Kadazzle
Emperor
I was speaking in regards to my India game. Khmer was a very easy target, dying to Cats + Swords early on. If you start in the Western hemisphere, Pacal is equally as easy of a target, and Sitting Bull isn't "easy", but can be over-powered with relative ease. Then it's simply just about using your land advantage to out-tech the AI - but you know that already. The computers are already not very good at teching, and no tech trading makes them even worse. Have you done multiple attempts? I think you may have just got unlucky the first time.
In addition, there is a land bridge from Russia -> Alaska and from English -> Iceland -> Greenland -> Newfoundland/Nova Scotia.
In addition, there is a land bridge from Russia -> Alaska and from English -> Iceland -> Greenland -> Newfoundland/Nova Scotia.