BRISTOL SOUTH BRANCH PROGRAMME: APRIL 23rd - MAY 28th 2009
Bristol South branch generally meets on Thursday evenings at Bedminster Library, which is on Bedminster Parade near ASDA supermarket building. It’s ten minutes walk from Temple Meads and can be rached by 52, 75, 76, 77, 90 and 91 buses from the city centre. All meetings start at 7:45pm.
In the first week of every month we meet jointly with Bristol Central branch for an aggregate and these are held on Tuesday evenings in the upstairs room at the CORNUBIA PUB in Temple Street, just off of the city centre.
Our previous branch programmes have included discussions centred on the following topics:
STRIKES AND OCCUPATIONS: THE CLASS STRUGGLE HEATING UP
This year we have seen some important industrial disputes and while some of these have been unsuccessful, there have been spectacular victories in the refinery construction industry, the car industry and elsewhere. Occupations are back on the agenda following the action of workers at Visteon and now Vestas on the Isle of Wight. Is this new militancy a sign of things to come? CWU branch activist STEVE WOOTTON investigates.
SOCIALISM AND RELIGION: OUR ATTITUDE
MATT GORDON looks at the role of religion in society and especially the rise of radical Islam. Marx famously wrote that ‘religion was the opiate of the masses’ but also counselled that ‘it was the cry of the oppressed’. As capitalism plunges into crisis, millions seek salvation through the illusion of religion. How do we expose these dreams and win workers to the idea that through Socialism we can build an Eden on earth?
HOW CAN PEACE COME TO AFGHANISTAN?
Each week more Afghan civilians lose their lives as Britain and the US try to defeat the Taliban. What are the real origins of this bloody war and is the Taliban a homogeneous force or a disparate group of anti-imperialist fighters? As British casualties mount, leading to demands for even more hardware, it is clear the military is unable to quell the rising violence. How can peace be achieved in Afghanistan? CHRIS MOORE answers.
WHERE NOW FOR THE WORKING CLASS IN LATIN AMERICA?
The right wing coup in Honduras has shocked the masses across Latin America, coming after a series of elections in which left governments have triumphed. Does this signify a more generalised backlash by the bosses and what will this development mean for the masses in Venezuela who are still struggling to consolidate the social gains mad under the Chavez regime? ROGER DAVEY examines perspectives for the region.
1989: THE BERLIN WALL COMES DOWN
20 years ago the Stalinist states in Eastern Europe toppled one by one like a set of dominoes. The working class initially called for democracy and Socialism, but in a few months had eagerly appeared to have embraced the idea of capitalism. The following years were harrowing for workers who saw living standards plummet spectacularly. DOMENICO HILL visited Eastern Germany then. Tonight he reports on those heady days.
THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
92 years ago the workers and peasants in Russia rose up and overthrew landlordism and capitalism, ushering in the world’s first workers’ state. Led by the Bolsheviks, the Soviet Union became a beacon to the world’s oppressed who rallied to its defence, even as 21 armies of imperialism sought to crush it. The later descent into Stalinism could not fully erase all the social gains of 1917. CHRIS FARRELL describes the revolution.
For further information contact Tom Baldwin, Bristol South Branch, on tel. 0117 902 8472, mob. 07986 951 527 or e-mail. south@socialistpartybristol.org.uk