The Bureau of Liberal International strongly condemns the flow of threats from the President of the United States and members of his administration against the Kingdom of Denmark and the autonomous region of Greenland.

The American President has claimed that the United States must control Greenland for reasons of American national security. He and members of his administration have mentioned various means of gaining control, ranging from a purchase to outright military aggression.

The Bureau of Liberal International strongly supports the position of the Governments of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark that only the people of Greenland can decide the future status of Greenland.

Any American aggression against Greenland would violate international law. Such aggression would also be thoroughly absurd, as Greenland, the rest of the Kingdom of Denmark, and the United States are all members of NATO.

The Bureau of Liberal International notes that the United States has signed declarations in which it guarantees that it will not challenge Greenland’s status as part of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Bureau further notes that Denmark and Greenland have concluded agreements with the United States that effectively allow the establishment of any defence installations the United States may wish to build in Greenland, as well as the conduct of any security activities it may wish to pursue.

Liberal International stands for a world order based on the rule of law and respect for national integrity and sovereignty. This commitment includes respect for the right of the people of Greenland to determine their future, as established within the legal framework of the Kingdom of Denmark.

FacebookTwitterEmailShare

05/01/2026

The people of Venezuela have for too long been denied the right to be governed by their democratically elected representatives. In the 2024 presidential election, Edmundo González, with the popular support of María Corina Machado, won the mandate of the Venezuelan people. That victory stands in stark contrast to preceding decades marked by stolen elections, systematic human rights abuses, political repression, and the forced exodus of millions of Venezuelans.

When “Chavista” Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian regime entrenched itself in power in 2012, liberals gathered one year later at the 59th Congress of Liberal International to demand “the restoration of democracy, rule of law, and freedom” in Venezuela. That Congress further affirmed its full support for the democratic opposition in its peaceful and united efforts to restore a democratic system that guarantees civil and property rights for all. Today, the Bureau of Liberal International welcomes the long-overdue opportunity for the Venezuelan people to finally realise these fundamental rights.

The Bureau of Liberal International is clear: the international community, together with Venezuelans around the world, will accept nothing less than a credible and transparent roadmap for a peaceful and prompt transition to full democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law. This transition must be led by the democratically elected President of Venezuela, Edmundo González, supported by parliamentarians elected democratically in 2015 . In pursuit of this goal, strong and coordinated international engagement — including clear diplomatic and security guarantees — is essential in order to avoid chaos and bloodshed and to uphold stability in the region. The Bureau further underscores the need for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, as an essential step toward rebuilding trust.

Liberal International remains steadfast in our conviction that all countries have a duty to uphold international law, democracy, and fundamental freedoms.

Source:Liberal International @ https://liberal-international.org/news-articles/democratic-transition-venezuela/

A few years ago, Javier Milei campaigned with a buzz saw, vowing to cut red tape and saw through government regulations. He promises a balanced budget and tax relief, in a county burdened with a history of left-wing statism alternating with military juntas.

Some American libertarians and conservatives have taken Javier Milei’s anti-government rhetoric at face value, without looking into the character of Milei, or the movement backing him.

Politicians and those who hold government power are notorious for corruption or attempts at corruption. Rhetoric is one way politicians try to distract taxpayers and other victims from the shenanigans they undertake to enrich themselves. Javier Milei has been gifted in his ability to imitate American libertarian rhetoric, sometimes jarringly mixing it with praise of Donald F Trump. Now the veil of rhetoric is pierced by the sharp sword of reality. The Milei regime is facing financial disaster and the Trump regime is preparing a 20 billion US dollar bailout, as reported @ Politico.com https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/25/trump-argentina-milei-bessent-republicans-bailout-00581449

An insider familiar with discussions at the Trump White House about the bailout points out:“Milei is done politically, his sister is corrupt, his finance minister is an insider trader, and they have pissed away $15 billion in IMF money and $15 billion in central bank reserves propping up a crap currency, and now Treasury wants American taxpayers to double down on stupid,” and adds that Milei “was a fraud. Came in, betrayed all the conservatives and libertarians that supported him … it’s all a wash.”

Libertarians and free market conservatives have long hoped for a politician in Asia or Latin America so see that the only hope for third world countries is limited government and free market economics. Javier Milei has played to this hope; he has been unable to implement pro-capitalist reform in the land of Juan Peron. His vision of free market reform found support in the administration of President Biden. Politico notes: In 2023, the Biden administration and lawmakers sympathetic to Milei, who ran on a platform of embracing the United States and pursuing massive cuts to government bureaucracy and bloat, worked to give his then-fledgling government more time to settle debt obligations with the IMF and other creditors.

Regardless of rhetoric about cutting goverment, the Milei regime is another failed statist project. Now is the time to contact your Senator and member of Congress, urge them to vote against any bailout of the corrupt regime in Argentina. Tell them to protect the taxpayers, for a change.

July 15, 2025 7:20 pm CET

By Nicholas Vinocur

BRUSSELS — Russia is increasingly using chemical weapons in Ukraine in an effort to subdue the country by causing as much pain and suffering as possible, Europe’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters after a gathering of foreign affairs ministers in Brussels, the Estonian politician cited German and Dutch intelligence reports showing that Moscow has used chemical weapons at least 9,000 times since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine — and was now ramping up their use.

“As the intelligence services are saying this is intensifying, I think it’s [Russia’s use of chemical weapons] of great, great concern,” Kallas said. “It shows that Russia wants to cause as much pain and suffering so that Ukraine would surrender. And, you know, it’s really … unbearable.”

Most countries around the world, including Russia, have signed a 1993 international convention banning the use, production, development or stockpiling of chemical weapons. Russia is one of 65 countries to have not only signed the Chemical Weapons Convention, but also ratified it.

Kallas’ comments add to a growing sense of alarm in EU capitals that Russia is escalating its campaign to subdue Ukraine, unleashing larger and larger nightly attacks by missiles.

Full Post @ Politico https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-increasing-use-chemical-weapons-ukraine-unbearable-says-top-eu-diplomat-kaja-kallas/

Since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, thousands of Ukrainian civilians in the occupied territories have vanished into thin air. These “ghost prisoners” are whisked away by the occupying forces to informal places of detention, where they’re held outside any legal framework and tortured. Some are then transferred to the Russian prison system, where they languish without charges or serve trumped-up sentences. Forbidden Stories and its partners unveil this opaque system designed to break down Ukrainian society.

Key findings

• According to Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, between 16,000 and 20,000 civilians are currently held by the Russians. By definition, counting secret prisoners is nearly impossible, and so far, few authorities have dared to give an exact figure, but we have chosen to retain the ombudsman’s data, which reflect the extent of the situation.
• “Torture chambers” have been set up in the occupied territories since 2022.
• Forbidden Stories has identified 29 Russian detention facilities where torture is systematic, out of the alleged 186 locations where Ukrainian civilians are held.
• Our investigation also reveals details about the authorities at Taganrog, known as “Russia’s Guantanamo.”

Five minutes of continuous blows. “They didn’t even give me time to turn my head. The Russians didn’t say anything. They just kept hitting me.”

By the time the onslaught was over, Vitaliy* had no strength left. His fellow prisoners helped him clean his face, which was coated in blood. After a pause, his jailers returned. They put a bag over his head, lay him on the floor, and tied him up. 

“They connected wires to my legs. I don’t know how long it lasted. They shocked me with electricity,” Vitaliy said calmly, sitting at Puri Chveni, a Georgian restaurant in the city of Zaporizhzhia. He didn’t order anything to eat or drink. The former mechanic remains, if not only physically, an emotionally wounded man. While he remembers the details of his imprisonment, he still has to summon his courage each time he speaks of it out loud.

Vitaliy remembers every detail of the day he was detained: July 27, 2022. On that late summer day, Russians showed up at his service station in the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol. They beat him, asked him whether he knew anyone from the Ukrainian army, and took him away. Vitaliy was first sent to a location known as “the garages”—a vacant industrial premise used by the occupiers to torture Ukrainians—where he was subjected to electric shocks. Vitaliy was then transferred to another detention center with miserable conditions for almost two months. There, he was denied contact with relatives or a lawyer, but ultimately, no charges were brought against him. He was liberated on the evening of September 22, 2022. He has since fled the occupied territories.  

Full report from Forbidden Stories @ https://forbiddenstories.org/russia-disappears-ukrainian-civilians/

One of the justifications for reciprocal tariffs is the claim that other countries are ripping us off. If anyone is getting ripped off, it’s definitely not the United States. As trade has expanded, all countries have gained, but none has benefited more than the United States. 

Measured in nominal dollars, U.S. GDP per capita increased by $55,075 since 1994, a much bigger increase than in any of our major trading partners. After adjusting for inflation, U.S. GDP per capita has grown by $26,000, a 62% increase. 

Real wealth statistics show a similar success story. According to the World Bank, comprehensive wealth per capita in the United States has increased by 22% since 1995. By this measure, we are much wealthier than our major trading partners. 

The record is clear. The United States has not been ripped off, and we are not subsidizing our trading partners. They have benefited, and at the same time, the United States has gotten wealthier. Everyone wins–and we win the most. We should be looking to continue this progress, not blow it up. 

Source:Bryan Riley @ National Taxpayers Union https://www.ntu.org/publications/detail/other-countries-are-not-ripping-us-off-on-trade

The American Booksellers Association was swift to issue a statement in Wednesday’s BTW newsletter condemning Israeli police’s second raid on Educational Bookshop in East Jerusalem earlier this week.

The ABA stated, “For the second time in a month, Israeli police have raided the Palestinian-owned Educational Bookshop in East Jerusalem. On Tuesday police detained 61-year-old shop owner Imad Muna, whose son Ahmad Muna was detained last month. Books seized in the raid included anything that seemed related to Palestine, such as works by Banksy and Noam Chomsky. The incitement for the raid is being reported as a tip that a visitor to the store ‘had observed books containing inciting content,’ similar to the raid last month in which police cited a children’s coloring book as evidence of ‘terrorism.’ 

Bookselling is not terrorism. Carrying books about Palestine is not terrorism. It is imperative that booksellers around the world stand together to reject politicized raids of bookstores, wherever they occur. ABA once again stands with the Educational Bookshop and demands a cessation of raids and due process for the booksellers.”

Source:https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/newsbrief/index.html?record=5265&oly_enc_id=0684G9264356E1T

(Berlin, February 20, 2025) – Dozens of arrests on the first anniversary of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny’s death are just the tip of the iceberg in the Kremlin’s continued crackdown on his supporters, Human Rights Watch said today.

On February 16, 2025, Russian law enforcement officers detained at least 42 people at gatherings commemorating Navalny on the first anniversary of his death in prison. Throughout the year, the authorities have used their extensive arsenal of repressive tools to try to suppress public outcry and erase Navalny’s political legacy.

“Russia’s notoriously vague and broad anti-extremism law is used to prosecute those who call for free and fair elections, expose corruption, advocate on behalf of political prisoners, or appear to identify as Navalny supporters,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The Kremlin sees the exercise of basic human rights as a threat that must be stopped, something Navalny knew well, and for which he paid the price.”

Navalny died in a remote prison in Russia’s far north while serving a 19-year sentence on bogus politically motivated charges. The authorities threw him behind bars in 2021, as soon as he returned to Russia from Germany, where he had been treated after surviving a poisoning attempt apparently orchestrated by Russian security services. 

In September 2024, The Insider, a leading Russian investigative media outlet, alleged that his death resulted from another poisoning by government agents. Prison authorities had arbitrarily and repeatedly confined him to various punishment cells and failed to provide him with adequate medical care.

Last week, the United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation condemned the lack of “credible investigation into his death” and said that “Alexei Navalny’s fate exposes the systematic and widespread repression against peaceful dissenters.”

In the first two days following Navalny’s death, police arbitrarily detained at least 425 people who had been honoring his memory in various regions of the country; another 106 were detained on March 1, 2024, the day of his funeral. One year later, police in major Russian cities again cordoned off local memorials to the victims of political repression, questioned those who came to lay flowers, recorded their personal data, and even arrested some of them.

Full Post @ Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/02/20/russia-year-after-navalnys-death-supporters-targeted