The Sarah factor

No, it's not appropriate for Alaskans, especially men, to carp and snivel about Gov Sarah as VP. I see some, like Lida Green, even trying to rail at Sarah as a ridiculous choice for McCain's VP, pretending their spiteful remarks are politically savvy. (I hope Lida Green keeps her promise of leaving the senate due to Sarah's popularity, but suspect she will now find some excuse for staying on as Senate President.)

My take on the Sarah factor in today's political scene is that she represents the very significant women's vote for equal rights, possibly even ascendancy. She is the shrewd McCain counter to the Obama-Hillary Clinton gambit, and even Obama admits that. I predict that in the coming debates, she will star against even Joe Biden, because she will demonstrate her virtues of sweetness and light, plus maybe some Alaskan frontier spirit. It's going to be a real treat to see her up against Hillary, who she has already credited with cracking the glass ceiling against women in politics. Don't know if the claws will come out or not, on these wildcats. bookburn

Reply to
bookburn
Loading thread data ...

Sure, but how will this affect tea sales?

Which brings to mind a big question... aren't a lot of the big tea growing regions in Georgia actually in the Abkhazian region? With the current political crisis there, how is tea production being affected?

I have had a couple very nice teas from the area, and I think they deserve more attention. They don't seem to have much of an export market.

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

Scott, I think Nigel of Nothing But Tea had a major part in Georgian tea development and production. He also sells some excellent examples through his site, nice full leaf red teas, for example. I drank one this morning, and will drink another later today. I hope Nigel is at hand to answer your excellent question. Michael

Reply to
Michael Plant

Many thanks for the mention Michael, and no, I have not been on vacation SN, I have been in Rwanda with a client on a quest to acquire a stunning tea factory there. More details later if we are successful. I too have been concerned about the Georgian teas and the tea makers there during the Russian incursion. My information so far is that they are all safe. However, all my hand made tea makers are in the hills around Ozurgeti in Guria District well away from the recent conflict. Scott is correct that a lot of tea was grown in Abkhazia, much less so now - the total of tea from Georgia is currently around

3,500 tonnes, down from 180,000 tonnes in 1990. A catastrophic drop. When I visited factories in Abkhazia in 2003 there was much bomb damage still evident from the 1992 civil war, and lack of power, spares, and capital, let alone a market, was deterring even doughty Georgian entrepreneurs. Incidentally I gave a well attended talk about hand making of tea in Georgia last evening at the Georgian Embassy in London to launch a new brand of Georgian tea - Caucasus Arts' "Natela Gold" and "Nagobilevi Village". See
formatting link
The Ambassador was still recalled in Tblisi but his number 2 was quite upbeat about the Georgian position and the PR damage that the Russians have heaped on themselves.

Nigel at Teacraft

Reply to
Nigel

DrinksForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.