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I'm no prophet.
Don't ask me for 4D numbers. If I know what's the winning number, I'd tell my mother. She buys 4D.
But here are some "Crystal ball gazing" based on trends or signs that are obvious. At least, obvious to me.
First, China. There are several things happening here.
There are signs that the economic miracle that is China may be getting a reality-check. This is dangerous for China, and for the region, and likely, the world. As China's economy slows, the danger is that the people will become restive, and this may lead to political instability, and this in turn will lead to government action to restore stability.
There are many reasons for slowing growth. Part of the answer is that some of the growth was "engineered" as local govt did what was necessary to "generate" growth. The easiest of which was development projects. Leading to a housing bubble. Or an oversupply of homes.
Related to this may be stock market bubble. Which regulators are trying to rein in.
China is also recognising that corruption is crippling or undermining their development. The campaign against corruption seems to be going well, or there is at least explicit signs of progress, however, it also means that the truth about some "growth" may soon be revealed. It may also become clear that capable people are also most likely to be corrupted because of the system and removing the corrupted also means removing the capable. And growth will slow.
A China without high economic growth is not simply an internal issue. It may well be a regional issue, as China may a) seek to distract her people from internal woes with an external "manufactured" crises (i.e. do a "Galtieri"); and b) have a knock on effect on all the other economies depending on a growing China to buy their goods, or to visit their countries as tourists.
The problem with "China is Crashing!" predictions is that one has to wonder how much of it is jealousy, ideological ("no communist/centrally planned economy can succeed without democracy!"), and fear of change and a desire to return to the status quo.
So you have to look at the various reports, analysis, and commentary and decide which is real and which is hype, and which is fevered fantasy or wishful thinking.
The slowing economic growth is a fact, and even the most optimistic projection is for growth of just over 7% for 2015. Add to that, governments initiatives to fight corruption, rein in speculative froth in the housing and stock markets, and if China can come in for a soft landing, it would be a best case scenario.
Now, some "good" news.
Second, Oil Prices - falling and what does it mean? For the US? For the Middle East? For Russia? For China?
Thomas Friedman obviously thinks this is bad news for the "petro-dictators".
Russia is also concerned. Their military adventurism could be curtailed.
The US could become a major oil producer, although most of their production will be for domestic consumption. BUT, when the US is not buying oil, it becomes available for others, and suddenly, there may be too much oil for the world. The sheer volume and supply will dampen oil prices, reducing the income of "petro-dictators" and curtailing their projects.
Oil producers like Saudi Arabia are in a quandary. Should they drop prices and retain market share, or raise prices to maintain profitability? They have decided to let oil prices drop to maintain market share. They also hope that falling oil prices would mean "new oil"- shale oil, fracking oil, tar sands, - would be too expensive to be worthwhile, and those supply will cease, returning the world to previous state - dependent on Old oil.
However, they are trying to put the genie (of "New Oil"), back in the bottle and it is not going to work. "New Oil" is more expensive to extract, but the major expenses (investment) had already been spent. So lower oil prices will not stop New Oil.
On the whole this is (or should be) good news for China, Asia (except petroleum exporting Asia - Russia, Malaysia, Brunei?). Costs decrease and inflation falls.
Lower inflation is good, no?
Third, Deflation and the (Singapore) economy. Singapore experienced deflation for the first time in 5 years in Nov and possibly Dec 2014. If you think deflation is great 'cos prices will be lower... its good to be that innocent, still. Innocent? I meant naive.
Do I need to tell you that deflation is bad for a country? More than a decade ("lost decade") was lost to Japan because of economic stagnation, characterised by deflation. It sounds good, and if deflation were a stand-alone act, it would be great - like losing weight.
Except that deflation is like losing weight because of dengue. It is only a symptom or a side effect, and it is happening because horrible things are happening elsewhere. Deflation usually means that the economy is stagnating or even shrinking.
Europe is in danger of deflating because of unwise/indulgent policies. An Europe (or EU) in a recession has implications for world trade.
The problem is that there is too much capacity, too much supply, and not enough demand.Economies are slowing and central banks hope to boost their respective economies with unconventional measures, such as devaluing their currency.
However, this is a zero-sum game that merely exports deflation and recession to other economies.In this race to the bottom, the key issue of not enough demand is not being addressed. If it could be addressed. (The best solution is infrastructure development. Maybe?)
As for Singapore, we are a small economy with no significance in the world. We can only take what comes our way. That said, we are reasonably in good shape and condition, but being small, we are agile, but we do not have a lot of stamina.
I believe the government is aware of the various problem and can respond to the problem. But we (and by "we" I mean the government) may have over-compensated. Especially with Housing.
Or maybe that was the plan because housing has surged too far ahead of median income? (See chart below).
From Prof Tan's presentation at Singapore Perspectives 2015.
Prof Tan suggests that HDB resale prices have surged too far ahead of the rise in median salary and so there is a greater imperative to restrain property prices.
Over-supply of housing is one way I guess.
Another way is to increase the cost of borrowing.
Which brings us to fourth, Interest rates, the end of US Quantitative Easing, and SG's housing market/prices. This is important if you have a commercial mortgage with more than 5 years on it. Maybe.
The main concern for rising interest rates is the impact on your mortgage, the cost of home ownership, and the housing market. Those of you still hoping for the housing market to help make you your fortune - 2015 is not your year. Or if it is the year you made a fortune in the property market, likely there were other reasons.
The US is planning to let interest rates rise. However, at the same time, the Euro is depreciating. And MAS has decided that the SGD will appreciate on a shallower slope.
The problem simply is that the much of the world is still in the grip of a "balance sheet recession". The debts arising from the 2008 crash have not been forgiven, and continues to hang over the economies of the world. The usual solution is to forgive the debt and move on. But "an excess of virtue" is killing the economies of the world.
Instead the Central Banks are trying unconventional strategies to boost their economies. It is not working.
Simply put, we live in a world in which there is too much supply and too little demand. The result is persistent disinflationary, if not deflationary, pressure, despite aggressive monetary easing.In summary, every economy thinks that the way to get out of their economic slump is to allow their currency to weaken, thuse making their exports cheaper and boost their economy. BUT... that is the same strategy ALL other economies are trying. And if everyone is trying to weaken their currency, nothing happens.
The inability of unconventional monetary policies to prevent outright deflation partly reflects the fact that such policies seek to weaken the currency, thereby improving net exports and increasing inflation. However, this is a zero-sum game that merely exports deflation and recession to other economies.
It is a race to the bottom, and the central banks are getting desperate and reckless. So we see negative interest rates for savings.
Would there be negative interest rates in SG? There should not be. Our economic foundation and fundamentals does not seem to be lead to that. BUT, SG is a small country, a small economy, and a "price-taker", not a price-setter. So who knows how we will be affected. On the one hand we want interest rates to rise (to dampen housing "investment". But interest rates seem headed in towards negative territory for a lot of country. If we maintain even a small positive interest rates, will this attract foreign currencies, and raise the value of the SGD? What would that do to our competitiveness? What must we do to remain competitive? Let the SGD devalue? Have negative interest rates?
Unconventional economic strategies are not going to work.
And there is no will (or sufficient "vice") to forgive debts. So that is not happening soon. So 2015 will be a year of stuttering economic growth for most of the economies, and there may even be deflation. China is likely to stall and that may lead to "adventurism" in the region, but I seriously doubt it. Whether my doubts are based on clear rationality or incredulity borne of emotion, I cannot tell. Certainly, it is not in China's interest to destabilise the region, BUT, there are some crazy people out there.
Then again, the ornery and the contrarian in me wonders if there might be opportunities and advantage in a military conflict. It would soak up capacity and raise demand. WWII boosted economic activity. But starting a war to boost your economy, is like setting your house on fire so you can be rescued by the hunky fireman.
So, 2015 - the Year of the Goat/Ram/Sheep - Lower your expectations.
In SG, growth will be low - about 2%. Worldwide, growth will also be anemic. Inflation though, should also be low. The problem is actually deflation, stagnation, or even negative growth. Interest rates are supposed to rise, but there are signs that there are countervailing forces that will resist rising interest rates. Housing will be adequate. Even abundant. But "invest" in housing wisely.
China will likely restrain her ambitions, unless social unrest leaves her with little choice but to do a Galtieri.
On a separate though related matter, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has identified 10 top trends for 2015. These are:
- deepening income inequality
- persistent jobless growth
- lack of leadership
- rising geopolitical competition
- weakening of representative democracy
- rising pollution in the developing world
- increasing occurrence of severe weather events
- intensifying nationalism
- increasing water stress
- growing health concerns, plus an emerging concern over immigration.


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TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose slightly on Tuesday as strength in the financial sector helped overcome worries about the volatile situation in Iraq and nervousness about the outcome of this week's Federal Reserve policy meeting.
Investors digested news that Iraqi Shi'ite rulers spurned Western calls to reach out to Sunnis to defuse the uprising in the north of the country and weighed the prospect of a disruption in oil supply.
The market also speculated on whether the Fed, whose two-day meeting will close on Wednesday, will accelerate the pace of withdrawal from its stimulus program and when the U.S. central bank might increase interest rates.
"Investors are preoccupied with what the Fed is going to say tomorrow," said Adrian Mastracci, portfolio manager at KCM Wealth Management.
"I'm not expecting a surprise of any sort. I would expect Yellen not to rock the boat," he added, referring to Fed Chair Janet Yellen.
The Canadian market has climbed 12 of the last 13 sessions. It is up more than 10 percent this year and has gained more than most other major stock indexes.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE closed up 15.46 points, or 0.10 percent, at 15,055.89. Seven of the 10 main sectors on the index were higher.
Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, climbed 0.3 percent. Royal Bank of Canada RY.TO added 0.1 percent to C$75.18, and Toronto Dominion Bank TD.TO advanced 0.5 percent to C$54.59.
Shares of energy producers gave back 0.6 percent, reflecting weakness in the price of U.S. crude oil CLc1. Suncor Energy Inc SU.TO lost 0.9 percent to C$46.32, and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd CNQ.TO slipped 0.7 percent to C$47.35.
In corporate news, Valeant Pharmaceuticals Inc VRX.TO said it will launch an exchange offer for Allergan Inc AGN.N this week, allowing it to eventually take its unsolicited bid directly to shareholders. Valeant's stock was up 1.2 percent, at C$129.10.
Editing by Leslie Adler

subset: commoncrawl


text: G'day! Welcome to About Australia's Secure Online Shop. About Australia stocks an extensive range of Australian products such as: Australian Maps, Aussie Confectionery (Cadbury chocolate, Allens, Nestle, Mars), Vegemite, Berocca, Napisan, Arnott's Biscuits, Koalas, Kangaroos, Books, Music, Boomerangs, Didgeridoos, Aboriginal Art, Sheepskins, Lanolin, Emu Oils, Leather Hats, Kangaroo Leather Golf Gloves, Drizabone Oilskin Coats and more. Check out our Aussie Christmas traditions and gift ideas page, our Aussie Slang Book page, or read about the Australian Flag. We have over 2,000 Australian products available online and it continues to grow! Home » Groceries » Chocolate Bars My Account Categories Art-> (50)Books & Maps-> (48)Boomerangs & Bullroarers-> (14)Calendars (4)Christmas (10)Clothing & Acc-> (51)Corporate Gifts (10)Didgeridoos-> (4)Gift Baskets & Vouchers (12)Groceries-> (227) Meat Pies & Sausage Rolls (5) Mulitpacks (7) Baby Products (1) Biscuits/Cookies (22) Chips (6) Chocolate Blocks (32) Chocolate Bars (40) Drinks (13) Hot Sauces Laundry (3) Lollies (28) Macadamia Nuts Pantry Products (18) Vegemite/Spreads (8) Wholesale (44)Miscellaneous/Souvenirs-> (142)Music & Videos-> (18)Plush Toys (29)Sheepskins (6)Skincare-> (10)Sport (3)Stationery-> (29)Toys & Games-> (17)Travel (3)All products Login Here E-Mail address: Password: Information Aussie Slang Australia Day Did You Know... Employment FAQs News Policy: Returns Policy: Shipping Store Hours Store Location Products & Services Contact Us What's New? Alamo Gel Ice Pack$1.25 Products in this Category Product Name+ Price Buy Now Nestle Aero Milk Chocolate Bars 2oz (40g) Out of Stock $1.99 Nestle Aero Milk Chocolate Bars 2oz (45g) (BB 02/July/2010) $1.99 $1.00 Nestle Aero Milk Chocolate Bars 2oz (45g) (BB 19/Aug/2009) $1.99 $1.00 Nestle Aero Milk Chocolate Bars 40g (BB:SEP10) $1.99 $1.00 Nestle Aero Peppermint Chocolate Bar (40g) Out of Stock $1.99 Nestle Allens Redskins Out of Stock $0.35 Nestle Chokito Bar Out of Stock $1.99 Nestle Club Dark Chocolate Bar (BB:DEC2010) $2.25 $1.13 Nestle Club Dark Chocolate Bar 45g Out of Stock $2.25 Nestle Club Dark Chocolate Bar 45g (BB:NOV2010) $2.25 $1.13 Nestle Golden Rough 20g Out of Stock $1.25 Nestle Milky Bar Out of Stock $1.99 Nestle Milo Bar 55g Out of Stock $2.25 Nestle Milo Bar 72g Out of Stock $3.00 Nestle Peppermint Crisp 35g Out of Stock $1.99 Nestle Smarties 50g Out of Stock $2.25 Nestle Violet Crumble Bar 50g Out of Stock $1.99 Turkish Delight 2oz (55g) Bar Out of Stock $2.25 Wagon Wheels 48g (7oz) Out of Stock $1.50 White Knight Bar 25g Out of Stock $1.75 Displaying 21 to 40 (of 40 products) Result Pages: [<< Prev] 1 2 Quick Find Use keywords to find the product you are looking for.Minimum PriceMaximum Price Shopping Cart 0 items Tell A Friend Enter a friend's email address and click on the envelope. See All Specials Cadbury Old Gold Dark Chocolate 100g (BB:AUG10)$4.50$2.25 Bestsellers 01.Nestle Allens Redskins02.Arnotts Tim Tam Fingers Bar03.Cadbury Caramello Koala 20g04.Nestle Violet Crumble Bar 50g05.Cadbury Flake Milk Chocolate Bar06.Nestle Peppermint Crisp 35g07.Cadbury Crunchie Bar08.Turkish Delight 2oz (55g) Bar09.Nestle Milo Bar 55g10.Cadbury Cherry Ripe Bar (52g) Tuesday 20 January, 2015 Contact us by phone: (210) 299-1077Copyright © 2015 About Australia. All rights reserved.This website was developed by Dragon Eye Design.


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Welcome to the Norman Business Law Center
The Norman Business Law Center consists of a team of skilled commercial lawyers dedicated to smart, strategic advocacy. Our lawyers understand the complex business and legal issues our clients face every day. We are committed to providing our clients with high-caliber, dynamic representation aimed at achieving successful results. Our business lawyers have a combined background of impressive achievements and qualifications, as well as a commitment to professional excellence, client services, and expert legal advice.


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Tailor Made Legal Solutions For You
With over 24 years' experience, we combine innovative legal solutions with a traditional focus on personal serviceRead More Practice Areas
About Us
At Geaney Solicitors we offer tailor made legal solutions to our clients using latest innovations in legal practice coupled with our traditional values. Since established in 1995 we have advised private clients and business clients on many aspects of Irish and European Law.Read More Testimonials
Latest News
Start Up Legal Advice - Key Areas
It can be exciting yet extremely daunting starting a new small business with multiple legalities…
Niall advised our business on a somewhat complex commercial lease arrangement. We were very well guided and the firms overall attention to the matter was exemplary. Geaney Solicitors continue to advise us on other legal matters as they arise.


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Alpharetta Car Accident Attorney
Georgia Crash Statistics
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that in 2011, 32,367 people were killed in an estimated 5,338,000 police-reported motor vehicle crashes.
- Of those collisions, more than 2 million people were injured and 3,778,000 involved property damage only.
- According to the NHTSA, on average 89 people died in a motor vehicle crash in 2011, that's one every 16 minutes.
- In 2011, 9,878 of the fatalities involved drunk driving, accounting for 31% of the total traffic fatalities.
- In that same year, speeding was one of the most prevalent factors that contributed to traffic crashes, with speed being a factor in 9,944 or 31% of the fatal collisions. (NHTSA)
Car accidents are the highest cause of personal injury claims in every state across the country. In Georgia, more than 132,000 people were injured in car wrecks in 2003 according to crash statistics provided by GDOT. With so many injuries occurring annually, it goes without saying that the parties responsible for causing these crashes should be held accountable for the injuries involved.
At Kalka & Baer, LLC, we handle all types of motor vehicle accident claims, including those involving underinsured and uninsured motorists. We encourage you to become familiar with this website to obtain more information about our areas of practice. To learn more about filing a claim for compensation, please contact an Alpharetta car accident attorney from our firm directly.
Car Accident Practice Areas
Aggressive Driving
Drivers can cause serious accidents through their reckless maneuvers, such as speeding, swerving into another lane, or running a red light. Even though this is not the same problem as road rage, which is criminal assault with a car, aggressive drivers are responsible for many horrific injuries and even fatalities.
Dealing with Insurance Companies
One of the first things you need to do after a car accident is call your insurance. If you say the wrong thing, this can undercut any claim that you file. Before you speak to any insurance company, be sure that you know what to do.
The right legal counsel can help navigate you toward success in filing your personal injury or wrongful death claim.
Driver Distraction
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA), in 2011 alone more than 3,000 people were killed in distracted driving crashes and another 387,000 were injured. Of all the forms of driver distraction, the most common and deadliest form involves texting while driving.
Drunk Driving Accidents
Despite the nationwide campaigns put on by MADD and law enforcement agencies , driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs remains a major cause of car accidents and fatalities in the United States. If you were injured or if your loved one was killed at the hands of a drunk driver, you deserve ample compensation to cover all of your economic and non-economic losses.
Roof Crush
If you have been in a rollover accident, you may have suffered from a roof crush incident. Roofs of cars are supposed to be able to sustain the weight of the car. If it caved in for whatever reason, this may point to the manufacturer or designer being at fault for the accident and any associated injuries.
If you or a loved one were injured from an accident involving roof crush, then there is a possibility you are entitled to compensation.
Soft Tissue Damage
This type of injury is characterized by pain, swelling bruising and potential loss of function after damaging muscles, ligaments and tendons throughout the body. Car accidents often involved sudden and violent movements which can easily cause damage to these parts of your body making soft tissue injuries very common.
Types of Car Accidents
There are several types of accidents, some of which include head-on collisions, rear-end collisions, side-impact crashes or T-bone collisions and rollovers. Of these, the head-on collision is often the most deadly, especially when the vehicles are moving at high speeds during the crash.
Uninsured Motorist Claims
Georgia is among the states that have a problem with having too many uninsured drivers on the roads. When you are involved in a collision with an uninsured driver, you can file a claim under your own auto insurance policy's uninsured motorist coverage providing you did not reject this coverage in writing.
What to Do After an Accident?
Car accidents occur without warning. The only way to be ready for a collision is to be prepared in advance. Learn from our experienced car accident attorneys what actions you should take if you find yourself in an auto accident.
Your attorney is one of the first people you should contact after a crash.
This is one of the common injuries sustained in a rear end collision. You should go see a doctor if you feel pain spread from your neck to your shoulders and arms, or if your arms feel weak or numb. Headaches and pain experienced when moving your head are further indicators that you may have whiplash. If you have suffered from this injury, chances are the other driver is at fault for the accident, and you may deserve compensation.
What is your next step if in a car crash?
If you have been involved in a car wreck, there are certain steps you must take to ensure that you are adequately compensated. The first would be to consult with an Alpharetta personal injury lawyer who has a detailed understanding of insurance companies' defense strategies and how to effectively fight them for compensation.
With their counsel and assistance, you could file a claim and successfully negotiate with the insurance companies or fight aggressively in court to recover the damages you deserve.
It may also be the case that you have been hit by a driver with no insurance, in which case your attorney should also be skilled in uninsured motorist claims. Kalka & Baer LLC could provide the assistance you need, so call now and schedule an appointment with a member of our team!
Over Two Decades of Legal Experience
As a former defense lawyer for large insurance companies, Attorney Tony Kalka understands their strategies and could provide insightful and aggressive representation on your behalf. You deserve to have your injury expenses covered by the liable party, so retain our firm today for skilled legal representation. We have practiced for more than 30 years and are prepared to obtain the highest possible amount of compensation for your case.
Our firm offers a free case evaluation, so call now (770) 679-2256 or fill out our online contact form to request yours today.
View the firm's profile at FindaCarAccidentAttorney.com.


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Free New Twitter Profile Page GUI PSD
Today we are glad to release a yet another freebie: a Twitter GUI PSD for the recently released Twitter UI update, designed by Jon Darke and released exclusively for Smashing Magazine and its readers. The PSD provides the full mockup with all layers in vectors, allowing you to scale up the design elements without loss of quality. The set includes two versions: one for personal accounts and also the new Twitter Enhanced profile page with 835×90 header image for brands and advertisers.
Download the Set for free!
You can use the freebie for all your projects for free and without any restrictions. Please link to this article if you want to spread the word. You may modify the file as you wish.
- large preview - personal profile (.png, 0.3 Mb)
- large preview - enhanced profile (.png 0.3 Mb)
- download the .zip-package (.zip, 2 Mb)
- release post on the designer's website
- 100% pixel-accurate
- 2 versions: personal and enhanced profile pages
- All assets redrawn in vector, hence scalable
- All layers labeled and grouped
- Adobe Photoshop CS4+ compatible
Behind the Design
"As designers, we often produce various assets for our clients, be it their online presence on their Web pages or in social media. Hence, often we need to skin pages such as the Twitter profile pages for brands that we are working on. When those sites update their UI, we also need to update our resources in order to be able to display an accurate representation of what a client's Twitter page would look like. So we thought that we could share the PSD file we created with the rest of the design community. Hopefully, it will help you save some time to focus on the creative work!"
Thanks Jon, we sincerely appreciate your time and your intentions!
Further Reading on SmashingMag:
- Freebie: Twitter GUI PSD
- 8 Useful Tips To Become Successful With Twitter
- Twitter Icons: Cute Tweeters & Birdies
- Effective Twitter Backgrounds: Examples and Current Practices
(vf) (il)


text: Its been the bit I was most excited to see, but also the the part I dreaded the most. So after two days of pneumatic drills, i beams, re calculated and rearranged stairs, here we are. An opening from the staircase to the new studio/TV room. Thanks to all the hard work from Themba and Andrew.


text: This is the card that I have made to enter into Emma's sketch challenge. I have made the card by stamping a Me to You image and colouring with pro markers. The image is then mounted with a spellbinder frame onto holographic foiled card. I would love your feed back x


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An Introduction
The Aspire Garden
Our signature garden is the centre piece of Blackwood Ridge, it has been designed around the ornamental pond which is noteworthy fot the rusted corten steel edging, furthermore borders are accentuated by the lawn pathways, this feature if offset by a patterned garden design, with accent feature trees and shrubs.
Beyond the patterned garden is a hedge planting of 'Blue Prince Holly' which curves around the lawn and frames the mass planting of Jacquemontii birches.
The Aspire Garden is best viewed from the cafe deck to appreciated the design and it's beauty.
Featured Plants in the Aspire Garden
White Himalayan Birch
Jacquemontii Birch features on the the whitest of trunks for a Birch (betula). The species is quick growing like all Birches, it also has slightly larger leaves than most Birch, looks impressive when planted in a copse.
Sky Pencil Holly
Looking more like and English box (buxus) that a Holly (ilex) this Japanese plant is a great fastigate shrub that lends itself to the narrowest of situations, looks great in pots and is a real feature mass planted.
Coral Bark Maples
This much loved cultivar of Japanese Maple is renewed for its's fine vase shape and striking coral pink bark in winter.
Spring foliage also adds interest with vibrant lime green foliage.
You can aspire to beauty.
'Slender Silhouette' Liquidambar
One of the new standout introductions of Liquidambar from the USA.
This form is prized for it's narrow 'pencil' habit which we have taken advantage of to create a pillar like effect in the Asprie garden.
We have selected a range of feature shrubs for their colour, foliage and form to complement and enhance of garden design.
• Berberis 'Rose Glow' • Berberis 'Little Favourite' • Cotinus 'Royal Purple' • Caryoteris 'Lisura' • Euonymus 'Tom Thumb' • Fothergilla 'Mt Airy' • Leucadendron 'Red Devil' • Ilex 'Blue Prince'
We have selected a range of feature perennials for their colour, foliage and form to complement and enhance of garden design.
• Penstemon 'Strictas' • Phyeglius 'Moondance' • Phygelius 'Cherry Ripe' • Calibrachoa 'Purple Glow' • Helianthemum 'Rose' • Rhodanthemum Hosimriensis • Thymus 'Magic Carpet' • Lobeia 'Vedrariensis'


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In its simplest terms, the military's strategy is to reshape the warrior ethos, instilling in service members the idea that mental health is as vital as physical fitness or the ability to aim a rifle.
One important aim is to break down the stigma that has historically stopped soldiers from admitting they're suffering or suicidal. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army's vice chief of staff, calls the effort a "matter of life and death."
That message was delivered to troops earlier this year, during the first service-wide stand-down in Army history, said Colleen McGuire, the director of the Suicide Prevention Task Force. Over several hours, groups of soldiers were taught what to watch for and how to react to despondent friends. An interactive video showed the consequences of certain choices.
More recently, the Army has put in place a program to improve the mental resilience of soldiers based on the research of a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania. A group of 150 drill sergeants attended the first training session two weeks ago. Ultimately, it will be passed on to all of the Army's 1.1 million soldiers.
"We are really talking about it as a basic tenet of leadership," Werbel said. "Marines never leave each other behind, and not just in combat, but in the garrison."
For all of the new measures, however, major challenges remain. Not least of them is a drastic shortage of mental health professionals in the military's ranks.
McGuire said the Army alone could use at least 400 to 500 more specialists, whether psychiatrists, psychologists or soldiers trained as counselors.
Hiring them is another matter. The Army is having a difficult time recruiting those professionals, she said, because of competition with the private sector, which offers generally higher pay, the choice of working in or near cities and the prestige of being affiliated with hospitals.
As it stands now, the shortage sometimes leads to long waits for appointments, a potentially deadly situation when a soldier is suicidal.
"It's so frustrating," McGuire said. "You want to get help and you finally go through all the mechanisms to get help and then you're put on a waiting list."
To help bridge the gap — and to reach service members in far-flung locations — the Department of Defense is experimenting with internet-based counseling, in which troubled service members can talk to someone in a videoconference. The effort remains in its infancy, with the first demonstrations held Aug. 1.
"The reality is, there is no simple answer," said Chiarelli, calling the issue the most difficult of his 37-year career. "Each suicide case is as unique as the individuals themselves."
To better understand why so many service members are killing themselves, the Army has committed $50 million to the National Institute of Mental Health study, which is expected to involve up to a half million soldiers.
The study will look far beyond the reaction to combat, delving into personal and family histories, financial stresses and childhood traumas. Researchers also will take blood and saliva samples to search for genetic risk factors.
Chiarelli said he believes the Army's moves have yielded modest progress, noting that nearly one-third of this year's suicides took place in January and February and that the pace of deaths has since slowed. At the same time, he said more soldiers must be saved.
"The grim reality is, each case represents an individual, a person with family and friends and a future ahead of him or her," he said.
To Greg and Linda Bean, the military appears to be moving in the right direction. But they contend suicide-prevention training should include the names and phone numbers of nonprofit groups — unaffiliated with the military — that provide confidential psychological counseling to service members for free.
The military now directs those in need of help to in-house counselors, who are required to report substance abuse and suicidal behavior to commanders.
The nonprofits — among them the Soldiers Project and Give An Hour — provide an alternative for service members fearful of jeopardizing their careers by admitting they have a problem, the Beans said. Soldiers who are geographically dispersed — members of the Individual Ready Reserve like Coleman Bean, for instance — also would benefit, they said.
"We didn't even know these groups existed," Greg Bean said. "Soldiers don't know about them because the military doesn't tell anybody about them. But what we've discovered since Coleman's death is that there are really good people who want to treat these young men and women."
The Beans said they don't know if their son would have sought out counseling with such groups. But they hope others do.
"If even one more life can be saved," Greg Bean said, "then what we're saying is important."
Continue reading Military suicides: Sayreville Army veteran is haunted by thoughts of suicide, panic attacks
|Military suicides: U.S. soldiers struggle with torment of war