The idea behind the war on Libya: R2P
The policy underpinning the UN declaration on Libya is “responsibility to protect”, otherwise known as R2P. UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon called the authorization an ” ‘historic’ affirmation of the global community’s responsibility to protect people from their own government’s violence.”
According to Josh Rogin’s account of “how Obama turned on a dime ...
So it begins: West appears to kill Libyan civilians, Arab League bails out
The mission said to “protect” civilians looks like it has done the opposite. Libyan state TV has reported that 48 civilians have been killed. The Arab League and Russia are among the first to denounce the bombings. Of course, it is always possible that the Libyan regime is inventing ...
This week’s articles of note
“Media meltdown,” Cosmos, by Wilson da Silva
“Man vs. wild: what Japan’s disaster can teach us about American politics,” The New Republic, by John Judis
“The UN’s high stakes gamble in Libya,” Foreign Policy, by Marc Lynch
“Middle East unrest: could it lead to stagflation?”, Slate, by Nouriel Roubini
Libya: how the West just made things worse
Sean Collins reports from New York on how the UN’s green light for military action may wreck any hope of freedom for the people of Libya.
You can read my spiked article in full here.
US and West declare war on Libya: it just got much, much worse
I came home tonight and found that the US and the other Western powers had just launched another war in the Middle East. Add Libya to Afghanistan and Iraq.
A few hours ago the United Nations Security Council voted to authorize military action against the Libya regime led by Colonel Muammar el-Gaddafi. The authorization extends beyond the ...
Japan and the world economy
Stock markets around the world tumbled again today, roiled by the continuing crisis in Japan, as well as other factors, such as the uprisings in the Middle East. Does this mean that Japan’s disaster will have a hugely negative impact on the world economy, as well as its own? No. ...
Greens are against nuclear – and all other forms of energy
In the wake of the Japan disaster, environmentalists are rolling out their anti-nuclear arguments again. But as Alex Berezow, editor of Real Clear Science, points out, greens are “trying to eliminate all the other alternatives as well”.
Oil ...
Narcissistic Americans scare-monger about nuclear power at home
We all watch as the disaster in Japan continues to unfold. The loss of life and destruction caused by the earthquake and tsunami are terrible, while the stories of the Japanese people coping are both heartbreaking and impressive. Now there is the threat of a substantial release of radiation, with ...
This week’s articles of note
“The case for a no-fly zone,” The New York Times, by Nicholas Kristof
“Oil and unrest,” Foreign Affairs, by Edward L. Morse
“Is China next?” The Wall Street Journal, by Francis Fukuyama
“Freaks, geeks and GDP: why hasn’t the Internet helped the American economy grow as much as economists ...
NPR: talk of “uneducated” Americans is the real outrage
An embarrassing video has led the Chief Executive of NPR (National Public Radio) to resign. Vivian Schiller offered her resignation a day after a conservative film-maker released a video that captured an NPR fund-raiser talking to people pretending to be donors ...
ABOUT SEAN COLLINS
I write about American current affairs for Spiked, the online magazine. I am a native New Yorker, and I divide my time between New York City and upstate New York.
In addition to articles for Spiked, The Australian and other publications, I contributed an essay, "BDS: Demonizing Israel, Destroying Free Speech," for the book Unsafe Space: The Crisis of Free Speech on Campus (2016). I also wrote a chapter on New York City's economy for the book London After Recession: A Fictitious Capital? (2012).
My writings have been cited in American Conservative, Arts & Letters Daily, the Financial Times, Fox News, the Huffington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, the New York Times, Real Clear Politics, and the Times of London, among other media.
For more about The American Situation site, go here.
