Bad things arising

Just a short while ago, I was begging people to pay attention to Parnas and Fruman. And now...this.

Madness in Syria. Since we began this post with satire, it would definitely be inappropriate to embed the videos of freed ISIS fighters exacting vengeance on the Kurds. You should also look at these horrific images, but only if you have the stomach for it.

In the light of these atrocities, I must note Trump's truly insane and repulsive tweets...

Very smart not to be involved in the intense fighting along the Turkish Border, for a change. Those that mistakenly got us into the Middle East Wars are still pushing to fight. They have no idea what a bad decision they have made. Why are they not asking for a Declaration of War?

Why are you sending troops into Saudi Arabia without a declaration of war?

I hope everyone realizes that the threat of airstrikes against Turkey could have halted this Blitzkrieg before it started. Trump wanted this madness to happen.

.....The Kurds and Turkey have been fighting for many years. Turkey considers the PKK the worst terrorists of all. Others may want to come in and fight for one side or the other. Let them! We are monitoring the situation closely. Endless Wars!

Many have responded to these crazed words. This riposte is my favorite.

You’re a fucking piece of shit. You trying to defend yourself because you let thousands of Kurds to die for selfish reasons is making you look worse. Fuck you.

— Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) October 13, 2019

Recession. One of the most horrifying things about the Trump presidency is that his opponents have no choice but to pray for bad economic times. Bill Maher does so openly and unapologetically. So do I -- even though an economic turndown will prove far more catastrophic for this particular household than for Maher's household. But better a recession than a slide into fascism, even if yours truly ends up on the street.

What really pisses me off is the way Trump achieved his version of prosperity. He did it the way Reagan did it: Massive deficit spending and military Keynesianism, though Republicans would rather cut their own nipples off than call it Keynesianism. No Democrat would be allowed to use those mechanisms. Adding insult to injury, Trump was, and is, supported by people allegedly wedded to to the philosophy of libertarianism. In recent times, "libertarianism" has lost its original definition, having become just another word for fascism.

How many times must I explain...? Deficit spending is acceptable during depression/recession. When times are good, you pay the money back. That's the essence of Keynesianism. Republicans keep applying the Keynesian mechanism at the wrong damn time.

I'm not an economist, but I'm certain of this much: You can't outlaw the business cycle. What goes up must come down -- eventually. It's better for the Dems if "down" hits us while a Republican is president. But with all of this deficit spending, will our system still have the ability to re-invigorate the economy using a stimulus program? 

Well, we're going to find out sooner or later -- maybe sooner. Here comes the recession. Maybe.

With Tom Orlik, chief economist at Bloomberg Economics, saying “a lot needs to go right” for the world to dodge a major slowdown, here are the arguments for and against worrying about a global recession in 2020.

Undoubtedly manufacturers have been the biggest trade-war victims, and global activity has contracted for five straight months. Of particular concern is the ailing automobile sector -- a headache for the export-heavy German and Japanese economies. Businesses are cutting back, and U.S. non-residential investment shrank in the second quarter for the first time in three years. The question is whether the pain at factories infects services, adding another element to the slump.

There's lots more at the other end of the link. Cheerful stuff, eh wot?

Let's get back to Giuliani and his pals. This thread by Seth Abramson deserves translation into normal prose, even though it is, admittedly, a bit hard to follow. The words below the asterisks are his.

* * *

1. Barr goes to SDNY to see SDNY chief/Trump transition official Berman. SDNY/FBI are working on Parnas/Fruman case. NYC FBI previously leaked to Rudy (2016).

2. Within hours, Rudy calls Parnas/Fruman to lunch. All three plan to go to Vienna—where Firtash is.

3. Firtash is a Manafort associate/Putin agent who finances Parnas/Fruman. Giuliani has worked for and employed Parnas/Fruman.

4. Giuliani lies to press about plans for Vienna and Parnas/Fruman travel plans in the hours before he knows they've been arrested.

5. Trump lies about his ties to Parnas/Fruman and says he doesn't know if Giuliani is his attorney—a lie.

6. The Trump-Parnas evidence includes a bizarre tidbit of information: Felix Sater—Trump's ex-con Russia fixer—also knows Parnas, and has for a while.

7. Deep dives on Firtash remind America that Firtash got his start in business via close Putin friend—and brutal gangster—Semion Mogilevich. Semion Mogilevich is also tied to Sater through Sater's dad. Parnas and Fruman's associations start to seem very dark.

8. Trump aides Stone and Nunberg say Trump knew he'd be running for POTUS in 2012. New photos indicate Trump and his family have been in contact with Parnas and Fruman since 2014—or earlier. Parnas/Furman's funding, per Maddow, may be partly coming from Putin.

*UPSHOT*

The "phone call" part of this is over—Trump admitted to an impeachable, personal-profit quid pro quo involving U.S. military aid by a) releasing a memo of the Zelensky call, and b) what the memo said. *Now* what we're seeing is this is all part of the Trump-Russia case.