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June 18, 2007

Update: Up again, 'with permission': Michael Moore's 'Sicko'

Third update: Insane Films: Michael Moore’s Sicko, Part 1 of 2 | Part 2, posted "with permission." That might make it a permalink.

The movie link is offered in comments at the end of Shelley Powers' Burningbird, where she discusses the leak/release of the film in Undermining Sicko.

Second update: Up again, according to comments on this Metafilter thread, where they're tracking its travels. Scroll to the end for the latest location. The Internet was designed to tunnel around outages. Can't put the genie back in the bottle...

Of course, it's a cyberclassic way to build a viral buzz for Sicko's official opening in theaters June 29.

Update: Move along, nothing to see here now. Google link doesn't work any more.

Michael Moore's Sicko on Google Video: All "2 hr 4 min" of Moore's new documentary on the U.S. health care system has been up since Friday, with no provenance and a convenient download link, in case you'd rather not stream it.

Moore, speaking in 2004 about his earlier Fahrenheit 9/11:

"I don't agree with the copyright laws and I don't have a problem with people downloading the movie and sharing it with people. I make these books and movies and TV shows because I want things to change, so the more people that get to see them the better, so I'm happy when that happens. I think information and art, ideas should be shared."

In a bizarre twist -- this wouldn't be the Web without at least one bizarre twist -- a North Dakota blogger named Rob has also posted the video at the end of a rant headlined, Calling Michael Moore’s Socialist Bluff, suggesting,

Moore’s movie, in fact, may as well be a campaign ad for Hillary and her endless drive for socialized medicine. All examples of how these liberals don’t respect the private property of the citizenry or the principles of personal responsibility.

Then he dares Moore to take it down:

Now I fully expect that I’ll probably get a letter or an email at some point from Moore’s people asking me to take this down. Which I will, because unlike Moore and most liberals I actually do respect things like copyright laws and property rights. But until they ask, I’m going to take Moore at his word. And if I am asked to take it down, I will be calling Moore a total hypocrite.

Readers in comments question his logic. Meanwhile, he's still hosting and spreading that Socialist's movie.

Bonus: Handy wrapup of reviews after Sicko's showing at the Cannes Film Festival: Press views: Michael Moore's Sicko

Posted by Sheila Lennon  at 8:54 PM | Permalink