Riley Waggaman | A rushed “security” bill paves the way for a privatized digital control grid | On Wednesday, December 21st, the Russian State Duma adopted a bill that regulates the collection and storage of biometric data in Russia...To prevent the misuse or mishandling of biometric data by private enterprises, the legislation requires all face scans and voice samples to be stored in a centralized Unified Biometric System (UBS). A press release published by the State Duma claims the bill “protects” the biometric data of Russians and guarantees that the collection of such data is completely voluntary. Sounds pretty good. What’s not to like? Well, for starters… (read on)

A video has surfaced from inside Ukraine showing NAZI Ukrainian soldiers manufacturing drones equipped with an explosive, gasoline (molotov cocktail) and an unknown radioactive substance, turning drones into flying "dirty bombs" against Russia! When these drones explode over a position, in addition to hitting military personnel with shrapnel, the contents of the radiation canister and of the Molotov cocktail are also sprayed, igniting, and leaving radioactive contamination at the site.

■ Ukrainian soldiers are proud of their dirty bombs on Donbas front lines (Videos)

The Russian Army has liberated Soledar from Ukrainian NAZIS after weeks of ferocious battles. Complicating the situation were miles of underground salt mines through which Ukraine could send reinforcements and ammunition. As Ukrainian troops surrendered, the horror stories began to emerge. | As seen in the photo above, surrendering Ukrainian troops are all wearing . . . summer uniforms. In the dead of winter! Many of the men are suffering severe frostbite and are likely to lose fingers, toes, even whole limbs from the frostbite. The men report they had little to no food or water, but were refused when they asked command for permission to surrender.

■ Five Reasons Why Soledar’s Liberation Is So Significant (Penny For Your Thought)

Russian Foreign Ministry (МИД России) | Response by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson M.V. Zakharova to a media question on the EU-NATO joint declaration signed in Brussels | Read in full

Question: How would you comment on the signing in Brussels of the Joint Declaration on EU-NATO Cooperation?
💬 Zakharova: The joint declaration on EU-NATO cooperation reaffirms the total subordination of the European Union to the objectives of the North Atlantic bloc, which is an instrument of forceful enforcement of US interests. ● Security in the Euro-Atlantic region - in violation of all OSCE commitments - is seen through the prism of countering our country, increasing supplies of weapons and military equipment to the Kiev regime, increasing military mobility in the European 'theatre of war' and further NATO expansion. ● It is obvious that aggressive and confrontational approaches of NATO and the European Union to the states pursuing independent foreign policy, attempts to divide the states into "friendly" and "alien" will only impede the peaceful settlement of conflicts, weaken the international security in the face of the continuing challenges of terrorism, the threat of which, incidentally, is recognized in the document. ● The motives of the Americans are clear - to drag the EU into the "global rivalry" declared by Washington, as the declaration says, and then the Europeans will have the unenviable fate of an American vassal, losing their position in world politics and economy, becoming increasingly dependent on Washington with each step. (Translation: DeepL.com)

An EC spokesman has also called for criminalizing circumventing the bloc’s sanctions against Moscow | So stealing Russian assets is OK, but a disagreement about their economic war against Russia is "criminal"? | The EU supports Estonia’s push to create a legal mechanism for confiscating Russian assets which were frozen as part of Ukraine-related sanctions, European Commission spokesman Christian Wigand said on Thursday as cited by RIA Novosti. Wigand has also called for criminalizing violations of the sanctions imposed on Moscow, adding that this would speed up the process of "seizing" frozen Russian assets. The EC outlined a proposal to harmonize criminal offenses and penalties for the violation of the bloc’s restrictive measures in December. The draft is expected to be discussed by the European Parliament and the Council soon.

Critical staff shortages resulting in widespread burnout are reportedly to blame for growing disillusion | More than two-thirds of doctors in the Austrian capital, Vienna, “regularly” consider resigning, a survey conducted by the Vienna Medical Association revealed on Tuesday. Respondents cited the seemingly insurmountable problems of overwork and understaffing. ● Three in four doctors surveyed complained their workload was too heavy, while a quarter claimed their employer did not provide required breaks. Pessimism reigns supreme, with 91% doubting the punishing workload will improve in the future and over half (55%) expecting an even greater workload to come. [Post-covid fatigue? Being forced to ignore medical ethics, could this have anything to do with it?:] Austria adopted some of the strictest Covid-19 medical mandates in the world during the pandemic, imposing mandatory vaccination for all citizens last February. Violators would be fined every three months, with the total amounting to over $4,000 per year, and barred from entering public places. However, that policy was dropped the following month.

■ COVID-19 Vaccines Can Cause Sudden Cardiac Deaths: Warns Expert, Calls For Its Withdrawal From Market

Moscow’s deputy head of its Ukraine mission has arrived in Belarus on a “working trip” | The Russian Ground Forces commander-in-chief, General Oleg Salyukov, arrived in Belarus on Thursday with a group of Defense Ministry officials on a “working trip,” the ministry said in a Telegram post. ● Saluykov visited a military range where Russian troops are stationed, and received updates from unit commanders on operational coordination and joint combat training. The general also inspected the facilities and living conditions of the Russian troops, and spoke with the soldiers, according to the Defense Ministry. ● Russian troops are undergoing an “intensive combat training course” on the Belarusian training ranges, the ministry said, adding that exercises are run both during the day and night. The course involves firing and tactical driving exercises, as well as psychological training and tactical medicine.

Объясняет Readovka | Kiev's fears - Ukraine seriously fears a Russian offensive from the territory of Belarus | It is not only the Russian army that is preparing, but also the enemy — here the word "fears" or "fears" should rather be applied — in anticipation of large-scale events on the SSR fronts, the feeling of which now hovers in the air. The Ukrainian command is trying diligently to strengthen its defences in the Rivne region, fearful of a possible Russian offensive from Belarus. By the way, General Salyukov, commander-in-chief of the Russian Ground Forces, arrived in RB yesterday. ● Of all the fears of the Ukrainian command, the approach of Russian forces from the direction of Belarus is probably the most enduring. To protect against hypothetical "hordes from the east" the AFU is building fortifications near Rivne and installing mine barriers in the north of the Kiev region - on transport routes and infrastructure facilities. They want to build a kind of "Zaluzhny Line" around the capital - the AFU construction battalions are building reinforced concrete pillboxes. At least geography has not been abolished in Ukrainian schools - the enemy has realized that Kiev is not a deep rear in relation to the Belarusian border. ● The activity of the Ukrainian armed forces in the regions bordering Belarus has also been noticed by western publications - the other day, Reuters released several reports on the actions of the Ukrainian army in this direction. Konrad Muzyka, head of the analytical company Rochan Consulting, invited by journalists as an expert, assessed the Russian-Belarusian exercises as "the largest since the Cold War. ● The enemy is also pulling in infantry - TRO units in the capital region are forming a large grouping of troops. The embassies of Ukraine's respected Western friends are in the capital - they must be defended to the last man. ● As we said earlier, it is impossible to say with certainty now whether the prospects of a Russian offensive from the territory of Belarus are realistic. If it happens, even with all the Western support, it is absolutely unclear how and by whom the AFU plans to hold a front that has doubled in size in theory. Whether such an offensive happens or not, we are in any case in for a brutal but interesting time. (Link)(Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator)(free version)