NY Protest Makes The News - Wishing I Was There

Iraq Protest Draws Tens Of Thousands
CBS News Sat, 29 Apr 2006 5:57 PM PDT
At the end of the deadliest month this year for U.S. forces in Iraq, demonstrators crowded the streets of New York to protest the war. Led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Cindy Sheehan, the marchers called for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops.
/ World
China Daily Sat, 29 Apr 2006 6:23 PM PDT
Anti-war activists Cindy Sheehan (L), Rev. Al Sharpton (2nd L) and actress Susan Sarandon (2nd R) march down Broadway with thousands of supporters in New York April 29, 2006, to protest the war in Iraq. The marchers demanded an immediate withdrawal of troops, the same day news organizations noted April as being the most deadly month for US troops in Iraq, with at least 69 killed.
Tens of thousands march in mass anti-war rally in New York
AFP via Yahoo! News Sat, 29 Apr 2006 8:41 PM PDT
Tens of thousands of anti-war demonstrators marched in New York, demanding the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq and vowing a summer of protests ahead of mid-term elections in November.
Tens of Thousands in NYC Protest War
AP via Yahoo! News Sat, 29 Apr 2006 6:07 PM PDT
Tens of thousands of protesters marched Saturday through lower Manhattan to demand an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, just hours after this month's death toll reached 70.
Tens of Thousands in NYC Protest War
ABC News Sat, 29 Apr 2006 6:21 PM PDT
Tens of Thousands Converge on Manhattan for Anti-War Demonstration
Thousands converge on Manhattan for anti-war demonstration
Seattle Times Sat, 29 Apr 2006 5:16 PM PDT
Tens of thousands of protesters marched Saturday through lower Manhattan to demand an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, just hours after this month's death toll...
Thousands converge on Manhattan for anti-war demonstration
WKYT 27 NEWSFIRST & WYMT Mountain News Sat, 29 Apr 2006 6:35 PM PDT
NEW YORK Thousands of anti-war protesters are expected to take part in a march in Manhattan to call for an immediate pullout of troops from Iraq.

Iraq developments
Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune Sat, 29 Apr 2006 10:03 PM PDT
Tens of thousands of antiwar demonstrators marched Saturday through New York City to demand an immediate withdrawal of troops. Cindy Sheehan, whose soldier son died in Iraq, joined in the march, as did actress Susan Sarandon and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Organizers said the march -- held three years after the war in Iraq began --was also meant to oppose any military action against Iran, which is
Thousands come together for anti-war demonstration
Provo Daily Herald Sun, 30 Apr 2006 0:35 AM PDT
NEW YORK -- Tens of thousands of protesters marched Saturday through lower Manhattan to demand an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, just hours after this month's death toll reached 70. Cindy Sheehan, a vociferous critic of the war whose soldier son also died in Iraq, joined in the march, as did actress Susan Sarandon and the Rev..
Tens of Thousands in NYC Protest War
Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune Sat, 29 Apr 2006 10:03 PM PDT
NEW YORK (AP) - Tens of thousands of protesters marched Saturday through lower Manhattan to demand an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, just hours after this month's death toll reached 70. Cindy Sheehan, a vociferous critic of the war whose soldier son also died in Iraq, joined in the march, as did actress Susan Sarandon and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. "End this war, bring the troops
Thousands in Manhattan for anti-war demonstration
KGBT 4 Rio Grande Valley Sun, 30 Apr 2006 0:40 AM PDT
NEW YORK A lot of people want the troops out of Iraq. Tens of thousands of protesters marched Saturday through lower Manhattan demanding just that. There were enough people to stretch out over ten city blocks.Activist Cindy Sheehan (SHEE'-han) was among them.
NATION IN BRIEF
Washington Post Sat, 29 Apr 2006 11:30 PM PDT
NEW YORK -- Tens of thousands of protesters marched Saturday through Lower Manhattan to demand an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, hours after this month's death toll reached 70.
Tens of Thousands in NYC Protest War

Kansas City Star Sun, 30 Apr 2006 0:18 AM PDT
NEW YORK — Thousands of anti-war demonstrators marched Saturday through lower Manhattan to demand an immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
Manhattan protesters demand withdrawal from Iraq
Sun-Sentinel Sun, 30 Apr 2006 0:11 AM PDT
NEW YORK · Tens of thousands of protesters marched Saturday through lower Manhattan to demand an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, hours after this month's death count reached 70.
Thousands march to protest Iraq war
Miami Herald Sun, 30 Apr 2006 0:35 AM PDT
(AP) -- Tens of thousands of protesters marched Saturday through lower Manhattan to demand an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, just hours after this month's U.S. military death toll reached 70.
Throngs in N.Y. protest war in Iraq
Houston Chronicle Sat, 29 Apr 2006 11:11 PM PDT
The march came a day after the State Department reported that insurgent attacks on civilians in Iraq surged last year, accounting for nearly half of the people killed in terrorism attacks across the world.
Cindy Sheehan joins thousands in Manhattan for anti-war demonstration
KESQ Sat, 29 Apr 2006 4:27 PM PDT
NEW YORK "Peace Mom" Cindy Sheehan joined tens of thousands of anti-war protesters in New York City today.
Iraq Protest Draws Tens Of Thousands
CBS News Sat, 29 Apr 2006 4:32 PM PDT
At the end of the deadliest month this year for U.S. forces in Iraq, demonstrators crowded the streets of New York to protest the war. Led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Cindy Sheehan, the marchers called for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops.
Tens of Thousands in NYC Protest War
San Francisco Chronicle Sat, 29 Apr 2006 3:07 PM PDT
Tens of thousands of protesters marched Saturday through lower Manhattan to demand an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, just hours after this month's death toll reached 70. Cindy Sheehan, a vociferous critic of the war whose soldier son...
Protests against war...Iraq violence continues...In pursuit of the Taliban
KBCI Boise Sat, 29 Apr 2006 3:28 PM PDT
NEW YORK "End this war, bring the troops home," read one of the many signs held by protesters at a big anti-war war rally in New York. A crowd estimated by organizers at 300-thousand marched through Manhattan today demanding an immediate withdrawal of U-S troops from Iraq. Activist Cindy Sheehan was among the protesters.
Tens of Thousands in NYC Protest War
AP via Yahoo! News Sat, 29 Apr 2006 2:29 PM PDT
Tens of thousands of protesters marched Saturday through lower Manhattan to demand an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, just hours after this month's death toll reached 70.
Tens of Thousands in NYC Protest War
ABC News Sat, 29 Apr 2006 3:06 PM PDT
Tens of Thousands Converge on Manhattan for Anti-War Demonstration
Sarandon tells of Iraq death threat
The Observer Sat, 29 Apr 2006 4:38 PM PDT
Speaking out against the Iraq war left the Hollywood actress Susan Sarandon and her family facing death threats and a stream of vicious attacks from the public and the media, she reveals today.
Thousands at Manhattan war protest
Newsday Sat, 29 Apr 2006 1:39 PM PDT
Tens of thousands of anti-war protesters marched Saturday through Manhattan to demand an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq just hours after an American soldier died in a roadside explosion in Baghdad -- the 70th U.S. fighter killed in that country this month.
Thousands march in US anti-war rally
Australian Broadcasting Corporation Sat, 29 Apr 2006 1:30 PM PDT
Thousands of anti-war demonstrators have marched in New York, demanding the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq and vowing a summer of protests ahead of mid-term elections in November.
More News...
KXTV Sat, 29 Apr 2006 1:04 PM PDT
NEW YORK (AP) -- Thousands of anti-war demonstrators gathered in Manhattan Saturday to call for an immediate U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq. One protester sign read "End this war, bring the troops home." Another group marched under a banner that read "Veterans for Peace."

GREAT PICTURES FROM SOMEONE WHO WAS THERE:
CLAMMYC'S PHOTOESSAY

Neil Youngs - Living With War - released today- Listen Here

THIS ALBUM KICK'S ASS!!!!
I'm dancing all around the room to "Let's Impeach the President" and cried to the last song.
What a great sound!
DAMN GOOD!

Thank you Neil so very much for using your passion and mine to speak what is in our hearts. We're all human man...we're all human.
THANK YOU!
I can't wait to play it for my family.

Peace be inside,
Cindy

Listen to the full album here

Neil Young lets loose a war cry

The world awaits Young's most powerful album in years, a disc fuelled by outrage at Washington. The artist's brother gives ROBERT EVERETT-GREEN a sneak preview

ROBERT EVERETT-GREEN

We met outside a bagel joint in north Toronto, then drove a few blocks to a quiet street where two strangers could sit in a big old Cadillac and listen to the car stereo in peace. Then Robert Young slipped a CD-ROM from a plain white sleeve and gave me a rare preview of the nine explosive new songs on his brother Neil Young's much-anticipated album, Living With War.

The disc was made in a hurry, recorded in three days on Neil Young's California ranch and another 12-hour session in a Los Angeles studio. I can hear the urgency in Young's singing, as if there's not a moment to lose when a great lie has spread over the land and only strong, sustained truth-telling can turn it back.

Living With War is a fierce, comprehensive indictment of the Bush administration and all its failures, at home and abroad, but it doesn't feel like an outsider's dissent. It's the work of someone who clearly identifies with the core values of ordinary Middle Americans who voted for Bush, who sent their sons and daughters to war, and who are beginning to feel betrayed.

Flags of Freedom, for example, starts like a proudly patriotic song from the days before the Vietnam War began to stain the self-image of the republic. Young depicts a parade of recruits marching off to war down the main street of their small town, church bells ringing and "the flags of freedom flying." But when the soldiers have passed, with parents and sisters watching, Young pointedly asks: "Have you seen the flags of freedom? / What colour are they now?" It would be hard to miss the sense of doubt and disappointment, made sharper by Young's allusion to a similar, more confident query at the end of The Star-Spangled Banner.

The disappointment turns into rage in Let's Impeach the President. This long impassioned outcry begins with a trumpet flourish from the Last Post and ends with a 100-voice chorus shouting Young's angry responses to numerous clips of Bush's own words about Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and the case for war in Iraq.

"Let's impeach the president for lying / and leading our country into war," Young hollers, "abusing all the power that we gave him / and shipping all our money out the door . . . Let's impeach the president for spying / on citizens inside their own homes / breaking every law in the country / tapping our computers and telephones."

The text alone can't convey the sense of gasping outrage in Young's singing, and his forceful arrangements for guitar, bass, drums and sometimes trumpet. His electric guitar's gnarly, saturated tone has an almost drunken quality, as if it too were reeling from the great betrayal.

But the music throughout the album feels sparse and tightly controlled, as if these statements were too important to be gussied up with ornament. The trumpet, when it appears, does so only briefly, with a different character each time, evoking the sounds of a border town in Bush's native Texas (in Shock and Awe), or doubling the guitar melody like a quasi-human voice (in Living With War).

Likewise, the choir plays several roles, and offers much more than backing vocals. It's the sound of the people, whether represented as a church congregation (in the title song) or a chanting crowd of protesters (in Let's Impeach the President).

Mostly, it's a big-tent collection of ordinary citizens, which at the end of the album sings an a cappella version of America the Beautiful, recalling in a more robust key the final scene of Michael Cimino's devastating Vietnam film, The Deer Hunter.

The title song makes the most powerful use of core American themes and symbols, and the rhetoric of the religious right. Both the melody and the lyrics ("I join the multitudes, I raise my hand in peace . . . I take a holy vow never to kill again") feel hymn-like, in spite of the song's rock idiom. The voices rise as Young inserts a line from The Star-Spangled Banner ("the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air") and it seems at first as if the reference is purely ironic. But he goes on with another line from the anthem, and suddenly the meaning is more ambivalent, more complicated by a sense of bedrock patriotism.

At bottom, this is a profoundly patriotic record. Its predominant theme is spoiled hopes, and the list is long, including hopes for a safe environment, for economic justice at home and abroad, for peace between nations. But a few songs make it clear that Young isn't finished with hoping. Looking for a Leader, which comes right after Let's Impeach the President, is an unvarnished call for a new authority figure who can right the wrong, clear out the corruption, and make the nation's symbols feel pure again. "Some one walks among us, and I hope he hears the call," Young sings, "Maybe it's a woman, or a black man after all."

Young supported Reagan, and was one of the first major rock musicians to lend support to the so-called war on terror, in his 2001 song Let's Roll. It would seem to be a challenge for Bush's allies to brush off his attacks on "the shadow man running the government." But the struggle is already skewed in their favour, because most of these songs probably won't make it on to American radio, which is heavily dominated by the ClearChannel empire. Those are the folks, you may remember, who yanked the Dixie Chicks from the airwaves after Natalie Maines dared to criticize the President in front of a microphone.

Young knows all about that, which is why this album will be streamed for free on his website (http://www.neilyoung.com) for a week starting Friday, before a commercial release on Reprise/Warner. It's going to spread on-line, and on college radio, and by word of mouth. It's a media virus, and it's also Young's strongest record in years.

***

Angry Young man

Sample lyrics from Neil Young's upcoming

album, Living With War:

Back in the days of shock and awe

We came to liberate them all

History was the cruel judge of overconfidence

Back in the days of shock and awe

Back in the days of "mission accomplished"

Our chief was landing on the deck

The sun was setting on a golden photo-op

Back in the days of "mission accomplished"

-- from Shock and Awe

Don't need no Madison Avenue War

Don't need no more boxes I can't see

Covered in flags but I can't see them on TV

Don't need no more lies

-- from The Restless Consumer

Won't need no shadow man

Runnin' the government

Won't need no stinkin' WAR

Won't need no haircut

Won't need no shoeshine

After the garden is gone

-- from After the Garden

Lookin' for a leader

To bring our country home

Reunite the red white and blue

Before it turns to stone . . .

Yeah maybe it's Obama

But he thinks that he's too young

Maybe it's Colin Powell

To right what he's done wrong

RIP Army Pvt. Dylan Meyer

Dead soldier posts farewell note on MySpace

By ABHI RAGHUNATHAN

---

	Part of Dylan Meyer's Myspace.com page

Before signing off his webpage on MySpace.com Monday, Army Pvt. Dylan Meyer typed a farewell note to the world.

"Jesus, I don't know if any of you have heard what has happened to me yet, but I just want to remind you not to be sad. Laugh, that's what lifes about," Meyer wrote. "When it is all said and done, and all the b------t is cleared away, it is the ones you love who you will remember."

The next morning, Meyer was found dead in the Army barracks at Fort Gordon in Georgia. He was 20.

Because the Army is still investigating, officials would not release the cause of Meyer's death or say if he committed suicide. But the note on Meyer's MySpace page seemed to tell many in the tight community at Gibbs High School, which Meyer attended, that he had taken his own life.

In the three years since it was launched, MySpace.com has gained more than 70-million members. The site's size, as well as the intensely personal nature of the pages that many members maintain, has landed the website in controversy.

Even people with little computer experience can easily upload photos and videos, keep on-line diaries, and chat with other users. Millions of teenagers create personal webpages that reveal intimate details of their lives to anyone who happens across their sites.

They talk about love, sex and politics. They list their favorite books and movies.

In Meyer's case, he may have posted his suicide note.

Some critics say the website doesn't have enough safeguards against criminals looking to prey on underage children. After James Dungy, the 18-year-old son of NFL coach Tony Dungy, killed himself in December, his MySpace page attracted national attention because it contained pictures of marijuana leaves and scantily clad women.

A spokeswoman for MySpace said the company does not comment on individual incidents. But MySpace, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, says it prohibits content it deems offensive, illegal or threatening and dedicates a third of its workforce to monitoring the site. MySpace recently hired a former federal prosecutor as its chief security officer; he starts work next week.

Until this week, little on Meyer's MySpace site suggested he was considering suicide.

He was a filmmaking fanatic who admired director Quentin Tarantino and won a spot in the Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High. His MySpace page paid homage to his favorite movies.

Keven Renken, the head of the Gibbs theater department, remembers Meyer as a student with a "very natural acting style" who "really loved film." Meyer had roles in school productions of The Shadow Box , The Laramie Project and 12 Angry Men , Renken said.

But he felt lost after he finished high school in 2004, those who knew him said. Dustin Triplett, 20, a friend of Meyer's since their freshman year at Gibbs, said Meyer joined the Army early last year to get some direction. The decision surprised friends who knew Meyer disliked President Bush and opposed the war in Iraq.

Meyer soon became miserable in the Army, where he worked in a military intelligence unit. On his MySpace page, Meyer described the military as "a place where your thoughts don't have to span beyond "I got some tight new tactical goggles today."'

"Have fun you simple minded creatures," Meyer wrote. "The army needs drones like you, you are what they call life long enlisted."

Triplett said Meyer would sometimes talk about how the Army gave him a decent salary. But he also described how he felt around people he believed could not relate to his interest in the arts.

"He would tell me how much he hated it," Triplett said. "He wasn't ever comfortable."

Meyer didn't show up for his physical training formations at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday. Military personnel who opened the door to his room soon after found him unconscious, and he was pronounced dead.

Meyer logged onto MySpace for the last time Monday. He told friends to "dry your eyes" and listed a phone number for his father.

A woman who answered the phone listed for Meyer's father said the family would not comment.

By 7:26 a.m. Tuesday, within hours of Meyer being pronounced dead, his friends were already writing testimonials on his MySpace page. Within a day, the site became a place of public mourning.

"I dont know why you did what you did, and Ill never understand," wrote someone identified only as Patrick, at 7:34 a.m. Tuesday. "Ill miss you my freind. I love you bro."

"We made some great films together," Triplett wrote. "You promised me when you got out we would work on our story. Doing it alone now I don't know that I have the talent to pull off what you inspired in everyone else."

Just days before, his friends were writing to Meyer about movies, Army food, a Bob Dylan concert.

On April 21, Meyer made one last movie that he added to his MySpace Site, a short film about Army life he called "Bored As Hell: A Weekend at Ft. Gordon."

The movie shows soldiers listening to music, drinking Jack Daniels out of the bottle and playing hacky-sack. It ends with two messages of white script on a black screen.

The first reads: "Dedicated to America's Youth. Go to college and lead a normal life. Don't make the same mistake I did."

The second says: "And F------ Vote! Don't let old people run your lives, you have a choice."

Alexander Arredondo Memorial Scholarship Fund

To donate to the Alexander Arredondo Scholarship Fund, click here


If you would like to write to the Arredondo Family and Friends, have questions, comments or suggestions, please send email to carlos_arredondo @yahoo.com.

Another one of my favorite bands:Chili Peppers Call for Impeachment - AND- Pinks new song "Dear Mr President"

THIS IS A GREAT SONG: Pink- Dear Mr President - Live

AND NOW TO Peppers NEWS:
Flea - from the RHCP - is from South Florida. His father is a judge here. I have friends who are friends of his, but I don't know him. I wish I did. Ally has danced around to their DVD since she was 3. She loves them! She can pick out their sounds very easy. Just ask her when they come on. "Who's that playing Ally?" She will tell you all the time, it's Anthony and the RHCP. (she loves Green Day too. I can't tell you how many times I have listened to wake me up when September ends...but I still love the song :)

Music is my passion. I'm so happy to see musicians speaking out for truth and a better humanity for all of us. They keep this up and I don't care how much they charge for their concerts, I'll go see them.

Peace be inside all of us,
Cindy

Chili Peppers Call for Impeachment

By Bob Fertik, http://impeachpac.org

Impeach Him! Chili Peppers Take Dubya To Task

Red Hot Chili Peppers bass player Flea has taken a pretty hefty swipe at George W. Bush, calling for him to be impeached.

Posting on the bands official website Flea wrote: “George W Bush should definitely be impeached, he is a liar and his lies have bought misery to millions of people and bought no good to anyone except for the corporate oil billionaires who are making huge profits.”

On the Iraq war he went on to say: “W Bush has made the world a much less safe place. Before the war Iraq was not a place for terrorists. Saddam Hussein, brutal dictator that he was, was secular and had nothing to do with Al Queda.”

“The people of Iraq are no better off at all. all those people want is for the Americans to leave decent families and people like you and I who never wanted America there in the first place.”

He then moved his attention to the current stand-off with Iran, saying: “I pray to god that George W Bush and his administration does not invade Iran. It would be a bloodbath. Why don’t they just leave the Iranians alone and go through the United nations and work on making the United Nations as strong and as just as possible.”

“An invasion of Iran would be the worst possible thing that could happen i pray to god that it does not happen.”

04.19.06 Fleamail April 19, 2006

Date: Wed, April 19
From: "Michael Balzary"

sitting in a car driving to the airport
we are on our way to bilbao spain where we are gonna play in front of
the guggenheim museum
i am looking forward to that
to be next to beautiful art and architecture
and to put some art of our own into the open air

george w bush should definitely be impeached
he is a liar
and his lies have bought misery to millions of people
and bought no good to anyone except for the corporate oil
billionaires who are making huge profits
they are profiting during wartime
that is unscrupulous and terribly sad
w bush has made the world a much less safe place
before the war iraq was not a place for terrorists
saddam hussein, brutal dictator that he was was secular and had
nothing to do with al queda
and was sanctioned to death and had no power outside of his country
now it is a breeding ground for terrorism and anti-americanism is at
an all time high all over the world
and the people of iraq are no better off at all
all those people want is for the americans to leave
decent families and people like you and i who never wanted america
there in the first place
goerge w bush has sent american soldiers over there to be maimed and
killed
only to serve his selfish oil company needs and for his ego
american soldiers who are loyal to each other and who only want to
have a good job get an education and support their country are being
used for an unjust cause
i support the troops
they, like all americans are being betrayed by george w bush
he has betrayed his country he should be impeached

the administration's line that they were over there because they
wanted to spread democracy and freedom
is nothing else besides a lie
if they had any interest at all in the well being of other human beings
they would be doing what they could for people who desperately need
and would love help in africa

i pray to god that george w bush and his administration does not
invade iran
it would be a bloodbath
why dont they just leave the iranians alone
and go through the united nations
and work on making the united nations as strong and as just as possible
an invasion of iran would be the worst possible thing that could happen
i pray to god that it does not happen

i am just another guy sitting in the car on the english motorway

http://impeachpac.org/node/891/edit

War Is Personal: Carlos Arredondo

This article is about my friend, my neighbor from Hollywood Florida Carlos Arredondo. Carlos now lives in Boston to be near Alex. The day Alex died changed so many of us. Carlos actions on his birthday changed me forever.

Please help the families of the fallen and wounded. They need us.
May peace be inside all of us
Cindy


http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060508/richards

War Is Personal: Carlos Arredondo/Age 45/Roslindale, Massachusetts

by EUGENE RICHARDS

I remember the war in Nicaragua in the 1980s, the contra scandal, the weapons for hostages. Oliver North took the blame for Ronald Reagan. I remember when a bomb blew up in Beirut and kill about 200 Marines. I watch them on the TV, searching for them, carrying the bodies out on stretchers, pieces of them. And what I learned of Vietnam in my country? I never understood what they was fighting for. Costa Rica, it was my home when I was a boy, and we had the same climate, same weather, and I was afraid the United States would someday come to Costa Rica and do the same thing. So, when my son told me at age 17 that he was going to join the service, I said, "Oh, no," and he said, "Don't worry, Dad."

His mother knew the whole time. Then they told me last, I guess because they know how I was feeling. The Marines had an office in the high school and the recruiters know everything, know who comes from divided families, especially when the father's not around. They offer Alex thousands of dollars for signing up and help with college. Though we share custody, one parent can sign. His mother sign the paper. From that moment on, of course, I support my son. I had US Marine bumper stickers on my car, flags in my home, letting people know, even though I didn't want him to go.

Alex went to basic training in California, then more training. Then, because he wasn't being told anything by the military, he began asking me for information about the Middle East, about what the President is saying. Next thing I know, my son is being made ready for urban combat. Next thing he's on the way to Kuwait, on the way to Iraq, and I'm here at home learning that there's no nuclear armaments there, there's none of them. I'm starting to learn all this, and my son is on the way there.

So much happen. I have two TVs at the same time, the radio on. I can't go to sleep. I've been married with Mel seven years, working as a bus driver, part time, sometimes a landscaper and painter, but I can't go to work, because I want to know what happen. I was worried, very worried, by reading all the newspapers and concentrating too much on the war on the TV. I see how my son got from here to Iraq, see them prepare for invasion, see sandstorms, they reach the Tigris River, and two Marines got killed there, and my son was traveling inside a tank that was very noisy, a lot of fuel smells. All along I see the minister of information for Saddam Hussein on TV say, "I'm going to kill all of them." I see all the sadness, see how they kill, see how the Marines move through the dark alleyways, kick doors, blindfold people, while afraid most of the time for snipers and bombs. I was all the time calling the Marines and the Red Cross, asking them about the situation. I hear nothing about my son for days and days. It was too much, too much, too much for parents.

Next thing I know, I see soldiers rolling into Baghdad, people at the side of the road saying hello, welcome, and I was very happy. And I say, "Thank God." The statue go down, they catch Saddam, and I see the President of the US landing on the air carrier with big signs saying, "Mission Accomplished." And I say, "Oh my God, it's over. The war is over."

The 25th of August in 2004 was the day of my birthday, and I was expecting a phone call from Alex, which he never miss, to say, "Happy Birthday, Dad." My mother start baking a cake, and I was working outside with my cell phone in my pocket when I saw the Marines get off the van. Thought it was a surprise, and my happiness was overwhelming. Next thing, the Marines ask me if I was Carlos Arredondo. I don't understand why they asking me that, and I don't see my son anywhere. I even ask them, "Are you guys here to recruit some kids?" because I have a second son, a 16-year-old, Brian. And he said, "I'm sorry, I'm coming to notify you that Alexander Arredondo got killed in combat." At that moment, not expecting those words, my world tumbled and I felt my heart go down to the ground and rush up through my throat. I run from my house to the backyard, looking for my mother to tell her what these men were saying. And she run to try to talk to them, while I was trying to call Maine to reach Alex's mother. Brian answer the phone and because I was in tears, all I could say was, "Sorry, I'm sorry. They're telling me your brother got killed." And Brian said, "I know that, I know." "How do you know that?" "'Cause the Marines, they're here right now, and when I saw them coming, I know."

READ MORE

Bruce Springsteen dedicates song to Cindy Sheehan

Springsteen unveils 'Seeger Sessions'

ASBURY PARK, N.J., April 21 (UPI) -- Bruce Springsteen went old-school with a 17-piece band as he unveiled "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions" in Asbury Park, N.J.

Springsteen was backed by horns, fiddles, an accordion and pedal steel guitar, among other instruments, as he performed a range of legendary folksinger Pete Seeger songs during a benefit concert at Convention Hall Thursday night, the New York Daily News reported Friday.

Springsteen let loose with a range of styles from bluegrass to funk but did not play any of his own rock classics during the two-hour performance.

He dedicated Seeger's anti-war ballad "Mrs. McGrath" to Cindy Sheehan and revamped the lyrics of "How Can a Poor Man Stand Times Like These and Live" to relate to the suffering of New Orleans residents after Hurricane Katrina.

"The Seeger Sessions" will be released nationwide Tuesday.

************************************

SPRINGSTEEN: No surprise his new venture wows crowd3 MORE SHOWS: Seeger Sessions band is in Asbury next week

From rock to roots

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 04/21/06

BY KELLY-JANE COTTER
MUSIC WRITER

You know the world is unstable when a Bruce Springsteen concert is filled with requests for "Froggie Went A Courtin' " instead of "Rosalita."

And — brace yourself — there were all these Jersey Girls do-si-do-ing in Asbury Park's Convention Hall.

What in the name of "Thunder Road" is going on around here?

Well, friends, I'll tell ya.

Bruce Springsteen has blown into town with a new vision, a new attitude and a small army of musicians. How often do pedal-steel guitar, accordion, banjo and fiddle share a stage with trumpet, sax and trombone? Springsteen's mixing jazz and country like that's a normal thing for a stadium-rock superstar to do.

He's covering oldies. Like real oldies, from the 1800s.

And he's wearing a red shirt — a cherry-red shirt — on stage. Patti Scialfa's still wearing basic black, presumably because someone has to stay the course. That red shirt made Springsteen seem even more cheerful than he was, chuckling and joking and cussing good-naturedly.

Now, mind you, last night's gig at Convention Hall was a rehearsal show, so there might be lots of changes before the tour begins in support of Springsteen's new disc, "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions."

But let's hope not. This concert was innovative and refreshing.

A harmonious blend

While the album ostensibly pays tribute to songs popularized by folk singer Pete Seeger, it goes way beyond that goal. "The Seeger Sessions" is Springsteen's valentine to the folk tradition — hymns, spirituals and anthems, myths, tales and riddles.

On stage last night, Springsteen and company demonstrated some key principles of popular music:

Jazz, country, gospel and rock are all siblings and get along just fine.

Protest songs need not be sanctimonious.

Gloomy lyrics are most effective when paired with buoyant music.

Songs written a century or two ago can still be relevant and accessible to contemporary listeners.

In addition to material from the new album, Springsteen featured new arrangements of his own songs, including a brassy, syncopated, raggedy-guitar-driven "Johnny 99" and a jangly, fiddle-fueled "Adam Raised A Cain."

And, wow, wait 'til the crowd at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival hears Springsteen perform "How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live." This version of the song, written by Blind Alfred Reed, has lyrics that reflect the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina — bodies floating in the canal, insincere visits from unnamed politicians. It's a requiem and a call to arms.

Tickets to last night's show sold out at $100 each. Additional concerts are scheduled for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

A bevy of beneficiaries

The four-night engagement benefits the following organizations in Asbury Park: Hope Academy Charter School, Sister's Academy, Interfaith Neighbors, Asbury Park Boot Camp, 22nd U.S. Colored Troops, Asbury Park Seniors, Boys & Girls Club of Monmouth County, Epiphany House, The Center, Hispanic Affairs & Resource Center and Asbury Park Public Library.

Beneficiaries also include Family & Children's Service, Long Branch; Prevention First, Ocean; Save Tillie Inc., Silver Spring, Md.; The Stephen Crane House, Keyport; 180 Turning Lives Around,Inc., Hazlet; and Monmouth County Arts Council, Red Bank, for the proposed Asbury Park Arts Center.

The set list included the following songs: "O Mary Don't You Weep," "John Henry," "Johnny 99," "Old Dan Tucker," "Eyes On The Prize," "Jesse James," "Adam Raised A Cain," "Erie Canal," "My Oklahoma Home," "Devils & Dust," "Mrs. McGrath," "How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live," and "Jacob's Ladder."

Carlos Arredondo's Trip To Camp Casey for Easter

My Trip to Camp Casey by Carlos Arredondo April 20th, 2006

Carlos Arredondo I was so impressed with Camp Casey. This was the first time that I was in Texas. I arrived at Dallas/Fort Worth. A family from San Francisco met me at the airport and drove me to Camp Casey. From the moment I arrived, everything was well organized, comfortable, nice and clean. I loved getting up at dawn to get coffee and take a shower in the corner stall. Crawford was a great place to see beautiful sunrises and sunsets. At night, I enjoyed seeing the stars up above. People welcomed each other from the moment they arrived, supplying and helping with tents and places to sleep and providing meals. I enjoyed helping out too. I met so many people and can't remember names. I was impressed from how everybody was from everywhere. The support from everyone really helps me out with my healing process. I enjoyed the speakers and seeing Cindy and Dede. I also got to meet Cindy's daughter, Carly for the first time and her friends. I am always impressed by how down-to-earth Cindy is and continues to be with everyone. I experienced first hand THE OTHER SIDE's opinions without any confrontation. I met some Gold Star families who do not like the protesting but yet, we were able to talk and share about those we lost. I'm impressed by how hard people are working to keep this movement going. I wish the whole country could see all of the effort and all the different people who work so hard at peace. One of the hardest workers in my opinion is Ret. Col Ann Wright who I found a pleasure to be with. I experienced her knowledge and warmth. I enjoyed how much people spoke Spanish to me! Being in Crawford, Texas, I experienced all this in a cowfield with cowboys and bikers which made me realize what the democracy of this country is all about. Everyone handled the circumstances really well. There were no regrets. Everyone was very generous. Mr. Chun Pan gave me the CD "What Democracy Looks Like". If you don't have it, get it. It's really done professionally and is about the antiwar protest from September 2005 in Washington, DC. I was very touched that he included someone reading Alex' letter. The voice sounded like Alex. His email is chunpan9@yahoo.com if you want to contact him. I'm thankful for the opportunity and aid in getting to Crawford for Easter. I only wish my family could have been with me. I called both Brian and Mel as much as I could so they could talk to people too. I send me thanks to Cindy and Dede for aiding me in getting to Crawford and being a part of your "family."

South Florida Peace Events

Broward County Antiwar group protests threats against Iran 

Ft. Lauderdale, FL: On Friday, April 21, 2006 the
Broward AntiWar Coalition (BAWC) will hold a protest
at 5pm at the Federal Building in downtown Fort
Lauderdale at the Federal Building located at the
corner of Broward Blvd. and NE 3rd Ave. in opposition
to the recent U.S. threats against Iran for the
development of their nuclear program. From there the
group plans to march through downtown Ft. Lauderdale.

BAWC not only defends Iran’s sovereignty to develop as
it sees fit, but defends Iran’s right to develop
nuclear energy. “The Pentagon is currently threatening
to use ‘tactical nuclear devices’—the people of the
U.S. don’t want to see another Hiroshima. The U.S. is
the nuclear threat with thousands of nuclear
weapons—the U.S. weapons of mass destruction are the
greatest threat to humanity,” said John Peter Daly
from BAWC.

“We heard the same lies as a pretext to invade Iraq
where there never were any weapons of mass
destruction. In addition to our demand to no attacks
against Iran, we call for the immediate withdrawal of
all U.S. troops from Iraq,” added Daly.

“The big offense that Iran has committed is not
enriched uranium, but the development of an
independent economy out of reach of U.S. corporations.
The attacks against Iran are for the same reason that
the U.S. is occupying Iraq—for direct U.S. ownership
and exploitation of the region’s resources. At the
same time here at home all economic problems are being
blamed on immigrants—where again the problem is
multi-national corporations that can set up shop
at-will anywhere, creating havoc in Latin American
economies and setting the stage for millions of people
immigrating to the U.S. to find work. We call for
amnesty for all immigrants to win better wages and
benefits for all working people here.” Daly explained.

Formed in September, 2001, the Broward AntiWar
Coalition (BAWC) is a non-partisan and
democratically-run community organization that
organizes protests and educational events in
cooperation with other like-minded groups. We are
united in our opposition to a U.S. foreign policy that
attacks and dominates other countries in the interests
of Big Business and the wealthy few. BAWC opposes U.S.
occupations and wars, from Iraq to Afghanistan to
Haiti. We stand against all forms of racism, sexism,
homophobia and anti-immigrant chauvinism. Members are
diverse in our views, but we share a common vision
based on values of peace, social justice, and
equality. BAWC opposes economic and social policies
that neglect the majority while enriching the few. We
oppose the government’s attacks upon the Bill of
Rights and our hard-won rights.
***********************************************************

THURSDAY, 7:30 PM
ROOM 2, GLCC, 1717 N. ANDREWS AVE, FORT LAUDERDALE
"GENOCIDE BY SANCTIONS" (1998, 28 min.)
ADMISSION IS FREE!

At this Thursday, April 20 Broward AntiWar Coalition
meeting, we'll be showing the 28 minute documentary,
"Genocide by Sanctions" with Ramsey Clark and directed
by Gloria LaRiva. This 1998 film documents Clark's
trip to Iraq to look at the economic sanctions and
their effect which resulted in the death of an
estimated 1.5 million children during the 1990s. How
can we forget the image of Sec. of State Madelyn
Albright when asked whether the death of those
children was worth it, answered "yes"?

Why show this film today when so much has happened
since then? We need to look at the imperially-inspired
criminalization of whole nations through economic
sanctions and what should be the perspectives of the
antiwar/peace movement. Does this recent history have
any application for looking at U.S. threats against
Iran today? What can we do?

After the short film, we'll have political discussion
on these or any other related topics raised by the
movie. Following that, we'll have a brief meeting and
introduction to BAWC for anyone interested in getting
involved.

Welcome Home from a Peaceful Warrior

By Cindy Sheehan

Wednesday 19 April 2006

"Go home," a Crawford neighbor of Camp Casey, her face deformed with rage, yelled at me as about 50 of us walked the four miles from Camp Casey I to Camp Casey II on Good Friday. We were re-enacting the Stations of the Cross. I was hauling a 12-pound cross on my shoulders, which was Station 12: Jesus Dies. The cross kept getting heavier as we walked along in the high noon Texas sun, but it was not nearly as heavy as the cross that George Bush handed me on April 4, 2004.

"We are home, thank you," I replied happily, as I flashed a peace sign to her.

Camp Casey is our home. Whether a person returned this weekend or it was his first visit to Camp Casey, this Easter 2006, we welcomed him home. Returning Camp Caseyites had such a happy glow and new Camp Caseyites, like my daughter Carly, had such looks of amazed wonder on their faces. Carly told a reporter that she was so glad that she came to see that her brother's sacrifice has created such an atmosphere of tranquility and awe. Camp Casey brings healing of broken spirits, from vets who have been so damaged by war, families who have had our hearts trampled, to wonderful Americans who realize that if we allow BushCo to continue leading our country down the road to fascism and violence, our very souls are at stake - from people whom the Rev. Lowery said were "stealing the soul of America."

Camp Casey is the home of everyone and anyone working for peace and justice. It is where we all gather together in solidarity, confident in the fact that what we are doing is transforming the future and sowing the seeds of developing a more peaceful world, where the people who promote war are considered the deranged and dangerous traitors and are shunned from polite society. We had 14 more people working for justice who got arrested again in the ditches of Camp Casey I. The DA in the county refuses to file or drop the charges from the arrests at Thanksgiving. We want to challenge the First Amendment legality of the laws, which were obviously written to suppress dissent, but we can't do that when the complaint lies in the box of the DA for six months. We want our day in court, and the DA refuses to allow us to have it. Our next challenge will be in Federal Court.

As for my part, my life is one of frenetic activity - I rapidly move from place to place alone and lonely. I have friends and acquaintances everywhere, but can never stay in one place long enough to establish any kind of meaningful relationships with anyone. Even if I have any time to socialize, I am always too tired. Not when I am home at Camp Casey.

Camp Casey is the place for me where I assemble with my heart family (and now my "blood" family, also) and recharge my batteries for the interminable and exhausting struggles against BushCo and their lies and inhumanity.

When the convoy of the bus and cars filled with people that had picked me up at the airport pulled up in front of the Crawford Peace House, I was so relieved; it felt like a heavy burden had been lifted off of my shoulders. I was really home, after months of traveling all over the world and enduring the slings and arrows of the outrageous neo-con smear cult. The love and acceptance at Camp Casey is whole and wholesome and safe and secure. No matter where my stuff stays while my other stuff travels with me and long after Camp Casey is needed any longer, I will always feel like it was my home: the place where I grew up to be me in the fullest sense of the word.

A man brought me some bumper stickers along with a silver pin in the shape of handcuffs to commemorate all of my arrests for peace. The bumper stickers read: "Texas is Bush Country," with "Bush" crossed out and "Cindy" written over "Bush." Texas is definitely not Bush country, with his approval rating even dipping below 50% there, too, but in the heart of McClennan County, it is Bush country. Camp Casey and the Crawford Peace House are oases in the middle of a desert of ignorance, stubbornness and fear.

During our rally on Saturday where there were over 600 people from all over the country in attendance, about 100 "Bikers for Bush" and some people on horseback came by Camp Casey in some kind of misguided and failed attempt to intimidate us and show us how much they still support the failed and murderous policies of one of our close neighbors (who we chased off from his vacation home this Easter).

My friend and Gold Star Dad, Juan Torres, went to the side of the road to confront the counter-protestors with a picture of his dead son, John. One of the horsemen said: "F**k you and f**k your son." Juan's only son is dead and this miserably callous cowboy probably considers himself a Christian out doing the Lord's work as repulsively preached by BushCo. After this incident and when the other hate-filled man plowed over the crosses last summer, I can't believe that we at Camp Casey and in the peace movement are still accused of being the ones who dishonor our sons by what we do!

The horseback rider also had a sign on the back of his poor horse, who was probably embarrassed by his rider's behavior. The sign read: "Cindy go Home." He told our security presence that he should "Go in the tent and shoot that bitch." Don't these people know that I am not the only citizen who makes the pilgrimage to Crawford, Texas to demand answers to the question, "What Noble Cause?" and who is working for an end to this insane and immoral war? Even if I left Camp Casey, as I had to in August for a week, the movement would still continue to grow and thrive. The peace movement is unstoppable, and whether I am shot or quit voluntarily, BushCo is on its way out and peace is on the march even if I am out in front or not.

Our hero, Rev. Joseph Lowery, who stood in front of George and Laura and challenged him at Mrs. King's funeral, came out to Camp Casey for the weekend, and he added so much amazing grace to our gathering with his humor and healing presence. The Reverend encouraged us all to be agitators and he also ordained all of us as "chaplains" in the crusade for peace. Along with always remarkable entertainment, Camp Casey Easter was the best Camp Casey yet, and the experience just keeps getting richer and more layered with healing, health, peace and love.

We Camp Caseyites would be honored if you would join us at our Summer '06 edition, which will also occur with or without the presence of our annoying and rude neighbor who has never even come down the road to do the neighborly thing by welcoming us and listening to our stories and answering our questions.

We have an ambitious schedule for the summer Camp Casey romp this year. We will be holding a workshop for young activist training; an International Peace Conference (Imagine, World Peace found in the proximity of Bush's faux-ranch!); and an International War Crimes Tribunal, where we will petition George Bush to stroll down the road and answer accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

If you would like to be on our list to receive updates about Camp Casey and other important peace events like the major war protest in New York City sponsored by United for Peace and Justice; or our 24 hour vigil in front of the White House on Mother's Day, sponsored by Code Pink; please go and sign up for email alerts on the Gold Star Families for Peace website; and if you want to make donations for our thrilling summer program go to the Crawford Peace House web site. We also need donations of frequent flyer miles to assist young Iraq Vets and Gold Star Families to get to Crawford for the summer.

With our government threatening to commit nuclear genocide in Iran to prevent Iran from attaining a nuclear weapon and George's insistence that he can commit any crime and flush our constitution down the toilet because "we are a nation at war," even though he is the one who deceived us into this very same war, it is now more urgent and imperative than ever to stand up with us and be counted for peace and justice.

Come home this summer to Camp Casey. Live in peace for awhile. Recharge and restore. There is always room for more.

Sharon Hughes THINKS she knows the truth about Iraq

December 6, 2006 UPDATE:

It came to my attention Sharon Hughes has added this post to her website under unbelievable quotes and linked this page to your site below. I guess she didn't like what I had to say about her views on killing so many people because you’re afraid of them. OR you "think" they were the ones who did a crime on nine eleven.

Sharon, where's the plane?

You have bought the story hook, line and sinker. I'm glad your sinker isn't big enough to bring our country lower than it has already fallen. Our last elections proved that. But still, there are the people who listen to your station and believe you. People who are so selfish, so power hungry, people living is so much fear that you have to kill because you think this action of death is protecting you.

I had to shake my head when I looked at your poll results on your website. I used to think we were all the same. We all wanted the best for all our neighbors. Years ago I found out about your kind and started this blog Divided We Stand. Just like the skin heads that are so full of hate they want to kill anyone who doesn't have white skin. I don't have to like them but I understand their right to exist. It doesn't mean I agree with them or wish they weren’t that way, but they are. Your 31% is here and we have to live with you. And I've learned, you will never change. Just like the skin heads.

I only wish others actions wouldn't have reactions to me and my children. But their actions will have reactions on us in our future.

My hope is in speaking to the people who cross my path and asking them if they vote. When we start talking about our countries actions I hear the same things I feel. We only have 30% vote in most of our elections. Imagine if everyone voted and we the people did take control of our country, we would have never done the things we have done in the past few years. Kill so many people while taking our own freedoms away at home. People are waking up, we are speaking to one another. We will not let Sharons 31% (which would be smaller if people did get involved) take our country to places we should not be...torture.

May peace be - inside all of us,
Cindy

*********************************************
original post

The truth is coming out. Some people refuse to see the truth just like they refuse to accept the knowledge that 9/11 had nothing to do with Iraq.

War in Iraq - Who Is Telling the Truth?

By Sharon Hughes

The American people have heard so many conflicting stories about the attitudes of the Iraqi people towards America, as well as our soliders' attitudes about the war effort, that reporting such stories has become a battleground in and of itself.

There is no doubt that negative feedback about the war is emphasized by the mainstream media which, while accusing legislators of politicizing the war, in fact are as guilty, if not more, of doing the same. Case in point: Cindy Sheehan. Who would argue that the air and print time given to this anti- war poster-mom of the left wasn't exhaustive? Yet hardly a mention has been given to the Blue Star Moms and others who have also lost sons in the war, and have something to say, but from a different point of view than Sheehan. Let's not forget, the media made Cindy Sheehan.

The headlines of major print media, especially online where articles are grouped by topic, could be enough to make the less informed think we are losing the war, that the effort and sacrifice paid already by our troops have been in vain. However, when you read the stories themselves, very often there's little substance to support the headline accusations, once you get past the spin.

That's why I like to read and hear it from the Iraqi people, our soldiers, and others who are not interested in politicizing the war.

I had to write her a letter:
(hey, she asked for it. Send yours Contact: sharon@changingworldviews.com )

Please tell me what 9/11 had to do with Iraq? NOTHING

Our BRAVE YOUNG HERO'S are being used as PAWNS for the love of power and money. I support the troops. I support them so much I want to save their lives by bringing them home.

Oh, I know I'll get a ton of mail for saying these things from those who disagree. But I comfort myself with the knowledge that the vast majority of Americans wish there was no such thing as war, but understand the consequences of not standing up to the bullies of the world. If you can say anything about America, you can say this...we will not be beaten in the school yard of the world.

Maybe you will get a lot of mail because your on the wrong side of the truth. The majority of Americans know this so called war is wrong and we don't want the torture that goes along with it. We don't like our freedom taken away by setting up free speach zones, spying on people that disagree while our military think they are fighting to peserve our freedom at home. The school yard bullies of the world reside in the White House. Our actions have reactions. You can't bully other humans like yourself without breeding so much hate in them they want to fight you back...and BOOM, we're all gone. Killing begets more killing...when will your kind ever learn?

Stop spreading and living in fear, for all our sake.

May PEACE be inside all of us
Cindy

SMART BARTENDER (something to make you smile)

A man enters a bar and orders a drink. The bar has a robot bartender.

The robot serves him a perfectly prepared cocktail, and then asks him,
"What's your IQ?"

The man replies "150" and the robot proceeds to make conversation
about global warming factors, Quantum physics and spirituality, biomimicry,
environmental interconnectedness, string theory, nanotechnology, and sexual
proclivities. The customer is very impressed and thinks, "This is
really cool."
He decides to test the robot. He walks out of the bar, turns
around, and comes back
in for another drink. Again, the robot serves him the perfectly
prepared drink and asks him, "What's your IQ?"

The man responds, "about a 100."

Immediately the robot starts talking, but this time,
about football, baseball, supermodels, favorite fast foods, guns,
and women's breasts.

Really impressed, the man leaves the bar and decides to give the robot one
more test. He heads out and returns, the robot serves him and asks, "What's
your IQ?"

The man replies, "Er, 50, I think."

And the robot says .... real slowly... "So............... ya ... gonna
..vote ...for ...Bush ....again?"

Neil Young wants what we all want BUSH/CHENEY IMPEACHMENT

I knew we would start hearing good music sooner or later. We always get great songs written in bad times...and these are some really bad times in our history. I can't wait to buy this album!

May love and peace be inside all of us,
Cindy

Neil Young urges Bush Impeachment on protest album

By Steve Gorman

Veteran rocker Neil Young has recorded a protest album featuring an anti-Iraq war track with "a holy vow to never kill again" and a song titled "Let's Impeach the President," the singer said on Monday.

The 10-track set, called "Living with War," was recorded this month by a "power trio" -- electric guitar, bass and drums -- plus trumpet and a 100-member choir, the Canadian-born musician announced on his Web site.

Young's longtime manager, Elliot Roberts, told Reuters the album, which has been the subject of Internet buzz for several days, will be played for executives at his label, Warner Music Group's Reprise Records, on Tuesday.

Reprise spokesman Bill Bentley said Young's latest effort, which he spent about three days recording, came as a surprise.

"We didn't know he was making a record," Bentley said. "That's the beauty of Neil Young."

Young, 60, is the latest in a string of big-name recording stars to take musical aim at President Bush and his conduct of the war in the Iraq. Others have included Steve Earle ("Rich Man's War"), Willie Nelson ("What Ever Happened to Peace on Earth") and the Rolling Stones ("Sweet Neo Con").

But "Living with War," coming from one of the most influential and iconoclastic singer-songwriters of Young's generation, may be the most heavy-hitting anti-Bush protest yet to surface from a major rock star.

In a message crawl along the bottom of his Web site, www.neilyoung.com, Young drew parallels to two of the leading protest singers of the 1960s, saying of his new record: "I think it is a metal version of Phil Ochs and Bob Dylan ... metal folk protest?"

The crawl goes on to reveal the lyrics of the album's title track, with such lines as: "I raise my hand in peace ... I never bow to the laws of the thought police ... I take a holy vow ... to never kill again ...

"In the big hotels ... in the mosques and the doors of the old museum ... I take a holy vow ... to never kill again."

Roberts confirmed that a separate song on the album is titled "Let's Impeach the President." He declined to disclose any further details about the record.

But according to some online reports, that song accuses Bush of "lying" and features a rap with the president's voice set against a choir singing "flip-flop."

One member of that choir, a California-based musician, wrote on a "blog" entry last Friday that the recording session wrapped with an a capella version of "America the Beautiful."

Young's latest offering comes just seven months after the release of his last album, "Prairie Wind," which has sold about 450,000 U.S. copies as of last week, according to sales tracking service Nielsen SoundScan. Music from that album was featured in the recent concert film "Neil Young: Heart of Gold," directed by Jonathan Demme.

"Living with War" appears to bring Young full circle from a more pro-Bush administration stance he took in the months following the September 11 attacks.

Not long after recording the song "Let's Roll," a tribute to passengers who apparently fought back against hijackers on doomed United Airlines Flight 93 over Pennsylvania, Young came out publicly in support of the U.S. Patriot Act.

The legislation, which gave law enforcement authorities broad new powers aimed at bolstering the administration's war on terror, was harshly criticized by some as threatening civil liberties.

But at a December 2001 ceremony accepting an award from the free-speech advocacy group People for the American Way, Young said he believed the measure was necessary, though he urged the audience to ensure that its more controversial provisions were only temporary.

"Living with War" is hardly the first work by Young to take on the political establishment. As part of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, in 1970, Young wrote and recorded the song "Ohio," about the four Kent State University students killed by National Guard troops during an anti-Vietnam war rally.

Nearly two decades later, he book-ended his album "Freedom" with the song "Rockin' in the Free World," which chided Bush's father, then president, with the lyrics: "We got a thousand points of light/For the homeless man/We got a kinder, gentler machine-gun hand."

Pearl Jam "World Wide Suicide" on SNL- GREAT SONG!

Pearl Jam to rock 'SNL'

Pearl Jam will be the musical guests when Lindsay Lohan hosts NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'' on April 15.

It will be Lohan's third hosting stint -- and a rare TV appearance for Pearl Jam. The Seattle rock band, which earned fame and critical acclaim during the Northwest's early 1990s grunge movement, will perform songs from its new self-titled album, slated for release May 2.

Pearl Jam will tour this summer, including concerts at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco on July 16 and July 18.

"World Wide Suicide"

I felt the earth on Monday. It moved beneath my feet.
In the form of a morning paper. Laid out for me to see.

Saw his face in a corner picture. I recognized the name.
Could not stop staring at the. Face I'd never see again.

It's a shame to awake in a world of pain
What does it mean when a war has taken over

It's the same everyday in a hell manmade
What can be saved, and who will be left to hold her?

The whole world...World over.
It's a worldwide suicide.

Medals on a wooden mantle. Next to a handsome face.
That the president took for granted.
Writing checks that others pay.

And in all the madness. Thought becomes numb and naive.
So much to talk about. Nothing for to say.

It's the same everyday and the wave won't break
Tell you to pray, while the devils on their shoulder

Laying claim to the take that our soldiers save
Does not equate, and the truth's already out there

The whole world,... World over.
It's a worldwide suicide.

The whole world,... World over.
It's a worldwide suicide.

Looking in the eyes of the fallen
You got to know there's another, another, another, another
Another way

It's a shame to awake in a world of pain
What does it mean when a war has taken over

It's the same everyday and the wave won't break
Tell you to pray, while the devils on their shoulder

The whole world,... World over.
It's a worldwide suicide.

The whole world,... World over.
It's a worldwide suicide.