NEW YORK--STOP THE WAR STOP: THE FASTEST WAY TO SAY NO TO WAR

In the most innovative antiwar effort yet, protesters all over the United States are sending Western Union telegrams to President Bush.

The effort has already begun reaching many in New York and New Jersey, even as far as south Florida and Illinois. "We hope to have over 5000 telegrams on their way to the White House before February is over," says Laura Podolnick, protest organizer.

Noting the ineffectiveness of other antiwar protests, New York University students Laura Podolnick and Melissa Lang decided to try a more old fashioned route to the White House, a telegram. "Telegrams send Bush a message in the form of communication thats from the same century as his ideas," declares Podolnick. Available through westernunion.com for $14.99, antiwar protesters can send George W. a telegram voicing their anger about the war. "A free email or a 37 cent stamp is too easy to send and thus too easy to ignore. An influx of identical telegrams is more likely to command attention than a traditional letter-writing campaign," explained Lang.

While the movement is still in its earliest stages, both Lang and Podolnick have helped to reach people from all over the United States through their personal websites ioweyouanapology.com and mewing.net that receive over 3,000 hits a day. The movement is hoping to send over $75000 telegrams to the President all carrying the same message: "Dear Mr. President, As a citizen of the United States, I would like to voice my opposition to the impending war on Iraq." For more details check out mewing.net or ioweyouanapology.com. If you are in the New York area, look for representatives at the February 15 protest.

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