President Trump and Putin Discuss For Two Hours in Helsinki – Restored Their Trust

“Our relationship has never been worse than it is now,” said the US President Donald Trump. “However, that changed as of about four hours ago. I really believe that.” President Trump was speaking at the press conference in the Presidential Palace in Helsinki after talking with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, for two hours late on Monday afternoon. The presidents exchanged thoughts about nuclear weapons, Russia’s supposed interference in the US elections, Syria, terrorism—many, if not all, hot topics in foreign politics recently. According to Putin, the meeting marked the first steps to restore “an acceptable level of trust and go back to previous level of interaction on all mutual interest issues.”

About Russia’s interference in the US elections in 2016 Trump said: “I addressed directly [the question of] Russian interference in our elections. We spent a great deal of time talking about it. Putin feels strongly about the issue and has an interesting idea.” Putin responded: “[Trump] touched upon the theme of Russia’s so-called meddling [in the 2016 U.S. election]. I had to repeat what I’ve said before, that the Russian state has never interfered and has no intention to interfere.”

About Syria Trump said: “We also discussed at length the crisis in Syria. Co-operation between our countries has the potential to save hundreds of thousands of lives. Putin said: “As far as Syria is concerned the task of establishing peace and reconciliation in this country could be the first showcase example of successful joint work.”

About terrorism Trump said: “We also discussed the scourge of radical Islamic terrorism that Russia and the United States have suffered. We will maintain open communication between our security agencies to fight this global menace.” Putin said: “We favor the continued cooperation in counter-terrorism and maintaining cyber-security. In general, the context among the special services should be put to a system-wide basis—should be brought to a systemic framework. I recall I reminded President Trump about this suggestion to re-establish the working group on anti-terrorism.”

About nuclear weapons Trump said: We have 90 percent of nuclear power between the two countries. It’s ridiculous.” Putin said: “As major nuclear powers, we bear special responsibility for maintaining international security. It’s crucial that we fine-tune the dialogue on strategic stability and global security and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. We submitted our American colleagues a note with a number of specific suggestions.”

In conclusion Trump said: “We also agreed that representatives from our national security councils will meet to follow up on all of the issues we addressed today, and to continue the progress we have started right here in Helsinki.” And Putin nodded.

https:// finlandtoday.fi/president-trump-and-putin-discuss-for-two-hours-in-helsinki-restored-their-trust/

>>2176886

I am sure Putin wouldn't mind that at all.

Muslims running for office in record numbers: Report

Almost 100 Muslim-Americans have filed to run for federal or state offices in the current election cycle, a surge not seen since before the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Associated Press reported Monday. As many as 90 Muslim-Americans ran for office this year, with about 50 making it through the primaries. Shaun Kennedy, a cofounder of Jetpac, a nonprofit that helps train Muslim-American candidates, told AP that that’s a big jump from the dozen Muslim-Americans who ran for office in 2016. Nine candidates for Congress are still campaigning, Jetpac said. Another 18 are still running for state legislature, and 10 others are running for offices such as governor, mayor, and city council member. Others are focused on winning seats on local planning boards or school committees. Many of the candidates who are running as Democrats say they have been pushed to run by President Trump’s policies and rhetoric.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/muslims-running-for-office-in-record-numbers-report

Big banks launch new trade group

A group of big banks officially launched a new trade group Monday, aiming to extend the industry's influence over government supervision and regulation of the financial sector. The group, named the Banking Policy Institute, is the product of the merger of two banking organizations, the Clearing House Association and the Financial Services Roundtable. It represents megabanks such as Bank of America and Wells Fargo as well as some large regional banks and the U.S. arms of foreign megabanks, such as HSBC — 48 entities in all.

“We will demonstrate that America's leading banks are extraordinarily resilient and that the right balance of policies and regulations must be maintained to help ensure they continue to play their important role in helping drive economic growth," Greg Baer, the group's CEO, said in a statement. In an introductory note, Baer said that one of the group's priorities will be to lobby on the post-crisis capital rules imposed on banks, requiring that they fund themselves less by borrowing and more with ownership stakes like stocks.

Big banks have been reworking their trade group representation in Washington. Eight of the biggest banks also recently revived the Financial Services Forum. The banking industry scored a big win this year with the passage of a bipartisan bill to rewrite some parts of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law. For the most part, though, that bill steered clear of major changes for the biggest banks.

Baer noted that influencing the implementation of that law will be one of the first big tasks for the new group. The group was reportedly set to add a high-ranking Trump adviser, National Economic Council official Shahira Knight. Knight, though, is now going to stay with the administration, after Trump promoted her last week to be his director of legislative affairs.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/big-banks-launch-new-trade-group