NEW YORK - Human rights activists pre-empted President Bush’s speech before the U.N. General Assembly early Thursday morning by unfurling a 50-foot by 30-foot banner over the East River. The banner, which read "Earth to Bush: No Iraq War," was hoisted in the air by four giant helium-filled weather balloons. The protesters sought to illustrate the virtually unanimous global opposition to the administration’s planned invasion of Iraq.

The banner, which was launched off the deck of a ship in the East River, was in the air from approximately 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. The bottom of the banner read www.EarthToBush.com.

EarthToBush.com is a new web site that supplies 10 things people can do to stop a war with Iraq and 10 reasons why the U.S. should not invade Iraq. The web site was created by Global Exchange and the Ruckus Society, the two organizations that coordinated the banner protest.

"The White House has no answer to this basic question: What act of aggression has Iraq committed against us that justifies going to war?" said Jason Mark, an organizer with Global Exchange, an international human rights organization. "There has been no Iraqi attack, no Iraqi connection to September 11, no threat against us. Iraq does not pose a clear and present danger to the U.S. Since deterrence is working, why should we launch a war that will undoubtedly lead to massive human suffering? An attack on Iraq would constitute an attack on the Charter of the United Nations."

"War should be a last recourse of self-defense," said John Picone, an organizer with the Ruckus Society, a non-profit group that trains individuals in non-violent direct action. "What the Bush administration is planning is an act of aggression, not self-defense. An unprovoked attack on Iraq will further anti-American sentiment around the world, making us less safe."

www.EarthToBush.com