SYRIA UPDATE

2nd Syrian Media Festival launched in presence of Arab media delegations

2nd Syrian Media Festival was launched on Monday under the title of “Victory Tale” in the Damascus-based Opera house in presence of Arab media delegations. Activities of the Festival include screening a film titled “Victory Tale” and a media forum on the resilience of the Syrian media throughout the years of war as well as the important role of journalists in facing the fabrication of the misleading channels supported and financed by several countries, in addition to honoring the winning works within the competition of the Festival.

https://www.sana.sy/en/?p=147524

Army tightens grip on Daesh in Sweida desert, kills snipers

SANA’s reporter in Sweida said that army units continued their military operation in the rocky cliffs area, regaining control over new areas after fierce clashes with Daesh terrorists and killing scores of them, including snipers.

https://www.sana.sy/en/?p=147546

Syrian War Report – September 24, 2018: Rift Grows Among Militant Groups In Idlib

The NLF is the second notable militant group, which supported the agreement. On September 20, Jaysh al-Izza made a similar move.

Another part of Idlib militants is not hurrying up to accept an idea of the 15-20km demilitarized zone, which is set to be established between the militant-held and government-held parts of Idlib by October 15. Al-Qaeda-affiliated Horas al-Din said in an official statement that it officially rejects the agreement describing it as a “conspiracy”. Horas al-Din, which was established on February 27, 2018 from 7 al-Qaeda affiliated groups, is one of the most influential factions in Idlib, alongside with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda). While multiple media activists and outlets linked to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham have criticized the demilitarization zone deal, the group is yet to release an official statement on this issue – most likely because negotiations between the group and Turkish special services are still ongoing behind the scenes.

https://southfront.org/syrian-war-report-september-24-2018-rift-grows-among-militant-groups-in-idlib/

YPG Kills Seven Turkish-Backed Militants, Destroys Battle Tank In Series Of Attacks In Afrin

On September 23, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) announced that its cells killed seven fighters of the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) in a series of special operations in the northern region of Afrin between September 19 and 21

https://southfront.org/ypg-kills-seven-turkish-backed-militants-destroys-battle-tank-in-series-of-attacks-in-afrin-videos/

Liberman Threatened That Israel To Destroy S-300 Systems If Syria Employs Them. What Now?

He claimed that Israel will destroy Russian-supplied S-300 air defense systems if Syria employs them against Israeli jets.

“One thing needs to be clear: If someone shoots at our planes, we will destroy them. It doesn’t matter if it’s an S-300 or an S-700,” he said.

https://southfront.org/liberman-israel-to-destroy-s-300-systems-if-syria-employs-them/

Syria to participate in 73rd session of UN General Assembly

The Syrian Arab Republic is due to participate in the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, which will begin on Tuesday. Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign and Expatriates Minister Walid Al-Moallem will head the Syrian delegation.

https://www.sana.sy/en/?p=147537

Patriarch Absi: We pray for peace in Syria and the Middle East

Patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church Joseph Absi called for promoting efforts to achieve a comprehensive peace in the Middle East region and maintain security and stability in it. “We pray for peace in Syria and for the world peace in general and peace in the Middle East, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt and Palestine,” the Patriarch said.

https://www.sana.sy/en/?p=147533

If Women Should Be Believed, Should We Believe Nancy Pelosi's Brother Was a Rapist?

Should we believe all women who accuse men of rape?

Flashback to the New York Times December 12, 1953 page 16. The subject is Nancy Pelosi's brother Franklin D. Roosevelt D'Alesandro. (Sorry no link on this one.)

Baltimore,Dec.11(UP)- A Baltimore city grand jury recommended today that Franklin D. Roosevelt D'Alesandro, son of Baltimore's Mayor, be prosecuted for lying during his recent rape trial. The grand jury also recommended that an indictment be drawn against James Pollack, long-time Democratic political leader, for trying to obstruct justice during the trial in which the youth won acquittal. The grand jury made its recommendations in which presentments, which in this state precede the issuance of indictments. D'Alesandro, 20-year-old son of Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro, was charged, with more than a dozen other youths, of moral charges in two girls, ages 11 and 13.

https://nalert.blogspot.com/2018/01/if-women-should-be-believed-should-we.html

9-11 as Trauma Brainwashing

Events like the holocaust, Hiroshima, Pearl Harbor and 9-11 are used to trauma brainwash

society and change the direction of history.

It takes a traumatic event to change the course

of history.

In an article entitled "Why Hiroshima was Bombed", William Jones makes a convincing case that Japan was ready to surrender before the US dropped two nuclear bombs killing over 300,000 people.

Jones argues that in reality the bombs were dropped to alter the world's mental state.

The power of this new weapon had to be demonstrated in a devastating manner, to convince all nations to accept the straitjacket of "world government," he writes.

Mind control works by subjecting the victim to intense trauma (sexual abuse, electroshock, the torture or murder of others), which causes the mind to disassociate and splinter into multiple "alter" personalities. These are individually programmed to perform specific tasks.

https://www.henrymakow.com/060103.html

Ford adviser allegedly said in July that a ‘strategy’ would ’emerge’ to defeat Kavanaugh nomination

Ricki Seidman — who was involved in Anita Hill’s 1991 sexual harassment testimony against Clarence Thomas prior to his Supreme Court confirmation and is now advising Christine Blasey Ford regarding her sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh — allegedly said in July that a “strategy” would “emerge” in the ensuing days and weeks to defeat Kavanaugh.

Seidman made the statement in a conference call with the American Constitution Society, BizPac Review said.

“I do think that over the coming days and weeks there will be a strategy that will emerge, and I think it’s possible that that strategy might ultimately defeat the nominee,” Seidman allegedly said in an audio recording. “And whether or not it ultimately defeats the nominee, it will, I think, help people understand why it’s so important that they vote and the deeper principles that are involved in it.”

The audio was posted to YouTube by the GOP War Room — the “official account for the Republican National Committee’s War Room” that focuses on “Democrats’ scandals and hypocrisy, media commentary, and [President Donald] Trump’s accomplishments.”

Neither Seidman nor the American Constitution Society immediately replied Monday to TheBlaze’s requests for comment on the audio.

Exactly what “strategy” might be used to derail Kavanaugh’s nomination isn’t noted in the audio, but Seidman allegedly added that “as the strategy becomes clearer” it should “partly be, beyond Kavanaugh … what we want the court to be, what the court is supposed to be under the Constitution, and what putting Kavanaugh on the court means for the institution.”

Here’s the audio. The relevant portion begins around the 3:20 mark:

Timing of “strategy” statement

The date of the conference call isn’t clear, but there is a reference at the 4:45 mark in the audio to “anyone who read Akhil Amar’s op-ed in the New York Times today.” That piece, in which the Yale Law School professor backs Kavanaugh for a spot on the high court, was published July 9 — the same day Trump announced his nomination.

Ford’s letter to Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) regarding her allegations against Kavanaugh was dated July 30.

Politico reported Friday on Seidman advising Ford, noting that the Democratic operative said, “I believe her, and I think she’s very courageous for coming this far.”

What else is in Seidman’s background?

Seidman’s bio for TSD Communications, where she’s a senior principal, says she “took a leave of absence in 2008 to work for President [Barack] Obama’s general election campaign, serving as Vice President Joe Biden’s communications director. In the spring and summer of 2009, she assisted the White House in the successful confirmation effort for President Obama’s first nominee to the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor.”

Her bio added that she has “held several senior White House positions during the Clinton Administration, including White House Deputy Communications Director, Counselor to the Chief of Staff, and Director of Scheduling and Advance for the President; and she subsequently served as Deputy Associate Attorney General in the Department of Justice. She headed the 1992 Clinton-Gore campaign’s ‘War Room,’ and directed a similar effort for the successful passage of the Clinton economic plan in 1993.”

Politico added that Republicans viewed the revelation that Seidman is advising Ford as an indication that Democrats are attempting to ramp up her accusation to kill the Kavanaugh confirmation.

“This feels more like a Democratic super PAC than a legal effort to get at the truth,” a senior Republican official told the outlet regarding Seidman’s role with Ford.

“If you’re concerned about an appearance of partisanship, hiring a Democratic operative with a history of smearing conservative judges doesn’t exactly mitigate that,” Cassie Smedile, press secretary for the Republican National Committee, added to Politico.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/2018/09/24/ford-adviser-allegedly-said-in-july-that-a-strategy-would-emerge-to-defeat-kavanaugh-nomination

Agents Apprehend 2,000 Migrants in 3 Days at Single Border Crossing

Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector apprehended more than 2,000 migrants during a three-day period at a tiny area known for illegal border crossing. The groups consisted mainly of migrant families and unaccompanied children from Central America.

McAllen Station agents are being inundated with migrant families and unaccompanied minors illegally crossing the border from Mexico. Once across the border, the migrants turn themselves in to the first Border Patrol agents they can find, according to information provided to Breitbart Texas from Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol officials.

“The continued flow of migrants turning themselves in to Border Patrol agents is creating an unsustainable situation,” Rio Grande Valley Sector Chief Patrol Agent Manuel Padilla, Jr. said in a written statement. “The transnational criminal organizations exploit family units and unaccompanied children populations and create diversions for agents, leaving areas along the Rio Grande vulnerable.”

During a three-day period, McAllen Station agents apprehended more than 2,000 migrants in an area along the border known as Rincon Village. The area has long been known as a staging area where Mexican cartels cross the migrants who will then surrender to Border Patrol agents.

“A majority of apprehensions are occurring near Granjeno, just south of Mission, in what’s become a staging area dubbed ‘Rincon Village,’ where illegal immigrants of all ages turn themselves in to agents. The area is well known and has become a gateway for human smuggling,” Chief Padilla explained.

Sector officials previously told Breitbart Texas that cartels exploit these families and the unaccompanied children in order to tie up Border Patrol agents. While the agents are occupied with processing the migrants, cartels will move other migrant groups who seek to avoid apprehension or drug shipments across other border regions.

There is no physical barrier in this segment of the U.S.-Mexico border.

https://www.breitbart.com/texas/2018/09/22/agents-apprehend-2000-migrants-in-3-days-at-single-border-crossing/

Trump Already Appointed 26 Appeals Court Justices, Obama Only Appointed 55

So in just two years Trump has appointed half as many as Obama did in 8 years. Soon all the Appeals courts will be conservative and together with a conservative Supreme Court Republicans will rule FOR GENERATIONS, no matter how many Democrats get elected. Also, the Republicans are breaking up the ultra liberal 9th circuit into several that will allow Trump to make conservative appointments that will destroy the leftist 9th circuit FOREVER!

www.kitco.com/news/2018-09-20/Tru…ities.html

www.adn.com/politics/2018/08/01/…attention/

http://www.investmentwatchblog.com/trump-already-appointed-26-appeals-court-justices-obama-only-appointed-55/

DEVELOPING: McConnell Blasts Democrats From Senate Floor Over “Orchestrated Hit” – Says Kavanaugh WILL BE VOTED ON

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) blasted Democrats and their 11th hour “me too” ambush from the Senate floor Monday afternoon.

McConnell said the resistance has become a smear campaign aided and abetted by members of the U.S. Senate.

Senator McConnell also said that Kavanaugh will be voted on the Senate Floor–up or down on the Senate floor.

FOX News Shannon Bream reported: McConnell says: This is what the so-called resistance has become, a smear campaign plain and simple – aided and abetted by members of the United States Senate.

The New Yorker rolled out a Kavanaugh smear Sunday evening with a second woman making uncorroborated claims Judge Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a Yale party decades ago.

The 53-year-old accuser Deborah Ramirez told the New Yorker that she was initially hesitant to speak out because she was drunk at the time and her memory had gaps. She spent six days “carefully assessing her memories” and consulting with her attorney before going public.

The two male students who were allegedly at the party, the wife of another male student, and three other Yale classmates all tell Ronan Farrow that there is no way Kavanaugh assaulted Ramirez.

The New Yorker ran with the story anyway.

The first accuser, Christine Ford made an uncorroborated claim that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her decades ago at a drunken high school pool party that no one else, including the four people she claims were at the party, remembers.

Kavanaugh has categorically denied both allegations as vicious smears.

Dianne Feinstein sat on the letter Christine Ford delivered to Senate Democrats for several weeks only to have it leaked to the media at the 11th hour to create a firestorm in an effort to derail Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/09/developing-mcconnell-blasts-democrats-from-senate-floor-over-orchestrated-hit-says-kavanaugh-will-be-voted-on/

ALT HEADLINE: Breaking McConnell finds balls!

22 Arrested for Links to Attack on Military Parade - Iranian Intel Ministry

Iran's Intelligence Ministry announced on Monday that authorities have apprehended nearly two dozen in connection to the deadly attack on an Iranian military parade on Saturday which left 25 dead and 53 wounded.

"Some 22 people involved in the attack in Ahvaz have been identified and arrested… weapons, exclusive material and communication equipment were seized in the house that belonged to the five-member terrorist group that carried out the attack," a statement from the intelligence agency said, according to Tasnim News Agency.

The military reportedly vowed a "deadly and unforgettable" response to the terrorist attack which was conducted in the southern city of Ahvaz during an annual military parade.

Twelve members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) were reportedly killed after the terrorists opened fire. Children and journalists were also among the casualties, according to Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. "Terrorists recruited, trained, armed & paid by a foreign regime have attacked Ahvaz," he wrote. "Iran holds regional terror sponsors and their US masters accountable for such attacks. Iran will respond swiftly and decisively in defense of Iranian lives."

IRGC Lieutenant Commander Brigadier General Hossein Salami blamed Israel, the United States, and Saudi Arabia for the attack at a Saturday funeral for the victims. He promised that Iran would have a "devastating" response to the attackers and their sponsors.

On Monday, US Defense Secretary James "Mad Dog" Mattis said he was not concerned with Iran's threat of revenge, adding that the suggestion the US had anything to do with the attack "ludicrous."

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201809241068297399-Arrested-IRGC-Attack-Intel-Ministry/

BITCH FIGHT??

Drama Breaks Out Between Axios, Vanity Fair Over Rosenstein "Resignation" Story

Following Monday's rollercoaster over whether Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had resigned, drama has broken out between Axios' Jonathan Swan - who broke the story, and Vanity Fair's Gabe Sherman - thanks to pot-stirrer in Chief, NBC political reporter Mike Memoli - who tweeted an article by Sherman suggesting Swan got played by White House insiders to distract from the Kavanaugh accusations.

"According to a source briefed on Trump’s thinking, Trump decided that firing Rosenstein would knock Kavanaugh out of the news, potentially saving his nomination and Republicans’ chances for keeping the Senate," wrote Sherman, citing "a source briefed on Trump's thinking."

Swan swiftly responded: "This is such disgraceful bullshit. @gabrielsherman should be ashamed of himself and should stop doing stenography for Steve Bannon. Rosenstein offered his resignation to Kelly. We wrote “verbally resigned.” Justice Dept isn’t denying he offered his resignation."

After several hours of mixed messages and rapidly changing headlines, the White House finally weighed in on the Rosenstein "is he in or out" controversy, with Sarah Huckabee Sanders stating that Rosenstein will meet with Trump on Thursday.

***

A source told Reuters that Rosenstein had spent the weekend contemplating whether he should resign after a shocking New York Times report last week said he had suggested secretly recording Trump in 2017 and invoking a constitutional amendment to remove him from office.

The White House announced the meeting on Monday after a flurry of conflicting reports about whether Rosenstein, a frequent target of Trump’s anger, would be leaving the post.

"At the request of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, he and President Trump had an extended conversation to discuss the recent news stories," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said on Twitter. "Because the President is at the United Nations General Assembly and has a full schedule with leaders from around the world, they will meet on Thursday when the President returns to Washington, DC."

She said the meeting will be on Thursday because Trump was at the U.N. General Assembly on Monday and has meetings with world leaders later in the week.

Hinting at his next steps, shortly after the Times story, Trump told supporters at a rally in Missouri that there is “a lingering stench” at the Justice Department and that “we’re going to get rid of that, too.”

Rosenstein’s departure would prompt questions about the future of Mueller’s investigation and whether Trump, who has called the probe a “witch hunt,” would seek to remove Mueller.

If Rosenstein does resign, Trump has more leeway on replacing him while firing him would make it harder for Trump to designate a successor, as Bloomberg explained here.

Rosenstein’s future ignited a series of conflicting reports on Monday, with the Axios news website cited an unidentified source with knowledge of the matter as saying he had verbally resigned to White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. Other reports said Rosenstein expected to be fired while NBC News reported Rosenstein said he would not resign and the White House would have to fire him.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-09-24/drama-breaks-out-between-axios-vanity-fair-fair-over-rosenstein-resignation-story

THIS IS GOING TO BE AN INTERESTING WEEK FOR MSM

M.E.G.A

MAKE EARTH GREAT AGAIN

WW

WWG1WGA

Godspeed!

Critics condemn New Yorker over uncorroborated Kavanaugh story: 'Lazy at best, slimy at worst'

The New Yorker's sketchy report that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh may have exposed himself to a college classmate decades ago has media critics asking if the prestigious magazine cares more about getting a story or getting it right.

The article, headlined “Senate Democrats Investigate a New Allegation of Sexual Misconduct, from the Brett Kavanaugh’s College Years,” was co-bylined by Pulitzer Prize winner Ronan Farrow and Jane Mayer. It details a claim by Debbie Ramirez, who said Kavanaugh sexually harassed her during a Yale University party.

Yet, beneath the story's explosive thesis lie substantive seeds of doubt and a complete lack of corroboration that prompted howling from a chorus of media critics.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/09/24/critics-condemn-new-yorker-over-uncorroborated-kavanaugh-story-lazy-at-best-slimy-at-worst.html

“All of these New Yorker stories about Kavanaugh seem as if they're Mayer stories that Farrow was added to for credibility. Because they're not up to his standard sourcing. Hell, they're not really even sourced,” Erickson wrote.

Washington Examiner chief political correspondent Byron York sarcastically noted that the latest allegation “has it all.”

“Accuser was drunk. ’Significant gaps' in her memory, recovered recently with help of lawyer. Memories fuzzy all 'round. Some say never happened. Accuser 'never described incident until Brett's SCOTUS nomination,’” York wrote.

While many of the piece’s critics are conservative pundits, several mainstream media members have also questioned the report. “CBS This Morning” co-host Gayle King asked Mayer if she was ok knowing that Ramirez admitted that she had gaps in her memory from the night in question.

“The story is very transparent about what she does and doesn’t remember,” Mayer insisted.

The CBS morning show further pressed Mayer, and Fox News contributor Stephen Miller called the exchange “embarrassing” after co-host Norah O’Donnell tweeted a clip.

The New York Times wasn’t as comfortable as Mayer, Farrow and The New Yorker – admitting it couldn't find anyone with firsthand knowledge of the claim.

“The Times had interviewed several dozen people over the past week in an attempt to corroborate her story, and could find no one with firsthand knowledge," the Times wrote in a story that followed the New Yorker report. "Ms. Ramirez herself contacted former Yale classmates asking if they recalled the incident and told some of them that she could not be certain Mr. Kavanaugh was the one who exposed himself.”

“So it was too shaky for the New York Times, but The New Yorker went with it. Very telling,” Fox News’ Britt Hume wrote.

Pundit Steve Cortes wrote that the “sham” story “couldn't even meet the low standards” of the Times.

Despite all the criticism the story has received, Farrow and Mayer spent Monday morning defending their work with a variety of media appearances.

THE PLAN IS AWESOME

WALSH: Dear Republicans, Stop Being Cowards And Confirm Kavanaugh

To paraphrase Benjamin Franklin: nothing in this life is certain, except death and taxes and the cowardice of Republicans.

Indeed, this whole Kavanaugh circus could have been avoided from the start, if not for GOP cowardice. President Trump was advised to nominate Brett Kavanaugh rather than Amy Barrett because Republicans were concerned that Barrett's social conservatism might upset Democrats. Of course, Democrats have no power, so it doesn't matter what upsets them. Yet Republicans still decided to go with a milder figure in hopes of avoiding any nasty altercations with the powerless opposition party.

What they don't understand, somehow, is that Democrats will be nasty no matter what. They will treat every Republican measure, legislation, or appointment, as the end of human civilization. They are permanently stuck on the DEFCON 1 setting. So, if they're going to panic regardless, you might as well give them something to panic about. And, as I said, it doesn't matter if they panic. Republicans have the power to shove whatever they want down the Democrats' throats. But they are too scared to use that power. They compromise even when there is no reason to compromise, and even though the other side will not accept anything but complete surrender.

That's what brought us to the current Brett Kavanaugh debacle. Republican cowardice made it all possible, and Republican cowardice has sustained it. Leftists complain that GOP leadership has been "bullying" Kavanaugh accuser Christine Ford, but the truth, as usual, is the opposite. Republicans spent the past week groveling at her feet, making concession after concession, begging her to come to DC and tell her unsubstantiated, uncorroborated story on national television. But the back and forth was in bad faith. Democrats were simply stalling as they rooted through Kavanaugh's closet for any skeleton, real or imagined, they could find. Republicans generously gave them the space and time to conduct the search. Now, predictably, they have come out with a second skeleton, with rumors of a third on the horizon.

Republicans could put an end to this at any time. All they have to do is confirm Kavanaugh. They could have confirmed him last week. They could confirm him today. There is nothing to be gained by waiting, unless the continued character assassination of Brett Kavanaugh is a gain. And it is a gain — for Democrats. It's a gain not only because it destroys this particular Supreme Court nominee, but also because it serves as a warning to other conservative judges. Democrats are severing Kavanaugh's head, putting it on a spike, and saying, "This is what happens when you try to get on the Supreme Court." And Republicans are allowing them to do this.

A party with no power is manhandling, bullying, and intimidating the party that currently owns the legislative and executive branches. To call this mere cowardice is an understatement. I'm not sure if there is a word that accurately captures the craven, shrinking gutlessness of a Republican party that huddles submissively in the corner while liberals incinerate a Supreme Court nominee and toss his ashes in the air like confetti.

Do you know what Democrats would do in this situation? Do you know how they'd respond if they controlled Congress and it was their Supreme Court nominee being slandered? They would flip a middle finger to the Republicans and confirm him without hesitation. They would say, "Don't like it? Try and stop us. Oh, you can't stop us. Well, too bad. Deal with it, suckers." And Republicans would cry and stomp their feet, and conservative talk show hosts would be sent into spittle-flecked rage, and conservatives everywhere would complain about how unfair it all is, and Democrats would just laugh. They wouldn't care how we feel. They got their guy on the Supreme Court. That's all that would matter to them. They would see the hysterics and the outrage as entirely irrelevant. And they would be absolutely right.

It's time for Republicans to take a page from the Democrat playbook. The play is very simple. It's called "Use The Power You Have Been Given." It works every time because there is no way for the opponent to stop it. You have the ball and they aren't on the field. All you have to do is run to the end zone. But Republicans are afraid that it may hurt the other side's feelings if they score a touchdown, so they run in circles and wait for the clock to expire.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/36247/walsh-dear-republicans-stop-being-cowards-and-matt-walsh

>>3168272 22 Arrested for Links to Attack on Military Parade - Iranian Intel Ministry

>>3168034 Should We Believe Nancy Pelosi's Brother Was a Rapist?

>>3168132 Agents Apprehend 2,000 Migrants in 3 Days at Single Border Crossing

>>3168499

ICE HSI Ho Chi Minh City participates in destruction of 13 tons of seized counterfeit items

On Monday, Sept. 3, 2018, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, joined with Vietnam Customs Anti-Smuggling and Investigation Department (ASID) and multiple brand representatives to witness the destruction of 13.2 tons of counterfeit items which had previously been seized by Vietnamese authorities at ports of entry. The items included counterfeit footwear, garments, handbags and mobile phone accessories.

The destruction – which marked the first time Vietnam has invited U.S. government representatives in Ho Chi Minh City to attend such an event – came on the heels of a visit to Vietnam by White House Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator Vishal Amin and HSI Global Trade Investigations Assistant Director Alex Khu. During their time in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, IPEC Amin and Assistant Director Khu emphasized to senior Vietnamese officials the critical importance of collaboration between the two nations in enforcing intellectual property laws.

“Vigorous enforcement of intellectual property rights contributes to the economic growth of Vietnam and the United States,” said HSI Vietnam’s Country Attaché. “Our shared commitment to bilateral law enforcement cooperation against counterfeit and infringing products supports a business and investment climate in which innovation and entrepreneurship can thrive.”

https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-hsi-ho-chi-minh-city-participates-destruction-13-tons-seized-counterfeit-items

UN-friendly meeting? What to expect from Trump’s 2018 United Nations speech

Looking ahead to this week’s UN General Assembly, Trump said “a lot of good things” can occur there. Can they? Well, you may not be so sure if you look at what’s happened since his bellicose UN address last year.

“We’re going to make a speech, have many meetings, a lot of good things can happen,” the American president said in a newly released video, as he geared up for the upcoming UN General Assembly meeting in New York. His words may sound promising, but are they realistic?

Many will remember that, when Trump made his debut at the United Nations a year ago, he lambasted “criminal dictatorships” around the world, pushed for his ‘America First’ policy, and vowed to destroy North Korea (he changed his mind when he met ‘Dear Leader’ Kim this summer).

Since Trump’s inaugural UN speech, he has quit the hard-earned 2015 Iran nuclear deal, walked out of the UN Human Rights Council, and alienated some of the US’ closest allies in the G7. The gap between America and its transatlantic friends became so wide that the German foreign minister even complained that they learned of some White House decisions on Twitter.

To get the bigger picture on this troubling year in Trump’s foreign policy, watch a dispatch by RT’s Igor Zhdanov.

https://www.rt.com/news/439187-trump-un-meeting-expectations/