Politics News

Eric Castro asked:


If you live in northern latitudes, say higher than 30°N, chances are you are not expecting warm days now, right? Well, escaping the cold, and heading for warm days, seems to be the trend worldwide. Of course, Galápagos is not just one more tropical destination. It is one of the most amazing National Parks and Marine Reserve, where the best wildlife encounters happen. But, really what makes Galápagos so special in these months? Here are some expedition highlights for you to consider, and remember, they only happen at this time of the year.

The last month of the year, and the first month of the new year, are some of the best transition months in Galápagos. The weather has changed, and the islands’ waters have warmed up, vegetation has started to become green, and wildlife is adapting to such changes. Land-depending species become quite active as their breeding starts, while that of the sea-depending species starts to slow down. Galápagos land birds, including Darwin’s finches, have started to reproduce. Watch how their courtship and nesting happens. There are only four months of the year that can be called transitional months: December, January, April and May. These months are worth calling “Satisfaction guaranteed”.

Our rewarding itineraries include outstanding sites like Bartolomé, Genovesa, Santa Cruz, Española, Isabela, and Fernandina. Right here, and more so at this time of the year, snorkel next to the only tropical penguin on Earth, witness the amazing courtship of the great frigatebirds, see giant tortoises roaming the volcanic landscape of Galápagos, walk among blue-footed boobies, plunge next to young sea lions which are just learning to swim, and explore the shores where the most numerous colony of marine iguanas are found.

Enjoy the arrival of the warm waters from the north. Snorkel and swim next to penguins and sea lions with no need to freeze in the water. Tropical fishes abound too. December and January’s weather is quite remarkable, as most days are sunny, but not overwhelmingly hot. Breathtaking sunrises and sunsets. It is all picture perfect.

Marine iguanas have just developed the most colorful mix of colors for a reptile: emerald green, red and black. Best sightings happen at Española, Santa Cruz, and Fernandina Islands. Observe how males establish ownership by acting territorial to other individuals. Land iguanas on Isabela Island have developed bright yellow colors, which next to light brown and reddish blotches, make these reptiles the most attractive of the arid zone. Their mating season has just started. Green sea turtles show the highest curiosity of the year to snorkelers. Best locations to look for this unique behavior includes Bartolomé and Fernandina Islands.

For more information about Galapagos Cruises & Tours visit:

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Neil M asked:


Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, said today that most germans felt ashamed. Is she right?

Edward McKinney asked:


An ancient blessing on black Americans will take full effect in 2009. Thousands of years ago God had placed a blessing on black Israelites through Jeremiah. It was not to come about until a certain number of years expired. Those years will have expired in 2009. There might be a spectacular manifestation of God’s blessing as two black men, Barack Obama and Colin Powell, ascend to the very top of national and world power.

God’s 2500-year span for Israel and Judah

Standard lengths of Biblical dispersions have been 2500 and 390 years. This information is not new.

Researchers have already noted that the modern nation of Israel (Judea) began to form after the Balfour Declaration in 1917, which was 2500 was years after Jews were dispersed in 583 BC. Researchers have also noted that the United States began in 1776, which was 2500 years after Old Testament Israel was dispersed in 724 BC.

Applying the 2500-year dispersion to the black experience

Researchers have always applied the 2500-year span to the white experience. I believe I am adding completely unique and original information to studies of the 2500-year span by applying it to the black experience. This information provides the Biblical significance of Barack Obama’s meteoric success in his campaign for the White House. Obama would not have been successful if God had forgotten the blessing that He had made to black Israelites through Jeremiah.

Refreshing your memory about the 2500-year span

The Israelite capital of Samaria was built in 880 BC. Israelites were dispersed by God to be without a homeland for 2500 years. Those 2500 years ended in exactly 1620 when Pilgrims built the Plymouth Colony in the New Testament Promised Land of North America.

The people of Israel had lost their nation in 724 BC after their defeat by Assyria. God set a span of years for them to go without a nation. Exactly 2500 years later, in 1776, New Testament Israel won a war of independence and again became a nation.

The 2500-year blessing on black Israelites

My study explains the timely rise of black Americans to the top leadership positions in New Testament Israel (USA). Their rise was set to occur in 2009, which seems to be the year Barack Obama will become President or Vice President of the United States. It appears that God will make a spectacular and welcomed manifestation of a blessing He once pronounced through the prophet Jeremiah.

In order to comprehend black Israelite history, you need to review the Books of Kings and recognize the distinction between Israel and Judah. Israelites left the Promised Land when Assyrians dispersed them in 724 BC. Jews were dispersed by Babylonians over a hundred years later.

A black Remnant was left behind

In my opinion, Assyrians and Babylonians ignored black and white laborers when they sought captives to take back to their countries. The Biblical account seems to indicate that captors took only nobility and highly skilled artisans. Everyone else was left behind. I think that many black and white laborers remained in the Promised Land after wealthy Israelites and Jews were taken captive. Jeremiah called them the Remnant.

The government in Jerusalem had remained for over a hundred years after Assyrians took the Israelite government away. So, for a while the government in Jerusalem protected the Remnant from raiders. But, after Jewish leaders were taken captive by Babylonians, the remaining government was gone. Police protection was gone. The black Remnant was left without protection from hostile tribes that stole their harvests and burned their homes. So, they decided to give up on the Promised Land and move to Egypt, which was part of Africa.

Jeremiah’s promise of a blessing for the Remnant

The prophet Jeremiah was dispatched by God to announce a double-edged blessing for black Israelites. Essentially God said that He intended to make the black Remnant into a great nation. The Remnant would have become a world empire if it had remained in the Promised Land. I hope nobody passes up an opportunity like that again.

God essentially said, “We can do this the short way or we can do this the long way (Jeremiah 42-45). Either way, you are going to be my people and I am going to bless you.”

The Remnant decided to do it the long way and they proceeded into Egypt and Africa. The Remnant also decided to continue to celebrate Ishtar (Easter) and make Easter cakes. They didn’t want to give up pagan observations. If a lesson were to be learned, it would be to drop the pagan aspects of the Resurrection celebration.

It must have been a spectacle to behold. Jeremiah was a blue-eyed white man according to an account written by the Jewish Princess Tephi. He probably stood on a rock to address the Remnant and announce God’s blessings. I assume Jeremiah was very disappointed when the Remnant chose to proceed to Egypt/Africa. In retrospect we see that the blessing to the Remnant was postponed for the same 2500-year span that had been applied to those Israelites who had been taken captive by Assyrians. We shall see that additional time was added. Eventually, God’s blessing would take effect in 2009.

God’s blessing is becoming apparent as the year 2009 approaches. Amazingly enough, another blue-eyed white man is addressing black Americans and reminding them that God is keeping His promise and will now bless them. The elections of Barack Obama and Colin Powell are proof that God is keeping his word.

Black American researchers have believed that Isaiah 45:14 was a prophecy of African slaves brought to America. I will add my belief that God brought His wayward Remnant back to Him when slave ships landed in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. Recall that Israelites who had once been taken captive by Assyrians had completed their 2500-year dispersion in 1620? Normally, the Remnant would have also finished their dispersion in 1620. But, God added time to the Remnant because they had once refused to return to the Promised Land. The time that was added matched standard Biblical lengths.

If you are doing the math as you read along, you need to understand that the year 1619 is the same as 1620. This is because spans of years from one date to another can be figured inclusively and exclusively. Plus, Old Testament Israelites used the Hebrew Calendar, which began in September. The point is that 1619 and 1620 can be reckoned to be the same year.

An additional 250-year span

You might ask why the Remnant continued as slaves after the 2500-year curse ended in 1620. The answer is that God had told the Remnant they would lose their connection to Him. This disconnection happened over time. The Remnant blended into African populations and lost its connection to God and the Promised Land.

Because the Remnant became disconnected from the true God, it had to be reconnected. This is where an additional 250-year span came in. Disobedient forefathers in the time of Jeremiah had condemned their descendants to an additional 10% (2500 x 10%=250). During this additional 250-year period the Remnant reconnected to the God their ancient ancestors had forsaken.

This additional 250-year span ended in 1868 when black men were finally given American citizenship as a result of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. By 1868, the Remnant had thoroughly reconnected with God and God rewarded them with citizenship in their New Testament Promised Land. What’s more, black Americans have become champions of Christianity. In contrast, many white Americans are dangerously drifting from God. White Americans ought to consider the severe punishment that God has had for backsliders.

390 years and God’s fulfilled promises

The Remnant had another span of time to fulfill before they could rise to the blessing God had promised them. God said He would make the Remnant a great people. In retrospect we see that God‘s promise would come about 390 years after they arrived in Jamestown in 1620. That would be 2009. In 2009, when Barack Obama takes office, we will see that God did indeed keep His promise. And it would not surprise me to find that both Barack Obama and Colin Powell are the descendants of the very leaders to whom Jeremiah promised this blessing at the time of the dispersion (Diaspora).

In Ezekiel 4, we see that God applied a 390-year time span to Israelites. It is now apparent that the 390-year span was applied to the Remnant. The Remnant had been brought back to God in 1619/1920. But, it would not be for another 390 years that the blessing would take full effect. After 390 years, which will be exactly 2009, God will raise black leaders up to the height of power in God’s great nation. God had promised the Remnant through Jeremiah that He would do this- and we are about to see God fulfill His promise in 2009 in a spectacular way.

Barack Obama is the champion of the Democratic Party and Colin Powell will become the champion of the Republican Party. It appears that a black person will henceforth be in the White House simply to capture the black vote in every future presidential election.

I brought up the 2500-year span for Judah. I believe when we see that the 2500-year time span for Judah was fulfilled, we will be assured that the 390-year time span for black Americans will be fulfilled.

Researchers have noted that a 2500-year time span applied to Judah. In 533 BC some Jews had returned to Jerusalem after their Babylonian captivity. 2500 years later, in 1969, they took possession of the City of Jerusalem after the 6-day War.

40 years, Ezekiel and Ethiopian Jews

In Ezekiel 4, we see that God applied a 40-year time span to Judah. This is in contrast to the 390-year span applied to Israelites. These are actually positive and beneficial years for Black Jews and Black Israelites. They are years of reconnection to God that end in great blessings.

Black Israelites: Ezekiel 4:5 I have assigned you the same number of days as the years of their sin. So for 390 days you will bear the sin of the house of Israel.

Black Jews: Ezekiel 4:6 “After you have finished this, lie down again, this time on your right side, and bear the sin of the house of Judah. I have assigned you 40 days, a day for each year.

A 40-year reconnection process for Black Jews began in 1969 when an explorer discovered a large population of Black Orthodox Jews in Ethiopia and brought them to world attention. In that same year, the first of a serious of efforts began to connect Ethiopian Jews to the modern nation of Israel. In 1969 Dr. Graenum Berger founded the American Association for Ethiopian Jews. Since that year, investigators declared Ethiopian Jews to be blood descendants ancient Jews. Remnant Jews began migration back to the Promised Land.

We see Ezekiel’s 40-year time span between 1969 and 2009. The 390-year span that was applied to Remnant Israelites will have run concurrent to the 40-year span applied to Remnant Jews. Both spans will end in 2009.

You might ask why Black Jews faired better than Black Israelites when it came to lengths of time spans. One reason might be that the Remnant in Ethiopia continued to worship God and retained its identity. In contrast, Remnant Israelites totally disconnected from God and lost their identity. This necessitated a painful reconnection period. Slavery was utilized as a means to cleanse Remnant Israelites and to acculturate them. Unlike Remnant Israelites, Ethiopian Jews have had no need to be acculturated.

Can all this be true? I don’t think the experiences of Black Jews and Black Israelites, in light of Ezekiel’s prophecies, can be dismissed as pure coincidence. Plus, the experience of white Jews and white Israelites blends in perfectly. Time spans and dates are too exact to be coincidental. Of course, there are always atheists and racist religious leaders that are emotionally motivated to “disprove” anything that substantiates prophecy and/or elevates the status of Black people.

What is the message and the moral?

The message is that God controls everything He wants to control, including presidential elections. If you think the election of Barack Obama and Colin Powell are God‘s decisions, you are right. If you think the return of Jews to Jerusalem was God‘s decision, you are right. And the Bible clearly states that Palestinians and Jews will live in peace. That now seems impossible but prophecy states it will happen.

The moral of this research is that Christians and Jews, whether black or white, had better remain close to God and do what He tells them to do. Also, do not adopt foreign religions, pagan practices and atheism. 2500 years is a long time to wander the earth as prey to other people. It is a long time to be without a place to call home. Chains of love can be miserable, even when they are God’s chains.

Do the math

I am including the math for your convenience and I hope you will search the Internet for related information provided by other researchers.

Judah White:

583 BC Diaspora + 2500 = 1917 Balfour Declaration & return of Jews.

533 BC Reenter Jerusalem + 2500 = Jews Reenter Jerusalem after 6-Day War.

Judah Black:

1969 AD Orthodox Ethiopians Discovered + 40 = 2009

Israel White:

880 BC Samaria built + 2500 = 1620 Pilgrims built Plymouth Colony.

724 BC Israelites lost nation + 2500 = 1776 Americans became a nation.

Israel Black:

1620 Slaves from Africa + 250 = 1868 14th Amendment citizenship.

1619 + 390 = 2009 Election of Barack Obama to White House.

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Breonna Isabela asked:


As far as speed of any car is concerned, it can be said that the suspension bushes are one of the vital components of your car. You can find them in your car at all points where the vehicle chassis is joined to a moving suspension component. They serve a very important function in the car. They are a noise and vibration absorbing barrier between the road and you.

Now, if I say that suspension bushes act like a noise and vibration absorbing barrier between the road and you, then what does it mean. It means that if you are moving in your car and you get a smooth riding feel then you may understand that these components are working properly. This is their function that you don’t feel exhausted while riding your car and your car stay healthy after a long drive.

It has been observed that suspension bushes are made up of rubber. It may be because rubber acts as sound barrier which damps out noise and vibration. Your car may feel much harsher and noisier these suspension bushes. They serve multi-purpose functions so that the speed and smoothness of your car may be sustained for a long time.

Your car needs to have a great control over the road and suspension bushes help in achieving it. It improves your car’s road grip, road holding and chassis performance by controlling the amount of unwanted bend in the suspension and it ensures that the tyres of your car have greater contact with the road at all times. This particular function helps in improving safety, speed, smoothness and overall performance of your car.

Because suspension bushes are the highly stressed components fitted to your car so they need proper maintenance. In the absence of such maintenance they may become weaker which may cause braking instability, accelerated tyre wear and poor handling. This is really bad for the overall health of your car which may lower its speed, mileage and car performance.

Car experts advise to use good quality suspension bushes and to replace them whenever needed.

David Castro asked:


Every smart business owner knows that innovation is what keep their businesses alive when it comes to the cash flow field. Starting up a small business and being successful requires a strong conviction in yourself. If you too have some intelligent ideas that you want to give shot to but are lacking the funds necessary, then you should choose the best alternative to the traditional bank loan: the unsecured small business loan to help your business stay afloat.

Swift business owners that have in mind business expansions, buying new equipment, paying for advertising or simply paying off debt will like to get the funds without putting any of their assets as guarantee. So for that to happen, these unsecured loans seem to be the perfect idea. Since these unsecured loans often involve smaller amounts, there are no requirements for borrowers to pledge any assets with the lending institution. This means a completely no-risk situation for the business owner and thereby be a very suitable funding opportunity.

Through unsecured loans, the business owners can take up the funds for any purposes that arise in their small business, any needs like payroll, packaging of finished goods, buying inventory, purchase of new and more efficient equipment, etc can all be fulfilled with the unsecured funding options these lenders provide small business owners with.

Here are some reasons why you should choose an unsecured loan:
-No personal collateral required.
-No great credit history is required.
-There are No fixed monthly payments.
-Fast funding process, you will receive the money in as little as 7 days.
-There will be No UCC1 fillings on your business.
-The payments are automated from future credit card sales (small percentage until payback is completed)

The business owner while taking up these loans should rather do proper research for their lending options. It is very important to verify the reputation of the lender as there should be no problems on the lender side, a good way to make sure of this is to make sure they are supported by the better business bureau. Also, research can help you, as the business owner to get lower rate deals as the unsecured lending market is getting more competitive every day.

Even with a poor credit history, business owners may
still qualify for unsecured loans, even keeping rates that are charged for them on the funds the same. Now day’s business owners can even apply online for their small business loans.

With small business loans, as a business owner, you can get funds for your plans and aspirations very easily. No personal collateral will be required for the money and poor credit won’t be an obstruction.

In order to get the funds your business needs, you shouldn’t wait any longer to apply, and the process will be very fast and simple. The best option you have is applying online, there’s no obligation for you to see the exact amount your business qualifies for. You’ll be glad you applied for an unsecured business loan.

James Opiko asked:


“Obama biro, yawne yo!” (Obama is coming, clear the way)—Tens of thousands of cheering Luo “Tribesmen” and ululating women screamed as they welcomed Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) back to his father’s ancestral land—Nyangoma Kogelo village in Luo Land, Western Kenya, several weeks ago.

In a matter of hours Obama had soared to unprecedented political prominence in Kenya, eclipsing a bunch of corrupt and heartless nincompoops—The (Mt. Kenya Mafia), who are ruthlessly grinding beautiful Kenya to the ground.

The only difference between the Mt. Kenya Mafia and the current U.S. Republican administration, is that the former have brought Kenya down to it’s “Economic Knees,” while it’s virtually impossible for George Bush’s government to bring down the mighty economy of the United States, no matter how much they misappropriate it’s coffers by way of inflated Iraq reconstruction contracts or Katrina FEMA trailers. Otherwise both groups employ similar schemes – exploiting and manipulating ethnic (racial) intolerance and promoting rampant corruption—a bunch of “cold-blooded” louts.

The six year cesspool of a mess presided over by the Bush administration might not be in vain after all. It has made America hungry for a messenger with a message of hope.

In the NBC “Meet The Press” interview of Sunday 22nd October, I watched Senator Obama intimate that—based on the responses he has been receiving across the country, he is considering running for the presidency of The United States in 2008.

What impressed me most about him is how he tackled the question regarding his previous assertion in 2004—that he would complete his six year Senate term and not run for President in 2008: “I have thought about the possibility, but I have not thought about it with the seriousness and depth I think is required,” Obama said. “My main focus is on 2006, and making sure that we re-take the Congress. After November 7th, I will sit down and consider it.”

Unlike the shifty, programmed, and selfishly partisan politicians I am used to watching on Sunday morning political TV, Barack Obama countered Tim Russert’s questions with poise, spontaneity and most important, he seemed very genuine.

In a political system muddied and tainted by arrogance, corruption and incompetence, watching and listening to Obama is inordinately refreshing.

In Obama I see an intelligent and capable man, unlike the current President who constantly reminds me of an unprepared and confused “open book, open notes” exam taker, badly rehearsed and totally incapable of articulating his views without the stewardship of his father’s cronies, Karl Rove his “Political Architect” and a bone breaking conglomeration of “Hyena” special interest groups.

Obama’s apparent good human qualities added to the fact that he is a great American story, makes the Senator a very attractive prospect for the ultimate prize in politics—The Presidency of The United States.

Is Obama Presidential material?

Many cite his lack of political experience, claiming his resume is too thin for a run at the Presidency. I disagree and here is why:

1. Unlike other black leaders, Obama doesn’t grind “white noses” in Racism, and at the same time he is a symbol of hope to millions of dis-affected blacks and other minorities.

Judging by his Senatorial election win of a 70% majority, Obama has proven that he is a very powerful vote magnet across racial lines. He has established an “inclusive” track record that would be vital in a presidential election if he decides to run. His candidacy would draw out millions of dormant black voters thus making the Democratic candidacy more viable.

On the flipside, we all know that there are some whites such as the right wing gutter constituents of con-man Rush Limbaugh, who will forever embrace Racism and will never accept a black president. A President Obama would mark the beginning of the placement this irritant breed to the fringes of political obscurity.

2. He is NOT a bumbling idiot, appears humble and has not been tainted with partisan politics. Perhaps even more important is that he is a confident intellectual, which I think is a necessary pre-requisite for handling the complex issues of the highest political office in the world.

3. The last Republican President who had some smarts was the foul-mouthed bigot—Richard Milhouse Nixon, who engineered his own downfall with a lethal concoction of homophobia, anti-Semitism, anti-black and “Communist Paranoia.” As a matter of fact Nixon’s political career spanned three decades of scare mongering, witch-hunts and dirty tricks, the same tactics that have been successfully deployed by the current administration over the last six years.

All others after him have been bumbling buffoons with slight exceptions in George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan.

Reagan the Serial Liar who made Americans feel good about themselves, was not only ill informed but partially senile towards the end of his second term – not particularly smart, but a great “Political Actor,” whose major achievements included presiding over the disintegration of the Soviet Empire (which was inevitable anyway), misuse of the World Bank and funding of CIA death squads to safeguard the corporate thievery by US multinational companies in Latin American countries…. and the worst in my opinion; propping the racist Apartheid regime in South Africa.

The “Great Communicator” was just another Republican crook!

Bill Clinton and John Kennedy did not have that much experience. Abraham Lincoln ran after two years in the House, Woodrow Wilson after two years as governor, and Franklin D. Roosevelt & Jimmy Carter after four years as governor.

Perhaps Dr. Martin Luther King summed it up best in his “The Drum Major Instinct” sermon delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, February 4, 1968 – He said: “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve…. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant,” qualities that are thoroughly lacking in the Republican base – the “self-chosen” people of “Faith.”

If the Democrats nominate Hillary Clinton, a very polarizing Democrat, the Republican smear spigots will spill out of control and flood the whole country to an extent that the Katrina calamity will look like a storm in a teacup. On the other hand, an Obama nomination would fuel vicious racial and below the belt “Nyangau” attacks from the right wing, like the slime being spewed by Republican troglodytes against black Democrat Harold Ford Jr. in the Tennessee, or by incumbent Senator George “Macaca” Allen in Virginia.

I wonder if Senator Obama has the stomach for such personal and racist attacks—a GOP staple!

Colin Powell assessed these circumstances in 2000 and chickened out, and subsequently dimmed his star serving in this ham-fisted administration for four years before being pushed out in favor of “yes-woman” Condoleezza Rice. It is rumored that he feared political assassination.

Will Obama follow through or is his potential candidacy just hype?

It is time for America to put it’s Racist legacy behind it, to re-assess its future, and take a closer look at this rising star, for I think Barack Obama is ready—to cleanse the “maligned” soul of America.

Breonna Isabela asked:


While driving a car we enjoy it if we get a smooth driving feel otherwise it is arduous and painful. A car with bad suspension can leave you in really bad physical condition. You may feel body pain after the driving and what more this is dangerous for the overall health of your car. The suspension system of your car should always remain in excellent mechanical conditions and for that best quality suspension bushes are required.

In fact, suspension bushes are those components of your car that are fitted at all points where the car chassis is joined to a moving suspension component. They are in your car for a very significant function because they act like a noise and vibration absorbing barrier. They work between the road and you so that your car does not experience harsh jerking while it moves. It is essential that they remain in a good condition so that you can get a smooth riding feel while driving your car.

These suspension bushes are generally made up of rubber and it acts as sound barrier which damps out noise as well as vibration. Your car would feel coarser and unpleasant without them because their functionalities are multi-faceted. They take the load of your car and the fast speed of your car is also due to these components. It really feels bad when your new car starts showing signs of an old car which may be due to the defective suspension bushes.

Their functions are very important as they improve your car’s road holding, road grip and chassis performance and they control the amount of unwanted bend in the suspension. This function ensures that the tyres of your car have greater contact with the road at all times which helps in maintaining the safety and performance of your car. Sometimes, these components work in rough conditions with no maintenance or lubrication at all and so they deteriorate and grow worse fast.

Due to this situation they need extra care and maintenance. It is essential that you are using best quality suspension bushes and replacing it immediately as soon as it needed.

Elana asked:


He was simply perpetuating the “mutually assured destruction”
technologies of previous presidencies going back to Truman.
Communism fell apart due to running out of money (much of
which was going to its military) and dissidents (such as Lech
Walesa) from within. How does Reagan get the credit?
FYI, Starwars had nothing to do with this
as *NONE* of it had been implemented by
the time the last of the communist countries
that have fallen fell.

It comes down to military spending.

What ELSE did he do other then the
usual investing in military technology?

joansie34 asked:


I have two larger, older bushes, and they both only flowered a little towards the top of the bush. I was told to prune them back and I did a few years ago but I might not have done it right cause it didn’t make any differance the next year or any year after. Is there a special way to prune them or something else entirly to do to make them flower?

Eric Castro asked:


The inhabitants are between two and three hundred in number; they are nearly all people of colour, who have been banished for political crimes from the Republic of the Equator, of which Quito is the capital. The settlement is placed about four and a half miles inland, and at a height probably of a thousand feet. In the first part of the road we passed through leafless thickets, as in Chatham Islands at Galapagos Islands.

Higher up, the woods gradually became greener; and as soon as we crossed the ridge of the Galapagos islands, we were cooled by a fine southerly breeze, and our sight refreshed by a green and thriving vegetation. In this upper region coarse grasses and ferns abound; but there are no tree-ferns: I saw nowhere any member of the palm family, which is the more singular, as 360 miles northward, Cocos Island takes its name from the number of cocoa-nuts. The houses are irregularly scattered over a flat space of ground, which is cultivated with sweet potatoes and bananas. It will not easily be imagined how pleasant the sight of black mud was to us, after having been so long, accustomed to the parched soil of Peru and northern Chile.

The inhabitants, although complaining of poverty, obtain, without much trouble, the means of subsistence. In the woods there are many wild pigs and goats; but the staple article of animal food is supplied by the tortoises. Their numbers have of course been greatly reduced in this Galapagos islands, but the people yet count on two days’ hunting giving them food for the rest of the week. It is said that formerly single vessels have taken away as many as seven hundred, and that the ship’s company of a frigate some years since brought down in one day two hundred tortoises to the beach.

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