Over two days in early October the Cambridge branch of Socialist Appeal
managed to sign up over 150 people at the Cambridge University
Fresher’s Fair for the Hands Off Venezuela campaign. Many
had already heard of the campaign and were keen to find out more,
whilst many wanted to know more about Latin American politics in
general.
The environmental statistics have been pouring in, and the prognosis
for the planet looks dire: global warming is accelerating, leaving
environmental destruction in its wake. Already we are witnessing some
of its devastating consequences and there are trends
which, if allowed to proceed unchecked, will culminate in humans
huddled around the two poles in search of respite from the heat.
On
Monday the eighth of October the Edinburgh University Hands Off Venezuela
society showed Hands Off Venezuela’s new film No Volveran. The film was well generally well received by those that attended. After the film show
there was a brief discussion on issues such as the new constitution and workers
control.
Those who do not learn from the mistakes of history are
doomed to repeat them. For this reason, socialists take the study of the past
struggles of working people very seriously. In 1820 six men, convicted of treason, were publicly hanged
and then beheaded outside Newgate Prison in the City of London. The crime of
which they had been convicted was plotting to assassinate the entire Cabinet as
it sat enjoying a working dinner. This attempt at a violent coup d’etat is now
largely forgotten, tucked away as a footnote in the history books. It deserves
to be better known.
On the 26th September Norwich comrades helped promote the University of East Anglia Socialist Society at the Freshers Fair. The day was a big success, a lot of hard work and preparation was put into the days efforts. For another year socialist ideas at UEA looks set to gain a wide audience among students and young people.
Alan Woods, editor of www.marxist.com and author of many books including Reason in Revolt and The Venezuelan Revolution: A Marxist Perspective , talks to the Oxford Brookes Socialist Society on the relevance of socialism in the 21st century.
Che Guevara was a dedicated revolutionary and Communist. He was also an
internationalist and understood that to defend the Cuban revolution it
was necessary to spread it to other parts of the world. He attempted
this in Africa and Latin America. This was his strong side. His weak
side was that he saw the revolution fundamentally as a peasant
guerrilla struggle and did not fully understand the central role of the
working class in the socialist revolution.
Some 130,000 postal workers in the Communication Workers
Union were due to return to work today after taking successful strike action in
defence of terms and conditions.
However many workers were scandalized to discover that
management had imposed new attendance times without their consent. This
provocative action fuelled the latest walkouts in different parts of the
country. Royal Mail confirmed that unofficial strike action is taking place in
Liverpool and London.
Britain, like all the other capitalist countries, is
dependent on burning fossil fuels as our basic energy source. It is obvious
that fossil fuels must run out one day. It is also well known that carbon
emissions from burning fossil fuels contribute to climate change. One
‘solution’ put forward to this is to grow your own biofuel.
Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara was executed by Bolivian troops near the town of La Higuera on 9 October 1967, following an ambush. The operation was planned by the CIA and organized by US Special Forces. On the 40th anniversary of his death it is appropriate that we make a balance sheet of this outstanding revolutionary and martyr. Alan Woods in a two-part article looks at the evolution of Che Guevara from his early days to the day he was killed.
The 17th to the 21st September was a hectic week for many
students as they continue preparing for university. The week-long
freshers fair at Leeds University was a hive of activity and not
wishing to miss a great opportunity the Leeds comrades of Socialist
Appeal and Hands off Venezuela set up some stalls.