The Offbeat Accountant

In gay culture, “reading” is the act of pointing out a flaw in someone else (usually publicly and in front of them) and exaggerating it. I am Diego, I am a proud gay activist and, after almost 60 days of quarantine, to quote the famous Detox (not the diet but the drag queen) “I’ve HAD it, officially!” Please, do not get me wrong. It is not that I am against all the effort the countries and their governments are doing to stop this pandemic. Neither that I am not willing to follow the necessary measures to prevent infection or trying to be in my home most of the time (though for my mental health I have been going for a run alone every other day). It is the fact that the media and the people only seem to care about how many new cases are we having every day, how many have died, and what TikTok are we sharing today to laugh away the lockdown. We are turning frivolous counting people as numbers, simple IDs that are losing a battle against an invisible enemy (though not invinci...

"There is nothing more imminent than the impossible:  what we must always prevent is the unforeseen." Victor Hugo The end of the year arrives and most companies seek to return in some ways the effort that each and one of their collaborators have made during the last 12 months. This year was particularly special for our company given that had great changes happening and we learned to work remotely, adapted new leadership styles and we began to seriously follow-up on our professional and personal goals. Even some people took the chance to leave their desks and starting searching for new clients, and we had several new people entered our team. There are many moments to celebrate, and to make this year-end party is to put a flourish and gather the energies we need to prepare for the new fiscal year. It is already a tradition for our party to be held at a beach hotel, overnight. And I am a person who loves to have traditions (it will be perhaps because of my...

"A bold attempt, is half success" -Danish Proverb If we take five minutes to look back in history, just 10 years ago, it was illegal to be gay in Panama. Only in 2008, while other countries started to approve LGBTQ unions or marriages, a presidential decree decriminalized homosexual relationships. In 2019, even though there are no laws against that directly discriminate the LGBTQ community, they still find most of their rights diminished compared to other citizens. Beyond not being able to get married or adopt children, LGBTQ couples cannot ask for a sharedbank loan to buy a house, deduct their spouse in the Income Tax,or  accompany his/her partner into a public hospital if an accident occurs. Even small details are denied, such as having to fill two different customs paperwork when they enter the country, as they are not considered a “family group”.  Those are only a few examples on why LGBTQI inclusivity is one of our priorities in the GS Panama Hub. We aim to co...

"A bold attempt is half success" - Danish Proverb Si nos tomamos cinco minutos para mirar en perspectiva, hace solo 10 años era ilegal ser gay en Panamá. Recién en 2008, mientras que otros países comenzaban a aprobar las uniones civiles o matrimonios igualitarios, un decreto presidencial despenalizó las relaciones homosexuales. En 2019, a pesar de que no haya leyes en contra de que discriminen directamente a la comunidad LGBTQ, aún encuentran la mayoría de sus derechos disminuidos en comparación con otros ciudadanos. Más allá de no poder casarse o adoptar, las parejas LGBTQ se encuentran imposibilitadas de realizar algunas actividades típicas para una pareja heterosexual: no pueden pedir un préstamo bancario en conjunto para comprar una casa, deducir a su cónyuge en el Impuesto sobre la Renta, ingresar con su pareja en un hospital público si ocurre un accidente, o incluso un detalle tan pequeño como tener que llenar dos declaraciones de aduana diferentes cuando ingre...

“Let no one cage who you were born to be” -       Anonymous  Once upon a time there was a rainbow zebra, yes you read well, rainbow! His name was Monroe and instead of being black and white as everyone in its herd, he was multi-color. When he was young, Monroe used to live happily with his siblings and friends. He did not care much about being different. In fact, everyone wanted to choose him for their teams because he gave an air of freshness wherever he went. He had an amazing sense of humor, which he expressed by even making fun of himself. Monroe loved to travel. It was his only hobby and passion. Whenever he had the chance, he called some of his friends and started galloping to the horizon. Sometimes they left for one day or two, but there was that time when they travel for almost three weeks. When they came back and saw the map, they realized that they had been through almost 3 countries!! When he came of age, his father told ...

“Race hate isn't human nature; race hate is the abandonment of human nature."                                                                     - Orson Wells (1915-1985) In recent months the term Xenophobia has been on the everybody’s lips.  The set of several events, such as the reinvigoration of the Ku Klux Klan in the United States after Trump`s election, the latest jihadist attacks in Europe, marches against LGBTI rights, the rise of a Neo Nazi political party in Germany, or the persecution of other immigrant minorities in different countries in Latin American, makes us realize that the world still has a long road to peace and world coexistence. But come on, let's start by defining the theme. Google defines a phobia as: " an extreme or irrational fear of or aversion to something ." [1] Some...

""El odio a las razas es más bien el abandono de la naturaleza humana".                                  - Orson Wells (1915-1985) En los últimos meses el término Xenofobia ha estado en boca de muchos. Hechos como l a revigorización del Ku Klux Klan en EEUU, los últimos atentados yihadistas en Europa, marchas contra los derechos LGBTI, el alza de la participación política de Neo-Nazis o persecuciones a otras minorias de inmigrantes  en diferentes paises de Latinoamérica, nos hacen dar cuenta de que aún el mundo tiene un largo camino hacia la paz y convivencia mundial. Pero a ver, comencemos por definir el tema.  Google define una fobia como:   “ Temor intenso e irracional , de carácter enfermizo, hacia una persona, una cosa o una situación .” [1] A veces estos miedos no son tan irracionales…por ejemplo, si uno se atraviesa con una araña más grande que lo normal, cu...