I was talking with a friend of mine who is from Turkey today. I commented on the fact that I was seeing a building that had collapsed into a pile of rubble and right alongside it there was another building standing more or less undamaged. I said I figured it was corruption, that somebody had paid off the building inspectors or something like that.

“Welcome to Turkey,” my friend said. “Turkey is one big construction company.” He explained that the Erdogan government is deeply involved in massive construction and real estate development. We talked for a little bit. (Of course, the US media has not commented on this.)

My friend is a very nice, pleasant person, always with a friendly smile on his face. He commented on the fact that Turkish president Erdogan shows himself on TV four or five times a day, and then goes back into hiding, just hanging out in his estate. “I am so full of rage”, my friend said. “Hopefully, everybody else in Turkey is too.”