Arthur I. Cyr

The term "capitalism with a human face" has been commonly used for more than a decade and a half, inspired in part by a book of that title by Samuel Brittan, influential journalist of the London Financial Times.

Capitalism, Brittan wrote, must marry compassion and care for those in need with the efficiencies of competition to succeed over the long term. His book appeared in 1995, in the aftermath of Margaret Thatcher's lengthy, tough-minded and at times harsh tenure as Britain's prime minister.

President Barack Obama's trip to Asia, with economic summits in Hawaii and Indonesia, has provided an opportunity to showcase foreign policy, an area where the White House has much greater freedom of maneuver than in domestic affairs. With understandable fanfare, agreements were announced to export Boeing aircraft and GE engines to the region, which may add up to $39 billion to the value of United States exports.

In Libya, spontaneous domestic insurrection appears to have won. Months of brutal fighting seems now to be successful in overthrowing four decades of brutal rule by Dictator Moammar Gadhafi. This is one element of the tremendous turmoil now sweeping the Middle East and North Africa, as people en masse demand basic human rights and representation.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 authorizes military force to protect Libyan civilians. The U.S., working primarily with allies Britain and France, has been using air power to control Libya's skies and destroy Gadhafi's forces, coordinating with rebel troops doing the ground fighting.

"Big Brother Is Watching You" was the pervasive punch-line in British writer George Orwell's classic novel "1984." Now we know Big Brother is listening too.

Revelations that Rupert Murdoch's News International Corp. for years has conducted massive hacking into British cell phone information is truly shocking. Alleged targets include cell phones of a murdered young girl and relatives of soldiers killed in action. Britain's political parties have united in Parliament, an unusual move, to condemn the company.

President Barack Obama has simultaneously highlighted the vital importance of manufacturing to the American economy, and moved to capture this political high ground in the rapidly unfolding 2012 presidential campaign.

On June 8, Obama spoke at Northern Virginia Community College, endorsing the Skills Certification Program of the Manufacturing Institute, which is supported by the National Association of Manufacturers. Major corporations backing the practical education initiative include Accenture, Discovery Communications, Motorola Solutions, Snap-on and others. The Aspen Institute's Skills for America's Future program, which seeks to link businesses with community and technical colleges, is helping to coordinate this involvement.

On March 2, the United States Supreme Court made news, though not history. In an 8-1 decision, the Court determined a renegade Baptist "church" can picket military funerals, despite the added suffering imposed on bereaved parents and other mourners.

Meanwhile, in France a famous fashion designer has been fired from his job, and is being prosecuted by authorities, for vicious anti-Semitic, pro-Hitler remarks made in a cafe and recorded on video.