In recent London demos such as Mayday, the Italian Embassy, and the DSEi Docklands, I have seen great creativity in challenging the continuing authoritarian clampdown on legal dissent. Marches don't always go the way police have planned them, and breakaway groups cause confusion and wrongfoot the authorities. I personally advocate peaceful demonstration, and this creativity and good-humoured approach can avoid violent confrontation and yet make powerful points and attract media attention. It can also sometimes shows up the illogicality of government response.

Today in Brighton I witnessed a model exercise in crowd control that surprised me. Coming down from London and being a lazy sod, I didn't arrive until near two and so made my way straight to the seafront and conference centre. There I found the surreal sight of a heavily protected centre and massive police presence overseeing an almost deserted promenade in the pouring rain. I met a a handful of other demonstrators infront of the centre and we waited for the main march and rally to arrive. Much later than scheduled, a crowd of some four to five thousand arrived, led by the ubiquitous SWP newspaper sellers, and then a very organised and loud samba band. From the banners around, it was apparent that there were many different interest groups involved - a wonderful reminder of the connectedness of all the issues that the current wave of popular dissent is about. Although there was an ample police presence between several sets of barriers, all tooled up in riot gear and armed with pepper sprays and batons, we then witnessed a militaristic parade of around forty Kent police vans each containg even more riot police.

After less than half an hour "organisers" were urging the crowd to make their way away past the pier, and surprisingly, virtually everyone followed. Once past the pier, many coaches were waiting to take people back home. There has been virtually no media coverage of the demo, and any mentions on national news have been dismissive. It all looked to me like 'corporate protesting' or some slick PR exercise.

From talking to others I heard that at the start of the march, the police targeted some parts of the crowd before the march began and made arrests of some of the 'Womblier' characters.

The conference was probably completely unaware of any protest and the media has effectively ignored it. Signs around the promenade informed the organisers that under Section 12 of the Public Order Act, the protest was only allowed to occur in a specified area and and within specified times (1.30 - 4.00) and astonishingly, everyone seemed to just go along with these restrictions on freedom and democratic rights to protest.

I felt that today was a very poor day for the anti-globalisation/globalised action movement. I wish that protestors were more prepared to challenge the narrow impositions enforced on our right to free speech. Having said that - given the 'pepper spray' warning, the militaristic show of force and the unbelievably torrential rain and greyness of the sky, I think it was marvellous that so many people at least took the trouble to come out. I hope too that many many people come out to Trafalgar Square at seven p.m. on the day of any bombing (or the day after if it starts in an afternoon or evening). I also hope everyone will come to Marble Arch on the 13th at midday and march to Trafalgar Square at one 'o' clock (CND organised protest), but I really really hope that a substantial number spontaneously move on to somwhere else like the American Embassy, or Downing Street - let's show the authorities what this movement is capable of (powerful exertion of will without violent intent).