Revolt! Don’t React

The Rose Hotel, Venice - Los Angeles

In his famous poem, The Solution, Bertolt Brecht joked that "the people had forfeited the confidence of the government" and it would be easier "for the government to dissolve the people and elect another".

This has given me food for thought. I am in the USA for few days and following what is going on here.

Not much has changed. The USA still has the best universities in the world but terrible schools. Many children graduate illiterate. There is a huge increase in addiction to pharmaceuticals. More hyperactivity. No free media (I do not consider propaganda-filled media to be free). Huge division along racial and ethnic lines. En bref, a country in crisis.

Two years down the line of the current administration and the Democrats and their mainstream media friends are still obsessing about Russia’s alleged role in the last presidential election. The recent reports by the Senate Intelligence Committee claim that Russia allegedly targeted African American voters and “exploited racial tensions and feelings of alienation”. They still naively believe that American voters were brainwashed by a foreign power to elect the president.

And, they make it sound as if the current political camps are divided along a line of good and bad folk. On one side is the camp of “civility” and values. On the other side, that of frustration and hatred.

This is so superficial.

I find it absurd and pathetic. Because they still do not get it: this country is where it is because of the system the Democrats and the media have helped to build. Instead of dissolving the system they would rather dissolve the people.

This is especially clear in the South; the Belly of the beast.

I would love to tour the South. I am curious about this part of the US that allegedly loves guns and Trump. The liberals see these people as a basket of deplorables. They accuse them of all kind of things: of being backwards; of having a "stay still, do not stand out, don't cause trouble and be in by 10pm" attitude.

I look around and in so many countries I see one common denominator. A revolt of the periphery. From the election of Trump as president, to Brexit, Catalonia, the Yellow Vests... and I wonder if it is because capitalism at the periphery is always more drastic, more cruel.

People in so many places do not feel represented by the or their politicians. They know that it doesn't really matter who they actually vote for because nothing much will change in their lives. Because the real power does not sit in the ballot box. It sits elsewhere. The power is in the global hands of big business and financial capital.

And into this post-democracy world, enter the so called "populists". Or – as some call it - the "strong man politics".

Why are they so successful?

It is because they have managed to raise awareness of the unprivileged? To shine a light on the story of those underdogs who have lived through conditions created by predatory capitalism? The story of people who have awful jobs in production lines and factories and supermarkets. People who believe that hard work will eventually make their lives and the lives of their children better.

Strong man politicians do not offer them alternatives. They merely respond to their feelings of exclusion. They give the people back their pride, or so it is portrayed, but in fact all they do is they give them back their illusion of pride. They offer them emotion.

It makes sense to me why the periphery vote the way they do. The status quo has made it impossible for them to dream of a different future, a better future, so they are forced to idealize the past.

It also makes sense to me why they do not respond to calls for solidarity. Solidarity cannot be ordered. The impoverished middle and working classes, who cannot afford much, feel forced to defend what little they have left and so they become radicalised through fear; the fear of loss. And then the rich and the privileged and the state (and the banks too) are already so powerful and wealthy that they direct their anger towards the weaker groups of society. Towards refugees and minorities.

So it makes sense but it is also worrying.

Worrying because these days, the people in the USA (and elsewhere) do not have a huge amount of choice. They have to choose between the neoliberals, aka deluded folk who offer a repetition of the same decade-long economic mess or the strong men. However the problem is not the populist or the strong man politician (which merge in some cases). The problem is the economy and the economic inequality. The problem is Neoliberalism.

I want to help people to become revolutionaries in training.

I read a recent interview with Adam Curtis in The Economist (The antidote to civilisational collapse). Curtis is a British documentary maker, who talks about a sense of doom and how nothing ever changes. I agree with everything he says.

We must stop believing that the current system is set in the stone with an inability to change. We must stop believing that what we have is the best possible system out there. We must stop claiming that the other side is bad or confused or brainwashed by fake news. Instead we must do more than just wave the flag of tolerance and civility. We must work towards offering a stronger political story.

We must fight against those who not only hold but hang on to power and wealth with relentless tenacity.

We must stand against neoliberalism and its global and regional institutions. We must offer an alternative democratic and socially-just society, one devoid of social democratic compromises (especially those with big business).

I have set up a new foundation to support activists and other revolutionaries, it is called Tenure. We are planning radically great things.

But more should be done. There are those in academia who are offering an alternative for economy, there is a new manifesto of French economists. Very interesting.

The future will be either revolutionary or reactionary.

I also want to gather other artists and creative people, smart people, to think big. Think ambitious. Let’s do our manifesto for the revolutionary future and ponder how to put it into practice. I want to gather people who are able to accurately describe society. And then, we can CHANGE the society. I have so many ideas.

It depends on us. There are enough resources to build better alternatives.

I want to build the revolutionary future. And dissolve the SYSTEM, not the people.

Are you with me?

Love

Pamela

Pamela Anderson on Europe’s Turmoil

Pamela Anderson spoke to Jacobin and philosopher Srećko Horvat about the protests in France, the crisis in the European Union, and her own activism.

Recent weeks have seen a shock to France’s elites. President Emmanuel Macron’s fuel tax hike sparked widespread protests, with road blockades across the country and violent clashes with police in Paris. The gilets jaunes movement (so named after protesters’ distinctive yellow vests) imposed a humiliating climbdown by the liberal president, who was forced to abandon the tax and raise the minimum wage.

These protests have given voice to often-ignored parts of French society. But while much media has shown its contempt for those involved, the movement has found a vocal ally in Pamela Anderson. The former Baywatch star and Playboy model has spoken out on multiple causes before, from her pro-animal rights work with PETA to her environmental stances and support for earthquake relief in Haiti. Now she has become a keen backer of the revolt against austerity.

In her tweets and blog posts Anderson emphasized the wider importance of the protests, terming them a battle against the “politics represented by Macron and the 99% who are fed up with inequality, not only in France, all over the world.” She similarly responded to claims of protester violence by tweeting “I despise violence . . . but what is the violence of all these people and burned luxurious cars, compared to the structural violence of the French — and global — elites?”

Showing her broad interest in the political upheavals currently gripping the continent, she has in recent days also voiced her support for left-wing UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn while also sharply criticizing Italy’s far-right interior minister Matteo Salvini for his racist agenda.

In an interview with Jacobin’s David Broder, Anderson and philosopher Srećko Horvat discussed the French protests, Europe’s crisis, and Anderson’s own activism.

DB The gilets jaunes protests in France have drawn a lot of scorn from media and political elites, but your comments have been supportive, noting that this “revolt has been simmering for some years.” What do you think these protests represent? Do they respond to a mood that you see in France more generally, since you’ve been living there?

PA My comments were at first provoked by the images of violence. Everyone was hypnotized. Why? And why did it come as such a surprise? What stands behind the violence? I wanted to understand. I know it’s not easy to accept me as I am. I stir things up in an unconventional way, and will continue to do so.

A few days after the protests broke out in France, I traveled to Milan. There I found Mr. Salvini in the newspapers saying that “Macron is a problem for the French.” But I see it differently. I think it’s a European problem. In the same way, the rising xenophobia in Italy is a European problem. Not just an Italian one.

Just before I arrived in Italy, the top Italian chef Vittorio Castellani was told not to use “foreign recipes” on his TV show. I love Italian food. But what is Italian — or any — food without “foreign influences”? I am sure Mr. Salvini enjoys “foreign food” too. OK, we moved on from the gilets jaunes . . .

Srećko Horvat. Photo by Oliver Abraham

SH But this is an excellent detection of the problem. This actually started in 2009 with Silvio Berlusconi’s campaign against “non-Italian” food in Italy, it is a continuous process of “normalization” — the slow introduction of measures or even laws which in a near future will seem “normal.” If I remember rightly, it was Vittorio Castellani who, already then, almost ten years ago, pointed out that there is no such thing as authentic “Italian food,” because tomato came from Peru and spaghetti from China. So, without foreign influence “Italian food” would literally taste different. When you say that Salvini probably enjoys “foreign food” then you name the true problem. As with the case of Macron talking to gilets jaunes from his salon doré surrounded by gold decorations, there is a disconnection between the political elites and the people. Moreover, this is utter cynicism on the part of the ruling elites. As for France, it became obvious that the “world-spirit on the horseback” (as Hegel saw Napoleon, and Jürgen Habermas sees Macron) is nothing other than Jacques Lacan’s king who is mad to believe he is a king. When a cabinet minister from Macron’s party, trying to show the gulf between the working poor and political elite, complains that Paris dinners cost “€200 without wine,” it is another clear sign of the disconnect between the elites and the people. The gilets jaunes believe, and they are right, that Macron doesn’t live in the “real world.” At the same time, these days you could have seen, as if it came from the alternate reality of the Situationists themselves, a graffiti simply saying “Pamela Anderson Présidente!”

DB French government officials and some media claim that the protesters are ignoring the need for environmental protection. As someone with a keen interest in conservation, do you think the gilets jaunes‘ own demands can fit together with a green agenda?

PA I do not think the poor should pay for climate change. Yet it is the poor who are paying the biggest price. Some say that the protesters in France protested so they could continue polluting the planet. But I do not think this is true. They protest because the rich keep destroying the planet. And the poor are paying. In 2013, after the devastating earthquake, I visited Haiti to distribute aid. I visited a children’s hospital and refugee camps. Again, it was the poor paying the price. Since then, many grassroots projects have been going on in Haiti that show what a green transition could look like. The protests in France started when President Macron announced an increase in carbon and air pollution taxes. This was supposed to collect more money for the state budget and also motivate people to use alternatives to diesel-fueled cars. Macron would like to ban diesel cars by 2040. But the French state encouraged people to buy diesel-fueled cars for many years. For example, in 2016, 62 percent of cars in France were diesel cars, as well as 95 percent of all vans and small lorries. So it is no wonder that many people view the new policy as a total betrayal. Getting a new car is probably not a big deal for President Macron and his ministers. But it is way too difficult for many people who are already financially stretched. Many poor people will not be able to get to work, especially if there is no reliable public transport in place. Many old people will not be able to get to the shops or to the doctor.

SH You have the same problem in Germany. It’s great that many German cities are banning the use of diesel cars. But do you know where they will be exported? Mainly to the Balkans and Eastern Europe. And you can’t blame those people for buying diesel cars, because it’s cheaper and they already live in precarious conditions. So, as always with capitalism, you don’t only have the internal divide, inside of Western European societies, between the metropolitan rich and the rural- or banlieues-poor, there is also a divide between the center and the periphery of the European Union. According to air monitoring databases, those living in the part of Europe where I come from are usually breathing in more toxic particles because of air pollution than those living in Western Europe. If you look at the map, you will see Germany, France, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, parts of the UK, have better air quality, and Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria and Poland have toxic air. During these winter months the air pollution crisis in Sofia or Sarajevo is becoming the new normal. So while Western Europe is heading towards a “green transition,” the economies of the countries of Eastern Europe are still heavily dependent on exploiting coal reserves. At the same time, despite the Energiewende [energy transition], Germany remains heavily dependent on imports of fossil fuels. Taking all this into consideration, we can see that the solution for our current problems is not a national-based “green transition;” we need a European Green New Deal, as advocated by DiEM25. Moreover, we need a global Green New Deal.

DB In a recent post you defended the idea of “Lexit”: a Brexit organized in a way that defends ordinary people, and also spoke up for Jeremy Corbyn’s call for a general election rather than a second referendum on Brexit. What do you hope Corbyn can do?

PA It is vital that the European Union is thoroughly and fundamentally reformed. Europe deserves a much better form of organized cooperation. And I would really support the UK attempting to create an alternative for Europe. But retreating to nationalistic tendencies is not an alternative. The only road to freedom is via a joint fight of the unprivileged. This means foreign workers included.

The current deal proposed by Theresa May does not offer such an alternative. I joked that I’m sure I could have negotiated better conditions than this dumb deal. I have been negotiating with Hollywood for decades. I could handle Mr. Michel Barnier [the European Union’s chief negotiator].

Did you see Theresa May not being able to get out of her car while Merkel was waiting outside? That’s the best metaphor for Brexit. In such a situation, the solution is not a second referendum, but a general election. And I hope Jeremy Corbyn will be the next prime minister.

SH It’s a good question what Corbyn will be able to do. The solution, in my opinion, is not the retreat to national-based politics, but for Labour to continue working in close ties with other European progressives. It is an interesting question how Labour will relate to the upcoming European elections in May 2019 [the elections will not take place in Britain, assuming the country leaves the European Union by the end of March], where I think they could play an important role. And at the same time, I think we should all campaign in the UK, showing why the European elections are of major relevance for the UK as well.

Unless the deep crisis of the European Union is solved, which is not only internal but also concerns its foreign policy, I am afraid we will see the situation deteriorating even more. So instead of the simple “Lexit” solution, I think we need more trans-national politics, not just an inter-national politics (between nations), but a trans-national one. We need to go beyond the nation state.

DB Both Brexit and the gilets jaunes protests saw people who don’t normally dominate the headlines making themselves heard. But despite Pamela’s own past activism, some media seemed surprised that she spoke out on these issues. Why do you think this is?

SH My only surprise is that anyone is surprised, she has been active for years in various campaigns or visiting places devastated by earthquakes. Of course, I can understand that people still connect Pamela to Baywatch or Playboy and they might be surprised she has an opinion on Brexit or the gilets jaunes, but isn’t that precisely the beauty of it? If Baywatch, a TV show that was watched weekly by 1.1 billion people in 148 countries, gave Pamela a platform to raise her voice and not only comment but intervene in today’s dire political landscape, then we should embrace it. I still remember, how in the 1990s, during the war in Yugoslavia, me and my sister watched Baywatch and how for us, kids of a country which was disintegrating into pieces just in front of our eyes, television was often our escape into a possible and desired future. In the case of Baywatch it was the alternate reality of the “happy 1990s”: now that “actually existing socialism” was finished, we were on our way to reach “actually existing capitalism.” Yes, of course, Baywatch was full of sharks, serial killers, and earthquakes, but for the kids from Yugoslavia, the jobs that Mitch Buchannon (David Hasselhoff) and C.J. (Pamela Anderson) had as lifeguards on the beautiful coasts of California were the embodiment of the “end of history.” Of course, as young kids, we didn’t know what the “end of history” meant and we didn’t know yet that Pamela, incidentally or not, did her first Playboy cover precisely in 1989, the year when Francis Fukuyama published his famous essay. We also didn’t know that the post-Yugoslav transition from communism to capitalism wouldn’t turn this part of Europe into a new California. Yet there is no one among my generation, and many other generations, who wasn’t watching Baywatch. There is no culture without popular culture.

DB Do you think you have a responsibility to use your public platform to speak up for these causes?

PA I hear a lot of these kinds of stories from remote parts of Zimbabwe. Baywatch was watched in tents surrounded by native people. And in dangerous areas all over the world, including America. We just weren’t aware we were infiltrating [these places] in our own way — yes, with the dream of a “good” life. The beach. California. Escapism. I was part of it. But this gives me the privilege and opportunity to raise my voice for the many issues I believe in.

Recently, when Deutsche Welle asked me to support their campaign about the seventieth anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 19, the declaration in favor of free expression, I spoke about Julian Assange, who is still in “arbitrary detention” (as defined by the United Nations itself) and who faces extradition to the United States.

I have the responsibility to speak about these issues. Everyone has. Without freedom of speech and independent journalism, including organizations such as WikiLeaks and whistleblowers, there is no chance to build a better world.

DB You’ve been active in campaigns for PETA as well as in earthquake relief in Haiti, and recently you’ve published some more political interventions. What kind of activism are you involved in at the moment?  What publications do you read, and what thinkers or writers have most influenced you?

PA I read books, I watch movies, I am learning French, I am traveling across the world — a mysterious and wonderful place. But a very worrying place. I am worried about climate change. About extinction. I am still active in supporting Sea Shepherd and organizations for helping refugees. And I think of Julian Assange often, especially now that Christmas is coming and he can’t be with his family and friends. I think it is all connected. I am more and more concerned about Europe, a place I love. When I was in Italy in the last few days, just before my comments on Matteo Salvini’s government, I was reading Umberto Eco’s essay “Eternal Fascism” from 1995. There he defines fourteen general properties of fascism, which for him wasn’t a coherent system. So he speaks of “Ur-fascism” and characteristics such as the “cult of tradition,” “fear of difference,” “appeal to a frustrated middle class,” “obsession with conspiracy,” “contempt for the weak,” and “machismo.” Look at leaders such as Trump, Bolsonaro, and Salvini and you will see exactly these properties. They are destroying the Amazon, the Arctic, the whole planet in “real time.” And there is no planet B.

SH Except for those white male libertarian utopians from Silicon Valley who might escape to Mars, while the rest of us will inhabit an actually-existing dystopia. I think Pamela is right. Whether you call it “post-fascism,” like Enzo Traverso, or you call it “Ur-fascism” like Eco, the fact is that fascism never died. It is a small step from the “Black International,” from the twentieth century to the formation of an “axis of the willing” between Italy, Germany, and Austria proposed by Austria’s current prime minister Sebastian Kurz. Add to this the technological advances from AI to automation, from Silicon Valley to Cambridge Analytica, and you get an explosive combination for something that might be even worse than traditional fascism. Probably the best historical figure who embodies “ur-fascism” is the Italian poet and warmonger Gabrielle D’Annunzio, who occupied the Croatian coastal town of Rijeka. He invented a bizarre fascist utopia or dystopia there, which wasn’t just fascist (Lenin even called D’Annunzio the “only revolutionary in Europe”), but all the fascist properties were already there plus the embrace of new technology.

He practically invented the “balcony speeches” (which Mussolini would adopt), but Marconi let him transmit a message to the world from his yacht. He also invented a fascist form of “narcocapitalism,” even before the Nazis did tons of Pervitin — Fiume was full of drugs. Or as Pasolini used to say, the true anarchy is the anarchy of power. Thanks to the recent renewed interest in D’Annunzio — for instance Lucy Hughes Hallett’s seminal biography The Pike, Bruce Sterling’s science-fiction novel Pirate Utopia, and the work by Croatian filmmaker Igor Bezinović — I hope the lessons of this short historical period can slowly be uncovered.

I was talking to Adam Curtis recently, when we visited Rijeka together, saying that it’s too easy to dismiss this crazy and mad period only as an early manifestation of fascism. What makes it truly traumatic but tremendously interesting is that D’Annunzio’s Fiume can’t be described either as dystopia nor as utopia — for it was both at once. DB

In a lot of countries the far right is on the rise, but at the same time there is a radicalization on the Left, shaking up the old political certainties. What do you think is behind all this?

SH After visiting the burning streets of Paris, Jerome Roos recently published a magnificent analysis saying that gilets jaunes have blown up the old political categories, which presents both dangers and opportunities. He reminds us of a beautiful and appropriate quote by Saint-Just who said: “The present order is the disorder of the future.”

Unfortunately, after all the “Springs” we have witnessed, we must turn it around and ask what if the current disorder — all these libidinal energies and revolutionary potential — will not turn into a new order of the future? The “state of exception,” as defined by Carl Schmitt and elaborated by Giorgio Agamben, is already a rule — not an exception — across Europe. After the G20 protests in Hamburg, Europe’s leaders where already advocating for a pan-European “register for activists.” A kind of Minority Report in order to preserve the order. Or the anarchy of power.

PA I agree with Srećko. As I said, when I was commenting on the gilets jaunes, the real question is whether the disobedience can be constructive, what comes the day after: can the progressives in France, and all over the world, use this energy so that instead of violence we see equal and egalitarian societies being built? It was a wake-up call. I have a dream of a society in which people devour books and art. We have a responsibility to fill our hearts and minds with music and art, not with PlayStations. Human connections are dying out. When we forget how to make love. This is where we forget each other. Let’s fight together. And learn together.

About the Author

Pamela Anderson is an actress and activist.

Srećko Horvat is a philosopher and a co-founder of DiEM25. His books include Poetry from the Future and What Does Europe Want? (with Slavoj Žižek).

About the Interviewer

David Broder is a historian of French and Italian communism. He is currently writing a book on the crisis of Italian democracy in the post-Cold War period.

via www.jacobinmag.com/2018/12/yellow-vests-pamela-anderson-france-macron

Visit to the California Wildlife Center

These are some of the animals receiving care at the California wildlife center. I was able to visit only a few of them - please support by amazon wish list

Donate some of these commonly used items from the general: Amazon Wish List!

Sponsor an animal today and see how your generous donation helps future wildlife patients get a second chance at life! 

www.cawildlife.org/ways-to-support-us/

Les animaux ne sont pas des cadeaux – pourquoi je n'offrirai jamais un chiot à Noël

La cause animale tient tout particulièrement à coeur de Pamela Anderson, qui met sa notoriété au service des animaux, et notamment de ceux qui souffrent. En cette période des fêtes de Noël, nombreux sont ceux qui, offerts en cadeau au pied du sapin, comme s'ils étaient des gadgets, seront finalement abandonnés en janvier dans des refuges, qui enregistrent à ce moment de l'année un déluge de compagnons rejetés par leurs maîtres. Pour lancer cet appel, celle qui vit désormais en France avec Zeus, qu'elle a recueilli, a choisi le Elle.fr. Nous relayons son appel. SI cette cause vous touche, faites-en, de même.   

Les fêtes de fin d'année sont un moment de joie pour la plupart des gens, mais elles peuvent être stressantes et tragiques pour les chiens et chats qui sont donnés en « cadeau ». Si les destinataires n'en veulent pas ou s'ils ne sont pas prêts à prendre un animal en charge, ils s'en débarrassent peu après les fêtes.

Près de 100 000 animaux sont abandonnés chaque année en France et le mois de janvier est tout particulièrement lugubre pour les refuges animaliers pleins à craquer qui voient arriver un nouveau déluge de doux êtres à quatre pattes rejetés par leurs propriétaires. Ceux qui n'ont pas la chance de retrouver une famille dépérissent dans des cages. Beaucoup sont euthanasiés lorsqu'il n'y a pas assez de place ni de ressources pour tous les prendre en charge. 

C'est une problématique qui me touche tout particulièrement, ayant moi-même fréquenté de nombreux refuges, et y ayant rencontré certains de mes meilleurs amis à quatre pattes.

Adopter un animal est un véritable bonheur

L'ayant fait à de nombreuses fois dans ma vie, je sais à quel point c'est enrichissant de sauver un animal dans le besoin et de tisser un lien fort avec lui. Un animal rescapé vous sera éternellement reconnaissant de lui avoir donné une chance, et il vous le montrera chaque jour.

Aujourd'hui, je partage ma vie avec mon meilleur ami canin Zeus, qui vit avec moi en France. Nous sommes inséparables et il m'apporte énormément d'amour et de bonheur au quotidien. Mais j'ai les larmes aux yeux quand je pense à tous les animaux qui sont tout aussi affectueux, espiègles et attachants que Zeus, mais qui sont condamnés à l'euthanasie ou, pire encore, à décliner dans des cages sans famille ni foyer pendant bien trop longtemps. 

Je vous en prie, n'achetez jamais d'animaux dans des jardineries, des animaleries ni chez des éleveurs – qui tirent profit de la « production » d'êtres sensibles comme s'il s'agissait de marchandises. Chaque fois qu'un chiot est acheté dans ces exploitations, un chien de refuge parfaitement adoptable perd sa chance de rejoindre une famille aimante.

Des êtres sensibles, pas des jouets à offrir !

Qui n'a jamais reçu un pull moche ou un gadget inutile pour Noël ? Dans le cas d'un objet inanimé, on peut facilement l'échanger en magasin, le troquer ou le donner à un proche, ou même l'oublier au fond d'un placard, mais se débarrasser d'un animal est bien plus problématique. En plus de contribuer à la saturation des refuges et des associations, c'est une expérience traumatisante pour un individu sensible. 

Accueillir un animal dans sa famille, c'est s'engager à prendre soin de quelqu'un et à partager sa vie avec lui sur le long-terme – environ 13 ans en moyenne pour un chien. Ce n'est pas une décision qui peut être prise à la légère, et encore moins pour quelqu'un d'autre !

Une meilleure façon de faire plaisir à vos proches 

Si vous êtes certains que les proches en question souhaitent accueillir un nouveau membre de la famille et qu'ils sont prêts à assumer les responsabilités que cela implique, pourquoi ne pas leur offrir un « bon d'adoption » ? Vous couvririez ainsi les frais d'adoption, et les destinataires du bon peuvent se rendre dans un refuge près de chez eux – après la période plus ou moins bousculée des fêtes – pour rencontrer le compagnon idéal et faire l'expérience eux-mêmes du coup de foudre que j'ai moi-même ressenti en faisant la connaissance de tous les adorables animaux avec qui j'ai eu la chance de partager ma vie.

Pamela Anderson

via www.elle.fr

I Wish You a Very Merry Holiday Reminding You That Pets Are Not Gifts.

Animals are not gifts: why I will never give a puppy as a present for Christmas

End of year celebrations are a joyful period for most, but they can be particularly stressful and tragic for dogs and cats that are given as "gifts". If the recipients do not want or are not ready care for an animal, they get rid of them soon after the holidays.

Close to 100,000 animals are abandoned each year in France and the month of January is especially dark for already bursting animal sanctuaries faced with a new deluge of sweet four-legged beings who have been rejected. Those who aren’t lucky enough to find a new home languish in cages. Many are euthanized when there is not enough room nor resources to care for them.

This is an issue that particularly affects me, having visited many animal shelters myself, and met some of my closest four-legged companions there.

Adopting an animal is pure joy

Having done it numerous times in my life, I know how enriching it is to rescue an animal in need and to develop a close bond with them, which only grows stronger over time.  

A rescued animal will be eternally grateful to you for giving them a second chance.

Today, I share my life with my loving dog Zeus, who lives with me in France. We are inseparable and he brings me love and happiness on a daily basis. But I can’t help but well up when I think of all the animals who are just as affectionate, loving and endearing as Zeus, yet are put down or, even worse, condemned to a life behind bars, deprived of the loving family they deserve.

Please never buy animals from pet shops or breeders – who profit from "producing" sentient beings as though they were goods to sell. Each time someone buys an animal from these places, a perfectly adoptable shelter dog loses his chance at being taken in by a loving family.

They are sensitive beings, not gifts

Who has never received an ugly sweater or a useless gadget for Christmas? While one can easily exchange, give away or even store and forget an inanimate object, getting rid of an unwanted animal is another matter. In addition to contributing to the overpopulation crisis plaguing animal shelters, it is an incredibly traumatic experience for these sensitive individuals.

Welcoming an animal into your family means committing to taking care of them for the long run -  about 15 years on average for a dog. This is not a decision that can be taken lightly, let alone one that can be made for someone else!

A far better alternative to make your loved ones happy

If you are certain that person in question wants to welcome a furry new member into their family and that they are ready to take on all the responsibilities that come with, why not gift them an "adoption coupon"? You would therefore cover the adoption costs, and the recipients of the gift coupon can visit their local shelter – after the hectic holiday season – to meet their ideal companion and experience that wonderful spark of love-at-first-sight I felt when meeting all the wonderful rescued animals I’ve been lucky enough to share my life with.

Russia - Antarctica and the Southern Ocean by Pamela Anderson

Not too many years ago in December, I was privileged to visit Russia to talk about animal welfare and conservation with the country’s leaders.

I love Russia and am so grateful that my letters and addresses are always listened to there. Recently, I wrote to the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, asking him to consider ending the capture of orcas and beluga whales for export to China to be displayed in aquariums. I am keeping a keen eye on how this is developing and am hoping that these incredible mammals will be released from the "whale prison" soon, and that this cruel business will be history.

I have many good memories of my meetings in the Kremlin with Sergei Borisovich Ivanov. I have great respect for his contribution to the successful the protection and recovery of the Amur leopard in Russia’s Far East.  I am closely following the news about the leopard called Pamela and was thrilled to learn that she has become a grandmother. I shared this happy news on my foundation’s web page.

This year I asked Sergey Borisovich Ivanov whether he could intervene, again, in the diplomatic process of designating a network of large marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean, the last near-pristine place on Earth. In 2016, with his involvement, the Russian Federation supported the creation of a marine protected area in the Ross Sea. He welcomed this decision, saying, “Russia has a great history of discoveries and science in Antarctica. At this time of political turmoil in many parts of the world, we are pleased to participate in this joint international effort to protect the Ross Sea. ”

This year, at the meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Living Marine Resources (CCAMLR), the delegation from the Russian Federation called for an intersessional coordinating group on Research and Monitoring Plans (RMPs) for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Southern Ocean. I appreciated this constructive effort by Russia and hope that similar efforts in the future will contribute to reaching consensus on additional MPAs. The governance of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean is a long-standing example of how the forces of peace, solidarity and multilateralism can achieve positive outcomes for society and the environment. I hope that this leadership can continue with the designation of additional MPAs.

In closing, I would really like to return to Russia to discuss protecting Antarctica and the Southern Ocean and learn firsthand about the achievements of wildlife conservation in Russia.

Yours sincerely, Pamela

 В течение нескольких лет в начале декабря я приезжала в Россию, чтобы поговорить о защите животных и сохранении природы с высшим руководством Российской Федерации.

Я люблю Россию и рада видеть и слышать, что мои письма и обращения, всегда услышаны. В этом году я отправила письмо Президенту Российской Федерации Владимиру Владимировичу Путину с просьбой остановить отлов диких морских млекопитающих, косаток и белух для экспорта в Китай и их использование в океанариумах. Сейчас я внимательно слежу за новостями из России и надеюсь, что этих замечательных животных скоро выпустят из «китовой тюрьмы» на волю, а этот жестокий вид бизнеса уйдет в историю.

У меня много хороших воспоминаний о моих встречах в Кремле с Сергеем Борисовичем Ивановым. Я с большим уважением отношусь к его личному вкладу в успех по восстановлению популяции и защите амурского леопарда на Дальнем Востоке России. Я внимательно слежу за новостями о леопарде по имени Памела и очень рада, что она стала бабушкой. Я поделилась этой счастливой новостью на веб-странице Фонда Памелы Андерсон.

В этом году я обратилась к Сергею Борисовичу Иванову с просьбой снова обратить внимание на международный процесс по созданию сети крупных морских охраняемых районов в Южном океане, последним месте на Земле, сохранившемся почти в первозданном виде. В 2016 Российская Федерация поддержала создание морского охраняемого района в море Росса, и Сергей Борисович лично сыграл большую роль в этом, приветствуя это решение: «У России великая история открытий и науки в Антарктиде. В это время политических потрясений во многих частях мира мы рады участвовать в этих совместных международных усилиях для защиты моря Росса».

В 2018 году делегация Российской Федерации на заседании Комиссии по сохранению живых морских ресурсов Антарктики (АНТКОМ) выдвинула новую инициативу по созданию межсессионной координационной группы по планам исследований и мониторинга для обеспечения эффективности в достижении поставленных целей для морских охраняемых районов в Южном океане. Я высоко ценю эти конструктивные усилия России и надеюсь, что в будущем они будут способствовать достижению консенсуса по новым морским охраняемым районам.

Сотрудничество в Антарктиде и Южном океане является многолетним примером силы мира, солидарности и многосторонности, которое приносит положительные результаты для мирового сообщества и окружающей среды. Я надеюсь, что продолжением этого сотрудничества станет создание сети морских охраняемых районов.

Мне бы очень хотелось снова вернуться в Россию, чтобы обсудить защиты сохранение Антарктики и Южного и узнать из первых уст о достижениях в области охраны дикой природы в России.

Искренне ваша, Памела

Pamela Anderson: «Trump, Bolsonaro, Salvini: chiamateli come volete, ma resta fascismo» - Rolling Stone Italia (English translation included)

All photos by Rankin for Coco de Mer

Un'intervista esclusiva all'ex star di "Baywatch", che ci spiega perché ce l'ha con il governo italiano, svela la sua passione per Umberto Eco e la speranza di una nuova rivoluzione sessuale

Sono tempi insoliti, quelli in cui si fa fatica a non dirsi d’accordo con le idee in materia di cosa pubblica di un’ex icona sexy degli anni ’90. Eppure tanti di noi negli scorsi giorni si sono trovati a condividere – via social o moralmente – le parole di Pamela Denise Anderson, modella e attrice, resa eterna dal ruolo di C.J. Parker in Baywatch.

Da qualche anno la 51enne di Ladysmith, in Canada, ha privilegiato un altro tipo di vita e di carriera, quella da attivista. Tra le cause per cui si è spesa l’animalismo e il veganesimo, il contrasto della violenza sulle donne, la legalizzazione della cannabis e la libertà di stampa, con le sue parole di stima nei confronti di Julian Assange che hanno portato a una serie infinita di indiscrezioni – in parte confermate – su una sua presunta relazione con il fondatore di WikiLeaks.

In realtà, a quanto si sa, Pamela è legata sentimentalmente al difensore campione del mondo Adil Rami, che gioca nel Marsiglia. Per questo l’ex collega di Mitch Buchannon – un altro che ha avuto “ruoli” politici che vanno ben oltre lo sfoggio di bicipiti sulla sabbia di Malibù – trascorre molto tempo in Europa, e in questi giorni ha dedicato numerosi pensieri alla vicenda dei “gilet gialli” francesi. Poi, sul suo seguitissimo profilo Twitter, ne ha rivolto uno anche all’Italia.

“Un Paese meraviglioso, lo amo tanto. Amo il cibo, la moda, la storia, l’arte, ma sono molto preoccupata da quel che sta succedendo, che mi ricorda gli anni ‘30”, ha scritto. Entrambi gli scenari attuali sui due versanti della Alpi, la novella jacquerie anti-Macron e il governo gialloverde con le sue “derive fasciste”, ha aggiunto, sono “un problema europeo”. “Perché”, ha scritto ancora Anderson, “la soluzione non è Macron né Salvini, che hanno bisogno l’uno dell’altro e si rafforzano tra loro, ma un risveglio paneuropeo che valichi i confini e le nazionalità, e che sia capace di affrontare la profonda crisi economica, sociale, ecologica che l’Europa sta attraversando”.

Il leader leghista – che più volte ha sbandierato la sua assuefazione da cultura pop anni ’90 – si è detto molto deluso dalle prese di posizione contro di lui di Pam, che sui social è stata candidata a gran voce come nuovo volto del centrosinistra allo sbando. Se intenda candidarsi alla guida del Pd non glielo abbiamo chiesto, ma quella che segue è la nostra chiacchierata con Pamela Anderson.

Che problema hai con Matteo Salvini?
Non lo conosco personalmente. Ma appena ho sentito il suo slogan “Prima gli italiani” durante la campagna elettorale, ho sentito in lontananza l’eco di Trump e del suo “America First”, ed è come se avessi avvertito cosa stava per accadere. Tutto si basa sull’odio per l’altro. Prendi l’esempio del cibo. Siamo arrivati al punto che si demonizzano le ricette straniere in cucina, come dimostra la storia del vostro famoso chef Vittorio Castellani. Sono sicura che il signor Salvini sotto sotto apprezzi il cibo etnico, e allora, mi chiedo, perché sta creando una società che ha paura di tutto ciò che viene da fuori, persino di quello che si mangia?

Ma davvero dobbiamo temere il ritorno del fascismo?
A me non sembra di aver reinventato la ruota, quando ho detto quella frase. Oppure sì? Nel 1995 il grande Umberto Eco scrisse il suo saggio Il fascismo eterno , che ho letto di recente. Descrive 14 peculiarità connaturate al fascismo, che per lui non rappresenta un sistema coerente. Per questo parla di “ur-fascismo”, che è caratterizzato dal culto delle tradizioni e dalla paura del diverso, dalla mobilitazioni della classe media frustrata e dall’ossessione per le cospirazioni, e ancora lo spregio per la debolezza, il machismo e così via. Pensa a leader come Trump, Bolsonaro e, appunto, Salvini: loro hanno tutte queste caratteristiche. Puoi chiamarlo fascismo oppure in un altro modo, ma il punto è che oggi viviamo in un mondo pericoloso ed è meglio iniziare a parlarne, prima che sia troppo tardi.

Pensi che la storia ci giudicherà come popoli e come nazioni per quello che sta accadendo sul tema dei migranti?
Esiste qualcuno su questo pianeta che non abbia parenti – parlo di una o due generazioni – che non siano dei migranti o dei rifugiati? Mio padre era finlandese, e partì per il Canada alla ricerca di fortuna. Tutta la mia famiglia veniva dalla working class, quella era la loro storia. Ciò che sta accadendo oggi non è una semplice “crisi dei rifugiati”, e di certo la risposta di Europa e Stati Uniti è stata molto debole. Secondo la Banca Mondiale, per via dei cambiamenti climatici, più di 140 milioni di persone saranno costretti a muoversi nei prossimi anni. L’Europa ha accolto un milione e mezzo di persone, poi solo muri, barche fermate al largo e porte chiuse nei confronti di povere persone in fuga. Ora, immagina cosa succederà nel mondo, in una decade o due, quando decine e decine di milioni di persone busseranno per entrare.

Su Twitter hai avuto parole dure anche nei confronti delle istituzioni europee, non solo per Salvini. Quali sono le loro colpe?
Come sai, vivo tra la Francia e gli Stati Uniti, e visito spesso l’Inghilterra, la Germania, la Francia e gli altri Paesi del vostro continente. E vedo sempre le stesse cose. L’Europa vive una profonda crisi economica e sociale. La risposta è stata finora ovunque il populismo di destra. Io non sono stata di certo la prima a dire che l’austerità ha devastato l’Europa, ma così è. È stato un boomerang. L’establishment liberale non può salvare l’Europa, Macron e le proteste di questi giorni ne sono la prova. Sono molto preoccupata per il futuro dell’Europa. Voi no?

Per darti contro, Matteo Salvini ha postato una foto di te ai tempi di Baywatch. È sessismo quello? Ce n’è tanto in Italia?
Ricordi quello che dicevo prima su Umberto Eco e il suo “ur-fascismo”. Riprendi in mano quel testo e troverai la risposta.

Su Twitter il tuo slogan è “Sex is not oscene, War is“. All’umanità serve una nuova “rivoluzione sessuale”?
Indubbiamente. Meglio, se oggi tutta la politica gioca con le emozioni, allora serve qualcosa tipo una “rivoluzione emozionale”. Invece di spargere paure, la gente dovrebbe lasciarsi ispirare dalla speranza, e agire liberamente. Così la guerra diverrebbe qualcosa di osceno, mica il sesso.

Come dovrebbe essere il nuovo femminismo per Pamela Anderson?
Liberatorio.

Ps: La fotografia che apre questo articolo è tra le più amate da  Pamela Anderson, che ci ha chiesto se fosse possibile pubblicarla. Ci  rendiamo conto di quanto sia ridicolo dover giustificare uno scatto di  Rankin (che ha realizzato tutti quelli presenti in queste pagine), ma  questi sono tempi insoliti.

by Dario Falcini via www.rollingstone.it

• ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

What's exactly your problem with Matteo Salvini? Why do you know him and his politics and why don't you like them?

I do not know him personally, but as soon as I saw that his campaign slogan was “Italians First”, I heard an echo of Trump's “America First”, and somehow, I felt what was coming. It is the hatred of the other. I do not like it when you can't use “foreign recipes” in cooking. Like what happened to your famous chef Vittorio Castellani. I am sure Mr. Salvini enjoys “foreign food” too. So, why is he creating a society which will fear everything “foreign”, even food?

You wrote about the rising of a '30atmosphere. Should be worried about the return of fascism?

I didn't reinvent the wheel, did I? Back in 1995, the great Italian writer Umberto Eco published an essay called “Eternal Fascism”, which I was reading recently. There, he defines fourteen general properties of fascism, which for him wasn't a coherent system, so he speaks of “Ur-fascism“ and characteristics such as “cult of tradition”, “fear of difference”, “appeal to a frustrated middle class”, “obsession with conspiracy”, “contempt for the weak”, “machismo”… look at leaders such as Trump, Bolsonaro and... Salvini and you will see exactly these properties. You can call it fascism or however you want, but it is a fact that we are living in a dangerous world and we must start talking about it before it is too late.

What about refugees? Do you think the story will judge us because of the way we are acting?

Is there anyone living on this Planet, whose parents or grandparents haven't been refugees? My grandfather was Finnish and left for Canada back in 1908 to find a better future. My parents were working class. Everyone among us could find a similar story. What is happening today is not simply a refugee crisis and a very poor response by European or US governments. Look at the recent statistics of the World Bank, who say that due to climate change, over 140 million people might be forced to move. Europe welcomed around 1.5 million people, and reacted by building walls and stopping boats to help those poor people. Now imagine what will happen to the world, in a decade or two, when literally hundreds of millions of people will be refugees?

What about this Europe...

As you know, I live between France and US, but I visit the UK very often, I'm quite often in Germany and Italy and other countries. What I see everywhere is similar. Europe is in a deep economic and social crisis. And as a response right-wing populism is rising in each and every country. Again, I am not the first one to say that austerity politics has ruined Europe. And now we can see the boomerang. The liberal establishment, as you can see these days with Macron and the protests in France, is not able to save Europe. I am worried about Europe. Aren't you?

What about sexism and misogyny in Europe and in Italy? (I think it's exactly the kind of behaviour that push people (and Salvini too), speaking about the "clash" with Salvini to post a photo of Baywatch's Pamela...

Read Umberto Eco's text about “Ur-Fascism“ and you will find the answer.

Your claim on Twitter is "sex is not obscene, war is". Do you a sort of new "sexual revolution" is necessary to free humanity (and women)?

 Absolutely. If the main political currency today is emotion, we need something like an emotional revolution. Instead of this widespread fear, people should be inspired to hope and to act freely. And war should become something which is obscene, not sex. 

how should be new feminism?

It should be liberating.

Interview with La Repubblica

What prompted you to comment on the Italian political situation and on our Ministry of the Interior, Salvini? I mean, you are a global star, what made you interested in Salvini?

I was traveling that day to Milano and you know, even if I might be considered a global personality or 'star'- I care about the places and people where I travel to. I have many fond memories of Italy and many friends in this beautiful country, but what worries me is the deep economic and social crisis which can be seen everywhere. I do not have anything personal against Mr. Salvini, I just don't agree with his politics, mainly those against refugees. When I heard for the first time about the rescue ship Aquarius, I wished there would be many more like this in the Mediterranean Sea. But now Mr. Salvini decided to stop it from helping refugees. I know many people are scared of refugees. But the refugees are not the real problem. The problem is the origin of the refugee crisis and the involvement in foreign wars of Western governments. The true problem is the deepening economic crisis. To try to solve the refugee crisis by preventing humanitarian organisations to work or building walls is not the right solution.

You do sympathise with the poor hugely suffering, due to capitalist policies which have made the 99% very poor. Problem is that this revolt against the global élites is fueling righ-wing politicians, Salvini-style, everywhere and progressive parties and policies appear completely moribund and stuck. Where to start to reverse the trend?

Revolt is never enough. I have been helping many activist organisations all these years precisely because I know how important organisation is. I've spent most of my life in Hollywood. We know very well how much organisation you need even to shoot a movie. But we also know one important thing which is necessary in order to counter the populist and right wing parties across the world – and this thing is inspiration. They are using the fear, we must use hope and the more wise and powerful  emotions! I can see hope in the newly formed Progressive International, initiated by DiEM25 and the Sanders Institute, which includes already many inspiring leaders like Bernie Sanders, Yanis Varoufakis, Ada Colau, the prime minister of Iceland and others. At the same time, we all need to become leaders of our own lives, we need creaitve movements and grasroots organising.

In France, we see a huge mass protest against the Macron's policies fueling inequality. In Italy, we just see apathy and hate. Young people are just desperately looking for a six-month contract to survive: they have no time to engage in politics to change society and they have even less hope that their activism could make any difference. What do you want to tell them?

I would tell them that I have kids and that I am also very worried about the future they'll soon inhabit. I would tell them that when I was a kid, I struggled hard to achieve what I achieved, and I realised that any achievment without attempting to change society at the same time is not worth it. To young people it might seem as if they can't really change anything, but I deeply believe everyone can change something. You don't need to be a politician, you do not need to be a celebrity to bring whatever you know and do your best - Use all you are and learn - use it to make this world a better place for your kids and those to come.

How do you reply to those who attack you saying that it is easy to side with refugees and migrants when you are a global star, enjoying a rich and glamorous life?

I am doing my best. I am using my popularity and voice not only to talk about the problems of migrants, I also support organisation who help them and I know refugees personally as well. I want to do more and I plan to do more. Not only connected to the migration crisis.

You declared: “I’m an activist, and I’m not doing it for myself, I’m doing it for animals and people who are vulnerable and can’t speak for themselves”. One of these people is the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, who has been arbitrarily detained in London and is currently at huge risk of ending up in prison in the US. What makes you to speak out for Julian Assange?

He is a corageous person who risked everything in order to reveal brutal lies and he is paying this by a very heavy price. We should all be happy such a person exists and we should all do our best that he is not extradited to the United States. If Europe wants to save Freedom of Press, it must protect and save Julian Assange.

via https://rep.repubblica.it/pwa/intervista/2018/12/09/news/pamela_anderson_caro_salvini_cosi_sbagli_le_navi_come_l_aquarius_non_vanno_mai_fermate_-213852539/