Normally I wouldn’t even go there, but I’ve been bombarded with propaganda from the two main contenders. The interesting part of this phenomenon is the incredible bias that one can read from pseudo-political analyists. I read a profile of one of the candidates (I will not say names to make my own life easier) who was basically touted “a perfect candidate” whereas the other was profiled as a complete whack-job. This profile was written by an Anglo-saxon writer, not based in Mexico. Thus, the chances of him actually knowing how things are in Mexico are nil. However, he invested himself with enough authority to have an opinion (a biased one, I might add). So, the problem is, there is no balanced, objective analysis of the 2006 Mexican elections. What will happen is anybody’s guess. I for one am happy I am not there.
This topic seems to occupying a substantial amount of space and time in the mainstream media and environmentally-related academic discussions in Canada. Everything seems to be associated with climatic change and the need for adaptation. I wonder to how smart this is and to what extent all these discussions and money spent on climate change-related research will be well spent.
On a related note, this year’s ‘Fondos Sectoriales de Investigacion’ SEMARNAT-CONACYT (Mexico) seem to be strongly focussed on climate change and vulnerability/adaptation. So much that many proposals seem to have thrown the keywords “climate change” and “vulnerability” and “adaptation” in an effort to get funded. Is this how environmentally-focused research is supposed to be carried out?
It seems to me as though Mexico is following the climate change fad. This is not to say that climate change isn’t a priority or that it is not occurring. I just worry that this is just one of many environmental priorities and that it should not be THE main one.
My interest in urban sustainability (and my current location) has made me reflect on the possibilities for/issues with gentrification of certain areas in Vancouver, particularly in Mount Pleasant (for a bit of history click here). I live slightly southeast of the Main and 16th Avenue area, which in recent years has become the ‘hip’ area in Vancouver. A few years ago (some people say it might be even 15), the Main St. area was considered “seedy” and unsafe. This blog has actually a nice discussion of the pros and cons of the East Side vis-a-vis West Side.
Noteworthy, I hang out around Mount Pleasant area, but I don’t live exactly there (I live more in the “Little Mountain/Riley Park” zone, according to the neighbourhoods map I saw recently). And if you look at this, you might realize that my neighbourhood isn’t that bad at all.
The sad part is that I recently learned that a Canadian, Vancouver-shot movie (Mount Pleasant) will depict this area as it used to be 15 years ago (seedy and filled with drug-addicts). I read that the director, Ross Weber, actually lives in the neighbourhood so I hope he will be very true to the current status of Mount Pleasant. I, for one, enjoy living there. And I hope that the Riley Park/Little Mountain area becomes just as hip as Main St. very soon. What scares me is the housing prices OUCH!
PS.- One of my favourite actresses, Kelly Rowan, will participate in “Mount Pleasant”… yay!
I got home well past 5:30am (I went dancing downtown). Dawn in Vancouver can be quite amazing. I went to bed and woke up around 1:00am. Sure enough, I was awakened by the sound of Samba upstairs (I have a Brazilian neighbour). I went outside just for a brief period and that’s when I discovered – SPRING IN VANCOUVER! I did not check the thermometer but I would have sworn it was well above 20 degrees (Celsius). As I was making my way over to Main and Broadway (where I usually take the 99 B-Line to UBC) I felt the breeze and the sunshine. *This* is the reason why people move to Vancouver!
