Helen Adams

Never has a Friday evening been so well spent. The very talented @WalshAisling, filmmaker and storyteller, is making time to share her experience and wisdom whilst in quarantine. Thank you Aisling. Your generosity will never be forgotten. I’m so grateful.

Here's my column this week, about the astonishing moment in which we find ourselves: facing the greatest predicament humankind has ever confronted, and doing sweet FA about it. theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

October 24th 1975, women in Iceland refused to participate in society. They did not go to work, take care of the children, they did not feed the children, they did not take the children to daycare, they refused to cook for anybody. Men did not have a single clue about how to

All the takes are correct and yet they also miss the point. Yes, it was insane for the Democrats to think they could win by running a soulless candidate, without a shred of progressive policy vision, pursuing endorsements from neocon war-hawks everybody hates, while arming and funding a genocide, and belittling and crushing those who have enough morality to protest it.  It is enraging that the Democrats are so smug and blind to this. But these are all just symptoms.  The deeper reality is that liberalism has failed, liberalism is dead, and people urgently need to wake up to this fact and respond accordingly. It is a defunct ideology that cannot offer any meaningful solutions to our social and ecological crises and it must be abandoned. Democrats have proven over and over again that they cannot accept even *basic* steps like public healthcare, affordable housing, and a public job guarantee - things that would dramatically improve the material, social and political conditions of the working classes. And they cannot accept a public finance strategy that would steer production away from fossil fuels and toward green transition to give us a shot at a liveable future. Why? Because these things run against the objectives of capital accumulation. And for liberals capital is sacrosanct. They will do whatever it takes to ensure elite accumulation, it is their only consistent commitment.  At home, they suppress and demonize progressive and socialist tendencies. Abroad, they engage in endless wars and violence to suppress input prices in the global South and prevent any possibility of sovereign economic development. The Democrats have done all this purposefully and knowingly, for my whole life, not as some kind of "mistake" but in full consciousness that it is in the interests of capital. And because liberalism cannot address our crises, and because it crushes socialist alternatives, it inevitably paves the way for right-wing populism.  They know this pattern, and yet they risk it every time - this election being only the most recent example. They did it in 2016, when they actively crushed the Sanders campaign and sent Trump to the White House. They do it because ultimately they (and I mean the liberal ruling class here) don't really mind if fascists take power, so long as the latter too ensure the conditions for capital accumulation. They 100% prefer this to the possibility of a socialist alternative. So, progressives have to face reality. The dream of "converting" the Democratic party is dead. This is now a fact and it must be accepted. The only option is to build a mass-based movement that can reclaim the working classes and mobilize a political vehicle that can integrate disparate progressive struggles into a unified and formidable political force and achieve substantive transformation. This will take real work, actual organizing, but it must be done and that process must begin now.

NEVER EVER have I ever seen anything like this before and I have covered many many disasters. With brooms, buckets, food and water in hand, the Valencian community go and help their neighbours ♥️♥️♥️

They say climate *protesters* are disruptive. Valencia today.

I support this 👇👇

The hymns that we sing have become an idyll of a vanished land . It is no longer green and pleasant , there are fewer of those bright and beautiful creatures there . Our message to @ChurchofEngland is simple – lead from the front , and rewild your vast estate !

@patrickdextervc ❤️

Zombie by The Cranberries (1994) an Irish anti-war song first released 20 years ago today

@JaneyGodley You are amazing, funny and fearless with your words, creativity and mischief. Totally inspiring ❤️

I’m now at end of life care - palliative care-and will be going into a hospice for the foreseeable - thanks to everyone who sends me love and support- you’ve been amazing

So Huw Edwards gets a suspended sentence for buying and making pornographic images of children, while peaceful environmental defenders seeking to prevent social catastrophe get 3, 4 and 5 years. Some justice, this.

@lalscotton See @StorylandRTE as a model for how the Irish broadcaster RTÉ has given new/emerging writers opportunities.

Lisa is very wise. I love the idea of 15 minute original dramas from new writers. Commissioners - make this a thing please!

@SianQuill @write_KQ That’s brilliant Siân. Congratulations! x

Delighted to have won 2nd prize in the Flash Fiction competition 🎉 Thank you @write_KQ #KilmoreQuay #WriteByTheSea #FlashFiction Wooohoooo!

@carolvorders @danielgoyal @EdinburghTVFest Watched the whole speech on playback Carol. Outstanding! Tingles!

@danielgoyal I’ll post a few outtakes The evidence is there All the data Only 8% of people working in TV and film are now from working class No wonder political programming is so out of touch? I didn’t hold back Dan @EdinburghTVFest Alternative MacTaggart Lecture 2024

Seriously, stop what you’re doing and watch Vorderman here… shining a mirror up to our complicit media. Searing. Brave. Thank you @carolvorders

@jnrbaker Really good news. Thank you for letting us know Andy. What a relief.

Great news: she has been found & is safe. I want to offer my sincere thanks to all you who shared the post & sent on messages of support. I’ve seen the best of social media in the last few hours & will be removing the original post now it is not needed. Thank you one and all.

@JEStew3 Climate western - horror notes?!

Open the trades on any given day in the present landscape and it's horror, horror, horror. Horror thriller, horror comedy, body horror... What are you doing in your writing that is in alignment with the current horror zeitgeist, but also allowing you to stand out?

@GinaLyons Yes Gina, listened to whole thing today. I might listen again tomorrow!

Everyone in TV should watch this. youtube.com/watch?v=DRRqTV…

100 per cent agree. Well said, @mrjamesgraham Writer calls for more working-class people in TV bbc.com/news/articles/…

@joshi London Life London Life and Times

Ok people, what should we call our London title? We're already editing stories for it but we need a name. Lifetime free sub for the namer.