April 22, 2017


News and Views


THE LIGHT MASSES AGAINST THE DARK: SCIENCE WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE! TWO ARTICLES

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/march-for-science-rallies-mark-earth-day-in-cities-around-the-world/
March for Science gets underway, marking Earth Day around the world
CBS/AP April 22, 2017, 11:23 AM

NEW YORK -- Scientists worldwide left their labs and took to the streets Saturday along with students and research advocates, pushing back against what they say are mounting attacks on science.

The March for Science, coinciding with Earth Day, was set for more than 500 cities, anchored in Washington, D.C., and to be joined by dozens of nonpartisan scientific professional societies in a turnout intended to combine political and how-to science demonstrations.

“When the first time in recorded history scientists have to get together to form a march in support of science, something serious is going on,” Rockefeller University’s Erich Jarvis told CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook, who is covering the march in Washington.

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Jonathan LaPook, M.D ✔ @DrLaPook
Covering the #marchforscience for @CBSEveningNews @CBSNLive @CBSThisMorning
9:38 AM - 22 Apr 2017 · Washington, DC
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Organizers portrayed the march as political but not partisan, promoting the understanding of science as well as defending it from various attacks. They cited proposed federal cuts to the National Institutes of Health totaling $6 billion, or 18 percent of the institute’s budget.

The marches also come at a time when Americans are increasingly pessimistic about the future of the planet. A CBS News poll found this week that just 12 percent of Americans believe the environment will improve for the next generation, while 57 percent said it will get worse.

Here are the highlights from marches and Earth Day events around the globe.

Washington, D.C.

Signs and banners readied for the Washington rally reflected anger, humor and obscure scientific references, such as a 7-year-old’s “No Taxation Without Taxonomy.” Taxonomy is the science of classifying animals, plants and other organisms.

ap-17112525745602.jpg
Photograph -- A crowd gathers for the March for Science in Washington, Saturday, April 22, 2017. SAIT SERKAN GURBUZ, ASSOCIATED PRESS

The sign that 9-year-old Sam Klimas held was red, handmade and personal: “Science saved my life.” He had a form of brain cancer and has been healthy for eight years now. His mother, grandmother and brother traveled with him from Parkersburg, West Virginia. “I have to do everything I can to oppose the policies of this administration,” said his grandmother, Susan Sharp.

New York City

In Manhattan, the March for Science began with a rally at 10:30 a.m. near Columbus Circle at Central Park West.

2017-04-22t150109z-228886141-rc12daa93500-rtrmadp-3-earth-day-usa-march-1.jpg
Photograph -- Protesters line Central Park West during the Earth Day ‘March For Science NYC’ demonstration to coincide with similar marches globally in Manhattan, New York, U.S., April 22, 2017. REUTERS

Thousands of participants walked down Broadway to midtown Manhattan. The march was set to end at West 52nd Street.

Boston

Scientists from across Massachusetts are planning to gather on the Boston Common at 1 p.m. for a rally.

Among those participating are scientists and researchers from Harvard University, MIT, Clark University, UMass-Lowell and Massachusetts General Hospital.

Scheduled speakers at the rally include former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy, who has been sharply critical of Trump’s efforts to unravel former President Barack Obama’s plan to curb global warming.

Berlin

Several thousand people participated in a march from the one of the Berlin’s universities to the Brandenburg Gate landmark.

gettyimages-671460368.jpg
Photograph -- People hold a banner which reads “Science is borderless” as they take part in the March for Science in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on April 22, 2017. JORG CARSTENSEN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Meike Weltin is a doctorate student at an environmental institute near Berlin. She said she was participating because - in her words - “I think that politics need to listen to sciences.”

Germany’s foreign minister, Sigmar Gabriel, has endorsed March for Science events across Germany. Gabriel says “free research and teaching are the supporting pillars of an open and modern society.”

London

Physicists, astronomers, biologists and celebrities gathered for a march past London’s most celebrated research institutions. Supporters carried signs showing images of a double helix and chemical symbols.

gettyimages-671470228.jpg
Photograph -- A protestor holds a placard as scientists and science enthusiasts participate in the ‘March for Science’ which celebrates the scientific method, in Westminster, central London on April 22, 2017, Earth Day. DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

The protest was putting scientists, who generally shy away from advocacy and whose work depends on objective experimentation, into a more public position.



http://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/march-science-demonstrators-say-they-re-real-patriots-n749686
SCIENCE APR 22 2017, 2:10 PM ET
March for Science Demonstrators Say They’re the Real Patriots
by MAGGIE FOX

It's not often that bugs get whoops and cheers.

Lovers of science got their day in the rain Saturday as they rallied around their passions, delivering applause for the technology that brought their smart phones to the obvious theme of climate change on Earth Day.

March for Science Brings Cause and Effect to Politics Facebook Twitter Embed
March for Science Brings Cause and Effect to Politics 1:05

And while the March for Science was on the surface nonpartisan, politics bubbled up again and again.

"Insects don't see borders and they can climb walls," Jessica Ware, an evolutionary biologist at Rutgers University, said to applause.

"We must teach our children about evolution. We must teach our children to love insects and arachnids," Ware said, to howls of approval.

Because it was a march, protest signs abounded, from the funny ("I just came for the pi" and "Without science, it's just fiction" ) to the sincere ("Science Saves Lives").

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John Lingenfelder @JohnForTexas
#MarchForScience in Dallas.
11:22 AM - 22 Apr 2017
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Rain poured on the marchers crowding the Mall but they stood patiently to clap and holler for a procession of speakers giving minute-long soundbites.

Related: Science Lovers Hit Streets to Demand Respect and Funding

Bill Nye, a television science entertainer and educator, noted that "science and the useful arts" are embedded in the Constitution.

"Yet today we have active politicians deliberately ignoring and actively suppressing science. Their information is misguided," he said.

"Our numbers here today show the world that science is for all."

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Greg Glockner @gglockner
I'm not a paid protestor. I spent my own science salary to fly here from the west coast. #marchforsciencedc #MarchForScience
11:22 AM - 22 Apr 2017
2 2 Retweets 13 13 likes

Some March for Science speakers invoked patriotism and love of country as their motivation. "I am a patriot. I fight for spacious skies. I fight for amber waves of grain," said photographer James Balog, founder of the Extreme Ice Survey and Earth Vision Institute.

The National Mall is a national park and the Park Police do not give official crowd estimates. It's this lack of an official estimate that caused controversy when President Donald Trump claimed he had far larger numbers on his inauguration day than former President Barack Obama did — although numerous photographs appeared to show the opposite.

Related: Trump Cuts to Medical Research Will have Devastating Effects

But on Saturday, at least 5,000 people turned out for a dreary Washington morning, and many thousands more showed up at satellite demonstrations. Organizers of the march listed 610 satellite marches around the world, from London to Guam.

And while much of the rally and march celebrated science, participants were also clear about who and what they were protesting.

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Brent Waugh @BrentWaugh
New-found love for peaceful protest + longtime love for @Nelly_Mo = #ScienceMarch perfection. #ClimateMarch #WhyIMarch
1:00 PM - 22 Apr 2017 · Knoxville, TN
Retweets 8 8 likes

"America has had 45 presidents but it has never before had a president who is completely indifferent to the truth," said Denis Hayes, president of The Bullitt Foundation and a coordinator of the first Earth Day in 1970.

Trump has been largely silent about climate change since he took office but has called it a hoax in the past. He has also proposed sweeping budget cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency.

"Rigorous science is critical to my Administration's efforts to achieve the twin goals of economic growth and environmental protection," the president [OF THE BULLITT FOUNDATION] said in a statement released on Earth Day.

“I am a patriot. I fight for spacious skies. I fight for amber waves of grain.”

"My Administration is committed to advancing scientific research that leads to a better understanding of our environment and of environmental risks," the statement added. "As we do so, we should remember that rigorous science depends not on ideology, but on a spirit of honest inquiry and robust debate."

Organizers of the march said they are concerned about Trump's proposed budget cuts to health and science, and his appointment of Cabinet officials who appear to question scientific consensus about climate, weather and international agreements to reduce greenhouse emissions.

"We are at a dangerous moment in our nation's history when science and scientists are under attack, when the very words 'climate change' are being censored," artist and environmentalist Maya Lin told the crowd.

"If you want America to succeed, Donald Trump, you can't lead with your brain tied behind your back," said Shawn Otto, author of "The War on Science." "Climate change is real; vaccines don't cause autism."

Maggie Fox MAGGIE FOX TWITTERFACEBOOKGOOGLE PLUS
TOPICS SCIENCE NEWS, SCIENCE NEWS, HEALTH NEWS, POLITICS NEWS, SCIENCE, U.S. NEWS
FIRST PUBLISHED APR 22 2017, 2:10 PM ET
NEXT STORY March for Science: Scientists Hit the Streets to Demand Respect, Funding


YET ANOTHER BLOW AGAINST SCIENCE BY THE RIGHT, AMID AT LEAST ONE CLEAR SIGN THAT MORE SCIENTIFIC WORK IS NEEDED IN THE USA, AND NOT LESS. HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A LOBSTER AND A SCORPION ARE? IF THESE PEOPLE WENT TO SCHOOL IN THE USA, THE COUNTRY NEEDS TO SPEND MORE ON SCIENCE EDUCATION AND NOT LESS!!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gina-mccarthy-epa-trump_us_58335d1be4b030997bc0d01f?utm_hp_ref=gina-mccarthy
POLITICS 11/21/2016 04:46 pm ET | Updated Nov 22, 2016
Outgoing EPA Chief Maintains Optimism By Ignoring Donald Trump Entirely
Meanwhile, reporters speculated about the scorpion cookies in the room.
By Kate Sheppard

Photograph -- CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy highlights her agency’s accomplishments during President Barack Obama’s eight years in office on Nov. 21, 2016.

WASHINGTON ― Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy wanted to talk about the Obama administration’s legacy. Reporters wanted to know about the scorpion.

McCarthy was speaking at the National Press Club luncheon on Monday. The dessert plate included cookies decorated with the EPA logo, but one was off-brand ― a blue arthropod, its claws trained on the agency acronym. The reporters wanted to know what was up with the scorpion cookies.

EPA staffers in the room said they didn’t know what it was. The chef said it was supposed to be a lobster, since McCarthy is a Boston native. (It was definitely a scorpion; my best guess is someone in the kitchen pulled it from the internet without realizing it was not the environmental agency’s logo. Instead, it appears to be the logo of a Venezuelan home improvement superstore.)

Photograph -- KATE SHEPPARD, Cookies from a luncheon at the National Press Club featuring Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy.

McCarthy got a few angry yelled questions from the audience ― a Dakota Access pipeline opponent who wanted to know why she hadn’t spoken about it and a Pennsylvania resident worried about groundwater contamination from hydraulic fracturing. But for the most part, she stuck to upbeat talking points about how the agency’s work will continue because the American public values clean air, clean water and public health.

McCarthy was also asked about a memo she sent to staff after Trump’s election indicating their work would continue through the end of the administration. “As I’ve mentioned to you before, we’re running—not walking—through the finish line of President Obama’s presidency,” McCarthy wrote, as InsideClimate News reported.

She declined to elaborate about what, exactly, the EPA would like to get over that finish line on Monday. “I don’t have any secrets. Our agenda is out there,” she said. “We have a lot of work to do.”

“There’s one president at a time, and I’m working for this one,” she continued. “And I’m going to continue to do it. We’re focused on the work ahead and the work we have to do.”

Do you work in a federal agency? Email us at scoops@huffingtonpost.com and let us know what you’re seeing and hearing, and if you’re thinking of staying in government for the next administration.

Do you have information you want to share with the Huffington Post? Here’s how.
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Kate Sheppard
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I DON’T BELIEVE THAT, EVEN IN NORTH KOREA, KIM WILL BE ALLOWED, BY THOSE OF HIS ADVISERS WHOM HE HASN’T ASSASSINATED YET, TO DO ANYTHING AS RASH AS START A NUCLEAR WAR. IN HIS STATEMENT, HE DOES SAY THAT HE WILL RESPOND IN KIND, UP TO AND INCLUDING NUCLEAR ATTACK, IF THE US STARTS IT. I FEEL SURE THAT NOT EVEN DONALD TRUMP WILL DO THAT. I ALSO THINK THAT THE LEADERS OF CHINA, WHO AREN’T DUMMIES, WILL STEP IN AND PUNISH KIM IF HE DOESN’T BACK DOWN.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/north-korea-threatens-nuclear-war-ahead-of-trump-meeting-with-security-council/
By PAMELA FALK CBS NEWS April 22, 2017, 3:48 PM
North Korea threatens nuclear war ahead of Trump meeting with U.N. Security Council

Photograph – North Korean military parade

UNITED NATIONS – North Korea declared in a series of statements Saturday that “U.S. muscle-flexing can never browbeat DPRK,” threatening “a nuclear war” against the U.S. if it is attacked.

“The DPRK will react to a total war with an all-out war, a nuclear war with nuclear strikes of its own and surely win a victory in the death-defying struggle against the U.S. imperialists,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman wrote in one of three missives, echoing the message delivered by a top official at a massive military parade in Pyongyang on April 15.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman accused Trump administration officials of “spouting a load of rubbish” and “seeking to bring nuclear aircraft carrier strike groups one after another to the waters off the Korean Peninsula,” an apparent reference to the impending arrival of the USS Carl Vinson carrier group to the region.

The recent escalation in tension will be front in center in Washington on Monday. Diplomatic sources tell CBS News that U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley will escort Security Council members to Washington for a series of meetings with members of Congress before heading to the White House for a photo-op and lunch with President Trump. The high-profile visit will give U.N. diplomats an unusually high level of access to the president.

North Korea’s most recent missile test failed on the anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, the country’s late founder and grandfather of current leader Kim Jong Un. The missile exploded immediately after liftoff, U.S. officials said.

However, the regime has not dialed back its trademark brand of fiery diplomatic rhetoric in the wake of the failure.

North Korea has a new warning for the U.S.
Play VIDEO
North Korea has a new warning for the U.S.

“The DPRK is a nuclear power capable of countering any option and means of the U.S. and will not avoid any options made by it,” the Foreign Ministry spokesman’s statement Saturday read. “The world will clearly witness this time the fact that gone are the days never to return when the U.S. forced its will upon other countries.”

The spokesman called the North a “peace-loving socialist state” and is “setting great store by peace.” But North Korea “neither fears war nor wants to avoid it,” with the spokesman claiming the country’s nuclear program is defensive in nature.

The second memo sent to reporters Saturday was a commentary titled “Are You Good at Dancing to the Tune of Others,” taking aim at China -- although not by name -- over its support of economic sanctions. The third statement is directed at Australia, warning the country it “better think twice” about the “rubbish” statements of its foreign minister.

The new threat comes in response to shows of force by the U.S. and its ally South Korea. Vice President Mike Pence declared “the era of strategic patience is over” on a recent trip to South Korea, where tens of thousands of U.S. troops are stationed. Haley told reporters on Tuesday that “we are not trying to pick a fight, so don’t try and give us one.” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday that the Trump administration is reviewing whether to add North Korea to the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.

On Thursday, the Security Council issued a strongly worded condemnation of North Korea over its latest missile test. The statement, negotiated by the U.S., included a call for “dialogue” with Pyongyang at the request of Russia. The non-binding statement was significant due in part to the support of China, North Korea’s closest ally.

The council said North Korea’s illegal missile and nuclear activities “are greatly increasing tension in the region and beyond” and expressed “utmost concern” at its “highly destabilizing behavior and flagrant and provocative defiance” of six U.N. sanctions resolutions.

The U.N.’s most powerful body demanded an immediate end to the North’s nuclear and missile tests and threatened to take “further significant measures” implying the imposition of new sanctions.



http://www.smh.com.au/world/north-korea-warns-australia-of-nuclear-strike-over-julie-bishops-comments-20170422-gvqg5e.html
APRIL 23 2017 - 1:43AM
North Korea warns Australia of nuclear strike over Julie Bishop's comments
Kirsty Needham

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In a joint press conference with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, US Vice President Mike Pence says the Trump administration will honour a controversial refugee deal with Australia - even though it does not 'admire' the deal.

North Korea's foreign ministry has lashed out at Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and warned Australia was "coming within the range of the nuclear strike".

The threats were reported by the North Korean state news agency KCNA as being made on Friday, in response to a radio interview given by Ms Bishop.

MORE VIDEOS
North Korea 'serious threat to ... peace': Bishop

North Korea is on a "path to achieving nuclear weapons capability," posing an "unacceptable" risk to the region and must be stopped, says Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.

According to a translation of the KCNA report, which was dated Friday, the same day US Vice President Mike Pence arrived in Australia, Ms Bishop had said in the radio interview that North Korea seriously threatens regional peace and she supports the US policy that "all options are on the table".

A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of North Korea was quoted as saying: "The present government of Australia is blindly and zealously toeing the US line. It is hard to expect good words from the foreign minister of such government."

The spokesman said the Korean Peninsula "is inching close to the brink of war in an evil cycle of increasing tensions" and blamed US policy.

"If Australia persists in following the US moves to isolate and stifle the DPRK and remains a shock brigade of the US master, this will be a suicidal act of coming within the range of the nuclear strike of the strategic force of the DPRK."

In the past fortnight North Korean state media has issued daily hyperbolic threats to the United States, while boasting on the front page of its Rodong Sinmun newspaper of the many mentions of its leader Kim Jong Un in international media coverage as the Korean Peninsula crisis continues. North Korean media similarly attacked South Korean acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn when Mr Pence arrived in South Korea in Monday, and threatened Japan days later.

North Korean state media continues to claim North Korea can strike its enemies anywhere on earth, which is untrue. It also frequently reports wild conspiracy theories, such as on Friday claiming the US was planning to use chemical weapons against North Korea.




ANOTHER SAD EVENT ON AN AIRPLANE (AMERICAN AIRLINES THIS TIME) – WHO SCREENS THESE JOB APPLICANTS? THE AIRLINE IS “INVESTIGATING.”

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/american-airlines-employee-allegedly-hits-woman-with-stroller-narrowly-missing-baby/
CBS NEWS April 22, 2017, 8:32 AM
American Airlines employee accused of hitting woman with stroller, narrowly missing baby

Video – CBS News footage
Video – Facebook, posted by Surain Ady

A dispute between passengers and an American Airlines employee is bringing another black eye to the airline industry, just weeks after a violent confrontation on a United plane went viral.

The latest incident occurred Friday on an American flight that was getting ready to take off from San Francisco to Dallas.

A video posted to Facebook captured the moments after an employee allegedly took a stroller from a woman and hit her with it, narrowly missing the baby in her arms. The video shows the distraught woman holding her baby and crying, asking flight attendants to give her the stroller back.

A fellow passenger gets up and confronts the flight attendant.

“What’s the guy’s name who did that with the stroller?” the man says. “Is he an American Airlines employee? I want to know his name personally. That’s ridiculous.”

Another passenger can be heard saying “he smacked her in the face with the stroller.”

About a minute later, the employee who apparently wrested the stroller from the woman returns to the cabin, at which point the male passenger who demanded his name confronts him directly.

“Hey, bud? Hey, bud? You do that to me and I’ll knock you flat,” the male passenger says, rising from his seat.

“You stay out of this! You stay out of this!” the employee responds, waving his finger at the passenger. “Try it. Hit me.” The two exchange words before being separated by other crew members.

The video had been viewed over 1.1 million times as of Saturday morning.

American Airlines said it’s aware of the video and is investigating the incident.

“The actions of our team member captured here do not appear to reflect patience or empathy, two values necessary for customer care,” the airline said in a statement to CBS News. “In short, we are disappointed by these actions. The American team member has been removed from duty while we immediately investigate this incident.”

The dispute comes nearly two weeks after a man was violently dragged off a United Airlines flight, sparking an uproar over how he was treated and United’s response.




IT APPEARS THE RUSSIANS DIDN’T MERELY “TRY” TO INFILTRATE THE CAMPAIGN. THEY SUCCEEDED. BOTH ARTICLES ARE EXCELLENT AND CONTAIN LARGELY DIFFERENT INFORMATION, SO I SUGGEST READING THEM TOGETHER.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/21/politics/russia-trump-campaign-advisers-infiltrate/index.html
Sources: Russia tried to use Trump advisers to infiltrate campaign
By Pamela Brown, Shimon Prokupecz, Jim Sciutto and Marshall Cohen, CNN
Updated 9:23 PM ET, Fri April 21, 2017

Washington (CNN)The FBI gathered intelligence last summer that suggests Russian operatives tried to use Trump advisers, including Carter Page, to infiltrate the Trump campaign, according to US officials.

The new information adds to the emerging picture of how the Russians tried to influence the 2016 election, not only through email hacks and propaganda but also by trying to infiltrate the Trump orbit. The intelligence led to an investigation into the coordination of Trump's campaign associates and the Russians.

These officials made clear they don't know whether Page was aware the Russians may have been using him. Because of the way Russian spy services operate, Page could have unknowingly talked with Russian agents.

Page disputes the idea he has ever collected intelligence for the Russians, saying he helped the US intelligence community. "My assumption throughout the last 26 years I've been going there has always been that any Russian person might share information with the Russian government ... as I have similarly done with the CIA, the FBI and other government agencies in the past."

But the intelligence suggests Russia tried to infiltrate the inner-workings of the Trump campaign by using backdoor channels to communicate with people in the Trump orbit, US officials say.

Page is one of several Trump advisers US and European intelligence found to be in contact with Russian officials and other Russians known to Western intelligence during the campaign, according to multiple US officials.

The scope and frequency of those contacts raised the interest of US intelligence agencies.

The FBI and CIA declined to comment on Page's statement.

Who's who in Trump-Russia saga

In 2013, Page had meetings with a Russian man who turned out to be a spy, according to federal prosecutors. Page denied knowing that the man, Victor Podobnyy, was secretly a Russian operative living in New York.

As CNN first reported, Carter Page's speech critical of US policy against Russia in July 2016 at a prominent Moscow university drew the attention of the FBI and raised concerns he had been compromised by Russian intelligence, according to US officials. They also feared that Russian operatives maintained contact with him both in the United States and Russia, US officials say.

His conversations with suspected Russian operatives are being examined as part of a large intelligence-gathering operation by the FBI and other US agencies that was set up to probe Russia's interference in the election. The officials would not say what the conversations were about.

How Page's name became associated with the campaign is a reflection of how minimal the Trump operation was last year, as establishment national security figures avoided an association with the insurgent operation.

As Trump prepared to meet with The Washington Post editorial page in March 2016, the campaign was under pressure to name national security advisers. Staffers produced a list of names for Trump to refer to, according to a US official close to the campaign. Trump mentioned Page, in part because he had a Ph.D. listed next to his name, the official said.

Trump had never met Page. Sam Clovis, co-chairman of the campaign, helped gather the names that the candidate used.

Campaign officials say there's no indication Page ever attended any national security meetings at Trump Tower. They insisted he played a junior role and was not an influential figure.

But in a letter Page wrote to the House Intelligence committee offering to testify, Page describes more interactions with the campaign.

"For your information, I have frequently dined in Trump Grill, had lunch in Trump Cafe, had coffee meetings in the Starbucks at Trump Tower, attended events and spent many hours in campaign headquarters on the fifth floor last year."

A US official with close ties to the campaign says Page's claim he spent time on the fifth floor is meaningless since the campaign no longer used that floor starting in early July. The official also says the places he listed as visiting are public spaces visited by millions of people a year.

The FBI had Page on their radar for at least four years, according to court documents and US officials.

The bureau also knew about Page from its 2013 investigation into a Russian spy ring in New York. One of the spies was taped saying he tried to recruit Page, and Page admitted meeting him. But Page says he didn't share anything sensitive and didn't know he was talking to a spy.

He also traveled to Russia frequently and interacted with officials that the FBI was concerned were acting on behalf of the government.

His trip to Russia in July 2016 revived the FBI's interest, when he delivered a lecture at a graduation ceremony for the New Economic School. The university opened after the fall of the Soviet Union and is ranked as one of the best universities for economics in Russia. Former President Barack Obama gave a speech there during his first official trip to Russia in 2009.

But Page's lecture sounded different than what would be expected from most Americans. He parroted Kremlin talking points by chastising the West for prolonging "Cold War tendencies."

"Ironically, Washington and other Western capitals have impeded potential progress through their often hypocritical focus on democratization, inequality, corruption and regime change," he said, adding that US foreign policy toward Russia was "condescending" and "hostile."

Page stressed to the audience that he was there as a private citizen and not a Trump surrogate. But a spokesman for the school told CNN that Page's ties to Trump helped secure the invitation.

"The organizing committee for the commencement last year thought that he was a colorful and interesting character," said Denis Klimentov, a spokesman for the New Economic School. "It was partially supported by the fact that The Washington Post, the newspaper, back in the spring of 2016, cited Carter as one of Mr. Trump's foreign policy advisors."

Page maintains that he only met with "scholars and professors" during his July trip. Klimentov said that the New Economic School didn't arrange any meetings on Page's behalf.

"Physically and technically, frankly speaking, I don't think he had any time for that, he was with the school pretty much during most of the day, both days, and the remaining half of the day that he was in Moscow," Klimentov said.

But a former Obama administration official briefed on Russia's meddling in the election says Russians who work at prominent think tanks, universities and businesses often play an informal intelligence role.

"There are very few agencies of any kind that don't have some sort of intelligence or counterintelligence role," the official told CNN. "If you run an organization in Russia government, you will now have a role in that. It's the explicit mission of Russian government agencies."

Shortly after Page returned to the US, he and other Trump advisers headed to Cleveland for the Republican National Convention. On the sidelines of a convention-related event, Page and other Trump advisers, including JD Gordon and Jeff Sessions, met with Russian ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak.

Two months after Page's trip, the FBI sought and received a warrant from the secret court that oversees the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to monitor Page's communications.

When he returned to Moscow in December 2016, after Trump won the election, Russian state-run media widely covered and promoted his trip, including RT and Sputnik, which have been identified by the US intelligence community as tools for the Kremlin's propaganda.

RT published stories on all three days of Page's trip. Sputnik published an 800-word roundup of the presentation and press conference he gave at the state-run news agency's headquarters. The RT affiliate Ruptly quickly published the full video of his second presentation and press conference.

That speech was given under the auspices of the Russian government: The event was held at the headquarters of the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency, a state-run media company created in 2013 by an official decree from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Not only did Russian state-run media cover the trip, but a prominent government-run think tank involved in election-meddling efforts put out a press release heralding Page's visit.

The leader of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studie, Leonid Reshetnikov, painted Page as an influential adviser to Trump and said his visit could help improve US-Russian relations.

"It's quite possible that Trump's advisor is a pragmatist and a realist," Reshetnikov said, according to a translation of his comments in Russian. "This is probably not an ordinary visit. He has probably received some instructions from the President-elect. I don't think that meetings at the highest level will take place, but (the possibility) cannot be excluded."

Reuters reported this week that the group was involved in Russia's efforts to interfere in the US election. The organization sent recommendations to top Kremlin leaders with plans of how to use its propaganda machine to help Trump and undermine Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

The FBI and other US agencies have been combing through information obtained through that FISA as part of its ongoing investigation into the Trump campaign's links to Russia.

Intelligence analysts and FBI investigators who analyzed various strands of intelligence from human sources to electronic and financial records have found signs of possible collusion between the campaign and Russian officials. But there is not enough evidence to show that crimes were committed, US officials say.

Part of the problem for investigators has been that they lost their opportunity to conduct the investigation in secret after several leaks last year revealed FBI was looking at people close to the Trump campaign. After those reports, people that the US was monitoring changed their behavior, which made it more difficult for US officials to monitor them.

This story has been updated to reflect additional reporting on Page's role during the campaign.




http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ex-trump-aide-carter-page-denies-colluding-with-russians-during-campaign/
By KATHRYN WATSON CBS NEWS April 22, 2017, 11:20 AM
Ex-Trump aide Carter Page denies colluding with Russians during campaign

Photograph -- Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, speaks at a news conference at RIA Novosti news agency in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Dec. 12, 2016. AP PHOTO/PAVEL GOLOVKIN

Carter Page, one of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy advisers during the campaign, was reluctant to say whether he cared about Russian meddling in the election Saturday, claiming the “bigger meddling” are the “false narratives” building against him and possibly others.

The embattled Page appeared on CNN and dodged multiple questions from host Michael Smerconish about whether Russian meddling in the election matters to him. Page eventually conceded that “if” there was “indisputable evidence” that Russians meddled in the election, he would be concerned.

The interview came hours after CNN reported Russia tried to use Trump campaign advisers to infiltrate the election. The FBI obtained a FISA court warrant to monitor Page during the election.

Page emphasized that the most important meddling are the attacks against him and others over alleged Russian ties.

“If there was any meddling in the election, all the false narratives out there are really the meddling,” he said Saturday.

Page, who left the campaign in September, appeared in the “Trump Dossier” created by a former British intelligence operative working for a U.S. political research group.

Page, defending himself against mounting allegations of his contacts with Russians, said everything he ever discussed was public information.

“I was never -- nothing I was ever asked to do, or no information I was ever asked for, was anything beyond what you could see on CNN,” Page said.

Page, who left the campaign in September 2016, isn’t Mr. Trump’s only top aide to leave amid Russia questions. Michael Flynn, Mr. Trump’s former national security adviser, left in February after less than a month on the job after he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with the Russian ambassador.

The House and Senate intelligence committees are investigating Russian meddling in the election.



I WONDER WHAT THE ORIGIN OF THIS STORY IS. COULD BE SERVANTS WORKING AT MAR-A-LAGO, PERHAPS? THIS IS THE THIRD OR FOURTH STORY ABOUT THE PLACE. IT WOULD BE NICE TO KNOW EVERYONE WHO VISITS THERE AT THE SAME TIME AS DONALD TRUMP AND THE TIMING OF THEIR VISITS.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/rubio-denies-setting-up-mar-a-lago-secret-meeting-with-trump-former-colombian-presidents/
CBS NEWS April 22, 2017, 1:30 AM
Rubio denies setting up secret Mar-a-Lago meeting between Trump, former Colombian presidents

Photograph -- Sen. Marco Rubio says the GOP plan to replace Obamacare has “good principles.” CBS NEWS

MIAMI -- Florida Sen. Marco Rubio denied arranging what has been described as a “secret meeting” between President Trump and two former presidents of Colombia.

“No,” Rubio told CBS Miami in an exclusive interview. “I didn’t have anything to do with that meeting.”

Private meetings at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago raise questions about access

The informal summit between Mr. Trump and former Colombian presidents Álvaro Uribe and Andrés Pastrana took place last weekend at Mr. Trump’s private resort, Mar-a-Lago. Mr. Trump’s official schedule made no mention of the meeting, nor was it disclosed to reporters who had traveled with him to Palm Beach.

The two men are opponents of current Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, who is expected to meet Mr. Trump for the first time next month.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said five days after the meeting that he was “unaware of the circumstances” of the meeting. The White House later said the men “briefly said hello when the president walked past them.”

Questions linger over who President Trump has met at Mar-a-Lago
Play VIDEO
Questions linger over who President Trump has met at Mar-a-Lago

News of the encounter has created concern the Trump administration may come out against Colombia’s peace accord with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, commonly known as the FARC.

Colombian media has been reporting the Mar-a-Lago meeting was set up by Rubio, a critic of the FARC peace agreement. Rubio’s office had declined to comment.

However, in an interview scheduled to air Sunday on CBS Miami’s Facing South Florida with Jim DeFede, Rubio said the reports of his involvement were simply wrong.

“I’m a big fan of President Uribe,” Rubio said. “I didn’t even know he was in Florida. And beyond it, I would say to you, I don’t see what the problem is. But my understanding is it wasn’t even a meeting. My understanding is that President Uribe and the former President [Pastrana] happened to head over to the Mar-a-Lago and bump into the president while he was there. But I didn’t even know President Uribe would be in Florida.”

Trump's weekend trips to Mar-a-Lago cost taxpayers millions
Play VIDEO
Trump's weekend trips to Mar-a-Lago cost taxpayers millions

But former Colombian President Pastrana, tweeted they had a “cordial and very frank conversation regarding problems and perspectives in Colombia and the region

When Santos, Colombia’s current president, lands in Washington he is expected to urge Mr. Trump to support not only the peace accord but $450 million in foreign aid pledged to Colombia by former President Barack Obama. The money is critical to bolster the peace accord and help end the region’s longest armed conflict.

In his interview with CBS Miami, Rubio was asked if he opposed the $450 million in aid to Colombia or if he was urging Mr.Trump to block it.

“No, on the contrary, I’m in favor of it,” Rubio told CBS Miami. “I’m in favor of Plan Colombia. The decision on whether or not to do a deal with the FARC belongs to the Colombian people. They had a referendum. They voted against it. President Santos went into a different direction, got it implemented. They are going to have elections in Colombia in a year. They are going to choose a new President and that’s up to them. That’s a democracy and a sovereign country.”


ANOTHER BIT OF ALPHABET SOUP DECODED: WHAT’S THE SCOOP ON FARC ?

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-36605769
Who are the Farc?
24 November 2016
From the section Latin America & Caribbean

Photograph -- The Farc have been fighting one of the longest-running insurgencies in the world
Photograph -- Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda (centre) was the main leader of the Farc until his death in 2008

Who are the Farc?

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc, after the initials in Spanish) are Colombia's largest rebel group.

They were founded in 1964 as the armed wing of the Communist Party and follow a Marxist-Leninist ideology.

Their main founders were small farmers and land workers who had banded together to fight against the staggering levels of inequality in Colombia at the time.

While the Farc have some urban groups, they have always been an overwhelmingly rural guerrilla organisation.

How many Farc fighters are there?

Leftist rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) patrol by a roadway near to San Vicente de Caguan, Caqueta province, Colombia, January 9. 1999Image copyrightREUTERS
Image caption
Photograph -- At their height, the Farc was estimated to have some 20,000 active fighters

The security forces estimate that there are between 6,000 and 7,000 active fighters within the ranks of the Farc.

They think there are another 8,500 civilians who make up the Farc's support network.

This is down considerably from the estimated 20,000 active fighters they are believed to have had around 2002.

How are they organised?

Picture taken in the 1980s of Farc fighters during training at a camp somewhere in the Colombian mountainous regionImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image caption
Photograph -- Most of the members of the Farc come from rural areas of Colombia
The rebels are organised in small tactical groups that in turn make up larger fighting units which are organised in regional "blocs".

They are controlled by the Secretariat, a group of less than a dozen top commanders who devise the overarching strategy of the Farc.

The Farc's top leader is Rodrigo Londono Echeverri, better know by his alias Timochenko.
[Read more about Timochenko here.]

Why did they take up arms?

Farc guerrilla fighters pose with their weapons after a patrol in the jungle near the town of Miraflores, Colombia, August 7, 1998Image copyrightREUTERS
Image caption
Photograph -- While they were not very well armed when they were first founded, the Farc have acquired some heavy weapons over the decades

The Farc were founded at a time of brutal repression against any form of action considered subversive.

Colombia has historically been a country which suffers from huge levels of inequality, where vast swathes of land are owned by a very small elite.

This is partly due to the fact that the Colombian state sold off large tracts of land to private owners in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries to pay for its debts.

Some of the founders of the Farc had established an agricultural commune in the region of Marquetalia, in central Tolima province.

Inspired by the Cuban revolution in the 1950s, they demanded more rights and control over the land.

But their communist ideals were seen as a threat by big landowners and the state, which sent in the army to disband the commune, or Marquetalia Republic as it had come to be known.

The Farc say that it was after the clashes with the army in Marquetalia that they decided to make their struggle an armed one.

Was Colombia peaceful before the Farc?

A wreath placed before the statue of one of the founding fathers of Colombia's independence, Joaquin de Cayzedo y Cuero at the main square in Cali, Colombia with a ribbon with an inscription that reads 'Farewell to War', on June 23, 2016 Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image caption
Photograph -- Colombia had suffered from decades of violence even before the Farc were founded

No, Colombia went through a 10-year civil war before the Farc were even founded.

During the period known simply as La Violencia (The Violence), between 200,000 and 300,000 people are estimated to have been killed.

La Violencia was triggered by the assassination in 1948 of Jorge Eliecer Gaitan, a popular presidential candidate for the Liberal Party.

His shooting in Bogota caused riots in the capital, which were followed by 10 years of conflict pitting the followers of the Liberal Party against those of the Conservative Party.

The man who would later become the top leader of the Farc, Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda, had fought in La Violencia.

Who joined the Farc?

Guerrillas of the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) march in a military parade 07 February 2001 in San Vicente. Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image caption
Photograph -- The Farc recruits women as well as men and have fighters of all ages, including children

Human rights groups have often accused the Farc of forcibly recruiting poor farmers and children. The Farc say that everyone who joined them did so voluntarily.

According to their own figures, there were 21 children under the age of 15 in their ranks in May 2016.

Most of their fighters are from poor, rural communities and include both men and women of all ages.

Some of those who have left the Farc speak of being lured by the promise of adventure and the kudos of carrying a gun.

Who do they fight?

Former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) hostage Gen Luis Herlindo Mendieta (2nd R) walks with his family upon arrival in Bogota on June 14, 2010. Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image caption
Photograph -- General Luis Mendieta (in uniform) was held captive by the Farc for 14 years

The main enemy of the Farc have been the Colombian security forces. Farc fighters have attacked police stations and military posts, and ambushed patrols.

But they have also blown up oil pipelines, electricity pylons and bridges and bombed social clubs.

Many of their victims have been civilians. They have included children who died when home-made Farc explosives fell short of a rural police station and hit a school, and thousands of people maimed by landmines laid by the Farc.

Thousands of people were kidnapped by the Farc for ransom.

One police officer, Luis Mendieta, was seized in an attack on a police station in 1998 and held for 14 years before being freed by the army in a rescue operation dubbed Chameleon.

How do they finance themselves?

A Colombian soldier stands guard inside a cocaine laboratory in the forest area of Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, on March 17 2010.Image copyrightAFP

Image caption
Photograph -- The Farc run their own cocaine labs, such as this one which was raided by the army

Analysts think the Farc are among the richest rebel movements in the world.
Guerrilla commanders have denied the group has stashed away large sums of money
Colombia is one of the main producers of cocaine and the rebels get a large part of their income from drug trafficking or levying "taxes" on those who do.
They have also resorted to extortion and kidnapping for ransom to fill their coffers.
Why did they join the peace process?

A graffiti with a sentence that reads 'Peace for the people' in Cali, Colombia, on June 22, 2016.Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image caption

Photograph -- Previous attempts at reaching a peace deal failed but there is hope this latest deal will be signed soon

The Farc have been hit hard by the Colombian security forces over the past years.

The Colombian army and police received millions of dollars in funding and training from the US government, much of which they invested in fighting the rebels.

Many of the top leaders of the Farc were killed or died within the past decade.

In 2008, senior rebel leader Raul Reyes was killed in a bombing raid and Farc founder Manuel Marulanda died of natural causes.

In 2011, Alfonso Cano, who took over from Manuel Marulanda, was also killed in a bombing raid.

Alfonso Cano, a Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) commander attends a practice ceremony for the political party opening outside of San Vicente del Caguan in the FARC controlled zone of Colombia on Friday, April 28, 2000 Image copyrightAP

Image caption
Photograph -- Farc leader Alfonso Cano was killed in a bombing raid in 2011

The number of active fighters also diminished from its estimated high of 20,000 to around 7,000 after thousands of guerrilla fighters were demobilised or killed.
The Farc themselves insist that they wanted peace all along but that the conditions were not right before.


LET’S HOPE HE WON’T MAKE SUCH A FUSS OVER IT THIS TIME.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-announces-big-rally-in-pa-saturday-marking-100-days-in-office/
By KATHRYN WATSON CBS NEWS April 22, 2017, 12:52 PM
Trump announces "BIG" Pennsylvania rally marking 100 days in office

Photograph -- President-elect Donald Trump smiles as he arrives to speak at an election night rally in New York City early on Nov. 9, 2016 AP

President Donald Trump announced on Twitter that he will hold a “BIG rally” in Pennsylvania next Saturday to mark the end of his first 100 days in office.

The rally is the same night as the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which Mr. Trump has said he will skip.

Follow
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
Next Saturday night I will be holding a BIG rally in Pennsylvania. Look forward to it!
12:10 PM - 22 Apr 2017
7,576 7,576 Retweets 34,643 34,643 likes

Mr. Trump, who has been highly critical of media outlets since before he took office, announced he would not be attending the dinner in February. But this is the first announcement Mr. Trump has made about where he will be instead, on his 100th day in the White House.

Mr. Trump decried the 100-day marker as “ridiculous” on Twitter this week, but during the presidential campaign he laid out his own “100-day action plan to Make America Great Again.”

Trump policy push ahead of 100-day mark: health and taxes
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Trump policy push ahead of 100-day mark: health and taxes

Mr. Trump didn’t elaborate on what the rally in Pennsylvania will entail. The event will come after a busy week in Washington, D.C. Congress has until April 28 to pass spending legislation to avoid a government shutdown, and Mr. Trump said he will introduce a plan for tax reduction and reforms on Wednesday, something he already indicated would happen earlier in the week.

Follow
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
Big TAX REFORM AND TAX REDUCTION will be announced next Wednesday.
12:15 PM - 22 Apr 2017
11,311 11,311 Retweets 44,693 44,693 likes

Swing-state Pennsylvania delivered for Mr. Trump in the election, with large margins in hard-hit rural areas giving him the commonwealth’s 20 electoral votes. Mr. Trump held a victory rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania, after winning the White House.