Transcript from dailykos:

SP Assist: This is Betsy.
MA: Hello, Betsy. This is Frank l’ouvrier (Frank the worker], I’m with President Sarkozy, on the line for Governor Palin.

SP Assist: One second please, can you hold on one second please?
MA: No problem.

SP Assist: Hi, I’m going to hand the phone over to her.
MA: Okay thank you very much I’m going to put the president on the line.
SP Assist: Ok he’s coming to the line.

SP: This is Sarah.
MA: Okay, Governor Palin?

SP: Hellloooo...(long drawn out, like Well, hellooooo)
MA: Just hold on for President Sarkozy, one moment.
SP [To someone in the room]: Oh, it’s not him yet, I always do that. I’ll just have people hand it to me right when it’s them.

FNS: Yes, hello, Governor Palin? Yes, hello, Mrs. Governor?
SP: Hello this is Sarah., how are you?

FNS: Fine, and you, this is Nicolas Sarkozy speaking, how are you?
SP: Oh...so good, it’s so good to hear you. Thank you for calling us.

FNS: Oh, it’s a pleasure.
SP: Thank you sir, we have such great respect for you, John McCain and I, we love you and thank you for spending a few minutes to talk to me.

FNS: I follow your campaigns closely with my special American Advisor Johnny Hallyday (the most famous French singer, looks like and sings like Elvis), you know?
SP: Yes! Good!

FNS: Excellent! Are you confident?
SP: Very confident and we’re thankful that the polls are showing that the race is tightening and--

FNS: Well I know very well that the campaign can be exhausting. How do you feel right now my dear?
SP: Ah, I feel so good. I feel like we’re in a marathon and at the very end of the marathon, you get your second wind and you plow to the finish—

FNS: You see, I got elected in France because I’m real and you seem to be someone who’s real as well.
SP: Yes, yeah, Nicolas, we so appreciate this opportunity.

FNS: You know, I see you as a president, one day, you too.
SP: [Muahaaa...weird laugh], maybe in 8 years. Haha

FNS: Well, ah, I hope for you. You know we have a lot in common because personally one of my favorite activities is to hunt too.
SP: [Giggle]o h very good, we should go hunting together.

FNS: Exactly! We could go try hunting by helicopter, like you did, I never did that.
SP: [Giggle]

FNS: Like we say in France, "on pourrait tuer des bébés phoques aussi" [Translation: We could also kill some baby seals.]
SP: [Giggle] Well I think we could have a lot of fun together as we’re getting work done, we can kill two birds with one stone that way.

FNS: I just love killing those animals. Mm, mm. Take away a life, that is so fun!
SP: [Hahahaha]

FNS: I’d really love to go as long as we don’t bring your Vice president Cheney, hahaha.
SP: No, I’ll be a careful shot, yes.

FNS: You know we have a lot in common also except that from my ass I can see Belgium. That’s kind of less interesting than you.
SP: Well, see, we’re right next door to other countries that we all need to be working with, yes.

FNS: Some people said in the last days, and I thought that was mean, that you weren’t experienced enough in foreign relations, and you know, that’s completely false, that’s the thing I said to my great friend, the Prime Minister of Canada, Stef Carse [Stephen Harper is the PM and Stef Carse is a Quebecois country singer who covered Billy Ray Cyrus' Achy Breaky Heart in French in the 90s].
SP: Well, he’s doing fine, too, and yeah when you come into a position underestimated, it gives you the opportunity to prove the pundits and the critics wrong. You work that much harder-

FNS: I, I was wondering because you are also next to him, one of my good friends, also, the prime minister of Quebec, Mr. Richard Z. Sirois [a famous Quebec radio host], have you met him recently? Did he come to one of your rallies?
SP: Uh, haven’t seen him at one of the rallies, but it’s been great working with the Canadian officials in my role as governor; we have a great cooperative effort there as we work on all of our resource development projects. You know I look forward to working with you and getting to meet you personally and your beautiful wife, oh my goodness, you’ve added a lot of energy to your country, even, with that beautiful family of yours.

FNS: Thank you very much. You know my wife, Carla, would love to meet you. You know even though she was a bit jealous that I was supposed to speak to you today. [Hahahaha]
SP: [Hahahha] Well give her a big hug from me.

FNS: You know my wife is a popular singer and a former top model and she’s so hot in bed. She even wrote a song for you.
SP: Oh my goodness! I didn’t know that.

FNS: Yes, in French, it’s called "Du rouge à lèvres sur une cochonne" [Translate: Lipstick for a sow literally (but not properly) but it actually means an uninhibited girl] or if you prefer in English Joe the Plumber, [sings] It’s his life, Joe the Plumber..."
SP: Maybe she understands some of the unfair criticism but I bet you she is such a hard worker, too, and she realizes you just plow through that criticism like

FNS: I just want to be sure, I don’t’ quite understand the phenomenon "Joe the Plumber," that’s not your husband, right?
SP: Mmhmm, that’s into my husband but he’s a normal American who just works hard and doesn’t want government to take his money.

FNS: Yes, yes, I understand, we have the equivalent of Joe the Plumber in France, it’s called, "Marcel, the guy with bread under his armpit, oui."
SP: Right. That’s what it’s all about, is the middle class, and government needing to work for them. You’re a very good example for us here.

FNS: I seen a bit about NBC even Fox News wasn’t an ally, an ally, sorry, about as much as usual.
SP: Yeah that’s what we’re up against.

FNS: I must say, Governor Palin, I love the documentary they made on your life, you know, Hustler’s "Nailin Palin."
SP: Oh, good, thank you. Yes.

FNS: That was really edgy.
SP: [Laughs] Well good.

FNS: I really love you. And I must say something, so, Governor, you’ve been pranked.
By the Master Avengers. We’re two comedians from Montreal
SP: Oohhh have we been pranked? And what radio station is this? [tries to force herself to sound nice but you can tell she’s pissed]

FNS: This is for CKOI in Montreal.
SP: In Montreal? Tell me the radio station call letters
[SP leaves phone, continuous griping in background, sounds like, "For chrissakes...that was ??? Just a radio station prank...chrissakes..."]

MA: Hello? If one voice can change the world for Obama, one Viagra can change the world for McCain.
[Man’s voice in background: hang up, hang up.]
SP Assist: Hi, I’m sorry, I have to let you go. Um, thank you.

I feel the same way whenever I hear Stephen Harper talk as well. What a terrible terrible fake smile. Ugh.

I think this video sets a new record for most gratuitous slow mo ever concieved.

>> ^doogle:
I don't think I can say that this journalist has anything on McCain here.
If McCain has anything to be blamed for, it's for making the leap that it's Iran that Obama is talking about, but that one isn't much.
Comparing the formal and political leaders of Iran (Ahmedinejad vs. TheOtherGuy) is like pointing out the Queen is the head of state of Britain and Gordon Brown (new guy) isn't.
It gets even muddier here in Canada, our Prime Minister, Stephen Harper (who?) isn't the formal head of state, and Governor General Michaelle Jean (who?), is actually the Queen's representative in Canada.
McCain may not be right, but he's not wrong to point out Ahmedinejad as the political leader.


We're talking about REAL power here, doogle, not just mere formalities. QE2 has for all intents and purposes ZERO power in Canada AND the UK, whereas Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has REAL power in Iran. He is NO mere figurehead, like Canada's Governor General, or Her Majesty herself. Be informed before you downvote someone's opinion, even if I'm speaking in a satirical voice.

I don't think I can say that this journalist has anything on McCain here.
If McCain has anything to be blamed for, it's for making the leap that it's Iran that Obama is talking about, but that one isn't much.

Comparing the formal and political leaders of Iran (Ahmedinejad vs. TheOtherGuy) is like pointing out the Queen is the head of state of Britain and Gordon Brown (new guy) isn't.

It gets even muddier here in Canada, our Prime Minister, Stephen Harper (who?) isn't the formal head of state, and Governor General Michaelle Jean (who?), is actually the Queen's representative in Canada.

McCain may not be right, but he's not wrong to point out Ahmedinejad as the political leader.

The only problem with Canada's health care system is that since 1993 it's not been properly funded. When Paul Martin started slashing programs to balance the budget a trend began to under-fund the health care system, and this trend continues to this day.

Canada's current Prime Minister Stephen Harper is the former head of the right-wing lobby group The National Citizen's Coalition -- a powerful lobby that was founded in concert with giant US HMOs, with the covert mandate to destroy Canada's universal health care system. While the system continues to be starved of funds we see growing waiting lists, and yet we hear it said all the time in the media that the solution isn't to "throw money at the problem", which I find strange and rather disingenuous.

"Could anyone give more details? I have very little idea of what the conflict is and who is on what side."

Sure - from CBC

Organizers of the protests at the North American leaders' summit in Montebello, Que., say they have video that shows police disguised as masked demonstrators tried to incite violence on Monday.

About 1,200 protesters were in the small resort town near Ottawa as Prime Minister Stephen Harper met with U.S. President George W. Bush and Mexican President Felipe Calderon at a two-day summit to discuss issues under the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America pact.

The video titled Stop SPP Protest — Union Leader stops provocateurs, posted on YouTube Tuesday, was shown at a news conference held Wednesday in Ottawa by protest organizers, including Dave Coles, president of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, who appears in the video.

In the footage filmed Monday afternoon, three burly men with bandanas and other covers over their faces push through protesters toward a line of riot police. One of the men has a rock in his hand.

As they move forward, Coles and other union leaders dressed in suits order the men to put the rock down and leave, accuse them of being police agents provocateurs, and try unsuccessfully to unmask them.

In the end, they squeeze behind the police line, where they are calmly handcuffed.

"The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union believes that the security force at Montebello were ordered to infiltrate our peaceful assembly and to provoke incidents," Coles told reporters. "I think the evidence that we've shown you today reinforces the view."

Coles showed photographs of the masked men's and police officers' boots taken during the handcuffing, in which they appear to have identical tread patterns on their soles.

He also questioned why other activists have been unable to identify the three men whose images have been broadcast worldwide and demanded to know who the masked men were.

"Do they have any connection to the Quebec police force or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or are they part of some other security force that was at Montebello?" Coles asked, adding that he wants to know how the Prime Minister's Office was involved in security during the protests.

He suggested that the government might want to provoke violence in order justify its security budget for the summit and discredit protesters.

"They want to defuse our questions ... by trying to make it look like some radical group trying to create a confrontation," he said.

The RCMP has refused to comment, while Quebec's provincial force has flatly denied that its officers were involved in the incident.

It said it is not releasing any names as no charges were laid.
Retired police officer believes masked men were cops

Meanwhile, a retired Ottawa police officer who was formerly in charge of overseeing demonstrations for the force said he questions who the masked men really are, after viewing the video.

"Were they legitimate protesters? I don’t think so," said Doug Kirkland.

"Well, if they weren't police, I think they might well have been working in the best interests of police."

He added that if the situation was as it appeared, he did not approve of the tactic. "It's pretty close to baiting," he said.

On Wednesday, the mayor of Montebello thanked police and protesters, praising the fact that there wasn't a single report of damage during the two-day summit.

The Security and Prosperity Partnership pact, signed in 2005, is intended to forge closer trade and security links between the countries.

Opponents say negotiations about the agreement are secretive and undemocratic, and the treaty itself erodes Canada's control over its natural resources, security and defence.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/08/22/ot-police-070822.html

I haven't seen "Sicko" but I'm not sure how much of a requirement there was, on the part of Moore, that "Sicko" be structured around an analysis of socialized medicine, in counter-proposition to "sick" US-style care-for-profit.

The stuff there is on wait-times in Canada shows a significant spike in all wait-times after '93, as a direct result of Paul Martin, then Finance Minister, who began to remove what eventually became 40-plus Billion dollars out of health care, in a few short years. And then a few years later the "national debate" has been artificially constrained to exclude any talk of full or even partial replacement of that money. "The solution is not to throw more money at the problem." We see it in print all the time.

The problem with the growth of wait times has been the diminished staff and material resources due to lack of funding prior to the removal of which queues were not significant.

Groups like the National Citizen's Coalition were founded to be the voice of big US HMO concerns here in Canada. They lobby aggressively in favour of care-for-profit and they've been quite successful in advancing their position so far. Stephen Harper was the head of the NCC for a few years during his sojourn away from the HoC.

Up-thread someone asks about smoker's rights and why the main question isn't about the loss of smoker's rights; briefly, because it's about worker's rights. It's not "either/or" - but wherever there are workers - their right to not breath toxic fumes supercedes that of smokers to breath toxic fumes.

from the Globe and Mail:

QUEBEC -- Call it poor judgment or just bad taste, Parti Québécois Leader André Boisclair's appearance in a TV parody of Brokeback Mountain is drawing fire from all sides, including members of his own party.

Mr. Boisclair appeared in a comedy sketch to be aired next month on MusiMax channel featuring caricatures of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President George W. Bush seen naked from the waist up in a tent.

As the playful Bush character throws cherries at Harper's nipples covered with whipped cream, the real André Boisclair peeps his head through an opening in the tent. "Quebec won't get mixed up in something like that," an awkward Mr. Boisclair says, drawing on his limited talents as an actor to deliver his line.

The parody, based on the critically acclaimed movie about the relationship between two homosexual cowboys, draws attention to Mr. Boisclair's homosexuality, a key element in the sketch's punch line...