The San Francisco Chronicle reports today that Bay Area leftists are heading to New York to protest the Republican National Convention. Some organizers are discouraging the infamous “Black Bloc” guerilla group from creating havoc–or, at least, are advising them to do so in Gap and Eddie Bauer attire:

Even though it’s chic in Manhattan to wear black, protesters are being told to forget it. Instead, try khaki. Or as one convention protest Web site put it, “business casual” to blend in better with the Republican protest targets.

Good thing the New York Police Department isn’t as soft on these thugs as San Francisco. Last month in the New York Daily News, Ray Kelly served noticed that it won’t tolerate Black Bloc tactics.

Fringe elements are hoping to spark major disruptions at the Republican National Convention with a series of sneaky tricks – including fooling bomb-sniffing dogs on trains bound for Penn Station, the Daily News has learned.

Internet-using anarchists are telling would-be troublemakers to decoy specially trained Labrador retrievers with gunpowder or ammonium nitrate-laced tablets in a bid to halt trains or even spur the evacuation of Madison Square Garden.

Top cops are girding against the attempt to foil strong anti-terrorist strategies aimed at protecting conventiongoers – including President Bush – as well as peaceful protesters during the Aug. 30 to Sept. 2 GOP fete.

“Where is the legitimate protest in trying to endanger the public?” an angry ?Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told The News.

“It is the height of irresponsibility,” he added. “These hard-core groups are looking to take us on. … They have increased their level of sophistication and violence…

The Daily News reported on Black Bloc tactics being publicized on the Internet in advance of the GOP convention, including these:

“Go to a rifle, pistol or skeet shooting range, spend an hour shooting to saturate clothing with smell of gunpowder, go directly to a New Jersey Transit, LIRR or subway train headed for Penn Station.

“Try to have at least two people on a train in different locations, sit or stand near the doors as the train approaches the station, try to get near police and dogs, loiter as long as possible around the dog, try to pet it if possible.

“If the dog alerts on your scent, do not leave or resist; the situation will cause a major disruption of the train schedule. … If there is more than one person on the train that causes a dog to alert, you can bet that the train will not be going anywhere for a long time … neither will any trains behind it.

“It is important that the police call in all possible resources to investigate the situation. … This will result in the maximum disruption. … With any luck, Madison Square Garden will be evacuated.

Ain’t “free speech” grand?