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ISLAND OF THE DAMNED

Neo-Labour Circus Hits Town

Stash your weed, lock your doors, hide the family silver, the Labour Party conference is coming to town (again) from 25th – 29th September. So it’s our turn to play host to this flag waving jamboree of utter corporate bollocks. Not again, fer Christ’s sake, not again. As unwelcome as a bout of venereal disease or an annual oilslick, the Labour Party conference comes slithering back. Go back to Bournemouth or Blackpool will you? Just once. Please. Give us a break. Why are Neo-Labour so keen on Brighton?

Could it be that the conference takes place here because the social landscape is being transformed into perfect Neo-Labour Disneyland, courtesy of Fanshawe, Siggs and Bodfish? “Charming and cosmopolitan; lively and liberal” – that’s what the Grand’s brochure reckons - of course what that means is that ciabatta and cappuccino reign as the streets are aesthetically cleansed for the pleasure of our masters. Does this conference bring us, the ordinary folk of Brighton, anything apart from exclusion zones, traffic snarl-ups and a sneak preview of the future police state?

If you believe the PR, this conference will bring £10 million to the city. But how much of this trickles down to Joe Public? Most of the cash goes to the Metropole and the Grand - hardly ‘local’ businesses. OK if your main stock-in-trade is prostitution or sun-dried tomatoes; you might do alright. But as Sussex Police warn, “We are aware that some businesses will see no immediate benefits and may indeed be quieter during the conference itself.” ...but apparently it’s good for the all important ‘image’ of Brighton. How the image of Brighton as a tourist friendly city will be boosted by martial law where armed cops carry out stop and searches at random is anyone’s guess.

An exclusion zone known as the ‘Island of the Damned’ will be created around the Brighton Centre, the Grand and the Metropole. Concrete barriers will keep vehicle-bombers away from the conference (keeping them safely in the streets), aircraft will be banned and the Royal Navy will watch the seas off Brighton. Makes you realise how popular Tony & Co have made themselves doesn’t it? £3.7 million is the figure set on policing our streets for Operation Otter (money well spent if the idea was to keep the party apparatchiks locked in there). Over 1,000 officers will be deployed, many of them armed. Brighton citizens can take great reassurance over the introduction of the Met’s shoot-to-kill policy on our streets, as long as we don’t wear baggy clothes or run for the bus.

So let’s get this straight, our town becomes a high profile target for jihadists but we’re supposed to be reassured ‘cos Tony & Co are going to be safely tucked up in the Imperial Suite at the Grand. And were Brighton people consulted about this massive and potentially dangerous disruption to their lives? Don’t make us laugh.

AESTHETIC CLEANSING

A strain of intolerance is always visible in Neo-Labour Brighton but it seems to become particularly virulent at conference time. RM has heard that the plod are under orders to hassle street performers, beggars etc etc and keep them out of sight for the duration.
In a classic example of ‘one rule for them and one for us’, police illegally evicted a squat in an old hotel on Duke Street central Brighton on 14th September. Admitting that the police didn’t know who owned the building Inspector Nev Kemp said: “It was something we were concerned about and we won’t tolerate squats in Brighton. If we had not gone in, it would have grown and there would have been connections with crime.” Just a couple of problems with that Nev old boy…

First: If you don’t know who the owners are, how the hell do you know they wanted the squatters evicted? THE POLICE HAVE NO LEGAL POWER TO EVICT SQUATS. SQUATTING IS STILL LEGAL, NECESSARY AND FREE. Second: Are you psychic or summink? “There would been connections with crime” is a phrase that should send shudders down the spines of all right thinking folk or at least those of us who sat through Minority Report. So now you lose your rights the minute the Telepathic Babylon ‘sense’ your guilt. In fact of course all this is a pack of lies; last time Labour were in town the police conducted a sweep of squats, illegally evicting ‘anarchists’. They know that the have-nots like the homeless and drug addicted are the part of society most offensive to Labour Party doctrine and they hope they can get away with the bully-boy tactics with no comeback.

Rough Music says “Let’s give the quangocrats, the placemen, the spin doctors, the war mongers, union busters, the corporate pigs with their noses in the trough and the attackers of the poor and marginalised, the kind of warm welcome they deserve in the City by the Sea!”

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Omar Deghayes SAVE OMAR DEGHAYES A group of human rights activists confronted Home Secretary Charles Clarke in Brighton on Tuesday, September 13th at a TUC fringe meeting about criminal justice. Clarke took the opportunity to pontificate about ‘justice for all’ but clammed up when asked about Omar Deghayes, a British detainee on hunger strike in Guantanamo Bay. Clarkie claimed not to have heard of Omar (he’d been on the front page of the Guardian that week). Human Rights activists demanded justice for Omar (a once long-term Saltdean resident), which Clarkie tried to brush off, but when people came closer to have a word in his ear they were pushed away by plain-clothes security goons. “These heavies maintained an atmosphere of intimidation in the meeting” RM was told. One Home Office excuse for non-intervention in the Deghayes case has been that Omar hasn’t reapplied for residency – funny that. You’d think that with all that time in solitary, he’d be able to keep up with his correspondence. * Glad to see our rival local publication, The Argus, have managed to push aside the usual pro-development twaddle, dogshit-on-our-streets whinging and feelgood fluff to cover Omar’s plight recently. * To find out more see www.save-omar.org.uk UPCOMING EVENTS * Sunday 25th September Save Omar Deghayes Demo 4pm opposite the party conference at the Brighton Centre. * Tuesday 27th Fringe Meeting: Save Omar Deghayes 6pm Friends Meeting House, Brighton.

GARDEN FORCE

Lawn & Order In Pavillion Gardens

Fancy a beer in the sun in bohemian Brighton? Most of us have probably had a beer or a smoke (or been face down in the K-hole) in Pavilion gardens, relaxing in the splendid Regency surrounds. Only now you’d better make sure your face fits. In yet another example of how uniformed goons are taking over public life in Brighton, it seems that this time they’ve been kicking kids off the lawns and breaking them up into small groups.

Rough Music was told by a shocked park picnicker (and international currency speculator) “There had been no aggro at all. Security guards from the Museum came out and started ordering the local kids in the gardens around - strangely they left the language students alone (there’s no language which speaks louder than money in Brighton -RM). I went into the Museum and asked why they were kicking people out of a public park. They said ‘It’s not a park, it’s a private estate’ and added that the presence of local kids ‘puts off tourists’.”

So once again promoting the city as a relaxed tourist destination has the opposite effect of creating a disciplined theme park. According to the council’s website “The Museum has worked with community groups to broaden access to its collections and services”. How about leaving everyone alone to enjoy the sun then?

THE NOT SO GREEN GREEN GRASS OF HOME?

How d’you fancy a 900-space park and ride car park at either Patcham Allotments or Braypool playing fields. Let’s see, shall we fuck up the lives of gardeners or kids - you choose? Only it won’t be you, it’ll be the narrow-minded idiot Neo-Labour gangsters at Brighton Council whose noses are stuck that far in the trough that they can’t see that pretty soon the oil that powers the cars is gonna run out. The council decide on the scheme in December. Oily Alan McCarthy, council chief exec, has been inundated with protest postcards - we only wish it was a truckload right over the top of him. As RM continues to say, Get out of yer cars, chelsea tractors, 4x4 fuckin’ V8 LandRover Warrior jeeps and walk. Brighton town centre should be car-free NOW!!!!! Support the allotment holders at their meeting at 10am on Saturday October 1st in Patcham Community Centre (call 204421 for details).

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Rough Music Gig List

* Advisory Service for Squatters – Every Thursday at Cowley Club 8-11pm.

* To mark UN International Day of Peace, Sept 21st there's a demo to protest against supposed UN Peace Messenger City supporting arms dealers EDO MBM. Hove Town Hall 4-6pm. www.smashedo.org.uk

* Showing of ‘Still We Ride’ - film about police clamp down on Critical Mass cyclists during the 2004 Republican Convention in New York. 7.30pm, 22nd Sept, Fringe Basement, 24 Kensington Street, Brighton. www.stillweridethemovie.com

* Brighton Critical Mass last Friday of every month meet 6pm at the Level.

* NO2ID: Picket of local MPs surgeries to protest the Introduction of ID cards 7th October. Come along and give ‘em some stick. brighton@no2id.net 07818 027408

* In remembrance of the victims of civilisation and in opposition to the Labour Party Conference the Cowley Club will be hosting a Prog Rock night: Heart of the Sunrise Live at Cowley Club, Sat 24th Sept 8pm.Details www.myspace.com/heartofthesunrise.

* Trance/Techno Fundraiser for APA (Animal Protection Agency) at Volks Tavern, Brighton, 9th Oct, 10-2pm. £3.50

* Freedom To Protest Conference, Oct 23rd. To share experiences, promote mutual aid & co-ordination between protestors threatened by repressive laws and to develop effective protest strategies. www.freedomtoprotest.org.uk

* Stop deporting children Day of Action, Central London and countrywide Nov 19th. To demand that 1) refugee children be given same rights as other children with all detention and deportation of school or pre-school aged children to be immediately stopped; 2) the Home Office reveal numbers of children being deported or detained; 3) Complaints of mistreatment are transparently investigated and the guilty prosecuted. www.standup4children.org

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Frank Lairy's remodelling of the Brighton Pavillion which houses 100 yuppie flats and a boutique shopping centre

ISOR SEASHELLS BY THE SEASHORE

New York based conceptual artist Dada Isor has been commissioned by Brighton Council to provide the city with an attraction guaranteed to pull in the punters. Two 250 ft high golden ‘formless’ blobs encrusted with precious stones entitled ‘Fanshawe’s Ego’ and ‘Bodfish’s Folly’ which will be placed out to sea between the two piers. Described by a local man Jim Blunt as looking like “those posh sugar cubes you get in poncy coffee shops”, they will be visible from space.

But accusations that “Fanshawe’s Ego” might become a hazard to shipping were dismissed by Kemptown’s networking king, Simon Fanshawe himself: “It will be impossible to avoid this Isor, it’s exactly the sort of edifice which an exciting vibrant modern exclusive cosmopolitan city by the sea needs,” he drivelled and shuddered, “an Isor is needed to complete our plan for global domination ... sorry urban regeneration.”

Isor has previously generated controversy with such earlier projects as “Spirit of the North” in which a 400ft high sculpture of a rusting washing machine was fly-tipped on to the M1 outside Huddersfield. That project is now affectionately known as “the Big Ugly.”

It is understood that the social housing attached to the project will be in the form of corrugated iron ‘self-builds’ in what Isor publicity literature describes as a ‘post-modern twist on the shanty town’. The Greens enthusiastically backed the scheme with supreme convenor Keith Taylor saying, ‘If anyone doesn’t like it they can just put a recycled paper bag over their heads.”

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD?

“Some mums have told me they are afraid to leave their buggies in case they are pinched. It’s ludicrous.”

You ain’t fuckin’ wrong, pal. Whaddya know, folks - seems like the knives are out – yet again (see Wankers Corner below) - for RM’s favourite Brighton minority group, the vibrant street-drinking community. Friends Of The Level is the name for a new crusade of concerned parents under the leadership of a deranged parkie and a ‘soft cop’ social worker that is setting out to ‘clean up’ The Level, Brighton’s unattractive city centre grass ‘n’ gravel playground. Tired of watching kids bursting footballs on junkies’ needles, the Friends Of The Level have thrown themselves with gusto into our city’s favourite parlour game: Pin The Blame On The Pissheads. Seemingly oblivious to the hounding and harassment that has forced this colourful minority to forsake treasured North Laines benches for an excrement encrusted wasteland, Friends Of The Level are making it their business that never again will anyone drain a bottle of Tudor Rose in peace on their miserable patch.

How? Well, first get the Argus on side (who described the drinkers as ‘a plague’); bringing in Mr Plod and his dayglo team of hobby bobbies is obviously step two. Step three is to follow the lead of the ‘ParkSafe’ scheme in Stoneham Park, Hove, where ‘volunteer residents’ patrol the park in pairs, after going on courses to learn ‘how to communicate with people’. At a recent meeting, plans were even put forward to move the Skate Park out into the open to deter teenagers from smoking drugs. When the filth and the vigilantes have finally cleaned up, visionary parkie and ‘Friends’ fuhrer Bob Sadlier sees a vibrant multicultural future, with funding to put on clowning and acrobatics demonstrations - something the street drinkers frequently provide for free.

DOIN’ ME EDO IN

As the architects of the war come to wine and dine themselves here, the struggle against Brighton’s very own war-profiteers continues. Noise demos at EDO MBM’s factory have been called off as activists have chosen to target the Labour Party Conference (why mess with the monkey when the organ grinder is in town).

A planned march through Brighton town centre on Saturday 13th August ended in a dramatic high street confrontation and four arrests. The march was planned without seeking police authorization, a serious matter in Neo-Labour Britain. One SMASH EDO activist told Rough Music “There’s no point in negotiating with the police, you get nothing but threats and obstacles thrown in your way. Their purpose is solely to minimise the impact of any dissent - if they had their way we’d be allowed ten minutes to walk around an industrial estate in Portslade as a compromise.”

Senior coppers queued up to slag off the campaign in the Argus, talking about the ‘chaos’ that would be brought to the city centre. About 50 protesters wanted to march through town to the Level. Instead they were allowed to walk a short way down North Road before being shoved into a side street by over a hundred police, some with dogs. Hundreds of shoppers witnessed this piece of street theatre, as Sussex Police, with a helicopter above, demonstrated their tolerance of dissent. It was at this point that four arrests were made including an 80 year old man and a 16 year old girl. All were released on police bail in the early hours of the morning, Brighton’s shoppers safely in their beds. This isn’t exactly the first time that SMASH EDO activists have been given a hard time for daring to stand up to the weapons manufacturer.

Later that week anti-arms trade activists set up a Peace Camp in Wild Park. On Tuesday 16th ten cops, a chopper and a park ranger showed up with EDOs security head Mark Lynch. The police informed everyone that they had five minutes to leave or they’d be arrested. Things got a bit strange when they were asked what law they were using. All eyes turned to Lynch; odd, because as far as Rough Music is aware he is neither a copper nor a council worker. Eventually, following an intervention from one of Brighton’s Green councillors (nice one) it turned out the council had no intention of evicting the camp! The police backed down and pretended the whole thing had been a ‘welfare’ visit (hence the snarling Alsatians).

Idiotic as this affair was, it begs some serious questions such as: Who is running the show here; Sussex Police, EDO MBM or the Council? Whose idea was the eviction? How easily can the authority of the local council be usurped by the employee of a US arms company? On whose instructions are Sussex Police carrying out this campaign of intimidation against peace activists?

FOR MORE SEE www.smashedo.org.uk

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The Great Gravy Train Robbery

Big Money in Brighton going to the bureaucrats? Surely not! The soul-grinding predictability with which these words write themselves is brightened only by the fact that this time there’s the added frisson of 1980s style ethnic separatism.

The Black and Minority Ethnic Community Partnership is a Hove-based cabal of middle managers ‘providing support to grassroots organisations working with ethnic minorities’. Note that they don’t work at the frontline, dealing with real people and problems - that’s left to the overworked staff (many of them volunteers) of the grassroots groups themselves. No, BMECP are traditional bureaucrats, making a niche for themselves. The grassroots workers do the donkey work. And no prizes for guessing who gets all the money.

In 2002, BMECP got a Lottery grant of £180,000 over 3 years - a figure grassroots organisations can only dream of. A tenth of this sum would revolutionise the services of most. But they only ever get peanuts, if anything. Take the case of the Middle Eastern Families Project, a support group for Brighton’s Muslim population. Set up at the same time as BMECP received its funding, MEFP and its volunteer staff struggled for those same 3 years to provide a badly-needed service on bugger all money. They finally had to give up earlier this year, vacating their office in Community Base, the ‘umbrella’ building on Queens Road which offers a supportive home to many such cash-strapped groups.

And now BMECP has landed a whopping £800,000 from the Local Regeneration Partnership, the funding body set up ‘to help the socially excluded and the poor’. And what will the BMECP spend its cash on? Well, it’s put down a deposit on a big building in the New England Quarter development next to the station, to be used as a Community Training and Resource Centre. Er…kind of the same as Community Base, then, but ‘justified’ with a dodgy ‘positive discrimination’ policy to limit use to only ethnic minorities? No, claims BMECP - whitey can use some services, too…

So, a totally unnecessary, divisive replica of Community Base - that happens to create jobs for an apartheid-style ‘separatist’ bureaucracy. So why the huge wad of funding? Community Base got a tiny fraction of that amount from the LRP - surely the fact that the Chair of BMECP, Cllr Tehtman Framroze, is a prominent local Neo-Labour politician is a mere coincidence…

DODGY OPERATION

They’ll have to take the tits off their heads first, but Rough Music is proud this month to place the coveted Wankers’ Corner crown firmly on the righteous bonces of Sgt Richard Siggs and his Operation Dodger squad at Sussex Police. They’ve just been shortlisted for an international award - for putting the boot into Brighton’s colourful street-drinking community. Yep, the 2005 Herman Goldstein award for ‘Excellence In Problem-Oriented Policing’ (and $5000 US in cash) could be comin’ home to John Street nick - hot on the heels of another prize. ‘Sgt Dick’, his team and their ‘partnership workers’ on the council have also just scooped the Home Office Tilley Awards for their ‘work’ with RM’s favourite minority group - just beating Lancashire Constabulary’s ‘Operation Return Of The Happy Shopper’ (!?!). With the prestigious ‘Wankers Corner’ gong, that’s a triple whammy!

Operation Dodger was launched in 2003 to, ‘tackle the increased concerns of residents, traders and tourists alike on the activities of people who came to be known as the Street Community’. No-one in Brighton could sleep for fear of a few folk on the piss in the park. Tourists were staying away; the few that still came were being parted from their all-important spending money by aggressive beggars before they’d even entered the first Laines boutique. It was nothing short of a nightmare.

Enter the cavalry in the porcine shape of Sgt Siggs and his Do-Good Crew, bearing a curtain-twitchers charter and handing out ‘street diaries’ for concerned citizens to log the activities of the dispossessed. ‘The visible behaviour exhibited ranged from urinating in a public place to physical assault. Difficulties often arose when the gathering drinkers became extremely drunk’… No different to a Friday night on West Street, then - except of course the street drinkers have no jobs, pay no taxes and thus lose any rights in our ‘stakeholder’ society…

Now, the boys at the Home Office know good work when they see it, and Brighton was designated as one of five cities to be given ‘Trailblazer’ status to tackle the ‘problem’. Monthly round-ups were conducted under the watchful eye of Siggsy to number and name individuals engaged in begging or street drinking, and over 15 months the ‘work’ of Operation Dodger reduced beggars from 33 to just 3. Street drinking hotspots decreased from 18 to 5, and the numbers of ‘persons engaged in street drinking’ went down from 158 to 70.

So now Siggs and team are off to speak at the 16th Annual Problem-oriented Policing Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, (where they know a thing or two about social control) and hopefully bring home their award. Even if they lose, we’re sure they’ll pick up a few tips on how to deal with queers, commies, uppity blacks and doughnut munching from the good ol’ southern klansmen of Carolina! (maybe they’ll even get to gun down a few looters!)

* So, where have our lovable alchies taken their rosy-nosed custom? Well, rumour has it that if unable to prove any ‘family connection’ to Brighton, they are ‘encouraged’ to bugger off down the coast to Hastings, where they can join all the drug addicts and refugees in an unfashionable town too far from London for any ‘Business Forums’ to give a damn. Though Hastings cops happily boast on their website about how hard they’re sticking the boot in. So, anyone with any hard news on this, please get in touch with Rough Music!

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PUB DRAWL

Disabled guy goes into a pub, speaks a bit slowly because of his conditon and gets refused a pint and barred for the day - you thought this was a joke? So did he? Michael, the man in question was chucked out of the Great Eastern on Trafalgar Street earlier this month. As a result of being knocked down by a hit and run driver at the age of four, Michael ended up needing brain surgery. Now he speaks, like we say, quite slowly. Any reason to bar the guy? No, we didn’t think so either and up yours to the snotty barmaid who refused to serve him.

Badmouthing Sussex

FLUORIDISATION A STEP CLOSER

The reality of mass medication of the water supply in Sussex without our consent comes a step closer with three month “public consultations” on fluoridisation coming to an end.

Sussex Strategic Health Authorities started these consultations - pure PR bullshit - in August having already decided among themselves to fluoridate.

You see according to Bliar Inc. this is the best way of reducing tooth decay in children from deprived areas. Now call us cynical but isn’t it a little bit iffy that the aluminium and fertiliser industries (fluoride is a by product of this - nice hey) make a nice wedge, from the 20,000% mark up they get flogging the poison to water companies? A nice easy way for these industries to get rid of a substance - which contains arsenic, lead and mercury - and make a mint in the process... whereas dental health education programmes which really would cut tooth decay cost about 1/20th of the cost of water fluoridation in the first place!

Currently in Britain six million suckers - well they ain’t got any teeth ‘ave they - mainly in the West Midlands and North East, drink fluoridated water. Under the European Convention on Human Rights and Medicine a patient must give consent to medication, and must be free to withdraw consent at any time. Fluoridisation has destroyed that right six million times over.

In Birmingham, Britain’s fluoride capital, residents suffer from dental fluorosis characterised by discoloured, blackened, mottled, or chalky white teeth - all results of overexposure to fluoride in childhood - while a chronic intake of excessive fluoride can lead to bone and joint deformations.

In America, where 165 million people drink fluoridated water, the National Cancer Institute and National Health Federation have attributed 35,000 cancer deaths a year to water fluoridation.

Since May, Sussex Against Fluoridation have banged on about these points to every member of the Strategic Health Authority and every time have been met with silence.
To give these gobshites a kick in the teeth why not ring the SHA on 01293 778899 and put ‘em straight.

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PLANE F**KING CRAZY

Rather than listening to the opposition of Shoreham/Lancing residents, Brighton and Worthing Councils are steamrolling through plans to expand Shoreham airport… Ah yes, of course, Shoreham International has such a great ring to it.

Property company Erinaceous Group PLC has won the contract (beginning next April) to open up flights to Edinburgh, Paris, Amsterdam and Dublin as well as build a visitor centre, park-and-ride, aviation academy, business park, leisure services and mixed commercial activities, whatever that means.

Rough Music has no problems with the idea of jobs for locals but what we hate is greenwash. Check out this choice piece from Brighton councillor Don ‘Nice Little Earner’ Turner: “A viable, working airport offers the best protection of the strategic green gap between Shoreham and Lancing.”

So tosser Turner, you’re gonna protect threatened wildlife - curlews, waters voles, badgers - of ancient marshlands areas around Old Marsh Farm, Lancing Brooks, and the Widewater Lagoon Nature Reserve by… expanding the airport! All the wildlife can jet off to safer climes courtesy of Easyjet. Mmmmm, that makes sense then.

Jean Kitchener helps run Communities Against Runway Expansion (CARE) a residents’ group set up two years ago to fight the plans. “Why have the wishes of 79% of the population of Adur been ignored and the proposals to market the airport for commercial flights gone ahead?”

CARE have put up signs along the A259 calling for ‘NO Jets At Shoreham’ and a campaign video has been produced; a ten minute look at the destruction the expanded airport will wreak - showing at the Cowley Club some time in October, or watch it online at www.adurcare.wanadoo.co.uk. CARE campaigners have also set up their own pollution monitoring stations.

With the flight path going over two schools and bearing in mind nitrogen oxide is a leading cause of children’s asthma, their future looks none too rosy. Car pollution is expected to rise four fold and with 800,000 people expected to use the airport by 2018 (5-10 times more than current use) we need to stop this expansion dead in its tracks. Air pollution is the fastest growing contributor to global warming. And don’t forget it’s the richest 10% who take the vast majority of flights in this country, either business trips or weekend breaks to holiday homes (in less spoiled places than Britain presumably).

For more info from CARE call 01903 535334.

GOING TITS UP: Titnore Woods – Red Alert!!

The battle to save the last piece of greenfield/ancient woodland in West Durrington near Worthing - Titnore Woods - is rapidly coming to a conclusion. Supporters of Protect Our Woodland! - the campaign set up by locals to fight plans for 875 homes and destruction of 275 trees in a road widening scheme - are looking to ratchet things up following the burning of John Prescott earlier this month, sorry wishful thinking, his effigy (on September 4th). This follows Fatty Two Jags rejection of a plea for the council decision to be called in for a public enquiry.

Another demo is being arranged for October, and plans are to extend the protest to the firms involved in the development: Heron Group headed by convicted criminal Gerald Ronson; Bryant Homes (part of Taylor Woodrow); and Persimmon Homes. A red alert is being sounded, with an appeal for activists beyond Worthing to come and help set up a protest camp before the bulldozers and chainsaw gangs move in.

Outline planning permission has already been given at a stormy meeting back in June, where protesters invaded the stage and scuffled with police. Now full permission is a formality, with a Tory council boss telling the local rag, work was expected to start in “early Spring” 2006.

The woodland, home to a rich diversity of wildlife, is one of only two ancient woodlands surviving on the Sussex coastal plain. Significantly, the other (Binsted Woods at Arundel) is also threatened by development, from the proposed Arundel/A27 bypass.Campaigners have vowed to keep fighting to the very end.

* Catch up with the latest news from the Titnore campaign on www.protectourwoodland.fsnet.co.uk and www.eco-action.org/porkbolter

HUNT FOR JUSTICE

Remember how last time Labour were in town, three-eyed webbed-fingered bumpkins dumped carcasses around town, promising more of the same if hunting was banned? Rough Music thought this sick stunt just showed the Countryside Alliance up for the inbred weirdoes they are, but Sussex Police seem to have found it quite persuasive. After spending hundreds of thousands in the last few years haring round the South Downs in 4x4s ensuring the right of foxes to be ripped to pieces, it seems that Sussex Plod have received orders from on high not to enforce the hunt ban.

Protestors on the Crawley and Horsham Fox hunt on Saturday 17th witnessed the hunt flagrantly breaking the new law. As they attempted to intervene they had their windscreen smashed by a red-jacketed toff. Although Plod turned up quite quickly they claimed they were only going to be able to deal with the windscreen incident (not that they did anything about it), and that they had orders not to interfere with hunting. This hunt is notoriously violent (they favour attacks in large numbers on small groups of mostly female protestors) and clearly has a few strings to pull or funny hands to shake at Lewes HQ. Although a few arrests of bumpkins stupid enough to get themselves caught live on ITN attacking protestors were made in April, no charges have been brought.

Anyone interested in how much land they have to own before they get immunity from the law please contact Chief Constable Ken Jones QPM, Police Headquarters, Malling House, Church Lane, East Sussex,  BN7 2DZ. Tel 0845 6070 999 Fax 01273 404263 Email ken.jones@sussex.police.uk 

* Wanna get involved in action against this barbaric sport? Email southdownssabs@yahoo.com

* For more info about Hunt Sabbing visit http://hsa.enviroweb.org

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