OPPORTUNITY CAFE

When is a deal a deal?  When the words are spoken?  When the hands meet? When the contract is signed?
In contrast to some countries which have a reputation for corruption at the local and country levels- within government and in the private sector, too- the United States, for all its wayward steps and occasional embarrassments, continues to be respected and desired as a business partner.  The United States is known as a country where deals are reliable.   The United States is viewed as a place of safety, opportunity …

Get it.   We are interdependent.   Economically and spiritually, we are a chain.  A world of links, one pulled by the other.  And yes, the USA is the mother link, economically.  Now.  That will not always be the case.  Change is the nature of life.  Today, the USA.  Tomorrow, perhaps, China.  The next day, perhaps, Jamaica.  Or Brazil.  Or Dubai.  Or Cuba.  What is clear without a doubt, is that we are all linked together.  For the well being of one, we must root for and support the well-being of the …

The Ebo tribe in Nigeria frowns upon praising relatives, friends and acquaintances.  Showering someone with verbal sentiments of love, appreciation, respect, etc. occurs less frequently than in many other cultures.  It is thought that such praise will “go to  one’s head.”  Rather, caring is evidenced by action.  It is in the sometimes dull, but constant, loyal and dedicated presence and support of one for another that love is evidenced.  To the Ebo tribe in Nigeria, LOVE IS A VERB.

Luis is a Taxi Driver from Argentina who has evidenced a keen aptitude for dispute resolution.  On a recent road trip in Baltimore, I appreciated his ability to “be his own boss” and complained about the lack of “human-ness” working in a corporation.   He jumped at the opportunity to share his unhappy experiences in the corporate world, as a manager stuggling to balance work needs and the needs of employees in the midst of office politics and pettiness.  It seems the employees were constantly arguing about the heat.  Some thought …

The United States embargo against Cuba has been in place since 1962.   In international politi-speak, an embargo is the prohibition of commerce and trade with a country.  The purpose is to cause the government of that country to have internal conflict as its economy suffers in consequence of the sanctions.    In “The Cuban Democracy Act” of 1992,  the US formally mandated continuing embargo as long as the Castro regime refuses to progress toward democratization and greater respect for human rights.   In 1996, Congress further restricted US citizens from doing business with Cuba, prohibiting any public or private assistance to the Castro regime and any successor regime, unless certain conditions demonstrating approach to …

When Fabio arrived in the United States in 2003, from France, American sentiment was not friendly to the French, who had refused to support participation in the Iraq war.  Within his first few weeks in the United States, he was beaten up.   Then, a co-worker at his new job tormented him relentlessly, unabashedly telling him “The French are not welcome here.”   Feeling bitter and angry, he alternately felt a desire for vengeance, and considered whether he should return to France.  
One day, as he was at work in the medical lab, his co-worker was …

We all want opportunity.  In years past, opportunity was hard to come by.  Today, with the internet, opportunity is there for us.  To some degree, it may even assail us, with the seemingly endless promises of overnight wealth to be attained.
In his great work MacBeth, Shakespeare wrote: “Evil lures with trifles of truth.”  And so it does.   When someone buries a wee bit of truth within a proposition that may seem preposterous, but is yet something we would hope for, the tendency is to fixate on the bit of truth …

If the Ancient Egyptians are right, how will you answer the two questions God will ask when you die?

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See this great music video that combines music from musicians across the world with words that are true for everyone, everywhere. Let’s stand by each other.

I have trouble trusting people who don’t believe in God. Where is their frame of reference?  To whom are they accountable?
Returning from a road trip to Atlanta, I could not help contemplating with perplexity the fact that a new friend is an Atheist.  Enrico is a physician from Argentina who does not believe in God.   His faith (lack thereof) had come to light during a discussion of views of God and the “afterlife” by people from several different countries.  Perspectives of the form of god ranged from “Creator God to …