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Exchange experiences and ideas: culture, education, business, public administration, urban planning. Learn and teach others. |
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Pizza Obama - an opportunity? |
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Pizzeria 3+1 from Timisoara launched Pizza Obama right after the US elections. I wrote to President elect Obama about this and I received a prompt answer (attached at the end). Is this going to influence US-Romania relationship? No way. A drop of fresh water in an ocean won't make the water of the ocean drinkable. But there are many things that could be done to improve bilateral relationships. Romanians expressed a high interest in the US elections. In the day of the elections all major TV stations had an all-night transmission dedicated to the event, with many guests, Romanians and Americans, commenting the future of the world. And many Romanians stayed late at night (there is a 6 hours difference between New York and Timisoara), to find out who the winner is. Traditionally Romanians have a high degree of admiration for US, statistics show that Romania is the most pro American country in Europe. The interest is much higher now that there is a clear chance that Romanians will be able in the near future to travel to US without a visa. This could be a clear chance for many enterprising Romanians. The question is, are we really prepared to use this chance? Our image about US is mainly based on Hollywood movies, and their search for show effects (crimes, drugs, prostitution, explosions) distort completely the reality. The majority of real Americans are sober, conservatives, very hard working, affording very few holydays, church goers, with rather strong family ties. To know America we have to discover the experience of real people. A similar situation is presented by the economic connection, the trade volume of Timis county with US is almost zero. We stay in front of a gold mine, the largest economy of the world, and we do not use it. The same goes for Americans willing to know something about Romania. If you are a businessman in Portland and you envisage the idea of doing some business with Timisoara, you need some easy to get initial public data to support your fancy: what is the salary of a computer engineer, what is the rent for office space, how much costs to buy land or property, what are the businesses that you could contact, what is the perspective of the country. All these data are very easily obtainable through Internet and free of charge for Portland, but they cost money and time to get in Romania, which puts a break to any potential investor, even before starting. In his election night speech Mr.Obama defined Americans ideals as "democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope". Times of change, even tough times as we live now, always create opportunities for those that are prepared to meet and recognize them. Are we up to the challenge that stays ahead of us? Are we ready to actively discover the world as it is and to let the world know about us? Years ago I was the guest of Mr.Alfred Regnery, owner of the prestigious publishing house Regnery Gateway, at his house in Alexandria, Virginia. I've asked him "If I could get from you only one piece of advice, what would be that?". And he replied: "Use your opportunities". Opportunities can arise from personal contacts you create. Other opportunities are made by convincing public institutions to publicly and transparently present all the data that a foreign business needs. Pizza Obama is a very tasty pizza (I tried it), but it is mainly the expression of a hope. I sincerely expect that many Romanians will turn this hope into real opportunities, for their own and the community benefit. November, 6th, Timisoara Letter from President-elect Obama Dear DorelThank you for contacting me, and for your kind words and support. I’m receiving thousands of messages right now from across the country and Americans around the world. I am honored and deeply humbled by the confidence the American people have placed in me and Vice President-elect Joe Biden. I am hopeful about the opportunities and clear-eyed about the challenges our nation faces. I look forward to working with all Americans, regardless of who they voted for, in the great project of American renewal. Enlisting the energy and ingenuity of the American people is the only way we will create the changes that so many people want to see, so Senator Biden and I hope you will remain active in your community and involved in national policy debates. Sincerely, Barack Obama --- A note from Obama for America: If you have questions, suggestions, or comments about the federal government, policy, or the coming Obama/Biden Administration, please visit the online Office of the President-elect for more information and to get involved: www.change.gov To see
President-elect Obama’s speech on Election Night, please click here: If you’re contacting us because you’ve been energized by
your participation in our grassroots movement, we want you to remain active
in your community and involved in national policy debates. Please continue
to visit
www.BarackObama.com regularly.
We’ve built one of the most comprehensive nationwide organizing networks in
history, and our victory on November 4th is only the beginning of the work
we will do together. If you have other thoughts or business with the campaign, you can continue to reach us toll free at 866-675-2008. We appreciate hearing from you and hope you’ll continue to work with us as we build America’s future together. |
