MIKE MIHAJLOVIC—At the start of the war, the Ukrainian Air Force had about 120 functional combat aircraft. The attrition level reduced this fairly large force to just a fragment, with no more than a few dozen or even fewer available at the time of writing. The opponent’s force is far superior. The Russian planes are far more modern, and equipped with long-range missiles that give them a decisive advantage in air-to-air combat. It can be said with certainty that the Russian Air Force controls the sky over the battlefield. The commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Mykola Oleschenuk, said in an interview that the Ukrainian planes are under threat of attack immediately after takeoff from the airfield. According to him, one Ukrainian aircraft is attacked simultaneously by up to 9 Russian ones (this can be taken with a grain of salt). He also stated that the strike range of the Russian Su-35 aircraft is 200 km, while the Ukrainian MiG-29s strike at 25-30 km.
ANNOTATED NEWS
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EDITOR—The panel discusses the delicate situation engulfing the EU and the United States, where the anti-immigrant issue has gathered considerable momentum, presenting difficult problems (and opportunities) for the reigning oligarchy. It’s noteworthy, says Dust James, that in both the US (capital/imperial core) and Europe (the periphery, where a “labor aristocracy” developed) the capitalists are drifting toward fascism. In America, where the economy continues to worsen for the working class, and the immigration issue (exploited mercilessly by Trump), adds fuel to the flames, such situation could easily drive some sort of fascistic movement forward, even if Trump himself may not be fully aware (or concerned) about the chaotic consequences of his careless opportunism. Mass immigration is an issue with no easy answers, notes Billy Bob; socialists could arguably defend or oppose either side of the equation. There is no doubt, however, that lowly paid Americans—including many Latinos—are fiercely hostile to “illegal immigration”, since any mass influx of undocumented workers will inexorably depress wages.
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Wounded left in limbo by Israel’s invasion of Rafah
8 minutes readRUWAIDA AMER—Ashraf al-Qedra, the spokesperson for the Gaza health ministry, cited estimates that 20,000 people have been blocked from leaving Rafah by Israel’s invasion of the city. All are either wounded or have serious diseases. Since Israel seized the area surrounding the Rafah crossing “no sick or wounded person has been able to leave the Gaza Strip, and those who are abroad cannot return to their homeland,” he added. He described Rafah’s closure as “a war crime and a blatant violation of the health rights of the sick and wounded under international humanitarian law.”
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MOATS with George Galloway Ep 345 —Interview with Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein
10 minutes readMOATS #345—US Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein explains the reasons why the 2024 election is shaping up as the trifecta for non-duopoly candidates since the uniparty is fielding two pathetically unqualified and technically criminal postulants to the highest office, and ALL major candidates, including Robert Kennedy Jr, are morally disqualified on account of their vociferous support for the genocidal Zionist entity.
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Garland Nixon: MIDDLE EAST IN DEPTH WITH LAITH MAROUF – ISRAELIS STORM AL AQSA – ISRAEL IRAN RESPONSE SYMBOLIC
8 minutes readGARLAND NIXON—LAITH MAROUF—Garland and Laith discuss the repercussions of Iran’s “warning” (or “symbolic”) strike on Israel, an effort to serve notice to this lunatically criminal entity that its provocations and international murders will not be further tolerated. The Iranian drone and missile attack on Apr 13 was designed, as previously commented, to cause the fewest human casualties, and to gather intelligence on the Israeli/US AD network. Iran’s warning is also good for the “collective West”, including the constantly scheming Hegemon itself. In a new development, as Israel has continued its assassinations of Hezbollah commanders, Hezbollah itself has begun to target and destroy Israeli command centers. Laith also comments on the media blockade on the Israeli mass assassinations (and mass graves recently discovered) of Palestinian victims in various hospital settings—Al Shifa, etc., most of them either patients being cared for or hospital staff, a heinous crime under international law that should have made headlines all over the world, but which Western media has simply memory-holed. Of course, not a pip has been heard from the West’s top leadership, who are too busy supporting the depraved Zionist regime.