Hazelnuts, anybody?
Despite assurances last September that they would withdraw from an embarrassing business venture that involved harvesting hazelnuts in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, the first lady's brothers, Hugh and Tony Rodham, were back in the Georgian port city of Batumi this month.
Local media reported their journey as if it were a traveling carnival. "Hillary's Interesting Brothers in Istanbul," read the headline in the Dec. 8 edition of the Turkish daily Hurriyet. A photo showed the two beefy brothers, dressed in blue jeans and sneakers, en route to Batumi. "Hazelnut Tycoons," joked the photo caption.
The rambling Rodhams spent several days in Batumi, according to local press reports, "in hopes of reviving a failed deal to . . . sell hazelnuts" through a company called Argo Holdings. A Russian-American newsletter called Intercon's Daily quoted the local political boss in Batumi, Aslan Abashidze, touting their return.
~snip~