NEW YORK CITY, Feb. 1 (IMC) - Eighty police assigned to protect a Gap retail store stand around at the intersection of 54th Street and 5th Avenue. Two sidewalk spaces of 50 feet by 8 feet each are enclosed by crowd-control fences in front of Gap and Gucci stores across the street from each other. International media reporters crowd the corners, awaiting protestors who oppose corporate practices of logging old-growth redwood forests. A lone protestor of Baby Boomer age thrusts his middle finger toward a police caravan that streams through the intersection with sirens blaring. "We need proper health care in this country," he tells reporters. Sporting a faded, multi-colored Rastafarian cap, a Star of David on a chain and a "Thank you for pot smoking" button, he continues through a laundry list of domestic policy issues that he feels the government is not addressing. "[Corporations] are raping the redwoods," he continues. "Mother nature fights back. This country has become a banana republic with imperialistic corporations." He cites homelessness and AIDS as epidemics that could be prevented. Presently a police inspector receives a call that eleven protestors are on their way to the intersection. A few minutes later the chant of "More redwoods for workers / Boycott the Gap" is heard from a group of 20-something Caucasian activists. They bang drums in unison and wave pine branches symbolizing redwood trees. Salvemos los Robles / Save the Redwoods reads one hand-painted vertical banner. Fifty reporters circle the protestors who have carted a 5-1/2-foot-wide tree section onto the northeast corner. Complaining of being stalled by cops on their way to the intersection, Mary Bull of Save the Redwoods gives a statement to the press. "Eighty percent of this country's redwoods are gone," she says. "Redwoods are the densest biomass on earth and they are being destroyed by the Fisher family." She cites the family as being motivated by real estate development interests. The police instruct the protestors to cross to the southwest corner to occupy the permit-approved pen in front of the Gap store. Many are wearing white t-shirts with Gap-looking logos that read "Crap." "These corporations tell lies every day," says Griffin, a bearded, college-aged activist from San Francisco. "After denying that they use sweatshop labor they spread their sweatshops out all over the world and close down only one at a time if they feel public pressure. They excuse their actions by saying that sweatshop labor only makes up 5% of their business." Queried by a reporter as to whether he has spoken with Gap representatives, Griffin states that he would love to talk to Gap workers or company representatives. "They will not talk to us because they know they are wrong. Their sales have been down for the last six quarters because of these protests. Donald Fisher's son continues to clear-cut forests and use pesticides, which causes mudslides. They have cleared over 200,000 acres of redwoods." He points to the protestors' tree cross-section and states that Fisher's company razed the 700-year-old tree but decided not to use it because they considered it to be of inferior quality. Defending the efficacy of the 40-person protest Griffin answers a question by saying that it is not a small protest. "People were told not to come," he says. "People received threats and intimidation from police who outnumber us here two-to-one." He gestures toward the cordon of officers ringing each of the two protest pens. "We are targeting Gap because it is the biggest [corporation]. We want to make an example of it so that other textile manufacturers get the message and cease [their practices]." Nearby Angela Flynn holds a stop-sign-shaped placard that reads Stop Corporate Greed. A member of the DC Statehood Greens Flynn says that she has been having a great time so far at the alternative conferences at Columbia University. She states that being on the street exposes the protestors' message to the public, thus serving to educate them. Two women and seven men continue their drum circle just outside the protest pen. An officer threatens the group with immediate arrest if they do not move a few feet to enter the pen. One protestor responds indignantly to the threat, pointing out to reporters that the pen is already full while explaining that none of the activists are blocking traffic or being disruptive. "Welcome to glasnost America!" yells someone nearby. The officer changes his mind and several officers escort the protestors across the street to the other, more vacant, protest pen. Dorie, a passerby from Florida, responds to the sight of the protestors by saying, "I guess it's an important issue -- it's something they believe in." The fenced-in area in front of Gucci contains 13 protestors who bang out a rhythm on inverted water bottles, snare drums, bass drums and cowbells while surrounded by 20 police officers. Two people -- one Semitic-looking man wearing a t-shirt reading "Bush Can Suck It" and one Anglo man -- hold up an altered American flag which features corporate logos in place of the fifty stars. One 20-ish Asian man wears four buttons in a column which read [red slash through] Fur, Vegan, Question Authority, and Rage Against the Machine. A chant leader blows a whistle in unison with the beat, then stops as they yell "Close the Gap!" ckaihatsu.blogspot.com