Filmmaker Michael Moore was a guest on The Rachel Maddow Show this evening, and the topic at hand: Wikileaks.
Moore discussed the confusion around a leaked State Department Cable relating to his film Sicko—the Guardian reported the cable stating Sicko been banned in Cuba. I reblogged that here on Boing Boing. The content of the cable was not true, said Moore tonight (he'd published a detailed explanation earlier on his blog). The Guardian updated their coverage here, and I'd updated Boing Boing's here. Maria Bustillos, who is Cuban, wrote a nuanced post over at The Awl that suggests the cable might not have been false at the time it was written— but that Moore is entirely correct in stating that the movie did not end up being banned. Go have a read.
Moore (and MSNBC's Keith Olbermann) came under much fire last week for comments on the Julian Assange rape allegations. Count me among the thousands of pissed off women who found those comments objectionable and inaccurate. Tonight, Moore addressed this in a manner that struck me as respectful for all parties involved (including Assange). Moore seems like a sincere and reasonable person whose heart is in the right place.
I'll update the post with video once MSNBC makes it available. Perhaps the most interesting element of their chat related to a newly leaked cable (I can't find it online yet) that apparently documents the U.S. attempting to shut down a screening of Moore's film Fahrenheit 911 in New Zealand, of all places.
Update: Video links for The Rachel Maddow Show segments with Moore—
1) Moore on his support for Assange, and on the "Sicko was Banned" cable
2) Moore on the need for transparency, and whether governments should be allowed to keep secrets.
