Shots Heard Round the World

In the year after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, separate regional wars in Europe and Asia became a world war that engulfed hundreds of millions of people in conflicts spanning the globe. The year witnessed the Axis alliance at the height of its power, as well as significant Allied victories that would pave the way for the liberation of captive peoples within three blood-drenched years. This was also the year when the Nazis operationalized the Final Solution, condemning millions to be murdered in death camps in Poland and in less structured ways elsewhere. Before 1942, the United States was an economic behemoth but militarily weak; by the end of the year, America had taken huge strides toward becoming a superpower in every sense of the term, with Ford Motor Company alone outproducing the entire nation of Italy. In 1942, Peter Fritzsche, professor of history at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a noted authority on Hitler, National Socialism, and the Third Reich, surveys the changes wrought by this formative year in World War II.

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The UN once defended the oppressed. Now it defends the powerful.



I should be dead. Buried in an unmarked grave in Romania. But God had other plans.

As a young attorney living under Nicolae Ceaușescu’s brutal communist regime in the 1980s, I spent my life searching for truth in a regime of lies. I found it in the Bible — forbidden in my country. I answered the divine call to defend fellow Christians facing persecution in an ungodly land.

If the United Nations is to mean anything again, it must rediscover the courage that once gave refuge to dissidents like me.

For that “crime,” I was kidnapped, interrogated, beaten, and tortured. I spent months under house arrest and came within seconds of execution when a government assassin pointed a gun at me. I survived and fled to the United States as a political refugee.

The UN once stood for something

In his recent address to the 80th session of the U.N. General Assembly, President Donald Trump said the organization “has tremendous potential — but it’s not even close to living up to that potential.” He’s right.

When the United Nations was founded in 1945, its mission was noble: to promote peace, security, and human rights worldwide. It was meant to be a platform for honest dialogue, a beacon for humanitarian action, and a voice for the voiceless.

It once lived up to that promise. During the Cold War, the U.N. amplified the voices of dissidents behind the Iron Curtain and gave cover to lawyers like me defending Christians in communist courts. Its support for human rights cases in Romania helped expose Ceaușescu’s tyranny to the world.

That international pressure saved my life and countless others.

Bureaucracy replaced moral courage

Today’s U.N. bears little resemblance to that courageous institution. It has become paralyzed by bureaucracy and corrupted by politics. Instead of defending the oppressed, it often defends the powerful — or looks away altogether.

In Nigeria, Syria, and Yemen, millions suffer while the U.N. Security Council stalls over procedural votes. Permanent members protect their allies, veto resolutions, and block humanitarian intervention. Political calculations routinely outweigh moral imperatives.

When the institution created to prevent genocide can’t even condemn it, the crisis isn’t merely diplomatic — it’s spiritual.

Reform begins with courage

President Trump has proposed bold changes to restore the U.N.’s relevance. He called for adding permanent Security Council members — emerging powers such as India, Brazil, Japan, and Germany — to reflect modern realities and make the council more decisive.

He urged the U.N. to prioritize global security and counterterrorism while aligning its agenda with the legitimate interests of free nations. First lady Melania Trump, addressing the same assembly, launched Fostering the Future Together, a coalition promoting education, innovation, and children’s welfare.

These initiatives could help revive the U.N.’s moral voice and refocus it on its founding purpose: defending the oppressed and restraining the oppressors.

RELATED: Trump strongly defends Christianity at UN: ‘The most persecuted religion on the planet today’

Photo by seechung via Getty Images

Faith and courage still matter

My own survival came down to faith. When Ceaușescu sent an assassin to kill me, he pulled a gun and said, “You have ignored all of our warnings. I am here to kill you.”

In that moment of terror, I prayed: “Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior.” Peace replaced panic. I began sharing the gospel.

That armed killer, confronted with God’s word, lowered his weapon, turned, and walked away. Today, he is a pastor — serving the same faith he once tried to destroy.

The lesson is simple: Hearts can change. Institutions can too. But it takes conviction.

If the United Nations is to mean anything again, it must rediscover the courage that once gave refuge to dissidents like me. It must speak for the enslaved, the persecuted, and the forgotten — not for dictators and bureaucrats.

God spared my life so I could keep fighting for truth. The U.N. was part of that story once. It can be again — if it remembers why it was born.

Antifa Is The Identity-Obsessed Progeny Of A Long Line Of Brutal Marxist Terrorists

If Antifa is to be defeated, its godless utilitarianism and Marxist identity-obsession that excuses in advance any and every action taken by the 'oppressed' against the 'oppressor' must be entirely rejected.

Northwestern’s Center for Enlightened Disagreement Calls for Civil Dialogue. Its Co-Chair Negotiated on Behalf of Encampment Activists Who Called Jews Pigs.

In one of his last acts as president of Northwestern University, Michael Schill announced a $20-million gift for the school’s Litowitz Center for Enlightened Disagreement, located within the prestigious Kellogg School of Management, in an attempt to promote civil dialogue between students.

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German Police Arrest 3 Suspected Hamas Operatives Over ‘Assassination’ Plots Targeting Jews

German police on Wednesday arrested three suspected Hamas members for allegedly procuring weapons to carry out “assassinations targeting Israeli or Jewish institutions,” according to a CNN report.

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How Mahsa Sparked a Movement

When Iran’s morality police took Mahsa Amini into custody in September 2022 for the grave crime of wearing her veil improperly, little did they know they would trigger an uprising that may one day unwind the clerical regime entirely.

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The Costs of Keeping Kosher

It was one small meal for Jews, but a political leap forward for Jewish history. In 1788, Philadelphia hosted a parade celebrating Pennsylvania's ratification of the Constitution, and the procession was followed by a feast. An eyewitness reported that "there was a number of long tables loaded with all kinds of provisions, with a separate table for the Jews, who could not partake of the meals from the other tables." It is difficult to find a prior civic celebration in Jewish diaspora history that is its like. In a single setting, Jews were embraced as equals by their fellow Philadelphians, as full partners in the nascent constitutional republic, while at the same time feeling entirely able to observe the dietary habits that set them apart.

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Charlie Kirk’s assassination ignites global fire: Patriots hold memorials from the UK to South Korea



The tragic assassination last week of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk sparked memorials in his honor not just across the nation, but around the globe.

Canadian patriots gathered in Calgary to sing the American national anthem and chant “USA” in memory of Kirk. Those in Alberta held a vigil and sang “Amazing Grace.”

‘He gave his life fighting for America’s future, and now his impact is multiplying. The political assassination of Charlie Kirk has backfired.’

Outside the U.S. embassy in Madrid, Spain, people placed candles, flowers, and posters to create a memorial to Kirk.

“Organizers described the tribute as part of a growing global movement standing against political violence and censorship,” entrepreneur and podcast host Mario Nawfal stated. “The event was peaceful, with a moment of silence held in Kirk’s memory. Supporters say this marks a turning point, not just in America, but worldwide.”

In South Korea, a large crowd gathered and marched through the streets, waving both South Korean and American flags. Participants chanted and held signs reading, “We are Charlie Kirk.”

RELATED: Charlie Kirk sparks viral Christian revival: 'I'm going to go take his seat for him'

Photo by Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images

Germans held a candlelight vigil in honor of Charlie Kirk outside the U.S. embassy in Berlin.

“Charlie Kirk is dead,” Martin C. T. Kohler, a German politician, wrote in a post on X, inviting individuals to join the vigil. “That is the bitter truth. We must not allow this to be the ending point. Charlie stood for freedom and debate. But first and foremost, he stood for his country and his faith.”

“We want to make a statement so that everyone can see what he died for. His death must not have been in vain,” Kohler continued. “Grief must not slip into resignation. We will carry on his message.”

A youth ambassador for TPUSA’s United Kingdom chapter known as “Young Bob” addressed the crowd that had gathered to hold a vigil for Kirk.

“The radical left have been persecuting the conservatives, who have one clear message: We want to conserve our culture and our heritage,” Young Bob stated.

“We will continue in civil discourse. We will continue his work. We will pick up the megaphones, the microphones, the stands. They won’t be able to move our minds by an inch,” he continued.

RELATED: TPUSA plans historic memorial for Charlie Kirk

Photo by James Willoughby/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Joel Jammal, the head of TPUSA Australia, shared a video montage from a vigil in Sydney. In the audio for the montage, a speaker addressed the gathering, stating, “How strange is it, so far away from the USA, that we should feel such sadness?”

“There will not be another man like Charlie Kirk,” the video continued. “Christ is King. Christ is the one that inspired Charlie. ‘Christ’ was one of the last things Charlie said. Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. And until that is proclaimed throughout all the land, we will not be made great again as a nation.”

Memorials celebrating Kirk’s legacy were also held in Tel Aviv and New Zealand.

Benny Johnson reacted to the memorials.

“From prayer vigils on college campuses to murals and memorials around the globe, Charlie’s influence is spreading further than ever,” Johnson said. “He gave his life fighting for America’s future, and now his impact is multiplying. The political assassination of Charlie Kirk has backfired. He is more powerful now than ever. That’s the power of a martyr.”

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All Roads Bleed to Rome

Until recently, my understanding of the battle for Italy from 1943-44 was straightforward: After landing in Sicily, U.S. and British forces hopped across to Salerno, then Anzio, working their way up the boot until they reached Rome. I hadn’t given much thought about the terrain, the logistics of a multinational force that included New Zealanders, Poles, Moroccans, and Indians, not to mention the miserable weather and the strategic errors that cost countless lives. This lack of appreciation was a concern even at the time. In a letter to his family, Lawrence Franklyn-Vaile of the 38th Irish Brigade wrote in part, "There is also a strong feeling that the Second Front is being so glamourised that, when it does commence, people will forget all about this campaign and will be saying afterwards, ‘What, were you not in the Second Front, oh Italy, that was nothing.’"

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Bodies of right-leaning AFD politicians are piling up in Germany ahead of elections



The right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany — often abbreviated AFD for its German name, Alternative für Deutschland — has grown increasingly popular since its founding in 2013 by free-market economists keen to strengthen German sovereignty.

Despite a concerted suppression campaign by the liberal German establishment, which has attempted to ban and criminalize the AFD outright, the right-leaning party came in second place in Germany's national elections earlier this year, doubling the vote share it previously won in 2021.

The AFD is hoping for continued success in the local elections scheduled for Sept. 14 in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

'The alternative is too frightening to contemplate seriously.'

The trouble is that its candidates keep dying.

On Sunday, Alice Weidel, the federal co-chairwoman of the AFD, confirmed the report from the German public broadcaster WDR that four candidates — Stefan Berendes, 59; Wolfgang Seitz, 59; Ralph Lange, 66; and Wolfgang Klinger, 71 — had "died suddenly and unexpectedly."

Stefan Homburg, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Hannover, said on X that the cluster of deaths were "statistically almost impossible" — a claim that elicited concern from former Trump adviser Elon Musk, who noted a day earlier that "either Germany votes AFD or it is the end of Germany."

The early and mail-in ballots cast for the dead candidates have reportedly been invalidated.

RELATED: Rule by the people? Not anymore in the Western world

Photo by Maryam Majd/Getty Images

The AFD regional association in North Rhine-Westphalia revealed that as of Monday, there were at least another two confirmed deaths of its politicians, reported Politico.

"In my view, it's statistically striking and currently difficult to explain," said AFD deputy federal chairman Stephan Brandner. "I have never heard in my life that politicians of a party die in such a short period of time before an election."

German police suggested that while investigations are ongoing, there is no evidence of foul play.

Days after the Politico report, another AFD candidate, Hans-Joachim Kind, reportedly perished, making a total of at least seven dead AFD candidates just days ahead of the local elections.

Blaze News has reached out to the AFD and to Weidel for comment.

Suspicions online regarding the deaths have been fueled in part by the efforts of German establishmentarians — whose agenda and power is threatened by the AFD — and leftist activists to crush the party.

RELATED: Musk asks: 'Why are they allowing the rape of Europe?' — then vows to do something about it in the UK

AFD co-chairwoman Alice Weidel. Photo by SOEREN STACHE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images.

After designating the AFD as a potential extremist organization in 2021, Germany's domestic intelligence agency placed the party and its federal members under surveillance, tapping their phones and monitoring their movements.

In May, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, a spy agency, officially classified the AFD as a "proven right-wing extremist organization" — a brazen attempt to neutralize the opposition party. That classification has, however, been placed on pause pending the result of a court appeal.

Last year was an especially bad year for institutional attacks on the AFD: An administrative court disarmed party members, barring them from owning firearms; leftist activists succeeded in having the party de-banked; and an AFD politician, Marie-Thérèse Kaiser, was convicted of a hate crime for sharing government statistics about the disproportionate number of gang rapes committed by immigrants, specifically Afghan nationals.

Attacks on the AFD have also taken the form of violence.

Prior to the AFD securing 15.9% of the German vote in last year's European parliamentary elections, a leftist who was tearing down an AFD candidate's campaign posters allegedly stabbed AFD's spokesman for Mannheim, Heinrich Koch, with a carpet knife.

Rod Dreher, a senior fellow at the Danube Institute in Budapest, noted, "What is the likelihood that four candidates and two reserve candidates of the same political party, in the same region, would drop dead suddenly, within 13 days of each other — and just before local elections?"

"It must be hoped that the unfortunate and statistically unlikely deaths of four politicians from a party the German government is considering outlawing were nothing more than a fluke," continued Dreher. "The alternative is too frightening to contemplate seriously."

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