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Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian, is a Christian hero for many. Executed by the Nazis just days before the end of WWII for his participation in a plot to assassinate Hitler, Bonhoeffer is hailed as a 20th-century martyr. But Bonhoeffer struggled with a moral dilemma – his religious views were in stark contrast to the evil he saw all around him. He chose to face possible imprisonment and execution and to remain faithful to the principles of his belief in God. Across the political and theological spectrum, Bonhoeffer is celebrated as an icon of true Christianity and his theological writings...

From an opera concert with Trondheim Symphony Orchestra & Opera in Olavshallen, Trondheim, 11 March 2021. Conductor: James Gaffigan Valkyries: Helmwige – Sigrid Vetleseter Bøe, Gerhilde – Camilla Stenhoff Vist, Schwertleite – Siv Oda Hagerupsen, Waltraute – Åse Krystad, Ortlinde – Tonje Eero Hove, Rossweisse – Maria Nohr, Grimgerde – Nina Sætherhaug.Richard Wagner: The Valkyrie - Ride of the Valkyries

This scene from the movie Valkyrie captures where I think we're headed in this country. People are being asked, or will be asked, are you a good party member or Trump hater or whatever.

The XQ-5A Valkyrie on a 2019 test flight AFRL ____________________________________________________________________ The jet-powered XQ-58A Valkyrie demonstrator drone has returned to the air three months after being damaged in a landing mishap. On January 23, the unmanned aircraft being developed by the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions completed its fourth flight test at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona. The fourth in a planned schedule of five flights, the most recent test was designed to push the performance envelope of the Valkyrie. In particular, the flight took the drone to its highest altitude yet as engineers collected...

In the run-up to the 75th anniversary of the failed assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler, Germany stands on the brink of a pioneering restitution case which may have serious consequences: The grandson of one of the conspirators of the 20th July, 1944, plot and staunch opponent of the Nazis, is being forced by the authorities into escalated litigation regarding property confiscated from his family by the Nazis. He has uncovered Nazi methods that have never before been described in such a precise manner. Should his litigation be successful, a wave of restitution claims may descend onto Germany from heirs of...

Studios are learning this summer that audiences have no time for their tired franchises. This weekend it's Sony that's taking the lumps as "Men in Black: International," the first "MIB" movie in seven years, opened with a franchise-low $28.5 million at the domestic box office. The first "Men in Black" in 1997 previously had the lowest opening with $51 million, but back then that was really good. In fact, if you count inflation, that would be a $100 million opening today. The $28.5 million performance, though number one at the domestic box office for the weekend, is below Sony's $30...

Just a week after Boeing unveiled their export-centric 'loyal wingman' combat drone concept, the Air Force Research Lab has announced that their own similar endeavor, dubbed the XQ-58A Valkyrie, has made its first flight. It also posted the very first image of the aircraft that has been developed under a veil of secrecy over the last two and half years. Beyond finally breaking cover as the USAF's 'attritable' unmanned combat air vehicle concept, the XQ-58A is really the first Air Force UCAV concept we have seen since all the momentum towards fielding any sort of this type of hugely promising...

When a new supercar arrives, the motor gets the glory. Which is as it should be—anytime an automaker throws big money into designing an exotic spaceframe and 200-mile-per-hour bodywork, it needs muscle to match. The wrong engine, meanwhile, can sink a supercar's reception and reputation (look at the Jaguar XJ220 for a lesson in how a whole car suffers if it's got a weak heart). Aston Martin can't be accused of skimping on the heart of its new halo car, the $3.2 million, out-of-this-world Valkyrie. The new supercar's motor spins out 1,000 horsepower on its way to an 11,100 RPM...

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige says there will be two LGBTQ characters in future films — and we already know one of them. We just don’t know exactly who he means. In an interview about with Gregory Ellwood of The Playlist, Feige answer “yes” to the question: “When are we getting a Gay, Bi, LGBTQ, out character in the MCU? Is it even in the works?” When asked if they’re characters we’ve already seen, or characters who will be new to the story line, Feige replied: “Both… Both ones you’ve seen and ones you haven’t seen.” The answers were tight-lipped,...

On 6 September 1976, an aircraft appears out of the clouds near the Japanese city of Hakodate, on the northern island of Hokkaido. It’s a twin-engined jet, but not the kind of short-haul airliner Hakodate is used to seeing. This huge, grey hulk sports the red stars of the Soviet Union. No-one in the West has ever seen one before. The jet lands on Hakodate’s concrete-and-asphalt runway. The runway, it turns out, is not long enough. The jet ploughs through hundreds of feet of earth before it finally comes to rest at the far end of the airport. The pilot...

Operation Valkyrie - The "July Plot" to Assassinate Hitler (July 20, 1944) At the end of 1943 the Schutz Staffeinel (SS) and the Gestapo managed to arrest several Germans involved in plotting to overthrow Adolf Hitler. This included Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Klaus Bonhoeffer, Josef Mueller and Hans Dohnanyi. Others under suspicion like Wilhelm Canaris and Hans Oster were dismissed from office in January, 1944. Major Claus von Stauffenberg now emerged as the leader of the group opposed to Nazi rule. In 1942, he decided to kill Adolf Hitler. He was joined by Wilhelm Canaris,Carl Goerdeler, Julius Leber, Ulrich Hassell, Hans Oster,...

Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist, the last surviving member of the main plot to kill Adolf Hitler has died. He was 90.

What Is Samantha Power Thinking?The charismatic Obama adviser believes that stopping "genocide" is the United States' top foreign-policy priority. On March 18, President Obama explained his decision to mobilize the United States military for international intervention in Libya. “Left unchecked,” he said, “we have every reason to believe that Qaddafi would commit atrocities against his people. Many thousands could die. A humanitarian crisis would ensue. The entire region could be destabilized, endangering many of our allies and partners.” (As if it hasn’t been already?) That last sentence was a Realpolitik, national-interest justification for the U.S. intervention. But it rang hollow....

The weekend edition of Norway's largest newspaper contained a very interesting interview with a female IFV-gunner this week. The CV-9030 gunner, witch has the somewhat fitting name of Tone Gunnes, was just 20 years old when she went to Afghanistan in the fall of 2007. She took part in the active fighting in operation Herekate Yolo II, where she (wo)manned the 30mm gun of the CV9030 IFV. She was credited with 20-25 confirmed kills during the battle of November 5. In the interview she tells her story about the battle and how she experienced it.

Tom Cruise has become an overnight hero in Germany thanks to his film about the plot to kill Hitler — a story the German authorities fear could become a propaganda vehicle for Scientology. The country’s critics, initially sniffy about Valkyrie, a portrayal of Count Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg, the army officer who tried to blow up the Führer, are now giving Cruise a thumbs up — or at least a verdict of “not bad for a foreigner”. If the film becomes a hit — and early signs are that the public like it — some police and politicians are worried...

On a sultry July day in 1944, a man walks into the "Wolf's Lair" carrying a briefcase. He is initiating a bold plot, one that aims to assassinate one of the world's most ruthless and powerful men, Adolf Hitler, and topple the whole of his Nazi government. Integral to this ambitious coup is what lies in his briefcase, a bomb.  It is set to detonate ... the wheels are in motion. It is only a matter of time now.  The man was Claus Philipp Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, the driving force behind what became known as the July 20...

“Many Saw Evil,” the posters for the new Tom Cruise film Valkyrie proclaim, “But They Dared to Stop It.” Or tried, at any rate. The members of what is known in Germany as the “July 20th” plot failed, of course, to kill Hitler and were unable to seize power. If this slight exaggeration amounts to wishful thinking, however, the suggestion that the would-be assassin, Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, and his co-conspirators “saw evil” in the Nazi regime amounts to an outright distortion of the historical record. In fact, Stauffenberg served the Nazi regime loyally almost to the very end...

Valkyrie: They Dared To Stop Itby Assemblyman Chuck DeVore Film is power. As with ideas and the words that convey them, film can inform, inspire, and move people to act - for better or for worse. Some films need to be made. Others are better left unmade for the harm they cause. Of course most films fall into neither category, being rather a general waste of time - amusement - as such, true to the Latin root meaning “to stare stupidly.” Of the films that need to be made, some are made with more ease than others. Schindler’s List, for...

Cruise is just fine as Stauffenberg, keeping his signature quirks and grin in check. He generates enough charisma to reflect why people were willing to follow Stauffenberg quite literally into Hell, without turning the film into Tom Cruise Takes on Hitler. Whatever problems people have with his performance, they brought with them into the theater. I suspect if mainstream media darling George Clooney had made the very same film, he would be no better in the role, but the tone of the critical commentary would be very different. David Bamber is a very scary Hitler who resists the urge to...

Well Tom Cruise is better. Not great. Still too callow (Killing Hitler is “Risky Business”) and not really convincing as a German aristo. But the problem is with the film’s Hitler and it’s skewing of history. Hitler seems to be the bad guy in this movie mainly because he’s poorly groomed and has bad posture–that’s how you can tell he’s a mass murderer. At least compared with the impeccably dressed anti-Hitler aristo-officer conspirators...