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While the U.S. government often lacks a coherent policy to deal with Communist Chinas dangerous military, political, and economic influence around the world, many in Americas private sectorbrought together by the nations largest Christian universityare stepping into the breach to do something about it.

Last week, Liberty University convened more than 630 U.S. and African CEOs, political figures, and faith leaders to network and promote joint business opportunities for U.S. companies and African nations. With those opportunities come the potential for reducing Africas heavy reliance on China for economic development and the Chinese Communist Partys influence on the continentas well as the negative impacts that influence has on the United States.

Networking the Nations CEO Summit attendees included the chief executive officers of Lowes, Hobby Lobby, and hundreds of other large and medium-sized American and African businesses, as well as the prime minister of Congo, the former president of Ghana, and delegations from several other African nations.

Dave Brat, dean of Libertys School of Business and host of the summit, said the opportunities created there will lead to growth for American businesses as well as job creation and prosperity for the African people.

Chinas role in Africa was not the sole focus of the event, but it factored in to many of the discussions there. Brat is an economist by trade and a former congressman from Virginia who for the past few years has been using his connections in Washington and at Liberty to raise awareness about just how dangerous China is becoming economically and militarily. (Full disclosure: I was Brats communications director during his first term in Congress.)

Chinas influence in Africa is exceedingly strong. It has loaned African nations massive amounts of funding that most cant repay and built them infrastructure that many couldnt have afforded on their own, making their governments beholden to the Chinese Communist Party.

In return, China has gained access to vast amounts of rare earth minerals and other natural resources on the African continent. With those resources under its control, China has the ability to disrupt the U.S. and its allies access to critical raw materials such as cobalt, which is used in many commercial, industrial, and military applications.

China also uses its influence to undermine the U.S. by pushing African nations to vote against U.S. interests at the United Nations and by promoting communism and authoritarianism throughout the continent over the U.S. preferred exports of freedom and capitalism.

At the summit, one constantly heard the phrase win-win. American leaders touted how U.S. businesses and their employees would prosper from gaining entry to new and growing markets in Africa but proclaimed how they also wanted the people of Africa to succeed at the same time.

Former Maytag Corp. CEO Lloyd Ward called the efforts market-driven industrialization in service of the Kingdom of God. Ward now works in Africa to help form partnerships with governments and the private sector to create sustainable businesses that help capture the value of countries crops, natural resources, and precious metals for the benefit of their economies and citizens as a whole.

So, how does this way of doing business help the U.S.? Fostering strong economies in Africa means fostering good trade partners, stronger democracies that are natural American allies, and stable countries that curtail security problems and avoid humanitarian catastrophes.

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears was a featured speaker at the event. She told The Daily Signal, The free market is the best place to develop and innovate the economy of the future. The old models of simply providing aid are not enough. We must strengthen economic development to reduce African dependency on China for infrastructure investment so that it wont become a national security crisis.

Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts discussed why the event was important to his organization. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.)

Civil society is all of us, including these CEOs and their companies, these leaders from Africa, and Heritage, Roberts said. Heritage, as the largest right-of-center public policy organization in the country, if not the world, must participate in events like this because weve got to work together to rejuvenate American civil society.

Roberts said the government isnt doing enough to stop the threat of the Chinese Communist Party and the spread of its influence across the globe, calling the United States policy toward China feckless both under Democrat and Republican administrations, although he noted it was starting to get on the right track under the Trump administration.

Heritage has made combating the influence of the Chinese Communist Party one of its highest priorities.

Said Brat, U.S. foreign policy toward China is a disaster, but a substantial portion of the CEO class has to take some responsibility for the relationships they are forming in China right now. This summit is one small way to counter Chinas influence in Africa, but its an important way, because its fostering business-to-business relationships without having to go through all the government bureaucracies.

Mobilizing the U.S. private sector and good old American capitalism to fight the Chinese Communist Partys influence in Africa and create a win-win for U.S. and African prosperity is an initiative that doesnt depend on whos in power in Washington to work.

If were going to stop the expansion of Chinese communism and the harm it bodes for America, civil society must step in where government is failing to act. The very future of our country depends on it.

Have an opinion about this article? To sound off, please email letters@DailySignal.com, and well consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular We Hear You feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state.

Read more from the original source:
Christian University and US Capitalism Team Up to Combat Communism - Daily Signal

Words matter, especially for the emotions of politics. Trigger words can evoke powerful emotions that decide votes. Decades ago, Sen. Joe McCarthy terrorized Americans by lumping pacifists, social justice advocates, labor leaders, liberals, socialists, and American communists with foreign communist regimes. An ember of McCarthyism smoldered in the GOP until MAGA fanned new life into it.

During the 20th century, various American socialist-communist movements gained followers through social justice advocacy, but few Americans favored violent revolutions or total governmental control. After our government acted to integrate the military and schools, democratize civil rights and voter rights, and upgrade womens rights, domestic communism faded away.

Internationally, violent Marxist revolutions overthrew governments and installed brutally repressive regimes, but failed to establish one-class communism. Communist nations are frauds. Every communist country features a stratification of classes and oligarchic-authoritarian leaders like regimes of the extreme right. Although strictly controlled, communist China has a thriving capitalistic economy. Authoritarians, foreign and domestic (including Donald Trump), threaten to destroy democracy.

Todays mainstream Democrats are similar to mid-20th century Republicans, but dishonest MAGA Republicans attempt to falsely link Democrats with communism and stolen elections to evoke a visceral vote. May reason prevail.

Continue reading here:
Letter: 'Communism' is not the threat - The Columbian

Charles, 67, Bournemouth

Occupation Former diplomat turned speech writer

Voting record Always Conservative. Charles voted for Brexit: I was one of the few diplomats who did

Amuse bouche While working overseas, Charles borrowed some wallabies for a reception for Fosters lager. No one had seen one at a diplomatic party before

Occupation Complaints adviser for an NHS trust

Voting record Always Labour, and remain in the EU referendum

Amuse bouche Chris much prefers Grease 2 to Grease. Its deeper, stronger, a feminist film, and the songs are better

Chris We had a chat about what we did. He told me the places hes been and the things hes done. It wasnt intimidating, but I did think: Im over my head a bit.

Charles I asked what Chriss motivating principle is, where he comes from when hes approaching anything. He said something like sympathy, empathy, passion, those sort of words. I come from a place which is more about the consent of the governed under what basis are rules set, and who sets them? Thats a big foundational disagreement, you might say, between heart and head.

Chris Our biggest difference was in how we view the world and how we want to change it. For me its more about rights, social justice, wanting a fairer and more equal society. He talked a lot about his hatred of communism.

Charles I have lived in communist countries and seen the results. The idea is that the end justifies the means; there are no limits to government. The spirit of communism is alive and well, and pops up in all sorts of places in some of these cancel culture things, the ideological uniformity in US universities, for example.

Chris He said the reason he didnt like the left is that they are mean-spirited and always assume the worst in people. Thats my experience of the right.

Charles What I dislike is the angry, aggressive, obnoxious left. Chris didnt seem to be part of that at all he seemed to have a libertarian instinct of some sort, which was fine. We could sit down and talk about ideas.

Chris We agreed about how divided and tribal the country is in the way we talk about issues, and how that is driven by social media.

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Charles Everyone is living in echo chambers and the algorithms are making it worse. They serve up the stuff they know you like because they want to send you advertising.

Chris We talked about taking the knee, which I support if someone wants to show their solidarity with people who suffer racism in football. It became a thing in 2020 and 2021 when enmity and violence against the black community was a world issue. If it had been before George Floyd was murdered by the police, and people just said they wanted to show solidarity and drive out racism, I dont think it would have had that much attention.

Charles Youve got all these people taking the knee. What attitude do you take to the people who dont take the knee? The way its presented is that if you somehow challenge it, or laugh, or boo or whatever you do to show your disapproval, then you are ipso facto a racist. Its a sort of all-or-nothing view, and that to me is obnoxious.

Chris Its not just a leftwing issue. Poppy outrage is driven by the right. Every year, TV presenters get complaints if theyre not seen to be wearing poppies or not wearing them early enough.

Charles Chris hit back over the net pretty well there, but its not clear to me that its analogous. If you dont wear a poppy, I dont go around saying youre anti-patriotic; theres no mass movement of people demanding everyone wears poppies in the same way as you would be attacked if you said taking the knee was ridiculous.

Chris I was a little bit disappointed afterwards because I didnt feel I had said enough. I felt he bamboozled me a bit. At one point I thought: What am I doing here? I have nothing to say.

Charles He seemed to go away with some things he hadnt thought about before, and to some degree I did, too. I dont know if hes a vegan or a vegetarian, but he seemed unimpressed by his courgettes, which made me warm to him, because everyones unimpressed by courgettes.

Additional reporting: Sarah Hooper

Charles and Chris ate at Arbor at The Green House, Bournemouth

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Originally posted here:
Dining across the divide: He talked about his hatred of communism a lot - The Guardian

Sherwin-Williams has responded to a protest being held on Tuesday regarding the construction of its new headquarters.

CLEVELAND Just before Rev. Al Sharpton began to speak at a rally outside of Cleveland City Hall calling for a Black-owned firm to be a key partner in the construction of Sherwin-Williams' global headquarters project on Tuesday, the Cleveland-based company released a statement responding to the protest.

Sherwin-Williams has been meeting with Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb since he was elected. His support of our Company over that time has been and continues to be steadfast," Sherwin-Williams Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John G. Morikis said in a statement. "While we received many attractive offers to relocate our new headquarters from several cities nationally, Mayor Bibbs strong leadership and clear vision for Cleveland have only solidified our choice to stay and invest here. Working together with Mayor Bibb and his administration, we are focused on the right things, we are excited by what we have already accomplished, and we are confident that our continued partnership will achieve our shared goals of helping Cleveland, the region and Sherwin-Williams thrive for decades to come."

Sherwin-Williams also noted that it was hosted by the Urban League of Cleveland on Monday "to provide a joint update on the Building our Future project and the positive impact the project is having on the local community." Attendees at the event included:

Sherwin-Williams also said that its "deliberate and intentional process of ensuring diverse firms are included in the Building Our Future project" has resulted in $122 million in contracts to diverse firms with a commitment that is expected to exceed $180 million and engagement with 57 diverse firms on the project to date.

"It is unfortunate that some are using their personal agendas and animosities to drive a false narrative and cloud the positive impact the Building Our Future project is making on the Cleveland community now and for years to come," the company said.

According to a flyer for Tuesday's protest, the rally aimed to "urge the Mayor and the City Council to show the public where taxpayer dollars are being spent on the construction of The Sherwin-Williams Company's new global headquarters. Black-owned firm should be named key partner with major managerial responsibilities and higher earning potential."

The Urban League of Greater Cleveland says it plans to continue its partnership with Sherwin-Williams.

There are three criteria that we consider when engaging in public-private partnerships, said Marsha A. Mockabee, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Urban League of Greater Cleveland, in a statement. There must be an authentic commitment to diversity and inclusion, a demonstrated accountability to achieving the metrics, and the willingness to develop long-term strategies that empower communities and change lives. The Urban League is pleased to partner with Sherwin-Williams to bring its community impact commitment to fruition.

3News sat down with Mockabee, who added that while she understands aspirational goals, there are certain processes and policies that should go in place first.

"You first have to create policy, because without policy, there's no teeth to hold people accountable, so that's the first step," Mockabee said. "I think the second step is, you have to make sure that there is a pipeline of the kind of talent that you're talking about that you want in those positions, and that's what the Urban League is doing in helping Sherwin-Williams with their commitment."

Mockabee said developing policy can allow people in the African American community to benefit from contracts and the "opportunities to work and grow and develop wealth."

She added that conversations with civil rights colleagues and with partners involved in the project have informed the Urban League's decision to stay aligned with local leadership and work with Sherwin-Williams.

"Our job, the Urban League is, we feel, to extend the benefit from that building into our communities in ways that even Sherwin-Williams doesn't necessarily see immediately," she said. "So we're that sort of broker in between to help Sherwin-Williams see how they can bring benefit into the communities, and the communities can benefit from them staying here as a headquartered organization."

You can view Rev. Sharpton's comments at Tuesday's rally in the video player above or YouTube player below.

3News' Dave "Dino" DeNatale contributed to this report.

More:
Sherwin-Williams responds to Rev. Al Sharpton protest regarding Cleveland headquarters construction - WKYC.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. The #WinWithBlackWomen collective for the first time welcomed a plurality of their brothers running for office and activating their neighbors ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. The group which included DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, Senate Candidate Mandela Barnes, Gubernatorial Candidate Wes Moore, Rev. Al Sharpton, Derrick Johnson and Terrance Woodbury spoke to the engagement and excitement of Black men this election cycle as well as their commitment to the elevation of Black women running for office.

This historic gathering speaks to the power of Black women and men, especially when it comes to our impact on elections, saidJotaka Eaddy, social impact strategist and founder of #WinWithBlackWomen. Reproductive, voting, and civil rights are on the ballot, all of which will have the greatest impact on Black Americans. Together we are committed to galvanizing the collective momentum built over the last two years to impact this election and most importantly bring impact to the communities in which we live and serve.

The time is now more important than ever for Black men and women to stand together and ensure our collective voices are heard, saidSteve Benjamin, the former Mayor of Columbia, South Carolina and a convener of the gathering. We brought together candidates and amazing leaders with some of the most powerful Black women in the nation, who lead in their respective fields, to become energized for what is ahead. In just a few weeks, the nation will see our strength, leadership, and impact when the future of our nation is at stake.

This group also featured Arkansas Gubernatorial Candidate Chris Jones; and House Candidates Don Davis (NC), Jevin Hodge (AZ), Tim Alexander (NJ) and Kermit Jones (CA).Candidates spoke in brief panels on why they decided to run for Senate, the House of Representatives, or Governor specifically about how they can address the needs of Black women. They and community leaders also touched upon the engagement of Black male voters, despite pundits questioning the extent of their participation this fall. They equally affirmed their commitment to empowering Black women running for office, including Georgia Gubernatorial Candidate Stacey Abrams; Iowa Gubernatorial Candidate Dierdre DeJear; Senate Candidates Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) and Cheri Beasley, the former Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court; and Los Angeles Mayoral Candidate Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), among other notable Black women on the ballot.

This also included a panel discussion lead by strategist Donna Brazile, Voting rights advocate Latosha Brown and Cliff Albright, communications expert Rachel Noerdlinger, Derrick Johnson of the NAACP, pollster Terrance Woodbury, Mayor Benjamin, strategist Holli Holliday, and Vincent Evans of the Congressional Black Caucus.NOTE: These individuals all appear and participate in a personal capacity, not in affiliation with the organizations they serve or lead.

Since forming as a collective of intergenerational, intersectional Black women, such a significant group of Black men had ever joined their meeting. This underscored the significance of the challenges facing Black Americans, especially as the Supreme Court considers several voting rights, environmental, and civil rights cases.

About #WinWithBlackWomen:

#WinWithBlackWomen is an intergenerational, intersectional collective of Black women leaders from various backgrounds in public and private sectors committed to advancing and uplifting Black women, our families, and communities. The collective formed in 2020 through its inauguralopen letterspeaking out against racism and sexism in the 2020 election cycle. WWBW, through its efforts, helped significantly impact the historic election, which elected the nations first Black woman Vice President, the confirmation of several Black women in the Biden-Harris Administration, the successful confirmation of the first Black woman to the Supreme Court, and the fight to bring Brittney Griner home. The collective continues to play a key role in significant moments impacting Black women across sports, culture, entertainment, tech, and politics.

For More Information, visit:www.winwithblackwomen.org

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#WinWithBlackWomen And Their Brothers Convene in Historic Show of Unity Ahead of Midterms - tntribune.com