[00:08] Hey, good morning. You're watching the program with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou. I'm Ted Rall, that's John Kiriakou. Good morning, John. >> Good morning, Ted. Good morning, everybody. It's Friday, March 27th, 2026. Thank you for joining us. Uh today we'll be talking about two tacos, thus the topic of today's show. Uh everyone knows what taco stands for. Um Trump kind of is tacoing on Iran. Uh he demanded unconditional surrender, that he set a deadline for today before he said he would bomb Iran's uh power
[00:40] plants. Then uh of course, the financial markets were not liking it. So, he just kicked that can down the road again. This is kind of like what he did with the tariffs, buy another 10 days. So, off to April 6th we go. Um the partial government shutdown looks like it's probably going to come to an end fairly soon. Uh president said he would pay uh TSA as a part of an emergency executive order. So, then the Senate decided to basically pass the Democratic bill um that uh passes
[01:10] Homeland Security but without immigration ICE / border control enforcement. And finally, Trump will become the first sitting United States president or non-sitting United States president to have a signature on American paper money. I guess just in time for nobody to really nobody really uses paper money anymore, but anyway, there you have it. Um we have some leftover questions from yesterday. We will get to those first. Please like, follow, and share and we will get to your questions uh as best we can. As
[01:41] always, um if you're just joining us, uh just a reminder that next week we go to from 5 to 7 hours a week. We'll still be here Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. Eastern time, but in addition, we'll start Monday and Wednesday at 12:00 noon Eastern time. So, uh 2 hours on Mondays and Wednesdays. Um just a note note not we're starting this on Wednesday of next week, uh April 1st. We're not going to be doing this on Monday. So, uh Monday we'll be here but only at 9:00 in the morning. Sorry to be complicated, but it should be you'll get used to it. And
[02:12] thanks uh for your support. Um Okay, John, should we do the leftover super chats from yesterday and get to >> them. Okay, thank you, everybody, for your patience. Sorry about that. Uh Ver Verita Gupta, thanks for the uh 40 uh uh rupees. Why does it feel that all this is happening because Trump didn't get a Nobel Prize? Why are American people okay with Jared Kushner negotiating their future in the Middle East? Is he Trump's son-in-law or the whole USA's son-in-law?
[02:43] You know, I was talking to a Gulf a Persian Gulf prince yesterday and he called Jared um a lowly real estate agent. And he said, "Why in the world we allowed this this lowly real estate agent to come to our country to pretend like he was trying to negotiate peace, to have his hand out the entire time, and then to be surprised when the whole
[03:15] region is plunged into war." He said, "Shame on us." He also said that the entire time that Jared Kushner was supposedly leading these peace talks with the Iranians in the Gulf, he would do the talks for a couple of hours in the morning, and then after the talks were done, he would just grift for money from all these rich Gulf Arabs. "Invest in my crypto. Invest in my building on Park Avenue. Invest in my my
[03:48] development in Miami." It wasn't about peace. It was never about peace. It was about cover for making more money. Um do you I mean, how much of that do you think is behind um the US support for Israel's genocide in Gaza and now it's attack on Iran. I don't know how we make money from Iran, but >> Ted, if there's one thing that we should have learned as a country, it's we should believe them when they tell us what they're going to do.
[04:19] Donald Trump said he was going to make Gaza better than Monte Carlo. You remember that? I remember. >> [snorts] >> But the first thing you have to do is get rid of every single Palestinian. No way around that, really. But they they can't. They'd like to. They can't. I'm glad they can't. Quite literally the definition of genocide. Totally. Um okay, so here's a uh Javier, thank you so much. That's for the 10 bucks. What would have to happen inside Iran for the regime to actually collapse
[04:51] and not just weaken? God bless you all and God bless America. Um Well, I mean, there's a lot of different scenarios, right? There's There's revolution. There's collapse. There's coup d'état. I don't see a coup d'état. Uh I I I I think the regime is too >> Me neither. govern It has too many um backup support systems. Agreed. Um street revolution, I mean, they did it in 1979 and the Shah fled into exile. But you know though, Ted, I was watching
[05:21] Patrick Bet-David yesterday and Patrick is a a hardcore Zionist. He's Iranian. I don't think he's Jewish. I think he's like half Assyrian and half Armenian. But he's a hardcore Zionist and not just a Zionist. He is a like 1,000% backer of Reza Pahlavi to return to Iran and to assume the Peacock Throne and blah blah blah. Um and he was saying yesterday that it's not 60%
[05:52] of the Iranian people who support the overthrow of the regime, it is 94%. And I'm like, "What polls are you looking at?" >> polls. There are no polls. You just make this [ __ ] up to put your your stooge in. The monarchists are crazy online. I mean, I I saw some They've been passing along the message that Iran only became um Muslim 100 years ago. What? No, that was 1,000 years ago.
[06:22] >> 1,000 years ago, yes. >> And and I get that there are still Zoroastrians and I I get all that. Oh, uh Elliot Covert, Patrick Bet-David is Jewish. Okay, I stand corrected. I wasn't sure. Um but I know he's not ethnic Persian. He's Armenian Assyrian. Mhm. Yeah, 94% [clears throat] of his friends. That that's exactly it. >> Well, that's what they do, right? Like literally, I've been asking online like from these, you know, these Persian monarchists, "Okay, so where's your proof?" Right? You say, "Oh, everybody
[06:53] wants the the Shah back." I find that very hard to believe um considering how brutal the Shah was and the fact that he was overthrown by his own people, right? I mean, it wasn't like he was coup'd out by any foreign >> Yeah. uh power, quite the op quite to the contrary. So, he um but yeah, they they literally these these mon Persian monarchists, they just they do polls of like the exiles. And you know, I I hate to say this, this applies to the Cubans, too, and to my, you know, my old my my Taiwanese former in-laws. Exiles don't get a vote. You
[07:25] guys are barely even influential. >> Exactly. It's like only the people in country get a vote. You want to vote? Move back to Iran and then you can become part of the conversation and if there's a revolution, you guys will help build the new Iran, whatever that looks like. >> There it is. Exactly. Um Exactly. So, I mean, to answer this question, I think it's important like could the could the regime collapse? I mean, the Cuban government's going to collapse imminently because of it's the economic shock. But Iran has Iran is is
[07:56] built I mean, it it it can it's going to keep going. I mean, I don't think the government's going to collapse. I mean, anything I I I could be next week be like, "Wow, I don't think it's going to collapse. If anything, it's pushed the Iranian people to to more fervently support the government. Yeah. Remember, we're not seen as liberators, we're seen as occupiers and invaders. And Iranian people are pulling together to oppose us. And let's not forget, right? Like they're they're the baloney in the occupation sandwich between Iran Iraq and Afghanistan.
[08:27] >> Afghanistan. Right? They saw it right on their borders. They saw exactly how we didn't exactly liberate either of those countries. Um okay. Um Jackson McGrath has a $2 Australian uh request. Ted, can you find me a sweet French girl, please? That's going to cost you more than two Australian dollars. Um Oh, wait. We have a correction. He is not Jewish. Oh, okay. Yeah, I didn't think he was Jewish, but he's an ardent Zionist. Uh Muhammad Bella uh Bellalizine, thanks
[08:58] for the two bucks. Hey, Ted and John, big fan. Do you think the US and Israel might try to destabilize Algeria as they did in the Middle East since it opposes Israel, does not recognize it, and hosts no US bases? No. And that's because that's France's sphere of influence. And we would not mess with it. The the the French would not tolerate it. Don't forget, I mean, for people who are unaware of this, Algeria wasn't just a French colony. It was a full part of La France métropolitaine. It was like
[09:29] Hawaii is to the United States. It was a French It was part of France. You know, like An actual It was like It was like Alaska [clears throat] is to the United States. Exactly. Like it's not considered It had no different, you know, it's not like Puerto Rico, right? Something like that. Um okay, uh let's see. Here's a missed super chat hoping for an answer. Um hey, I was curious if you guys are fans of any sports teams or if you play any sports. Also, John, you're looking extra cute today. #pardonjohnkiriakou
[10:00] >> Thank you so much. This is my Australian Aboriginal designed shirt that I bought in the airport in Sydney after I slipped unnoticed into Australia despite my lifetime ban. And you know, I've been doing so well on Cameo. Um I haven't really said anything, but I I set a record for the most Cameos ever done in 1 month and we still have a few days left in March and the most money ever made in 1
[10:31] month by anybody on Cameo. Congratulations, John. That's fantastic. >> And so the CEO of Cameo is flying in this morning to take me to lunch. Is that the shirt you'll be wearing? Uh-huh. >> [laughter] >> It's a great shirt, actually. >> Thank you. I like it. >> I was kind of like admiring it before we went live, but I didn't want to sound gay. Um so okay, so sports. Well, I'll start. It'll be a short answer. I do not watch or follow sports whatsoever. I some if someone has the Olympics on,
[11:02] I'll watch, but I won't turn it on myself. I do bicycle. That's that's my that's my sport. I I am a very big baseball and football fan. Pittsburgh [snorts] Steelers, Pittsburgh Pirates as bad as they've been for the last 25 years. It's going to be a better year this year. And yeah, I I go to I don't know dozen games a year and usually one or two football games. They're football's extraordinarily expensive, but I'll get a a ticket on the secondary market and
[11:34] meet my son and whether it's in Pittsburgh or Washington or or Cincinnati, we always manage to go to one. And Pittsburgh and Cincinnati were yeah, where I grew up north of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Reds territory. Big rivalry there. >> Oh, big rivalry going back to the yeah, back to the '70s. Big rivalry. Big rivalry. I definitely I have to say if someone invites me to a baseball game, I'm always happy to go. I like seeing baseball. Football does nothing for me. I do not understand why people watch it at all.
[12:04] But it's so there's hardly any play. It's just like basically people standing around. Okay, see see [laughter] Loof, thanks for the $19.99. Questions for John, did you see your family while in prison? And how did you battle the mental demons, e.g. depression? Hope you get a pardon. Good questions. Good questions. Yes, my my then wife never missed a never missed a visit. She would bring the kids all the time. And it was it was tough. They would have to leave the house at at 5:00 in the
[12:36] morning to get there when the doors opened at at 8:30. So it was very very generous. She never missed a visit. Um you know, battling those demons. There's there's nothing wrong with pharmaceuticals. And uh you know, I I was on the smallest dose of of uh venlafaxine, 37 and 1/2 milligrams I think is what it was. And uh got me through it. You were that was through the prison let you do that?
[13:06] >> has literally everybody on antidepressants or antianxieties. Literally everyone in the prison. That's so funny. You know, and even the even the the prison shrink told me one time um that 85% of prisoners in the federal prison system have a diagnosable mental illness. 85% and most of them are borderline personality disorder. So there are a lot of potentially very dangerous people.
[13:38] Even if you're in for like mortgage fraud or whatever, you could just as easily lash out and kill somebody. I wonder what percent what that percentage would be, you know, of that same population before they went to prison. How many of them lost it after they ended up behind bars? Good question. Yeah. Um TJ Mirk, thanks for the five bucks. Manchild, thanks for the two. Morning do the shifting justifications and poor execution simply prove the administration's ineptitude or is the Iran war a strategic distraction for
[14:09] ulterior domestic geopolitical agendas? Both, in my opinion. Yeah, both. I agree. Um I mean definitely these are people who do not know how to run a war. To their credit, neither did George W. Bush or Barack Obama. Um but or Joe Biden. But at the same time yeah, it's also war is the ultimate distraction from from domestic thing. The problem is it distracts the leadership. So they could
[14:39] be perceived as working on the economic and other problems we have in the US, but they're not because all we ever hear, you know, that we're they're focused on the war. That's it. Um Aryan, thanks for the 199. For those unknowing, taco equals Trump always chickens out or I've heard craps out. Blue Jet 355, thanks for the $10. Pardon for John, here here. John, let's talk about the taco stuff. So Um so what do you think is really happened?
[15:10] Donald Trump claims that there's been negotiations with Iran. Iran says that there hasn't really been negotiations and we do know that that there have been sort of third party transfers of demands back and forth that couldn't possibly be further apart. Both sides are acting like they want the other side to basically cave in. The Iranians are convinced that what really matters here is the economic pain they could inflict on the oil markets. I agree with them. I think they're
[15:41] right. The Americans think that the more [ __ ] they blow up and the more people they assassinate, the better off they're going to be. I don't think they're right about that. But there's been uh you know, sort of like no agreement to disagree even here. And now Trump claims that Iran asked for this 10-day delay to April 6th to allow for further negotiations before Trump starts doing what he announced. Basically, it's a war crime to to blow up civilian infrastructure, energy power plants.
[16:12] You're not allowed to do that. Yeah. So what do you think? I don't know that I believe Donald Trump when he says that the Iranians asked for this can to be kicked down the road, but it's possible. What do you think? I don't I don't believe it. I truly don't believe it. I think that this is face-saving on his part. He's he's trying very hard to to just save face. Well, he's really worried about the energy markets, right? I mean the oil futures markets and the stock exchanges
[16:43] are dropping. I mean he's I mean we've lost 10% of shareholder value in a month. >> all the gains in the stock markets going back to like last October. That's a major problem. And you know, and John, the thing is I was listening to yesterday the latest the latest unemployment statistics are fascinating. So despite the fact that there are not really a lot of new unemployment filings, the worker participation rate is
[17:13] is falling because a lot of Americans have now been unemployed so long that they've that their unemployment benefits, which are typically six week six months, have expired and they can't apply for more. So people are still out of work, can't find work. There's a no hire, no fire kind of situation going on in the in the in the workplace. So Americans are underemployed, unemployed. There's no way to find a new job these days. Young people will tell you it's really bad for Gen Z. I mean it's always been tough. >> Especially bad for Gen Z, yes.
[17:44] >> Always was tough. It was tough for Gen X, but it's worse now. Yeah. So there's you know, the economy is really going to be is really sinking. You know, and we used to say Ted that that this was really reflected only in the real estate market. Like our kids would never be able to afford to live in the houses that we grew up in. It's way past that now. It's way beyond that. I mean even even just getting a getting a job that can lead to something is unusual now.
[18:15] Yeah. Now, that's true. By the way, Reuters is reporting just now that the US has changed their messaging about Iran's missile stockpile and that they can only claim that a third of their missiles are gone. Of course, I don't I wonder I think Iran's new missile stockpile is mainly being destroyed by hitting targets in Israel. Um There there is a piece in the Washington Post this morning, Ted, saying that we're the ones who are almost out of Tomahawk missiles. We have fired 850 Tomahawk missiles in the last 3 weeks
[18:45] and those things just aren't sitting on the shelf. They ain't cheap. No. And so yeah, so I mean so the point is I think he's obviously Trump is is really got to be worried about the economy going into the midterm elections. Yeah, it's going to be a bloodbath for the Republicans. Um So he's asking so basically here's my actually it's a big financial question. This is almost like an Achilles Larrea question. But John, what do you think what's wrong with the futures traders? I mean
[19:16] they they can tell that Trump has basically been lying and to them about the state of the war, the state of the economy. Yes. I mean if I'm a trader, I'm thinking we could see a $180 a barrel oil, you know, really we could. Well, you know, that's you're right. That's that's not out of the realm of possibility and in fact that's what we expected to happen under who was it? Uh Was it Trump 1? Where where there was a surge in oil? I
[19:47] don't remember anymore, but everybody kind of expected that we would see oil in the neighborhood of $200 a barrel. So, why would be why would we be surprised today to see $200 a barrel oil? And yet Trump will do something like this and the markets will tick up a little bit and the oil prices will oil futures will drop. Why? What I mean, why are they naive like that? Why are they taking I mean, is it just is it still just residual like, well, he's still the president of the United States and we're used to taking these statements seriously?
[20:18] Probably. That's probably it. Yeah. Dumb. >> [laughter] >> Anyway, I always thought these were people driven by cold, hard numbers. Um okay, and then we can talk about the partial government shutdown. Um the Senate's passed this bill basically at the president's president gave the okay. He said there's no way, no how he was going to do this. Um and you know, he may not sign it, but it looks like obviously I don't think the Senate would have uh you know, John Thune would have passed this if he didn't think the president would sign it. It goes to the
[20:49] house. Um Speaker Johnson says he doesn't like this bill, but the point is this is a Democratic bill. The uh TSA um will get paid. Uh the rest of Homeland Security will get paid. Um doesn't this do you This also shows Trump blinking, right? The long lines at the airport. >> the question right out of my mouth. >> Sorry. I was going to say you Do you see this as a as a loss for Donald Trump? I do because >> Yeah, because basically this is one of those things where the shutdowns are like each party always blames the other.
[21:19] Historically, shutdowns have usually been the Republicans' fault and usually Republicans gotten blame. This shutdown definitely has at least one father and the Democrats are definitely at least as guilty as the Republicans. >> Yes. And yet the Republicans are taking the heat again. Again, again, I wonder if that's a legacy thing. Just like in the it's baked into the American people's mentality shutdowns are the Republicans' fault. Right. It is baked into people's mentalities. The the you're right. The Republicans
[21:50] always get blamed for the shutdown. Always. It's not fair, but you know, politics isn't fair. Um so okay, so I I'm going to bet here that this the Speaker Johnson changes his mind. This goes to the president. The president growls and signs the bill. What do What say you? I think that's exactly what's going to happen. But I'll tell you, I'm going to throw a little wrench into it, too. Mhm. I'm not sure that he can even temporarily fund TSA with an executive order.
[22:22] The money's not been appropriated. Right. >> I don't think he has the authority to do it. No, I don't think so, either. But it doesn't matter if you know, if the if this bill goes through. Yep. So I yeah, I mean, I think people are just I think they're it's very simple. It's like Republicans be blamed. Trump's the sitting president. Republicans [clears throat] That's the thing. That's That's the problem. When you control all three branches of government and both houses of Congress Yeah. >> you get the blame. You can't you can't get the job done, it's on you. Yeah. Yeah. So, that's super interesting. Um
[22:53] and so it's interesting to see Trump in this position of weakness after, you know, running so strong. And I guess well, I guess I have to talk about this. So, this is a uh banknote from Turkmenistan. That is Saparmurat Niyazov, aka Turkmenbashi, the uh the the father of all Turkmen. And he was the sitting president of Turkmenistan when this banknote was issued. Take note that he was on every denomination, okay? Every denomination. And uh he And so now, um
[23:27] like in many dictatorships, I think Assad was on the Syrian dinar, too. And Saddam Hussein. Saddam was definitely on the Iraqi dinar. Um so dictators do this. Um even in the Soviet Union, Stalin wasn't on the ruble. Um you know, it's like uh Brezhnev wasn't on the on the ruble. Anyway, the point is it takes a certain kind of dictator to be on the money. Now, Trump's not hasn't indicated that he wants his face on any US currency yet, but he will be the first US president, sitting or otherwise, to have a signature on US
[24:00] paper money. Usually, um well, traditionally going back to 1861, it's the Secretary of the Treasury and the Treasurer of the United States. >> of the United States. The two These two people who most people never spend any time thinking about usually. Scott Bessent in this case and some other person who I don't even >> We never know who the Treasurer of the United States is. And you know, ironically, the last like eight presidents have sort of reserved that position for a Hispanic. Oh, yeah, I noticed that. I wonder >> a thing. That's weird. Yeah. So So the
[24:31] thing is um look, um Americans mostly do many much more of their transactions uh using debit cards and using, you know, Apple Pay and whatnot. But it's still I mean, what do you make of the fact that this that that he thought he could I mean, will Democrats look at their paper money and it will piss them off? Like What like what's the what's the What are the political ramifications of this? >> I think I think most Americans are going to be embarrassed by this. Because even for for Trump supporters,
[25:01] this this level of narcissism I think is just too much. It's just too much. Nobody's ever done this. I mean, it was too much to put his name on top of John Kennedy's on the Kennedy Center. There was a piece in today's post. There's there's one woman who's been on the board of the Kennedy Center since 1972. And she says that she just doesn't think, you know, it's closing this week Mhm. um for, you know, renovations. She doesn't think it'll ever reopen. Why? >> She thinks that this is this is it. He's killed it.
[25:33] That's crazy. Yeah. I mean, that's hard to believe. I hope she's wrong. Um do you remember >> panic everywhere and and withholding New York uh construction funds uh until they, you know, they named the airport at Dulles Airport after him and Penn Station. Penn Station after him. Yeah, it's I I feel embarrassed as an American. I really do. I thought it was kind of going far during the pandemic um during Trump term
[26:04] one when he Remember the Trump uh the the pandemic checks, the COVID checks um that went out and he sent they came out with a letter with his signature on them. >> I remember. Yeah. Yeah. And and didn't he um Didn't he sign It was more than just a letter. Didn't he sign the actual checks I think he might have. >> rather than the Secretary of the Treasury signing the checks? That's I you know, I I was I was trying to
[26:34] remember that. That may well be true. I mean, certainly his you know, he he personalized it. By the way, I just want to say parenthetically that that was a super interesting um economic experiment. Um you know, basically for the there were $600-a-week checks going out to Americans who in many cases did not earn $600 a week before they lost their jobs to the pandemic. Um you know, looking back now during that year and a half, two years, um
[27:06] a record number of Americans came out of poverty during that period. A record number of them. They didn't waste the money on meth. They used the money to pay off their debts. Um they got themselves into a better position out of like uh you know, they were able to get out of debt slavery to uh you know, credit card bills where they were only paying the interest. I mean, it turned out to be an incredibly It was like an experiment in uh guaranteed living wage. Yes. And it turn I'm really kind of
[27:37] surprised that even someone like Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders, AOC, they haven't talked about like how incredibly successful that was. And how, you know, we learned a lot from that. You know, we have hard data that proves it. That's right. That's absolutely right. Um all right, more questions. Uh these are from today. Uh Blue Chat, thanks for the tenner. Pardon for John. Uh Thank you. GlizzyGang7127, 199. John Kiriyaku, I don't think that's a
[28:08] typo, but it should be. Is there any other daily shows you do? Uh no, not daily. I do um Deep Focus, which is just on YouTube. I do that twice a week. We we do one interview a week and then I do one Q&A a week. And then I've got Dead Drop on Apple Podcasts. We we release a new episode every Sunday night at midnight. Uh but that's it. I don't do I don't do any other daily shows. It's it's too
[28:39] much. There aren't enough hours in the day. Yeah, for sure. >> aren't. I mean, sure, I love hearing the sound of my own voice. No, I'm kidding. >> [laughter] >> But uh A lot of a lot of people love to hear the sound of your voice, John. It's too much. There's John fatigue out there. Ted and I were talking right before the show started. Now I'm Now I'm being referred to as um what was it, Ted? It was uh so-called whistleblower John Kiriakou. Yeah, I I always love the the scare quotes, like whistleblower. In my case, it's hard cartoonist. Like like um I am a
[29:11] cartoonist. I You could say I'm a shitty cartoonist, but I'm a cartoonist. Um okay, here we go. Dem will, thanks for the 25 euros. Hey guys, is really air defense systems have been quietly deployed around Cyprus. Many near the UN buffer zone. Is this purely defensive or part of a broader strategy that could shift the balance with Turkey on the island? Robbie and I have a Cypriot friend a Cypriot podcaster and she says that the whole island is panic-stricken that the Iranians are going to just just whack them with missiles. And so they
[29:42] brought in Patriots. They brought in all kinds of defensive weapons. They're It's my understanding that they're actually not along the green zone the green line. They're around the British bases. But yeah, the the Cypriots are panic-stricken. Uh and another thing too, you know, she was telling me just the other day um that um the Israelis I think I mentioned this on the show the Israelis have have opened the very first Zionist high
[30:13] school and it that's what it's called Israeli Zionist high school in Cyprus specifically to educate a new generation of Zionists in Cyprus. How lovely. Um yeah. >> Crazy. Uh Vilmar Nair um by the way oh so how does Cypriot like um governmental administration work there on the and like in other words do they have their separate uh governor that's uh in charge of uh Greek Cyprus or is
[30:43] that like a you know like do they do people get to vote like how does that work? Yeah uh well it's the northern third of the country is occupied by the Turkish military and the Turks have sent tens of thousands of settlers just like the Israelis have done in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Um and so yeah, it's occupied. So they don't vote now in in um Cypriot national elections which is funny cuz they don't vote in Turkish national elections either. Oh they should so they're kind of they're sort of stateless. Yeah, they're stateless. So do they not have passports or
[31:14] Uh they have Turkish Cypriot passports. Turkish Cyprus the the it's called the trunk the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognized only by Turkey. No other country in the world recognizes it. And so I mean technically technically they're supposed to travel on on Cypriot passports which are administered by the Cypriot government in Nicosia which is Greek. Um so a lot of them are able to get Turkish passports to travel to Europe.
[31:46] There I met my very first ever Turkish Cypriot in in uh Berlin on Wednesday. Um I had never met a Turkish Cypriot before. But you know, we're just waiting now for almost 51 years for the Turkish military to get the [ __ ] out of Cyprus so they can have a normal a normal life again and uh it's not happening. >> administratively if you were lived in um Turkish occupied Northern Cyprus um let's say you travel to Europe. I
[32:17] mean you know, somewhere else mainland Europe. Um could you go to a Greek consulate and get a Greek passport? You have to go go to a Cypriot consulate and get a Cypriot. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So you could theoretically have two Yeah, documents. Okay. God, that's such a so complicated. >> Yeah, a lot of these places that live in honestly as in diplomatic nether worlds it they really need to be addressed like the northern areas of Pakistan um you know, Taiwan. I mean these things
[32:47] are very [ __ ] up. Yeah. Uh Vilmar Nair thanks for the two Canadian dollars. We owe the Bidens an apology. Their grip was nothing. Hilarious. Uh I don't owe them any apology. Moshed Shedine thanks for the two bucks uh Canadian. John, where do you get reliable live updates about Iran? Oh you know what? Let me recommend uh two podcasts. Um uh Nima Alkhorshid uh k h o r s h i d Nima is a
[33:22] professor in Brazil. I think right now he's still in Iran but he gets fantastic fantastic guests. And the other is Ali Abunimah. Um Ali's in London. Uh he's a professor there but he gets equally fantastic guests. They're both daily shows. And um and you know, Al Jazeera as well. Al Jazeera has people inside Iran so they're able to get a lot of news on the ground as it's happening and they've got the infrastructure to get it out on the air uh quickly.
[33:56] Okay. Um let's see. Uh my oh I'm sorry. Um >> [snorts] >> uh Son of Martinia thanks for the five. Uh what do you think the policy of the Gulf countries will be after this war? That's really the $64,000 question. If I were a Gulf leader, I would ask with complete seriousness what do I get out of this relationship with the American military? If we've got the American military in
[34:27] every single one of the six GCC countries in big numbers including the headquarters of the fifth fleet in Bahrain the headquarters of uh of the uh US Air Force in the Middle East at Al Udeid Airbase in Qatar uh ground troops in Saudi Arabia Kuwait the UAE and Oman, what are the what do those countries get out of it? The Iranians are attacking them with impunity. The Americans aren't defending them or aren't able to defend them. So what do they get out of it? I would give
[34:57] serious thought to asking the Americans to leave. Well, I'm sure they they will but the US is going to talk what I want to you know, what do you think the US would say back to them? Like no no no uh don't don't kick us out. We you know, I can't quit you Brokeback Mountain. Um you know, you know, I want to stay. Um is there a is there a situation like this I mean I'm trying to think of any precedent where if civilian or other national infrastructure gets destroyed
[35:28] because of the US presence in a country that we would compensate them financially? Like let's say you know, the Iranians blow up their hotel. Do do the hotel owners get a big check check from Uncle Sam or is it just sort of like sorry sucks to be you? Oh it's worse than that. The US is asking them to pay for all this stuff that we're doing. What? Uh-huh. Burden sharing it's called. Oh I would definitely ask for them to leave then.
[35:58] >> Yeah. Yeah. They're not going to give them back. >> especially if you could get like a non-aggression pact with the Iranians. Exactly. Just leave us alone. Yeah. We'll leave you alone. >> You don't mess with us and we won't mess with you. Aubrey World thanks for the 20 bucks. Um what do you guys think of those cryptic messages from the White House social media accounts over the last couple of days? There was one posted last night that said when played backwards said exciting announcement tomorrow. What? [laughter]
[36:29] It's like what is this like playing playing like the Led Zeppelin album backwards back in the 70s? Or Paul is dead. >> [laughter] >> Yeah or or like uh what was it like Dark Side of the Moon lined up with with uh Wizard of Oz or something? Um Uh you know, I've seen several big announcement coming tomorrow kind of announcements from the White House Truth Social feed and then there's no exciting announcement the next day. >> Yeah. So I guess I don't take it very seriously. Um okay. Uh Joseph What about
[37:03] you John? Yeah, I I I agree. Yes. Okay so uh thanks for the uh Joseph thanks for the 75 new Taiwan dollars. Um how do you guys think uh Taiwan should deal with the relations between China and the United States? I dislike the political the People's Republic of China but still view myself as both Chinese China and Chinese and Taiwanese. Yeah, that's my whole you know, my family. >> Yes. Well, I mean Taiwan's stuck between a
[37:33] rock and a hard place, right? I mean basically the US just you know, basically uses them um to they you know, Taiwan they use Taiwan to leverage against China. But Taiwan has de facto independence but they don't have actual independence. Honestly John, if I were Taiwanese and this is a big ask I would declare independence. I would I would just do it understanding that the Chinese would be furious. >> You don't think that would provoke the Chinese? It would absolutely provoke the
[38:05] Chinese. But okay, then the Chinese have to decide uh do we want to go to war over this and maybe with the United States and certainly we're going to get a we're going to look like [ __ ] internationally which is the one thing they really don't want. Um you know, the Chinese are carefully cultivating a reputation for being the adults in the room and being the negotiators and being you know, like we're not like the crazy Americans and the crazy Israelis who like to attack everyone and everything.
[38:35] I got it I don't I can't say for sure but I don't think the Chinese would do in the in the final analysis I think the Taiwanese would get their independence and they would not be invaded especially if they offered very friendly relations with China. Yeah. >> said we want close relations with our cultural brothers the Chinese mainlanders good economic strong economic ties which they have now anyway. Yes. Um they could just say like this is not about you know, being separate it's just about
[39:06] recognizing reality on the ground since 1949. Hey, a couple of bits of breaking news. Uh the Senate just passed a DHS budget. Oh really? Yeah. So uh Trump's going to sign it. The shutdown's over. You know what did it? Is too many people were pissed off at these two three four hour long security lines at airports. That's what did it. Oh totally. So um it just passed the Senate. The House is going to rubber stamp it in the next
[39:37] couple of hours. It goes to Trump this afternoon. He's going to sign it. The thing's over. Um And the New York Times is saying that the Gulf states are now beginning to crack down on video footage, you know, cell phone footage of Iranian drones hitting [ __ ] in their countries. So >> going to do that? I don't know, man. Uh let's take a look. Oh, they've they've begun a wave of arrests.
[40:07] A wave of arrests beginning in Dubai. That's actually really surprising. And the Emir of Dubai said, "Threats do not always come from outside. Some may live among us." Wow. >> "Conspiring in the shadows, hiding behind screens." Ay yay what the heck is happening? I mean, how does that Yeah, how does that jive with your understanding of the Emirates? The Emirates is one of the freest places I've ever been.
[40:38] Yeah, I mean, you've spent a lot more time than I have. I've been there. That was my impression as well, though. Things were very chill. Yeah. It's a wonderful place. Uh It really is. It's a true oasis in the middle of in the Middle East. Um F U So, thanks for the dollar. John, did you ever have to deal with the most serious prison gangs like Aryan Brotherhood, DC Blacks, Mexican Mafia, etc.? Any crazy or scary stories? Yeah, I did. I dealt with all of those. Um and MS-13.
[41:09] Um You know, it's funny. I was scared to death my first day like, "Okay, I'm just going to have to just put up my dukes and and take my licks, all right? If I'm going to If I'm going down, I'm taking somebody down with me." >> By the way, you you wear glasses, right? Yeah. I would be worried. I wear glasses. I'd be worried about like having my my glasses broken in prison. Absolutely. And then you have to wear the chomo glasses. Oh, really? Yeah. Chomo glasses are these giant frames from the '80s that nobody will buy, so
[41:40] they've all been just dumped in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. So, every everybody wears exactly the same glasses. Well, usually the pedophiles, their families have cut them off. And so, they they can't get prescription glasses from the outside, so they have to get the free giant '80s glasses, and we call them chomo glasses. Child molester glasses. >> Wow. All right, so about the gangs. So, my very first day, uh two guys from the Aryan Brotherhood just walked right into my room. I put up my fists. I'm like, "What do you want?"
[42:12] And I was like, "Damn it. I've been here 40 minutes. I'm going to get my ass kicked." >> [snorts] >> And um they asked me if I was a [ __ ] I said, "No." If I was a rat, I said, "No." If I was a chomo, I didn't know what that meant. They explained it. I said, "No, I'm not a a chomo." And then they said, "Okay, you can sit with the with the Brotherhood in the cafeteria." So, I did until the Italians told me the the the Now, I won't I won't use the R word. One
[42:44] of what one of the Italians said, "Why do you sit with those Nazi R guys?" >> [laughter] >> And I said, "I don't know. They Aryan Brotherhood told me to sit with them, so I sit with them." Um Did you Yeah, did I mean, obviously you're that those are not your feelings or politics. Did Were Were you like kind of like "I don't want to sit with these guys, and like what if the black guys hate me?" Or what? >> No, no. The only alternative is to sit with the with the rats and the chomos. Oh, yeah. >> So, what happened was >> like normal white table. No. What What
[43:16] they ended up doing was there was a line of three long tables for the Aryan Brotherhood. The true hardcore Aryan Brotherhood guys took one table. The other two tables were for what were called the good guys, which were white guys who were not rats or child molesters, but who also were not Aryans. So, I sat with the good guys the first year, and the second year I sat with the Italians. Okay.
[43:47] Uh Let me add one thing. The the The Crips, the Bloods, uh the MS-13, the Mexican Mafia, the Borrachos, the Norteños, the Jaliscos. Um One of the Borrachos asked me if I would write his appeal. Mhm. And so, I did. He lost, but he asked me one day, "What do I owe you?" And I said, "Oh, nothing." I said, "I I got people on the outside. I I don't need anything at all. But thanks for asking." He put the word out among all the Hispanic gangs that that I was a
[44:18] good guy, that I wrote his appeal, and that I didn't charge him anything. And so, uh it was hands-off. And then once word got around that I was with the Italians, nobody even looked at me sideways. Crips and Bloods, so they do have a presence on the East Coast. I always thought of them as a West Coast phenomenon. >> They are everywhere, and they're always like just a hair's breadth from killing each other. I got pulled into the lieutenant's office one time for a dressing down, which I, you know, I laughed in their faces. But I noticed
[44:51] also at the time that that they um What's this dressing Sorry, what's the dressing down? This fight This fight broke out, and I just kind of sat there. Everybody When a fight breaks out, everybody runs back to their cells cuz they don't want to get caught at called to the lieutenant's office. So, I was like, "Fuck you. I'm watching this show. I'm not going to run back to my cell." So, I just sat there. Next thing I know, "Kyriacou, lieutenant's office immediately." So, I go down there. They're like,
[45:22] "So, tell us about the fight." I go, "What fight?" "What fight? We just watched you on the cameras sit there while these two guys were scrapping it out 2 ft away from you." I go, "I don't know what you're talking about. I was watching TV. I had my headphones in. I don't know what's going on." "We know that you were there. We watched you. You moved your chair to get out of the way of the fight." I go, "Yeah, maybe you guys were the ones that set up the fight. How about that, huh? I know how this place works. I think you guys did the fight." They're like, "Get the
[45:54] [ __ ] out of the office." So, I'm like, "Exactly." So, remember, admit nothing, deny everything, make counter accusations. So, it always works. So, um I noticed when I was down in there that they had pictures like mug shots up of all the gang leaders in the prison. And they had these two that were set apart, and above it they had this little scrap of paper that said, "Most dangerous. Keep separate." And it was the Bloods
[46:26] and the Crips. Mhm. Mhm. Wow. I said to one of the Italians, I said, "There's this one guy that has a tattoo on his neck, MS-13 all the way across his neck. I said, 'How is he in a low-security prison? He's the only MS-13 guy here.'" Mhm. And the Italian told me, "It's because he's a rat against MS-13, and this was the only place they could be sure to keep him alive." Wow. Yeah. Terrifying. Uh [snorts]
[46:56] Bull Ali, thanks for the 5 pounds. VW is likely to become a weapon weapons manufacturer for Israel with Chinese brands destroying them in cars. Is this a new trend we should expect? Mhm. Um I You know, I don't know. I I always marvel at the fact that VW was allowed to stay in business after World War considering that Adolf Hitler was personally a founding shareholder of VW.
[47:26] Um No, I don't know. John, any thoughts? I don't know, to tell you the truth. Hogs Candy Land, thanks for the two bucks. Psychiatry isn't much more than herd control. Um Aubrey Voice for thanks for the 20. Um what do you guys think of those cryptic messages Oh, yeah, we already did that. Uh Will Day, um thanks for the five. John, do you think the risk of domestic terror attacks has increased significantly since the beginning of this conflict? No. I think that the risk of
[47:58] domestic terror attacks has increased since the beginning of the Trump presidency. Mhm. Uh Adams Mark, thanks for the Emirati 25 Emirati dirham. Iran now threatens to occupy UAE sovereign waters. Would this push the UAE to resort to attack them? Also, could Bahrain be invaded and annexed by Iran? Oh, that's the Iranian wet dream right there. And that's why the Fifth Fleet is there to to ensure that that never happens. You know, every Iranian I've ever met,
[48:28] including an Iranian who is especially close to me, believes that Bahrain is a part of Iran. Is there a What's the historical claim for that? Well, I mean, it technically was a part of Iran. It was administered by the British. It uh it achieved independence in 1971 from the British, but the Shah acceded to Mhm. the Bahraini independence declaration. But yeah, Iranians believe Bahrain's a part of Iran. I don't. I never have. No
[49:00] Bahraini I've ever met ever did. Mhm. Um they're afraid of the Iranians. They hate the Iranians. Um Yeah. What about the the the Emirati waters? You know, I believe that [clears throat] the reason that these that this latest contingent of Marines is going to the Gulf is not to occupy Kharg Island. I think it is to liberate the Tunbs um for the UAE. Mhm. I think that's what it's all about.
[49:31] Um SA [clears throat] says, "What Thanks for the dollar. Hypothetically, where would an Iran with no sanctions rank in the region and globally in terms of importance, economics, etc. Um, I think it would be uh a powerful It would be the dominant regional you know, sort of what I call a regional superpower. It would absolutely dominate the Middle East. It would be as important to the Middle East as Brazil is to South America or as
[50:03] China is on the Pacific Rim. I think it would dominate the entire region. What about you, John? I agree with that. Hey, can I make a clarification too? A couple of people have commented that Bahrain is majority Shia. And and somebody else said not even the Shia. Um, yes. Not even the Shia because yes, while Bahrain is majority Shia, those Shia are called Baharna Shia. They're ethnic Arabs. They're not ethnic Persians. The ethnic Persians that make up the population of Bahrain are closer to 20%.
[50:35] Mhm. Okay, that's interesting. [clears throat] So uh Manchild, thanks for the dollar. Dearest John, is Andy Bustamante as big of a pompous dick in person as he appears on podcasts? Yes, sir. Love the show. Hope your pardon comes someday. Thank you for that. Yes, I'm not an Andy Bustamante fan. In any respect. In fact, no, I won't say that because it hasn't been announced publicly. Okay, no, I'm not a All right. Caesars, if we left Cuba in completely to its own devices, would it thrive or
[51:05] dive under the current form of government? Thrive, 100%. >> Definitely thrive. Um Hey, and we're going to lose the ad. Okay, oh yeah, let me thank you, John. Okay. Here's a little inside scoop that many creators are talking about behind the scenes. It's actually one of the reasons we're using we're using Rumble. They made a way to super chat creators so that we get paid immediately and without any fees. YouTube and Twitch take up up to 50% of fees when you tip creators. This method takes none. That's
[51:36] right, the platform takes zero fees. We keep nearly 100% of what you send us. You can super chat with Bitcoin, Tether, US dollars, or even Tether gold stablecoins. This The tip will show up directly over the Rumble chat which we will do our best read. All you need to do is is download the Rumble wallet on your App Store and send the tips to your favorite creators. You can go to wallet.rumble.com or download the app directly from the App Stores. Seriously, what an amazing
[52:06] way to get rid of the middleman and help the creator economy. Shoutout to Rumble for making this disruptive technology. Uh, okay. So Um, Flenderina, Ted and John, you should consider doing a Rumble special episode of just showing us some of the cool stuff you own. Uh, I'd pay to watch that. >> I'd do that. I would I would do that. >> I would do that. I think that would be a lot of fun. Totally. >> do. Um, I think John, you might you I have a lot of stuff, but I think your stuff you have more variety of stuff, I think. I would agree with you. From Bugs
[52:37] and Clowns, warning, might be a weird question. What do you think you guys think is the most important thing that has happened to the world in the past few days? Uh, that is a weird question. >> In the past few days? In the world? I don't know. Wow. Sorry, I'm stumped. I don't know. Um, mhm, yeah, nothing jumped out. I mean, I don't know. There's been a lot of meteor strikes for some reason. That's true.
[53:08] For some reason, I don't know. Anyway, that's a good question. B Walker, [laughter] thanks for the five Canadian dollars. There was a UBI experiment universal basic income in Manitoba in the '70s. People took the money and improved their lives. Came as a surprise to the government. Um, $2 Elliot, thank Ted, what do you think of the right-wing cartoonist Ben Garrison? His cartoons are something else. That's true. They're just absolutely amazing. If you John, you ever see the fake right-wing
[53:38] cartoons in The Onion? Oh, yeah. Oh, they're hilarious. So Ben Garrison's are like actually like that. You know, if they're very similar, they're better drawn than that. That's my old buddy Ward Sutton who who pretends to be Kelly for The Onion. Um So I actually like Ben Garrison's cartoons. They're insane. The fact that the politics are far right does not bother me in the least. I don't care. I As a cartoonist, I I look at good cartoons.
[54:10] And I mean, you know, he's a true believer. He makes me laugh. The style is crazy. Like a million right-wing tropes. Um Shina Shina Siri, thanks for the $4.99. John, have you ever sold the movie rights to your life story? Who would you cast to play you? Three times I sold them. Um, and they're for sale right now. And now that I'm I can't say that yet cuz it hasn't been announced. I'm officially represented now. Um I've sold them three times. I sold them to Universal Pictures, Scott Stuber, who
[54:41] is a multiple multiple Oscar winner. Scott let them lapse. Um, then I sold them to Warner Brothers, and then Warner Brothers let them lapse, and then I sold them to 20th Century Fox, and Fox let them lapse. So then I sort of took them off the market. Now I'm like way way more famous than I was 10 years ago or 20 years ago. And so we're going back out. I'm meeting with HBO. Um Nice. On Monday. And uh Somebody needs to stop changing
[55:13] their name. I'm It's it's annoying. Are you Max? Are you HBO Max? Are you back to HBO? Yeah, yeah, who who knows? Yeah, that's great. In all seriousness. >> We'll see. I'm I'm optimistic. Who do you want to play you? I used to say Bette Midler. >> [laughter] >> Um, I don't know. A friend of mine said Eric Bana, and I thought that kind of made sense. I'm not familiar. Oh, he's the Incredible Hulk. Oh, okay. All right. But he was also the star of Munich. He was quite good in Munich. Dr. Brevo, thanks for the five. Uh,
[55:45] following the previous donation, John, would you name your biopic Get the Hummus? No. >> [laughter] >> No, you know, this this hummus thing I know we're pressed for time, but this hummus thing I was like dead serious when I talked about it on Diary of a CEO, and it has become the biggest joke in my life. And people are like, "Hey, on Cameo, threaten me with hummus." I was like, "Dude, it it wasn't funny. It was a torture technique." Right.
[56:16] It's Yeah, you know, this is that thing that when you do art or become art, you no longer belong to yourself and your intent doesn't matter anymore. >> It's been It's been painful. Aubrey, thanks for the 20 bucks. It seems like some kind of game intended for conspiracy theorists. Um I don't know what that's referring to. Julia, thanks for the five bucks. Love the show. John, can you recommend a show a book to better understand Ayatollah Khomeini's views and beliefs?
[56:47] Wow. Ayatollah Khomeini's views and beliefs. Didn't he write some books? I thought he did. >> He wrote a bunch. Yeah, he was he was in exile and he was in in Paris and he was >> He wrote a lot. >> Yeah, I have to think about that. That's a good question. Uh Yeah. Unlikely Utopia, thanks for the five. Ted doesn't want to be called gay by complimenting John's shirt. Also, Ted quotes broke fair. Um, okay, we're going to just before we go out and we we're going to hit a few on the way out. But just a
[57:17] reminder, what the the format here is we're trying to go longer on the analysis and put do more of the question and answers. We're going to still be doing them in during the regular shows, but we're going to be doing exclusive Q&A shows Monday and Wednesday at 12:00 noon Eastern time starting next Wednesday. So, if we miss questions during the regular show, those will appear in those 12:00 noon shows. So, don't worry. As for the ones that we're missing today, we will get to
[57:47] those tomorrow. I mean, sorry, Monday. Handsome Libertarian, oh God, I had to say it. $5. John, what similarities do you see between the smear campaign you went through and Joe Kent's now? Yeah. I really don't know what to believe. Also, would love to see Tim Weiner or Joby Warrick on Deep Focus. Tim Weiner. Oh, oh, oh, both of those are excellent excellent ideas. I'm in touch with Joby. I just got an email from him a couple days ago. Uh, Tim Weiner that's a great idea.
[58:19] I'll reach out to both of them. Thank you for that. What was the first part of the question? Uh, um What do you Oh, the smear similarities between the smear >> Oh my God, yes. It's a It's a very well-trod path. Yes. I I called him the other day. Did I tell you that, Ted? No. I call I got his I got his number from Tucker, and uh we're going to give him the Sam Adams Award for integrity and intelligence at Better and Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, BIPS. Um
[58:50] and I told him, I said, "You're you're tough. You're strong. You can tough this out. They're wrong and you're right, and just keep reminding yourself." Mhm. Hey, it would be great to have him on the show if he does that sort of thing. Um, Aubrey, thanks for the 20 bucks. You will be last for today. I thought that maybe those cryptic messages were intended for MAGA to send them on some wild goose chase for no reason. It's like it's like QAnon. The less time they spend they pay attention to what the administration is doing wrong, the better. Oh, this is the big announcement
[59:20] tomorrow thing. Um, yeah, maybe. It It definitely does seem like that. Big announcement tomorrow, you'll see. And then, you know, you stop thinking. Uh, anyway, thanks everyone for tuning in. Have an awesome weekend, John. We'll be back Monday at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Please stay tuned to the TMI show with Manila Chan and me coming right up right now. Take care. Have an awesome weekend, everyone. Bye. >> Bye, everybody. >> [music]