Just checked out the pics of "Dream City"....wow!! Makes my place look a little 'hovelish'. Good luck to the dream and the dreamers.

...ah but do they come with their own bomb shelter and fire retardant Molotov cocktail siding?

This is what should be developing in the ME, all prevented by the tribal dictatorships, which requires a passive peasant-class population, no middle class, and no capacity to live and work within the modern world.

One note of caution - those massive apartment buildings, can turn into Kruschev type traps, unless the people in them, are also strong participants in the economy.

tomax - what a silly thing to say. What's your point?

Erbil was bombed during the invasion and/or occupation and needed reconstruction? Astounding.

Kate,
Thank you for getting back on the important topics.
The libs and socialsists are finally showing their true colors.

No, "stageleft" - in fact, the majority of reconstruction in Iraq has nothing to do with bombing, and everything to do with restoring the nation's infrastructure and economy after decades of state socialism under Saddam Hussein.

Stageleft makes a good point though, no?

The Kurdish areas of Iraq (especially Erbil) were in pretty good shape before, during and after the war (to a certain extent the war is over in Erbil, having never come there in any major way in the first place).

It seems to me that showing pictures of Erbil as an example of the good things happening in Iraq these days is like showing a picture of a new subdivision in Shreveport as an example of the reconstruction efforts in Louisiana, while conveniently ignoring New Orleans.

It's great that the lives of those who were never bombed are getting better, but how's the reconstruction going in Fallujah?

Actually, I believe things in Fallujah are quite a lot better as well. I don't know the state of reconstruction, but I don't think the streets are littered with decapitated children these days.

Nice house!

Good luck to the free people of Iraq.

Becoming free individuals with titles to their own property in a sovereign nation will be no small achievement.

Who got the construction contracts the Bin laden family of a subsiduary of Haliburton?

Excuse the jade from me but there is literally crap loads of bucks to be made in infrastructure rebuilding and urban renewal projects after the Army "buldozes" these communities looking for "insurgents"...they tend to be none to gentle with the surroundings.....The Bush family's favorite Islam sons in the construction biz must be happy...the money trail isn't always as pristine as our partisan ideals would like.

Oh come on Kate, that's a weak deflection at best. Were there decapitated children laying in the streets of Fallujah before the invasion? If you're interested in Fallujah (further than the US propaganda that is) I've got a couple of URLs that do show kids bodies laying in the streets during and after the US siege and bombing of the city, there's even a few of their canine friends.......

I suppose I shouldn't be too critical, you did say this was a "miniscule sample" - that it is.

...that's the local GRAND POOBAH'S future digs...please show me a foto of the shitholes that the monkeys like me have to live in....

Stageleft, This is the small beginning of a trend that may roll into a wave.

This is a real bright spot.

Why would you focus on the blackest side of conflict. If we listened to you, doing nothing, we would all be ducking Jihadist rockets in our own streets, looking forward to our new fundamentalist law and weekly hangings in our local soccer field. TG

Looks just like a house in my old neighborhood in Regina!

Interesting to see if it's all still standing in 30 years. I hope so. Looks pretty nice though. It's good to know something positive will eventually come from all the angst.

So let's sum up the Iraq stories so far:

-Journalist spends day holed up in a hotel bar in Kurdistan, doesn't get killed.
-A thank you letter
-A picture of two nice looking houses in Kurdistan (but not much in the way of details)

So this all adds up to what?

I turned a bit skeptical about Iraqi feel good stories after the Pentagon revealed they were paying Iraqi journalists to make them up.

Jose has a good point. I can't believe I just backed-up a leftie..:):). What everybody seems to be forgetting here is that the "tribal" way of life is,has been, and will continue to be, the predominant way of life in Iraq. Despite the best efforts of Western countries, you can't convert 1000's of years of a way of life overnight. Until the people are shown the "benefits' of civilization,they will carry on in their old life-styles.
stageleft is just being a typical dipper. Independent people,even tribal ones,are an anthema to the dippers,so the dippers will see no good out of anything until they are in there,wasting bucks and setting up the welfare system.

Jose, And the stories the Iraqi newspapers wrote were fake? No I don't think so. I seem to remember that little tempest ala teapot and the key item was that the US military has commissioned stories.

That you posit they were fake is a Moore-ism.

The pentagon was not paying journalists to "make up" stories. They were paying to have them published.

And Michael Totten has been living in Lebanon for some time, now, reporting on developments in the ME>

I'm really sick and tired of all the "we shouldn't have invaded and nothing good will ever come from it" crowd. They should all just shrivel up and die.

With more people like you in our parents generation, we'd be speaking either German or Japanses right now, and you would just looooove that, wouldn't you because they were so much better than us greedy capitalists, right?

pictures should also show the areas of the poor or the non elite or areas; where dick all has been done for those people. also along with a good historical account of the american and saddam connection into this area. don't be so blind sighted ...

Actually looks like the Shanghai suburbs.

Mark
Ottawa

don't be so blind sighted ...
Posted by Kindle

Pot,"Kettle!"

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm just glad Kate can't reproduce.

Too late.. sorry bout that.. but its all dried up now.

The articles, written by U.S. military "information operations" troops, are translated into Arabic and placed in Baghdad newspapers with the help of a defense contractor, according to U.S. military officials and documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-infowar30nov30,0,5638790.story

Hurray for the Ministry of Truth.

Amateur hour at the Left Wing Coral. Good for a bit of comic relief, but otherwise not even very good stabs at trolling...

Location, location, location.

Only the Sunnis wish to have Saddam back.

In an Iraqi opinion poll (link to pdf) conducted in January for WorldPublicOpinion.org by the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, Iraqis were asked:

"Thinking about any hardships you might have suffered since the US-Britain invasion, do you personally think that ousting Saddam Hussein was worth it or not?" 77% say it was worth it, while 22% say it was not.

98% of Shia and 91% of Kurds say the hardships were worth it, while 83% of Sunnis say they were not.

Dream City Project, Erbil
http://www.dreamcityerbil.com/#HwIntAir

"...Surrounded by a 4000 meter long fence having 4 Gated entries giving full privacy to it’s residents...."

Reminds me of a typical gated community built specifically for residents who are both rich & famous, or expatriates wanting to become rich & famous.

...what do I mean by "does it come with bomb shelters and fire retardant siding"?

Do I really need to explain this pipe bom...err dream?

For starters it's Western looking...

Wonder how the people in New Orleans feel and who's getting the contracts?

But I bet mowing the sand will be a bugger...

Kate:
The link you displayed are 3d CAD pictures.
I could do the same on my computer. Granted I would have to spend about 30 hours I don't have, but nevertheless given time and my limited resources I could do it. They are calling them photos, this is just wrong. I hope that dream city comes true, but hey realistically, have you checked the real estate section in a newspaper, they are pure fiction.

?

That's obvious in the Totten post. Either way, it looks like they get moving on actual construction at lot faster than the City of Saskatoon does...

Kate:

I spent more time on Michael Totten's Site. I have to tell you the comments there are totally feel good.
I wish I could say the same, but those "photos" are clearly and obviously made up.

Having said all this, I still it were true.

sorry add "still". Received your reply after my last post, I'm one of those "alphas" always experience heart attacks and stuff. I felt that Michael's site and the replies seemed to be a tourist's guide and tried to make it look like an accomplished deal. "Best laid plans of mice and men".

"I don't know the state of reconstruction, but I don't think the streets are littered with decapitated children these days."

Hmmm. What exactly do you mean, Kate?

...Either way, it looks like they get moving on actual construction at lot faster than the City of Saskatoon does...

Canada...there's too much beauracratic red tape created by too many unionized civil servants who are either on strike or threatening to strike, while their managers are mindlessly rewriting the same policy for the 100th time & busy building another layer & another department silo.

For instance...now every one's scratching their collective heads while trying to come up with a bomb policy that everyone can be happy with:

Policy requiring civil servants to search for bombs in the workplace to be reviewed
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=7cee2c9a-3554-486a-9cde-4e337f4a7799

bomb sweeper?

...make like a Newfie bomb sweeper...

Put both hands over your ears and start tapping the ground around you with your foot...

...no offense to bom...err Newfies..

Yeah real nice places. I wonder how many Iraqis left homeless by "Operation Iraqi Freedom" can afford to pony up the $150K *US for one of these houses.