Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2010/02/22
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]The palaces Saddam Hussein built in Iraq are unbelievable and they cost the Iraqi economy dearly at the time of their construction due to the sanctions imposed on the regime. At the very large Victory compound adjacent to Baghdad's airport, there are three palaces I know of and possibly another- I lost track. The man built his grandchildren an entire Flintstones village. I've been in what's left of Uday Hussein's home on the Tigris in Baghdad and even in destruction it was awfully impressive (completely demolished due to construction of the US Embassy, which is an architectural monster conceived in paranoia). I stop before I get political :) Wendy On Mon, Feb 22, 2010 at 4:32 PM, Jayanand Govindaraj <jayanand at gmail.com>wrote: > Ruling elites bankrupting the state in the pursuit of even more grandiose > frippery is not new - one of the primary reasons that the Roman Empire > collapsed is the import of luxury goods (silk, spices,etc) from the East > reached such a crescendo that it literally bankrupted the empire, and the > inevitable debasement of the currency was the final nail in the coffin! > Cheers > Jayanand > > On Mon, Feb 22, 2010 at 4:39 PM, Douglas Sharp <douglas.sharp at gmx.de> > wrote: > > > The castles on the Rhine are mostly the real thing - knights in armour > and > > all that - none of your renaissance "My architect can put more twiddly > bits > > on it than yours" kind of stuff with white & gold-leaf furniture, > ridiculous > > ormolu clocks and badly silvered mirrors. > > > > Ludwig of Bavaria nearly bankrupted the state with his love of fairytale > > castles - it is rumoured that this was the real reason for him drowning, > not > > suicide. > > > > It all boils down to the difference between defending yourself with walls > > and weapons or with a barrage of wealth - I prefer the former style of > > castle, > > like this one: > > > > > > > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/DMS/UK/Dales/Swaledale/Richmond_Sunset.jpg.html > > > > > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/DMS/UK/Dales/Swaledale/Richmond_Castle_Keep.jpg.html > > > > Never besieged, never a bow drawn nor a cannon fired in anger, but it > > certainly let people know who the boss was. > > > > Cheers > > Douglas > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >