NAPSI - Online shopping and e-commerce have opened new doors for gardening enthusiasts, offering unprecedented access to rare and exotic plants and seed products from around the world at the click of a button. But before you buy plants or seeds online from overseas sellers, you should know they could pose a significant risk to U.S. agriculture and natural resources, because they can carry harmful plant pests and diseases.
It’s The Law
It’s illegal to import plants and seeds from overseas into the U.S. without the appropriate paperwork indicating they’re pest-free. Just because it’s easy to buy them online, does not mean they’re safe and you, the buyer, are responsible for checking the origin and import requirements.
The Problem
Invasive pests and plant diseases are often not visible to the buyer and, if left unchecked, can easily and rapidly spread. Plant diseases, for example, can be carried in common garden staples grown outside the U.S., such as tomato and pepper seeds. Not only do invasive pests cost the U.S. an estimated $40 billion a year in damage to trees, plants, crops and related eradication and control efforts, they can have a significant effect on America’s food supply.
An Answer
Fortunately, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has put together clear guidance on the steps online buyers should take to protect U.S. gardens, landscapes, agriculture and forests from this threat.
Six Steps To Safe Seeds And Plants
Here’s what you need to do when buying plants or seeds online from another country:
1.Check whether you need an import permit for the plants or seeds you wish to bring in. If required, apply for and get an import permit from APHIS, which specifies the import requirements before the plant or seed species is allowed entry into the country.
2.Request shipping labels from APHIS, if required under the permit conditions.
3.Inform the seller about the labeling and shipping requirements detailed in the permit.
4.Instruct the seller to include an invoice detailing the scientific name and quantity of plants or seeds in the shipment.
5.Ensure the seller has a phytosanitary certificate from the National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) of the country of origin. This means the NPPO has inspected the plants or seeds and found them free of plant pests and diseases.
6.Instruct the seller to use labels provided by the buyer to ensure plants or seeds are delivered to an APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine Plant Inspection Station.
Everyone plays an important role in protecting U.S. food, gardens and trees. If you’re planning to buy plants or seeds online from foreign sellers, take the appropriate steps to make sure you are following U.S. import laws.
Learn More
For questions about importing and exporting requirements, call APHIS at (877) 770-5990 or e-mail plantproducts.permits@usda.gov. To discover how to stop the spread of invasive plant pests and diseases, visit www.HungryPests.com.
An ongoing saga continues to surround Former President Donald Trump and porn star Stormy Daniels. Will it never end? Trump may or may not be indicted by the time you read this but who knows? Who isn’t tired of hearing about an alleged sexual encounter between these two.
Former President Trump has denied the encounter ever occurred but Daniels has said it did occur. Who is telling the truth? Who should we believe? Is there proof of this alleged “affair” or sexual encounter?
Does anyone have a video of the Trump and Daniels encounter? Apparently, Daniels is big on videos for money participating in encounters that most of us really do not want to see. I’m sure some people do since pornography an international addictive problem that destroys more lives than we will ever know. Even if it existed, we certainly do not want to see any such “encounter” between Daniels and Trump. Even. So, how do you prove such an event took place. We are back again to “he said, she said.”
President Trump has had his feet to the fire because he is alleged to have paid $130,000 to Daniels to keep quiet about the “encounter.” The problem is unclear. Is he alleged to have paid the money out of campaign funds raised for his Presidential bid in 2016? Or, is this about being an amount of money beyond the legal campaign donation cap and how could it ever be considered a campaign donation? Does any of it make sense? As much money as Trump has, would he not have just paid her out of his petty cash fund? If Daniels and Trump had a dispute then how is it illegal to have settled a dispute? People do it every day.
Trump made millions just from his reality television show The Apprentice on NBC. I always figured this is one reason NBC hates Trump so much. He made them a lot of money and the show was still making major money when he quit to run for President. Money and greed color everything.
Why don’t they just produce the check written to Daniels? Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney who served time in prison, allegedly gave the money to Daniels and was reimbursed by Trump. Did he write a check from his personal account? How did Trump reimburse Cohen? Did he go to the bank and get a cashier’s check? Just go back and do an audit. How credible is Cohen? Does Cohen know for sure which account the money came from?
Back in 1974 Jerry Springer, (Yes, the TV reality show star) resigned from the Cincinnati City council because he had written two checks to two different prostitutes in Northern, Kentucky. The controversy took over his life but he was later reelected to the city council and even later served as mayor. In one of his commercials, that I remember seeing, he said, “I made a mistake. I paid a prostitute with a check.” He actually wrote two checks. One was for $50 and the other was for $25. He would go on to serve as Cincinnati’s mayor from 1977-1978. But wait, he admitted to it and he didn’t pay it from campaign or government funds.
Looks like if Trump could get in trouble for paying for an “encounter,” then Daniels would be in trouble for prostitution. But wait, she didn’t collect money for an alleged encounter with Trump, but she got money to be quiet about the encounter with Trump. Is this not blackmail? Are there not any consequences for blackmail? Apparently, there is more money to be made from being quiet about “encounters” than actually selling oneself for an “encounter”. She did reportedly receive a handsome book royalty check to talk about her life that attorney Michael Avenatti stole. He is now serving time in prison for defrauding clients and tax evasion.
There is probably more that will be said about this alleged “encounter”. This proves it doesn’t work to pay porn stars hush money, because, they take the money and still tell everybody.
Proceeds from the event will be donated to the fine arts program at the high school.
"Bring your family, your requests, and your wallets and let's pack the place for the SJO Fine Arts!" organizers 
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