Post by kaima on Sept 30, 2008 10:52:42 GMT -7
I don't know who this fellow is, but am familiar with Little Diomede, at least from the neighboring village of Wales. I was there one year when teh Diomeders came in by skin boat to pick up their two teachers for the winter. It was fall, the Bering Straight currents are extremely tricky, and the water was rough enough for them to stretch another walrus skin on the windward /wave-ward side of the boat to keep the sea from splashing in the boat. Once on shore they wisely decided to wait a few days for the sea to calm down, so they flipped their boat upside down, hung 'skirts' around the bottom of the boat, and had their nomadic tent shelter. A few days later they took the teachers back over with them.
From the shores of the continent at Wales you can see the Diomede Islands, of course, and the hills of Siberia in the distance. Wales is the Western most tip of North America.
The photo in this fellow's article is NOT from this season. The Bering Straight is NOT frozen over this time of year. So it is not from this visit.
ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2008/09/30/you-can-see-russia-from-here/
You CAN see Russia from here!
Program Note: Governor Sarah Palin said you can actually see Russia from an island in Alaska. Our Gary Tuchman went to find this island… Watch his full report tonight on AC360.
Gary Tuchman | BIO
AC360 Correspondent
When talking about what she says is her foreign policy experience, Sarah Palin told ABC news “…you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.”
That quote made us want to go to that island.
So we did.
The island is called Little Diomede. It looks like a rock plopped into the Bering Strait. Only about 150 Alaskans live on the whole island. And just about two miles away; in full view of every single house on the island is the nation of Russia. Specifically, it is the Russian Island of Big Diomede which sits about 25 miles from the Russian Siberian mainland (which you can also see from the American island.) Most everybody on Little Diomede had relatives who lived on Big Diomede.
But decades ago, the Russian government sent them all to the mainland, and today, Big Diomede is limited to a Russian military presence. It’s also a full day in front of Little Diomede because it’s on the other side of the International Date Line. Little Diomede is fascinating. It looks like the moon would if you built a lunar settlement. It’s full of rocks, dirt, and craters. We were curious if Sarah Palin has ever visited this island. According to the natives, the answer is no.
As a matter of fact, no Alaska governor in the state’s nearly 50 year history has ever visited the remote outpost that still has little running water. We were curious what the Little Diomeders thought about Palin’s claim of foreign policy experience because of the proximity of Siberia. Interestingly, many of these Alaskans had no idea who Sarah Palin was! It turns out they have no TV on the island, and therefore, many don’t follow the news.
The island’s mayor has heard of her though. No American mayor resides in a city closer to Russia then Andrew Milligrock, and he says being two miles from Russia doesn’t give him any foreign policy expertise.
He does say she seems like an okay governor, but exclaims she should probably pay a visit to Little Diomede sometime. It may not help her foreign policy experience says the mayor, but would definitely help her domestic policy experience. We hope you’ll watch our story about this most unique American island tonight on AC360.
From the shores of the continent at Wales you can see the Diomede Islands, of course, and the hills of Siberia in the distance. Wales is the Western most tip of North America.
The photo in this fellow's article is NOT from this season. The Bering Straight is NOT frozen over this time of year. So it is not from this visit.
ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2008/09/30/you-can-see-russia-from-here/
You CAN see Russia from here!
Program Note: Governor Sarah Palin said you can actually see Russia from an island in Alaska. Our Gary Tuchman went to find this island… Watch his full report tonight on AC360.
Gary Tuchman | BIO
AC360 Correspondent
When talking about what she says is her foreign policy experience, Sarah Palin told ABC news “…you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.”
That quote made us want to go to that island.
So we did.
The island is called Little Diomede. It looks like a rock plopped into the Bering Strait. Only about 150 Alaskans live on the whole island. And just about two miles away; in full view of every single house on the island is the nation of Russia. Specifically, it is the Russian Island of Big Diomede which sits about 25 miles from the Russian Siberian mainland (which you can also see from the American island.) Most everybody on Little Diomede had relatives who lived on Big Diomede.
But decades ago, the Russian government sent them all to the mainland, and today, Big Diomede is limited to a Russian military presence. It’s also a full day in front of Little Diomede because it’s on the other side of the International Date Line. Little Diomede is fascinating. It looks like the moon would if you built a lunar settlement. It’s full of rocks, dirt, and craters. We were curious if Sarah Palin has ever visited this island. According to the natives, the answer is no.
As a matter of fact, no Alaska governor in the state’s nearly 50 year history has ever visited the remote outpost that still has little running water. We were curious what the Little Diomeders thought about Palin’s claim of foreign policy experience because of the proximity of Siberia. Interestingly, many of these Alaskans had no idea who Sarah Palin was! It turns out they have no TV on the island, and therefore, many don’t follow the news.
The island’s mayor has heard of her though. No American mayor resides in a city closer to Russia then Andrew Milligrock, and he says being two miles from Russia doesn’t give him any foreign policy expertise.
He does say she seems like an okay governor, but exclaims she should probably pay a visit to Little Diomede sometime. It may not help her foreign policy experience says the mayor, but would definitely help her domestic policy experience. We hope you’ll watch our story about this most unique American island tonight on AC360.