These government officials are pathetic. If the people at the top were not so greedy the store fronts would be vibrant anyway. Now they want to spend more money to make an illusion?

S&F

Haha..........what a joke.

I see less of an economic angle or conspiracy and more of a continuum of existing practices. When I was a child in the 1970s, there was an incredible amount of demolition and building work in my neighbourhood. Then, if a building was coming down or going up, the only thing keeping you from the site was a polite notice and a bit of common sense.

A decade on, and things tended to be fenced-off, understandably, for health and safety reasons. Then, later on, it seemed to become the norm for sites to be not so much fenced-off but also boarded-off: not only could you not gain access but you couldn't actually see the mess behind the boarding.

Now, at first, it tended to be scruffy-looking boarding, obviously reused site materials, then it became painted boarding and now we've got to the point where these things can actually become a feature of some kind and, weirdly, look relatively attractive for what they are. A similar thing has happened with the netting that they place around tall buildings when construction firms are refacing/renovating/cleaning the outsides: over the years it's gone from bare scaffolding, to mesh netting, to some interesting and creative ways to distract from the building work.

I see these fake shop windows in exactly the same light. It's not so much hiding any kind of economic ugliness, just trying to keep a social environment more attractive.

[edit on 11-3-2010 by Merriman Weir]

[edit on 11-3-2010 by Merriman Weir]

Maybe something horrible is taking place behind the fake storefronts.
Maybe dismantling humans for organs.
Maybe training thug youth to sell crack and shoot UZIs.
Maybe rooms and rooms of prostitutes.

Or all of the above!

How very fitting for our government-they will spend whatever it takes to maintain the facade that "everything is fine,"while everyone knows it is far from it.

Heres an idea-how about we get a fake 10 downing street and fake parliment,complete with cardboard cut outs of all the idiots who work there.

I bet they would do a better job than the current inhabitants.

Trouble is I am not joking...

Sounds like what I saw across the Korean DMZ - Propaganda Village.

A fake front village simulating prosperity, built to attract soldiers who may defect from the south.

This is the equivelant of stealing a rug and thenbrushing your mess under it.

People might see the bulges, but will be too distracted by the pretty colours.

I'm thinking anarchists could have a lot of fun with these things though.

Just like our goverments to think of something so freaking stupid it leaves the mind numb.

Just like painting over a crack, the crack is still there. How stupid do they think people are?

Are they going to have actors dressed up as customers visiting these fake buildings as well?
And fake business bank accounts to make the economy seem like its growing again?

Who the hell comes up with these deceptions and calls them "good ideas?"
The UK public are SICK of being hoodwinked again and again by our foul government.
They treat worse than cattle IMO-WE are THEIR product,or at least thats how they seem to treat us all.

If they are faking businesses to "help" the enconomy-what else have they been faking on our behalf?

Those tungsten laced "gold" bars maybe?

Election results?

Crime figures?

Terror threats?

Is there anyone left in the UK who still believes in and trusts the Government I wonder?
If there is,I have not met one in a long while.

At first I thought it was a silly idea, but upon reflection, it *is* an original way of dealing with a problem. And it does have merit...it allows planners and investors to visualize what a retail/commercial section of town *could look like*, and also spur further ideas.

Give it a shot. It's better than the alternative.

Wow, the lengths they will go to.
I also heard today that in Australia, fake job add's are being made for papers/websites to make it look as if the job market is still increasing.

Dangerous days.

Originally posted by Agit8dChop

... fake job add's are being made for papers/websites to make it look as if the job market is still increasing.

More chicanery.

How about fake protesters?

Setup an instant protest: You and 250 of your closest lifesize cardboard cutouts could all stand in front of the government building of your choice to wage a silent protest.

"This is a simple and cost-effective approach that keeps the retail unit available for potential new uses and in the meantime also contributes to the street scene."

Empty shops in Wallsend and North Shields are now being earmarked for similar treatment, which costs about £1,500 a time.

The government-funded project involves colourful graphic designs featuring a range of different shop types, which are either taped inside the windows or screwed to the fascia so they can be removed and reused as required.

So, £1,500 (~US$2,300) each of taxpayer money to make a fake storefront to make a shopping district look 'more lived in'? It is a lot cheaper than the government funding fake politicians. That's for sure. And the government is definitely good at projecting an image that really isn't there. So this is definitely an idea that's 'up their street'. But is it addressing the real issue behind the empty storefronts? Could this taxpayer money be better spent on other activities, such as rejuvenating the economy which would increase job openings and spending in the economy? Although, these fake facades could definitely be a boon for criminal activities inside those hidden shop interiors.

If I were thinking about investing in a particular commercial district, I think I would be more put off by an empty storefront than a phony storefront. There is nothing unnatural about an empty storefront with a "for lease" or "for sale" sign in it. We all understand that times are rough and businesses have shut down.

I would find a phony storefront to be odd. Imagine a phony clothing store with mannequins in the window, and mannequins (who are not really supposed to be mannequins) putting clothes on the mannequins in the window, and mannequins (who are not really supposed to be mannequins) standing on the shop floor pretending to browse.

Originally posted by hotpinkurinalmint

Imagine a phony clothing store with mannequins in the window, and mannequins (who are not really supposed to be mannequins) putting clothes on the mannequins in the window, and mannequins (who are not really supposed to be mannequins) standing on the shop floor pretending to browse.

Why not go the extra mile to make the scene totally believable. How about a fake cardboard delivery truck making a delivery with mannequins bringing pakages into the store?

[edit on 14-3-2010 by In nothing we trust]

Something very similar to this happened in my town's business district about 4 or so years ago.

A very wealthy local man ran for and won commissioner with the promise that he was going to revitalize the business district.

To give him credit, he did make it look much better.. doing renovations from donations made by himself on local historic buildings, including a beautiful renovation to our theater. Perhaps he didn't realize how dilapidated some of the buildings were, because 4 or 5 needed completely torn down. Instead of putting up another building, or even selling that plot of land, TPTB decided to put up a wall painted to look as though there was a building there.

I'm not quite sure what the reasoning was with that. Again, the gentleman who made a lot of promises to revitalize the area truly did do a lot to revamping the area. It's much more appealing looking... he's actually stated several times he wants to die broke from putting his money into saving our community. It's just a shame that he didn't completely follow through with all of the buildings. These wall, mock store fronts look absolutely ridiculous.

-MCW