WASHINGTON (CP) - Canada has been described lately by a conservative U.S.
television host as "a stalker" and a "retarded cousin."

Another pundit recently asked if Canadians weren't getting "a little too big for
their britches." There's been a spate of Canada-bashing by right-wing media
commentators in the United States ever since Prime Minister Paul Martin's
complaints about lumber penalties and U.S. policy on climate change. His remarks
prompted an unusual rebuke last week from the American ambassador.

The attacks on Canada have had web bloggers typing overtime and a non-profit
group that's monitoring the trend, Media Matters for America, says it's
disturbing.

Yet Paul Waldman, a senior fellow for the group, said Monday the criticism is
confined to the usual faction that erupts whenever there's criticism of
President George W. Bush's administration and it probably won't last past
Canada's Jan. 23 election.

"There are always going to be occasions when it pops up. But Canada is never
going to occupy an extraordinary amount of American thought," said Waldman.

"It's more like: 'Who can we beat on today?' It's never going to reach the
heights of animosity toward France in the run-up to the Iraq war."

Last week, MSNBC host Tucker Carlson, a well-known conservative pundit, let
loose with a string of anti-Canada rants.

"Anybody with any ambition at all, or intelligence, has left Canada and is now
living in New York," he said.

"Canada is a sweet country. It is like your retarded cousin you see at
Thanksgiving and sort of pat him on the head. You know, he's nice but you don't
take him seriously. That's Canada."

Carlson also said it's pointless to tell Canada to stop criticizing the United
States.

"It only eggs them on. Canada is essentially a stalker, stalking the United
States, right? Canada has little pictures of us in its bedroom, right?"

"It's unrequited love between Canada and the United States. We, meanwhile, don't
even know Canada's name. We pay no attention at all," he said.

The day before, Fox News host Neil Cavuto highlighted Martin's remark at a news
conference that the United States is a "reticent nation" lacking a "global
conscience" on climate change.

"So have the Canadians gotten a little too big for their britches?" Cavuto
asked.

"Could our neighbours to the north soon be our enemies?"

Douglas MacKinnon, a press secretary to former Republican senator Bob Dole, also
recently accused Canada of harbouring terrorists.

"Can Canada really be considered our friend anymore?" he asked in a recent
commentary in the right-wing Washington Times newspaper.

"What other question can be asked when the Canadian government not only
willingly allows Islamic terrorists into their country but does nothing to stop
them from entering our nation?"

U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins warned Martin last week to tone down anti-American
jabs or risk hurting bilateral relations. But Martin was unrepentant, saying he
would "not be dictated to" by the United States and his hard line appears to be
resonating with some voters.

While the offensive from American pundits isn't widespread, it still has the
potential to affect cross-border ties, said Waldman.

"On Capitol Hill, the TVs are turned to Fox News. This kind of media environment
is what the White House pays attention to," he said.

"That hostility is probably shared by a lot of people in the administration."

Maine rated as eighth-healthiest state in nation
December 12, 2005

PORTLAND, Maine --Maine was ranked as the nation's eighth-healthiest state in a
national report released Monday.

America's Health Rankings is issued each year by United Health Foundation with
the American Public Health Association and Partnership for Prevention. The
report ranks states based on smoking rates, motor vehicle deaths, obesity rates,
violent crime, health insurance coverage, poverty rates, public health spending
and similar categories.

Maine was ranked in the 10th spot in the 2004 report.

Maine ranked first in the nation in 2005 for its low violent crime rate, and got
high marks for health insurance coverage, prenatal care rates, infant mortality,
a low rate of cardiovascular deaths and a low incidence of infectious disease.
It got low marks for its high obesity rate, high incidence of cancer deaths and
high number of limited activity days.

The report said Maine had experienced significant changes in the past year that
were both good and bad. The prevalence of smoking declined 12 percent in the
past year, the report said, while the obesity rate increased by 17 percent.

In the long term, the report said Maine's infant mortality rate has fallen by 39
percent since 1990, and the percentage of children living in poverty has
declined by 35 percent. The state's teen pregnancy rate fell nearly 42 percent
between 1991 and 2002, the report said.

Minnesota was ranked as the healthiest state, with Vermont ranked second and New
Hampshire third. Utah, Hawaii, North Dakota and Connecticut were rated in the
four through seven spots.

Mississippi was named the least healthy state, with Louisiana, Tennessee, South
Carolina and Arkansas rounding out the bottom five.

Inside Move: Nets keen to get 'Arrested'
Ratings-challenged laffer's third-season order recently cut

By DENISE MARTIN, JOSEF ADALIAN

Fox still hasn't officially canceled "Arrested Development," but if it does,
other networks are interested in the show.

Both ABC and Showtime have had conversations with 20th Century Fox TV and
indicated they're open to making a deal for new episodes of the critically
beloved, Emmy-winning comedy from creator Mitch Hurwitz. No formal negotiations
have taken place, and there are still numerous hurdles that might prevent such a
move -- including the show's hefty pricetag.

That said, those familiar with the talks described them as serious, with
Showtime said to be in particularly hot pursuit of the ratings-challenged
laffer, now on life support at Fox. SkeinSkein's third-season order was recently
cut to 13 episodes.

Showtime could be a good place for "Arrested." Skein's subversive humor and
heavily serialized storylines always made it a tough sell as a mass-appeal
broadcast series. What's more, Showtime already has a potential companion for
"Arrested" in "Weeds," which just received a second-season pickup. That show is
a suburban satire centered on a drug-dealing soccer mom played by Mary-Louise
Parker.

Network entertainment topper Robert Greenblatt has made an aggressive push to
make Showtime a player in the comedy bizbiz. He's greenlit several since his
arrival -- including "Fat Actress" and "Barbershop" -- and "Arrested" could be
the piece de resistance. If even half of the skein's Fox viewers -- last
averaging around 4 million per episode -- watched on Showtime, "Arrested" would
be an instant cable hit.

ABC, meanwhile, is also looking to make its mark in comedy, having already
established itself as the home of TV's most buzzworthy dramas ("Lost,"
"Desperate Housewives," "Grey's Anatomy"). Net has high hopes for upcoming
laffers, such as "Emily's Reason's Why Not," "Crumbs" and "Sons and Daughters,"
as well as a sophomore contender, "Jake in Progress."

Since Fox has yet to officially cop to canceling "Arrested," 20th can't formally
make any deals with another net. There are other barriers to setting the show up
elsewhere, however.

Studio has already deficited millions in order to produce the show, which costs
about $1. 6 million per half-hour to produce. It's believed 20th deficits about
$400,000 per episode.

Even if ABC or Showtime stepped up with the same license fee Fox now forks over
for the show, 20th execs will have to decide whether it's worth it to sink more
money into a show that isn't a proven ratings winner. That's one reason the
studio might push for at least a 22-episode (or greater) commitment from a net.

Studio needs 36 episodes to get "Arrested" to the magic number of 88 episodes
required for syndication. But even if it gets to syndication, there's no
guarantee of a rich payday in the off-netoff-net market.

On the other hand, "Arrested" is a winner in the DVD market, and more episodes
mean more DVD sales. Skein could also take off if given mass exposure on a
cablercabler such as Showtime -- particularly now that the feeveefeevee cabler
is part of Leslie Moonves' CBS Corp. family.

Moonves certainly knows something about making lemons out of lemonade. One of
his first acts upon taking over CBS was picking up a show from NBC called "JAG."
Skein ran for nearly a decade on the Eye and spawned the successful spinoff
"NCIS."

Studio, Showtime and ABC declined comment.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Coca-Cola Co., the world's No. 1 soft drink company, on
Wednesday said it will launch a coffee-infused soft drink called Coca-Cola Blak
in various markets around the world in 2006.

The news of the launch came hours before Coke Chief Executive Neville Isdell was
scheduled to address financial analysts and investors in New York.

The new drink, a combination of Coca-Cola Classic and coffee extracts, will be
first launched in France in January before being rolled out in the United States
and other markets during 2006.

A Coke spokesperson said Coca-Cola Blak will be a mid-calorie drink, similar to
Coca-Cola C2, which was launched in April 2004 and contains half the sugar,
calories and carbohydrates of regular colas. The formula for the new beverage is
expected to vary based on local tastes.

Analysts have said one of the keys to the company's future is capturing more
consumers who have moved away from sugary soft drinks to diet versions, or to
healthier low- or no-calorie beverages.

NBC Universal and Apple today announced a lineup of new primetime, cable,
late-night and classic TV shows, including primetime hits such as "Law & Order"
and late-night favorites such as sketches from "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno"
on the iTunes Music Store.

Apple also announced that customers have purchased and downloaded more than
three million videos since their debut on October 12, making the iTunes Music
Store the world's most popular video download store.

With the additions today, iTunes now offers more than 300 episodes of 16 popular
TV shows. NBC Universal programming now available on the iTunes Music Store
spans from the 1950s to the present, including NBC's "Law & Order," "The
Office," "Surface," "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "Late Night with Conan
O'Brien," the USA Network's Emmy Award-winning "Monk" and Sci-Fi Channel's
"Battlestar Galactica" as well as classic TV shows including "Alfred Hitchcock
Presents," "Dragnet," "Adam-12" and "Knight Rider," on the iTunes Music Store
beginning today.

Customers can purchase and download their favorite shows, including current
shows the day after they air on TV, and watch them on their computer or iPod.
The NBC Universal programs will be available in newly designated areas of the
iTunes Music Store featuring the NBC Universal brands, including the NBC
network, Sci-Fi Channel and the USA Network, Apple said.

"We're thrilled to expand the iTunes video catalog with 11 popular TV shows from
NBC, USA Network and the Sci-Fi Channel," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs. "In our
first two months we've sold more than three million videos, and have expanded
our TV catalog from five shows to 16 shows."

"We are committed to helping viewers enjoy the wide breadth of our programs
across an equally wide range of devices and distribution models," said Bob
Wright, vice chairman of GE and chairman and CEO of NBC Universal. "Apple has
developed a distribution platform that is attractive to consumers while at the
same time providing the safeguards against theft that are so important to us and
to every content provider. We are pleased to partner with them in this new
venture."

Television shows are available in the US only, and video availability varies by
country. Television shows are $1.99 per episode, and music videos and short
films are $1.99 each.