A Tale of Two Palins
In the midst of the campaigning, I went (online) searching for the the target of the Tina Fey joke, "I can see Russia from my house."
The idea of Alaskans seeing Russia from their house (or shack on stilts, as the case may be) comes from Little Diomede Island in the middle of the Bering Strait. Big Diomede Island belongs to Russia. Many of the inhabitants of both are related. They are separated by a couple of miles of fast moving current and the International Dateline.
Sarah Palin has never been to Little Diomede Island.
Michael Palin has.
You know, Michael Palin of Monty Python fame.
His travels are fascinating, really.
Somebody could take a cue. Because Africa is a continent, not a country in and of itself.
UPDATE: A kind reader has corrected me (in comments) on some points regarding Little Diomede Island. I would do well to remember that facts sometimes get diluted in a partisan way during election season. (grin)
7 comments:
Hello,
There are several places you can see Russia from Alaska....Diomede is one of them.
However, you are incorrect about the residents of the Russian "Big Diomede" are related. They used to be, but were moved off the island in the 1950's to the mainland of Chukotka. The Russians call it Ratmonov Island, and there is a small military base there with Russian Border Guards....no Inupiaq Eskimos ;-)
You can see it for yourself here:
BSSD Live Steerable Dateline Cam - Looks right at Russia
http://www.bssd.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=105
Regards,
John Concilus
jconcilus@bssd.org
Hello,
No Inupiaq residents have lived on Big Diomede (Ratmonov Island) since the 1950s. There is a Russian Border Guard base there, and they do patrol.
There are also other places you can see Russia from Alaska, not just Diomede.
You can see our webcam in Diomede and steer it around if you'd like.
BSSD Live Steerable Dateline Cam - Looks right at Russia
http://www.bssd.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=105
Regards,
John Concilus
Yes, Michael Palin is so utterly cool. I love his travel shows. He goes to the most amazing places.
Sarah Palin can just scooch on back to Alaska and stay there. Hopefully she'll be able to see Russia some day.
johncn - Thank you for correcting me. I should triple check my sources, and remember how some of it gets distorted during election season.
Still my greater point about Sarah Palin vs. Michael Palin stands, I think.
Hello,
Sorry about the double post but the first time it gave an error and said it didn't go through.
Anyway, there has been a lot of attention about our school district due to the election coverage, and much of it is incorrect.
My interest is ensuring that the correct info gets out there....not the politics of the thing.
It's the former Geography teacher in me, I'm afraid ;-)
Regards,
John
So, John, from where else in Alaska can one see Russia? Are some of those views "clear day" views?
(My son's geography teacher constantly challenges the kids to stump her...perhaps this could do it... :-D )
Thanks again, John.
Hi,
You can also see Russia from the villages of Gambell, Savoonga, Tin City, Wales, sometimes Shishmaref....and all of those are clear day dependent.
In some cases being on a rise or a hill or a sand dune helps due to the curvature of the earth, but there are mountains on the Chukotka side, so that helps quite a bit. ;-)
John
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