Refugees name their newborn baby ‘Justin Trudeau’ and it’s so cute

Muhammad and Afraa Bilan arrived as refugees in Montreal with their daughter Naya, 4, and son Nael, 3, after fleeing from Damascus. 

…The couple felt they had to pay homage to the man who helped them escape Syria through his refugee initiative. 

So, when she gave birth to their first Canadian[-born] son, Afraa and Muhammad decided to call him after the Canadian prime minister.

Refugees name their newborn baby ‘Justin Trudeau’ and it’s so cute

Betcha there aren’t too many Syrians naming their babies Donald the Cheeto or Maggie Hassan….

Trump will “not to terminate NAFTA” 

Trump told the leaders of Canada and Mexico Wednesday he was not immediately planning to end the North American Free Trade Agreement, a pact which he railed against as a candidate and as recently as last week declared was harmful to US workers.

…During his run for office last year, Trump made his disdain for NAFTA a central component of a populist message designed to engender support among working class Americans. He consistently cast the agreement — which was negotiated by President Bill Clinton, the husband of Trump’s presidential opponent Hillary Clinton — as a raw deal for the middle class.

…Nonpartisan congressional research found in 2015 that NAFTA isn’t responsible for an exodus of jobs south of the border, nor for a big jobs boom in the US. Researchers concluded the deal has had a minor impact on the US economy.

Still, about 14 million US jobs depend on trade with Mexico and Canada, according to the US Chamber of Commerce.

Trump agrees “not to terminate NAFTA at this time”, will negotiate – CNNPolitics.com

hmmmm

Cherokee Nation Sues Walmart, Drug Companies Over Opioids 

The Cherokee Nation filed suit against CVS, Walmart and others on April 20 declaring an “opioid epidemic of unprecedented proportions’ in Indian country.

…By ignoring red flags and refusing to monitor the supply chain, contributing to what is known as “drug diversion,” the suit alleges that the effects of opioid addiction has had a devastating human toll on the tribe’s citizens and crushing impact on its resources.

Cherokee Nation Sues Walmart, Drug Companies Over Opioids – Indian Country Media Network

hmmm

In an Unprecedented No-Show, the U.S. Pulls Out of Planned Human Rights Hearing

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is meeting in Washington, D.C., for a regular session covering human rights issues spanning North and South America. The hearings today are scheduled to cover the Trump administration’s attempt to ban immigration from six predominantly Muslim countries, its immigration enforcement and detention policies, and its approval of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

…The U.S. has long been a champion of the work of the commission. While it has no enforcement mechanisms, its mandate is to promote human rights and examine violations in all OAS member states. The IACHR is often the only venue where victims of egregious human rights violations can seek a measure of recourse in the absence of accountability in their own countries.

…The Trump administration’s refusal to engage with an independent human rights body, which has played a historic role in fighting impunity and barbaric military dictatorships in the region, sets a dangerous precedent that mirrors the behavior of authoritarian regimes and will only serve to embolden them. It is a worrying sign that the administration, which has also said it would review future engagement with the U.N. Human Rights Council, is not only launching an assault on human rights at home. Rather it’s upping the ante and weakening the institutions that hold abusive governments accountable. 

In an Unprecedented No-Show, the U.S. Pulls Out of Planned Human Rights Hearing | American Civil Liberties Union

hmmm

Unsweetened: Mexico cancels sugar export permits to U.S. because there’s no one to negotiate with 

Staff positions across the U.S. government remain unfilled. This has created a difficult situation for Mexican officials who have sought to resolve a legal issue with the U.S. Department of Commerce.

As of March 1, Trump had filled barely half of the positions for which he is in charge of staffing

Unsweetened: Mexico cancels sugar export permits to U.S. because there’s no one to negotiate with – Salon.com

Incompetent morons with absolutely zero desire to perform the job they begged and bullied the people of the United States for.