 8, 2009 - 21:07 ET by Clear thinkerObamacare ammo...
Forget the lies Obama is spreading, here's the truth...
Pg 22 of the Health Care Bill mandates that the Govt will audit the books of all employers that self insure
Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC bill – Establishes a Govt committee that decides what treatments/benefits you get
Pg 29 lines 4-16 – Rationing of health care
Pg 42 – The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your benefits for you. You have no choice
PG 50 Section 152 – Health Care will be provided to all non US citizens, illegal or otherwise
Pg 58 – Govt will have real-time access to individuals’ finances & a National ID Healthcard will be issued
Pg 59 lines 21-24 – Govt will have direct access to your bank accounts for elective funds transfer
PG 65 Sec 164 – This is a payoff subsidized plan for retirees and their families in community orgs (ACORN).
Pg 72 Lines 8-14 – Govt is creating an Health Care Exchange to bring private plans under Govt control.
PG 84 Sec 203 – Govt mandates all benefit pkgs for private plans be in the Govt health care exchange
PG 85 Line 7 – Specifics for Benefit Levels for Plans = The Govt will ration your Healthcare
PG 91 Lines 4-7 – Govt mandates “linguistic appropriate services.” Translation: for illegal aliens
Pg 95 Lines 8-18 – The Govt will use groups (i.e., ACORN & Americorps) to sign up individuals for Govt plan
PG 85 Line 7 – Specifics of Benefit Levels for Plans. (#AARP members – your care will be rationed)
PG 102 Lines 12-18 – Medicaid Eligible Individuals will be automatically enrolled in Medicaid. No choice.
pg 124 lines 24-25 – No company can sue GOVT on price fixing. No “judicial review” against Govt Monopoly
pg 127 Lines 1-16 – Doctors/ #AMA – The Govt will set compensation for you
Pg 145 Line 15-17 – An Employer must automatically enroll employees into Govt plan
Pg 126 Lines 22-25 – Employers must pay for health care for part time employees AND their families.
Pg 149 Lines 16-24 – Any Employer with a payroll of 400k & above who does not provide public option pays an 8% tax on all payroll
pg 150 Lines 9-13 – Any employer with a payroll between 251k & 400k who doesn’t provide public option pays a 2-6% tax on all payroll
Pg 167 Lines 18-23 – Any individual who doesn’t have acceptable Health Care according to the Govt will be taxed 2.5% of income
Pg 170 Lines 1-3 – Any nonresident Alien is exempt from individual taxes. (Americans will pay)
Pg 195 – Officers & employees of Health Care Administration of Govt will have access to all Americans financial and personal records
PG 203 Line 14-15 – “The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax” Yes, it says that
Pg 239 Line 14-24 – Govt will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors, low income, poor affected
Pg 241 Line 6-8 – Doctors, doesn’t matter what specialty you have, you’ll all be paid the same
PG 253 Line 10-18 – Govt sets value of Doctor’s time, professional judgment, etc.
PG 265 Sec 1131- Govt mandates & controls productivity for private Health Care industries
PG 268 Sec 1141 – Govt regulates rental & purchase of power driven wheelchairs
PG 272 SEC. 1145 – Controls treatment given at Cancer hospitals – Cancer patients – Welcome to rationing
Page 280 Sec 1151 – The Govt will penalize hospitals for what Govt deems preventable readmissions
Pg 298 Lines 9-11 – Doctors that treat a patient during initial admission that results in a readmission will be penalized
Pg 317 L 13-20 – Prohibition on ownership/investment. Govt tells Doctors what/how much they can own.
Pg 317-318 lines 21-25,1-3 – Prohibition on expansion- Govt is mandating hospitals cannot expand
pg 321 2-13 – Hospitals have opportunity to apply for exception to expansion rule, but “community input” (ie, ACORN) required.
Pg 341 Lines 3-9 – Govt has authority to disqualify Medicare Advanced Plans, HMOs, etc., forcing people into Govt plan
Pg 354 Sec 1177 – Govt will restrict enrollment of Special needs people.
Pg 379 Sec 1191 – Govt creates more bureaucracy – Telehealth Advisory Committee. (Health Care by phone)
PG 425 Lines 4-12 – Govt mandates Advance Care Planning Consultations. Senior Citizens must meet with Govt representatives on a regular basis (more often if ill) to discuss “end of life” issues
Pg 425 Lines 17-19 – Govt will instruct & consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney. Mandatory!
PG 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3 – Govt provides approved list of end of life resources, guiding you in death
PG 427 Lines 15-24 – Govt mandates program for orders for end of life. The Govt has a say in how your life ends
Pg 429 Lines 1-9 An “Advance care planning consult” will be used frequently as patients health deteriorates
PG 429 Lines 10-12 “Advance care consultation” may include an order for end of life plans.
Pg 429 Lines 13-25 – The govt will specify which Doctors can write an end of life order.
PG 430 Lines 11-15 – The Govt will decide what level of treatment you will have at end of life
Pg 469 – Community Based Home Medical Services (ACORN Medical Svcs)
Page 472 Lines 14-17 – Monthly payments to community-based organizations (ACORN)
PG 489 Sec 1308 – The Govt will cover Marriage & Family therapy. Which means they will insert Govt into your marriage
Pg 494-498 Govt will cover Mental Health Services including defining, creating, rationing those svcs
Make copies of this and hand out at all townhall meetings!
http://iamnotaracist.wordpress.com/
Thanks CT
August 8, 2009 - 21:27 ET by general companyIs this your own work, or is there more info somewhere?
This is frightening, this isnt about HC, it's about control. This doesnt save money, just control more of our money.
My Gov. thinks I am dangerous, so be careful
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
GC... I wish I could claim
August 8, 2009 - 21:49 ET by Clear thinkerGC... I wish I could claim this as my work, but I can't. A guy named Art from Mount Antivus (?) did all the homework.
Obama Gags Dissent
One wonders if a mob of
August 9, 2009 - 08:31 ET by BDOne wonders if a mob of newly liberated Cubans would not pull Gail Reed apart peice by piece ala Mussolini and his mistress following the fall of communism in Cuba.
All I can say is..
August 10, 2009 - 08:11 ET by Sergeant ROCK... HA! HA! HA! HA!... Cuba???
Where are the posts from the resident liberal pablum pukers defending this? Come on, you know you want to!
"I ask, Sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them."
George Mason
CNN
August 10, 2009 - 10:15 ET by 1611LilacLadyPulease don't give that insane dictator credit.
CNN has been the Communist News Network for years. That was Ted Turner's goal.
Isaiah 5:20a Woe unto them who call evil good, and good evil. . . KJV