Comments on: Iron Curtain, Ribbon of Life

Iron Curtain, Ribbon of Life

nam3d — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 13:24:03 -0800

When communism crumbled in 1989 it created an opportunity for wildlife. The Iron Curtain that divided communist Eastern Europe from the capitalist West had created a no-man's-land protected by barbed wire and minefields - a last haven for many rare animals and plants.

By: stargell

stargell — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 13:26:07 -0800

Currently BBC iPlayer TV programmes are available to play in the UK only

By: Blazecock Pileon

Blazecock Pileon — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 13:26:18 -0800

I'm afraid I do not live in the UK.

By: nam3d

nam3d — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 13:27:22 -0800

Sorry I should have mentioned that BBC iPlayer is not available outside of the UK.

By: Science!

Science! — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 13:33:53 -0800

Without seeing it, I assume this is similar to the wildlife taking advantage of the DMZ on the Korean peninsula.

By: pracowity

pracowity — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 13:38:09 -0800

Green Belt Europe:

The 'Iron Curtain' divided Eastern and Western Europe for almost 40 years cutting off contacts between people on both sides. Nature seized the deserted border areas. Today a string of beautiful habitats with rare plants and animals connects European landscapes and forms a living monument of European history. [...]

By: slater

slater — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 13:39:12 -0800

The "last haven" was only to last for a short time, however, as most of the rare animals (and plants!) got blown to bits by the mines, or were entangled on the barbed wire, and left to die of starvation (yes, even the plants!). awww.

By: Postroad

Postroad — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 13:54:31 -0800

If that lefty bbc won't show stuff outside UK then they should not b3e allowed to film outside that lefty county--selfish socialists!

By: rokusan

rokusan — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 14:00:49 -0800

Saying that "Communism" crumbled in 1989 is a bit like saying "capitalism" crumbling now. I suspect China and Cuba, for example, would disagree.

By: dunkadunc

dunkadunc — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 14:07:43 -0800

There's a political party in Germany that advocates the rebuilding of the Berlin Wall, but I think it's got more to do with keeping racist East Germans out.

By: nicwolff

nicwolff — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 14:26:14 -0800

I was actually in the first group to bike the Czech Greenway from the Austrian border to Telč when it opened (my parents were friends of Lubomir and Tiree Chmelar who founded the project), which follows the Iron Curtain in places, where the concrete-slab roads that connect the old guard towers had become overgrown bike paths — it's lovely.

By: Drasher

Drasher — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 14:45:41 -0800

YEAH! Those guys all speak English!

By: wander

wander — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 14:47:06 -0800

This is also happening in the Korean Demilitarized Zone. It's nice to see that something positive can come of cold war divisions.

By: kolophon

kolophon — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 14:48:55 -0800

"Sorry I should have mentioned that BBC iPlayer is not available outside of the UK. posted by wtildesleyPoster at 9:27 PM on March 14" No, you should have posted a different link. Like this Spiegel or independent article from last year. Dunkadunc: Die Partei is a project of satire magazine Titanic

By: Popular Ethics

Popular Ethics — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 15:15:36 -0800

No, you should have posted a different link But there's no problem when the Daily Show or Hulu is liked to the front page, sites that are both blocked in other countries? just bitter about mefi's uscentrism, and the increasingly regional internet thanks for the additional links

By: jessamyn

jessamyn — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 15:37:31 -0800

[thanks for the extra links - we'd appreciate if people added them rather than deleting threads that have links that don't work, thanks. metatalk is decent for further comments]

By: swift

swift — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:41:40 -0800

c.f. The World Without Us

By: srboisvert

srboisvert — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 18:05:05 -0800

I'm afraid I do not live in the UK. That is nothing to be afraid of.

By: grounded

grounded — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 20:59:15 -0800

Germany is building migration bridges over the autobahn for migrating wolves and moose.

By: Smedleyman

Smedleyman — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 21:54:18 -0800

Had it not crumbled then it would have been a tremendous boon for wildlife. Mostly cockroaches.