Mike Whitney is a landscape contractor who veered into journalism following the attacks of September 11. He is a Project Censored award winner who writes on foreign policy, domestic politics and the economy. His articles can found at Counterpunch or the Unz Review. 

Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion

Jeffrey St. Clair (editor), Joshua Frank (editor)

The election of Barack Obama sparked long-dormant tingles of optimism in even the most entrenched political cynics. But the promise of an Obama revolution fizzled out even before his inauguration, as the president-in-waiting stocked his cabinet with corporate hacks, cut secret deals with Wall Street titans and plotted a bloody escalation of the senseless war in Afghanistan. Here is a scathing indictment of the Obama presidency from the best writers on the American Left. Hopeless is a view of Obama's policies from the trenches: the compromises, the backstabbing, the same old imperial ambitions. From Obama's sell-outs to big oil and the nuclear industry to his continuation of savage Bush-era policies in the CIA's global network of secret prisons, this fast-paced chronicle will outrage the politically naive, delight the critical and inspire those looking for an alternative to the dismal politics of lesser evilism. As Emma Goldman famously quipped, "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." Let this book stand as a painful reminder to those who think anything less than social struggle will net tangible gain.

Contributors include: Mike Whitney, Kevin Alexander Gray, Jeremy Scahill, Joe Bageant, Marjorie Cohn, Brian Tokar, Linn Washington, Jr., Ronnie Cummins, Kathy Kelly, Tariq Ali, Ralph Nader, and more.

CAFÉ MUSIQUE (BRYNN ALBANESE, DUANE INGLISH, CRAIG NUTTYCOMBE, FRED MURRAY, ERIC WILLIAMS)

Café Musique lives up to its name with a musical pallet that includes gypsy, swing, tango, folk and their self-defined genre, “wild classical.” The five members seem to eat, sleep and breathe music. They’re from the central coast of California and all five come from wildly different backgrounds, but together they’ve found kindred musical spirits in one another. Having performed around the world and been on the stages of several world-class music festivals, Café Musique has made thousands of fans of their powerful, emotive and beautiful sound. They have shared the stage with Doc Severinsen, David Grisman Quintet and Los Lobos and performed and recorded with Grammy award winner Louis Ortega, musical madman Joe Craven, songwriter Jill Knight and Broadway vocalist Sarah Kleeman.

A quote from Lisa Manning (entertainment director, Hidden Valley Music Seminars, Carmel Valley, CA) captures the essence of the band’s music perfectly: “Leading the way is the siren song of violinist Brynn Albanese. She charms, seduces, and delightfully entertains the audience through a whirlwind of musical genres. The group dynamic is part of the fun, with a sassy, musical interplay between accordionist Duane Inglish and Ms. Albanese. The band offers range as well as depth, moving from exhilarating tango to the intense folk music of Eastern Europe to the truly lovely songwriting of guitarist Craig Nuttycombe.”

Rounding out the band, string wizard Eric Williams brings a life-time of musical experience to the band’s fabric forged by his touring and recording with Taj Mahal, Rita Coolidge and appearing on over 100 recordings. On bass is multi-instrumentalist Fred Murray, whose background in blues, folk and rock gives the ensemble a heartbeat that underscores the ensemble’s powerful and passionate music.

ABOUT THE BAND MEMBERS:

Brynn Albanese (violin and vocals)

Graduate Peabody Conservatory of Music; Boston Symphony and Pops; Concertmaster of the Boston Philharmonic; Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and The Hague Philharmonic in The Netherlands; Concertmaster SLO Opera and Symphony of the Vines; recorded on Schindler’s List; Saving Private Ryan; Jurassic Park; author ‘Violin Practice Technique Boot Camp’ endorsed by American String Teachers Association; gluten-free but not fun free.

Duane Inglish (accordion)

Studied under master accordionists Frank Umbro and Ray Gibson; past director of the Live Oak Music Festival in Santa Barbara; former pub owner; loves bluegrass but won’t tell anyone; poet; frustrated romanticist; traveler; former public radio host; truck driver; passionate photographer; likes chick flicks; watches ‘Singing in the Rain” late at night; drinks cheap wine.

Craig Nuttycombe (guitar and vocals)

Songwriter; wordsmith; Hollywood High School; New Dimensions surf band; Lambert and Nuttycombe; A&M records (two albums); toured with Jimi Hendrix and Canned Heat; loves his dog; channels Mr. Rogers; was french romanticist Jean Pierre in another life; Wallichs Music, Sunset and Vine; takes pictures of the audience; enjoys picnics and showers.

Fred Murray (bass and vocals)

First band at age 14; rock to jazz to funk to Cajun to blues to country; now gypsy and tangos; Austin; Santa Barbara; Paso Robles; co-producer of Half Step Behind; lap steel guitar; clarinet; drums; guitar builder; has performed across the country; computer wizard; cat lover; every note counts; shows up just-in-time; self-described recluse.

Eric Williams (guitar, ukulele, bouzouki and vocals)

A multi-instrumentalist playing instruments ranging from guitar in all styles, bass, banjo, ukulele to the gorgeous warm sounds of the bouzouki. Eric has been a recording artist and album producer on more than one-hundred albums. He has performed and toured with the likes of Tori Amos, Taj Mahal, Tracy Ullman and Russian Balalaika Orchestras.

John helps men and women understand, respect and appreciate their differences in both personal and professional relationships. His approach combines specific communication techniques with healthy, nutritional choices that create the brain and body chemistry for lasting health, happiness and romance. His many books, videos, workshops and seminars provide practical insights to effectively manage stress and improve relationships at all stages of life and love.

John’s books have sold over 50 million copies in 50 different languages. His groundbreaking book, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, was the best-selling book of the 1990s. It launched his Mars Venus book series that forever changed the way men and women view their relationships.

John’s newest book is titled, Work with Me: The 8 Blind Spots Between Men and Women in Business. Work with Me teaches us how to achieve a more comfortable and productive work environment. John co-authored the book with Barbara Annis, a global expert on Gender Intelligence whose teachings and trainings have transformed the culture of numerous Fortune 500 companies and international governments.

Revealed for the first time in Work with Me are the Eight Gender Blind Spots, the leading false assumptions that create problems between men and women at work and at home. These blind spots were discovered using science, corporate case studies and the gender-based research from consulting firms and leading universities. John and Barabara also used the results from a very candid survey of over 100,000 men and women executives in Fortune 500 companies.

Work with Me details the biological and social influences that compel men and women to think and act as they do. It also offers clear solutions to help men and women understand how each gender communicates, solves problems, makes decisions, resolves conflict, leads others, and deals with stress.

John continues to travel the world teaching communities and companies the best ways to improve their relationships and communication. He has appeared on Oprah, Dr. Oz, The Today Show, CBS Morning Show, Good Morning America, The Early Show, The View, and many others. He has been profiled in Time, Forbes, USA Today, TV Guide and People. He was also the subject of a rare three-hour special hosted by Barbara Walters.

John Gray lives in Northern California with his wife of 28 years, Bonnie. They have three grown daughters and four grandchildren. He is an avid follower of his own health and relationship advice.

Takao Yamada, a Seattle-based attorney and entrepreneur, is a co-founder of AirportLawyer.org (https://www.airportlawyer.org/).  This web app connects refugees, immigrants and other travelers affected by the recent presidential executive orders with volunteer lawyers on the ground.  After helping coordinate the emergency legal response at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Yamada developed the app AirportLawyer.org with immigration attorney Greg McLawsen and the legal technology companies Clio (https://www.clio.com/) and Neota Logic (https://www.neotalogic.com/).  Yamada is deeply committed to connecting technology entrepreneurship with activism to amplify the social justice impact of both. He has worked in public policy and politics for a number of years.  In addition to co-founding tech start-ups, Yamada has worked for the Washington State legislature and, as a clerk for Associate Justice of the Washington Supreme Court Mary Yu, helped facilitate the first same-sex marriage in Washington state. Yamada is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center (J.D., 2011) and Hobart and William Smith Colleges (B.A., Political Science &Government, 2002).

Airport Lawyer is currently live for Baltimore/Washington International Airport, Denver International Airport,  Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport.  The group behind the project plans to rollout coverage at all major U.S. international airports. Go to https://www.airportlawyer.org/updates/2017/2/7/press-release-feb-7-2017

Kauilapele (KP) is a Spirit of Light working with energies on this planet to assist in humanity’s ascension process and help bring about the New Earth.

He has a Ph.D. in organic chemistry, and is a professional musician, primarily performing Hawaiian music and slack key guitar.

His energy missions have taken him from the Big Island of Hawai’i to neighbor islands (Oahu, Kauai, Maui), Peru, Bolivia, Egypt, and Turtle Island (North America), where he "double-infinity-ed" the continent in 2013.

He has a great love for coffee, and co-invented and helped develop nutritional products from the coffee fruit. He is also an annual performer at the Kona Coffee Festival.

He started the KP blog in 2010, and posts daily articles related to the transformation of planet Earth. The readership now reaches 20-30,000 views per day.

Dr. David Seaman was the first person to author a scientific paper that specifically hypothesized that diets can be pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory. Since that paper was published in 2002, thousands of papers and numerous books have been published on the topic of diet and inflammation, which is now accepted as mainstream.

Dr. Seaman is a Professor of Clinical Sciences in the Chiropractic Medicine program at National University of Health Sciences in Pinellas Park, Fl. He has a BS from Rutgers University in 1982; a Doctor of Chiropractic from New York Chiropractic College in 1986; and a MS in Bio/nutrition from the University of Bridgeport in 1991

While in clinical practice in the late 1980’s, he became aware of the developing research that linked nutrition to the inflammatory process and noticed that appropriate dietary changes could significantly improve various musculoskeletal and visceral conditions. Based on this experience, he began to focus on nutritional approaches for inflammation/pain control and has followed the related scientific literature ever since. This led to the publication of the first book on nutrition for pain and inflammation, which was followed by many articles and book chapters devoted to this topic. His educational efforts resulted in being awarded the 2006 Academician of the Year by the American Chiropractic Association.

Laura Derr is a clinical psychologist with over 30 years of clinical experience, and 30 years of spiritual practice, 20 years in Buddhist mediation community, and 10 years with the new teachings of Jesus. She was ordained in June, 2016 as an Interfaith Minister. Her spiritual path has revealed a strong intuitive awareness, and the conviction that this awareness is available to everyone.

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Forest is the long time Master of Ceremonies of the now Ozark Mountain UFO Conference in Eureka Springs, AR with many stories to share of his experiences along the way.