The Wall

['andersom']

The iron curtain must have cost less than a wall. Less construction dangers too. And less effect on natural infrastructures.
A strip of land, a good amount of mines and barbed wire and lots of watchtowers.

But not that impressive from outer space as a true wall. And with negative connotations. After all, it is about making Trump great again. So, iron curtain will not do, I guess . 

[Minister Of Silly Walks]

My 13 year old son is a Cold War buff. I'll ask him tonight for a good explanation of what the Iron Curtain was.

['andersom']

I've crossed it in the years it still was in use. A strip of land with nothing growing there. Barbed wire, watchtowers. Extreme searching of the train when going towards the West. Going East, they did not check for much more than the amount of money you brought in. You had to change 45 DM to 45 OstMark per day. That's how the east got some extra income. You were not allowed to change it back. You were not allowed to bring OstMark to the west.

The border also was something you could smell. Different energy sources.

[Yuri Bezmenov]

The thing to understand about the fences is that they WEREN'T made from barbed wire or even standard chain link fencing, they were made from expanded metal grating whose holes were too small to stick your fingers in like this.



It was also bolted to the posts with carriage bolts with the nuts facing the west so it couldn't be unbolted from the east.

['andersom']

There was barbed wire too.

The watchtowers, with guards ready to shoot, did a lot.

But then, they shot at their own citizens. That is a legal difference, I guess.

[odeon]

[DirtDawg]

I could be wrong, but I think is that Sitting Bull as he was preparing to address the Congress?

Now I have to go find the one with Geronimo and his chiefs,  "praising"  Homeland Security.
 


Edit:
It is beyond sad that we do not know these great Americans.
It is not Sitting Bull and I thought maybe it was Red Cloud (only so many "savages" have ever been granted audience with Congress, you know) but it is not him either.
He is probably a random father and son, grandfather and grandson, uncle and brother, husband and chief and spiritual leader to all he knew.

Savages? Are you fucking kidding me?

[Minister Of Silly Walks]

I asked my Cold War expert last night if The Iron Curtain was the name of the fence along the border between the Eastern Bloc countries and Western Europe. Or was it a metaphor.

He looked at me like I was a bit dim and told me that it was a metaphor. That's good enough for me.

Yes, there was a fence and border defences. Yes, a lot of people thought of this as "The Iron Curtain".

But "The Iron Curtain" is a metaphor for a lot more than the fence. And the metaphor preceded the fence and the border defences.

The term "Bamboo Curtain" was used as a similar metaphor for the way in which Communist China closed itself off from the outside world, in terms of ideology and communications and control of information (state propaganda) and movement of people and border defences.

[Minister Of Silly Walks]

This is something I never really understood. Using what happened to indigenous peoples in places like North America and Australia (genocide, erasure of their culture to a large degree, disease, loss of territory, becoming an underclass) as an argument in favour of immigration.

I'm not anti-immigration. If I was anti-immigration I'd be reminding people of what happened to indigenous peoples and saying "do you want this to happen to us?".

['andersom']

I asked my Cold War expert last night if The Iron Curtain was the name of the fence along the border between the Eastern Bloc countries and Western Europe. Or was it a metaphor.

He looked at me like I was a bit dim and told me that it was a metaphor. That's good enough for me.

Yes, there was a fence and border defences. Yes, a lot of people thought of this as "The Iron Curtain".

But "The Iron Curtain" is a metaphor for a lot more than the fence. And the metaphor preceded the fence and the border defences.

The term "Bamboo Curtain" was used as a similar metaphor for the way in which Communist China closed itself off from the outside world, in terms of ideology and communications and control of information (state propaganda) and movement of people and border defences.

Yeah it's a metaphor. There was some iron involved though.
To me the iron wasn't the most impressive. The wide open strip, making every fugitive a very clear target was.

That combined with heavily armed border control by military and German shepherds, on the way back home.

[odeon]

I asked my Cold War expert last night if The Iron Curtain was the name of the fence along the border between the Eastern Bloc countries and Western Europe. Or was it a metaphor.

He looked at me like I was a bit dim and told me that it was a metaphor. That's good enough for me.

Yes, there was a fence and border defences. Yes, a lot of people thought of this as "The Iron Curtain".

But "The Iron Curtain" is a metaphor for a lot more than the fence. And the metaphor preceded the fence and the border defences.

The term "Bamboo Curtain" was used as a similar metaphor for the way in which Communist China closed itself off from the outside world, in terms of ideology and communications and control of information (state propaganda) and movement of people and border defences.

Here's the thing: Scrap is a bit dim. You need to be more clear.

[Queen Victoria]

Why build a wall? 

Just dig a deep, wide ditch from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.  Fill it with legal Brazilian pirhana.  We solve the illegal immigration problem and claim that we support legal immigration. 

Bonus - we help with climate change by the exchange of Pacific and Gulf water.

[odeon]

I asked my Cold War expert last night if The Iron Curtain was the name of the fence along the border between the Eastern Bloc countries and Western Europe. Or was it a metaphor.

He looked at me like I was a bit dim and told me that it was a metaphor. That's good enough for me.

Yes, there was a fence and border defences. Yes, a lot of people thought of this as "The Iron Curtain".

But "The Iron Curtain" is a metaphor for a lot more than the fence. And the metaphor preceded the fence and the border defences.

The term "Bamboo Curtain" was used as a similar metaphor for the way in which Communist China closed itself off from the outside world, in terms of ideology and communications and control of information (state propaganda) and movement of people and border defences.

Yeah it's a metaphor. There was some iron involved though.
To me the iron wasn't the most impressive. The wide open strip, making every fugitive a very clear target was.

That combined with heavily armed border control by military and German shepherds, on the way back home.

I'm betting that most of the people who're old enough to remember it will not be confused about what it was.

[Yuri Bezmenov]

There was barbed wire too.

In those areas where the fence was barbed wire, the general population was usually much further back because the barbed wire was easier to get through.

The watchtowers, with guards ready to shoot, did a lot.

But then, they shot at their own citizens. That is a legal difference, I guess.

It's even more justifiable to shoot citizens of another country since they are at bare minimum, criminal trespassers.

BTW, I'm noticing the irony of this emoticon right now.   

[Yuri Bezmenov]

I asked my Cold War expert last night if The Iron Curtain was the name of the fence along the border between the Eastern Bloc countries and Western Europe. Or was it a metaphor.

He looked at me like I was a bit dim and told me that it was a metaphor. That's good enough for me.

Had this "expert" been to the Iron Curtain like I have??

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Curtain#As_a_physical_entity