The Viking Age is traditionally defined as AD 793 to 1066, presenting a wide range for the timing of the transatlantic crossing. Ordinary radiocarbon dating – determining the age of organic materials by measuring their content of a particular radioactive isotope of carbon – proved too imprecise to date L’Anse aux Meadows, which was discovered in 1960, although there was a general belief it was the 11th century.
The new dating method relies on the fact that solar storms produce a distinctive radiocarbon signal in a tree’s annual growth rings. It was known there was a significant solar storm – a burst of high-energy cosmic rays from the sun – in AD992.
In all three pieces of wood examined, from three different trees, 29 growth rings were formed after the one that bore evidence of the solar storm, meaning the wood was cut in 1021, said the University of Groningen archaeologist Margot Kuitems, the study’s first author.
It was not local indigenous people who cut the wood because there is evidence of metal blades, which they did not possess …
I'm on my way home from #COP26, full of frustration and fury after reading the draft declaration. The world's powerful governments propose to do more to defend the fossil fuel industry than to defend life on Earth.
— George Monbiot (@GeorgeMonbiot) November 12, 2021
Brilliance from @TheShovel https://t.co/TOLGHUy87z
— Extinction Rebellion (@ExtinctionR) November 7, 2021
Dr. Bernd Wollschlaeger shares his story about the journey from his father's house of deceit and hatred to the ranks of the Jewish people. Horrified by his father's part in the effort to rid the world of Jews, Bernd found himself drawn to Jews, Holocaust survivors who did not hold him responsible and related to him with kindness and friendship. He eventually came to the realization that he wanted to join the Jewish nation. In this video he tells his fascinating story and ends with advice on how to prevent hatred from spreading in the future.
Both authors also agree on four fundamental issues underlying the quagmire: First, the occupation must end. Once this happens, they claim it will forge a path for achieving Palestinian statehood within the parameters of a two-state solution.
Secondly, they demonstrate how uneven the conflict has become. The body-count statistics speak volumes. According to B’Tselem, a Jerusalem-based Israeli NGO, between December, 1987, and April, 2021, 13,969 lives were lost from politically motivated violence between Israelis and Palestinians. 87 per cent of the dead were Palestinian.
Thirdly, Cypel and Roy also argue that Jewish settlements are a barrier to peace. In 2017, the Israeli Jewish settlement population stood at 427,000 in the West Bank, and 220,000 in East Jerusalem. The paradigm for negotiations between Jews and Arabs since 1967 has mainly centred around the phrase “land for peace.” But what happens when there is no land?
And finally, both writers claim no lasting peace settlement can occur unless the United States, the EU and other major international actors force Israel to give up its domination over the Palestinians. That view is also shared by many progressive Jews across the global Jewish diaspora. But can this influence Israel’s cozy relationship with Washington and other key political players in the coming years? Perhaps. But maybe not.*
…
Meanwhile the ruling oligarchy and its highly trained elite of soldiers, policemen, thought-manufacturers and mind-manipulators will quietly run the show as they see fit.
—Aldous Huxley, 1958