A new kind of cable television cord cutting
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Russia Today is off the menu of major television providers in Canada after heritage minister Pablo Rodriguez expressed dismay about the availability of the Kremlin-controlled channel in cable packages. Drinks made in Russia were also removed from government-controlled liquor shelves, though the list of affected products is actually quite small.
The swift business of sanctions
Canada levying sanctions on Russia due to the Ukraine Invasion was something Chrystia Freeland was at the forefront of pushing for. Following the expulsion of banks from the SWIFT global payments system, all Canadian financial institutions are prohibited from transactions with the Russian Central Bank.
Donald Trump spouted off about recent events in Ottawa while speaking in Florida. Fox News talking points got another workout, while the Canadian media squeezed their last drops from leaked crowdfunding data.
Stage set for fresh gossip
Last summer brought the announcement that Garth Drabinsky would be returning to Broadway as producer of Paradise Square. The musical debuted three years ago in Berkeley, California, then returned for a run in Chicago before Omicron postponed it in New York. And now the local tabloid can finally catch up:
“Heads up: this show was made in Canada so these kids are white as hell.” Saturday Night Live parodied You Can’t Do That on Television four decades after the fact, through the lens of a Nickelodeon network retrospective called Behind the Slime. The inspiration might’ve come from a JoBlo.com flashback video posted last month.
Finally, covered by Corey Taylor
“Lunatic Fringe” by Red Rider is a song that’s had a unique 40-year life for a song inspired by the evolution of antisemitism. After it became Tom Cochrane’s first U.S. rock radio hit, it turned up in Vision Quest and Miami Vice, and then more retro-’80s invocations. Todd Rundgren later took it on, and now so has the singer from Slipknot in a collection of covers: