Look, it's a Potemkin Roof. So, what the hell is that?

Back in the early 1990s, when I visited the former GDR, there seemed to be a primary strategy for coping with the ubiquitous Communist-era housing blocks: Paint them. However, on a few occasions there'd be a secondary addition, this being a new roof added on top.

The newly unified East Germans also did away with the big oversized propaganda banners -- hint, hint.

Meanwhile, wouldn't a shanty town atop the flat roof be far more indicative of Truck Through City?

CBS News checks out controversial villa on top of Beijing building

There's no obvious explanation why a wealthy, well-connected Chinese man spent six years building this rooftop villa and "mountain-scape" -- all without proper permits.