Can't we all just get along? (And stop eating on the subway)

This is just a little note about a few simple things we could all do to make this city a much nicer place to live in. It comes after many winter months of taking the TTC (I ride my bike in the summer) and just a lot of other little things I've been noticing as of late.

The TTC

1. To TTC employees - If I say please and thank you while I'm buying tickets, please say your welcome. You don't even have to smile if you don't want to, just those very simple words "Your Welcome" (I will say that TTC drivers are usually very good about saying your welcome when thanked).
2. To fellow rocket riders - When the bus/subway is crowded PLEASE take your bags/FEET off the seats. Really, it's not difficult; this is stuff you should have learned in grade 2. You can use your discretion. If there are lots of other seats or even a few other seats available then by all means go ahead and use the extra space. However once the train begins to fill up, MOVE.
3. If you see someone with a heavy piece of luggage or a stroller struggling on the stairs, help them out. It does not need to be an elderly person or a parent traveling alone, a person in need is a person in need. Take a minute to lend a hand.
4. We can all be late on occasion, that's a given. However, if you are running late don't punish others for it. Don't shove, don't go tearing down the stairs or along the platform. Just because you've never hurt anyone doing it before doesn't mean that it's not going to happen this time.
5. Don't be afraid of talking to strangers! This, I think, deserves a post all it's own and I may give it one. But to be succinct, don't assume that every stranger that tries to make conversation with you is "crazy". Their not and if they are? So what? Take a few minutes out of your day and talk to them crazy or sane. That's it this is going in a new post.
6. There are these crazy little mirrors all over subway stations (they have them in most schools and convenience stores too). They are located anywhere there is a blind corner and they're curved. These crazy mirrors can be used to allow people to see what’s coming around the corner. Watch out for these mirrors, they are useful.
7. This is not really a manners thing but just something that disgusts me. The TTC is a dirty filthy place. It cannot be helped. People have to sneeze and people have to pick (best done in private, but hey if your not embarrassed, it don't bother me). What does bother me is when I see people eating on the subway. Gross, gross, gross. Do you even know how many poles/railings/handles you've touched on your way to the train? It's a one-way track to year-round-flu Ville.
   

Right wing brainwashing - Get 'em while their young

I don't even know what to say about this.

It is already in discussion here.

The Santorum Treatment

As an avid reader of Dan Savage I love it when he enters into the world of politics. He has often opened his column up to political debate and quite often comments on Canadian politics. Congratulating us on our progressiveness and consoleing us on the election of our first conservative government in 12 years.

One other thing that Savage has done for the progressive world was to give right-wing American Senator Rick Santorum a permanant association with an interesting by-product of a certain sex act.

Dan has (for the second time) invited all Canadians to nominate their favorite right-wing politions for the same treatment. So here are my nominations:

• Tom Flanagan
• Mike Harris
• Stephan Harper

The debate has begun.

Gambling Gretsky

The fact that Gretsky's wife has been implicated in an illegal gambling ring does not bother me all that much. Really this probably has no long-ranging implications for the olympics, the NHL or even for Gretsky himself.

No, a little (or in this case alot) of illegal gambling does not bother me nearly as much as "The Great One's" practice of corporate shilling.

While in Edmonton, he endorsed everything from soft drinks and blue jeans to his own wallpaper, pillow cases, breakfast cereal, chocolate bars, and a Mattel "Great Gretzky" doll. [21] Past and present plugs include Thrifty Car Rental, Peak Antifreeze, Ford Motor Company (in Canada only), Coca-Cola, Esso, McDonald's, Campbell's Soup, Primestar TV, Upper Deck, Nike, Ultra Wheels, Hallmark Cards, Zurich Insurance, Tylenol and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. He and his son Ty did commercials for the Sharp Viewcam.

Um, is there ANYTHING that this man will not sell his name to? At very least if you are going to be a sell-out pick your buyers. Pick a company with some ETHICS!

Esso

Unlike other major oil companies, Esso has consistently refused to accept the scientific consensus that climate change is made worse by burning fossil fuels and needs to be addressed. Instead of acting against climate change, Esso lobbies against the Kyoto Protocol’s cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, doesn’t invest in renewable energy and spreads misinformation about climate change’s science. Its American parent also donated heavily to the Bush Republicans.

Nike

Despite its progressive image in the United States, Nike is a very different company in Vietnam and in other Asian manufacturing operations. Reports of physical abuse, sexual abuse, salary below minimum wage and a debilitating quota systems are confirmed by CBS News, the New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, AP, Reuters as well as other non-profit and non-governmental organizations.

Coca-Cola

A lawsuit against Coca-Cola and its Colombian bottlers was filed in 2001 in a Miami federal court, charging that the company had collaborated with the paramilitaries to threaten and assassinate union organizers. Under the Alien Tort Claims Act, a U.S. company can be sued in America for its actions abroad. Lawyers from the International Labor Rights Fund took up the case with the assistance of the United Steelworkers of America. Student activists have begun boycotting Coke on campus and, perhaps most significant, the New York City Employee Pension Fund is using its Coca-Cola shares as leverage to pressure management into approving a thorough human rights probe of the company’s Colombian operations.

McDonalds

I'm not even going to go into all the MANY, MANY ethical problems associated with McDonalds. I will say this: How can a man who so intimately knows just what a well maintained body is capable of, possibly shill for something as noxious as McDonalds?