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you CAN see Russia from there
neat little piece about the Alaskan island from which you can see Russia.
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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 than 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.
I am the 99%.
Re: you CAN see Russia from there
and, an interesting factoid from Wikipedia:
The Little Diomede natives are allowed to pay their taxes to the Internal Revenue Service in ivory collected from walrus hunts, being the only people in the United States that are allowed to pay taxes with something besides U.S. currency.
I am the 99%.
OMG!!!
they even have a Michael Palin connection:
In summer 1995, British television actor and documentary presenter Michael Palin started his counterclockwise circumnavigation of the Pacific Rim, encompassing 18 different countries, on Little Diomede Island, as part of the BBC series Full Circle. He intended to set foot on it again at the very end of his journey lasting nearly eight months, but was unable to do so because he was returning during the following winter (on the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro), and the sea became too rough to allow him and his film crew to land on the island.
wow!
I am the 99%.