Thanks all there have been some interesting helpful comments here. I carried something similar to those 'batons' when I was in central america; the furthest I had to go was to hop off my bike and extend them to their full length and the two guys ran.
Don't forget that haulin' ass out of there works on the Serengeti and can work for you too. You really need to have alot of confidence and poise to allow an encounter to get to the phsyical level; and one problem with 'winning' a fight is that it is not necessarily gonna be the end of the matter (legally, or otherwise), if the wupped folks have buddies who can harass ya on your bike at some later date.
From what people tell me cops in urban areas are not that sympathetic to claims by a cyclist that they are harassed or nearly robbed or whatever. Besides the obvious fact that cops are overwhelmed, to me the more likely explanation is that they are in cahoots with alot of these thugs; either laying low in an informal 'i won't hassle you if you don't hassle local business' arrangements, or outright on the take if these cops get a cut of their drug deals and whatever else.
When I was on my world tour in areas where these types of difficulties would have no chance in hell of being resolved amiably, I just kept reminding myself to keep it all in perspective...how much the bike was worth, how much hassle it would have been to complete rebuild for my tour; etc. It helped keep my temper in control in the several incidents I had over those two years, none of which, it turned out, ended up serious.
roughstuff