It’s still fairly early days, and the anarchist fringe has yet to really get it’s act together vis a vis organizing protests and demonstrations. (Which is kind of funny, when you consider they kept insisting they needed a year to plan their demonstrations…)
The most visible group used to be this website, which just pointed to their MySpace (ugh!) page. Another group with an early online presence is this one, (MySpace (ugh!) again) the arrogant, highly elitist, exclusionist, and copyright-infringing kids of the “RNC Welcoming Committee“, local slackers who have pretty much seceded their “leadership” to the out-of-state folks of Unconventional Action. Say what you like about the UA folks, they, at least, actually manage to get stuff done…
There are, of course, going to be coincident demonstrations and protests having little or nothing to do with the RNC’s presence in Saint Paul, such as the march planned for the first day of the convention. While it’s rumored that permits have been secured for that one, it appears to be the only meaningful plan that’s been in any way advanced.
One thing worth mentioning for would-be protesters at the RNC convention is the fairly low probability you’ll be able to get close enough to even see the convention center. (See also our best guesses of probable security perimeters.) As an early guess, expect to be penned up on Harriet Island, across the Mississippi River from downtown. Where else could people possibly amass?
The parking lot west of the Xcel Energy Center? Forget it; that’s going to be reserved for the media, full of (well-guarded) satellite-uplink trucks. It’s the only large spot near the convention center with a clear line-of-sight to the south/southwest/west skies.
Rice Park, just east of Rivercentre? It’s a half city block, if that, and directly between the Saint Paul Hotel, where most of the VIPs will be staying, and the convention center. Not a chance, friends. Not a chance.
I’d certainly like to make this site all-encompassing and useful to everyone, but it’s going to be impossible to keep up with every cause, march, demonstration, or protest, licensed and permitted or otherwise. (That, and the kids at the RNC ‘Welcoming’ Committee managed to piss me off pretty well… so the hell with them.) Instead, I’m going to try and concentrate on how to get here, how to get around here, and the major organized events taking place. What you do when you’re here is up to you.