A rare medieval belt loop used to hang keys or a purse has been discovered near KamieÅ„ Pomorski in northwestern Poland. It is one of only about 15 of this type of belt loop known‚ and the only one of them found in Poland. It was discovered by metal detectorist Damian Tomczyk scanning the area with the approval of local heritage authorities. The bronze figure is 2.2 inches high and depicts an anthropomorphic figure with hands on hips forming circular divots on the side of the torso. Diagonal‚ horizontal and vertical cuts on the surface of the chest and waist convey the draping of a tunic typical of the Late Gothic period. A triangular cutout separates the two legs that appear to be clad in hose. The figure stands on a rounded shape with a hole where keys or an alms purse or pouch would have hung. A belt would be threaded through an open rectangular mount on the back. This type of belt loop was produced in southern Germany‚ created by Bavarian craftsmen probably in Nuremberg which was a center of bronze work since the 14th century. Indeed‚ of the surviving examples‚ 12 of them were found in Germany‚ most of them in Bavaria. The finder has donated the artifact to the KamieÅ„ Land History Museum which has two late medieval bronze belt loops in its collection‚ one of them with the similar cross-hatched garment and arm holes. This newly-discovered example is larger and in better condition.

Exit polls in Ohio on Tuesday showed that immigration was the top issue among Republican presidential primary voters in the state‚ CBS News reported.

Democrats unhappy with the Biden administration's handling of Israel's war in the Gaza Strip have made their voices heard in this year's presidential primaries in Massachusetts‚ Michigan‚ Minnesota‚ and Washington.

The following article‚ CANNIBAL Gangs Are Roving Haiti On Murder Sprees‚ “Eating People They’ve Killed”‚ was first published on Conservative Firing Line. (Natural News) A real-life walking dead situation is unfolding in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince‚ where roving gangs are attacking police officers with machetes and eating people like cannibals. A journalist on the ground in Port-au-Prince claims that the violent situation is worsening throughout the city as gangs demand that Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry resign. A state … Continue reading CANNIBAL Gangs Are Roving Haiti On Murder Sprees‚ “Eating People They’ve Killed” ...

Translator’s Note: France’s president‚ Emmanuel Macron‚ will not say there will never be French troops — or NATO troops — on the ground in Ukraine. This is common sense‚ and‚ to take a line from commentators in the U.S. who view Russian aggression against Ukraine as a territorial dispute of no interest to us‚ it is foreign policy realism. The first rule of realism is that you cannot rule out any contingencies nor make promises you may regret. Woodrow Wilson never should have made a big deal of “keeping us out of the war‚” nor should John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson have insisted publicly that “American boys” cannot do a job that “Asian boys” must. Our presidents’ initial intuitions may have been sensible‚ their later changes of mind misguided; but the point is that when faced with naked imperialistic aggression‚ you stay focused not on what you think people want you to do or not to do but what you may have to do to protect yourself‚ which can involve protecting others whose enemies‚ perchance‚ are yours as well. Pierre Rigoulot is a French historian specializing in 20th-century political history. He contributed to the well-known Black Book of Communism. His Quand Poutine se prend pour Staline (Editions Buchet-Chastel‚ 2023)‚ a study of the continuities of purpose and thought from Stalin to Putin‚ has been widely discussed in Europe. Rigoulot belongs to the school that views “Munich” — the 1938 British and French effort to appease Hitler by abandoning Czechoslovakia — as an event from which we must still draw lessons. The “lesson of Munich” is not that there need be a reflexive military response to every aggression by a tyrannous regime against a neighboring country. It is that aggressors are more likely to be deterred if they know free nations are prepared to defend themselves. Macron evidently thinks it safer to advise his Russian homologue‚ who was just reelected by a suspiciously near-unanimous vote‚ that choices‚ including military options‚ can be made by free men in democratic societies as well as by tyrants in unfree ones. I have translated the following column by Rigoulot from the French. Any mistakes or inaccuracies are my own. —Roger Kaplan We may not be living in pre-war years — as the period of the Munich Agreement was‚ and sometimes still is‚ called — but it feels that way. West Europeans accustomed to decades of peace under a protective American military umbrella find themselves watching the third year of a war on their eastern flank‚ caused by Russia’s attempt to conquer Ukraine. Both countries are part of Europe by history and geography. Russia officially recognized its neighbor’s legal sovereignty in 1991. READ MORE: An ‘October Surprise’ From ‘New’ Ukraine Is Possible French President Emmanuel Macron’s statement that saving Ukraine may require the intervention of European military forces angered several governments‚ notably those of Germany‚ Italy‚ and Spain‚ and was met with criticism and fear‚ notably in his own country’s public opinion and intellectual circles. Fear is surely not unwarranted. But we should take at least some comfort from assessing our strengths‚ which include what we have learned about resisting aggression by totalitarian regimes. In 1938‚ many Europeans thought the best way to deal with Nazi aggression was to let Hitler take whatever real estate he claimed for Germany. The great French historian Marc Bloch argued‚ in his Historian’s Craft‚ that no two historical situations are identical; yet‚ in writing Strange Defeat‚ he made the case that very specific lessons could have been taken from the Great War that might have averted defeat in 1940 — and might even have stopped Hitler before he launched total war. Bloch — who served in the army from 1939 to 1940 and took part in the Resistance until he was arrested and shot by the Germans in 1944 — argued that rather than unimaginatively prepare for the last war‚ the French high military staff could have anticipated the German offensive’s combined ground-air mobility‚ terror bombing‚ and adroit use of propaganda. Making it clear the army was prepared to fight with a contemporary strategy‚ not one suited for 1914‚ might have forestalled a German attack. This is pertinent in view of President Vladimir Putin’s warnings that Russia might respond to the presence of NATO forces on the battlefield with nuclear weapons. Macron reminds that France is armed with nukes‚ as is NATO. The French high command was not alone responsible for the lack of preparedness that led to collapse and defeat in 1940. Cut off from a civilian population that sought security in the pacifism that was fashionable in the 1930s‚ the army had little popular or intellectual support‚ even as its German counterpart surfed over the wave of militarism that followed the Nazis’ 1933 electoral victory. A consequential civil–military dialogue might have alerted the public to the threat represented by the rise of Nazism. Policy options favoring rearmament and strategic reevaluations favoring mobility (Charles de Gaulle pleaded for both in vain) might have gained support and made a difference‚ intellectually no less than in hard military terms. Neither the powerful CGT labor federation nor the militant teachers SNI union rose to the occasion‚ while influential intellectuals and writers‚ such as the philosopher Alain (Émile-Auguste Chartier) and the popular novelist Jean Giono‚ felt no need to question their pacifist ideas. Ninety years on‚ what lessons can or should be drawn from the attitudes that abetted what Winston Churchill called the “unnecessary war”? War may spread beyond Ukraine‚ for Putin’s thinking is guided by fascist thinkers like Aleksandr Dugin‚ Ivan Ilyin‚ and others for whom Russia is holy‚ unconstrained by international law — or‚ for that matter‚ the rule of its own laws. Russian civilization‚ they argue‚ is threatened by a decadent West led by the United States and the European Union‚ godless and corrupt. Russia must rescue the persecuted Russian-speakers of Ukraine just as‚ long ago‚ Germany rescued the German-speakers of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. Preventing war requires first admitting that it can spread — and be lost. Contemporary novelties must be grasped: drones‚ cyber-attacks‚ ideological competition and influence by means of social media‚ to take obvious examples. Nuclear deterrence remains a central factor in the West’s arsenal‚ and France and NATO ought not be shy of saying so. People in free societies should not be the only ones subjected to nuclear blackmail. In France‚ no less than elsewhere in the West‚ closing ranks on the basics should take priority over political divisions. This should entail remembering past confrontations with totalitarianism while taking account of what is original and new today. Fear is nothing to be ashamed of‚ but by keeping faith in the strengths‚ mechanical and spiritual‚ at our disposal‚ we can sustain the faith necessary to accomplish the essential task‚ safeguarding democratically governed free societies. The post France and Ukraine: 2024 Reflects 1938 appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

These are not the greatest times for university faculty and nonacademic staff. Falling enrollments have squeezed budgets at many schools‚ leading to small or even non-existent salary increases during a period of enhanced inflation. The salary surveys of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) showed an inflation-adjusted decrease in average salaries of professors of 7.5 percent from 2019 to 2022. It seems likely the enrollment decline will not reverse itself dramatically‚ and the near certainty of a forthcoming decline in the size of potential freshmen classes because of the nation’s “birth dearth” enhances that pessimistic assessment. Flagship public schools West Virginia University and the University of Arizona have announced needs for draconian budget reductions‚ including faculty dismissals‚ a problem revealed also recently by a $239 million budget deficit at the private elite University of Chicago. Selective admission Miami University of Ohio reported that a $36 million budget deficit might force eliminating 18 majors — and ultimately some faculty positions. Rarely a month goes by without some small liberal arts college announcing it is closing. The near certainty of reduced private donations from irate wealthy alumni have even constrained uber rich schools like Harvard from showing expansive largesse toward their hired hands. READ MORE: College Jocks Given Green Light to Unionize In such an environment‚ some university employees look to unionization as a panacea. Faculty union leaders sometimes see vast funds for salary increases obtainable by cutting a large administrative bureaucracy —reducing the bloat associated with nonessential bureaucrats can save the day and allow for hefty pay raises. Many campus employees seem to agree‚ as there has been an uptick in unionization efforts on campus‚ even extending‚ unbelievably‚ to students at that great athletic powerhouse‚ Dartmouth College (this season: six wins‚ 21 losses) and its basketball team‚ which recently voted 13 to 2 to unionize. Graduate and postdoctoral student unions are similarly proliferating nationwide‚ and recent teaching assistant strikes at the University of California have proved costly and highly contentious (I suspect graduate students are responsible for teaching more undergraduate student credit hours than full-time faculty on some UC campuses). While the evidence is far from unambiguous‚ a good case can be made that labor unions have led to higher compensation and benefits for many workers in the market-driven for-profit sector. But higher education operates in a different labor environment. Whereas industrialized union members compete in a local labor market where many workers do similar things‚ professors are part of a national labor market where highly specialized skills critically limit both labor demand and supply. If a Harvard faculty member is unhappy over a salary freeze or a demand to teach three courses a year instead of two‚ she or he is far more likely to move to Yale or Michigan than try to form or join a labor union.  College faculty unions are popular and important in New York and California. However‚ easily the largest unionized institution‚ the California State University system‚ is not noted for its high-pay‚ envious working conditions or institutional prestige. Similarly‚ in my state of Ohio‚ most state schools have faculty unions‚ but salaries are far higher at non-union Ohio State‚ which must compete for top scholars in a national‚ not local‚ market.  Where academics have unusual skills or human capital accomplishments found in few other people‚ they gain some labor monopoly power and are sometimes able to acquire a fair amount of what economists call economic rent — pay in excess of that necessary to obtain their services. That is not the case for‚ say‚ workers on an automobile assembly line all performing the same task. When there only a relatively few potential worthy applicants for a job‚ individual bargaining works better than some institutionally established rules set through collective bargaining. Additionally‚ computer scientists‚ accountants and finance professors compete in dramatically different labor markets from English‚ history‚ or philosophy professors‚ making a single entity bargaining for all faculty very difficult and subject to much internal in-fighting. Moreover‚ widespread national unionization of college faculty might have some of the negative spillover effects observed recently in primary and secondary education. Some states where teacher and other public employee unions are political powerful‚ like Illinois and New York‚ are in increasingly perilous financial situations‚ and high taxation is driving increasing outmigration. More generally‚ parents are voting with their children’s feet‚ moving their kids into alternative forms of schooling offering greater parental choice such as charter schools and even homeschooling. Therefore‚ I suspect that unionization will likely only further lower the already abysmal level of public support and confidence in universities‚ institutions critically dependent on outside funding for their livelihood.  Richard Vedder is Distinguished Professor of Economics Emeritus at Ohio University and a senior fellow at the Independent Institute.  The post Why Labor Unions Won’t Save Higher Education appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

I am so frightened‚ shocked‚ and worried about the bloodbath issue that Joe Biden the zombie says Donald Trump has promised that I am going to talk about childhood acquaintances. But not childhood acquaintances on whom you look back fondly‚ whom you meet many years later and your heart warms. No‚ today I will talk about the other ones. Those childhood friends with whom you had to spend time‚ but in the same way that a prisoner has to share a cell‚ with no more in common with the other prisoner than the occasional misdemeanor. RELATED: Bloodbath at the Idiot Box As a columnist‚ I have an innate and special ability to dodge uncomfortable conversations. For example: I hate to talk about what I write. I know there are columnists who love to be stopped on the street and receive a running commentary of that day’s column‚ or yesterday’s‚ whether to be praised or even criticized. This is not my case. It makes me uncomfortable to talk about what I write‚ for two reasons: First‚ because I have used thousands of characters to write it‚ so it is difficult to find something interesting to add; and second‚ because more than half of my articles talk about politics‚ which is already quite boring‚ but I swear I have no intention of changing the world with them. I don’t want to convince anyone‚ I don’t intend to make a lasting impact on anyone’s ideas‚ and‚ in any case‚ I have no interest whatsoever in participating in open debate at the bar about the same thing I spend my work hours on.  Maybe it’s time to remember that you go to pubs to forget about work‚ and sometimes the occasional woman. So talking about work or girlfriends under the neon lights of a pub is impolite‚ whichever way you look at it.  However‚ there is something that still terrifies me more than receiving extensive comments on what I write (I clarify that I am referring to the comments out loud in my leisure hours at the bar or the beach‚ the written comments I do read and enjoy)‚ and that is meeting some old friend that you would rather not meet. Childhood friends with whom you have deliberately lost contact always follow the same pattern: If before they were a bit of a jerk‚ now as adults they are complete idiots (look at me); if they were so narrow-minded that there wasn’t room for a smoking paper to fit in sideways‚ now their brain has become more like an anvil‚ both solid and beaten; and if as children they enjoyed meddling in the lives of others‚ now they act like a sensationalist domestic affairs magazine. And‚ finally‚ another innate characteristic completes the pattern: They still think you are 8 years old‚ that you do the same things you did when you were 8 years old‚ and they probably believe that‚ while they work‚ get married and have children‚ you still go to school wearing shorts every morning to learn your damn multiplication tables. If you run into them and have no escape (I tried to leave through the emergency exit of a pub last week‚ and I do not recommend it — bar owners get very angry when an idiot sets off the fire alarm and does not have a good reason prepared to justify his hooliganism)‚ you will have no choice but to fake a broad smile. Often‚ the less of a relationship you have with them‚ the tighter the hug‚ and the harder the punches of camaraderie to the shoulder or even the cheeks. After all‚ you have to carry on a conversation‚ maybe a few minutes that seem like hours. Then you have to feign interest in their life‚ while you respond to their questions with identical passion‚ hiding the boredom in your eyes‚ despite the several spurts of apathy coming out of my ears like the last time this happened. (READ MORE from Itxu Díaz: The Washington Post Has Attacked Tanning ‘Addiction.’ That Won’t Do.) My theory is that former childhood friends are worse than current enemies. You don’t have to smile at them‚ you don’t have to give them information about your private family life‚ and you don’t have to deny that you still like playing with Mattel’s Masters of the Universe figures.  Moreover‚ a former childhood friend would do exactly what Biden and his media loudspeakers have done with Donald Trump: listen to a story (the one about the bloodbath)‚ and twist it in a maddening way‚ mixing the urge to annoy you with their usual load of prejudice about you. Personally‚ I would put old childhood friends in a box and cast them out to sea. But my spiritual director‚ even though he agrees with me‚ says that this might be in conflict with one of the Commandments. Although it can’t be too serious because he can’t remember which one forbids it either. Translated by Joel Dalmau. Buy Itxu Díaz’s new book‚ I Will Not Eat Crickets: An Angry Satirist Declares War on the Globalist Elite‚ here today! The post The Bloodbath Hoax Disgusts Me‚ so I’ll Rant Against Childhood Friends appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.