The Front Page Cover
~ Featuring ~
Trump, Palestinians are high on agenda
of annual Arab League summit
by Sudarsan Raghavan & Ruth Eglash
by Sudarsan Raghavan & Ruth Eglash
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Is North Carolina About to Flush the Bathroom Law?
Yeah, people are still trying to figure it out.
By Allyne Caan: The NCAA Final Four playoffs may be more than a week away, but the final shot for North Carolina — the state, not the team — may come much sooner.
The state's legislators reportedly struck a deal Wednesday to repeal the year-old "bathroom bill" (HB2), which codifies the obvious — that biological men should use men's restrooms and women, women's. That law was in response to a Charlotte ordinance mandating that businesses allow transgender individuals to use the restroom of their choice instead of their sex.
On Tuesday, the NCAA issued the state an ultimatum: repeal or gut the law within 48 hours or be disqualified from hosting any NCAA events through the spring of 2022. NCAA site selections for 2018-22 will begin next week, and North Carolina venues have reportedly submitted more than 130 bids that could bring the state more than $250 million.
It would appear legislators caved, though "LGBT" activists aren't happy because the compromise doesn't go far enough for them.
Of course, if the Associated Press is the arbiter of all truth, the price of HB2 has already soared. This week, the AP tagged the bill's cost to the state at $3.76 billion over 12 years. The AP's analysis concluded: "Over the past year, North Carolina has suffered financial hits ranging from scuttled plans for a PayPal facility that would have added an estimated $2.66 billion to the state's economy to a canceled Ringo Starr concert that deprived a town's amphitheater of about $33,000 in revenue. The blows have landed in the state's biggest cities as well as towns surrounding its flagship university, and from the mountains to the coast."
Did you catch that? PayPal's lefty-activist move accounts for nearly three-quarters of the economic impact.
Additionally, the AP pointed to companies such as Deutsche Bank, which stopped plans in North Carolina due to the law; CoStar, which located a new research center in Virginia instead of North Carolina due to "negative publicity over the law"; and Adidas, which opted not to put a factory in the Tar Heel State because of the law.
First, the AP's estimate is likely vastly overstated. Second, conveniently missing from the AP analysis is a look at North Carolina's thriving economy despite HB2. As the Washington Times reports, "Economic indicators released for 2016 show that the boycott has failed to derail North Carolina as a regional and national powerhouse."
Indeed, in 2016, the state ranked fourth nationally for attracting and expanding businesses, topped the region in attracting corporate facilities, and earned Forbes No. 2 slot for business climate. What's more, between 2015 and 2016, North Carolina's average unemployment rate fell from 5.8% to 5.1%.
Additionally, VisitNC, part of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, announced a record-breaking year for hotel lodging. Hotel and motel occupancy in 2016 rose by 3.4% over 2015, and the average room rate increased by 3.6%. In fact, according to VisitNC, "each month of 2016 experienced the highest occupancy on record." This hardly bears out the predictions of doom and gloom.
As North Carolina Lt. Gov. Dan Forest recently said when addressing the current impact of HB2 (not a possible future impact which may or may not happen), "If you look at the most extreme instances of economic impact, by the media and by the universities and the people who come out and say 'This is the impact,' that most extreme impact equates to one-tenth of 1% of our annual GDP."
Ranking this claim as "true," Politifact noted, "While $500 million in economic losses (not to mention at least 1,400 jobs lost) is not insignificant, the state's overall economy is large enough that the losses are only about 0.1 percent of the total GDP."
Given North Carolina's highly attractive business climate, it's very possible any future "losses" will also be significantly offset by continued growth.
In reality, the issue really was never about luring or losing businesses. It was about one thing the Left usually loves: safe spaces. As Lt. Gov. Forest stated, "Don't be fooled by the media; this issue is not about the economy. This issue is about privacy, safety and security in the most vulnerable places we go. This is about doing the right thing. And I will never trade the privacy, safety and security of a woman or a child for a basketball ticket, and neither should you."
It would appear newly elected Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper and a number of Republican legislators don't quite agree. Whether they beat the NCAA's
buzzer is another question. ~The Patriot Post
https://patriotpost.us/digests/48274
buzzer is another question. ~The Patriot Post
https://patriotpost.us/digests/48274
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Soros-Tied Networks, Foundations
Joined Forces to Create Trump ‘Resistance’ Fund
by Joe Schoffstall
{freebeacon.com} ~ Three liberal donor networks and foundations with ties to billionaire George Soros have joined forces to form a new fund to "resist" President Donald Trump... The Emergent Fund, which carries a goal of fighting "immediate threats" to "immigrants, women, Muslim and Arab-American communities, black people, LGBTQ communities, and all people of color," was established late last year to quickly fund groups to take direct, immediate action against Republicans. Since the fund's formation, it has received little public attention. It has raised over half a million dollars to give to groups opposing Republicans, such as the Black Lives Matter Network. The fund has extensive ties to significant liberal networks and groups... http://freebeacon.com/issues/soros-tied-networks-foundations-joined-forces-create-trump-resistance-fund/?utm_source=Freedom+Mail&utm_campaign=3725f4c138-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_03_31&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b5e6e0e9ea-3725f4c138-45611665
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China Goes on Offensive Against Islam,
Bans Traditional Muslim Looks
by Andrew West
{constitution.com} ~ Radical Islamic terrorism is continuing to invade corners of the globe not previously considered, and China is preparing to fight back against it... As devout Muslims work their way into the nooks and crannies of the planet, many ready to radicalize at any moment, there have been a wide variety of reactions from world leadership. Former President Barack liar-nObama’s genius plan was to basically ignore the problem until it went away. Spoiler alert: It didn’t. The current leadership in Germany and France have both allowed migrants nearly unfettered access to their nations in the wake of Syria’s massive crisis, allowing many crafty evil doers to slip across the border as well. President Donald Trump, after only 10 weeks in office, has twice attempted a temporary travel ban from terror-rich nations in order to bolster national security…although twice he’s been stymied by liberal, meddling judges. Now, China is experiencing their own crisis of faith. Growing rightfully concerned about the influx of possible radical Islamists, the massive Asian nation is taking action...
.Senate committee targets FBI No. 2
in Trump dossier probe
by Byron York
{washingtonexaminer.com} ~ Sen. Charles Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has sent a letter to FBI Director James Comey demanding the story behind the FBI's reported plan to pay the author of a lurid and unsubstantiated dossier on candidate Donald Trump... In particular, Grassley appears to be zeroing in on the FBI's deputy director, Andrew McCabe, indicating Senate investigators want to learn more about McCabe's role in a key aspect of the Trump-Russia affair. Grassley began his investigation after the Washington Post reported on February 28 that the FBI, "a few weeks before the election," agreed to pay former British spy Christopher Steele to investigate Trump. Prior to that, supporters of the liar-Hillary Clinton presidential campaign had paid Steele to gather intelligence on liar-Clinton's Republican rival... http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/senate-committee-targets-fbi-no.-2-in-trump-dossier-probe/article/2619120?utm_campaign=Washington%20Examiner:%20News%20From&utm_source=Washington%20Examiner:%20News%20From%20-%2004/01/17&utm_medium=email
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Panelists Prove Jewish Voice for Peace is Neither
by John Rossomando
{investigativeproject.org} ~ There's a simple way to end global oppression, racism and immediately create a world overflowing with "equality, dignity and human rights,"... panelists agreed Saturday morning during a Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Conference in Chicago. Simply eliminate Zionism from the planet. "Arguing for a softer, less harsh, nicer version of capitalism, colonialism and racism won't do it," said Black Lives Matter leader Rachel Gilmer. "Many liberal Zionists believe that the problem with Israeli apartheid is simply a few bad policies, or Netanyahu, or the wall, but the problem is with the ideological foundation of the state itself: Zionism. Zionism at its core is white supremacy." While JVP claims its mission is to "end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem; security and self-determination for Israelis and Palestinians," the conference so far has failed to mention any plan that keeps Israel intact...
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Here’s Video Evidence Of
clown-Chuck Schumer Flip-Flopping
by Mike Raust
{dailycaller.com} ~ Under President liar-nObama in 2013, Senate Minority Leader Chuck clown-Schumer voiced his opposition to obstructionism and said that a president, regardless of party affiliation, deserves his or her picks to lead federal agencies... He came down hard on what he viewed as Republicans’ overuse of the filibuster. clown-Schumer and other Democratic senators used the nuclear option to confirm liar-nObama nominees. clown-Schumer’s current language and actions seem opposed to what he said back in 2013. He now opposes Republicans’ possible use of the the nuclear option to confirm Neil Gorsuch, as he and other Senate Democrats plan to filibuster his confirmation...
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Trump, Palestinians are high on agenda
of annual Arab League summit
by Sudarsan Raghavan & Ruth Eglash
{jewishworldreview.com} ~ Faced with multiple crises and wary of President Donald Trump's approach toward the Middle East, leaders of a divided Arab world hope to forge common positions on the region's most pressing concerns when they meet today for their annual summit.
In particular, the Arab leaders are widely expected to reiterate support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, sending a strong message to the White House. Trump has indicated willingness to break from long-held U.S. support for a sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel, a shift that could damage peace efforts.
The Arab leaders are also expected to stress their opposition to Trump's campaign promise to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The holy city is claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians as their capital, and many fear that relocating the embassy there could trigger violence in Israel and across the Muslim world.
A draft statement, reportedly drawn up by the Palestinian delegation and approved by the foreign ministers of the Arab League, reads that the league's members "reaffirm their commitment to the two-state solution,"according to Agence France-Presse.
The memorandum calls "all countries to respect U.N. Security Council resolutions that reject Israel's annexation of occupied east Jerusalem" and "not to move their embassies" to Jerusalem.
The gathering comes at a time of frustration across the Arab world over the inability of its leaders, fractured by politics, geography and sect, to resolve the Middle East's bloody conflicts, its wobbly economies and high youth unemployment rates. Arab governments are divided over the way forward in Syria, Libya and Yemen.
"It is a very difficult reality that we are living in," Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told journalists gathered in this tranquil resort area. "There are numerous challenges facing all of us. Challenges of terror, challenges of continuing occupation, crises in Syria, Libya and Yemen, and that has led to an erosion of trust that people have in the regional Arab order."
Still, it's unlikely there will be any serious push to end the region's deadliest conflict - the Syrian civil war. Arab leaders remain fractured over the future role of President Bashar Assad and which factions to support, and those divides have permitted Russia, Turkey and Iran to play a greater role in the conflict.
Saudi Arabia's King Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sissi are attending the summit, presenting an opportunity for a rapprochement between their countries. Tensions have been high in recent months, largely over Syria. Riyadh backs the Syrian opposition, but Egypt is pushing for a political deal that could keep Assad in power. Saudi Arabia is also displeased that Egypt has not contributed troops to a Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen. In October, the Saudis cut off oil aid to Egypt, but the shipments resumed this month.
Amid the tumult, a key message the Arab leaders at the summit want to send is one of unity. And the Palestinian cause allows that possibility.
Several leaders at the summit, including Sissi, Jordan's King Abdullah and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, will travel next month to Washington to meet Trump. The Jordanian monarch, government officials said, plans to discuss with Trump the perils of religious extremism; terrorism; the fighting in Syria, Libya and Yemen; and, in particular, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
That conflict, for decades the core cause of the Arab world, has been neglected for the past few years amid the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011 and the wars that followed in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen, The summit's host, Jordan is seeking to again reposition the Palestinians' plight as a central cause for all Arabs.
The Arab leaders are expected to reaffirm a Saudi-led peace plan, known as the Arab Peace Initiative, that was proposed 15 years ago. It calls for Israel to withdraw from lands seized in 1967 in exchange for full diplomatic and economic relations with moderate Arab and Muslim nations. That would allow the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state that included the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.
Ghassan Khatib, a professor of political science at Birzeit University in the West Bank town of Ramallah, said the summit is important to counter recent suggestions by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that reaching peace with the Palestinians must begin with a wider regional initiative.
"He believes that after having normal relations with the moderate Arab states, it will be easier to achieve peace with the Palestinians," Khatib said
If the Arab states, he added, restated their commitment to the Arab Peace Initiative, it would go against the impression Trump gave in a news conference last month with Netanyahu that he appeared to accept the Israeli leader's proposal for a regional peace process.
"If the resolution that comes out of the summit is support for the Saudi initiative, then it will contradict Netanyahu, and we hope it will play a role in shaping the final position of the United States on this issue," Khatib said.
The Arab leaders are being asked to support the Saudi plan in its current form, analysts said. Any negotiations could weaken their position, members of the Palestinian delegation fear.
Efraim Inbar, founding director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar Ilan University in Tel Aviv, said the issue is simple - if the Arab League is willing to negotiate over its plan, there is something to talk about.
"Until now, the Saudi plan was a take-it-or-leave-it plan, which Israel was not ready for," Inbar said.
"Netanyahu is willing to negotiate if the Saudis are ready to come to the table," he added.
Two other areas where the Arab leaders could show unity are Iran and terrorism. The predominantly Sunni Arab leaders, particularly Saudi Arabia, are wary of Tehran's Shiite theocracy. In Yemen, the Iranians are widely thought to be backing Shiite Houthi rebels, the enemies of a Saudi-led coalition waging a campaign on behalf of the beleaguered Yemeni government.
"Iran's intervention in Arab affairs will occupy a major part of discussions and will certainly be condemned, but Jordan will also seek to send a message to Tehran to opt for diplomacy and normalize relations with the Arab world," wrote Osama al-Sharif , a political commentator, in the regional daily Arab News.
Safadi, the Jordanian foreign minister, said there is a political will among the Arab leaders to follow through on their pronouncements to address the challenges of the region.
He added that they would work more effectively on combating terrorism, "which we consider a threat to us Arabs and Muslims first because it has killed more of us than it did any other race and nation."
"We'll move forward to create a new reality of hope, opportunity, and of peace and stability in the region," Safadi said.
In particular, the Arab leaders are widely expected to reiterate support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, sending a strong message to the White House. Trump has indicated willingness to break from long-held U.S. support for a sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel, a shift that could damage peace efforts.
The Arab leaders are also expected to stress their opposition to Trump's campaign promise to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The holy city is claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians as their capital, and many fear that relocating the embassy there could trigger violence in Israel and across the Muslim world.
A draft statement, reportedly drawn up by the Palestinian delegation and approved by the foreign ministers of the Arab League, reads that the league's members "reaffirm their commitment to the two-state solution,"according to Agence France-Presse.
The memorandum calls "all countries to respect U.N. Security Council resolutions that reject Israel's annexation of occupied east Jerusalem" and "not to move their embassies" to Jerusalem.
The gathering comes at a time of frustration across the Arab world over the inability of its leaders, fractured by politics, geography and sect, to resolve the Middle East's bloody conflicts, its wobbly economies and high youth unemployment rates. Arab governments are divided over the way forward in Syria, Libya and Yemen.
"It is a very difficult reality that we are living in," Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told journalists gathered in this tranquil resort area. "There are numerous challenges facing all of us. Challenges of terror, challenges of continuing occupation, crises in Syria, Libya and Yemen, and that has led to an erosion of trust that people have in the regional Arab order."
Still, it's unlikely there will be any serious push to end the region's deadliest conflict - the Syrian civil war. Arab leaders remain fractured over the future role of President Bashar Assad and which factions to support, and those divides have permitted Russia, Turkey and Iran to play a greater role in the conflict.
Saudi Arabia's King Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sissi are attending the summit, presenting an opportunity for a rapprochement between their countries. Tensions have been high in recent months, largely over Syria. Riyadh backs the Syrian opposition, but Egypt is pushing for a political deal that could keep Assad in power. Saudi Arabia is also displeased that Egypt has not contributed troops to a Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen. In October, the Saudis cut off oil aid to Egypt, but the shipments resumed this month.
Amid the tumult, a key message the Arab leaders at the summit want to send is one of unity. And the Palestinian cause allows that possibility.
Several leaders at the summit, including Sissi, Jordan's King Abdullah and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, will travel next month to Washington to meet Trump. The Jordanian monarch, government officials said, plans to discuss with Trump the perils of religious extremism; terrorism; the fighting in Syria, Libya and Yemen; and, in particular, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
That conflict, for decades the core cause of the Arab world, has been neglected for the past few years amid the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011 and the wars that followed in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen, The summit's host, Jordan is seeking to again reposition the Palestinians' plight as a central cause for all Arabs.
The Arab leaders are expected to reaffirm a Saudi-led peace plan, known as the Arab Peace Initiative, that was proposed 15 years ago. It calls for Israel to withdraw from lands seized in 1967 in exchange for full diplomatic and economic relations with moderate Arab and Muslim nations. That would allow the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state that included the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.
Ghassan Khatib, a professor of political science at Birzeit University in the West Bank town of Ramallah, said the summit is important to counter recent suggestions by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that reaching peace with the Palestinians must begin with a wider regional initiative.
"He believes that after having normal relations with the moderate Arab states, it will be easier to achieve peace with the Palestinians," Khatib said
If the Arab states, he added, restated their commitment to the Arab Peace Initiative, it would go against the impression Trump gave in a news conference last month with Netanyahu that he appeared to accept the Israeli leader's proposal for a regional peace process.
"If the resolution that comes out of the summit is support for the Saudi initiative, then it will contradict Netanyahu, and we hope it will play a role in shaping the final position of the United States on this issue," Khatib said.
The Arab leaders are being asked to support the Saudi plan in its current form, analysts said. Any negotiations could weaken their position, members of the Palestinian delegation fear.
Efraim Inbar, founding director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar Ilan University in Tel Aviv, said the issue is simple - if the Arab League is willing to negotiate over its plan, there is something to talk about.
"Until now, the Saudi plan was a take-it-or-leave-it plan, which Israel was not ready for," Inbar said.
"Netanyahu is willing to negotiate if the Saudis are ready to come to the table," he added.
Two other areas where the Arab leaders could show unity are Iran and terrorism. The predominantly Sunni Arab leaders, particularly Saudi Arabia, are wary of Tehran's Shiite theocracy. In Yemen, the Iranians are widely thought to be backing Shiite Houthi rebels, the enemies of a Saudi-led coalition waging a campaign on behalf of the beleaguered Yemeni government.
"Iran's intervention in Arab affairs will occupy a major part of discussions and will certainly be condemned, but Jordan will also seek to send a message to Tehran to opt for diplomacy and normalize relations with the Arab world," wrote Osama al-Sharif , a political commentator, in the regional daily Arab News.
Safadi, the Jordanian foreign minister, said there is a political will among the Arab leaders to follow through on their pronouncements to address the challenges of the region.
He added that they would work more effectively on combating terrorism, "which we consider a threat to us Arabs and Muslims first because it has killed more of us than it did any other race and nation."
"We'll move forward to create a new reality of hope, opportunity, and of peace and stability in the region," Safadi said.
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