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Indias global ranking as a nation brand has risen from 9th place to 7th place this year, according to the independent consultancy Brand Finance. With a brand value of US$2.6tn, the nation has witnessed a 19 per cent growth.

In an effort to uplift industries hit by an economic slowdown, Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman has announced measures to slash corporate taxes. FM has urged industries to leverage technology to reduce Time to Export or Turn-around time. Processes will become seamless as export clearances will be digitised to eliminate manual services.

As against this background, we do anticipate investments to increase in the wake of US-China trade tariffs. Chinese telecom companies have made a beginning. For players like Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo, Lenovo and Oneplus, India is a promising market. Local production and all mobile related allied services are expected to get a boost.

Moon Mission

It is destination Moon, as India this year embarked on its second lunar mission to explore the uncharted south pole of the celestial body. Its spacecraft Chandrayaan-2 developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh in July. Its lunar orbiter, the Vikram lander, and the lunar rover Pragyan were all developed in India. Chandrayaan-2 entered lunar orbit, but the Vikram hard-landed within 500m of the designated landing site, so the mission could not succeed.

Yet this is Indias ambitious complex mission, which aimed to study the exosphere, surface as well as the sub-surface of the Moon in a single mission. It resulted in new space-tech insights in the form of throttle-able engines, sensors and algorithms that were developed for the Lander.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described Chandrayaan-2s Moon journey as an ISRO spirit thats running through the country.

Appropriately so, as the number of space start-ups is increasing. This can be attributed to the growing demand for low-cost satellites. Space technologies are being explored to make payloads somewhat economical.

Low payloads can be used for industrial applications. Smaller satellites can be commercialised for diverse applications. They can be leveraged for capturing images of crops, geo-spatial patterns and cityscapes. Broadly speaking, their data can throw light on agriculture, weather and urban planning. Even vehicular movements as well as marine life can also be captured.

Going ahead, this will lead to a vendor ecosystem. Once a government-state owned domain, space tech has now become a favourite choice of start-ups. Space-enabled applications include navigation, communications, remote sensing, and science and exploration. What is awaited is the long pending space law which needs to be passed in Parliament. Once this falls into place, start-ups will have a clearer vision of space.

Many of the space start-ups have been incubated in premier educational institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc). Encouragement also comes from ISRO, the primary space agency of the Indian government.

ISRO has for the first time invited companies to build five polar satellite launch vehicles (PSLVs). This move from ISRO is a means of promoting Make in India, a vision of the Government of India (GoI).

ISRO which is into its 50thyear, has opened out new space related avenues. It is in the process of developing a communication-cum-surveillance satellite for the Indian Navy. The satellite which will be ready by 2022 is being readied to keep a vigil on the warships, submarines and aircraft around the Indian Ocean by strengthening the shore-based operations. This 1,589 crore contract between the Indian Navy and ISRO is for the development of Gsat-7R, a new satellite to aid the Gsat-7 or Rukmini geostationary naval satellite orbiting since 2013.

India continues to reinforce its space-astronomical capacities. This time round, the Hanle village in the cold desert of Ladakh is in the news. The Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) houses the countrys first robotic space telescope. The telescope has been conceptualised to observe the universe, with its dynamic and transient events. It can capture cosmic events that happen in timescales much shorter than light years or years, days and even hours.

The office at the Hanle village is an outcome of a multi-nation community-oriented activity comprising universities from various parts of the world including UK and the US. Called GROWTH, an acronym for Global Relay of Observatories Watching Transients Happen, it has been established to observe the universe, with its transient events.

The fact that the Hanle is at an altitude of 4,500 metres, makes it one of the worlds highest astronomical observatories. Thats how it has emerged as a telescope viewing site comprising the Himalayan Chandra Telescope, the gamma-ray array telescope (HAGAR) and the imaging Cherenkov telescope (MACE).

Fintech to enable MSMEs

An inter-ministerial panel on fintech has submitted its final report to the FM. The panel has recommended that a legal framework should be in place to protect consumers when they use digital services. Basically the panel suggests that technologies like AI, blockchain and ML should be leveraged for governance processes, taxation and financial services.

Finance providers require a standardised regulation technology (regtech). The panel suggests that an institutional framework needs to be developed to cater to specific use-cases of supervisory technology (or SupTech), testing, deployment, monitoring and evaluation.

These suggested measures are intended to facilitate the MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) sector in its finance-related processes. The panel also suggests that Reserve Bank of India (RBI) develops cash-flow based financing for MSMEs.

The development of an open-API (application programme interface) MSME stack based on TReDS (Trade Receivables electronic Discount System) data validated by the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) and a standardised and trusted e-invoice infrastructure designed around TReDS-GSTN integration are among other suggestions.

Of Robots & Drones

What is interesting is that robots have made their way into a cross section of verticals. We have robots that have doubled up as bearers in restaurants. In its latest avatar, a robot has shaped up as a humanoid robot assisting a teacher. The scene may seem like a sci-fi film, but its a thermal physics class at an international school in Bangalore. Conceptualised as Eagle 2.0, the robot is a teacher assistant. Media reports reveal that a collaborative learning model has been created, whereby Eagle 2.0 delivers content with summative assessments. Hopefully a time will come when robots will assist various verticals.

Healthcare services in rural and remote locations have been a challenge. This is where drones or unmanned aerial vehicles fit in with their unique offering. All that it requires is a drone to bring the spotlight on to a primary healthcare centre (PHC) in the Tehri district of Uttarakhand in North India. As reported in the media, the drone has flown 36km over the Himalayan terrains to transport blood samples from the PHC to the district hospital. Clearly the time taken by the drone to accomplish this task is much less than the regular commute by road. This has raised hope for health services to be delivered in remote locations. A first move, this drone delivery could be described as a game-changer in the health segment.

Global E-commerce giant Amazon has opened its massive campus in India, which is its first owned campus outside the US. Hyderabad in south India is home to Amazons 1.8 million square feet of office space. In terms of total area, the campus is Amazon's single largest building in the world. Spread over 9.5 acres of land, its also the largest technology base outside Amazon's headquarters in Seattle. Along with engineers and managers, the Hyderabad campus has software development engineers and machine-learning professionals.

Amazons India presence cannot be seen in isolation. Other global retailers like Walmart have also deepened their footprint in the country.

An overview indicates that the supply chain network of e-commerce companies is growing. The companies have scaled up their partnerships with MSMEs and artisans to create a user experience that is personalised in nature.

Lets look at trends in the overall e-commerce space. Pocket-sized loans from banks are encouraging digital spending in India. Encouragement also comes from mobile-payment apps that give consumers pay-later options.

Smartphones are affordable, and that includes data as well. This is being leveraged by retailers to rope in online customers into their fold. Smartphones are the preferred device for online shopping.

Weve also seen the rise of Phygital, a combination of physical and digital stores as preferred by retailers. E-commerce itself has given rise to several employment options given the requirements of logistics, inventory management and vendor management.

As per the October 2019 KPMG report titled Disruptive Companies and Business Models, e-commerce and social networking are the most disruptive business models. In maintaining its position atop the list of most-disruptive business models over the next few years, e-commerce continues to capture attention with its dramatic growth prospects. Global e-commerce spending is expected to increase from $3.5tn in 2019 to $6.5tn in 2023, according to eMarketer.

Social networking was second on the business models list. Similar to e-commerce companies, social media companies are striving to capture ever-larger shares of the consumers attention and wallet, with new offerings like exclusive and original content, live sporting events, augmented/virtual reality, educational services, and crypto currencies. As of January 2019, more than three billion people, over 40 per cent of the worlds population, were using social media on mobile devices, according to a report from We Are Social and Hootsuite Media.

Satya Easwaran, partner and head of telecom, media and technology sector for KPMG in India, added that India is seeing a similar trend in technology disrupting business models. With over one billion mobile subscribers and more than 665 million internet subscriptions, Indias mobile-first economy is shaping the contours of new business models in B2C and B2B businesses. E-commerce and social networking have changed consumer behaviour, leading traditional business models to innovate and transform. Retail, financial services, and technology are the sectors likely to be most disrupted because of tech innovations.

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View from India: Space tech boosts rise of Brand India - E&T Magazine

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings Inc. grew its position in Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) by 5.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 645,524 shares of the social networking companys stock after acquiring an additional 35,903 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.08% of Twitter worth $26,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in Twitter by 17,011.6% in the 2nd quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 10,494,744 shares of the social networking companys stock worth $366,266,000 after purchasing an additional 10,433,413 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Twitter by 331.4% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 7,337,600 shares of the social networking companys stock worth $256,082,000 after purchasing an additional 5,636,902 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Twitter by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,372,606 shares of the social networking companys stock worth $2,735,204,000 after acquiring an additional 1,510,879 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Twitter by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 5,919,539 shares of the social networking companys stock worth $206,592,000 after acquiring an additional 1,110,127 shares during the period. Finally, Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. grew its holdings in Twitter by 44.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 3,168,974 shares of the social networking companys stock worth $110,597,000 after acquiring an additional 968,905 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.68% of the companys stock.

Shares of NYSE TWTR opened at $31.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.20 billion, a PE ratio of 56.67, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 8.69, a quick ratio of 8.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Twitter Inc has a 1-year low of $26.26 and a 1-year high of $45.85. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $32.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.72.

Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The social networking company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $824.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $875.21 million. Twitter had a net margin of 47.67% and a return on equity of 6.07%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.21 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Twitter Inc will post 2 EPS for the current year.

In related news, VP Matthew Derella sold 4,668 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.68, for a total value of $185,226.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ned D. Segal sold 8,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.36, for a total transaction of $234,880.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 99,950 shares of company stock valued at $3,576,078. Company insiders own 2.65% of the companys stock.

A number of analysts have commented on TWTR shares. Canaccord Genuity lowered their target price on shares of Twitter from $46.00 to $35.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Cowen set a $41.00 target price on shares of Twitter and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Susquehanna Bancshares set a $34.00 target price on shares of Twitter and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Twitter from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a hold rating and set a $34.50 target price (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Twitter in a report on Friday, October 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $37.24.

Twitter Company Profile

Twitter, Inc operates as a platform for public self-expression and conversation in real time. The company offers various products and services, including Twitter, a platform that allows users to consume, create, distribute, and discover content; and Periscope, a mobile application that enables user to broadcast and watch video live with others.

See Also: Stock Symbols and CUSIP Explained

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Chevy Chase Trust Holdings Inc. Purchases 35,903 Shares of Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) - Riverton Roll

Al Sharpton credited Sen. Kamala Harris for her criticism of Mayor Pete Buttigiegs claim that he can better understand black Americans because he is gay.

Buttigieg, 37, has struggled to earn support from black voters in key early states like South Carolina during his presidential campaign. He has argued, however, that his sexuality helped him to understand the feeling of oppression often felt by black Americans because gay men have not always had equal rights either.

While I do not have the experience of ever having been discriminated against because of the color of my skin, I do have the experience of sometimes feeling like a stranger in my own country, turning on the news and seeing my own rights come up for debate, and seeing my rights expanded by a coalition of people like me and people not at all like me, Buttigieg said during the CNN debate earlier this month.

[Related: 'A modern-day Pharisee': Buttigieg's evangelical brother-in-law urges him to 'repent' of abortion views]

That argument has been destroyed by many prominent black Americans, including his 2020 Democratic competitor Harris. After the debate, she told CNN, What he did on the stage, its just not productive, and I think its a bit naive.

Sharpton, a racial activist and MSNBC host, commended Harriss response, telling the Washington Post this week, I think Kamala had a point, and I understood what she was saying. He said he appreciates the effort Buttigieg is making in the black community and admitted that he is evolving, but said the South Bend, Indiana, mayor still has a long way to go.

Do I think hes where he needs to be? No, Sharpton said.

Earlier this week, Buttigieg was called a lying motherf---er by the Root columnist Michael Harriot after video from the mayors 2011 campaign resurfaced showing him questioning whether poor children have parents who value education. Buttigieg called Harriot afterwards to hear him out and discuss how he can work to improve his image among black voters.

The South Bend mayor has climbed in the polls recently, even taking the lead in Iowa. Harris, 55, has struggled to climb above 4% in the polls. The RealClearPolitics polling average has her at just 3.8% support, while Buttigieg sits at 11% support.

Sharpton, 65, became a public figure during the 1987 Tawana Brawley case. He claimed that the black teenaged girl had been kidnapped and raped by a gang of white men. Without evidence, he alleged that assistant district attorney in Dutchess County, Steven Pagones, was in this gang. A court cleared Pagones of the charges, and he eventually won a defamation lawsuit against Sharpton in 1998, who was ordered to pay $65,000 in damages.

He has since become a highly divisive figure with many on the right saying he is a race-baiter and many on the left singing his praises, including Harris who claimed Sharpton had "spent his life fighting for what's right and working to improve our nation, even in the face of hate."

Originally posted here:
'Kamala had a point': Al Sharpton rejects Buttigieg claim that being gay is like being black - Washington Examiner

Appearing as a guest on Morning Joe Wednesday, liberal Rev. Jim Wallis discussed his book Christ in Crisis: Why We Need to Reclaim Jesus. Not surprisingly, it did not take long for Wallis to begin trashing President Trump and white evangelical Christians. Another member of the panel, the incendiary Al Sharpton, accused white evangelicals of submitting to white nationalism and to Trump, a point that Wallis seemed to agree with.

After mentioning that Lincoln said our leaders should appeal to our better angels, Wallis contrasted him with President Trump, whom he described as appealsto our worst demons. Wallis recycled a phrase coined by absent host Joe Scarborough as he made the case that Trumps policies, words, and practices are antithetical to Jesus. According to Wallis, the policies, words, and practices of the President include white nationalism, abuse and harassment of women, and the dehumanization of immigrants.

Walliss commentary surely came as music to the ears of the anti-Trump panel. Guest host Willie Geist asked Wallis what do you say to those (evangelicals) who stay at the side of Donald Trump through all of it? Wallis instead elected to go on a tirade accusing white evangelicals of racism: this population, white evangelicals, is the most resistant to a multiracial future...when the operative phrase in white evangelical isnt evangelical but white, we have a problem...Is racial bigotry a deal-breaker for the gospel when it isnt for white evangelicals?

PoliticsNation host Rev. Al Sharpton also participated in the discussion and seemed to agree with Walliss characterization of white evangelicals as racist, claiming that most of the evangelical leaders have submitted to white nationalism and to Trump. Wallis also made the ridiculous claim that if Jesus were here today, hed be celebrating the Black Lives Matter movement, apparently forgetting that BLM activists have chanted phrases such as What do we want? Dead cops! and pigs in a blanket, fry em like bacon. Those phrases do not exactly epitomize Christian behavior.

In addition to portraying Jesus Christ as a Black Lives Matter sympathizer, Wallis surmised that he would be furiously defending the planet from global warming. Strangely, Wallis had stressed that our faith and values should shape our politics and not the other way around just moments earlier. Yet, Wallis decided to ignore his own rule of thumb in an effort to paint Jesus as a left-wing activist.

Morning Joes embrace of Wallis should not come as that much of a surprise since they love to roll out the red carpet for self-proclaimed Christians with contempt for evangelicals who supported Trump. The MSNBC morning program has brought on New York Times contributing opinion writer and self-described evangelical Peter Wehner multiple times to trash Trump-supporting evangelicals for selling their soul for judges and claim theyve degraded themselves and the movement so badly.

As the conversation came to a close, Wallis reiterated the importance of not wrapping our ideology and politics around our faith. It looks like he has no intention to practice what he preaches anytime soon.

A transcript of the relevant portion of Wednesdays edition of Morning Joe is below. Click expand to read more.

Morning Joe

11/27/19

08:51 AM

WILLIE GEIST: Our next guest says we are in a moment of great moral, political, and constitutional crisis; which largely stems from how weve become disconnected from the teachings of Christ. Joining us now, best-selling author and founder of Sojourners, Jim Wallis. His new book is out now entitled Christ in Crisis: Why We Need to Reclaim Jesus. Mike Barnicle, Karine Jean-Pierre, and Reverend Al Sharpton with us as well. Jim, good morning. Good to see you.

JIM WALLIS: Good morning.

GEIST: Many questions for you, but I want to start with your thesis that Christ is in crisis. How so?

WALLIS: Well, the crisis as you all have been talking about every day is political, constitutional, its also a moral crisis, and I think a spiritual one. Lincoln said our leaders should appeal to our better angels, but we have a leader who appeals to our worst demons, and those demons go very deep. So, my evangelical tradition, in crisis, you go back to Jesus. So, Im saying we have to go back to who Jesus was and what he said, and I wouldJoe often says on this show, what do you do when policies, words, and practices are antithetical to Jesus? Which is happening now all the time. So, I have to say, to be blunt and maybe irreverent, white nationalism is not just racist, its antichrist. To demonize, dehumanize immigrants, it isnt just lack of compassion, its antichrist. To mistreat women, abuse, harassment. This is not just sexist, its antichrist. So, we have to name this for what it is. And so, Im trying to say, lets look at what Jesus asked us, and his questions, maybe the most important one is who is my neighbor? That may be the most important question in this political seasonwho is my neighbor? Because the one that Jesus says is our neighbor is the one whos being targeted by this administration. So, to me, these are faith issues and not just political ones.

GEIST: You write about something in the book weve talked about a lot on this show

WALLIS: Yeah.

GEIST: and its, which is the sustained support from evangelicals for President Trump, through everything, through Stormy Daniels, through the separation of families at the border, through all of it. Evangelical support has remained relatively strong. To some people, that exposes a hypocrisy that puts politics before faith andand teachings of the bible and morality and everything else. What do you say to those who stay at the side of Donald Trump through all of it?

WALLIS: Heres a radical ideaour faith and values should shape our politics and not the other way around. And Jesus has somehow survived all of us Christians. So, the interest in this brown-skin rabbi who was born in Palestinian territory, what hes saying and doing, the interest is way outside the church. Theres a whole lot of young people saying what did he say? What did he do? The poll that is the most shameful and damaging for white evangelicals says, this population, white evangelicals, is the most resistant to a multiracial future. Thats a devastating poll. So, here is the questionwhen the operative phrase in white evangelical isnt evangelical, but white, we have a problem. So, weve got to get to that. Is the gospel clear here? Is racial bigotry a deal-breaker for the gospel, when it isnt for white evangelicals? Thats something weve got to deal with.

AL SHARPTON: One of the things that intrigues me about reading your new book, andand the best-seller youve already written is you are very active. Youre not just one of these guys that writes books orand even though you are a theologian, and youre active in it. What has happened to the activism of white Christian progressives we dont see? I mean, you are out there with Sojourners, but you dont see a lot of people that we did see when I was a kid growing up in Operation Breadbasketyou see a lot of the white ministers out there. And youre out there sometimes with just a few leaders, good following, but just a few leaders, where most of the evangelical leaders have submitted to white nationalism and to Trump.

WALLIS: This is an opportunity. Crisis is a danger; danger for the most marginalized. Its also an opportunity. What if, indeed, this brought us back to what Jesus said and did? So, I am encouraged out there about what I see happening around the country. There are pastors, there areI mean, ifif Jesus were here today, hed be celebrating the Black Lives Matter movement. He would be standing alongside our neighbors, especially who are immigrants and refugees. He would be furiously defending the planet from global warming. So, I want to see us go back, what the evangelicals say, go back to Jesus. So, the word evangelical is interesting. To call yourself one today is tough these days, but Jesus defined it in Nazareth, his first sermon, his Nazareth manifesto. The spirit of the Lord is upon me, he says, because hes anointed me to bring good news to the poor. And the word for good news there is evangel. So, if it our gospel isnt good news of the poor, it simply isnt the gospel of Jesus Christ, period.

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: Jim, II dont think you have enough time to answer the question Im about to ask is how do we get out of this moral crisis? You talkedyou started off the conversation talking about that; especially in a time where were in a country where its incredibly divided. You have

WALLIS: Yeah.

JEAN-PIERRE: a President, as we mentioned, as you mentioned, who is dividing us with hate and, you know, bigotry and racism and xenophobia. How do you get out of this moral crisis? What do we need to be doing?

WALLIS: I think weve got to not just go left and right but go deeper. How do we go deeper here? And this crisis makes an opportunity for that. So, Ive talked aboutIve wrestled with Jesus questions here. Who is our neighbor? And its clear in the good Samaritan parable, our neighbor is the one whos different than us. Gustavo Gutierrez, a Peruvian theologian, says youve got to go outside your path to find your neighbor. So, in this season coming up, until we find our neighbors again, were in serious trouble. If we do that, though, and askhe says, What is the truth? The problem isnt just all the lies you always talk about here. Hes saying there is no truth. Wash your hands. Fake memedia. Jesus says, youll know the truth. The truth will set you free. Fear. Be not afraid, Jesus says, eight times. Well, theyre running on fear. Theyre running against the immigrant, running against our neighbor. So, I think this could bring us back to what Jesus said and did. So, maybe America needs a reintroduction to the person and teachings of Jesus Christ. Im hoping that goes deeper and can bring somepolitics by itself, even an election by itself, as you know so well, isnt going to heal this nation. So, how do we go back to something that can bring us together again?

BARNICLE: So, the reintroduction of Jesus into the politics of this country or into the country itself, how is it going to happen? If you look at the field now, there are several people in the race for President of the United States who are people of deep faith.

WALLIS: Mm-hmm.

BARNICLE: II know that Vice President Biden carries a rosary with him every single day in his pocket, okay? And yet, you listen to not just Joe Biden, but most of the candidates on the stump, they never, ever mention God and faith. What is up with that?

WALLIS: You know, the narrative on religion in politics has been bad for a long time, where Republicans claim to own religion

BARNICLE: Yeah.

WALLIS: Own God. And Democrats, interesting. The base of the Democratic Party is African-American women. So, the base is the most religious population

SHARPTON: Thats right.

WALLIS: in the country. Yet, Democrats are reluctant to talk about faith, which is ironic.

JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

WALLIS: The good news is I know some of these candidates, and they aresome of their bibles are underlined. They want to talk about faith. Were having some conversations about faith. But I want the Democrats not to create a religious left, like Republicans have created a religious right; wrapping our ideology and politics around our faith. Faith should hold us accountable. For example, in the book, the last test of discipleship is when Jesus talks about the least of these. Were to be tested by how we treat the least of these. Jesus didnt say, well, I was going to talk about the hungry and thirsty and naked and strangerstranger is e the immigrant of course, but Im afraid that will be politically divisive. So, I dont want to talk about that. No, he said, I was hungry, I was thirsty, I was naked, I was sick, I was a stranger, I was in purpose. As you did to the least of these, you have done to me. That text, how we treat the least of these, holds all parties accountable.

GEIST: This ought to be mandatory reading for all the candidates and the President of the United States, I might add, too. The new book is Christ in Crisis. Jim Wallis calls it a spiritual field guide.

Originally posted here:
Wallis, Sharpton Accuse Evangelicals of 'Submitting to White Nationalism' - NewsBusters

If only he were still here. If only she had answers.

This Monday, Nov. 25, marked the 13th anniversary of Sean Bells death at the hands of police. With anti-police brutality activism more visible via online advocates, Bells death reminds people of a time when the internet didnt have as much of an impact on these events.

But for Nicole Paultre-Bell, former fiance of Sean Bell, it just reminds her of a time of pain.

Thirteen years after Seans death the pain hasnt subsided and Im still seeking solace following so many unanswered questions about a criminal justice system that failed our daughters and took away their father, said Bell in a statement. With the negligence, the assault, the civil rights violations, and the egregious misconduct all pointing to guilt, the police officers are still acquitted.

Bell and a few friends were leaving a strip club in Queens as part of his bachelor party. Members of the New York Police Department fired 50 shots in total with fewer than half of them hitting their intended targets. Bell was struck in the neck and arm and was pronounced dead on arrival to the hospital. His friend, Joseph Guzman, was left in critical condition after being hit 11 times and another friend, Tent Benefield, arrived in stable condition.

The latter two were shackled to their beds by police drawing outcry from activists. None of the three men had a weapon despite police reporting that they heard one of the three men mention a gun.

National Action Network President the Rev. Al Sharpton said that it was another death in a long line of deaths where police fatally shot an unarmed Black person.

When Sean Bell lost his life 13 years ago at the hands of New York City police officers, we organized and marched to fight for justice for his widow and family, said Sharpton in a statement. We held massive protests outside police headquarters and stopped traffic from the Brooklyn Bridge to the Triborough Bridge. It was a tragedy for yet another family to bury a young man whose life was cut short by those hired to protect and serve him.

Police were staking out the strip club due to allegations of drug dealing and prostitution. An undercover officer called out to other officers staking out the place telling them to get ready for a possible encounter. The officer thought one of the men mentioned a gun. Then police commissioner Ray Kelly said that Bells car went in reverse when an officer approached the front of the car. The car then hit a police minivan and drove onto the sidewalk when the shooting commenced. All of the officers involved in the shooting were acquitted.

Our young Black men continue to be targeted by this broken criminal justice system across the country at a disproportionate rate, said Sharpton. NAN will continue to fight for young Black and Brown men whose contact with law enforcement too often leads to death, whether theyve committed a crime or not.

Despite the anti-police brutality fight, many Black men and women continue to meet their deaths via police encounters. Eric Garner, Mike Brown, Sandra Bland and others have become household names for all of the wrong reasons. Bell said that shell continue to push back against police violence no matter how long the road and how bleak the outlook.

Since Seans death, there has been some effort on changing criminal justice policies, but Seans story keeps repeating itself, and the results are the samepolice officers were cleared of negligence and sometimes murder, said Bell. I will continue to fight for a society where officers of the law can be trusted and I have joined a transition team that believes in this fight for criminal justice reform for the incoming Queens D.A. Melinda Katz because I believe she will push for criminal justice reform NOW.

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Sean Bell died at the hands of police 13 years ago - Amsterdam News