It’s going to be a busy night in Manhattan. The group called A31 has several “actions” lined up.

They Got started at 4pm in Union Square where, according to Indymedia:

As many as 1000 people are at Union Square. Police appear to be encircling Union Square. 100 cops are marching around perimeter, two dozen mopeds approaching.

An update says that as of right now, a few hundred people are marching up Church Street.

At 6:00, they are slated to gather at Madison Square Park and at 7:00, there is a call for a “mass convergence” on Madison Square Garden.

So far today:

Police arrested at least two dozen activists on Tuesday in an all-day wave of acts of civil disobedience and other demonstrations to protest against the Republican convention in New York.

Seventeen protesters were arrested for illegally blocking traffic on foot or on bicycles in the Wall Street financial district and six were taken into custody for illegally wearing masks at a Harlem subway station, police said.

One man was arrested by about 10 police officers after he climbed a tree to obtain a better view of a rally by fellow immigration activists outside US government offices, eyewitnesses said.

It looks like the marching protesters are ready to gather at a Hummer dealer in a few minutes. What they are going to do there is anyone’s guess, but we’ll assume that “no blood for oil” is on the agenda.

Update:

Ryan Sager is blogging the protests. He also has photos from last night’s activities.

Update:

If the protests against Bush/Republicans/America/Name Your Poison aren’t enough for you, how about this one?

WED., Sept. 1, 10:00AM - Protest Appalling Detention Conditions for RNC Arrestees At Pier 57, “Guantanamo on the Hudson” (West Side Highway @ 15th Street)

The mind boggles.

Update 2:

This in from Indymedia:

bq. 05:28 PM After several hundred war resisters left ground zero to march north, 100-200 remained within pens. They will all be arrested one by one.

That would be the same Ground Zero that those protesting have said should not be used as a political tool.

Update 3:

Give my regard to Broadway, remember me to Herald Square.

According to sources on the left, things are heating up over there with plenty of arrests and some “aggressive” police action.

Update:

Drudge is reporting that someone tried to attack MSNBC’s Chris Matthews (no, it wasn’t Michelle Malkin). And Al Franken was doing a little Kung-Fu fighting of his own.

Here’s what Franken was fighting about.

[click image for larger size. Photo courtesy RNC]