Combining medieval splendour with groundbreaking architecture, an abiding respect for tradition with a sunny Mediterranean disposition and temples to art with shrines to fashion, Barcelona has exploded in popularity in recent years. Luckily, the vastly improved hotels have made it easier to find a quality room than ever before, and with a little forward-planning it's possible to get some great deals.

Here are my top hotel picks in Barcelona.

Overlooking the Port Vell, The Serras makes the most of its enviable location with huge floor-to-ceiling windows (some rooms even have tubs from which you can watch the yachts bobbing in the harbour), but the best view is from the rooftop terrace. Newly revamped and expanded, it now has a leafy open-air restaurant to add to its cocktail bar and plunge pool.

A stylish but impressively relaxed place, it works hard to keep its guests happy, providing luxuries such as mobile phones with free data and international calls, Diptyque toiletries and a 24-hour bar.

The Room-Mate chain is a quirky Spanish affair that styles each hotel around an individual, fictional, person. Whoever Anna is, she sure has elan and a quirky sense of style. The cartoony fish wallpaper in the corridors sets the playful tone, which continues all the way to the neat little pool, surrounded by Tim Burton-inspired striped cushions. Rooms are filled with colour, but a little more sober, although the nicest ("Deluxe") have a sumptuous Eastern theme and are worth splashing out a little extra for.

With the sort of luxe comfort and service you'd expect from a Mandarin Oriental, the Barcelona branch has character in spades, as well as a notable selection of restaurants and bars. The outstanding Moments has (deservedly) won two Michelin stars for its chef Raul Balam, whose mother Carme Ruscalleda  one of the most garlanded chefs in the world  oversees Blanc, a less formal dining option. There are two outdoor bar-restaurants, one of which serves Peruvian cuisine, as well as the celebrated Banker's Bar.

Though it's only been open a couple of years, Barcelona's Soho House already has the venerable and clubby feel of one of its London counterparts. There are elements of Catalan craftsmanship in the design, but the look is overwhelming Cotswold retreat  which works surprisingly well in combination with a view over the Med. Rooms are small but luxurious, abundantly stocked with Cowshed toiletries and what can only be described as maxi-bars. There are various bars and restaurants, a rooftop pool and a small private cinema.

Set in the 19th-century neo-classical building that once housed the city's guild of cotton producers, the hotel runs with the theme. The reception desk is adorned with vast sprays of cotton bolls; the rooms (dazzling white) are named after fabrics, and there is a discreet Atelier, lined with bolts of cotton, where you can have a shirt made. Dazzling architectural features include the coffered library-turned-cocktail bar and the 1950s suspended staircase.

A smart, sexy hotel with an understated deco elegance, the Grand Hotel Central has one outstanding feature  its rooftop infinity pool, star of a million Instagram shots. The view from up here (where there is also a bar/restaurant) is breathtaking, and enhanced by a curious maritime mural. The story goes that the family that owns the hotel, frustrated by the neighbouring building blocking what would be a view of the sea, bought it for themselves and commissioned a vast mural to be painted on one side.

Everything about Casa Bonay is designed to engage and give back to the local community, and during the day it becomes something of a co-working space for young Catalans, who gaze at MacBooks while eating homemade granola with almond milk and sipping a cold-pressed coffee. In the evenings, they return for the Asian food or for events such as the outdoor cinema on the citrus tree and herb-filled rooftop terrace. In the simply designed, light-filled rooms, rugs, blankets and hand-crafted furniture is by local designers, and much of it is for sale.

Bowls of M&Ms, an honesty bar, hammocks in the rooms, a little slice of rainforest, complete with shower, on the roof  these are the things that make up the Casa Camper experience. Rooms  painted crimson and overlooking a hanging garden  are divided into two, with sitting rooms across the corridor from the bedrooms (strangers padding around in dressing gowns is less awkward than it sounds), and an excellent 24-hour free snack bar is a social hub day and night.

The Sofia is up in the business district, which means there are bargains to be had in holiday periods. Rooms on the higher floors have fabulous views, and the dining options  three restaurants and an underground speakeasy with cabaret  are surprisingly good. The pool is a little too close to the road to be peaceful, but the spa is exceptional. Genuinely relaxing, it's a vast and leafy space, with expert therapists and a range of treatments, along with a caldarium, sauna, salt room and ice-fountain.

Not for the shy, the seaside W is unabashedly aimed at the young and glam (there is an actual recording studio in the basement, not to mention a ferocious entrance policy for the main bar). The rooms, however, are all about the sea, decorated with a maritime theme and with beds placed dead centre, all the better to gaze out at the view. The gym and pools also face out to sea, as do the various restaurants, one of which is practically on the sand itself.

We may earn some commission if you click on a link in this article and buy a product or service, but we never allow this to influence our coverage.

Barcelona hotels 10 best places to stay for value and location


The popularity of socialism has spread like wildfire, especially since the Obama administration.

Joel Gilbert points out the dangers of allowing such a flawed philosophy to be encouraged.

American Socialism On The Rise


An Irish sailor has been rescued from the Indian Ocean after his yacht was damaged when he tried to help an injured rival during the Golden Globe Race.

Indian sailor Abhilash Tomy is safe on a French fishing vessel with Dublin man Gregor McGuckin, a spokesman for Mr McGuckin said.

The mast of Mr Tomys yacht Thuriya broke off when it was rolled in a storm on Friday, and the yachtsman suffered what he described as a severe back injury.

The 39-year-old Indian navy commander was incapacitated on his bunk inside his boat some 1,000 miles south west of Perth in western Australia, race organisers said.

Mr McGuckin was dismasted in the same storm.

In a statement issued on Monday, the rescue team said Mr McGuckin and Mr Tomy were onboard the French fisheries patrol vessel Osiris.

The vessel initially rescued Indian sailor Abhilash Tomy who is reported to be conscious and talking. The vessel then sailed approximately 30 miles to safely evacuate Gregor McGuckin. McGuckins condition is good and has reported nothing more than bumps and bruises.

In an incredible show of seamanship, the 32-year-old Irishman managed to build a jury rig and hand steer his yacht Hanley Energy Endurance for the past four days to within 30 miles of his fellow competitor in order to be on site to assist with the rescue if required.

McGuckin did not declare an emergency for his own situation despite being rolled over and losing his mast. However, given the extremely remote location and the condition of his yacht, it was deemed the appropriate course of action to abandon his yacht under a controlled evacuation scenario as the opportunity arose. The considered move ensures in the event that his own situation deteriorated in any attempt to reach land in the coming weeks a second rescue mission would not be required.

The Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Canberra reported that Tomy is conscious, talking and onboard the Orisis, according to the statement.

Mr McGuckin has been commended for his actions.

Once the two solo yachtsmen are safely aboard the Osiris, the French fisheries patrol ship will proceed to Amsterdam Island where the rescued sailors will be given a full medical examination. The hospital on Amsterdam Island is well equipped with X-ray and ultrasound equipment.

The 2018 Golden Globe Race departed Les Sables dOlonne, France, on July 1st. Competitors are aiming to sail solo, non-stop around the world, via the five Great Capes and return to the French port.PA

Irish sailor rescued after yacht damaged during Golden Globe Race


Spain will look to make it two from two against England in the Nations League when they face Gareth Southgates side in Seville.

Luis Enriques men are in buoyant mood after they swept Wales aside in Cardiff, and they will be confident of continuing their form against teams from the United Kingdom at the home of La Liga side Real Betis.

England were defeated at Wembley by La Roja last month in both sides Nations League opener, with Saul and Rodrigo replying to Rashfords opener.

What time does it start?

Spain vs England kicks off at 7:45pm (BST)

Where can I watch it?

The match will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event channel from 7pm. Highlights will be shown on the Sky Sports Football channel at midnight.

Jordan Henderson  The latest crisis to form a cloud over the England football team concerns the lack of a quality passers, and with opposite numbers such as Isco and Saul so fluid on the ball that criticism has only intensified. However, while the likes of James Maddison have been called up to attempt to address that problem, it will be up to the more experienced heads, such as Liverpools Henderson, to guide the younger stars as England look to rebuild their midfield.

Englands last visit to Spain will not serve as any inspiration to Gareth Southgate, but nonetheless it took two special strikes from current Villarreal players to defeat the Three Lions. Mario Gaspar acrobatically diverted a lofted Sergio Busquets pass into the top corner, before Santi Cazorla, an Arsenal player at the time, deceived Joe Hart to beat him at his near post and secure victory in Alicante. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63Qkr3Sz8qk

Paco Alcacer  The Spaniard ended his Barcelona exile by joining Borussia Dortmund on loan in the summer and the forward has not looked back since. His double against Wales took his tally to nine goals in five games in all competitions, and therefore Englands defence will have to be aware of the former Valencia forward.

Follow the Independent Sport on Instagram here, for all of the best images, videos and stories from around the sporting world.

Spain vs England LIVE Nations League what time how to watch odds and more


Everything about Jeremy Corbyns interview with Der Spiegel yesterday was fascinating, including the publication in which it appeared. The leader of the opposition believes his relations with the British press are so poor he has to go to foreign journalists for a fair hearing.

The most important thing he said was picked out by Der Spiegel for its headline: We cant stop Brexit. It was published just two hours after Jo Johnson resigned as transport minister in order to argue the opposite, which rather took the shine off Remainer optimism that Johnsons resignation was the start of something big.

Der Spiegel asked Corbyn: If you could stop Brexit, would you?

He didnt answer the question, but his reply is worth quoting in full: We cant stop it. The referendum took place. Article 50 has been triggered. What we can do is recognise the reasons why people voted Leave.

Not only did he not answer the question, he failed to rehearse the partys carefully crafted policy. Remember all the fuss at the annual conference in Liverpool about how, if Labour couldnt force a general election, all options would be on the table? Well, one option not on the table on which Corbyn was photographed, in the leader of the oppositions office overlooking the Thames, was the option of staying in the EU.

That lends some clarity to the uncertainty that lies ahead. It has become fashionable to say that there is no majority in the House of Commons for any of the Brexit options. But that cannot be true, because on any vote there are only Ayes and Noes, and one number must be larger than the other.

If Theresa May strikes a deal, then I think any attempt to postpone Brexit  to allow for further talks or a referendum  would be defeated. Then my view is that MPs, faced with a choice between a deal or leaving without a deal, would vote for the deal.

What is harder to predict is what happens if May cannot reach agreement. In that case the choice becomes leaving without a deal or seeking an extension of the Article 50 deadline.

That is where Corbyns words are so significant. He really is a Eurosceptic. He was prepared to make an unenthusiastic case for the social side of the EU during the referendum, but he is quite excited to be leaving. I do not believe he will support a new referendum (as long as remaining in the EU is one of the options), or indeed any delay to Brexit beyond 29 March. Which means that we are likely to leave on that date.

This is not just a matter of his long-held beliefs. It is a matter of the surprisingly Blairite strategy of his inner team in wanting to maintain the broadest possible coalition of voters, on the Leave and Remain sides of the divide.

That inclusiveness is the surprising theme running through Der Spiegels interview. In it, Corbyn started off by attacking Tony Blair for wanting to turn traditional social democracy into what he called a third way.

This prompted Jorg Schindler, his interviewer, to say: Which led to him winning by a landslide in 1997. (Even the foreign press turns out to be unbelievably hostile, the phrase Corbyn used to describe the British mainstream print media.)

What was interesting, though, was that, although Corbyn criticised Blair for moving Labour to the right, he didnt describe his own policies as a turn to the left. Instead, he spoke about how popular his policies are, and about the values that lie behind them. Which is a rather Blairite thing to do, especially when the values, that you work for the entirety of society and dont blame minorities, that you invest in education, but above all, that you give people hope, are ones with which Blairites  and most Tories  could agree.

When he was asked about his opponents among Labour MPs, Corbyn said: I reach out to all  all the time. And he rejected the idea that it would be easier for him if his adversaries left to set up a new centrist party: No, I dont want the party to be split because any split would be dangerous for the future of all of us. I want them to stay together and recognise that, unless we offer an inclusive radical alternative to what this Tory government is doing, were not going to win the election.

Vote-getting pragmatism rather than ideological purity? Whatever next?

As I say, there was a lot in that interview. But the most important part, over the next four months, was the bit where Corbyn said that Brexit cannot be  that is, will not be  stopped.

 The Independent has launched its #FinalSay campaign to demand that voters are given a voice on the final Brexit deal.

 Sign our petition here

Donapost listen to Jo Johnson listen to Jeremy Corbyn he doesnapost want to stop Brexit


Transhumanism is well on its way to becoming a reality in the United States military, as the Pentagon has announced that its working on a new neural interface technology that would connect human brains directly to machines as a way to control them.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, also known as DARPA, says the technology, known as Next-Generation Non-Surgical Neurotechnology, or N3, will allow troops to connect to special military control systems using just their brainwaves. The technology will allow for humans to not only control military machines with their minds, but also the inverse  military machines would be able to transmit information to users brains as well.

The goal is to combine the speed and processing power of computers with humans ability to adapt to complex situations, according to DARPA. It will allow people to control, feel and interact with a remote machine as though it were a part of their own body.

From the first time a human carved a rock into a blade or formed a spear, humans have been creating tools to help them interact with the world around them, says Al Emondi, the program manager at DARPAs Biological Technologies Office. The tools we use have grown more sophisticated over time ... but these still require some form of physical control interface  touch, motion or voice. What neural interfaces promise is a richer, more powerful and more natural experience in which our brains effectively become the tool.

Mark of the beast: melding humans with machines

DARPA claims that the technology is completely innocent, as similar iterations of it for disabled veterans are already in use. Revolutionizing Prosthetics, as its called, is a program by DARPA that implants electrodes into disabled veterans brains, allowing them to control prosthetic limbs simply by thinking about it.

But isnt that always how egregious new forms of transhumanism typically start? Positive anecdotes about how invasive technologies are helping people almost always functions as the gateway to more government control over humans  in this case, military servicemen who are being told that implantable technologies stand to benefit humanity.

DARPAs rhetoric would have us all believe that combining man with machine is somehow beneficial and even natural, even though its true implications are more mark of the beast than they are revolutionary breakthrough.

Consider that with N3, able-bodied members of the military would need to ingest different chemical compounds, according to reports, in order to activate external sensors that both read and write information to the brain. This technology has to be bidirectional, claims DARPA, though the agency has not fully revealed precisely why this is the case.

Its the type of thing one might expect to see in a sci-fi movie, except its now happening in real life. In the future, as openly admitted by DARPA, members of the military will be able to control attack drones with their brains, or deploy robot warriors using just brain motor signals and thoughts.

The technology is even being designed to provide real-time feedback about events happening in the world, such as cyber attacks. Users will purportedly be able to feel these events inside their bodies through sensations.

The Pentagon Is Building Technology Allowing Troops To Control Machines With Their Minds


Hotep Jesus joins Alex Jones live via Skype to discuss his experience during the black conservative conference at the White House just a few days ago.

See Hotep Jesus Censored White House Speech


The son of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi left Saudi Arabia on Thursday, according to CNN, after having originally been prevented from leaving the country by a travel ban. Salah bin Jamal Khashoggi, a dual US-Saudi citizen, had his passport restricted by the kingdom earlier in the year.

Salah is the eldest son of Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed by a Saudi hit squad after entering his countrys consulate in Istanbul on 2 October. Earlier in the day the Saudis effectively admitted the murder was planned when in the latest twist in the narrative, they admitted the killing was a premeditated act.

As we reported on Tuesday, Salah Khashoggi was pictured shaking hands with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the man widely believed to have organized the killing of his father, during a visit between the Khashoggi family and the Saudi royal family, including King Salman.

According to SPA, the king and crown prince offered their deepest condolences to the family of the assassinated journalist, while Sahl and Salah Khashoggi expressed their utmost thanks to the royal family for their condolences.

However, as Middle East Eye notes, a Saudi human rights activist and close friend of the late Khashoggi, Yahya Assiri, told Middle East Eye the visit was a serious assault on the family of the murdered journalist, particularly as authorities continued to bar them from traveling.

Jamal told me that his wife was forced to divorce him after she was banned indefinitely from travel, Assiri said. He said Khashoggi had also told him that Saudi authorities barred his entire family from travel in an attempt to pressure him to return.

In addition to admitting responsibility for the crime, Saudi authorities must immediately allow the Khashoggi family to travel, if they are genuinely keen on uncovering the truth, he said. Assiri said the visit most likely took place under pressure on the family to cover up the crime.

Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said: There are still questions that need answers over the premeditated murder, demanding the Saudis explain why the 18 were arrested. Who gave them the orders? he asked, pointing out that Khashoggis body had still not been found.

Where is (the body)? You admit they did it, but why are they not saying (where)? Cavusoglu told a press conference in Ankara with Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki. His family also wants to know and pay their final tribute. The Turkish minister repeated Erdogans demand that those involved in the murder should be legally tried in Turkey, adding that Ankara was willing to cooperate with everyone.

On Tuesday, CIA Director Gina Haspel visited Ankara for talks, with pro-government Turkish media claiming on Wednesday intelligence officials shared evidence with her. The officials provided Haspel with video images and audio tapes as well as evidence gathered from the consulate and the consuls residence during a briefing at the Turkish Intelligence Organisation (MIT), Sabah newspaper reported.

Asked to confirm whether this was true, Cavusoglu said he could not provide an exact answer but Turkey would share documents and evidence in our hands with countries and institutions which wanted it.

Son Of Khashoggi Leaves Saudi Arabia Despite Travel Ban


In What Works For Me - a series of articles considering how we can find balance in our lives - we talk to people about their self-care strategies. If youd like to contribute your story, email us. The first thing Cherry Healey does when she gets a day off work isnt go out and enjoy a rare moment of freedom. Instead she blocks out space in her diary, puts on her comfiest socks and jogging bottoms, and hibernates with her two children, Bear, 4, and Coco, 9, at home in Shepherds Bush, west London.  The 37-year-old BBC TV presenter can go for periods of more than 40 days filming a new show, often away from home, so when she gets a chance to choose her own schedule she chooses to scrunge  a term made up by her family to describe lazy days. I cant believe thats now officially out there, but it is my favourite thing to do. Scrunging is magic. A typical days scrunging will include time spent in the kitchen  preferably baking with her son while her daughter draws nearby  but the key ingredient is that it has to be done slowly. Everything in my life is so rushed, back to back and minute to minute, so this is the way I relax and find peace, she tells me.

The day starts with a visit to their local shops  weekday shopping is done at the Tesco Metro down the road  but a scrunging day sees the family go to a local deli, butchers and fishmongers. There the shopkeepers take time to talk Bear through the ingredients, the colours of vegetables, the difference between organic and non-organic, filling up his paper bag with items of his choice. My daughter isnt interested in food and couldnt care less, but Ive cooked with Bear since as soon as he articulated he wanted to do it, says Cherry. What my son really wants to do is for me to lay out all the ingredients in front of him and just watch  his own little cookery show. Her son will either help her with the meal prep  he chops the onions and the mushrooms  or he will take centre stage and bake his own cake, gradually learning the perfect ratios of eggs, flour and sugar needed to make it rise. Like many parents, Cherry says that too often her post-work dinner can end up just being a pitta bread and hummus or a bowl of cereal. So she relishes time spent cooking or baking with her son. She says she has never purchased as much self-raising flour as she did during the summer holidays.

Regardless of what they make, its the process itself that allows this single mum to unclench. This involves letting her kids get messy and not getting stressed. Its quite a good mindfullness exercise to remind myself to let go a little bit, she says. Being calm at home and not jumping on a train or racing around a factory or getting on an aeroplane. All things shes recently done on camera. Just taking things slowly is really fabulous.  Once theyve finished baking the three of them settle down on the sofa with a crisp cocktail (different flavours of crisps all mixed together in a single bowl)  for some reason my kids think that is the naughtiest most hilarious thing ever  and watch television. Currently they are working through classic films from the 1980s. Last weekend, they watched Back To The Future.

To be with my kids at home in our socks and sloppy clothing is so blissful, she says. Scrunging is a really important part of self care. When someone says, are you busy on this day? I factor that in. To other people it looks like Im not busy but I dont understand why people need that explaining. My job requires so much of me. The days are very long and its a lot of emotional investment. I can only do that once Ive filled up my cup. You cant pour from an empty cup.

Cherry places a lot of importance on being organised to maintain her mental wellbeing. Running a home is running a business: you have people and they need constant feeding, and doing admin and bills and payments. Luckily I love logistics. I have calendars and Excel spreadsheets everywhere. Last week she left her paper diary on an aeroplane. It was awful and I had to buy another one right away. I just ran to WHSmith. I couldnt wait a moment. For the mother-of-two, this isnt just about her own wellbeing, but everyone around her who relies on her carrying on. Im driving the bus and theres a lot of people on the bus  my kids, the people I work with  and if I dont carry on they wont have the things they need. There arent many times I can actually chill out so I have to create the space to do it.

What Works For Me Scrunging With My Kids Is My Kind of Self Care


Vinay Patels ambitious play probes ideas of home, freedom and ageing, as well as the legacy of colonialism. It draws inspiration from the experiences of his grandparents, who had an arranged marriage and moved from Gujarat to Britain via Kenya.

Its a romance and also a work of history, which spans the period from 1954 to the present and pays particular attention to the Kenyan independence movement, though its less interested in facts than moods.

Its instantly engaging, as sparky teenager Jyoti (Anjana Vasan) sizes up one of the five suitors chosen by her father. This is Shubham Sarafs wide-eyed, wounded Rasik. Their relationship begins on amusingly awkward terms, but soon theyre making big plans, with Rasik insisting that India has no future and they must build their own world elsewhere.

They embark on a journey that transports them from the turbulence of Fifties Nairobi, where they fall in with fiery Kenyan patriot David (Martins Imhangbe), to London in the Seventies, where union disputes rage and their daughter Sonal (Aysha Kala) fantasises about adventures of her own.

The Bushs artistic director Madani Younis has crafted a clear-sighted production, and although some of the musical choices are iffy the atmosphere is often beguiling. Its not hard to imagine a shorter, pacier version of the play, but Younis, who commissioned it, has clearly given Patel licence to be expansive.

The result is a running time over three hours and a sense of luxuriating in the more dreamlike moments. This can feel indulgent, yet the performances are finely detailed, and Patel combines a gift for creating complex characters with a piercing emotional intelligence.

Click here to buy London theatre tickets with GO London Tickets

An Adventure review Ambitious romance shows Vinay Patelaposs gift for creating complex characters


Strictly Come Dancing contestant Graeme Swann has claimed bosses have tightened the leash on the professional dancers in the wake of Katya Jones kiss with Seann Walsh.  The cricketer has told Radio 5Live that the pros were ordered to wind their necks in and told they could not attend certain events after Seann and Katya were caught on camera snogging on the street during a night out.

Speaking on the Test Match Special podcast, he said: I think the pros were told wind your neck in. And they were all very angry because they couldnt go to a couple of functions that they wanted to. A curfew was placed upon them. So its very much like being in a team, if one person lets the side down... HuffPost UK has contacted a Strictly spokesperson for clarification, and is awaiting a response.

Graeme, who is partnered with Oti Mabuse on the BBC ballroom show, also admitted Seann had not seen the funny side to the backlash he and Katya received over their illicit kiss.  He told of how the comedian was not amused during the first meeting of the celebrities and professionals after the incident. Graeme revealed: You meet together on a Friday when you do your run-through with the band and stuff, and I really enjoyed it because Im friends with Seann so I was the first person he saw when he walked in. I was there with a stupid grin on my face laughing at him  not at what hed done but at the situation hed found himself in all week. Graeme said he thought Seann would see the lighter side of it because of his job as a comic but added: He didnt. I said to him I want to see how awkward the first introductions since the incident are going to be. I thought hed find the funny side. He just looked at me and said please dont mate and walked off.

Earlier this week, Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood said Katya should not have allowed their kiss to happen, likening the situation to when a teacher snogs their student.  Speaking on Loose Women, he said: Ill put the ball in Katyas court, she should not have allowed it to happen. One, shes married, two, hes in a relationship that is no longer. Talking as Craig Revel Horwood personally  this is not the view of the BBC  its a teacher snogging the student, isnt it? He added: They are there to be professional, lets not forget they are being paid to do the job  both of them. Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday at 6.45pm on BBC One.

Strictly Come Dancing Pro Dancers Slapped With Curfew After Seann Walsh And Katya Jones Kiss Drama


TheGalleyEp A fire has broken out at an oil refinery in Stanlow.

It is believed the blaze started inside a manufacturing building within the plant.

Crews were called to reports of a fire in Oil Site Road, Ellesmere Port at 2.16pm on Wednesday.

Huge plumes of smoke billowed over Stanlow, outside Liverpool, with the fire visible from several miles away.

Firefighters battled a fire at a major UK oil refinery on Wednesday afternoon, with hundreds of staff being evacuated from the premises.

I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure Stanlow refinery isn't meant to have that much flame and smoke. This is the view from Woodside, 8miles away. pic.twitter.com/05KMvgpaHq

According to owners Essar Oil UKs website, Stanlow refinery employs more than 900 staff and 500 contractors on site and supplies 16% of all road transport fuels.

Cheshire Fire Service said that all staff at the oil refinery have been accounted for and evacuated.

Crews are working with onsite firefighters to extinguish the fire which is believed to be in a manufacturing building within the plant, the fire service said in a statement.

Six fire engines have been deployed from stations in Ellesmere Port, Powey Lane, Chester, Widnes and Northwich.

Brian Howell, 60, said he was relaxing in the Eastham Ferry area, around eight miles away, before he heard a loud whoosh type explosion.

He added: I looked over to Stanlow and there was an aggressive fire and lots of black smoke.

The fire did not disrupted the refinerys operations, a spokeswoman for Essar Oil UK said.

The Environment Agency said it was working with the fire service to try and reduce any harmful environmental effects.

Firefighters worked with on-site staff to deal with the unfolding emergency.

The refinery produces 4.4 billion litres of diesel, three billion litres of petrol and two billion litres of jet fuel annually, according to Essar Oil UK.

Stanlow Oil Refinery Hundreds Evacuated As Fire Crews Tackle Blaze


Anyone reading Donald Trumps Twitter feed on Wednesday morning without knowing the results of the 2018 midterm elections would not only think that the GOP won big, theyd think Trump alone had achieved something big. Fortunately, that just isnt true.

On Tuesday, Republicans won one seat in the Senate, but hey also lost 23 House seats and may lose as many as 10 more, as well as seven governors. Nancy Pelosi, who Trump repeatedly bashed in rally speeches, will once again serve as speaker of the House in January. The three states that won Trump the presidential election, which include Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, served up sizable victories for Democratic candidates.

Even better, with Democratic control of the House of Representatives, Trump stands to finally be held accountable for his actions. His tax returns will be demanded and disclosed. Trumps and his familys violations of the emoluments clause will mean more than just a lawsuit. Any reports released by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in his investigation into the alleged collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russian government operatives will be taken seriously and not dismissed.

The midterms were not a win for the GOP and certainly not a win for Trump.

As he has done after every special election between November 2016 and the 2018 midterms, Trump once again blamed every Republican loss on a failure of candidates to simply fall in line with his agenda, although some candidates, like Kris Kobach, who have served as Trump puppets lost their seats. The entire political landscape has changed, and it spells bad news for Trump and his GOP friends.

Twitter did not allow Trump to revel in his lies. Read some of their comments below:

Featured image via Flickr by Gage Skidmore under a Creative Commons license

Trump Goes Ballistic On Twitter After Realizing Dems Won House Power


ABRAU-DYURSO, October 7. /TASS/. Consumption of wine in Russia can grow more
than twofold by 2030 and total 250 mln decaliters per year, the Russian Union
of Viticulturists and Wine-Makers said in its pre-reads for the Russian Summit
of Wine-Makers.

Domestic wine consumption can increase to 84 mln decaliters and consumption of
imported wine can drop to 33 mln decaliters as of 2018 year-end, the Union
said.

"Tasks [of the sector [are highly ambitious, for example, to reach the
vineyards area of 350 hectares," President of the Union Leonid Popovich said
at the summit.

Among other goals of the branch is to achieve grape harvest of 3 mln tonnes
and wine production of 210 mln decaliters by 2030. 560,000 tonnes of grapes
can be harvested this year vs. 538,000 tonnes a year earlier. 32 mln
decaliters of wine can be produced, the Union forecasts.

"The key objective is to achieve common understanding that Russia is a wine-
making power, a leading producer. We rank fifth across the globe by
consumption in absolute terms. The task is to be fifth by production,"
Popovich said.

In other media

Wine consumption may grow twofold in Russia by 2030 - Union of Wine-Makers


The Trump administrations proposal to send Islamic State fighters to the offshore prison at Guantanamo Bay could end up destroying the shaky legal basis for the yearslong U.S. bombing campaign against the terrorist group.

The government is considering transferring Alexanda Amon Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, two ISIS fighters accused of participating in the murder of American hostages, to the Guantanamo facility, NBC News reported on Thursday. If President Donald Trump follows through on this plan, one or both men would probably oppose it. In the resulting court battle, the government would likely be forced to defend using a law that was passed in 2001 to authorize war against the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 attacks to fight a group that was formed more than a decade later.

For many years, the government has argued that various terrorist organizations are associated forces of al-Qaeda and therefore legitimate targets under the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force. Since the U.S. started bombing ISIS in Iraq and Syria in 2014, the government has pointed to the AUMF as the legal basis for fighting that group.

Legal scholars are divided over whether ISIS, which al-Qaeda formally split from in 2014, falls under the 2001 war authorization. Successive presidents have managed to avoid litigating the issue in court. But if an ISIS fighter were sent to Guantanamo, he would almost certainly challenge his imprisonment by filing a habeas petition and raising the murky legal basis of the entire military campaign against ISIS.

Trump sending additional people to Guantanamo virtually guarantees a litigation challenge about the authority to detain alleged ISIS fighters under the 2001 AUMF, said Hina Shamsi, director of the national security project at the American Civil Liberties Union.

Federal courts tend to be deferential to the executive branchs authority to make foreign policy and war-waging decisions. It would still be a risky legal battle for the Trump administration: An appeals court decision saying the government cant detain ISIS fighters at Guantanamo would likely undermine the militarys ability to fight the Islamic State without a new war authorization.

Both the Trump and Obama administrations have worked to avoid this kind of court battle. President Barack Obama seemed aware that the 2001 AUMF was a weak legal basis for a war against ISIS. He sent Congress a draft version of a new ISIS-specific AUMF in 2015, months after he started bombing the group. But lawmakers, split along partisan lines about how restrictive a new war authorization should be, repeatedly punted on the issue.

Trumps Justice Department has made it clear that it does not want a court battle over the 2001 AUMFs application to the Islamic State. The government is currently facing a habeas challenge from an unnamed American accused of fighting with ISIS who is being held by the U.S. military in Iraq. Once it became clear that the case would eventually delve into AUMF issues, the government tried to release the alleged terrorist into Syria.

A good way for the government to avoid this kind of legal fight would be to send ISIS fighters to the U.S. for prosecution in federal courts, which have proven to be an effective venue for securing terrorism convictions.

Federal courts are used to dealing with terrorism cases and have a legitimate basis under the law for doing so, said Shamsi, the ACLU lawyer. By contrast, the novel military commissions [operating in Guantanamo] are still mired in disputes about fundamental legal, procedural and trial issues.

The five men accused of plotting the Sept. 11 attacks, for example, were arraigned before a military commission in Guantanamo in 2012. Their case is still in pretrial proceedings and the judge overseeing the case plans to retire next month.

Trumps Guantanamo Plan Could Force Court Battle Over Legality Of ISIS War


On Thursday, news broke that legendary singer Aretha Franklin had passed away after a battle with cancer. With that news, many have taken to social media to express their condolences and honor the Queen of Soul including President Donald Trump.

However, it came off as the usual garbage that he tweets indicating his inability to appreciate just what a loss the world has experienced with Franklins passing.

In his tweet, he said:

Basically, its the same crap he spews every time someone hes probably never even heard of or appreciated has died. If Trump wants to truly honor Franklin, the best thing he could do would be to STOP BEING RACIST. Otherwise, shut your Big Mac eating pie hole.

Trump is not an eloquent man by any means especially when you compare him to President Barack Obama. Obama honored Franklin with an articulate and expressive tweet.

Aretha helped define the American experience. In her voice, we could feel our history, all of it and in every shade-our power and our pain, our darkness and our light, our quest for redemption and our hard-won respect. May the Queen of Soul rest in eternal peace.

Who can forget the time Obama cried while listening to Franklin sing?

Twitter users responded to Trumps tweet. You can check out their responses below.

Trump Tweets Two Sentences About Aretha Franklin Obama Shows Up Puts Him To Shame


As the midterm election season continues to roar on, voters across the United States are encountering a familiar but still potent problem  technical difficulties. In states that rely on electronic voting machines, early voters have noticed their votes going to the candidate they dont want and faced some difficulty in switching the mark. A new report along these lines has now emerged out of Texas.

Texas voters who have attempted to use a function selecting all of the candidates of a particular party  including both Democrat and Republican  have reported noticing their votes going to the wrong person. Democratic voters including Houstons Mickey Blake and Fort Bend Countys Cordell Hosea, both of whom spoke to local Texas media, have just barely kept their support from going to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, whos fighting for re-election through a credible challenge posed by El Paso Democrat Beto ORourke.

Imagine how many other voters might not have noticed that the machine recorded their selection incorrectly in time.

Blake added that she tried multiple times to no avail to fix her selection, going through the selection process at least three times.

Texas authorities acknowledged that the issue has persisted for some voters, but not for everyone.

The problem, which has plagued Democrats and Republicans alike, has gone on for at least six years, according to Fort Bend County Election Administrator John Oldham, who adds that hes spoken to the Texas Secretary of State about the issue.

The issue reportedly stems from voters interacting with two of the voting machines controls at once  but theres not been any apparent update to make the system less delicate and more user-friendly. Texas doesnt even have a pop-up on its electronic voting system admonishing voters to make sure their machine accurately recorded their selection.

The state isnt the only one where reports of issues with electronic voting machines have emerged this year. Just recently, the Georgia NAACP filed complaints with Secretary of State Brian Kemps office over voting machines inaccurately recording voters attempted selections in the states governors race.

That state has seen a whole host of problems of its own beyond that issue. Kemp  who is running for governor  has led what amounts to a voter suppression campaign with tactics ranging from a delay in processing tens of thousands of voter registrations to a purge of tens of thousands of names from the states voting registry.

Neither his voter suppression efforts nor those of any Republican elsewhere in the United States will necessarily tamp down on the blue wave thats coming. Democrats are expected to take the U.S. House and control across state governments too.

Featured Image via Screenshot from the Video

Texas Voting Machine Malfunction Changing ORourke Votes To Cruz


MONTREAL  Canada can preserve its dairy supply management system and resolve its trade dispute with the United States over dairy subsidies by ending its domestic milk ingredient pricing system, the head of Canadas largest dairy processor said Monday.

Despite U.S. President Donald Trumps tweets denouncing Canadas supply management system, dairy farmers across the border arent petitioning to get rid of that system, said Lino Saputo Jr.

The milk supply management system has served the dairy industry well since the 1970s and weve been through a number of negotiations and a number of trade deals where the milk supply management system has remained in place, said the Saputo Inc. CEO in an interview.

The irritant to U.S. farmers is the Class 7 pricing agreement struck in 2016 that has effectively restricted U.S. exports of ultra-filtered milk used to make dairy products, he said.

The policy allows Canadian dairy processors to buy domestic milk at world market prices instead of higher prices controlled by the national supply management system. The U.S. dairy groups say that provides the processors with an incentive to cut milk imports.

U.S. farmers have argued that the policy was designed to intentionally block imports from the United States, which would make them in direct violation of Canadas trade commitments.

Ultimately that changed the rules of engagement, changed the rules of the game with respect to dairy trade north and south. So to me, I think the simple solution on the dairy file would be the elimination of Class 7. I think it would be the smartest thing that Canada could do, Saputo said.

He said the powerful Canadian dairy farmers group has its head in the sand by calling for the preservation of all facets of the protectionist system.

Its like theyre asking for their cake and wanting to eat it too. It doesnt make sense to me.

While the pricing system has neither been a hindrance or benefit to Saputo, it exacerbates a problem that more solids are available than global demand.

As an industry, I dont think it makes a lot of logical sense to increase production when consumption isnt there.

Ending Class 7 is out of the question, said the Dairy Farmers of Canada.

Although the comments took us by surprise, perhaps they are the product of the confusion around the notion of flexibility suggested by the federal government with respect to the NAFTA negotiations, it wrote in an email.

Notwithstanding, the association representing dairy processors across Canada continues to support both supply management and Class 7. Thus, the sector speaks with one voice.

The introduction of Class 7 has strengthened the Canadian dairy system and resulted in more than $500 million in investments in the last two years from Dr. Oetker, Nestle, Coca-Cola and Gay Lea Foods, said Graham Lloyd, CEO of the Dairy Farmers of Ontario.

I dont think that its a valid irritant, remembering we dont compete with them on the international market, he said in an interview, calling Saputos suggestion not a solution.

It does not make viable sense for how the Canadian marketplace is working. It priced domestic products, domestic ingredients at a competitive price, thats all it did.

Canada can end dairy dispute with US by ending pricing irritant Saputo


A High Court judge has warned that people who have sued over alleged delays in cancer diagnosis and alleged misdiagnosis may die before their cases are heard.

Calling for more judges to be appointed to the High Court to deal with the personal injuries list which has been swamped with complex cases including those related to the CervicalCheck controversy, Mr Justice Kevin Cross said without more judges on the bench, he did not know how they could get all the cases heard.

He said that great injustices will be caused particularly for those in extremis.

The judge made the comments when hearing an application to have the case of a woman who is suing in relation to CervicalCheck case managed as the womans health is failing.

It is sad to think that people will have passed away before their cases are dealt with, he said.

Mr Justice Cross heads up the personal injuries section of the High Court and usually specially fixes cases on certain dates so they have a chance of getting on before a judge once the cases are called.

Because the specially-fixed dates for next year are filling up, the judge has said he has discussed the matter with higher authorities.

He said it was not going to be possible to deal with the number of cases coming in to the system in relation to the CervicalCheck contoversy, breast cancer cases and cases in relation to the swine flu vaccine.

Mr Justice Cross said the cases including Cervical Check are each going to take six weeks and it seemed to him the cases, which are complex, are going to run their course.

The judge stressed there are only three other judges available to him on the personal injuries list and without more being appointed,he did not know how all the cases will get on.

Last July, in an update to TDs, the Dail Public Accounts Committee was told there were 35 active legal cases, three cases had been settled and there were at that stage two further potential cases.

In court on Thursday, Mr Justice Cross was told the legal team for Ruth Morrissey, whose case was adjourned after hearing her evidence and that of her husband Paul last July are now are seeking more discovery from the defendant laboratories in the action.

Ms Morrissey, a 37-year old mother who has cancer, is suing over the alleged alleged misinterpretation of her cervical smears taken under the CervicalCheck screening programme in 2009 and 2012.

The Morrisseys, of Kylemore, Schoolhouse Road, Monaleen, Co Limerick have sued the HSE and the US laboratory Quest Diagnostics Ireland Ltd with offices at Sir John Rogersons Quay, Dublin along with Medlab Pathology Ltd with offices at Sandyford Business Park, Dublin 18.

It is claimed there was an alleged failure to correctly report and diagnose and there was an alleged misinterpretation of her smear samples taken in 2009 and 2012.

A situation it is claimed allegedly developed where Ms Morrisseys cancer spread unidentified, unmonitored and untreated until she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in June 2014.

It is further claimed a review of the 2009 and 2012 smears took place in 2014 and 2015 with the results sent to Ms Morrisseys treating gynaecologist in 2016, but she was not told until May this year of those review results which showed her smears were reported incorrectly.

The HSE the court has heard admitted it owed a duty of care to Ms Morrissey but not to her husband and it admits the results of her smear reviews should have been made known to Ms Morrissey. The laboratories deny all claims.

Ms Morrissey suffered a recurrence of her cervical cancer this year and was also diagnosed with breast cancer.

On Thursday, Ms Morrisseys counsel Jeremy Maher SC asked that the court hear a motion for discovery of certain matters including relating to standard operating procedures.

The judge fixed next week to hear the motion and said the Morrissey case will resume full hearings at the end of January.

Judge says women may die before cancer diagnosis cases heard


(Natural News) New Brunswick, New Jersey-based pharmaceutical and consumer packaged goods manufacturer Johnson & Johnson is facing its first investor class action lawsuit.

According to a legal complaint filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey on Thursday, February 8, investors suffered from losses when the price of Johnson & Johnsons stock plummeted after reports went public that the company knew decades ago that its talc products contained asbestos fibers that could cause cancer.

Johnson & Johnson is currently under hot water as it is facing thousands of consumer lawsuits over the alleged link between its talcum products  even baby powder  and ovarian cancer and mesothelioma. As of its last quarterly filing, Johnson & Johnson is facing around 5,500 lawsuits.

One of these lawsuits was lodged by Tina Herford in Los Angeles, alleging that the companys talcum powders can cause mesothelioma due to it being tinged with asbestos. Johnson & Johnson won in the Hertford case in November 2017.

Investors are saying the company lied about the decades-old link by insisting that their talc products are were asbestos-free and safe. (Related: Johnson & Johnson to pay $2.2 billion for making false marketing claims and engaging in kickbacks.)

Johnson & Johnsons vice president of media relations Ernie Knewitz said the lawsuit was baseless and that other allegations concerning asbestos were soundly rejected by a California jury in November 2017.

Johnsons Baby Powder does not contain asbestos or cause mesothelioma or ovarian cancer, and we are confident that our talc products are, and always have been, free of asbestos, based on decades of monitoring, testing, and regulation dating back to the 1970s.

Sample testing by independent laboratories, independent scientists, governmental agencies, and academic institutions spanning decades have all confirmed the absence of asbestos in our talc products, Knewitz said.

The investors accusations are taken from a document that was revealed during one of the consumer lawsuits. According to the complaint, the document revealed that Johnson & Johnson marketed its talc products as asbestos-free even with the knowledge during the 1970s that asbestos might have been present in some of its talc mines.

The new shareholder lawsuit, which was filed by Frank Hall on behalf of the other investors who purchased Johnson & Johnson shares between February 2013 and February 2018 claimed that Johnson & Johnson has known for decades that its talc products, such as its Baby Powder, include asbestos fibers and that the exposure to those fibers can cause ovarian cancer and mesothelioma.

The lawsuit claimed that in a 1973 memo titled WINDSOR MINERALS AND TALC, a Johnson & Johnson employee wrote, We believe this mine to be very clean; however, we are also confident that fiber forming or fiber type minerals could be found.

The employee added that the talcs used in the packaging materials contain widely varying amounts of tremolite or fibrous talc, and suggested that they replace talc with corn starch.

Johnson & Johnson stock dipped to $2.28 per share after Bloomberg blew wide open the report in September 2017, according to the complaint.

According to study, asbestos fibers present in cosmetic products such as talcum powder have the potential to be released into the air and inhaled during normal personal talcum powder application. Inhaling asbestos fibers can affect the lungs and lymph nodes, which can develop into a variety of health conditions, including lung fibrosis, ovarian cancer, and mesothelioma.

Stay up-to-date with the latest news on cosmetics and their health risks at Cosmetics.news.

Johnson Johnson facing class action suit over the asbestos in its talc products


In 2010, it was found that roughly 100,000 Americans die each year from prescription drugs alone. When it comes to opioids, the number of deaths is in the tens of thousands while a quarter of patients who were given a short-term prescription transitioned to long-term use.

Now, according to a recent Harvard University analysis, doctors who prescribe these pain-killers are being paid huge sums of money from their manufacturers.

The research, which was conducted by Harvard scientists and CNN, discovered that in 2014-2015 thousands of doctors were paid over $25,000 from opioid manufacturers and hundreds more were rewarded with six-figure sums. Also, the more opioids that were prescribed, the larger the reward.

The Harvard/CNN analysis found that the 5% doctors who prescribed opioids at a volume which was higher than that of the average physician were paid twice as much money from manufacturers. Likewise, doctors in the top 1% were paid four times as much.

For the top 10th of 1 percent, that number increased nine-fold. To put this in perspective, roughly 54% of doctors who wrote prescriptions to Medicare patients, which numbers more than 200,000, received payment from pharma companies which manufacture opioids.

It is not legal for doctors to prescribe drugs in exchange for compensation from the drug companies, and it is also not provable that most of these doctors were paid in reward for prescribing opioids or if the prescription of opioids attracted the money from pharmaceutical companies.

However, there is nevertheless a clear financial incentive for doctors to continue to prescribe opioids, even when it isnt in the best interest of the patient.

The effects of opioid addiction can be extremely damaging. One patient who was prescribed a mega powerful opioid (50-100 times more powerful than morphine) known as Subsys claims that the drug placed her in a zombie-like state, where she would sometimes wake up on the front lawn or kitchen floor in need of more else she would experience uncontrollable vomiting and diarrhea.

When eventually asked to switch medications away from opioids, her doctor became belligerent, she claims.

A number of patients have filed lawsuits against their doctors for prescribing opioids for the indented purpose of receiving payments and kickbacks, against the interest of the patient.

Carey Ballou, a patient who was prescribed opioids, recalls her doctor bragging about being flown across the country to lecture other doctors, all paid for by drug companies.

Carey has since filed a lawsuit against Dr. Steven Simon, who was paid over 1 million dollars by opioid companies according to the federal Open Payments database.

As more patients become aware of the way doctors prescribe opioids and to their effects, the number of patients who become addicted, or worse, will inevitably drop.

This article (Harvard Investigation Shows Doctors are Paid Huge Sums to Prescribe Addictive Opioids) was originally created and published by Waking Times and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Phillip Schneider and WakingTimes.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this copyright statement.

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YOUTUBES CONTENT ID SYSTEM WORKING FOR CREATORS: A recent report by Google indicated that YouTube has already paid out $3 billion to copyright owners through its state-of-the-art Content ID system.

Content ID, as one might surmise, is a system which scans user uploads against a database of files submitted by content owners and creators. If it detects that an upload uses another creators intellectual property, then Content ID enables payout to the original owner of the material.

Google invested $100 million into developing the Content ID system so that customers have legitimate access to content that drives revenue for creators and dissuades piracy.

YouTube has also paid $1.8 billion to the music industry between October 2017 and September 2018 solely for advertising, Engadget reports.

More information on the topic can be found in Googles aptly titled report, How Google Fights Piracy.

The Standing Committee on Industry continued their Statutory Review of the Copyright Act. Meetings occurred on Oct. 29, Oct. 31, Nov. 5, and Nov. 7, though the last meeting was predominantly about the recent Statistics Canada-financial information controversy.

Representatives from the Consumer Technology Association and Creative Commons Canada came together on Oct. 29 to discuss the detriment of extended copyright terms found in the USMCA, as well as the importance of fair dealing provisions. Much of the discussion on Oct. 31 focused on Indigenous art and how to ensure royalties for Indigenous artists, to which Johnny Blackfield, an expert on blockchain, espoused the benefits of blockchain in this regard. Contrary to what many witnesses had argued in past meetings, David Fewer of the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic argued on Nov. 5 that legislation currently exists to deal with cases of copyright infringement in court.

CANADIAN COPYRIGHT BOARD FULLY STAFFED: Minister of Innovation Navdeep Bains announced two new appointments to the Copyright Board of Canada on Wednesday, filling its final vacancies.

Katherine M. Braun and Rene Cote, the two new appointments, will assume their positions immediately for a term of four years.

Braun is an economist who has worked with Alberta and Ontario on provincial policies, as well as the United Nations on various international development projects. Cote, on the other hand, is a professor at the Universite du Quebec a Montreal who has spent much of his career in academia working on computer law and intellectual property law.

The Government of Canada expects these appointments to improve efficiency and balance on the Copyright Board of Canada.

GREEK COMMITTEE ORDERS BLOCKING OF WEBSITES WITH PIRATED CONTENT: The Committee for the Notification of Copyright and Related Rights Infringements on the Internet ordered Greek internet service providers to block access to 38 websites containing pirated movie and television content for a period of three years.

The decision came on Nov. 6. ISPs were given 48 hours to comply with disobedience carrying a fine of 850 daily for as long as the websites in question remain accessible.

This is the first decision made by the Committee for the Notification of Copyright and Related Rights Infringements on the Internet which was only established in September 2018.

THERES NO NEED FOR NEW INTERNET INJUNCTIONS: Despite pleas for new, explicit internet intermediary injunctions having constantly risen during the Standing Committee on Industrys Statutory Review of the Copyright Act, Michael Geist argues that theres really no need for these new laws.

Geist notes that Canadian law already provides rights holders with the legal tools they need. In fact, injunctions or orders have been obtained against websites, search engines, and many other intermediaries. The power to obtain injunctions for infringement is clear under the Copyright Act.

He concludes that the Industry Committee should demand evidence that the current set of tools are inadequate based on real-world usage before entertaining the possibility of expanding the already-extensive enforcement toolkit.

Copyright Brief YouTube has doled out 3 billion to creators through Content ID system


(Natural News) Back-to-school season is here. Alongside sales, shopping and students, you may have noticed that something else is back: The flu shot. The push to get vaccinated is in full swing, whether youre at the grocery store or simply watching the evening news. Its never too early to get the flu shot, vaccine pushers are saying. And after the massive failure of the 2017 flu shot, its no surprise that pro-vaccine propaganda is already everywhere.

As the masses become more aware of the fraud behind the flu vaccine, Big Pharma and their puppets are going to be working overtime to sell their disinformation. In 2017, the flu vaccine was so ineffective that experts warned there would be a Flu-pocalypse. As a news video by The Highwire with Del Bigtree shows, media pundits around the world declared that the 2017 flu shot was only about 10 percent effective, yet companies and hospitals around the U.S. are forcing employees to get vaccinated.

Its a terrible vaccine, Bigtree states. But whats outrageous is how much fear theyre creating around the idea that they may not have a vaccine, he contends. Indeed, the fear here is actually being used to serve the vaccine industry. Its as if these people believe the human immune system simply cant function without a shot.

After years of toxic inoculations, that may not be so far-fetched (unfortunately).

 As Bigtree contends, the media seems to use fear-mongering to push people towards vaccination, even when the vaccine clearly doesnt work. Last years vaccine was a total sham  and this years inoculation will be no different. But everywhere you look, theres an advertisement for the shot. Some places are even doling out flu shots for free, but it seems Big Pharma cant even give these things away anymore.

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While the mainstream media likes to claim that any increase in the case of flu is a result of people not getting vaccinated, data from the CDC shows that by the end of the flu season, approximately the same number of people were vaccinated in 2017 as years past. While the CDC writes that early season vaccination was lower, the data presented in their charts clearly shows that by the end of flu season, the numbers of vaccinated people are consistently about the same every year:

Indeed, the failure of the flu vaccine is not due to a dramatic decrease in the number of people being vaccinated, though that is what the vaccine propagandists would like for you to believe. But as Mike Adams, founder of Natural News and the pro-freedom video-sharing platform REAl.video, reports, the real science on vaccines lies in stark opposition to the pro-vaccine narrative.

Essentially, the way flu shots are made renders the flu strains useless for promoting immunity  which is why so many people still get the flu, even after vaccination. This failure rate is then used as propaganda to promote more vaccination.

But as Adams reported earlier this year, studies have now also shown that the flu vaccine doesnt just fail  it can also cause disease to spread. Once again, mainstream media and conventional medicine have dropped the ball.

See more coverage of stories about health hoaxes disguised as medicine at Vaccines.news.

Flu-pocalypse The shocking failure of the flu vaccine exposed


(Natural News) After two years of lab science research, investment and training, Im thrilled to report that we have achieved validated glyphosate testing in our in-house lab, and we are now in the process of certifying all Health Ranger brand products as Glyphosate Tested with glyphosate residues achieving non-detected status.

We are able to determine this using complex chemistry and a triple quad mass spec instrument (LC-MS-MS) that required an investment of about half a million dollars and two years of studying analytical chemistry and instrumentation operations.

Soon, everything you buy at the Health Ranger Store thats an in-house brand will be certified glyphosate tested. This is in addition to the heavy metals testing, microbiology testing and other tests we routinely conduct to achieve our reputation as providers of the cleanest foods, superfoods and supplements in the world. Shop at HealthRangerStore.com to take advantage of our lab-tested products, now featuring over 700 different solutions for health, green living, personal care, superfoods, pet care and more.

See the full video announcement here:

In case youre curious how lab testing works, Ive posted two videos here that provide a detailed tour of our lab instruments and testing process. One of the videos below has already been derided as a geek fest of pure geekdom, so prepare for some technical jargon. But I wanted to communicate what were doing to both consumers and scientists alike. What we have achieved in glyphosate quantitation is considered extraordinary by nearly all analytical scientists. The clean chromatography we produce is almost unheard of for glyphosate, which is widely considered to be the single most challenging chemical compound in all of agriculture. Normally, glyphosate produces extreme tailing while bleeding off the column spanning several minutes. Weve managed to reduce the peak width to about 0.6 minutes, which is still wide compared to other compounds, but its fantastic for glyphosate.

GLYPHOSATE testing is now being applied to all Health Ranger Store branded products. Our in-house lab uses LC-MS-MS (triple quad mass spec). See the full lab science tour video and announcement here. Shop for ultra-clean, lab-tested superfoods, personal care products and more at the Health Ranger Store, the world's most trusted source for clean foods and lab-verified nutritional solutions.

See a screen shot of a typical peak were producing from glyphosate standards. This peak shows the area response for a concentration of 80 ng/mL:

If youre curious about the sensitivity of our detection, we have determined that our Limit of Detection (LoD) is below 1 ppb. Its actually closer to 500 parts per trillion, or 0.5 pg/ml. We may be able to get even more sensitivity with further tweaking of our chemistry.

Our Limit of Quantitation (LoQ) is currently between 1 ppb and 2 ppb (1 ng/ml and 2 ng/ml). This means we can accurately quantitate glyphosate contamination in food samples at 1-2 ppb. With further refining of our method, we expect to get this even lower, to around 0.5 ppb, or 0.5 ng/ml.

We have already completed glyphosate testing for over two dozen popular products offered through HealthRangerStore.com, and we have confirmed zero detectable glyphosate in all of those products. This shouldnt be surprising, since we purchase almost exclusively organic, non-GMO raw materials, yet its comforting to know that glyphosate is being independently tested and confirmed to be non-detectable, even at around 1 ppb sensitivity.

Over the next several weeks, youll see us rolling out Glyphosate Tested icons across the Health Ranger Store, indicating which products have completed glyphosate testing. In time, this testing will be expanded to nearly every product under our brand, with a few exceptions that dont require glyphosate testing such as Himalayan Salt, for example.

Note that many non-GMO agricultural products are routinely sprayed with glyphosate, including wheat, oats, barley, rye and all sorts of grains. Glyphosate has become the No. 1 most common pollutant in the food supply, and a California court case recently ruled that glyphosate causes deadly cancer. Monsanto (now Bayer) is currently facing over 8,000 lawsuits that claim its glyphosate product  Roundup  caused cancer, yet there are very few labs that have mastered the quantitation of glyphosate due to the extreme complexity of the molecule (and the bizarre chemistry required to analyze it).

I have been told by numerous scientists that glyphosate is the single most difficult pesticide chemical to try to analyze. (Scientists often refer to herbicides, pesticides and fungicides as belonging to the same general group: pesticides.)

With this announcement  and supported by your ongoing trust in our clean foods product line and lab testing  the Health Ranger Store becomes the first online retailer in the world to test its own brand for glyphosate using in-house laboratory testing.

Its yet another first in the realm of clean food, and it underscores our commitment to bringing you the cleanest, most intensely scrutinized food and superfood products in the world.

As you shop at the Health Ranger Store, youll come to appreciate the fact that we test nearly everything for heavy metals, microbiology, glyphosate and soon an increasing list of pesticides as well. Nobody in the world subjects their products to this level of scrutiny, and no one has the strict cleanliness requirements that we impose on ourselves.

Heres the full video where I explain how mass spectrometry works. Put on your thinking cap for this one, because its a rigorous scientific explanation of how analytical labs operate:

Health Ranger Store announces glyphosate science breakthrough Entire brand being certified zero de


Noor Salman was arrested by the FBI in January months after her husbands mass killing at a gay night club.

In June 2016 after the shooting Attorney General Loretta Lynch admitted to reporters she had no idea where Omar Mateens wife had went off to.

In an interview with The New York Times in November 2016 Salman said she did not know her husband was planning an attack and that she thought he was out with a friend that night.

Mandolfos opening statement also included a preview of the evidence the government plans to use to convict Salman, who is accused of aiding and abetting her husband and of lying to federal investigators after the attack. Mandolfo said Salman scoped out Disney Springs with her husband before the shooting. He said, What would make people more upset  an attack at a club or an attack at Disney? the prosecutor said. Salmans defense has argued that some of the claims she made in statements to the FBI after the attack  including that she and Mateen had driven around Pulse together days before the massacre  are contracted by cellphone records, which dont place them in the area. Her statements are a key element in the case. Mandolfo said Salman knew Mateen had been looking at jihadist material  and that it was so extreme, she would pull her 3-year-old son away from the room. Mandolfo said Salman knowingly hid her husbands intentions from his family and the police. Prosecutors intend to prove this point using text messages Salman sent to Mateen, in which they say she helped him concoct a cover story for where he was going in the hours before the attack. If ur mom calls say nimo invited you out and noor wants to stay home,  she wrote, referring to a friend of Mateens. She asked where you were xoxo. Love you. Mandolfo also said Salman was aware of her husband spending thousands of dollars to prepare for the attack.

Prosecutors Omar Mateens Wife Gave Him a Green Light to Commit Pulse Club Massacre


Join us this Thursday, November 15 at 8PM CT, for a special Facebook premiere of Alex Jones hit documentary Endgame: Blueprint for Global Enslavement.

Get your friends and family to tune in and watch this highly-acclaimed feature-length documentary exposing the globalists ultimate plans to bring about a one world government.

Also, Like and Follow the Endgame: Blueprint for Global Enslavement Facebook page.

For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place, they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the worlds population while enabling the elites to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker Alex Jones reveals their secret plan for humanitys extermination: Operation ENDGAME. -Jones chronicles the history of the global elites bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest wars  creating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire. -Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the worlds agenda and instigating World War III -Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever -Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation -View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union

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Watch Infowars Facebook Premiere of Endgame Blueprint for Global Enslavement


Hundreds of Londoners stood in silence as the iconic Piccadilly Circus adverts were switched off as part of a tribute to more than one million servicemen and women who were killed during the First World War.

For one hour, from 6pm on Friday, the billboard's vibrant advertising in central London was replaced by a commemorative film that aimed "to bring home the scale of the conflict 100 years ago".

Boots representing soldiers killed in the conflict marched through the screen as the heart of the West End was bathed in red light.

The film also told eleven personal accounts from the conflict, while a tally at the bottom of the screen will count the number of lives lost during the war.

Created by Westminster City Council in collaboration with TMW Unlimited, it marked the beginning of Remembrance events being held throughout the weekend to commemorate the centenary of the end of WWI.

According to the film's creators, it would take more than 10 days and 19 hours for all of those who lost their lives to march through the billboard.

Ahead of the screening, Westminsters Armed Forces Champion, Councillor Rachael Robathan said: It is hard to imagine how anyone could cope in the circumstances facing the young men and women caught up in World War One.

100 years on it remains truly humbling to hear the stories of bravery and resilience that we remember today.

The thousands of marching feet combined with the very personal stories featured in this poignant film conveys the scale of the tragedy.

"Over the last four years people across the city, in our schools, archives, libraries and community groups, have taken part in touching tributes.

"This screening is a fitting end to Armistice centenary events in Westminster.

Michael Richards, The Unlimited Groups MD said: We are very proud to collaborate with Westminster Council to commemorate such a poignant moment in time.

"We hope this unique film, from our Agency TMW Unlimited, will remind us all of the incredible and selfless bravery that people showed during such a nightmare time.

"We must never forget the sacrifices made.

A Welsh Guards bugler will bring proceedings to a close a rendition of the Last Post at the end of the screening followed by two minute silence mirroring a similar event at the start of 100 year anniversary commemorations in in 2014.

Piccadilly Circus adverts switch off for poignant film paying tribute to 1m who died in WWI


(Natural News) Various studies have already tried to determine the most effective ways to prevent cancer. However, since a lot of factors that determine cancer risk, such as age and genetic predisposition, cant be controlled, experts suggest studying ones familys medical history and trying to live a healthy lifestyle.

Maria Baker, professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Penn State Cancer Institute, explained that while certain elements that define a healthy lifestyle may vary, current recommendations often include regular aerobic activity for about 30 minutes at least five times a week. She added that individuals need to incorporate weight-bearing exercises for each workout session.

Other common suggestions from experts often include the following:

Baker said that not everyone would benefit from genetic testing to confirm a predisposition to certain types of cancer. She commented that its our responsibility to look into our family and personal history.

Its also up to us to figure out how to tailor screening recommendations. Baker emphasized the importance of communicating with relatives to take note of your family medical history. Having this information is important, so you always have access to data like common disorders and diseases among your family members.

Dr. Sarah Ines Ramirez, a family medicine physician at Penn State Medical Group in Harrisburg, said that in most cases, healthcare professionals would refer to a patients medical chart. A patient will also need to answer questions about their habits, lifestyle, occupation, where and who they live with. Patients also have to stay updated when it comes to their screenings and developments in their family or personal medical history.

Although not all patients are aware of the importance of discussing habits like alcohol consumption and smoking or data like body mass index (BMI) and menstrual patterns, these factors often help healthcare professionals monitor screenings that can help catch or prevent cancers at an early stage.

For example, even if you dont smoke you may be at risk for lung cancer if you are regularly exposed to secondhand smoke.

Dr. Ramirez pointed out that healthcare professionals must also be familiar with certain differences in factors that determine cancer risks among the populations they serve. For example, while cervical cancer rates are highest in Latin women, most casualties occur among African Americans. Dr. Ramirez added that African-American women with breast cancer tend to have more aggressive forms of the disease during diagnosis. (Related: 4 Ways to Lower Stress and Prevent Breast Cancer.)

Dr. Ramirez noted that healthcare professionals would benefit from making an effort to learn more about their patients. She also noted that even those who dont regularly consult a healthcare professional could be more active when it comes to their health by inquiring about their family health history, asking if they require any preventative treatments, and being honest with a healthcare expert.

She concluded that patients who have certain concerns or worries shouldnt be afraid to ask healthcare professionals any questions that they might have. After all, prevention is always better than cure.

Here are other lifestyle tips that can help lower your risk of cancer:

You can learn more about cancer and how a healthy lifestyle can help prevent it at Cancer.news.

When weighing all the factors experts say leading a healthy lifestyle is your best bet against canc


MOSCOW, November 26. /TASS/. The deployment of the US Aegis Ashore systems as
ballistic missile defense infrastructure in Europe is a direct breach of the
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, Russian Deputy Foreign
Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Monday.

"There is a new problematic issue, which has caused, perhaps, our greatest
alarm and which we have started to raise before the United States in the
bilateral format in the context of the treaty. It relates to the ground-based
deployment of universal Mk-41 launchers as part of Aegis Ashore systems being
deployed in Europe allegedly for solving solely anti-missile tasks," the high-
ranking Russian diplomat said.

"However, contrary to the treaty, the above-mentioned launchers allow for the
combat use of Tomahawk medium-range cruise missiles and other strike armaments
from the ground. We consider this as a direct and flagrant breach of the INF
Treaty," Ryabkov stressed.

An Aegis Ashore missile facility went into operation at the Deveselu military
base in Romania in May 2016. The facility comprises the ballistic missile
defense control center and mobile Mk-41 batteries with SM-3 interceptors. They
are serviced by 200 US servicemen. SM-3 missile interceptor batteries are
scheduled to go in operation in Poland in 2020 under the Aegis Ashore program.

Russias Foreign Ministry has stated on many occasions that the deployment of
Aegis Ashore land-based ballistic missile defense systems in Eastern Europe is
Washingtons breach of its commitments under the INF Treaty.

US President Donald Trump said on October 20 that his country would quit the
INF Treaty because Russia was allegedly in breach of that agreement. Russian
Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov described this as a dangerous move. Washington
was also criticized in Berlin and Beijing. In the meantime, London came out in
support of the United States and NATO placed the responsibility for Trumps
decision on Russia, because in its opinion Moscow had apparently violated the
treaty.

The INF Treaty was signed on December 8, 1987 and took effect on June 1, 1988.
It outlawed deployed and non-deployed intermediate range (1,000-5,000
kilometers) and shorter range (500-1,000 kilometers) ground-based missiles.

In recent years, Washington has repeatedly alleged Russia was in breach of the
agreement. Moscow emphatically dismissed the charges and countered them with
its own claims over the United States non-compliance.

Russia slams US Aegis Ashore missile deployment in Europe as direct breach of INF Treaty


The Kentucky Senator called John Brennan the most biased, bigoted, unhinged Director of the CIA weve ever had in response to Brennans latest attack on President Trump labeling the Putin summit performance treasonous.

John Brennan started out his adulthood by voting for the Communist Party presidential candidate, Rand Paul said. Hes now ending his career by showing himself to be the most biased, bigoted, over-the-top, hyperbolic sort of unhinged director of the CIA weve ever had.

On Monday, former CIA Director, John Brennan claimed Trumps presser with Putin exceeded the threshold of high crimes and misdemeanors then said it was nothing short of treasonous.

President Trump slammed the former CIA Director in an interview with Fox News Tucker Carlson, calling Brennan a very bad guy.

I think Brennan is a very bad guy and if you look at it a lot of things happened under his watch, Trump told Fox News Tucker Carlson. I think hes a very bad person.

Brennan continued to attack President Trump on Tuesday after calling his Putin summit performance treasonous.

John Brennan, like every other hysterical leftist, is afraid of what President Trump may have discussed during his private meeting with Vladimir Putin.

In what sounded like a signal to Deep State operatives, Brennan warned the Intel community may begin to withhold vital intelligence from President Trump to protect information.

Brennan routinely attacks President Trump from Twitter; he previously warned Trump about Muellers investigation, telling the president to Stay tuned.

John Brennan is also the puppet master behind the Trump-Russia collusion narrative and he helped promote Hillarys garbage Russia dossier.

Rand Paul Savages John Brennan as Most Biased Bigoted Unhinged CIA Director Ever VIDEO


A teenage boy who shot and critically injured a teenage student at DSST Cole Middle School has been charged with attempted first-degree murder, authorities say.

The boy, who has not been identified, is also charged with first degree assault and possession of a handgun by a juvenile, said Ken Lane, spokesman for Denver District Attorney Beth McCann.

The shooting occurred around 2 p.m. on Aug. 28 on a grassy area outside the schools Mitchell Building in the 3200 block of Marion Street in northeast Denver.

Check back on this breaking news story for updates.

Teenager who shot student at Cole Middle School charged with attempted murder


Since the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. FEC in 2010, the funding behind politicians has gotten murkier and murkier. Politicians began accepting donations not only through their official campaign funds, but also to political action committees (known as PACs).

Before this, all campaign donations were directly traceable to their donor. The Citizens United ruling allowed people to obscure their political donations. It also removed the barrier to corporations donating to politicians and political causes.

Now it is par for the course that candidates for nation-wide office are attached to a leadership PAC. These PACs are not subject to donation limits. In a bombshell announcement today, we learned that Sen. Marco Rubios (R-FL) leadership PAC received $1,000,000 from a Russian billionaire connected to Vladimir Putin.

Unsurprisingly, Rubio was not alone:

Despite Trump (and the GOP) projecting their guilt onto Democrats like this:

... this new Russia/GOP connection is damning. Lest you think that this is selectively presented information thats omitting all of the Democrats that Blavatnik donated to, consider the hard facts.

Access Industries is the U.S. company that Blavatnik uses to donate to American politicians. Sourced from public record, heres the history of Access Industries political contributions:

What could possibly account for this incredible increase in donations?

In 2014, Access Industries sold an oil and gas company to Rosneft, the Russian state oil company. Blavatnik received $7,000,000,000 in profits from the sale.

This sale was a big deal. According to Reuters:

So it comes down to this: money from a Russian oligarch (which came from the Russian purchase of an energy company) went straight into the campaign coffers of Marco Rubio.

And weve got the receipts.

Rubio Caught Red Handed Taking Money From Russia The Details Are Disastrous


Mueller's Questions Indicate He Lacks Evidence of a Crime

The Justice Department should not permit the president to be interrogated on so paltry and presumptuous a showing.

Muellers Questions Indicate He Lacks Evidence of a Crime


For years now, Chicagos gun violence problem has been growing. This is a recognized fact nationwide. There simply is no getting around the reality that the city needs to do something to curb the crime problem.

The people of the city itself are now being vocal about that  which is a good thing as they are taking to the streets to demonstrate something needs to be done. Unfortunately, on Saturday, the chosen street was Interstate 94, and the protesters blocked traffic to the northern suburbs.

When police closed all five lanes, a long stretch of I-94 behind the closure turned into a virtual parking lot. Vehicles on the highway were lined bumper-to-bumper, with nowhere to go except for a few exit ramps. Some motorists, with nowhere to go if they werent near an exit, left their cars for a time.

There is a dispute between the Republican governor of Illinois and the march organizers as to how many lanes were agreed to be closed in the beginning (two), however, in the end, the mob took all five.

There is no question that gun violence in Chicago needs this kind of attention, perhaps not in this way, though, and certainly not by trying to do more of the same that gave Chicago the title of most dangerous city in America in the first place.

Priests like this give Catholics a bad name.

All of that is great, but until respect for human life and property is restored, and potential victims have the ability to shoot back, all that is going to do is throw money at a problem without solving it.

Chicago has a gun violence problem. On that, no one disagrees. Its what will solve the problem that is in dispute.

Chicago FINALLY Protests Over Gun Violence Rates Chooses Wrong Tactic


When alleged Russian agent Mariia Butina and her alleged handler, Alexander Torshin, traveled to Washington, D.C. in April 2015 and reportedly attended meetings with Treasury and Federal Reserve officials arranged by the Center for the National Interest (CNI), Butina and Torshin also spoke at an off-the-record discussion attended by a career State Department official, CNIs executive director Paul J. Saunders told TPM Tuesday.

Reuters was first to report on the 2015 meetings set up by CNI, a think tank that supports engagement with Russia. Top officials from the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department met separately with Butina and Torshin, and the two Russians also spoke at an event on the Russian financial situation and its impact on Russian politics, Reuters reported. Saunders told TPM in a phone call that a career State Department official was present at the off-the-record discussion, a detail that was previously unreported.

Saunders, who attended that discussion, said that he did not recall what was covered at the event because it was a long time ago [and] not a remarkable discussion.

It was a very transparent meeting, Saunders added. He was giving a presentation.

Butina was indicted last week for conspiracy against the U.S. and failing to register as a foreign agent. Prosecutors alleged in the indictment that Butina attempted to infiltrate the National Rifle Association and establish backchannel communications with American politicians. Butinas lawyer has maintained she is innocent, and she is currently being held without bond pending her trial after prosecutors argued she was an extreme flight risk.

Stanley Fischer, the Federal Reserve vice chairman at the time of the meetings, confirmed to Reuters that he met with Torshin. The Treasury department official, Nathan Sheets, declined to comment to Reuters. A spokesperson for the Russian central bank told Reuters that Torshin declined to comment.

Saunders told TPM that when CNI learned Torshin would be coming to Washington in 2015, we invited him to speak.

As someone whom we had invited to speak, he asked for help in facilitating a few meetings, Saunders continued. We reached to a few offices in a way that we would do for anyone else who we invited to speak. It was an entirely routine thing on our part that we do for visitors from a lot of different countries when they come here to speak.

The Russian Central Bank, he said, actually was pretty highly regarded.

[Torshin] wasnt under sanctions, Saunders said. We certainly werent aware of any derogatory information about Mr. Torshin. So we helped to facilitate meetings. No one from our staff was present, and since no one from our staff was present, no, I really dont know what happened.

Butina, he said wasnt somebody who we invited to the event with Torshin at CNI.

He brought someone to interpret for him, he said. That was Mariia Butina. She wasnt somebody who we invited. She wasnt somebody who we knew. He brought her with him. He was the principal, and she was, like, an aide or something.

We had no way of knowing, really, who she was, Saunders added.

CNI, along with Jared Kushner, organized then-candidate Trumps first major foreign policy speech at the Mayflower Hotel in April 2016, a year after the events with Torshin and Butina arranged by CNI. On the sidelines of the Mayflower speech, Trump, Kushner, and then-Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) met with then-Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak.

This post has been updated.

Think Tank Director Butina Torshin Met With Career State Department Official