CityEconomist

3/07 EPS Quarterly, 19:1 Article  - "The Costs of War to Occupied Countries," EPS Quarterly, 19:1 (March 2007). Published by Economists for Peace and Security. "The Winged Watchman" is a 1962 book by Hilda van Stockum kept in print by Bethlehem Books. Based on the experience of van Stockum's relatives in Holland, it brings to life the high cost to Holland of occupation by the Nazis after the "shock and awe" of the bombing of Rotterdam in 1940.  Hilda van Stockum had many letters about the high cost of the occupation - she lost both her brothers from the war (her brother Willem van Stockum was an RAF bomber pilot and was shot down over Laval; her other brother Jan died right after the war as a result of disease contracted in Holland during the war). Her children had first-hand exposure to these costs when we visited our Dutch relatives soon after the war. It also shows the bitter resentment of the Dutch and their growing willingess to risk their lives by joining the Resistance. Those who did not live through World War II may forget its lessons. Children's books are a way to pass on the lessons learned by one generation to the next. Is it too much to think that an understanding of the message of this book would have been helpful when plans were being made about how best the United States should respond to the news about 9/11? In fact, at that time the President of the United States was listening intently to the story of "The Pet Goat" being read out to him to the rhythm of a stick by an energetic class in Sarasota, Fla. The story of the pet goat has a different message from The Winged Watchman. Its message is that a single heroic victory by the pet goat could solve all of the goat's basic problems, which had led to the father of the girl who owned the pet saying: "That goat must go!" In fact the goat's butting of the alleged car thief did not solve the underlying problem, which is that the goat could not be controlled and ate everything in the house. Read more: The Costs of War to Occupied Countries." (Order The Winged Watchman through Bethlehem Books or Amazon. For more about Hilda van Stockum, visit the HvS website or the Boissevain website.

3/16/07 (HuffPost) The proof of alternative investing by the NY City pension fund is in the successful management of these investments, with the poster child for success being Jack Meyer when he was managing Harvard's money and the poster child for failure was Robert Citron when he was Treasurer of Orange County and managing a pool of its own and other municipalities' money. Citron's successor wrote in that Orange County was no pension fund. But pension funds (California, San Diego, NY State Teachers) invested in Enron, Amaranth, New Century Financial. NYC pension-fund shortfalls are made good by City contributions, in a provision enshrined in the NY State Constitution. "Eat your words, Mr. Moorlach."  Read more: Big Apple v. Orange Co. 

3/15/07 (HuffPost) The RED campaign was created by several companies - including Gap Inc., Motorola and Sprint - to generate money to fights AIDS in Africa. Ad Age argued that it was unsuccessful and a bad idea. This blog questions both arguments. Read more: Why the Grouse about the RED Campaign?