[00:11] Good morning. You're watching the program with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou. Thank you for joining us on Thursday, March 12th. Good morning, John. >> Morning, Ted. How you doing? >> I'm good. Trying to hope my voice isn't too squeaky this uh uh inside joke from yesterday. Um so obviously we're going to be talking about the uh Iran is uh basically losing the air war but winning the the sea war. Uh they have choked the Strait of Hormuz. We'll be talking about that. Um and we're we'll talk about the uh the
[00:43] economic impact with oil back at about $100 a barrel. And uh you know, we're going to see I think a ripple effect throughout the entire global economy that's uh I think the the Trump administration would like to sort of bring in for a soft landing but I'm not so sure that's likely to happen anytime soon. John Thune, um a the Republican leader, is uh sort of at war with his own con- conference about the Save America Act. We'll talk about something that they really shouldn't want because it will only cost
[01:15] Republican votes. Democrats should want it but don't want it even though they'll get more votes. It's it's insanity but uh anyway, uh as always, please like, follow, and share the show. We really appreciate your support. Uh we're closing in on 30,000 subscribers. Uh so um that's on YouTube. Thank you so much for that. Uh and for your generous donations and the super chats and all that. Um as always, uh we will uh try to get to all of your questions, um especially the super chats, but all all of them. Uh so please, if you're
[01:45] watching live on Rumble or on YouTube, go ahead in the 9:00 hour and put those questions into the live chat and producer Robbie West will get to them. Speaking of producer Robbie West, let's bring him in. He has some housekeeping to take care of as we call it. >> Howdy. So, I know that there have been some complaints about missed super chats at random. I get you. Uh you're paying money to ask a question. It would only be polite of us to answer the question that you paid to have asked. So, if it does get missed,
[02:16] we have a we have a workaround. Take a picture of it, a screenshot. Then email me. Send me the screenshot of your question at westglaciergaming at gmail.com and I will make sure this is at the top of the stack. So, I can't think of a better way to do this. I'll talk to John and Ted later on about maybe having one day a week where we just do Q&A. We'll see what happens. Can't make that promise, but I will control whatever I can. So, email me and I will do everything I can to make
[02:46] sure that your pithy and witty question that you paid for is answered in a timely manner. >> Yeah, please be advised we definitely if it If If it's missed, it's an accident. It's never on purpose. >> Never. >> You have You have no idea what it looks like on the back end. You You have no idea. >> [laughter] >> I can't I can't keep up with it. Yeah, no. I mean like when Robbie, when you're out and I'm trying to to keep up with it John and I are trying to keep up with it even if we split it up like, "Hey John, you look at the Rumble. I'll look at the YouTube." Whatever. It's just like literally flying by. Um you know, I mean
[03:18] well look, if you're in the chat, you sort of know, right? Cuz you see how fast it moves. Yeah. >> Yes. If you get If you get missed, it's not intentional. It's not us trying to be jerks. Uh it's just you know, life happens. >> We're not ingrates, you know. Uh yeah, thanks Robbie. I appreciate that. Um so, the you know, that's uh you know, it reminds me of uh uh one one time someone came up to me No, I read online like, "Oh, Ted Rall's really mean. I went up to him at an event at a at Comic-Con and he I he he didn't talk to me. He didn't pay
[03:49] attention to me." And I'm like thinking, "I would never do that, like ever. So, something must have been up, right? Like I must have just been talking to someone else or you know, I was on the phone or whatever. I mean, obviously, it had to be a misunderstanding. And it it kills me cuz I'm like, you know, I'm a lot of bad things, but like I'm not that kind of bad thing. >> Yeah. >> You know, so. Um so, let's let's get into it. We'll be looking at those questions in just a second and Robbie will be pumping them up to put him up for us in the Telegram
[04:21] chat that we have. Um but in the meantime, uh let's talk about the economy. I mean, I thought it's really interesting. Uh oil prices are are are soaring. Uh you know, the we have five or six vessels who have been that have been struck now by Iranian fire in the Strait of Hormuz. Um Trump is saying that the is urging the captains to have grow some balls and basically make a >> their watch their way through. >> Yeah. Watch their way through.
[04:53] Um you know, you ever anyone ever see Captain Phillips? There's only like five or six dudes on these tankers, right? >> Yes. >> And they there's all it's a skeleton crew. You would think it would be 200 people. >> They can't defend the ship. They can protect themselves. There's a way what they do is they barricade themselves inside the engine room. Which is like armored and triple locked and there's an emergency stash of food and water in there and they can control the engine from inside the engine room. They can override the bridge. But that's all they can do is disable
[05:25] the ship and just wait for help to come. >> Which in a war zone isn't likely to happen. >> That's right. >> And and then like even if they're able to get in touch by satellite phone, you know, with you know, corporate in Oslo or Taipei or whatever, you know, they're going to say like sit sit tight, you know, you know, don't move, you know, you you are not to risk 400 million dollars of crude oil. >> And one of the things that I learned Ted when I was on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff because one of my issues was international piracy and I
[05:55] brought Captain Phillips down to testify. We we sat for hours together. >> That's cool. >> Um one of the things that I learned was that uh by international treaty no civilian ship is allowed to carry a weapon. >> Mhm. >> So they're on their own. >> Yeah, that was wasn't that the controversy um over the sinking of the Lusitania? >> Yeah. >> That basically the uh cuz obviously it was carrying material. >> arms. Yeah.
[06:25] >> And and like so the Germans the the Germans said, "Well, this is a fair target." >> Mhm. >> And uh I mean and that's I guess that's kind of also I mean the law and doesn't correct me if I'm wrong doesn't some don't some aspects of the law of the sea also kind of deal um you know bleed over into air transport? >> Yes, but that's far more controversial because the US is famously not a signatory to the law of the sea. >> Uh the US is always like we don't sign the mine convention. >> No. >> Right? We don't
[06:56] >> No, we're wrong, wrong, wrong about so many of these issues. >> Well, but then John as you know very well, we signed the convention on torture against torture. >> There it is. >> And you know, but that's just a piece of paper, you know, it doesn't have the force of law under as a full treaty obligation signed and you know, by ratified by the United States Senate or anything. >> Right. >> So um so the um in the uh IE the IEA International Energy Agency which is a consortium of 32 nations
[07:27] um they just ordered a the release of 400 million barrels of uh oil to be released from their reserves. Um the US is is thinking of doing a big release from its strategic reserve. But John, my understanding is that this is a drop in the bucket. It's not going to really have much of an impact because the impact of the of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is so big that it's like impossible for any strategic reserve to make up for that.
[07:57] >> Yes. And you know, the the funny thing, too, well, it's not funny. It's that Donald Trump, you'll recall, viciously um mocked Barack Obama when he released oil from the strategic oil reserves saying that it was just a stunt to keep oil prices down. Okay, so what are what are you doing? This is just a stunt keep oil prices down. It was just 1 week ago, barely 1
[08:27] week ago, that Donald Trump was bragging about how when he took This was so disingenuous. When he took office, gas was $6 a gallon in some states. He meant California, which has nothing to do with anything. It's that's an unusual situation. But now, in many cases, it's a $1.89 a gallon. Nowhere was it $1.89 a gallon. Well, now it's it's up a buck a gallon from a week ago. >> More.
[08:58] >> More. I paid I paid 2.569 a week ago. And yesterday I paid 3.549, so 98 cents for me. >> My local station went from 2.55 to 3.85 in 9 days. So, um you know, it is it is speaking of piracy, right? I mean, it's like, come on, the oil you guys paid for, you know, that oil's been going through refineries for the last few years. >> Exactly. >> You know, the gas that we're putting
[09:28] into our cars now, but they're [ __ ] >> Exactly right. >> One time I pulled up to my gas station in in Long Island, and it was hilarious. It said was owned by like this very mean lesbian woman. And and she like just as I pull up to the curb, she prompts up and throws this she the the price change like with a magnet up onto the onto the pump as I pull up. It was up 20 cents. I'm like and I go, "Really? She says, "Now?" And she's like, "I just got the call." >> [laughter]
[09:59] >> Oh my god. >> So it's like that. >> Oh my god. >> So um but well let's um I got to so John, I got to ask you a question. By the way, I'm not sure my tele is your Telegram loading? I'm not seeing the the live chats. Are you? >> Uh I'm not actually. >> Okay, maybe something's up on Robbie's side. Well, let me ask >> what? I wasn't even I just I was assuming it was just a weirdly slow day. >> Robbie, what's going on? Are we not getting questions? >> Uh we are. It's glitching. Hold on, I'm refreshing it.
[10:29] >> Okay. All right. All right. Cuz we're not seeing it. All right. I just saw one. Okay, good. Thanks. Okay. See, this is the thing. I mean, with tech stuff, you got to there's no way we can we can put out the fires. Um so anyway, uh we got to talk about the school the you were appalled we all were when the elementary school was blown up. Um now we know it was by the Americans and now we know how it happened, right? So basically, we talked a little bit about this this elementary school. 175 people or more including a lot of young kids cuz it was an
[11:01] elementary school and presumably teachers and staff and maybe parents um were all blown up um by this Tomahawk uh missile um back in the very beginning of the Iran uh the US and Israeli war against Iran. Um the Trump administration denied that the that the US had anything to do with it, but now the internal the internal uh investigation at DOD has confirmed that like yes, of course it was us. And uh you know, we Trump even said like, "Oh, you know,
[11:32] anyone can have a Tomahawk cruise missile. Like, you know, Clovis could have one. Um it's like but that's not true. Um so it's targeting data, right? So the targeting data was basically that this was this was turned into a school back somewhere between 2013 and 2016. All right, so that's 10 to 13 years ago and this is a John Kiriakou special question, right? You've you've had dim things to say about the DIA in the past. >> Yeah. >> This appears to be
[12:03] map information provided by the DIA. So I have a multiple questions about this but basically is it routine for the DIA to suck this bad? And then my other question is um are they I mean, okay, it's it's one thing I understand you have old you have old information, right? But if something becomes a target, isn't there an obligation to double, triple, quadruple check at this point just to make sure that >> Yeah. >> dot your eyes, cross your T's, make sure
[12:34] everything's cool. >> See, this is how we accidentally bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. Right? Because the targeting information is often wrong, rarely updated appropriately. And listen, I know people are going to complain but I'm going to say it anyway. DIA is largely made up of people who just couldn't make it through
[13:04] the CIA process. Like they really, really, really want to work in Intel. They're not very bright but by God, they want to work in Intel and they end up at DIA. Yeah, it happens all the time. You know, this is another thing. You're supposed to not just check, double check, triple check. You're supposed to then send it to other offices to check, double check, and triple check to make sure you don't do things like blow up a girl's school and kill all the children inside.
[13:35] So, yeah. It's >> And also, is it routine for for um the data to be this [ __ ] old? I mean, that's really [ __ ] old. >> Yep. It is. It's very, very old. Yes. But, again, updating it would require them to, you know, I don't know, look at a satellite photo and see if there are children there playing in the yard. >> Well, that's my question, right? Or put or send a drone to circle ahead of
[14:06] beforehand or >> Yeah. >> or a satellite or a live satellite feed. Um John, you know, I know you know this obviously. Like, you know, the Soviets used to, you know, they obviously we knew they had military bases in this area or whatever, but they would always sort of move them on the map a few miles away from really where they really were. >> Yeah. >> How does an agency like the Maps agency or the or the Defense Intelligence Agency or the CIA, how do they obtain, let's say, you know,
[14:36] a map a reliable map of a of an adversary country that's not voluntarily providing accurate information? Let's say you were, you know, China, let's say. >> Yeah. >> What would you you know, how how do they get how do they know, for example, this was a Revolutionary Guards facility until 2013? >> They have an army of analysts sitting at these giant light tables like the size of an architect's draft board drafting board >> Mhm.
[15:08] >> with these like little telescopes they they look like little telescope not telescopes, but like oversized jeweler's loupes. >> Mhm. >> And they're looking at literally every square foot of a country. >> And this is spice This is satellite >> Satellite, yeah. >> Mhm. >> So, now with drones it's a lot easier cuz you can you can have real-time, you know, feeds. But, um an army of people just looking foot by foot by foot. And
[15:39] then once you establish a baseline, it makes it that much easier. And then one analyst pass passes it to the next analyst and then on to the next analyst. Um it's far easier now with drones because if you're not sure about something, many times you can just send a drone to go take a closer look at it. >> So So, is I think this is going to be a perfect storm, right? It's going to it turned out to be five different errors or whatever, right? >> Oh, yeah. This should never have happened, Ted. >> And um >> never have happened.
[16:09] >> Will there be any accountability even within uh the within the system? I mean, like in other words, is there, you know, so no one in >> No. >> It's just like sucks to be sucks to be a a first-grader in Iran, that's all? >> When when the president just says, "Eh, everybody has Tomahawk missiles." when in fact only the US, the UK, and Australia, and Japan have them. And you know, that could have been anybody. It wasn't us.
[16:40] Then you know you know that nobody's going to face any kind of punishment. >> It's uh So it So this kind of thing could and and would keep hap could happen again. I mean, what else is there? >> Just like it happened in the in the Kosovo War, it happened in the Gulf War. It happens every time we have an armed conflict with some other country. And then we're like, "Oh, our bad. Yeah. Too bad about that. Sorry." And then we're supposed to just think that that's going
[17:11] to be the end of it. >> And I mean, so >> terrible. >> It just seems so um It just I mean and one of one of the excuses that's being you know floated on by sort of corporate media is like well you know when you're in the early stages of a war you know like there's not really enough time to check everything to check out all the old targeting data. Right. Okay but again help me out here. There's no world in which this wasn't a surprise for the United States or Israel right? I
[17:42] mean the United States has been planning this for months. Right if not longer. Forever yeah. So you figure we've been planning this since 1979 and presumably constantly updating the targets. Supposedly. Supposedly. And and apparently we've taken out 5000 targets at this stage. That's That's a lot of That's a lot of That's to me that's a That's a statistic that that doesn't mean anything.
[18:13] Cuz what's a target? A target could be you know a garage where there are might or might not be a Jeep inside. You know? We can call anything we want a target. Sure. All right so we'll do some questions. Yeah. All right we we like the questions and we're sorry that we missed a few. Okay Ray thanks $5 John great new RT show deep state enjoyed it. Thanks for the I didn't know it was up. Hey thanks I'm going to check it out. John Smith thanks
[18:44] for the two hey John I've been subscribed to the show on YouTube since 2.5k. You should absolutely go to Hassan's stream. He's not anti-American he's anti-American imperialism. I I was just the reason I paused when you when you spoke just a moment ago. Greyhorse thanks for the $5 said did you see Hassan [ __ ] responded to the clip of you saying that he's not going you're not going on his stream. He said quite a lot of choice words about you. Just wondering what your take on him is. >> [laughter] >> You know what his [ __ ] problem is?
[19:15] We're trying to work something out with his people. He needs to calm the [ __ ] down. And on April the 9th, we'll get something done. Holy [ __ ] What's wrong with people? Relax, buddy. >> [laughter] >> Handsome libertarian, question for all three of us. What are your thoughts on the report of Iran onion sleeper cells and Trump saying he knows about them? Potential 9/11 false flag?
[19:46] >> Um No, I I don't think so. You know, somebody asked me just a week ago if there were Iranian sleeper cells in the United States and I said no. I still believe the answer is no. I think that the administration's lying to us. It's trying to scare us and it's trying to bring people into line to support this this war. There's never been any evidence that there were Iranian sleeper cells. There are Iranian um intelligence officers who often times
[20:17] are able to get [snorts] into the country. Usually not. I shouldn't say often times that or sometimes able to get into the country. Usually not. Usually they have more ease getting into Canada. But they invariably get caught before they're even able to do their operation. So, I'm not worried about the Iranians. Yeah. >> All right. Uh we will. Uh let's take let's move on here. Um Jackson McGrath
[20:48] thanks for the two Australian dollars. Favorite subject in Islamic subs ex a subjects, I guess ex-theology. Okay. Um Okay. Jack Samuel 480 3480. Thanks for the 999. What's going on in NYC? Far right protester Jack Lang, God, little neo-Nazi [ __ ] outside mayor's mansion and counter-protesters clashing then to top it off ISIS lone wolf, well, wolves, throwing an IED at the crowd mansion,
[21:20] what the hell? I mean I don't know how they >> But this isn't really terribly unusual, right? Right, Ted? They I mean they're they're always going to be nuts in in New York or or nuts going to New York to make some sort of a statement. >> Yeah. You know, this is a yeah, and this is look, it's it's not that complicated. I mean, you know, Eric Adams is a very controversial mayor, especially on the far right. He's they've turned him into a bet noir simply because he's Muslim. Um, and there it's it's motivated by racism and you can see it all over like
[21:50] my ex feed. Everybody I follow is like all these right-wingers who are like, oh, is, you know, all Muslims must be deported and, you know, blah blah blah. Um, so Laura Loomer and all those kind of people. So, you know, Jack these are all like Jack, you know, uh, Jake Lang is just, you know, trying to, you know, get notoriety for his cause and then these two Nimrods, [ __ ] you know, [ __ ] fools like downloading their own, you know, join the P, download your own ISIS flag PDF, you know, uh, you know,
[22:21] collect them all, uh, you know, show up and try to, you know, make something out of their stupid wretched excuses for lives. Yeah, I mean, there's not really a lot to say about it, unfortunately. I wish there were. There's no analysis cuz it's just random stupidity and and and mania Maxwell Mark, uh, thanks, uh, question for John and Ted. Strong character in mainstream media is dead and the gen pop is desperate for people like you. Could you two release a follow list of journalists you consider peers and that you respect? That's
[22:53] >> That's a great question. >> question. I guess I could I could I'd have to God, it's I hate to say this, John. It's hard. I I I'm sure, you know, cuz like I mean there are some though. >> The journalists that I have the deepest respect for, Ted, are independent journalists. >> Oh, for sure. >> People like uh Max Blumenthal, for example. >> For sure. >> I think Max is amazing. Uh Aaron Maté, absolutely amazing. Kevin Gosztola, these guys are incredible. >> Jason Jason Leopold's good. >> Jason Leopold, absolutely wonderful. And
[23:24] we might call Jason mainstream. He he's with Bloomberg. Jason's fantastic. But yeah, I mean I'm My mind doesn't even go to the mainstream outlets. Um >> No. >> As mainstream as I'm going to get, and I'm biased cuz I like him and he's a good guy, is Jake Tapper. >> Yep. Yeah. >> I know you go you but go back probably farther with Jake than I do. Um he he came to the prison to interview me in 2013, and we've been friends ever since.
[23:54] >> Yeah, now he he's he's a he's one of the good ones. I mean, for sure. Uh yeah. Uh but, you know, the thing is let's just say he doesn't have full freedom of movement, right? Like if he found himself separated from CNN and had his own show, I guarantee you uh it would be uh a more a more Tapperish experience. >> [laughter] >> Yeah. Yeah, I I like him very much. >> Uh so, uh DG DBG, thanks for the 400. I don't know if there's a um others or uh
[24:26] you on or or Jen or whatever. Hey John and Ted, love you both, but I just wanted to say I disagree with John's comments on Jon Stewart being a Zionist. He's had Medhi, Zoran, uh Oliver, and Bernie support him. He's called out Obama and Bibi. I agree he's no lefty. Yeah, I was >> Okay, I I stand corrected. >> I don't I mean, yeah, I don't know. >> He's always Yeah, I'll tell you what I met him one time. I met him one time, and and he left the the the visit I mean, was in his office, and the visit
[24:58] just left a sour taste in my mouth because he had these Emmys just kind of strewn on the couch where you couldn't sit on the couch cuz there were Emmys just randomly laying across them. And and I commented when I when I went out, I said, "Oh my god, he has so many Emmys that he just throws them on the couch like that?" And the intern said, "No. He loves those Emmys. He does that to make it look like ah, it's no big deal. I just win these Emmys, and I don't even
[25:28] care. I just throw them on my couch." And I was like, "Oh, he's one of these guys, a poser." >> Yeah, [laughter] yeah. I hope I'm not offending anyone, but I kind of feel like that's people like who who like frame their college degree in their own house or something like that. >> Yeah, I never understood that either. I don't even know where my degrees are. >> I'm not sure I could put my I know I have them in a box somewhere. >> Yeah, they must be in a box in the garage, but I genuinely don't know where my degrees are. >> Yeah, it's just sort of like No, I kind
[25:58] of get like why a doctor or a psychologist would have it cuz, you know, you want to make sure they went to medical school and whatever. >> Yeah. >> But, you know, although I don't even know I don't really need that either. I'm going to assume they went to medical school, right? >> Ryan Grim, Katie Halper both are awesome. I'm supposed to see Ryan tomorrow. Yeah, they're they're terrific. There are a lot of great independent journalists out there. >> Uh there are. There are. Um Miss Moth, uh thanks for the 10 bucks. Greetings from Tbilisi, Georgia. Have either of you been to Georgia? And what do you
[26:29] think the of the Caucasus countries should do given their location between Russia and Iran? Appreciate you guys a lot. I have been to Tbilisi. How about you? >> I've not, but I am proud to say that my 23andMe test shows that I am something like 12% uh from the Caucasus. I've And and another thing, too. I don't know why, but but my Tik Tok algorithm constantly feel feeds me these videos of people doing traditional
[27:01] Georgian singing that I am absolutely addicted to. Huh. >> [laughter] >> It's just fantastic. And I cut out a a recipe from the New York Times the other day for this traditional Georgian lamb stew that I'm going to make this weekend. >> Oh, well, that's what I was about to say. Like my main takeaway from Tbilisi is you're in danger of getting fat cuz the food is very good. >> I can't wait to go. I've got to >> And I love the wine, too. Um >> The wine is you know, I've subscribed to Wine Spectator magazine for 20 plus years. Georgian wine is is some of the
[27:35] best in the world and it's the most overlooked. >> So true. Nobody ever And it's very affordable. Um see So yeah, so in terms of what they should do, look, they could become a transit point in a true you know, Russian-Iranian military alliance that goes beyond just an intelligence cooperation agreement. It could be those could become a conduit point. But you know, traditionally countries that are in places like that between great powers >> Yeah. >> always survive by playing off both sides
[28:06] and trying to maintain as much you know, base level neutrality as possible. So I think that's probably and that's obviously what they're doing. But they're I think I mean, I would say Georgia is definitely more um traditionally it was more in Russia's sphere of influence for sure. >> Agreed. >> Uh Grayhorse88, thanks for the five. Okay, so you you already addressed that. But thanks for the five bucks anyway. Gospel of Tommy, thanks for the $4.99. Love the show, guys. All evidence points
[28:36] to them bombing those girls on purpose. Why did they do it? I you know, look, I hate I hate the the people who are who started this war. I don't think they did this on purpose. I think they thought it was they they thought they were lazy. They they were reckless. They didn't care enough about the innocent lives to just say like to double triple quadruple check it out. I think but I don't think they said, "Oh look, there be uh you know, an elementary school and let's blow it up." Cuz it's going to cause trouble. Um and it's going to then have people
[29:08] like us and the New York Times and you know, Democratic senators up their ass. So I don't I really don't believe they did it on purpose. >> I I I don't think they did it on purpose. >> I think they're just [ __ ] dumbasses. Now that doesn't make it any different. I mean, like look, if you're DUI and you and you kill someone because you were [ __ ] too stupid to call a taxi and you got into a car drunk, well you probably didn't kill anyone on purpose, did you? But they're still just as [ __ ] dead cuz of your recklessness. So to me it's like a difference it's a distinction without a difference.
[29:39] >> You know, I I I was watching one of these reality shows, one of these court shows yesterday. And um Oh, I'm seeing that that it looks like we may have just bombed children's hospital in Tehran. Lovely. Check that out, too. Um so I'm watching this cop show yesterday and it's this guy this this defendant >> [clears throat] >> he's arrested three times for possession with intent to distribute PCP, which I didn't even know people still did PCP.
[30:10] >> It's so it's it's so 80s. >> It's so 80s. Angel dust. So the judge reluctantly gives him bond. Said, "You better clean up your act. I'm going to give you bond. It's your last chance." He he goes out on bond, smokes PCP and hits and kills a guy. So he's like, "Your honor, I really like to have a second chance." And the judge is like, "This was your fourth chance. And you killed somebody." He He up getting 50 years.
[30:42] But you know >> 50 years is insane, but that's our system. >> 50 years is insane, but it was it was his fourth PCP related uh conviction. >> I'd be okay with >> I hadn't even heard the term >> Just duct tape the guy to a board and never let him leave anywhere. >> Yeah, that's pretty much what it's going to come down to. >> God. Uh Uh John Nippleton, Josh Nippleton, my apologies. Thanks for the $13.99 Canadian. Uh hey Telly and John, love how kind and thoughtful you both are. Question for
[31:13] John, during your time in the Muslim world, did you ever have to read and analyze the Quran in order to understand Muslim ideology? >> No, but I certainly studied it and and read read it in its entirety when I was in college. Um you know in in the State Department, less less so in the CIA, but in the State Department um it's all about it's all about data tuning. Um the only time I ever really needed
[31:45] to have even any background in the Quran was when um Ambassador David Ransom, for whom I worked in Bahrain, went to meet the Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs. And I was the translator. Uh and the note taker. That was the only time the Quran ever came up. >> I mean the Yeah, the implication that
[32:16] we've heard post-9/11 is that Colonel like, you know, everybody's following, you know, that that [clears throat] that the that there's a a really tight obvious link between the religion and the and the politics and particularly Islamic terrorism. And I think I mean John, this is your area of expertise. I mean, but my impression for example in Afghanistan was that oh so much of this is cultural and tribal as well. A lot more of it and and that often the Quran
[32:48] is sort of bent and and interpreted to fit whatever the you know, the cultural interpretation is. >> That is absolutely true. >> and stuff like that. >> Absolutely true. And that's why in Islam just as in Christianity, just as in Judaism, there are so many different bents to it, you know? >> Yeah, I mean it's it's billions of people. >> Yeah. 2 billion Muslims, 2 and 1/2 billion
[33:20] Christians, and there are 99 ways from Sunday, no pun intended, to interpret the tenets of it. >> It's like the Simpsons line, right? Like whether you're Christian, Muslim, or and then they have there's Apu, miscellaneous. >> [laughter] >> Thank you, come again. >> [laughter] >> Um Vilmar Air, thanks for the two Canadian dollars. Scared there's no off-ramp now. What next for DXB? >> I'm scared there's no off-ramp as as well.
[33:51] I think this is a serious problem. >> I don't think there's an off-ramp right now. >> Mhm. >> Um I mean yeah, I mean the thing is okay, so I mean look, the Iranians don't want their their lawn mowed, right? As the Israelis say it. They don't want this to happen anymore. They need some kind of permanent deal. Otherwise, there's no reason for them not to keep fighting. >> Yeah. Um we have an ad we don't want to lose. >> Okay, let's do it. Sorry, thank you for that, John. Um okay, still haven't tried 1775
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[34:52] gear, yours for 99. This is for the ones who've been watching 1775 blow up on Rumble wondering if it's actually worth it. Spoiler, it is. Go to 1775coffee.com/studio and grab your starter kit before they're gone. Bold beans, clean fuel, and a morning routine that stands for something just like Rumble does. Okay, thank you for that, John. I would have easily just blown through that, but now I have to go back and find out where I was. Okay. >> [laughter] >> Okay, here we go. KJ164, $9.99, thank
[35:25] you so much. Hi Ted, hi John. Since Turkey pulled 92 billion in economic assets from Israel, do you think they're getting ready to attack? You deserve all the success you're getting, John. >> Oh, thank you. Do you know the words do we think the Turks are ready to attack? >> I I think they're not going to attack the Israelis. >> I will let you in on a little secret. Last night I had dinner with two senior officials from the Turkish Foreign Ministry. And we talked about this very issue. And as
[35:55] soon as I brought it up, they both they looked at each other and they both started smiling. And they said, "This is not going to happen. There is not going to be hostilities between Turkey and Israel, but if the Israelis were to provoke, and I thought this was so interesting, Ted, I I had not thought of it. If the Israelis were to attack Turkey, Turkey would destroy them.
[36:27] And Turkey would not ask NATO to um invoke Article 5. >> Would Israel uh pull the Samson option, though? >> We talked about that. >> Yeah. >> And he said um he didn't think so because Turkey has no interest whatsoever in occupying Israel. >> Mhm. >> It would be just to bloody Israel's, you know, face and nose and tell them you stay on your side of the border and we'll stay on ours. >> Yeah, [ __ ] off and go away. >> That's right.
[36:57] >> But I don't think the Israelis are stupid enough to do that. >> I can't imagine. The Israelis do a lot of stupid things, but not something that stupid. >> Overthrowing Assad, that was stupid. >> Yeah, but you attack a NATO country just cuz you don't like their leader? >> Nah. >> Nah, that's not going to happen. Um uh the uh new uh the new uh Ayatollah Mojtaba uh Khamenei um has just issued, this is breaking news, statement um about so dear combatant brothers, the demand of the masses in the continuation of an effective and
[37:28] regret-inducing defense he did not appear on camera. He said the lever of closing the Strait of Hormuz must certainly continue to be used as well. Studies have been conducted on opening other fronts in which the enemy has little experience and would be highly vulnerable. I'm I'm reading Cyber here. Um their activation will take place if the wartime situation continues and in accordance with the considerations of expediency. Um okay, and then there's just sort of some boilerplate thanks to the to their troops. Um John, when I was
[38:00] when I was last in in uh entering Iran, I was questioned by Iranian intelligence officers for about 4 hours at the border >> Wow, 4 hours? >> with Afghanistan, yeah. And toward the end of the conversation, and by the way, these guys are like they're like exactly like Mossad guys. They kind of like could be twins, you know? They're always like in their 20s, they kind of like have big shit-eating grins, and they always wear like a sports jacket and a and a and a and just a t-shirt underneath.
[38:30] Um They're like the same. And the except the Iranian ones are nicer. And the And anyway, at the end of it, the guy says he's like, "Can I get your email address? I just really want to keep in touch with you." And I'm like, "You don't really want to just keep in touch with me, do you?" And he started laughing. And I was like And this was in 20 When was this? 2011. And it's like he's like not looking to keep in touch. I think he wanted to like we're going to get your email address and we'll hack it, right? And
[39:02] >> [clears throat] >> And that was a long time ago. I mean, how are Do we know how Iran's cyber warfare uh what their cyber warfare capabilities are? >> You know, all we see in the reporting is when Iran is the victim of cyber warfare. I I don't think I know anything about Iran's capabilities. >> That's interesting. >> we we hear about Stuxnet and how the the Americans and the Israelis were crowing about their their success with Stuxnet. >> Well, Iran's The Iranians were retards.
[39:32] They were. Yeah. >> Yeah, they were. And then Stuxnet, you know, leaked and went all over the Middle East. >> Yes. Yeah, it's crazy. Um So, yeah, no, I I don't think there's an off-ramp. You know, um >> I don't either. >> Uh Ted and John, thanks for the 10 bucks from uh Is Is Is Zelu. Could you talk about the CIA's surveillance targeting program, uh EM weapons, uh electromagnetic I assume, mind control, and gangstalking on innocent civilians? People say it's a
[40:04] torture program. Targeted Justice is fighting and then to and then I don't know, it's cut off. But anyway, that you get you get the gist of it. >> Yeah, the CIA doesn't do that. The CIA hasn't even experimented with it since 1975. Um it's my understanding that there is no such thing as gangstalking. >> What is gangstalking? >> Gangstalking but I get I I get these these queries almost every day. I got one yesterday. Um where people say, well I I'll tell
[40:35] exactly what the guy said yesterday. He said that he's been under close-in surveillance for the last 6 years. He's an Uber driver and the CIA has been following him everywhere he goes. Just yesterday he was in the grocery store and he turned to look and there was a man staring at him. And then when he's laying in bed at night, they're using electromagnetic weapons against him and it gives him a headache and he can't sleep and they follow him everywhere he goes. It's like, no.
[41:05] That's mental illness. >> Mhm. >> You need to see a psychiatrist, not a former CIA officer. >> But what does gangstalking mean? >> Gangstalking is when it's a whole gang of people and they're constantly on you. Like some are following you close in, some are following you from a distance, some are beaming waves at you, some are in cars around you. It's all made up. It's all in their minds. >> Yeah, I mean that wouldn't I mean you tell me but aren't intel intelligence operations are expensive, salaries are
[41:36] expensive. Uh if you were you know and you don't want to attract attention, right? >> You know, an operation like that at most would last a day or two and it would be targeted against somebody who had very specific information that the CIA needed. Not some Uber driver driving around, you know, Kentucky. >> [laughter] >> It's just not real life. And this this targetedjustice.targetjustice.com or.org um it's a place where all these people go
[42:06] to to talk about how the CIA is, you know, stealing their dreams and planted a chip in their in the filling in their tooth and communicating through some kind of waves. >> I have heard like a funny I mean I I have heard I forget where I read this, but apparently it is some people have credibly picked up >> Yes. >> like AM/FM radio waves through their fillings and then they thought that it meant that they were being spied on.
[42:36] >> Yes. >> But really they were just picking up radio waves. >> Absolutely true. >> Or like, you know, or from cop cars or, you know, whatever whoever's using, you know, construction workers using radio. Um Okay, let's see. Um Thanks for the dollar from Hey Mike. John, you should go on I'm going to tell you to go on things. Slavos Halkias Slavi World Podcast, my two favorite Greek Americans. >> I never heard of it, but I'm going to
[43:07] check it out. >> Okay. Uh >> Thanks. >> BJ O'Donnell, five bucks. Thank you very much. Hey all, with the information that AI is playing a part in the selection of targets for the current war in Iran, is it possible the school was targeted by AI? What would be the implication of this? Now, the thing is that question has been directly answered by the administration. They deny it stridently. Um I'm in I'm inclined to believe them here. >> I I think this was a human error. >> Yeah. >> In fact, the Washington Post on the
[43:38] front page of the Washington Post this morning, they had a a very long explanation of how like this was [ __ ] up every step of the way. >> Oh, I look forward to reading that. It pisses me off though. I mean it I mean it look, as far as I'm concerned, I just want to be clear. Morally, to me, recklessness to that extent is no different than if it was intentional. Um the the moral culpability of the United States and President Trump and everyone in his administration who has anything to do with this is the same. To me, it's a war crime either way. Like,
[44:09] who cares? Like, oh, I just didn't give a [ __ ] I didn't I didn't do I didn't I didn't you know, to do my I didn't give enough I didn't do my homework, and so I'm sorry your daughter's dead. That doesn't really help me as a dad, does it? >> No. No. >> No. Um Uh MM5478, thanks for the 10. Just a few dollars to say thanks for my career public defender. You guys are fighting for our democracy and the world of law. >> Well done, gentlemen. >> Oh, the public defenders are the unsung heroes of the American judicial system.
[44:41] They're grotesquely overworked and underpaid, and we need lots more and lots more money to give to them. >> Here, here. Couldn't agree more. Jackson McGrath, uh exclude thanks for the two Australian dollars. Excluding Islamic theology, uh I I don't know what that is. I think it's a follow-up to a previous comment. Um Repentance 1645, thanks for the 4.99 British pounds. Uh with all these events unfolding, nobody seems to be speaking about Hamas. >> Right. >> bringing this up. Do you both believe
[45:12] they may strike again or be planning something? I Well, I mean, anything's possible. Look, they Talk about resilience, right? I mean, those guys are They're like cockroaches. You can't kill them. Um They're I mean, I think I think survival's the win. I don't know, John. What do you think? I mean, Hezbollah has opened up a front against Israel for real, you know, 3 years late, but I guess. But, uh but here we are. Could Hamas have some trick up their
[45:44] sleeve? It's hard to believe at this stage. >> It would be hard to believe because because their their patrons have have kind of been taken out, at least temporarily. Sure, I think we should expect Hamas to reconstitute itself. It will never be a real threat to Israel, and it will result in, um, in Israeli counterstrikes and counterattacks that would dwarf anything that Hamas could do to the Israelis. So, kind of more of the same, I think.
[46:15] >> Oh, oh, yeah. I I I think that's good. But, I think look, I think that's a valuable a a you know, reminder that we should keep a we should definitely keep an eye on, uh, on Hamas. Um, add, uh, add the ballad. Uh, thanks for the 1,000 Nigerian whatever the currency of Nigeria is. Thank you. Greetings from Lago Lagos. I've never heard John talk about Nigeria. Uh, interested to know if he's ever had anything with to do with Nigeria during his career. >> Not a single thing. I will say that my
[46:47] colleagues in the Counterterrorism Center thoroughly enjoyed working with the Nigerians. We have a close relationship with the Nigerians, especially, uh, in the fight against, uh, terrorism in the Sahel. So, relations are good. Close cooperation. But, I I never had occasion to go. You know, even when I was doing training, counterterrorist training, um, there weren't many of us in that branch. It was a branch of like four guys
[47:17] and a chief. And, um, I was all Middle East and then I think I toward the end I picked up Thailand. But, yeah, Africa wasn't my wasn't my thing. >> Um, speaking of the Sahel, uh, culture junkie, uh, thanks for the five euros. I want to hear more about the Sahel region and the roles of countries like Algeria in there. >> Yeah, the Sahel is a is a godforsaken mess. Um, they they are the definition of poor,
[47:49] desperate, um, there's no oil, right? So, it's not like an oil boom's going to happen. >> as we know. >> That's as far as we know. Um >> I've started saying that because the places that we thought never had oil >> Guyana >> Kyrgyzstan >> Kyrgyzstan, that's right. >> Sorry, sorry, not to not Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan. >> Oh, was it Tajikistan? Geez, they're even more poor than Kyrgyzstan. >> Yeah, so they're going to be very happy about it. Yeah, so apparently there's like new deep drilling technology and uh
[48:23] they can go down 1.5 miles uh and >> You know the Russians developed that. >> And they found it well, maybe the Russians passed it on to the Tajiks cuz they have very close relations. >> Interesting. The Russians got down so far. They went down like 3 miles and they had to stop because the drill bits kept melting. >> Oh, from the the heat from the earth >> Yeah, uh-huh. >> Oh, that's cool. >> Yeah. >> That's great. You know, another thing I read is that oil workers at oil derricks, because it's um you know, it's rotted mostly rotting plants, but they
[48:55] pull out like they pull out like uh you know, 200 million-year-old, you know, ferns and stuff and then they fall apart when they hit the air. >> Wow. >> So cool. Uh you think it's dead dinosaurs, but it's really not. Uh Uh John, this is a question from Christine of $799 Australian dollars. How do you rate agents from other intelligence agencies? Are there any respect, hate, fear, etc.? Have you had much exposure to them in the field? Well, obviously >> Oh, pooh. Lots and lots of exposure. You know, I said I said to somebody the other day,
[49:27] you know the scene in every James Bond movie where James bumps into the CIA guy. >> Yeah. >> that's in all the movies is because that happens every single day. And you're like, "Hello, John. Hello, Nigel. >> [laughter] >> Stay away from the Deputy Prime Minister, Nigel. >> He's mine. >> [laughter] >> That happened to me once in Kuwait. We were both going after the same target. I see this guy is like, [ __ ] He comes up
[49:58] to me, he's like, hello John. I said, hello Ian. >> [laughter] >> What are you doing here? I had to deal with this one French guy one time. So, I was instructed to meet with a French intelligence officer. So, I called him and I said, hey, how are you? I'm John. Nice to talk to you. Would you like to get together for lunch? And he's like, uh yes, meet me at the intersection of uh First Avenue and Maple Street, right? I'm like, okay, that's odd.
[50:29] >> Why not just give me the name of a restaurant? >> Yeah. So, I'm standing there on the corner, and then he comes down the side street, makes a quick right turn, and he's like, jump in. And I said, you set me up for a car pickup meeting? It's called a CPU. A car pickup meeting? I I am not your asset. We're colleagues. I said, I'm walking down to this restaurant down here. I'll meet you there, but I'm not getting in your car. I'm offended. >> What do you I mean, what I mean, why are
[50:59] you offended? What was >> A car pickup is you've done a surveillance detection route to get to an intersection, an intersection on a black road. Black meaning not a main road, so nobody can see you. Right? So, >> [clears throat] >> you're going down this road, you make a quick right, the agent jumps in your car, and ducks down, and you continue on. So, even if you are being followed, nobody saw the agent get in your car. Well, buddy, we're having lunch to discuss some joint operation. I'm not
[51:29] getting in your car. Yeah, I'm not your recruited asset. French. >> [laughter] >> Well, I mean, that's my family. Um Turek thanks for the five bucks. Uh seems to hope the war will cancel or win the midterms. Do you think he's right? I agree with that analysis. I don't think it can possibly win the midterms. I mean, look, here's the thing. You have a war that at most is approved of or
[52:00] tolerated by 27% of the public, 40% by some accounts, right? I mean, wars never gain in popularity, ever. World War II didn't gain in in in in popularity, and it was the most popular American war ever. I mean, wars are hard, wars kill people, wars cost money. Uh you know, the public turns against them. There's no world in which, you know, we look back in December and say, "Wow, you know, the Republicans picked up seats in the house, and it turned out it's because of the war." That's not
[52:31] possible. So, I think it's a it could be part of an excuse to declare an a national emergency and cancel an election, you know, or to try to do that, I think. I know it sounds paranoid. That's But, I mean, if All I keep I keep coming back to it. I mean, I think if I'm Donald Trump, I don't want to go to jail in 2029. That means I got to cancel 2028. And And it's easier to cancel 2026 than it is to cancel 2028. And if you cancel 2026, then it's easier, like Zelenskyy, to go
[53:02] back later and say, "Oh, you know, well, we canceled the parliamentary elections. Now we'll cancel I mean, that's my thinking. >> I pray to God that you're wrong. >> Me, too. Me, too. But, I don't know. We have consistently been taken by surprise with some of these issues. So, I'm not making any predictions. >> All right, we've got a bunch of super chats to get through, and I do want to get to them and and to any others that we can. Um but, I do want to ask you about the Save America Act. So, you
[53:32] know, we talked about this like my column last week, not the current one. Um you know, basically, you and I both talked about how we both agree that the Save America Act basically disproportionately disenfranchises uh you know people who don't can't put their hands on a passport or a or a birth certificate with the same name that they currently have like they got married you know most likely that or they got or let's say they transit they transitioned but that's a fraction of 1% so Republicans are fighting for it even though it's going to hurt them at the
[54:02] polls Democrats are against it even though it's going to help them at the polls now President Trump though it's a full court press on the right is leaning on John Thune and you know basically he's demanding a you know what's his name Jimmy Stewart Mr Smith goes to Washington goes to Washington he wants a talking filibuster old school you know maybe you know where your diapers and >> that is old school and it's a lot of work >> and apparently and and Thune is like says well we don't even have the votes
[54:33] to do the talking filibuster in other words we just don't have as as Donald Trump would say you don't have the cards like so what's going on here on the Republican side like >> well John Thune is is exhibiting something called what's the name of it leadership >> oh right that >> right that something I had to think about because we haven't seen it anywhere in Washington for so long >> right >> John Thune is is taking the long view
[55:04] here that if you want to maintain your power and authority not just yours personally but the bodies power and authority then you're going to maintain the filibuster of course Donald Trump wants to do away with the filibuster every president wants to do away with the filibuster so he can ram his his projects through but Thune knows that and this is a lesson that Harry Reid learned the hard way
[55:35] if you do away with the filibuster, the other side's going to be back in power, probably sooner rather than later, and you're going to be screwed. You know, Obama wanted so badly to force through his judicial nominees. And so, Harry Reid lifted the filibuster when it came to judicial nominees, and that's how we have all these right-wing crazy people on the Supreme Court. That was Harry Reid's fault. And John Thune doesn't want to make it worse.
[56:06] >> John, um I'm I'm very like mortified. We have like six more or seven more uh super chats to get to uh in just a couple of minutes. Um the QP sub, uh thanks for the $50. Mr. Kuriakou, we respect what you did and wish you success with your pardon. How important is Romania for US military positioning toward the Middle East today? Also, is there credible evidence of CIA involvement in Romania's 1989 revolution? I guess that's against uh Nicolae Ceaușescu. >> Ceaușescu. Um oh man, I wish I had 5
[56:36] minutes for this. Uh Romania is increasingly important uh vis-à-vis the Middle East. The Greeks can't take any more American, you know, planes, ships, all that stuff. It's full. Everything's full. The Turks are doing their own thing. The next best bet is uh Romania, maybe Bulgaria, but Romania and the United States are very close. The military's, the intelligence services are very close. So, Romania is playing that role. >> SPRSlaav, thanks for the tenner. Uh a military that can drop a bomb through a window does not accidentally hit a
[57:07] school. We've been witnessing the use of the Dahiya doctrine in Palestine and now Iran. It is simply terrorism. I mean, look, we don't know, of course, we it's and you know, but I there's a big, you know, let's not conflate accuracy with by GPS with uh you know, you could we could definitely hit the we can hit the target. The question is, do we know what the target is? >> That's the thing. Robbie says he needs to pop on real quick. Okay, here we go. >> Howdy, howdy, real quick. I know we're almost out of time and there's a bunch
[57:39] of rants and super chats. I need y'all to do me a favor. Take a picture of it. Take a picture of your rant, email it to me, westglaciergaming@gmail.com. I will put it on the top of the stack tomorrow morning. >> Thank you, Robbie. You just made me this happen. >> Okay, and then like also thank you for addressing gangstalking. That's Hog's Canine 2 Buck. Love the show from Tristan. Thanks for the 1999. Surprised Judeo-Christian tagline sticks when Islam and Muslims love and revere
[58:09] Jesus and Mother Mary. Propaganda against Islam and Muslims keeps natural relations from further forming. >> That's that's that's true. Yes. >> Yeah, that is true. Fellas, okay, we're going to these two they're going to have to go with the two bottom ones, Robbie. We're going to do them tomorrow. Thank you so much. Our apologies for the not being able to get to everything, but that's how it goes. We are here 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday. We'll be back tomorrow, Friday, March 13th. And hopefully have a happy Friday the 13th. John, nice to see you as always.
[58:42] >> Thanks, everybody. >> Stay tuned for the TMI show coming up right now. DMZ America podcast with Vietnam vet and legendary editorial cartoonist Jeff Danziger [clears throat] will be joining Scott D'Antuono and I at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. We're weekly only on Thursdays. Thanks, everyone. Bye. Bye. >> [music]
[59:30] >> Mhm.