pitangadiego - Well, that's pretty conclusive then. Guess I'm gonna have to disappoint Sara as well, if she should
ever deign to visit this forum again.

Alan - I think you can add mail to that list. After all, that's a dead giveaway as far as your address is concerned.
 

Seriously, it's just not a good idea to be trying to smuggle in plant materials.  I know people will do it anyways, but we have had multiple agricultural and wildlife disasters from importing serious pests by accident, and we're facing serious difficulty from citrus greening and laurel wilt.  It ain't about the figs people, it's about anything that hops on for the trip, even if it doesn't even *like* figs.

For all intents and purposes, we have all of the varieties that matter, which we could grow.  Only people who want Smyrna figs have anything like an excuse to try for new importations.  It's not like there is a Dekopon citrus hybrid version of a fig out there, waiting to be imported.

I support the efforts, so many of our pests came in via illegal transport of something.  It takes so long to get preventative measures in place and then it is almost impossible to amend them.  Overall, it's a tough mission and I choose to err on the safe side.

Just curious, but how does the USDA handle seeds (not from figs but from other plants) shipped from abroad? I have always seen seeds for plants I want online for sale from Asia and Europe. To date, however, I have never ordered any, as I was worried about possible restrictions.

But as Emeril  likes to say GWB "Kicked it up" to unheard of levels and for good reason. And I don't remember many complaints from Reps during GWB's reign, only during Obama's.

And Peter King is right!

Jon if the seller has a phyo you are fine.

The USDA followed the eBay records. EBay is not responsible as they are only a conduit. The seller and the purchaser are the ones that are accountable.

I know of all the pests that have been introduced. I don't fault the USDA at all. Rules is rules.

So, lets summarize for clarity, last week GWB said

“I put that program in place to protect the country. One of the certainties was that civil liberties were guaranteed,” Bush said, flanked by his smiling wife Laura. "I think there needs to be a balance, and as the president explained, there is a proper balance."

http:// http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/07/george_w_bush_defends_nsa_spyi.html

And that’s Obama’s fault? So you must also think Iraq was Obama’s fault and Afghanistan was Obama’s fault and the worst times since the Great depression was Obama’s fault?


Right?

Oh Yeah, 1 more thing, you must also think this is Obama's fault

Did Obama's claim credit or one of those "other" nasty Dems?

And lets not forget the 33,000 US jewels injured in Iraq/Afghanistan

How bout those figs?????

No matter our differences - Figs bring us together

I never intended to start a political discussion.

Mean while, back at the fig ranch--------


Dale

Georgia

Also visited by the feds. I've posted this numerous times. 


ATTN; John,
I wasn't paying much attention one day and bought 20 kaffir lime seeds for $3 on Ebay. I didn't see that they were coming in from Thailand and when I got them I was pretty shocked -- I mean seriously, how can you make any money shipping seeds from that far away and only charging 3 BUCKS. 
Well the seeds were bad and they all rotted. 6 months after the buy I got a visit from the USDA. They had driven all the way from Baltimore - 2 to 3 hours each way.
Anyway the officer took me at my word that there was nothing left as they had rotted and I'd thrown them out. The officer was a nice guy but he was no BS and it was not easy convincing him. He told me he was within his rights to take all my plants and that if he thought I was lying to him that's exactly what he was going to do. It was not fun.

Alan - For what it's worth, one of the politicians who claimed credit for creating the Internet was VP Al Gore, author of An Inconvenient Truth. To give him some credit, that was a half-decent effort to alert the world to the dangers of global warming, etc.

The 'descent' of this thread into a political debate is actually quite interesting - that's exactly what happened between me and the PM'er who warned me about the legal implications of sending cuttings to the US. It even got quite heated at one point, but we still managed to stay on good terms. I hope he won't mind if I now reveal that it was in fact mgginva.

It proves a point tho - some of us may hate thinking or talking about politics, but that does not seem to make any difference to the increasing inroads it makes into our lives, one way or another. Even when it comes down to such a 'trivial' matter as fig cuttings of all things. I mean, who woudda thunk it? And Shah8's point about joyriders is a good one. I remember a story years ago about a grocer who found a tarantula in a crate of bananas. As far as I know, bananas are not on its menu.

As I said to my PM'er, if you want to reclaim a govt. that's genuinely of the people, for the people, and by the people, then you have to undergo a 2nd revolution. He didn't like my suggestion.

Badges? We don't need no stinkin badges.

Costas
- you kiss and tell. Nothing is exact. If you didn't have such crazy ideas about government . . . ahh haa haa haa ha.
But seriously -- thx for the emails and I'll write to you tomorrow.

And just forget tarantulas -- they are harmless. The scary spider that can be found in bananas is the Wandering Spider or Banana Spider -- the hottest spider there is - big, aggressive, active hunter and deadly. And they've found a lot more then one!! The things more venomous the the Funnel Web.

Alan
-- we sure do have a strange government. But -- the thing is seeds can carry some scary things I've come to learn. They should at least be soaked in 5% bleach to kill bacteria.

mgginva - You mean such crazy ideas as genuine democracy, accountability, honesty, transparency, the public interest/good, selflessness etc etc? Yeah, I guess you get what you deserve if you think those are dispensable traits. When you find yourself living in a police state someday soon, I promise not to say 'I told you so', or visit you in prison.

But seriously (ahem), you're welcome, and glad to see you're still with us. Plse keep me posted on your progress.

As for the tarantulas, I'm aware they are fairly innocuous. My point was that if something that size can hitch a ride, then who knows what other unwelcome guests can cross borders undetected?

PS Wandering Spider - More venomous than the Brown Recluse?

PPS xxxxxx
         xxxx
          xx

Costas, geez buddy the bait was tiny. And as far as I'm concerned we live in a police state now. It could be worse but that's only a matter of time at this rate. I just took a break to get breakfast (cherries, prune/carrot juice) and the TV was on and the talking heads were saying that every single thing you do on the internet is watched and monitored and recorded and they were saying this like that's normal or acceptable!!! The thing is you, too, need to hop off your soap box as your cell will be right next to mine. 

As far as crossing borders -- the future will no longer have borders. It will be the battle of the invasive species. Phillip Dick was right about his greatest prediction being the ecological collapse of the earth. My Crumb drawing of him speaks. We just need to decide when this collapse will happen -- ooops too late --  the 6th great world wide mass extinction is already here. 

Politically - once the rich have finished remolding society and there is once again only the rich and the poor there will be no need for national borders as all movement will be controlled by the government. Everything will be a border. 

"When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When people fear the government there is tyranny." Thomas Jefferson - grower of figs.

mgginva - Yeah, my bait was always bigger than yours (!), which is why you shoudda seen it a mile away. Irony
still a stranger to you lot over the pond?

As for being cell mates, I look fwd to it. I'm too old to have any fear of govt., no matter how tyrannical. I woudda
laughed in Stalin's face - nothing deflates or emasculates them more than that, and it's the one thing they can't take away from
me whilst I'm still alive.

If they have to torture me to extract a 'confession' or make me compliant, then as far as I'm concerned they have already abandoned
the dialogue and lost the 'debate'. When you no longer fear them, their power is gone.

Plse re-read my post above re spider ?'n.

Uh-oh. Sounds like bait envy. Just a thought on ecological collapse: Even though I'm not familiar with Phillip Dick, I think there is an ebb and flow we're missing out on. Remember, the great collpase of the dinosaurs let rise the mammals (and maybee the birds). So in the loooong run, it may not be so bad. In the short run, it will be terrible.

Not to stir up the political debate again, but this article makes loss of cuttings seem pale by comparison. Sssshhhhhh, we are not alone:

http://news.yahoo.com/google-pressure-cookers-backpacks-visit-feds-140900667.html

I came on a little strong last night. I spend way too much time on political boards and I kinda forgot where I was. No hard feelings :)