Johnson: Free speech is not what many of the angry think it is, and it’s certainly not free
Updated Jan 13, 2021;
Posted Jan 13, 2021
President Donald Trump speaks to the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021 in Washington. The President is traveling to Texas. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)AP
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Congress shall make no law….
Let’s put a pin in it. Right here. Some of y’all need a refresher on the First Amendment the “free speech” amendment to the United States Constitution. The amendment, as a journalist, I hold, respect, and dearly defend.
A Canadian âBuy Localâ Effort Fights Amazon on Its Own Turf
A website called Not Amazon was created to drive sales to more than 4,000 independent stores in four cities. The initiative aims to keep expanding.
Ali Haberstroh created Not Amazon, a website designed to help small businesses in Toronto that has since expanded to other Canadian cities.Credit.Chloe Ellingson for The New York Times
Published Jan. 2, 2021Updated Feb. 18, 2021
TORONTO â The snow was falling outside Ali Haberstrohâs apartment in late November when the idea came to her.
At the time, Canada was nearing a second lockdown to curb rising coronavirus cases. In anticipation, the owner of a vintage clothing store in Toronto who is a friend of Ms. Haberstrohâs had put together a list of other local vintage shops offering curbside pickup and deliveries in lieu of being able to open their doors.
Last modified on Mon 21 Dec 2020 07.34 EST
In cities and towns around the world, darkened shopfronts and shuttered businesses have become an all-too-familiar symptom of the economic collapse triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
That disparity – and the mounting inequity brought into focus by the pandemic – has prompted one Canadian woman to attempt a fightback.
“I just hate how much Jeff Bezos and Amazon are making billions off the backs of working-class people,” said Ali Haberstroh. “It seems to me they’re putting money over the wellbeing of people.”
Haberstroh turned her anger into Not Amazon, a new directory for independent Canadian businesses, which lists nearly 4,000 retailers in Toronto, Halifax, Calgary and Vancouver.
Ali Haberstroh started her directory of local shops as a convenient cheat sheet for time-strapped family and friends. Two weeks later, Not Amazon exploded and now features more than 4,000 businesses. Here, Haberstroh explains why local businesses are the backbone of Toronto, her
You’ve Got Mail-style beef with big-box retailers, and why her haters need to get a grip.
You are a social media and content manager. How did the idea for Not Amazon come about?
Nick, a friend of mine who owns Expo Vintage on Dundas, put up an Instagram post pointing to other vintage stores offering curbside pickup. I started thinking about how I could apply that more broadly to all kinds of places that were losing business. I spent a very snowy Sunday afternoon in November making a Google spreadsheet of about 50 businesses a mix of general, booze and clothing and accessories stores with with a focus on BIPOC-owned businesses which I then posted to my Instagram. Normally my posts get about 70 likes; thi
The website has created a directory of local businesses in Toronto, Calgary, Halifax, and Vancouver.
Not Amazon works by individuals submitting businesses to be placed on the directory, which can be done easily by filling out a form on the website.
As for how long it takes for the businesses to be put on the website, the answer follows, “Lately, I’ve been getting hundreds of submissions a day, and it’s just me going through them so, realistically it could take as long as three days, maybe a little more,” reads the website.
It also appears that two more cities will be added before Christmas time.