DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas

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

Today we discuss:

• Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence, rats out Trump’s big Iran lies. The president said the Iran was rebuilding its nuclear enrichment capabilities—but that’s not what the CIA and other intel agencies told him, she tells Congress. Trump also said Iran was “two weeks away” from ICBMs that could reach the US, but Tulsi said Iran hasn’t even tried and, if it started now, couldn’t achieve them until at least 2035.

• Is the Iran War running out of gas? Israel’s strike against Iran’s South Pars gas field, which Iran shares with Qatar and is the largest such facility in the world, was approved by Trump—but he denies it, even while threatening to blow it up entirely if Iran strikes Qatar—which Iran just did. Qatar’s foreign ministry called it a “dangerous and irresponsible step.” After stocks fell to a record low for the year and oil prices soared to $119/barrel—a 67% increase—and France called for a moratorium on attacks against energy facilities, Trump changed his mind and does not want any ‌further strikes on Iran’s ​energy infrastructure.

• Israel blows up bridges crossing the Litani River in Southern Lebanon. Is this a prequel to annexation?

• AG Pam Bondi stonewalls Democrats at a closed-door hearing over the Epstein Files, half of which still haven’t been released.

MERCH STORE: https://www.deprogram.live

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LIVE ON RUMBLE: https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShow

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

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

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

Today we discuss:

• If the Homeland Security Dept. shutdown continues, some smaller airports may have to shut down entirely within weeks due to a shortage of TSA security screeners. Typically, under 2% of TSA workers call in sick or do not report to work. At Atlanta, JFK and Houston, no-show rates are about 20%.

• In public, Israel is urging Iranians to revolt against their government. Privately, senior Israeli officials are telling the U.S. that Iranians will “get slaughtered” if there’s an uprising, according to a leaked State Department cable.

• Israel and the U.S. are relying on targeted assassinations in their war against Iran. But decapitation strikes against figures like Ali Larijani, Iran’s de facto leader, and Esmail Khatib, intelligence minister, has its limits, and may even prove counterproductive by radicalizing the government and marginalizing moderates. Iranian missiles are flying all over the Middle East.

• Israel has ordered a mass evacuation of southern Lebanon and is subjecting central Beirut to heavy bombing in its attacks against Hezbollah.

• Democrats are turning against AIPAC. Only two out of four AIPAC-backed candidates won special elections yesterday.

• The Strait of Hormuz shutdown has several countries on the ropes. Myanmar, Vietnam and the Philippines, according to the SocGen commodities team, 80%+ of their oil via Hormuz, and only have about a month of oil in storage before they run out. Singapore has 40 days of inventory. Thailand has 50 days. Taiwan can last about 100 days. Bangladesh can last about 100 days, and has already instituted fuel rationing and shuttered fertilizer plants.

MERCH STORE: https://www.deprogram.live

https://x.com/tedrall

https://x.com/JohnKiriakou

LIVE ON RUMBLE: https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShow

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

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

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

Today we discuss:

• Trump didn’t consult with European allies before attacking Iran. Now he wants their help reopening the Strait of Hormuz. They’re rejecting him—and now Trump is seriously annoyed. Meanwhile, Iran denies Israel’s claim that it killed security chief Ali Larijani.

• More registered voters view Israel negatively than positively in, driven by change among independents and especially Democrats. “This is unrecognizable in terms of where America was, and the Democratic Party was, for a 20-, 30-year history,” said Republican pollster Bill McInturff. The 2028 Democratic primary is “going to be fought on very, very different terrain in regards to the issue of Israel,” he says.

• In an echo of the U.S. bombing of the Iranian elementary school, Pakistan claimed it was targeting a Taliban ammunition depot but instead killed at least 400 people in a drug rehabilitation center in Kabul, Afghanistan. Pakistan’s war aims are unarticulated.

• Cuba plunged into a total electricity blackout as Trump muses he can “take” the island if he wants.

MERCH STORE: https://www.deprogram.live

https://x.com/tedrall

https://x.com/JohnKiriakou

LIVE ON RUMBLE: https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShow

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

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

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

Today we discuss:

• Trump didn’t talk to European allies before going to war against Iran. Now he’s asking them to help him reopen the Strait of Hormuz and claims some countries have agreed. Details are sketchy. When does he call it quits?

• As the Middle East war enters its third week, it’s clear that the main U.S.-Israeli war aim, regime change, will not be achieved any time soon. Meanwhile, there are reports that Mojtaba Khamenei lost one leg and was treated in Russia.

• As the DHS shutdown enters its second month, are unpaid TSA workers vulnerable to being corrupted by terrorist groups?

JOIN US LIVE ON RUMBLE

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FOLLOW TED:

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FOLLOW JOHN:

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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

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

Today we discuss:

• Pentagon officials told Congress that they estimated the cost of the war against Iran had exceeded $11.3 billion in the first six days alone.

• Trump tells the G7 Iran is about to “surrender.” But Arab diplomats say Iran, emboldened by its ability to rattle the global economy by choking oil shipments, has laid out steep preconditions for any return to talks. Iran is demanding that the airstrikes stop before a cease-fire, and firm guarantees that it won’t be attacked again, reparations for damages and the removal U.S. forces from the region.

• Four of six crew members died after a U.S. military KC-135 refueling aircraft crashed into another plane in Iraq. A Michigan synagogue and Old Dominion University came under terrorist attack. Dubai’s financial center is under drone attack.

• Afghanistan’s Taliban government accused Pakistan of targeting civilian homes, killing four people in the capital and two in the east, as fighting between the two nations entered its third week.

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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:

• Outdated DIA targeting data—dating back at least 10 to 13 years—probably resulted in the Feb. 28 U.S. bombing of the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school mistaken missile strike that killed at least 175 people in Iran, mostly children. Is recklessness the norm for America’s “high tech” warriors?

• As oil futures surge over $100/barrel and tankers are attacked by Iran, 400 million barrels to be released from International Energy Agency oil reserves as Iran effectively blocks the Strait of Hormuz.

• As John Thune battles conservatives for refusing to alter Senate rules and mandate a traditional “talking” filibuster that would force Democrats to hold the floor to block the Save America Act, Trump trolls the Senate majority leader: “He’s got to be a leader.” Does Trump know Save would hurt him and the Republicans?

TO ASK QUESTIONS BEFORE WE GO LIVE AT 9 AM ET: https://ahaslides.com/4UJWT

JOIN US LIVE ON RUMBLE

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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

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

Today we discuss:

• In the Strait of Hormuz, the Trump administration is trapped between the specter of a global economic recession and a naval catastrophe. Energy arteries are constricting to a point of “nonlinearity,” where every day the Strait of Hormuz remains closed multiplies the economic pain exponentially. Iran will bomb Liquefied Natural Gas tankers first—vessels that could “explode like the Beirut bomb”—followed by oil tankers to maximize environmental and economic chaos. But there’s also a huge risk in sending US naval assets as escorts into a war zone. White House analysts call the Strait their “Death Valley.”

• Iran has begun laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important energy chokepoint that carries about one-fifth of all crude oil, according to CNN. Despite US claims of having destroyed 14 Iranian minelayers, Iran still retains upward of 80% to 90% of its small boats and mine layers, so its forces could feasibly lay hundreds of mines in the waterway.

• Iran attacked commercial ships across the Persian Gulf. Two Iranian drones hit near Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest. Iran’s joint military command announced it would start targeting banks and financial institutions in the Middle East.

• San Francisco’s iconic mass transit system, BART, has entered a death spiral. Ridership cratered during the pandemic and remains less than half of what it was. The very future of the familiar white and blue trains, which have zipped around the Bay Area since 1972, is in doubt. BART says that only Bay Area residents can rescue the system by passing a new sales tax in November to cover its $400 million annual loss. Absent that, the board recently warned that it would take eye-popping actions out of desperation in 2027: Fewer trains. Higher fares and parking fees. Ending service at 9 p.m. instead of midnight. Laying off a quarter of its work force. And shrinking the system almost back to its original footprint by shuttering 15 stations. All of which will further reduce ridership. Meanwhile, the Iraq War costs $2 billion a day.

MERCH STORE: https://www.deprogram.live

https://x.com/tedrall

https://x.com/JohnKiriakou

LIVE ON RUMBLE: https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShow

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

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

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

Today we discuss:

• Trump dismisses the economic costs of his war against Iran as a “very small price to pay” for—what, exactly, nobody knows. Fuel prices are soaring, and may stay high for months. That could make groceries and other goods more expensive. Consumers and businesses could spend less, triggering a recession.

• Wary of low approval ratings, Trump calls his Iran War a “short-term excursion.” Will this be a walk in the park? Or will Iran become another Mideast quagmire?

• America For Sale: 300 billionaires and their immediate family members donated more than $3 billion—19% of all contributions — in federal elections in 2024, directly or through PACs. Before Citizens United, the share of billionaire spending was almost 0.3%. Billionaire families gave an average total of $10 million each, an amount roughly equal to what 100,000 typical political donors gave, combined. And that does not count dark-money contributions.

• Republicans want the SAVE Act “show your papers” law so badly they’re willing to consider a “talking filibuster.” Ted’s done the math—and the GOP should be careful what it asks for.

MERCH STORE: https://www.deprogram.live

https://x.com/tedrall

https://x.com/JohnKiriakou

LIVE ON RUMBLE: https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShow

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

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

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

Today we discuss:

• As oil prices rose 50% to $110/barrel and U.S. gas rose more than $1/gallon in a week, U.S. and Israel blew up four oil depots and a petroleum logistics site in and around Tehran, deliberately triggering an ecological disaster in a capital city of 9 million people. Thick black smoke rose, soot covered streets and cars, balconies filled with black gunk, and toxic air filled lungs. Toxic chemicals lead to acid rain and hurt the skin and lungs, contaminate food and water reservoirs. Next: a spike in asthma, pulmonary and heart disease, and cancers.

• A report by the National Intelligence Council completed before the Iran War assessed that even a large-scale U.S. military assault on the country would be unlikely to topple the Iranian government. Mojtaba Khamenei, has been named to ‌replace his assassinated father as supreme ⁠leader.

• Trump is trying to negotiate a deal that would turn Cuba into an U.S. vassal state, as it was before the communist revolution. Americans could travel to Havana, President Miguel Díaz-Canel would resign, the Castro family would remain on the island and ports, energy and tourism would be exploited by the U.S.

MERCH STORE: https://www.deprogram.live

https://x.com/tedrall

https://x.com/JohnKiriakou

LIVE ON RUMBLE: https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShow

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

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

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

Today we discuss:

• ICE Queen Kristi Noem is out at Homeland Security. Not because she unleashed thugs on Americans or covered up their murders. Because she blamed Trump for her own self-aggrandizing ad campaign and got caught in her on-the-job affair. Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma will replace her. And what’s this Shield of the Americas thing she’s going to do next?

• 1,300 Iranians have been killed by the U.S. and Israel. The death toll from Israeli attacks on Lebanon rose to at least 123, as a new wave of strikes pounded the Lebanon and Hezbollah warned Israeli residents to evacuate towns within 3 miles of their northern border. Yesterday, Israel threatened residents that they should leave Beirut’s southern suburbs, prompting a huge exodus from a swath of the capital’s densely populated area known as Dahiyeh, home to half a million Lebanese.

• Trump tells Axios he needs to be personally involved in selecting Iran's next leader—just as he was in Venezuela. Khameini Jr. is pre-nixed. Freedom, it seems, isn’t very free.

• No money for high-speed rail, new schools, the homeless, or healthcare subsidies—but the U.S. government has $2 billion a day for the Iran War.

MERCH STORE: https://www.deprogram.live

https://x.com/tedrall

https://x.com/JohnKiriakou

LIVE ON RUMBLE: https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShow

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

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