Gongol.com Archives: June 2020
June 29, 2020
Why should we still care about NATO?
Even if you think all mutual-aid circumstances are in the past (and they aren't), think of NATO like an alumni association. We may have "graduated" from the Cold War, but it sure doesn't hurt if we wear our team colors, tailgate together, and renew offers to help each other out. Alliances require continuing commitment and renewal, but if they're truly mutualistic, then they don't cost any more than going alone.
A pandemic-capable flu may be emerging in China
If Covid-19 has taught us anything, it's that any problem we think is 6 months away we should treat like it's 6 weeks away. If the worst case were to come true, then what should we be doing about it?
The freedom of Hong Kong may be over
A journalist asks, "Do you remember that feeling of lightness when crossing from the Mainland into Hong Kong"? "Remember", as in: In the past and no longer.
Don't be coy about hiring salaries
It seems not only like a pointless power play for an employer to hide the pay range for a position, but it's well worth noting that the practice has consequences for equity, too. Prospective employees deserve to know up-front whether they will be compensated adequately and fairly, not just according to their self-perceived ability to demand more.
The plans of 1956 still shape our world in 2020
We rarely appreciate just how much the original map of the Eisenhower Interstate System shapes how we think about distance. As the crow flies, it's about the same distance from Des Moines to either St. Louis or St. Paul. But since the Twin Cities are just up I-35, they seem close -- while St. Louis is like another country.
