Link , Link , [Russian President Vladimir Putin says the US military intervention in Afghanistan has achieved nothing but tragedy and loss of life on all sides and shows it is impossible to foist foreign values on other nations. Speaking to teenagers at an educational facility in the Russian far east, Putin made clear that he deemed the US approach to a country once invaded by the Soviet Union to have been deeply flawed.....Moscow has reinforced its military base in Tajikistan, which neighbours Afghanistan, and its forces are holding a month of exercises near the border. Though some Russian state media have revelled in what they have cast as a catastrophic US geopolitical failure, gloating has been tempered by the fact that the Soviet Union was also forced to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan in 1989 after a decade of fighting there. Russia's security chiefs have made clear they are deeply worried about a potential spill-over of instability into Central Asia, the possible infiltration of extremists into the wider region including Russia, and Afghan drug production.], Link , Link , Link , Link , Link , Link , Link , [The wealthiest 1% control $41.2 trillion in wealth, 16 times more than the bottom 50%. Billionaires have grown $1.8 trillion richer since the start of the pandemic. 55 corporations paid $0 in taxes in 2020. Special interests should not determine policy.]...[A torrent of political groups representing some of the country’s most influential corporations — including ExxonMobil, Pfizer and the Walt Disney Company — are laying the groundwork for a lobbying blitz to stop Congress from enacting significant swaths of President Biden’s $3.5 trillion economic agenda. The emerging opposition appears to be vast, spanning drug manufacturers, big banks, tech titans, major retailers and oil-and-gas giants. In recent weeks, top Washington organizations representing these and other industries have started strategizing behind the scenes, seeking to scuttle key elements in Democrats’ proposed overhaul to federal health care, education and safety net programs. Among the most active is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is starting to put together an economy-wide coalition to coordinate the fight against the still forming economic package, including its significant price tag, policy scope and potential for tax increases.]