2. Letter from A. of Norway

Shalom mr. Yair Davidiy

First, allow me introduce myself briefly. My name is ... and
I am Norwegian, but don't worry, I'm a zionist and I have -nothing-
against Jews. I find it tragic how Norwegians and other european countries
treat the Jews and Israel, and I'd just like to tell you that we do have
several movements in Norway who try to fight this seemingly anti-semittic
trend in our society (for example www.miff.no and www.hjhome.org). Meager
comfort, I know, but still, we are not all horrible people!

Moving on.

My late grandfather, who was a very special man and commanded alot of
respect among Christians particularly on the west-coast (where
fundamentalistic christianity had still not been completely overrun by the
new-evangelism approaching from Sweden in the east), believed we were
descendants from Jews, which is why your writings on your site are so
interesting for me to read! Now I don't know if you are religious or not
so you can disregard the following if you want, but we've had a strange
kind of blessing in our family down through the times, and my grandfather
believed this was due to us having had very blessed Jewish ancestors (from
your writings I am tempted to think Benjaminites, but I will of course not
make any assumptions myself before I can prove it, which I unfortunately
probably never will be able to). Anyway, on to my point.

In your writings about the naming of America
(http://www.geocities.com/hiberi/america.html) you type the following:
"The Vikings attempted to settle in North America and named it "MARKLAND"
which is believed to mean "Land of Darkness". I just wanted to know where
you have that from? I'm not at all criticizing you for this, rather I find
it interesting to ask you if you have a source that says different things
from what I have learned. You see the translation of "markland" has been
acknowledged as meaning "wood land" or "forest land" (read for example:
3rd paragraph under "Historical Accounts"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinland  OR  6th paragraph from the bottom
at http://www.vikingart.com/Mill/Ar_Thor01.htm). The Norwegian word for
"dark" today is "m rk", can the likeness of these words (mark/m rk) be why
someone translated it to dark, perhaps?

In Norway it is today (and has been for at least a decade) taught at
schools as common knowledge that the vikings (represented by Leiv Erikson)
first named this new country "Vinland". Perhaps because this was the only
land Adam of Bremen described in his writings (read: 3rd paragraph from
the bottom at http://www.vikingart.com/Mill/Ar_Thor01.htm)

If you split "Vinland" into "Vin" and "Land" it can be directly translated
from present day Norwegian into "Wineland". So I've seen many people
calling it that in english. However I believe it was Thor Heyerdahl who
looked into the old norse language and concluded that "vin" could very
well have meant  "fruitful meadow land" or "pasture land". And there is an
amusing coincidence now that "pasture" means in todays Norwegian "mark",
as in "markland".


Anyway, you are probably not that into Vikings, but the few words you
wrote about the Vikings' naming of America peaked my interest. I hope I
have not wasted too much of your time. Please keep up the good work you
are doing.
Take good care of you and yours.

Greetings,
A

Brit-Am Answer:
A. Shalom,
Good to hear from you.
You are evidently referring to a passage in "Ephraim. The Gentile Children of Israel", (1995, 2001):
<<7. Biblical Linguistics: Kedar in Hebrew means darkness. The verse in the Song of Solomon (1;5) associating blackness with the tents of Kedar is a play on words: "I am black, but comely,.. as the tents of Kedar..." The Vikings called North America "Markland" which is said to mean "Land of the Dark"8. The Lost Ten Tribes were exiled (according to Talmudic tradition) to a place where "Clouds" covered them or to the "Mountains of Darkness". These terms were applicable to Mannae, the Caucasus, Crimea, Scandinavia, and other areas of Cimmerian settlement. In a Conceptual Figurative sense (as demonstrated below in this work) the terms were ultimately applicable to North America.
(8. Whatmore
The reference is from
ARTHUR WILLIAM WHATMORE,  "Insulae Britannicae", 1913, U.K., 1971 U.S.A./U.K.
As I recall Whatmore quotes  words with a similar meaning in Germanic and Slavic languages
and in general we found him a reliable source.  Whatmore was also in tune with the Mythological
symbolism extant in the past that could have influenced the choosing of names.

You yourself admit that a similar word in Norwegian
means "dark".

Brit-Am actually identified the present-day Norwegians mostly with Naphtali
though we admit that in the past a contingent of Benjamin (who later moved to
Normandy in France) was amongst them some of whom may have remained.

3. Cane Toads Prove Brit-Am Point?
Note: Brit-Am holds that organisms adapt in response to environment
according to existing genetic programing.
This is not evolution but rather the opposite
\though it does explain phenomenon that otherwise
might considered as evidence of evolutionary adaptation.
In the case below, we would explain the phenomenon
of the "pioneer" toads having longer legs by the organism as a whole having need
of such "pioneers" and therefore producing them. When the need is fulfilled they disappear.

http://johnhawks.net/weblog
Cane toad invasion and evolution

The Hawaiian cane toad is a classic case of an invasive species, and its genetics have long been a subject of study for those interested in the spread of species into new habitat.

That's why it's so interesting to me that a new study in Nature(subscription) has shown morphological differences (LiveScience) between the initial wave of toads and later populations. The fastest colonizers have the longest legs:
From the 1940s through the 1960s, the toads were invading at a rate of about 6 miles per year; now they're taking over at a rate of about 30 miles a year.

To find out why the toads are spreading so fast, researchers stationed themselves about 40 miles east of Australia's port city of Darwin, in a region where the cane toads had not yet spread.

When the toads arrived, the researchers found that those in the vanguard of the invasion had legs that were up to 6 percent longer than average; shorter-legged stragglers followed. The study showed that newer populations of toads tended to have longer legs than those in long-established populations.

These are BIG toads, by the way -- weighing up to 2 kg. Leg length does lead to faster dispersal:
The morphological trait most often linked to locomotor ability in anurans is leg length, both among and within species8. Our trials (see supplementary information) confirm that cane toads with relatively long legs are indeed faster over a short distance (regressing time taken to cover 1 m against residual leg length: r=-0.44, n=29, P<0.02). But, more important, longer-legged toads moved further over 24 h (maximum displacement of radio-tracked toads versus relative leg length: r=0.46, n=21, P<0.04) and over three days (r=0.58, n=21, P<0.006; Fig. 1a). Longer legs therefore facilitate more rapid dispersal.

Of course, the idea that longer-legged toads would move faster and colonize more quickly makes perfect sense.

The mystery is: Why do leg lengths subsequently decline?

References:

Phillips BL et al. 2006. Invasion and the evolution of speed in toads. Nature 439:803.

4. Charlotte Mecklenburg:  Gathering God's people
re "Brit-Am Now"-663
#1. The Children of Rachel Will Prepare the Way

Dear Yair,
I couldn't understand what Atlas was talking about from chapter 23 of Ezekiel. Both women are bad and the one that represents Judah is said to be the worse and there is nothing in it about submitting to one or the other. However, I do believe there is a need for those of Joseph to accept those of Judah right where they are in their walk with God and not make judgements or try to change them. By the same token, I believe Judah needs to recognize that Joseph is part of the house of God no matter how badly he dislikes them. So there needs to be an acceptance on his part too... I thank you, and Britam for remaining above the fray. Right now what seems to give us an outline of where we are right
now is found in Jer. 3:11-18.
1. The Lord calls for  Faithless Israel to return but he only chooses one from a town and two from a clan and brings them to Zion.  And that is where we are. Very few are able to come to Zion.
2. However the next thing that happens when he gets those few in Zion and none of us know what that number is he gives the nation shepherds after his own heart that will lead them with knowledge and understanding.  Maybe we are nearing this time. verse 15. For instance, I would be willing to go to school there and learn as much as I can that Judah has to teach, but it can't be done on a three month visitor's visa and besides some of us do not have enough money to go in and out every three months.  But since God is in charge this will change.
3.  Something is going to  happen that will bring about an increase in the number of Joseph/Israelites that are coming in. verse 16
4.  And it is in those days that the Lord will reign in Jerusalem. In regard to which Messiah gives way to the other, the bottom line of all the prophets is this: God says he will be Shepherd, He will reign, He is our Salvation, He is all that we need. If we focus on that then we will not have to decide what Messiah is suppose to be doing what. What else is happening in the world besides this gathering of God's people can be found in other prophecies.  We don't know the span of years that are involved here in these prophecies. But I think it is gradually happening and it could be speeded up depending on what God wants to do.
5. In the days when Jerusalem will be the throne of the Lord, Judah will join the house of Israel together they will come from a northern land to the land God gave their forefathers. We have seen this happen in Ireland where Jewish groups took tours to Israel with Christian groups. The same is been happening in the U.S. So even before the temple mount has changed hands we see some things that indicate that the joining of Judah and Israel is going to happen just as it is prophecied here. I pray for the day when God will have control of the temple mount and the imposters are no longer there.

These prophecies in Jeremiah bring comfort and hope that God is at work in hearts and he is bringing to pass what he has planned.  He does not like division, he is a God who heals. So be it.

5. World Science: Your DNA may reveal your last name
http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060221_surnamefrm.htm

Feb. 21, 2006
Courtesy Cell Press
and World Science staff

Have you ever wondered whether youre related to strangers who share your last name?

At least in Britain, a new study has found that men who share a surname often are indeed related.

Whats more, detectives could make good use of this information, the researchers added: it suggests it may be possible to predict a persons last name from his DNA. But this may work only for less common names, for which the relatedness is stronger.

The scientists compared DNA from 150 pairs of men who share British surnames, and found that about a quarter of pairs are linked genetically. The link was via the Y chromosome, the part of our genetic material that confers maleness and is passed, like many surnames, from father to son.

A simple correspondence between name and Y chromosome could in principle connect all men sharing a surname into one large family tree, the researchers said. But in reality the link may be weak for several reasons: the existence of multiple independent founders for many names, adoptions, name changes, and illegitimate children.

Nonetheless, previous research had suggested a genetic link for some particular names, the scientists noted.

In the new study, Turi King at the University of Leicester and colleagues recruited pairs randomly from the population. Pairs sharing surnames are on average much more likely to have matching Y chromosomes than pairs with different names, they found. The link becomes stronger as names become rarer. For example, there was no link for Smith, Jones, and Taylor, but a clear link for Attenborough, Widdowson, and Grewcock.

Linked men share a common ancestor from less than 20 generations ago, about 1300 AD, when last names were founded, the researchers said, adding that the findings will also be helpful to genealogists seeking to work out family trees.

The findings appear in the Feb. 21 issue of the research journal Current Biology.

Publications
NOW INDEX