Mon, 08 Apr 2013 21:59:51 +0100 http://www.roystpierre.com/ PostNuke Powered Site en-gb http://www.roystpierre.com/images/roy.jpg http://www.roystpierre.com/ jules@spiraltek.co.uk http://www.roystpierre.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=69 this is just amazing to watch, the skill and concentration and all dependent on the weight of a feather, click here Mon, 08 Apr 2013 21:59:51 +0100 http://www.roystpierre.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=68 My oldest son is cutting back on physiotherapy to make films. Just google Vimeo Liam St Pierre and click on videos I feel sure you'll like 'The Last Capitalist' I particularly also like: 8 ball for it's humour Sundown for its humanity Waking heart for its pathos No place like home for the quirky shoes Sun, 30 Dec 2012 18:36:54 +0000 http://www.roystpierre.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=67 My youngest son had the bright idea of putting his CV on Utube. Take a look - just google Jumbles CV - it's great fun Sun, 30 Dec 2012 18:24:51 +0000 http://www.roystpierre.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=66 In 2009, Layla Ibrahim told police she had been the victim of a savage sexual assault. So why did she end up in jail? Simon Hattenstone and Afua Hirsch guardian.co.uk, Friday 12 August 2011 23.02 BST Sara Ibrahim says that since the day her little sister Layla was sent to prison, her family has been faced with a simple choice: "Do we give up and just get on with our lives, or do we clear her name? And we've decided if it takes the rest of our lives, that's what we'll do – we'll clear her name." Sat, 13 Aug 2011 21:21:08 +0100 http://www.roystpierre.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=65 Three (look at all three) very short (each less than 2 minutes) and very funny ( ...a bit scary) films. All three films were premiered at the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury recently. Click here P.S. 2012 - there's now 4 films with the addition of: 'Fees Coat A Bomb' Sat, 16 Jul 2011 07:43:27 +0100 http://www.roystpierre.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=64 On 1 February 2011 the former Hetherington Research Club at Glasgow University was occupied and re-opened as ‘The Free Hetherington’ as an alternative social and learning space but also as a base for anti-cuts struggle on campus. On 21st March Police forcibly evicted the 15 students present at the time with no warning, with no eviction order being given and with some students being injured. During the eviction a supporting crowd built up and after, with most of the police gone about 100 people then occupied the University Senate rooms a plush suite where the University management operate. In the end the Management caved in and told the students they could have Hetherington back if they left the Senate rooms so within 12 hours of the eviction, the students were ‘rather cordially’ invited back in. For the full story click ‘read full article’ below: Mon, 16 May 2011 09:51:12 +0100 http://www.roystpierre.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=63 I've just seen this amusing but informative old election advert by John Cleese. To watch click here Mon, 25 Apr 2011 08:50:46 +0100 http://www.roystpierre.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=62 Jean-Bertrand Aristide has finally been given a diplomatic passport to return to Haiti!!!. Global Womens Strike were able to facilitate a commission by the Guardian newspaper for President Aristide to write the following article. See also Mark Weisbrot historical background piece below. For more information: www.globalwomenstrike.net www.haitisolidarity.net Sun, 20 Feb 2011 20:28:25 +0000 http://www.roystpierre.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=61 How does it feel to be a doctor here? Before I came here I was not free and I never knew real respect. Here, in the sovereign state of Tahrir, we are all free. I was born on the 28th January when I came to Tahrir Square. We have organised everything here for ourselves, we have done things we never thought we would do and felt things we never thought we would feel. There is an old saying that says that, in life you should ‘make your friends happy and your enemies angry’ and that is what we are doing in this revolution. I will be here until we succeed. For the full interview with this Egyptian surgeon click below Wed, 09 Feb 2011 19:33:52 +0000 http://www.roystpierre.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=60 A computerless friend of mine, Chris Brown has asked me to circulate his suggestion about the banks which I’ve tried to summarise (from a phone conversation) below Thanks Roy St Pierre ‘Most of us are cross with the big banks for causing the financial crisis. Despite the cuts we are all facing and the huge bail-out from public funds they received, bankers seem to be carrying on as usual with huge bonuses So instead of waiting for the Government to do something, why don’t those of us with accounts with the big banks just remove them, stop them playing with our money. So if not already a member, why not switch to the Cooperative Bank? No shareholders to pay off and while not perfect, it does at least have an ethical policy.’ For some more suggestions (from me)click below for full story Mon, 31 Jan 2011 09:46:37 +0000 http://www.roystpierre.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=59 In December last year the Helensburgh District Court sat for the last time. Here is one anecdote from a court case arising from the campaign to shut down the Faslane Nuclear Base: The time when JP Stirling, presiding over a Trespassing charge at Faslane Base, was interrupted from the public gallery by Sylvia Boyes who appealed for‘Common Sense’ to prevail and that she and the accused should be tried together as they had been arrested together. “Sit down madam” commanded the JP, “Common sense plays no part whatsoever in these proceedings!!!” From Trident Ploughshares Click below to read more Sat, 20 Mar 2010 10:14:35 +0000 http://www.roystpierre.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=58 Penalty Notices (PN) are increasingly being used by the police against people accused of offences ranging from “littering” to “harassment”. Arrested and taken into custody, people are offered the option of accepting a PN and paying a fine under threat of being charged and taken to court, not realising that in many cases not only they are innocent but there is insufficient evidence for them to be prosecuted. Black Women’s Rape Action Project and Legal Action for Women recently got a penalty notice withdrawn. It had been issued against the son of one of our volunteers, a young man who suffers from severe trauma and has been picked on by police on a number of occasions. We record below how we did it. Sun, 14 Mar 2010 10:04:37 +0000 http://www.roystpierre.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=57 The international sales office of arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch was shut down on Thursday 18th February by anti-arms-trade activists. The six activists arrived at H&K's Nottingham warehouse building before any employees turned up. Using D-locks and arm-tubes, one pair locked themselves to the staff entrance while another pair blockaded the goods gate. Meanwhile the other two gained access to the roof and hung anti-arms-trade banners on the front of the building. Sun, 21 Feb 2010 19:28:14 +0000 http://www.roystpierre.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=56 Just a quick message of hope... Yesterday, US arms manufacturers Raytheon, made a formal announcement that they will pull out of Derry city before the end of next month. While I am quite confident they will spin the story to make it look like it is part of their global restructuring plan.....the power of protest and persistence can not be underestimated on this one. For years, people in Derry have continued to campaign against the plant and at least twenty one people have been hauled before the courts with a raft of charges against them including trespass, criminal damage etc. etc... Thu, 14 Jan 2010 19:32:19 +0000 http://www.roystpierre.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=55 Please consider signing this petition in support of the right, that parents have always had, to educate their children at home Click here In particular, the government should ensure :- • No right of access to the family home without evidence of a crime • No right to interview a child alone without evidence of risk of serious harm • No CRB checks or registration for parents to look after their own children, or to informally look after those of their friends, family etc • No licensing / registration / assessment / monitoring of methods by which parents fulfil their duties without evidence that they are failing to do so, and with specific recognition that education “otherwise” than at school is a perfectly legal option to fulfil their duty regarding education • No undermining of parents as being in the best position to determine how to meet their child’s needs, according to their age, ability, aptitude, and any special needs they may have • Greater focus on applying existing resources and procedures to cases of children known to be at risk, rather than dilution of these resources by routinely monitoring whole sections of the community • Compliance with the fundamental presumption of innocence unless there is specific evidence to the contrary For more click below Sun, 06 Dec 2009 17:19:52 +0000 http://www.roystpierre.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=54 Sheffield students today targeted military recruiters and arms dealers at the University's careers fair, demanding they have a say over who is allowed on campus. The stalls of QinetiQ, Rolls Royce, the Army and the Navy were all dismantled with protesters bagging up materials from the stalls and removing them from campus. Sat, 02 May 2009 21:58:36 +0100 http://www.roystpierre.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=53 Since the 7 July 2005 attacks, the great and the good of British society have been urging British Muslims to engage in the usual channels of political action, to vent their anger at British foreign policy without exploding bombs or shooting guns. Yet when a group of angry Muslims does just that, protesting in the time-honoured way, albeit in an unusual location, the home-coming parade for the 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment (British soldiers returning from Iraq), they have been vilified. Those who have condemned the demonstrations so harshly should reflect on the conclusions that disaffected Muslims might draw from this incident. Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:44:58 +0100 http://www.roystpierre.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=52 The leaders of the 26 NATO states are due to gather in Germany on April 3 for a two-day summit co-hosted with France. Germany is putting in place extensive security measures, including shutting down part of the city of Kehl for a 10-minute photo-op. Thu, 12 Mar 2009 22:10:23 +0000 http://www.roystpierre.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=51 there have been 23 occupations in the UK related to the situation in Gaza; one of the latest is St Andrews University. Here is the opening text of their demands: We, the concerned students and academics of the University of St. Andrews, demand that the university condemns the illegal bombing and land invasion of Gaza and Israel’s indiscriminate targeting of civilians. In particular, as an educational establishment we urge that it shows practical solidarity with the Islamic University of Gaza and other schools and colleges damaged during the bombing. For the full text click below; for more on their campaign click here,to voice support for the demands email the principal: principal@st-andrews.ac.uk Sun, 22 Feb 2009 11:42:40 +0000 http://www.roystpierre.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=50 An application by the Metropolitan Police and Westminster Council for a Closure Order against two flats at 61 Dean Street, Soho, was dismissed today. (Excellent report in the Evening Standard below.) With the help of Soho sex workers and other local people, the English Collective of Prostitutes and Legal Action for Women gathered evidence to show the case against the women of 61 Dean Street was entirely spurious, and prevented them from being evicted from the safety of their flats. Thu, 19 Feb 2009 05:31:51 +0000 http://www.roystpierre.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=49 A Ministry of Defence (MoD) byelaw banning camping outside the Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston was quashed by the court of appeal today. The case, heard on 26th November 2008, was an appeal in the Judicial Review of the Secretary of State for Defence's decision to introduce byelaws which would have criminalised camping as a form of peaceful protest. Thu, 05 Feb 2009 20:45:14 +0000 http://www.roystpierre.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=48 World leaders launch 'Global Zero' initiative for nuke-free world - Poll shows 81% support ban The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament welcomed the ‘Global Zero’ initiative of 100 international political, military, business, and civic leaders, which today launched a campaign for the abolition of nuclear weapons worldwide through multilateral negotiations. The leaders, which include former Foreign Secretaries Margaret Beckett, Malcolm Rifkind, Douglas Hurd and David Owen, Richard Branson, former President Jimmy Carter and Mikhail Gorbachev, want a binding agreement to eliminate all nuclear weapons through phased and verified reductions. Tue, 16 Dec 2008 10:11:49 +0000 http://www.roystpierre.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=47 I expect anything of Governments, I didn’t trust John F Kennedy or expect anything from Labour in ’97. Wilson’s Labour Government sowed my mistrust when it brought in a Commonwealth Immigrants Act that was even more draconian that the one proposed by the Tories, just to win an election (how little changes).However two items from history I’ve just heard about have left even me rather gobsmacked.The first, part of Britain’s secret shameful history, was the subject of a pamphlet by Phil Kaiserman, a British soldier who was sent to Vietnam in October 1945, the second NASA’s ‘Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Cassini Mission’. They show how cynical and cavalier governments and government agencies can be. Click below to read on… Thu, 09 Oct 2008 21:44:44 +0100 http://www.roystpierre.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=46 Non-Aligned Countries Endorse Venezuelan Proposal for Alternative World MediaLast week, Non-aligned countries agreed to construct a world system of news, radio, and information-sharing to connect and represent countries in the Global South. Mérida, July 5, 2008 (venezuelanalysis.com)-- At the 7th Conference of Information Ministers of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries held in Venezuela’s Margarita Island last week, more than 80 country delegations endorsed Venezuela’s proposal to create an alternative worldwide media network. Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:02:31 +0100 http://www.roystpierre.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=45 The True Role of Immigrants Open letter from President Evo Morales re the EU “return directive” Up to the end of the Second World War, Europe was a continent of emigrants. Thousands of Europeans left for the Americas to colonize, escape from hunger, financial crisis, war, totalitarian governments and the persecution of ethnic minorities. Today, I am following with concern the process of the “return directive”. The text, agreed on 5 June by the Interior Ministers of 27 countries of the European Union, has to be voted on in the European Parliament on June 18th. I feel that it drastically worsens the conditions of detention and deportation for undocumented immigrants, regardless of how long they have spent in a EU country, their work situation, their family ties, how much they want to and have been able to integrate. Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:57:50 +0100