Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST.

Today we discuss:

• Japan is threatening China militarily which is "completely unacceptable", Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says, after Chinese jets aimed radar at Japanese aircraft. China has blamed Japan for sending aircraft to repeatedly approach and disrupt the Chinese navy.

• Powerful Senate President Hun Sen vowed that Cambodia would carry out a fierce fight against Thailand as a second day of widespread combat drove tens of thousands of people to flee border areas. Is full-scale war at hand?

• 200,000 people have fled eastern Congo in recent days, as Rwanda-backed M23 rebels march on the strategic lakeside town of Uvira on the border with Burundi, and battling with Congolese troops and local groups known as Wazalendo. Scores have been killed. Here, too, we’re on the watch for full-fledged war.

• A bid by Paramount Skydance Corp. for Warner Bros. Discovery is backed by notable investors like Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the Qatar Investment Authority and a less known player, Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding Co., founded recently and fully owned by the government. If TikTok is a matter of national security, how about this?

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST.

Today we discuss:

• WarSec Hegseth declares an age of American “utopian idealism” over under the new National Security Strategy, demanding that U.S. allies fend for themselves, and called for a more conciliatory approach to China.

• Oral arguments in SCOTUS over Trump v. Slaughter, which will likely strip independence from agencies have regulated American monetary policy and stock trades, transportation systems and election campaigns, consumer product safety and broadcast licenses.

• Thailand bombed Cambodia in what it claimed was retaliation, leaving a peace plan presided over by Trump in danger of collapse.

• “I’ll be involved in that decision,” Trump says about Netflix buying Warner Bros for $82 billion. Will he scuttle this monopoly?

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Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST.

Today we discuss:

• The death from exposure to a rare, military-grade nerve agent called a Novichok in Britain of Dawn Sturgess, 44 and a British mother of three, seven years ago, illustrates the consequences of letting spies run amok. A perfume bottle containing the poison had been discarded by a pair of Russian operatives after using it in an attempted assassination months earlier. A new report blames Putin.

• Zelensky’s government systematically sabotages oversight, creating the perfect opportunity for corruption. Ukraine has stacked oversight boards with loyalists, leaves seats empty or stalled them from being set up at all. Leaders in Kyiv even rewrote company charters to limit oversight, allowing hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars to be stolen.

• Congress is focusing on two deaths in one boat strike. But 9 other people died in that same attack, and the United States has killed 87 in all. Were any of those killings legal?

• 55% disapprove/42% approve of Trump’s job performance. Much of his loss is among political independents; 31% approve, down from 41% in July. The president has also lost support among men, particularly white, college-educated men. Can he right the ship?

Chicago Tribune cartoonist Scott Stantis fills in for John today.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST.

Today we discuss:

• Admiral Mitch Bradley tries to explain himself to Congress today. As Trump claims each boat bombing saves 25,000 American lives, the man Hegseth blames for the double-tap strike is on the hot seat. Meanwhile, Signalgate is blowing up. Will this weekend mark the end of the former Fox News Weekend host?

• Israel is opening the Rafah border crossing to Egypt. Egypt says it doesn’t know anything about it. It will help sick and injured Gaza’s get medical care. But is this the beginning of Israel’s plot to ethnically cleanse and annex Gaza?

• Vladimir Putin to visit Narenda Modi in India to boost trade.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST.

Today we discuss:

• Pressure is building against Pete Hegseth. The Defense Department claims it was trying to destroy the rest of the boat, not the crew, while Hegseth blames Admiral Bradley for murdering helpless seamen. Is this the end of the line for Hegseth, or do the new neocons win again?

• Republicans are gambling that voters won’t resent them in next year’s elections for allowing Obamacare subsidies to expire, sending insurance prices to the stratosphere. Incumbents weigh the risk of a primary challenge for helping Democrats vs. the general election.

• Belgium, which holds most of the Russian assets being targeted for seizure as reparations to Ukraine, says its requests to the EU to be indemnified against Russian lawsuits and legal losses, and that other EU nations also agree to participate, are being ignored.

• Deep fake “Nudifying” software is out of control in schools around the world, where girls and female teachers are being humiliated by A.I.-generated phony nude images of themselves being passed around on smartphones by students. Schools are at a loss about how to handle it. Would cellphone bans solve the problem?

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST.

Today we discuss:

• Sudan’s military government has offered Russia what would be its first naval base in Africa and an unprecedented perch overlooking critical Red Sea trade routes, reports the WSJ.

• Negotiations between the U.S. and Ukraine focused on where the de facto border with Russia would be drawn under a peace deal. Russian President Vladimir Putin — who will meet with President Trump's envoy today — wants the entire Donbas region.

• A lawsuit by an immigration judge fired by Trump has the potential to scramble the federal workforce and upend foundational civil rights laws. She says she was dismissed because of her gender, her status as a dual citizen of Lebanon and the fact that she once ran for municipal office in Ohio as a Democrat, all in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the First Amendment. The government has responded by arguing that the president's power to oversee the executive branch under Article II of the U.S. Constitution essentially overrides that core civil rights law.

• A small, highly anticipated study shows a glimmer of hope in the long effort to control HIV without medication and search for a cure for a virus that attacks immune cells. In six participants, the virus rebounded slowly and stayed at a low level for months, and one person’s immune system kept the virus in check for more than a year and a half.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST.

Today we discuss:

• WaPo reports that the Pentagon deliberately launched a “double tap” second bombing strike against the survivors of a boat blown up by the U.S. in the Caribbean. A bipartisan group of Congressmen wants the incident investigated as a serious war crime. Can you commit a war crime in a non-declared war against a fictional entity?

• Trump issues ultimatum to Maduro: Leave Venezuela now.

• A.I. data centers are driving up electricity rates in Red America. Will the rising price of kilowatt hours be as politically charged as the price of eggs?

• Trump blames Biden for the Afghan ex-soldier who shot two National Guardmen in D.C., who was trained by the CIA, even though the suspect was granted asylum in April.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST.

Today we discuss:

• The Pentagon Investigates Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) for Democratic Video Telling Troops to Disobey “Illegal Order.” Is It Treason or Just the Law?

• As Ukraine Gets Closer to a Deal with Russia and Russia Meets with the US in Abu Dhabi, European Nations Are Getting Skittish About Russia. France Calls for a Bigger Army as Chief Says the French Must Sacrifice Their Kids; Poland and Croatia Bring Back the Draft. Paranoia or Smart Planning?

• Trump Had a HealthCare Idea. Republican Congressmen squished it.

• Why Don’t Zoomers Protest? Things Aren’t OK, Boomer.

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Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST.

Today we discuss:

• Marjorie Taylor Greene resigns from Congress. What's next for her and for MAGA?
• US, Ukraine and Europeans make progress in Geneva but doubts remain over security guarantees: Is this the beginning of the end for the Russo-Ukrainian War?
• Psst—eight months ahead of schedule, DOGE no longer exists!

JOIN US LIVE ON RUMBLE!

https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShow

FOLLOW TED:

https://rall.com

https://x.com/tedrall

FOLLOW JOHN:

https://www.instagram.com/realjohnkiriakou

https://x.com/JohnKiriakou

LISTEN ON SPOTIFY:

https://open.spotify.com/show/2kdFlw2w8sSPhKI8NRx8Zu

LISTEN ON APPLE MUSIC:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deprogram-with-john-kiriakou-and-ted-rall/id1825379504

On the “DeProgram” show with political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, a high-level U.S. military delegation lands in turmoil-ridden Kyiv, pushing a 28-point peace plan coordinated with Moscow. Zelensky grapples with a $100 million energy sector corruption probe implicating allies. Meanwhile, a FBI whistleblower exposes the Internal Counterespionage Cell's "executive exemption," shielding Senior Executive Service brass from probes into fraud, retaliation, and espionage.

• Ukraine's Corruption Scandal and Political Turmoil: Anti-corruption watchdogs unravel a $100 million embezzlement scheme in the energy sector, fingering Zelensky ally Timur Mindich as the mastermind amid nationwide blackouts. Protests erupt in the Rada, toppling two ministers—Justice's German Galushchenko and Energy's Svitlana Hrynchuk—while opposition demands Yermak's ouster and a national unity coalition. Zelensky distances himself, imposing sanctions on Mindich yet dismissing graft as commonplace, fueling fears of deeper regime instability as investigations probe defense and banking ties.

• U.S. Military Delegation's Push for Peace: Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll and Gen. Randy George spearhead the highest-ranking Trump-era visit, briefing on a 28-point U.S.-Moscow peace blueprint that mandates halving Ukraine's military and territorial concessions. Zelensky receives the plan, pledging talks with Trump while insisting on unbreakable security, as the delegation secures an "aggressive timeline" for framework signing amid Russian strikes killing 26 in Ternopil. Observers question the scandal's timing, suspecting deliberate pressure on a vulnerable Kyiv to accept capitulation-like terms.

• FBI Whistleblower's Counterespionage Exposé: An insider accuses the Internal Counterespionage Cell of shielding SES executives via an unwritten "executive exemption," blocking probes into fraud, retaliation, and espionage despite credible tips from other agencies. Retaliatory transfers punish reporters, with no SES clearances revoked since protocols began, allowing classified hoarding and evidence destruction—including a retired assistant director's untouched leaks. The disclosure highlights decades-long practices spanning directors, contrasting aggressive actions like the 2022 Mar-a-Lago raid while lamenting zero espionage busts post-2001 Hanssen case.