Here's the latest on activist plans to mobilize for the GOP Convention next August.

Opponents of the Iraq war, welfare reform - even those angered by the selection of New York City - say they will seek protest permits and arrange travel for the four-day convention that begins Aug. 30, 2004.

Protests are an expected sideshow to any political convention, but Steve Ault, a veteran activist helping organize a massive anti-war demonstration, said the events taking shape for next year are unprecedented.

This looks big. There's a lot of advance planning going on, and the Internet and email campaigns will help spread the word.

One international group, Food Not Bombs, promises to cook and serve donated food to activists, delivering by bicycle if necessary.

Keith McHenry, who co-founded the group in 1980, said chapters from as far away as Vancouver, British Columbia, and Ireland are coming. "I've been doing this for 30 years and I can't believe how organized this is," he said.