tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370793292024-03-13T07:20:41.200-04:00News, Events & Comments Welcome to the TorontotheBetter Blog - a
place for news, events, comments and criticism about social shopping and businesses
in Toronto. Seen a radical new store or product? Know of an event coming
up? Want to comment on a TorontotheBetter store? Here's your chance. We'd
love to hear what you think.Taodhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09977687510704124455noreply@blogger.comBlogger1011125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37079329.post-90392613139402602562024-01-19T10:24:00.002-05:002024-01-19T10:35:19.512-05:00Brazil: Football, Coffee, Inequality Brazil is huge and known worldwide for football/aka soccer. . It is also the world’s major coffee producer and one of the most unequal countries in the world with thousands working in poor conditions to.produce leisure consumables for the better-off. Want to do something about it? Contact corporate critic SOMO - info@sSOMO.nl. To learn more about Inequality in Brazil visit Oxfam.orgTaodhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09977687510704124455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37079329.post-44232547141685776652024-01-13T09:15:00.001-05:002024-01-13T09:15:09.961-05:002024 Environmentalism in a nutshell/ nickel mine From Power Nickel’s recent marketing campaign: “ we need 72 new nickel mines to meet projected 2040 EV demand. That’s great news for Power Nickel”. And for Canada’s fossil fuel targets? Maybe not so. No need to explain the dilemma that clearly does not exist for some companies…Taodhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09977687510704124455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37079329.post-8098238444273632072023-12-04T04:31:00.005-05:002023-12-04T05:06:38.591-05:00Enough Gaza bloodshed!At times like the present when more blood is again being spilled in Gaza those at a distance who wish to have some influence on events can take economic action, as was done in the past in racially segregated South Africa. Those who choose to boycott can find information at bdsmovement.net while supporters of those victimized can purchase olive oil from Palestine at the Toronto stores listed at Taodhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09977687510704124455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37079329.post-57441515986545118272023-10-13T12:51:00.005-04:002023-10-13T12:56:49.077-04:00Beyond bloodshed and dvision At a time when the world is again riven with prejudice and its blood brother injustice it is more important than ever to work for openness, equality and preservation of our natiral world. TorontotheBetter calls on all to renew our justice campaign with whatever economic and communicattions weapons we have. We also servc to struggle for a better world who buy or donate. Taodhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09977687510704124455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37079329.post-16499758261098167982023-10-13T12:18:00.003-04:002023-10-13T12:20:37.125-04:00TorontotheBetter hanks BlackOwnedToronto and welcomes Freedom Market enterprisesThanks to BlackOwned Torontoo for the 2023 Freedom Market at Fort York. At TorontotheBetter we are dedicated to a better Toronto through sharing and inclusion and events like the annual Freedom Market helps us inform more of more opportunities to diversify and distribute Toronto's wealth. Taodhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09977687510704124455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37079329.post-44318411050975354322023-09-27T09:39:00.003-04:002023-09-27T09:42:04.483-04:00AI: good and badMedia have recently been full of the laetest news about artificial humanoid capacities like natural (better called natural seeming) language.Yes AI can do some things like humans and sometimes bettter than. But there is a social upside to the dangers: if machines canb do it there is nothing so remarkable about human intellectual skills which have often been the basis for aggression and injussticeTaodhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09977687510704124455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37079329.post-31490012435124235752023-09-27T08:55:00.028-04:002023-09-27T09:22:21.255-04:00Social media challenge state powers but the Better can still prevail on the WebGenerating revenue when each of the potential billion clicks could generate at least $1 in advertising revenue is not so difficult. The result is that unaccoutable actors like Meta (formerly Facebook) generate enotmous wealth and the assocaited power to challenge increasingly anxious mid-sized economies like Canada's,. For anybody to pose this as a choice between "meta" and the availabilityTaodhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09977687510704124455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37079329.post-46478084596455674222023-09-27T08:22:00.000-04:002023-09-27T08:22:22.832-04:00Congrats to Karma Food Coop 50 years of cooperation for for healthy food in downtown Toronto! Must be doing something right and meighbourly... TorontotheBetter members were pleased to drop in to Karma Food Co-op in the Annex at 739 Palmerston for refreshment on a warm early Fall morning last week. Taodhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09977687510704124455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37079329.post-86550562641012649272023-08-29T10:10:00.001-04:002023-08-29T15:24:26.326-04:00"Liquid reality" is drone delievered Progressive social thinker Zygmunt Bauman coined the valuable phrase "liquid reality” to describe the mobile anonymity of much in today’s commercialized societies that was once considered definingly personal. If there was ever any honour in military death drone warfare signals its final disposal, Just as coin payment is now routinely ridiculed armed combat becomes old-fashoned and Taodhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09977687510704124455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37079329.post-78427840787374372222023-08-23T12:15:00.008-04:002023-08-26T06:07:10.947-04:00Eric La Fleche - who is he and why is he smiling?It's Eric Richer [this is not a joke - it's his middle name] LaFleche, meaning arrow in French [also not a joke] who is CEO of Metro Supermarket chain.For not doing very much he was paid $215.000 in 2022, according to the Financial Post. It's a lot more than striking Metro workers, many on minimum wage, are asking for. The Financial Post has named him oustanding CEO of the year because his Taodhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09977687510704124455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37079329.post-88061907466184888432023-08-19T09:37:00.012-04:002023-08-19T21:21:21.853-04:00"Dayte Miru Shans" - Russian for give peace a better chance Give Peace A ChanceOTaodhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09977687510704124455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37079329.post-10443713859176315572023-08-07T09:01:00.010-04:002023-08-19T08:58:15.580-04:00Social Media billionaires challenge business and the stateThe 2023 Bloomberg Billionaires Index - bloomberg.com/billionaires - lists Elon Musk of Twitter with $232B as number one, Jeff Bezos, Amazon at $164B, 3rd, while Mark Zuckerberg of "meta" at $113B limps along in 9th place as "meta" currently snipes at the temerity of the Canadian government's legal efforts to control the corporation. At the same time Donald Trump thumbs his nose at the US Taodhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09977687510704124455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37079329.post-60392594780472275482023-08-04T16:04:00.004-04:002023-08-04T21:53:59.178-04:00Who needs meta anyway?Instead of a problem - it has been called a threat to democracy itself - meta’s retaliation to Canada’s new law requiring compensation for Canadian content is an opportunity. It is an opportunity to abandon rich unaccountable corporations dedicated to only one thing: profit. Looking for alternatives? Contact postmaster@TorontotheBetter.net for suggestions on topics of your choice. Taodhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09977687510704124455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37079329.post-63523886299194853862023-07-15T09:29:00.006-04:002023-07-23T00:52:58.504-04:00Fair Hotels to be included in the TorontotheBetter directory We are pleased to announce that we will be adding Fair Hotels to the TorontotheBetter directory. Fair Hotel is a project of international union Unite Here supporitng sustainable jobs for workers in Toronto's hospitality sector.Each Unite Here unionized hotel will be listed as a Fair Hotel in the directory. For updtes to the TorontotheBetter directory check New Listings at Taodhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09977687510704124455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37079329.post-80226582482704301462023-07-13T06:29:00.009-04:002023-07-19T22:17:15.287-04:00Cashless/heartless If the imges above seem a little strange it is likely because more and more stores in Toronto are not accepting them and becoming cashless wiithout a word of explanation or apology, just a fact that they require their users to adapt to. And for those with credit and debit cards adapt they will. But for others (the poor) without cards adapt they can't. Another sign that the corporate Taodhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09977687510704124455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37079329.post-81067865744836152752023-07-10T22:26:00.018-04:002023-07-12T19:56:27.242-04:00Brother can you spare a credit card? Corporate cash technology targets Toronto's poorest"Brother, can you spare a dime" went a song from 20th century's "great depression". But any number of dimes won't get you anything in Toronto's growing number of credit/debit card only stores. Class war continues as corporate Canada makes life harder and harder for the poor in Canada's largest city, once known as the most "livable" in North America. In 2023 it's not livable at all if you Taodhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09977687510704124455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37079329.post-43342731868254765792023-06-26T09:45:00.004-04:002023-06-26T16:57:07.230-04:00Cashlessness - a war on the poorIf
the World Economic Forum, breathing clean air in its European headquarters, likes something it’s probably better for business than people..And they do like the cashlessness that more and more businesses in Toronto, like other international cities, are now imposing, Wrapped as it is in the guise of an infecction free tehnologically advanced post- COVID world.no-cash commerce seeks unconscious Taodhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09977687510704124455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37079329.post-86779606462186285152023-05-23T14:48:00.008-04:002023-05-24T11:01:51.114-04:00Delivery workers of the world unite! As more and more goods and services get delivered worldwide delivery workers have seen their economic presence increase/ Unionization has become an option that more are campaigning around, to ensure economic change pays off for workers, not just owners like Uber. TorontotheBetter sends solidarity greetings to Toronto gig workers - gigworkersunited.ca. Taodhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09977687510704124455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37079329.post-17719088350196061112023-05-13T23:52:00.003-04:002023-05-20T09:23:09.131-04:00Coffee Works Anarchist Cafe to close? NO. Spirit of Emma Goldman to the rescure!The spirit of Emma Goldman lives on!LATE NEWS: following a visit to the Cefe by TorontotheBetter colleagues on Friday we are pleased to be able to report that Coffee Works/aka The Anarchist Cafe at 190 Jarvis St (near Dundas) will remain open, ideally as a worker cooperative with the help of TorontotheBetter founder, Libra Knowledge and Infoormation Services Co-op.ORIGINAL POST :On May 1st,Taodhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09977687510704124455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37079329.post-52700678843217147902023-05-07T08:11:00.001-04:002023-05-24T10:58:28.095-04:00Monarchies mean rule by one only - end them now!Rule by one is bad for people everywhere; they are an anachronism and waste resources on PR pageantry instead of human needs. That is why, as social economy supporters TorontotheBetter opposes monarchy, however whitewashed its media face. Any new monarch candidate serious about democracy should resign or, in the most recent example oof the so-called United Kingdom, refuse to take office. They Taodhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09977687510704124455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37079329.post-50301558175239554732023-04-04T22:23:00.004-04:002023-04-04T22:32:02.958-04:00WELCOME WORKER CO-OPS - Canadian Worker Co-op Federation visits TorontoLIBRAAs a long time member of the Canadian Worker Co-op Federation (CWCF) Libra Knowledge and Information Services Co-op, founder and host of TorontotheBetter, Toronto's original online social enterprise hub, is pleased to join the celebration on Wednesday April 5th when the federation comes to Toronto. At 6.30pm that day we gather on the site of collegial social enterprise Taodhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09977687510704124455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37079329.post-43960322812966580432023-04-03T20:54:00.009-04:002023-04-08T07:36:40.013-04:00TORONTO RECOGNIZES FOSSIL FOOLS DAY IN SUPPORT OF WET'SUWET'EN FIRST NATION A small BC first nation came to town on Saturday April 1, 2023 in the form of a protest against the Coastal Gas Link (CGL) construction on their territory. Small it may be, but the Torontonians who came out in solidarity with Wet'suwet'en first nation understood that whatever happens there happens here too. We have only one earth and the Wetsuwete'n struggle is our struggle. It was suitablyTaodhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09977687510704124455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37079329.post-28944567978199173022023-03-28T13:56:00.002-04:002023-03-28T13:56:33.798-04:00More Migrant lives lost in transit - again! It has been 10 years since over 1000 were killed in the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh. The news this week that 39 workers have perished in a fire in Mexico demonstrates that little has changed in 10 years. Elmo grant lives are cheap to profiteers and not a prority for governments. It is the responsibility of nonprofits and activists to ensure that all are remembered and Taodhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09977687510704124455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37079329.post-15578687109425143802023-03-04T10:42:00.003-05:002023-03-04T11:04:40.887-05:00Toronto and other C40 Cities set a path to a better life for all who live in cities .#C40 stands for a group of cities with more equity and fewer emissions. #Toronto signed on to C40 in 2005. See how we're doing at www.c40.org\Taodhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09977687510704124455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37079329.post-65148068201922922292023-02-25T01:58:00.003-05:002023-02-25T08:06:11.216-05:00NO CASH IS A WAR ON THEPOORHowever it may be presented, as a public health measure, an environmental defence measure, or simply as an efficiency booster the increasing number of Toronto businesses outlawing cash payments have one thing in common: the poor, especially those who live on our streets. are excluded by the policy as they largely depend on coin donations for their income. When the little they can buy to Taodhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09977687510704124455noreply@blogger.com0