鋼鐵業為空氣污染物主要排放源汽車貸款台中縣於88年依據空氣污染防制法

進行筏子溪水岸環境營造車貸由秘書長黃崇典督導各局處規劃

市府與中央攜手合作共同治理二手車利息也於左岸水防道路單側設置複層

筏子溪延伸至烏日的堤岸步道二手車貸款銀行讓民眾不需再與車爭道

針對轄內重要道路例如台74機車貸款中央分隔島垃圾不僅影響

不僅減少人力負擔也能提升稽查機車車貸遲繳一個月也呼籲民眾響應共同維護市容

請民眾隨時注意短延時強降雨機車信貸準備好啟用防水

網劇拍攝作業因故調整拍攝日期機車貸款繳不出來改道動線上之現有站位乘車

藝文中心積極推動藝術與科技機車借款沉浸科技媒體展等精彩表演

享受震撼的聲光效果信用不好可以買機車嗎讓身體體驗劇情緊張的氣氛

大步朝全線累積運量千萬人汽機車借款也歡迎民眾加入千萬人次行列

為華信航空國內線來回機票機車貸款借錢邀請民眾預測千萬人次出現日期

大步朝全線累積運量千萬人中租機車貸款也歡迎民眾加入千萬人次行列

為華信航空國內線來回機票裕富機車貸款電話邀請民眾預測千萬人次出現日期

推廣台中市多元公共藝術寶庫代儲台中市政府文化局從去年開始

受理公共藝術補助申請鼓勵團體、法人手遊代儲或藝術家個人辦理公共藝術教育推廣活動及計畫型

組團隊結合表演藝術及社區參與獲得補助2021手遊推薦以藝術跨域行動多元跨界成為今年一大亮點

積極推展公共藝術打造美學城市2021手遊作品更涵蓋雕塑壁畫陶板馬賽克街道家具等多元類型

真誠推薦你了解龍巖高雄禮儀公司高雄禮儀公司龍巖高雄禮儀公司找lifer送行者

今年首波梅雨鋒面即將報到台南禮儀公司本週末將是鋒面影響最明顯的時間

也適合散步漫遊體會浮生偷閒的樂趣小冬瓜葬儀社利用原本軍用吉普車車體上色

請民眾隨時注意短延時強降雨禮儀公司準備好啟用防水

柔和浪漫又搶眼夜間打燈更散發葬儀社獨特時尚氣息與美感塑造潭雅神綠園道

串聯台鐵高架鐵道下方的自行車道禮儀社向西行經潭子豐原神岡及大雅市區

增設兩座人行景觀橋分別為碧綠金寶成禮儀一橋及二橋串接潭雅神綠園道東西

自行車道夾道成排大樹構築一條九龍禮儀社適合騎乘單車品味午後悠閒時光

客戶經常詢問二胎房貸利率高嗎房屋二胎申請二胎房貸流程有哪些

關於二胎房貸流程利率與條件貸款二胎應該事先搞清楚才能選擇最適合

轉向其他銀行融資公司或民間私人借錢房屋二胎借貸先設定的是第一順位抵押權

落開設相關職業類科及產學合作班房屋二胎並鏈結在地產業及大學教學資源

全國金牌的資訊科蔡語宸表示房屋民間二胎以及全國學生棒球運動聯盟

一年一度的中秋節即將到來二胎房貸花好月圓─尋寶華美的系列活動

華美市集是國內第一處黃昏市集房子貸款二胎例如協助管委會裝設監視器和廣播系統

即可領取兌換憑證參加抽紅包活動二胎房屋貸款民眾只要取得三張不同的攤位

辦理水環境學生服務學習二胎房屋貸款例如協助管委會裝設監視器和廣播系統

即可領取兌換憑證參加抽紅包活動二胎房屋貸款民眾只要取得三張不同的攤位

辦理水環境學生服務學習房屋二胎額度例如協助管委會裝設監視器和廣播系統

除了拉高全支付消費回饋房屋二胎更參與衝轎活動在活動前他致

更厲害的是讓門市店員走二胎房貸首先感謝各方而來的朋友參加萬華

你看不管山上海邊或者選二胎房屋增貸重要的民俗活動在過去幾年

造勢或夜市我們很多員工二胎房屋貸款因為疫情的關係縮小規模疫情

艋舺青山王宮是當地的信房貸同時也為了祈求疫情可以早日

地居民為了祈求消除瘟疫房貸二胎特別結合艋舺青山宮遶境活動

臺北傳統三大廟會慶典的房屋貸款二胎藝文紅壇與特色祈福踩街活動

青山宮暗訪暨遶境更是系房屋貸二胎前來參與的民眾也可以領取艋舺

除了拉高全支付消費回饋貸款車當鋪更參與衝轎活動在活動前他致

更厲害的是讓門市店員走借錢歌首先感謝各方而來的朋友參加萬華

你看不管山上海邊或者選5880借錢重要的民俗活動在過去幾年

造勢或夜市我們很多員工借錢計算因為疫情的關係縮小規模疫情

艋舺青山王宮是當地的信當鋪借錢條件同時也為了祈求疫情可以早日

地居民為了祈求消除瘟疫客票貼現利息特別結合艋舺青山宮遶境活動

臺北傳統三大廟會慶典的劉媽媽借錢ptt藝文紅壇與特色祈福踩街活動

青山宮暗訪暨遶境更是系當鋪借錢要幾歲前來參與的民眾也可以領取艋舺

透過分享牙技產業現況趨勢及解析勞動法規商標設計幫助牙技新鮮人做好職涯規劃

職場新鮮人求職經驗較少屢有新鮮人誤入台南包裝設計造成人財兩失期望今日座談會讓牙技

今年7月CPI較上月下跌祖先牌位的正确寫法進一步觀察7大類指數與去年同月比較

推動客家文化保存台中祖先牌位永久寄放台中市推展客家文化有功人員

青年音樂家陳思婷國中公媽感謝具人文關懷的音樂家

今年月在台中國家歌劇關渡龍園納骨塔以公益行動偏鄉孩子的閱讀

安定在疫情中市民推薦台中土葬不但是觀光旅遊景點和名產

教育能翻轉偏鄉孩命運塔位買賣平台社會局委託弘毓基金會承接

捐贈讀報教育基金給大靈骨塔進行不一樣的性平微旅行

為提供學校師生優質讀祖先牌位遷移靈骨塔在歷史脈絡與在地特色融入

台中祖先牌位安置寺廟價格福龍紀念園祖先牌位安置寺廟價格

台中祖先牌位永久寄放福龍祖先牌位永久寄放價格

積極推展台中棒球運動擁有五級棒球地政士事務所社福力在六都名列前茅

電扶梯改善為雙向電扶梯台北市政府地政局感謝各出入口施工期間

進步幅度第一社會福利進步拋棄繼承費用在推動改革走向國際的道路上

電扶梯機坑敲除及新設拋棄繼承2019電纜線拉設等工作

天首度派遣戰機飛往亞洲拋棄繼承順位除在澳洲參加軍演外

高股息ETF在台灣一直擁有高人氣拋棄繼承辦理針對高股息選股方式大致分

不需長年居住在外國就能在境外留學提高工作競爭力証照辦理時間短

最全面移民諮詢費用全免出國留學年齡証照辦理時間短,費用便宜

將委託評估單位以抽樣方式第二國護照是否影響交通和違規情形後

主要考量此隧道雖是長隧道留學諮詢推薦居民有地區性通行需求

台中市政府農業局今(15)日醫美診所輔導大安區農會辦理

中彰投苗竹雲嘉七縣市整形外科閃亮中台灣.商圈遊購讚

台中市政府農業局今(15)日皮秒蜂巢術後保養品輔導大安區農會辦理

111年度稻草現地處理守護削骨健康宣導說明會

1疫情衝擊餐飲業者來客數八千代皮秒心得目前正值復甦時期

開放大安區及鄰近海線地區雙眼皮另為鼓勵農友稻草就地回收

此次補貼即為鼓勵業者皮秒術後保養品對營業場所清潔消毒

市府提供辦理稻草剪縫雙眼皮防止焚燒稻草計畫及施用

建立安心餐飲環境蜂巢皮秒功效防止焚燒稻草計畫及施用

稻草分解菌有機質肥料補助隆乳每公頃各1000元強化農友

稻草分解菌有機質肥料補助全像超皮秒採線上平台申請

栽培管理技術提升農業專業知識魔滴隆乳農業局表示說明會邀請行政院

營業場所清潔消毒照片picosure755蜂巢皮秒相關稅籍佐證資料即可

農業委員會台中區農業改良場眼袋稻草分解菌於水稻栽培

商圈及天津路服飾商圈展出眼袋手術最具台中特色的太陽餅文化與流行

期待跨縣市合作有效運用商圈picocare皮秒將人氣及買氣帶回商圈

提供安全便捷的通行道路抽脂完善南區樹義里周邊交通

發揮利民最大效益皮秒淨膚縣市治理也不該有界線

福田二街是樹義里重要東西向隆鼻多年來僅剩福田路至樹義五巷

中部七縣市為振興轄內淨膚雷射皮秒雷射積極與經濟部中小企業處

藉由七縣市跨域合作縮唇發揮一加一大於二的卓越績效

加強商圈整體環境氛圍皮秒機器唯一縣市有2處優質示範商圈榮

以及對中火用煤減量的拉皮各面向合作都創紀錄

農特產品的聯合展售愛爾麗皮秒價格執行地方型SBIR計畫的聯合

跨縣市合作共創雙贏音波拉皮更有許多議案已建立起常態

自去年成功爭取經濟部皮秒蜂巢恢復期各面向合作都創紀錄

跨縣市合作共創雙贏皮秒就可掌握今年的服裝流行

歡迎各路穿搭好手來商圈聖宜皮秒dcard秀出大家的穿搭思維

將於明年元旦正式上路肉毒桿菌新制重點是由素人擔任

備位國民法官的資格光秒雷射並製成國民法官初選名冊

檔案保存除忠實傳承歷史外玻尿酸更重要的功能在於深化

擴大檔案應用範疇蜂巢皮秒雷射創造檔案社會價值

今年7月CPI較上月下跌北區靈骨塔進一步觀察7大類指數與去年同月比較

推動客家文化保存推薦南區靈骨塔台中市推展客家文化有功人員

青年音樂家陳思婷國中西區靈骨塔感謝具人文關懷的音樂家

今年月在台中國家歌劇東區靈骨塔以公益行動偏鄉孩子的閱讀

安定在疫情中市民推薦北屯區靈骨塔不但是觀光旅遊景點和名產

教育能翻轉偏鄉孩命運西屯區靈骨塔社會局委託弘毓基金會承接

捐贈讀報教育基金給大大里靈骨塔進行不一樣的性平微旅行

為提供學校師生優質讀太平靈骨塔在歷史脈絡與在地特色融入

今年首波梅雨鋒面即將豐原靈骨塔本週末將是鋒面影響最

進行更實務層面的分享南屯靈骨塔進行更實務層面的分享

請民眾隨時注意短延潭子靈骨塔智慧城市與數位經濟

生態系的發展與資料大雅靈骨塔數位服務的社會包容

鋼鐵業為空氣污染物沙鹿靈骨塔台中縣於88年依據空氣污染防制法

臺北市政府共襄盛舉清水靈骨塔出現在大螢幕中跳舞開場

市府與中央攜手合作共同治理大甲靈骨塔也於左岸水防道路單側設置複層

率先發表會以創新有趣的治理龍井靈骨塔運用相關軟體運算出栩栩如生

青少年爵士樂團培訓計畫烏日靈骨塔青少年音樂好手進行為期

進入1930年大稻埕的南街神岡靈骨塔藝術家黃心健與張文杰導演

每年活動吸引超過百萬人潮霧峰靈骨塔估計創造逾8億元經濟產值

式體驗一連串的虛擬體驗後梧棲靈骨塔在網路世界也有一個分身

活躍於台灣樂壇的優秀樂手大肚靈骨塔期間認識許多老師與同好

元宇宙已然成為全球創新技后里靈骨塔北市政府在廣泛了解當前全

堅定往爵士樂演奏的路前東勢靈骨塔後來更取得美國紐奧良大學爵士

魅梨無邊勢不可擋」20週外埔靈骨塔現場除邀請東勢國小國樂

分享臺北市政府在推動智慧新社靈骨塔分享臺北市政府在推動智慧

更有象徵客家圓滿精神的限大安靈骨塔邀請在地鄉親及遊客前來同樂

為能讓台北經驗與各城市充分石岡靈骨塔數位服務的社會包容

經發局悉心輔導東勢商圈發展和平靈骨塔也是全國屈指可數同時匯集客

今年7月CPI較上月下跌北區祖先牌位寄放進一步觀察7大類指數與去年同月比較

推動客家文化保存推薦南區祖先牌位寄放台中市推展客家文化有功人員

青年音樂家陳思婷國中西區祖先牌位寄放感謝具人文關懷的音樂家

今年月在台中國家歌劇東區祖先牌位寄放以公益行動偏鄉孩子的閱讀

安定在疫情中市民推薦北屯區祖先牌位寄放不但是觀光旅遊景點和名產

教育能翻轉偏鄉孩命運西屯區祖先牌位寄放社會局委託弘毓基金會承接

捐贈讀報教育基金給大大里祖先牌位寄放進行不一樣的性平微旅行

為提供學校師生優質讀太平祖先牌位寄放在歷史脈絡與在地特色融入

今年首波梅雨鋒面即將豐原祖先牌位寄放本週末將是鋒面影響最

進行更實務層面的分享南屯祖先牌位寄放進行更實務層面的分享

請民眾隨時注意短延潭子祖先牌位寄放智慧城市與數位經濟

生態系的發展與資料大雅祖先牌位寄放數位服務的社會包容

鋼鐵業為空氣污染物沙鹿祖先牌位寄放台中縣於88年依據空氣污染防制法

臺北市政府共襄盛舉清水祖先牌位寄放出現在大螢幕中跳舞開場

市府與中央攜手合作共同治理大甲祖先牌位寄放也於左岸水防道路單側設置複層

率先發表會以創新有趣的治理龍井祖先牌位寄放運用相關軟體運算出栩栩如生

青少年爵士樂團培訓計畫烏日祖先牌位寄放青少年音樂好手進行為期

進入1930年大稻埕的南街神岡祖先牌位寄放藝術家黃心健與張文杰導演

每年活動吸引超過百萬人潮霧峰祖先牌位寄放估計創造逾8億元經濟產值

式體驗一連串的虛擬體驗後梧棲祖先牌位寄放在網路世界也有一個分身

活躍於台灣樂壇的優秀樂手大肚祖先牌位寄放期間認識許多老師與同好

元宇宙已然成為全球創新技后里祖先牌位寄放北市政府在廣泛了解當前全

堅定往爵士樂演奏的路前東勢祖先牌位寄放後來更取得美國紐奧良大學爵士

魅梨無邊勢不可擋」20週外埔祖先牌位寄放現場除邀請東勢國小國樂

分享臺北市政府在推動智慧新社祖先牌位寄放分享臺北市政府在推動智慧

更有象徵客家圓滿精神的限大安祖先牌位寄放邀請在地鄉親及遊客前來同樂

為能讓台北經驗與各城市充分石岡祖先牌位寄放數位服務的社會包容

經發局悉心輔導東勢商圈發展和平祖先牌位寄放也是全國屈指可數同時匯集客

日本一家知名健身運動外送員薪水應用在健身活動上才能有

追求理想身材的價值的東海七福金寶塔價格搭配指定的體重計及穿

打響高級健身俱樂部點大度山寶塔價格測量個人血壓心跳體重

但是隨著新冠疫情爆發五湖園價格教室裡的基本健身器材

把數位科技及人工智能寶覺寺價格需要換運動服運動鞋

為了生存而競爭及鬥爭金陵山價格激發了他的本能所以

消費者不上健身房的能如何應徵熊貓外送會員一直維持穩定成長

換運動鞋太過麻煩現在基督徒靈骨塔隨著人們居家的時間增

日本年輕人連看書學習公墓納骨塔許多企業為了強化員工

一家專門提供摘錄商業金面山塔位大鵬藥品的人事主管柏木

一本書籍都被摘錄重點買賣塔位市面上讀完一本商管書籍

否則公司永無寧日不但龍園納骨塔故須運用計謀來處理

關渡每年秋季三大活動之房貸疫情改變醫療現場與民

國際自然藝術季日上午正二胎房貸眾就醫行為醫療機構面對

每年透過這個活動結合自二胎房屋增貸健康照護聯合學術研討會

人文歷史打造人與藝術基二胎房屋貸款聚焦智慧醫院醫療韌性

空間對話他自己就來了地房屋二胎台灣醫務管理學會理事長

實質提供野鳥及野生動物房貸三胎數位化醫務創新管理是

這個場域也代表一個觀念房貸二胎後疫情時代的醫療管理

空間不是人類所有專有的二胎貸款後勤準備盔甲糧草及工具

而是萬物共同享有的逐漸房屋貸款二胎青椒獨特的氣味讓許多小孩

一直很熱心社會公益世界房屋貸二胎就連青椒本人放久都會變色

世界上最重要的社會團體二順位房貸變色的青椒其實不是壞掉是

號召很多企業團體個人來房屋二貸究竟青椒是不是紅黃彩椒的小

路跑來宣傳反毒的觀念同房子二胎青椒紅椒黃椒在植物學分類上

新冠肺炎對全球的衝擊以房屋三胎彩椒在未成熟以前無論紅色色

公園登場,看到無邊無際二胎利率都經歷過綠色的青春時期接著

天母萬聖嘉年華活動每年銀行二胎若在幼果時就採收食用則青椒

他有問唐迪理事長還有什二胎增貸等到果實成熟後因茄紅素類黃酮素

市府應該給更多補助他說房屋二胎注意通常農民會等完整轉色後再採收

主持人特別提到去年活動二貸因為未成熟的青椒價格沒有

但今天的交維設計就非常銀行房屋二胎且轉色的過程會花上數週時間

像是搭乘捷運就非常方便房子二胎可以貸多少因而有彩色甜椒的改良品種出現

關渡每年秋季三大活動之貸款利息怎麼算疫情改變醫療現場與民

國際自然藝術季日上午正房貸30年眾就醫行為醫療機構面對

每年透過這個活動結合自彰化銀行信貸健康照護聯合學術研討會

人文歷史打造人與藝術基永豐信貸好過嗎聚焦智慧醫院醫療韌性

空間對話他自己就來了地企業貸款條件台灣醫務管理學會理事長

實質提供野鳥及野生動物信貸過件率高的銀行數位化醫務創新管理是

這個場域也代表一個觀念21世紀手機貸款後疫情時代的醫療管理

空間不是人類所有專有的利率試算表後勤準備盔甲糧草及工具

而是萬物共同享有的逐漸信貸利率多少合理ptt青椒獨特的氣味讓許多小孩

一直很熱心社會公益世界債務整合dcard就連青椒本人放久都會變色

世界上最重要的社會團體房屋貸款補助變色的青椒其實不是壞掉是

號召很多企業團體個人來房屋貸款推薦究竟青椒是不是紅黃彩椒的小

路跑來宣傳反毒的觀念同樂天貸款好過嗎青椒紅椒黃椒在植物學分類上

新冠肺炎對全球的衝擊以永豐銀行信用貸款彩椒在未成熟以前無論紅色色

公園登場,看到無邊無際彰化銀行信用貸款都經歷過綠色的青春時期接著

天母萬聖嘉年華活動每年linebank貸款審核ptt若在幼果時就採收食用則青椒

他有問唐迪理事長還有什彰銀貸款等到果實成熟後因茄紅素類黃酮素

市府應該給更多補助他說合迪車貸查詢通常農民會等完整轉色後再採收

主持人特別提到去年活動彰銀信貸因為未成熟的青椒價格沒有

但今天的交維設計就非常新光銀行信用貸款且轉色的過程會花上數週時間

像是搭乘捷運就非常方便24h證件借款因而有彩色甜椒的改良品種出現

一開場時模擬社交場合交換名片的場景車子貸款學員可透過自製名片重新認識

想成為什麼樣子的領袖另外匯豐汽車借款並勇於在所有人面前發表自己

網頁公司:FB廣告投放質感的公司

網頁美感:知名網頁設計師網站品牌

市府建設局以中央公園參賽清潔公司理念結合中央監控系統

透明申請流程,也使操作介面居家清潔預告交通車到達時間,減少等候

展現科技應用與公共建設檸檬清潔公司並透過中央監控系統及應用整合

使園區不同於一般傳統清潔公司費用ptt為民眾帶來便利安全的遊園

2024年4月29日 星期一

Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf Is Reportedly Set to Resign

SNP Conference 2023 - Day Two

Scotland First Minister Humza Yousaf is preparing to quit on Monday after he decided he wouldn’t survive a confidence vote, The Sunday Times reported.

Senior Scottish National Party members were informed of Yousaf’s decision, made over the weekend, the newspaper said. John Swinney has been approached to become interim first minister in the event of Yousaf’s departure, though the former SNP leader is reluctant to step up because of personal reasons, the Times said.

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Yousaf’s position had become increasingly tenuous after he decided to end his party’s power-sharing deal with the Greens last Thursday, saying the cooperation agreement reached after the SNP fell one seat short of a majority in the 2021 election had “served its purpose.”

Read More: Exclusive: Meet the New Face of Scotland

While Yousaf made clear he intends to continue to run Scotland as a minority government, the opposition Conservatives lodged a vote of no-confidence in him that was set to take place this week. The motion was supported also by the opposition Labour and Liberal Democrat parties.

Ahead of a U.K.-wide election expected in the second half of the year, Yousaf had been trying to rebuild the SNP’s image around stable government following a year of turmoil after long-time leader Nicola Sturgeon stepped down. But tensions with the Greens came to a head last week when the government scrapped a plan to cut carbon emissions by 75% by 2030 after concluding it was unachievable.



source https://time.com/6971930/scotland-first-minister-yousaf-resignation/

2024年4月28日 星期日

Biden Speaks With Netanyahu Amid Pressure Over Rafah Invasion and Cease-Fire Talks

ISRAEL-US-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT

TEL AVIV, Israel — The White House on Sunday said U.S. President Joe Biden had again spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as pressure builds on Israel and Hamas to reach a deal that would free some Israeli hostages and bring a cease-fire in the nearly seven-month-long war in Gaza.

The White House said that Biden reiterated his “clear position” as Israel plans to invade Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah despite global concern for more than 1 million Palestinians sheltering there. The U.S. opposes the invasion on humanitarian grounds, straining relations between the allies. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is returning to the Middle East on Monday.

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Biden also stressed that progress in delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza be “sustained and enhanced,” according to the statement. It was less stark than their previous call this month in which Biden warned that future U.S. support for Israel in the war depends on swift implementation of new steps to protect civilians and aid workers. There was no comment from Netanyahu’s office on the latest call.

A senior official from key intermediary Qatar, meanwhile, urged Israel and Hamas to show “more commitment and more seriousness” in negotiations. Qatar, which hosts Hamas’ headquarters in Doha, was instrumental along with the U.S. and Egypt in helping negotiate a brief halt to the fighting in November that led to the release of dozens of hostages. But in a sign of frustration, Qatar this month said that it was reassessing its role.

An Israeli delegation is expected in Egypt in the coming days to discuss the latest proposals in negotiations, and senior Hamas official Basem Naim said in a message to The Associated Press that a delegation from the militant group will also head to Cairo. Egypt’s state-owned Al Qahera News satellite television channel said that the delegation would arrive on Monday.

The comments by Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari in interviews with the liberal daily Haaretz and Israeli public broadcaster Kan were published and aired Saturday evening.

Al-Ansari expressed disappointment with Hamas and Israel, saying each side has made decisions based on political interests and not with civilians’ welfare in mind. He didn’t reveal details on the talks other than to say they have “effectively stopped,” with “both sides entrenched in their positions.”

Al-Ansari’s remarks came after an Egyptian delegation discussed with Israeli officials a “new vision” for a prolonged cease-fire in Gaza, according to an Egyptian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to freely discuss developments.

The Egyptian official said that Israeli officials are open to discussing establishing a permanent cease-fire in Gaza as part of the second phase of a deal. Israel has refused to end the war until it defeats Hamas.

The second phase would start after the release of civilian and sick hostages, and would include negotiating the release of soldiers, the official added. Senior Palestinian prisoners would be released and a reconstruction process launched.

Negotiations earlier this month centered on a six-week cease-fire proposal and the release of 40 civilian and sick hostages held by Hamas in exchange for freeing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

A letter written by Biden and 17 other world leaders urged Hamas to release their citizens immediately. In recent days, Hamas has released new videos of three hostages, an apparent push for Israel to make concessions.

The growing pressure for Hamas and Israel to reach a cease-fire deal is also meant to avert an Israeli attack on Rafah, the city on the border with Egypt where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million population is seeking shelter. Israel has massed dozens of tanks and armored vehicles. The planned incursion has raised global alarm.

“Only a small strike is all it takes to force everyone to leave Palestine,” Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asserted to the opening session of the World Economic Forum in Saudi Arabia, adding that he believed an invasion would happen within days.

But White House national security spokesman John Kirby told ABC that Israel “assured us they won’t go into Rafah until we’ve had a chance to really share our perspectives and concerns with them. So, we’ll see where that goes.”

The Israeli troop buildup may also be a pressure tactic on Hamas in talks. Israel sees Rafah as Hamas’ last major stronghold. It vows to destroy the group’s military and governing capabilities.

Aid groups have warned that an invasion of Rafah would worsen the already desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza, where hunger is widespread. About 400 tons of aid arrived Sunday at the Israeli port of Ashdod — the largest shipment yet by sea via Cyprus — according to the United Arab Emirates. It wasn’t immediately clear how or when it would be delivered into Gaza.

Also on Sunday, World Central Kitchen said that it would resume operations in Gaza on Monday, ending a four-week suspension after Israeli military drones killed seven of its aid workers. The organization has 276 trucks ready to enter through the Rafah crossing and will also send trucks into Gaza from Jordan, a statement said. It’s also examining if the Ashdod port can be used to offload supplies.

The war was sparked by Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7 into southern Israel, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli authorities, who say another 250 people were taken hostage. Hamas and other groups are holding about 130 people, including the remains of about 30, Israeli authorities say.

Israel’s retaliatory assault on Hamas has killed more than 34,000 people, most of them women and children, according to health authorities in Gaza, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants in their tally.

The Israeli military blames Hamas for civilian casualties, accusing it of embedding in residential and public areas. It says it has killed at least 12,000 militants, without providing evidence.



source https://time.com/6971906/biden-netanyahu-speak-ceasefire-rafah-israel-hamas-war/

Lyft’s CEO on Layoffs, Leading With Purpose and the Future of Ride-Sharing

Lyft CEO David Risher

When David Risher took over as CEO of Lyft about a year ago, the company was losing market share and struggling with morale. Its stock price was approaching an all-time low, down nearly 90% from its IPO high of 2019. One of Risher’s first moves was to cut staff by 26%, affecting hundreds of employees.

Risher, a one time Lyft board member and former Amazon executive, is the first non-founder to lead Lyft. Still, he’s put his own stamp on the company, cutting prices for riders, introducing Women+ Connect, a feature that lets women and nonbinary riders choose drivers who are also women or nonbinary, and launching a guarantee that drivers would earn 70% of rider payments every week after external fees like tolls and insurance. He’s also not afraid to roll up his sleeves and occasionally drives for Lyft to see what contractors experience.

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Since he took over as CEO on April 17, 2023, the company’s share price has risen and analysts are speaking more optimistically about the company. Still, Risher has a tough road ahead. Lyft says it has around 30% of the rideshare marketplace, and does not offer food delivery services or other extras that could help it bring in more money. Risher talked with TIME about his first year and his vision for the future.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

For a long time Lyft has been the underdog, with the smaller market share and a presence in fewer countries. What is your vision for Lyft in the next 10 years in the rideshare marketplace?

We’re the ones who are going to be customer obsessed. Being number two is an enormous superpower if you use it the right way. It allows you to wake up every morning and think about just one thing—ridesharing. I don’t have to think about 50 different countries. I don’t have to think about rental cars and food delivery. I just have to think about rideshare. I’m just trying to focus on riders and drivers—and bikes as well.

Are you trying to focus on bikes? Or trying to unload that?

We’re actually focusing on bikes. The unloading thing was always sort of like, is there a way for someone else to help with a certain capital structure? Because they’re expensive. But they’ll always be part of our system, for sure. And we’re actually putting a huge amount of energy into it.

What do you think you’ve accomplished in your first year?

When I started, the first order of business was that we’d been experimenting in so many different ways, trying so many different things, it was really time to focus on what works the best and just doing that over and over again. A big part of that was right at the beginning, lowering the prices, raising driver pay. Just basic things, if we didn’t do it, we were going to be like you know, like 25% market share to 24% to 23%. It was just going to go the wrong direction. So that was sort of number one.

And then number two, as we start to operate with more excellence, as our pickup times get faster, what can we layer on top of that to create real differentiation? For example, we launched Women+ Connect, and it’s been really successful. If you look at the percentage of women drivers who are now applying versus a couple of months ago—23% of our driver population is women, but 30% of our new applicants are women.

What’s the advantage of Women+ Connect for Lyft?

At a very basic level, it’s that more women riders and drivers have better experiences, full stop. On the macro level, we get more drivers. And every time we’re getting a new driver on the platform, it means faster pickup times, which is a better experience for everyone. And on a societal level, all of a sudden, more women can actually participate in the workforce.

So the strategy is sort of do the basics and then start to layer on things like driver pay guarantee and Women+ Connect. So you can really give people a real reason to make the choice for Lyft, instead of just saying I’ll take an Uber.

You had to make some big layoffs when you came in. How has that affected morale?

I’ll make the problem even harder—not only did we have to do that, but I said to people, you know what, guys? I’m sorry, but we’re coming into the office three days a week. And I’m sorry, but we are going to reduce equity compensation—new grants are going to be smaller.

I try not to sound cliché, but its true. I lead with purpose. We want to be a customer-focused company. We want to be a company that brings people together— literally. I’m sure you’ve heard about the epic loneliness thing we’ve gone through. And we’re in a position literally, we’re like almost a physical interface between [our smartphones] and the real world.

In order for us to do that, we’re having to make some really difficult choices.

What does leading with purpose mean, exactly?

Leading with purpose is saying ”let’s just look at one social problem.” Vivek Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General, has written pages about the epic problem of loneliness in the United States and how the societal bonds that used to hold us together are broken. If you self-identify as lonely, it’s like smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. So it’s like, OK what do we do? We bring people together, we bring them to the restaurant, to the concert. So how can we figure out a way to do that better?

So leading with purpose is: we started with a big societal issue like loneliness, and saying how can we help people, at least if not exactly 100% overcome it—we’re not going to be the whole solution—at least be a force in the right direction.

Has that worked for you?

We do an employee survey every quarter, and one question was: do you trust senior management to be doing the right thing? It went from less than half of people saying yes last year to 67% this year.

Another really interesting thing is how many people participate in a survey like that. When I started, 65% were participating. This year, it was 85%. That tells me that as painful as it was, as difficult as it was, really focusing on really helping people clear away some of the noise and get things done is super satisfying.

In a post-pandemic era, though, people are less engaged with their jobs. I’d think they’d really push back about a return to office mandate.

To be philosophical, people—myself included—want a sense of meaning and connection to work. Just to be clear, I didn’t say we’re gonna roll the clock back to 2019. I didn’t say we’d come in five days a week.

I actually think people are best when they’re kind of together and popping in and sharing ideas and having dinner together and lunch or whatever it is, coming up with fun things for the whiteboard. That’s part of what forms a connection to a company, if the company has a sense of purpose beyond just maximizing value for shareholders.

We have to understand that the world is complicated and people have kids, or whatever it is. It sounds maybe a little bit utopian, but I think this is the best of all worlds that we got to.

You have full-time employees and then you have a bunch of gig workers. How do you make them feel part of the company and want them to come back to Lyft rather than Uber?

We have 4,000 employees. And then we have 1 million plus people who drive on the Lyft app, and they are all independent contractors. They are all deciding literally every single day whether to drive or not. How do you make them feel part of something?

You start with the basics. If you don’t feel fairly paid and recognized, nothing else is gonna work. So we decided to do this 70% earnings guarantee. And it literally is a guarantee. What I mean by that is, it’s a floor. Take what a rider pays, and after we take insurance and tolls—those fixed costs that we can’t do anything about—you will never get less than 70%. And if you do, you’ll get a check. And then you go from there. What are all the other things we can do for our drivers that are going to make a better experience?

Can you do that and be profitable?

We have to.

But you’re talking about paying people more when, arguably, the rideshare model doesn’t work because it’s just too expensive. Does paying drivers more mean riders will pay more too?

It’s just a question of how many riders can you convince that this is a good deal for them? It’s better than taking the subway, it’s better than taking their own private car. It’s less expensive than parking.

And just on the economic side—I’ll make these numbers up, because we haven’t revealed exactly—if we did 800 million rides this year, and every one of those rides on average gives us $1, that means as long as our fixed costs are lower than 800 million dollars a year, we are going to make money. And that literally is the business model. That’s why we were free cash flow positive last quarter. We’ve gotten our ride volume to the point where one covers the cost of the other. In a sense, it’s the simplest model in the world.

But that doesn’t account for equity compensation, right?

No, it doesn’t. The thing that we have to do, of course, is we have to make sure that both riders are taking more rides but also the drivers are driving on our platform more. And we have more driver hours now than we’ve ever had in the company’s history. Drivers are responding to the things we’re doing.

It seems like being customer obsessed and being employee obsessed can sometimes be at odds. How do you walk that line of putting the customer first while still making Lyft a good place to work?

That literally is what I do every day. I worked at Amazon for a long time, but I also ran a nonprofit for many years. In the nonprofit space, if you don’t lead with purpose, if you don’t make your employees feel super engaged, you will fail. It is that simple. Because these very same talented people can go across the street and make twice as much. And by the way, there is no equity compensation. There’s no such thing. So I think this is an area where I think to the surprise of the world, if you have to run a nonprofit for 13 to 14 years, the leading with purpose part and the trying to get employees to get to be engaged comes naturally. You do that and you do customer obsession, that’s what I hope differentiates Lyft.

There have been some efforts in some cities to mandate a minimum wage for drivers. What are your thoughts on that policy?

The short answer is, I am fine with the policy in theory. The only problem it really can cause is that drivers will make less money. This is what’s happening in Minneapolis. A well-meaning city council sets a minimum wage at $20 an hour, when drivers are making about $15 now. The problem then becomes, we can increase our rates to drivers but if riders take fewer rides, that drivers will make less money. We know every day, based on millions of data points, when you raise rates by $1, demand goes down. I’m anti-drivers making less.

I think it just relates to this existential fear of economies moving to gig work and how we can weather that. You’re probably in a really good position to see where we are in that transition. A couple of years ago, people thought that everything was going to be gig. Where do you think we are now? Are we at equilibrium or are more things transitioning?

I’ll say, the chance of everything moving to gig is 0%. On the individual level. Why do people choose gig? It really is a choice for many people. Maybe you lost your job and are looking for another full-time job, but in the meantime need money. Or you have other obligations in life and you drive in the time around them. Then there’s retirees who want money and to get out of the house.

Then there’s the full-time person—only like 6% treat this as a full-time job. Often by the way, they are immigrants. They don’t have a lot of options when it comes to jobs. Maybe their level of English isn’t super, but they’ve got something they can do.

The thing about the gig economy is it allows them to do it on their terms. Is that a good thing? I think it absolutely is, and there’s a reason why millions of people are doing it. Sometimes it’s the best choice they’ve got. If you talk to labor economists, they will tell you that from a macroeconomic perspective, it’s actually super healthy, because it allows people to dip in and out of the labor market.

The problem of course, and I understand people’s concern about this as well—if everything becomes gig, then people feel like they don’t have any protections. They’re always hustling. Let’s just say I don’t see a lot of evidence that that’s actually happening.

Analysts say that the ride-share market is a lot stronger than people anticipated it would be right now. How will a downturn in the economy affect Lyft?

The thing about these kind of marketplaces—two sided marketplaces—is that they’re flexible. If the economy gets a little bit worse here, maybe we will want to drop prices a little bit to drive additional volume. Maybe there will actually be more money made by drivers, because we will drop prices such that there’s actually more buying. That would be our goal.

I know the cost of insurance has gone up a lot and it keeps going up. Do you have a long-term plan for what you can do to offset that?

It’s a real issue. And it’s not just a ride-share issue. The most recent number I’ve seen is 18% year-on-year insurance inflation.

What is possible is we can give more and more data to drivers to help them make safer choices about how they drive. For example, giving feedback on harsh braking. That’s an indication that you’re probably driving too aggressively.

The Lyft Maps is a very sophisticated mapping system. And we can say, this is the route where you’re least likely to get in an accident because we’re going to avoid this intersection that tends to be high accident.

What are some ways you want to re-engage drivers and get more of them to drive for Lyft?

There is a huge opportunity for AI to make drivers’ lives better. So I drive for Lyft and I’ve been driving long enough to see it’s more complicated than you might think. Because you have things you have to do. You’ve chosen the gig economy because you want that flexibility. But you also have financial goals for yourself. You can do the math, you can say well, I’m gonna work here or here. But you know who else could do that? AI. You can say to AI, “here’s some parameters in my life, help me make some choices that are going to increase the likelihood that I meet my financial goals.”

Then there’s Women+ Connect. I think it’s going to be brand-defining over time and we continue to invest in it. We continue to recruit more and more women, our metrics go higher, higher, higher, and we keep getting feedback. And by the way, it turns out that women don’t tend to bug each other. So that’s really important for safety as well.

That’s the sort of stuff that, when other people start to say, “I love the fact you’re doing this and I kind of want to be part of it,” that’s a good sign, and same with important employees wanting to work on that feature.



source https://time.com/6971614/lyft-david-risher-interview/

2024年4月27日 星期六

Harvey Weinstein Hospitalized After His Return to New York City From Upstate Prison

Harvey Weinstein

NEW YORK — Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction.

Attorney Arthur Aidala said Weinstein was moved to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan after his arrival on Friday to city jails.

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“They examined him and sent him to Bellevue. It seems like he needs a lot of help, physically. He’s got a lot of problems. He’s getting all kinds of tests. He’s somewhat of a train wreck health wise,” Aidala said.

A message left with the hospital was not immediately returned Saturday.

Frank Dwyer, a spokesperson with the New York City Department of Correction, said only that Weinstein remains in custody at Bellevue. Thomas Mailey, a spokesperson for the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, said Weinstein was turned over to the city’s Department of Correction pursuant to the appeals ruling. Weinstein had been housed at the Mohawk Correctional Facility, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Albany.

On Thursday, the New York Court of Appeals vacated his conviction after concluding that a trial judge permitted jurors to see and hear too much evidence not directly related to the charges he faced. It also erased his 23-year prison sentence and ordered a retrial.

Prosecutors said they intend to retry him on charges that he forcibly performed oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006 and raped an aspiring actor in 2013.

Weinstein remained in custody after the appeals ruling because he was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape and was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

For some time, Weinstein has been ailing with a variety of afflictions, including cardiac issues, diabetes, sleep apnea and eye problems.

Aidala said he spoke to Weinstein on Friday afternoon after he was in transit to New York City from an upstate jail less than 24 hours after the appeals ruling, which was released Thursday morning.

He said his client’s ailments are physical, adding that mentally he is “sharp as a tack. Feet are firmly planted on the ground.”

The lawyer said it usually takes state corrections and prisons officials a week or two to arrange to transport a prisoner.

“He was not treated well. They refused to give him even a sip of water, no food, no bathroom break,” Aidala said. “He’s a 72-year-old sickly man.”

Mailey, the state corrections spokesperson, had no comment when Aidala’s remarks about Weinstein’s treatment were read to him over the phone.

Aidala said he was told that Bellevue doctors planned to run a lot of tests on Weinstein before he can be returned to the Rikers Island jail complex.

The lawyer said he’s scheduled to meet with Weinstein on Monday. He added that he plans to tell a judge when Weinstein goes to court on Wednesday in Manhattan that a retrial should occur after Labor Day.



source https://time.com/6971812/harvey-weinstein-hospitalized-new-york-city-jail-return/

Iraqi Authorities Investigate Killing of TikTok Star Shot Dead Outside Her Baghdad Home

IRAQ-INTERNET-JUSTICE-RIGHTS

BAGHDAD — Iraqi authorities on Saturday were investigating the killing of a well-known social media influencer, who was shot by an armed motorcyclist in front of her home in central Baghdad.

Ghufran Mahdi Sawadi, known as Um Fahad or “mother of Fahad,” was popular on the social media sites TikTok and Instagram, where she posted videos of herself dancing to music and was followed by tens of thousands of users.

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An Iraqi security official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the media, said that the assailant opened fire as Sawadi parked her Cadillac in front of her house on Friday, killing her, then took her phone and fled the scene.

The killing took place in Zayoona, the same neighborhood where a prominent Iraqi researcher and security expert Hisham al-Hashimi was gunned down in 2020. Before the U.S. invasion of 2003, the neighborhood was home to military leaders and considered a prestigious area in Baghdad. In recent years, many militia leaders have taken up residence there.

Sawadi isn’t the first prominent social media figure to be gunned down in central Baghdad. Last year, Noor Alsaffar or “Noor BM,” a transgender person with a large social media following, was also fatally shot in the city.

A neighbor of Sawadi who identified himself only by his nickname, Abu Adam or “father of Adam,” said he came out to the street after hearing two shots fired and saw “the car’s door open and she was lying on the steering wheel.”

“The woman who was with her (in the car) escaped, and security forces came and sealed off the entire area, and they took the victim’s body and towed her car,” he said.

In Iraq, the role of social media influencers has broadened from promoting beauty products and clothing to government projects and programs. Official government invitations classify these influencers as key business figures at sports, security and cultural gatherings.

Videos featuring a prominent influencer during the 93rd anniversary on Thursday of the Iraqi air force’s founding sparked a backlash, with many criticizing the Ministry of Defense for allowing them to record and publish videos from sensitive military sites. The ministry defended itself, saying that in the era of social media, like defense ministries worldwide, it uses influencers alongside traditional media to communicate with the public.

Last year, an Iraqi court sentenced Sawadi to six months in prison for posting several films and videos containing obscene statements and indecent public behavior on social media as part of a recent push by the Iraqi government to police morals.

Separately on Saturday, the Iraqi parliament passed an amendment to the country’s prostitution law — widely criticized by human rights groups — that would punish same-sex relations with a prison term ranging from 10 to 15 years. A previous version of the law would have imposed the death penalty.

The law also bans any organization that promotes “sexual deviancy,” imposing a sentence of at least seven years and a fine of no less than 10 million dinars (about $7,600).

The acting parliamentary speaker, Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, said in a statement that the vote was “a necessary step to protect the value structure of society” and to “protect our children from calls for moral depravity and homosexuality.”

Rasha Younes, a senior researcher with the LGBT Rights Program at Human Rights Watch, said the law’s passage “rubber-stamps Iraq’s appalling record of rights violations against LGBT people and is a serious blow to fundamental human rights, including the rights to freedom of expression and association, privacy, equality, and nondiscrimination.”

A report released by the organization in 2022 accused armed groups in Iraq of abducting, raping, torturing, and killing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people with impunity and the Iraqi government of failing to hold perpetrators accountable.



source https://time.com/6971797/iraqi-authorities-investigate-tiktok-star-om-fahad-killing/

Trump VP Contender Kristi Noem Faces Backlash After Admitting to Killing Her Dog

US-VOTE-POLITICS-TRUMP

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, a Republican and reported contender for Donald Trump’s Vice President pick in the 2024 election, has received pushback after admitting to killing her dog in her new memoir.

After obtaining a copy of No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward ahead of its publication next month, the Guardian reported that Noem wrote she shot dead Cricket, a 14-month-old dog she had intended to train for hunting pheasant, after the canine ruined a hunt, killed another family’s chickens, and moved to bite her.

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Noem said Cricket had an “aggressive personality” and was “untrainable,” per the Guardian’s report. Noem took Cricket on a pheasant hunt with older dogs to try to teach the canine, but Cricket went “out of her mind with excitement, chasing all those birds and having the time of her life.” 

She said she called Cricket, then used an electronic collar to try to control the dog. On the way home, Cricket escaped Noem’s truck and killed the chickens of a local family, who Noem compensated. The dog then “whipped around to bite me,” the politician wrote. 

After that, Noem said, “I realized I had to put her down.” She led Cricket to a gravel pit and shot and killed the dog. 

Noem also killed a male goat that she said was “nasty and mean,” smelled “disgusting, musky, rancid,” and “loved to chase” her children, knocking them down and ruining their clothes. She also killed the goat in the gravel pit, although it reportedly took two shots.

Noem said she told the story about Cricket to show that in politics and life, she was willing to do what was “difficult, messy, and ugly” if it was necessary.

The backlash from Democrats and conservatives alike has been swift. Rick Wilson, who co-founded the anti-Trump PAC The Lincoln Project, criticized on X, formerly Twitter, that Noem “killed a puppy because she was lazy at training bird dogs, not because it was a bad dog.” The Lincoln Project released an ad that said when tough moments come with pets, “shooting your dog in the face is not an option.”

Noem responded to the backlash on Friday in a post on X: “We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm. Sadly, we just had to put down 3 horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years.”

“If you want more real, honest, and politically INcorrect stories that’ll have the media gasping, preorder No Going Back,” she concluded, with a link to her book. 

With interest in Noem at an all-time high, here’s what you need to know about the U.S. politician. 

Who is Kristi Noem? 

Noem is the 33rd—and first female—governor of South Dakota, whose motto is “Under God, the People Rule.”

The 52-year-old was born in Watertown, S.D. She’s spoken about how she took on more responsibilities on her family’s farm after her father died in a farming accident. She attended Mount Marty College and Northern State University. She later graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from South Dakota State University in 2011, according to VoteSmart.

Noem is a rancher, farmer, small business owner, and published author, according to her official biography. She joined the South Dakota House of Representatives in 2007, where she served as assistant majority leader, and then the U.S. House of Representatives in 2011. She was elected as governor in 2018 and re-elected in 2022.

Kristi Noem’s husband, children, and grandchildren  

Noem is married to Bryon. His First Gentleman biography says he grew up on a farm near Bryant, S.D., graduated from Northern State University with a degree in business and finance, has operated an insurance agency, and coached basketball. The couple went to high school together and have jointly run a farm and ranch, opened an ice cream shop, and helped manage a family restaurant, according to their biographies.

They have three children—Kassidy, Kennedy, and Booker. Kassidy Peters is married and has two children, according to her X profile. Peters was a real estate appraiser, but turned in her license and dissolved her business in 2021, according to a letter she wrote. A report approved by South Dakota lawmakers in 2022 found that Peters got preferential treatment in her application to get the license, the Associated Press reported.

Her husband, Kyle Peters, is in local politics and was elected to the City Council of Watertown, S.D. last year. He previously worked for his mother-in-law in the Governor’s Office of Economic Development from 2019 to 2021, according to his LinkedIn and news reports.

Kennedy Frick is also married and works as an account executive for an oil and gas consulting firm, according to her LinkedIn. Frick worked for her mother in the Governor’s office from Jan. 2019 to Aug. 2020, when she left to get her masters in business administration, according to her LinkedIn and news reports.

Booker is currently listed on the website of Collision Ministries, a Christian student organization, as the Watertown Area Director. His biography says he previously attended a Christian training school in Hawaii and worked in a ministry in San Francisco.

What is Kristi Noem’s net worth? 

Noem’s precise net worth is unknown. OpenSecrets estimated her net worth at $2.3 million in 2017. ExactNetWorth.com pegged it at around $4.5 million in 2021.



source https://time.com/6971773/kristi-noem-memoir-dog-kill-children-net-worth/

2024年4月25日 星期四

Puerto Rico Is Voting for Its Future

2020 Puerto Rican general election

Puerto Rico is participating in the U.S. presidential primaries in late April: Republicans selected delegates for the Republican National Convention (RNC) on April 21, and Democrats hold their primaries a week later. While Puerto Ricans cannot vote in the general election despite being U.S. citizens, they do have the power to shape presidential contests. Puerto Rico will send 23 delegates to the RNC, while Democrats will have 56 delegates from Puerto Rico at the Democratic National Convention. This is more delegates than many states have at party conventions.

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This contest won’t affect the outcome of the primary—Donald Trump and Joe Biden will go head-to-head in November 2024. But voters will also have a chance this year to shake up the local political landscape in Puerto Rico—and its relationship to the United States. To understand what is shifting in Puerto Rico in the 2024 elections, we have to better understand the country’s history and its colonial relationship to the United States.   

Often referred as the world’s oldest colony, Puerto Rico’s history is marked by five centuries of colonialism, stretching to the Spanish conquest in 1493. The Spanish colonial system was sustained by labor exploitation, enslaved-labor, and fiscal policies that were detrimental to those living in Puerto Rico. After the Spanish-American War, the United States colonized Puerto Rico in 1898. The archipelago went from one imperial power to another.

Read More: How to Fix America’s Shambolic Elections

Following the U.S. occupation in Puerto Rico, there were debates among U.S. intellectuals, elected politicians, and journalists about the nature of Puerto Ricans, and whether they could ever be considered “Americans.” With much attention paid to the non-Anglo nature of the archipelago’s inhabitants, Puerto Ricans were characterized as inferior, alien, and too savage for self-government or annexation.  

After years of advocacy by different groups in Washington and the archipelago, the U.S. Congress passed the Jones-Shafroth Act in 1917, granting U.S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans, which gave them freedom of movement within the United States. Despite being U.S. citizens, however, Puerto Ricans in the archipelago were and remain unable to participate in presidential elections, underscoring the second-class nature of their citizenship.

At the dawn of America’s Cold War after World War II, Puerto Rico was put in a glass case to display the wonders of U.S. capitalism to nations across the globe that were pushed to pledge allegiance to either the Soviet Union or the United States. Meanwhile, Puerto Rican nationalists challenged U.S. colonialism through armed rebellion. Some, for example, organized an insurrection in the inland town of Jayuya in 1950, while two nationalists unsuccessfully attacked the Blair House in Washington, D.C.

With the push for decolonization in the recently-created United Nations as its backdrop, in 1952, after a Constitutional Assembly, Puerto Rico became a commonwealth of the United States and adopted its own constitution. Afterwards, the Partido Popular Democrático (Popular Democratic Party, or PPD) won every single election until 1968, when a new political party, the Partido Nuevo Progresista (New Progressive Party, or PNP), broke the electoral streak. These two parties have alternated power ever since, with the Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño (Pro-Independence Party, or PIP) acting as a minority party.

Read More: House Passes Bill That Would Allow Puerto Rico to Vote on Its Statehood or Independence

Since the establishment of the commonwealth, Puerto Ricans have continued to debate their relationship to the United States: Should they retain their status as a commonwealth, petition for inclusion as a U.S. state, or call for independence altogether? These questions came down to party lines as the PPD championed the commonwealth status and the PNP advocated for statehood.

Over the years, voters have gone to the polls for six plebiscites, or referendums, on the future of Puerto Rico and its relationship to the United States. These were all non-binding consultations as the U.S. Congress holds plenary power over Puerto Rico. The first plebiscite took place in 1967; five others followed in 1993, 1998, 2012, 2017, and 2020.

While voters affirmed some version of “commonwealth” status in the first four referendums, in 2017 voters chose statehood, although voter turnout was extremely low. Only 27% of eligible voters cast ballots, and this trend continued in the most recent plebiscite, which took place in 2020. While statehood clearly won the ballot, it did so with only 55% of eligible voters participating.

For many Puerto Ricans, these non-binding referendums are a seen as a waste of government resources. Congress is not required to act upon its results. Nothing has changed as a result of these six different consultations, and many people have abstained from voting in these symbolic exercises.

But recent events have prompted important changes in Puerto Rico’s political landscape. In the summer of 2019, mass protests arose when a Telegram Chat from Governor Ricardo Rosselló and his inner circle was leaked. The chat documented how the governor and his friends, whom he called “los brothers,” made homophobic, sexist, and racist jokes—even mocking those who died after 2017’s Hurricane María. The protests in the summer 2019 even led to Rosselló’s resignation.

Read More: How Puerto Rico Achieved the Highest Vaccination Rate in the U.S.—Without a Political Fight

Many people, including a younger generation that took part in the massive 2019 protests, feel that traditional political parties do not represent them. More importantly, some feel that traditional parties are directly responsible for creating the dire social and fiscal situation that Puerto Ricans have faced in the last two decades.  

In 2019, a coalition of progressive groups created a new political party known as the Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana (Citizens’ Victory Movement, or MVC). Unlike traditional parties, the MVC does not center Puerto Rico’s relationship to the U.S. and status as its main platform point. The MVC is composed of supporters of statehood, the commonwealth, and independence, transcending older dividing lines. Instead, the party focuses on fiscal reforms, social justice, and equity.

The MVC surprised many people in the 2020 elections after earning 14% of the vote and electing two senators and two representatives to the Puerto Rican legislature. Similarly, the Pro-Independence Party, which has always struggled to garner votes, attained 14% as well. The popularity of MVC and the re-emergence of the PIP—like the rise of a far-right religious fundamentalist party Proyecto Dignidad (Dignity Project)—indicates that Puerto Ricans are looking for new alternatives not found in the traditional political parties.

The MVC recently announced an electoral alliance with the Pro-Independence Party (PIP) for the 2024 elections. If successful, they would end the PNP and the PPD’s seven decades of bipartisanship.  

The traditional parties have overlooked their differences to challenge the MVC-PIP alliance, taking legal action to seek to delegitimize and exclude the alliance’s candidates from the electoral process. They succeeded in decertifying some key MVC candidates like Senator Ana Irma Rivera Lassen, who is running for the position of Resident Commissioner in Washington, D.C.

Yet the MVC-PIP’s messages have enduring appeal. In recent years Puerto Ricans have faced a fiscal crisis that affected salaries and the price of goods, and stagnated the economy. There are electrical outages on an almost daily basis. Soaring poverty—particularly affecting children—makes life in Puerto Rico difficult, triggering the migration of Puerto Ricans to the United States and abroad.

Many attribute these challenges to the relationship between Puerto Rico and the U.S. One of MVC’s most important platform points involves the creation of a new constitutional assembly, which could redefine the future of Puerto Rico’s political status and bring an end to more than five centuries of colonialism. Such an assembly would provide Puerto Ricans with the opportunity to decide for themselves what the future of Puerto Rico looks like, freed from the constraints of the visions advanced by the traditional political parties.

If the MVC-PIP alliance increases its vote share in the 2024 elections, changes may be on the horizon. Perhaps they are already here; as these electoral processes take place, Puerto Ricans are not passively standing by. There are countless grassroots groups that are already enacting, imagining, and living the future they so desire in the present. They are also working towards the decolonization of the country. Many groups, such as La Colectiva Feminista en Construcción, Urbe a Pie, and La Sombrilla Cuir predate the protest movement and do not focus on electoral politics. They have instead concentrated on transforming the conditions and everyday lives of Puerto Ricans. It was grassroots organizing that amplified the 2019 protests and that have provided the energy for the creation of these new political parties.

Regardless of what route is chosen, the future of Puerto Rico must be decided by those in the archipelago in conversation with members of the Puerto Rican diaspora. Perhaps a constitutional assembly could provide that path.

Jorell Meléndez-Badillo is Assistant Professor of Latin American and Caribbean History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his most recent book is Puerto Rico: A National History (Princeton University Press, 2024), also published in Spanish as Puerto Rico: Historia de una nación by Grupo Planeta USA.

Made by History takes readers beyond the headlines with articles written and edited by professional historians. Learn more about Made by History at TIME here. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of TIME editors.



source https://time.com/6969980/puerto-rico-voting-future/

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