NEW YORK -- Activists plan to hold sit-ins at delegates' hotels, take over city intersections, block doors to major corporate offices, confront GOP leaders, and infiltrate events when Republicans come to town for their political convention.

Activists say the aim is not to cause harm or stop the convention from proceeding inside Madison Square Garden from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2. They will use what they call "creative mischief" to bring attention to their disgust with the Bush administration.

"It sends that message loud and clear, that people feel so strongly that they are willing to put their freedom and their bodies on the line," said Cindy Rosin, an activist involved with the effort.

While some protest groups have tangled with city officials over permits for marches and rallies, others have been planning acts of nonviolent civil disobedience for months.

They expect to make their debut by swarming Times Square as thousands of Republicans arrive for a night of Broadway shows on the eve of the convention. A loose council of protesters will call for mass civil disobedience Aug. 31, the second day of the convention.

The Manhattan district attorney has said he foresees 1,000 arrests per day during the four-day convention -- three times the normal daily arrest volume -- and protesters without permits are likely to make up the majority.

The demonstrators are also protesting the city's permit process itself, which they say unfairly herds crowds away from the convention. After new terror alerts were announced Sunday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said protest permits will help police focus the deployment of officers and better control large crowds.

"We're prepared to accommodate peaceful demonstrations," said Paul Browne, chief spokesman for the New York Police Department. "We're also prepared to deal with anyone who breaks the law."