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America's latest controversy -- turtle fences
 Turtle fence along US 31. (Source: WoodTV) 2007.10.25
With American foreign policy in a shambles, our war spending beyond comprehension, this week our elected officials decided to argue about ... turtles.
Michigan has started construction on a fence to keep turtles off of US Highway 31. Republican congressman Peter Hoekstra believes it's a waste of taxpayer money[1].
(Perhaps he believes the 300k could be better put to use in buying a bolt for a jet in Iraq. In the state vs federal power debate, I often favor state rights over federal. I love the following rebuttal. -- Tometheus (talk) 13:00, 28 October 2007 (CDT))
- Your elected leaders in Lansing have not had the luxury you have had of repeatedly rubberstamping unbalanced federal budgets. In fact, the federal budgets of the past several years have grown at an average annual rate of more than seven percent since 2002, while Michigan's general fund spending was lower in 2007 than it was in 2002. With all due respect, I do not believe your state budget advice would advance our state budget or economic climates.
- -- Governor Granholm[2]
Brian Dickerson points this out[3]:
- In reality, Hoekstra's alarm is about as genuine as Claude Rains' shock at discovering that gambling was going on in Humphrey Bogart's Casablanca café.
- As Michigan transportation officials pointed out in a more private exchange of letters with Hoekstra in 2005, federal restrictions he and his congressional colleagues approved require each state to spend a portion of its highway money on nonconstruction projects -- and specifically suggest wildlife preservation as an appropriate use of such funds.
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Recent News
Drunken fishermen have all the luck
2007.10.20
Another albino tortoise showed up in India this week.
- A rare white tortoise was brought by an inebriated fisherman to a person in Warangal, India two days back. People rushed to visit the tortoise saying that it was a sign of kurmavataram (Tortoise posture) of Lord Vishnu.
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Exploding Turtles, Oh my!
2007.10.12
Ross Stores is recalling about 1,800 turtle-shaped sprinklers.
- Hazard: The turtle’s body can fill with water, causing it to crack or explode, posing a laceration hazard to consumers.
Talk about shell shock! (What? You didn't like the pun? Too overused? OK, OK I'll try harder next time.)
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Become a sea turtle!
2007.10.09
Every tuesday from 10:30-11:30am bring your hatchlings(2-4yrs) to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center for Turtle Tales, an hour of turtle inspired stories and crafts.
I wish I could go! (Well, except for the hatchlings part. I just want to hear the turtle tales. The book they're doing next is already on my Amazon Wishlist. *hint*) However, I'm seriously disappointed no transformation is actually occurring! :(
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Two Headed Turtle Confusion
 The turtle on the Late Show I'd like to clear up some confusion.
A video has (re)surfaced this week of a two-headed turtle on the Late Show. This video is from February and is not to be confused with the recent turtles in the news from Geneva, PA or NY. Apparently someone did a 'net search after hearing about the PA one in the news, found the old video, and believed it was the new turtle.
You may return to your regularly scheduled programming now.
-- Tometheus (talk) 17:05, 7 October 2007 (CDT)
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Rhythmbits - New Dancing Turtle Robot from Tomy
2007.10.04
Following on the success of Walkiebits, Tomy has released Rhythmbits
They look like Walkiebits, but are manipulated by infrared light from a nearby controller. This controller differentiates high sounds from low sounds and commands the turtles accordingly.
They come in six colors and are priced at 1,575 yen (US$13.61). (From the video it appears you can customize the shells.)
more>>
webpage>> (Japanese, with a short video)
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Twin-turtle Shell Shock
 DUAL CONTROLS: Jekyll & Hyde, conjoined diamondback turtles found at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, share six legs and a shell. --New York Post 2007.10.02
Another conjoined turtle in the news this week, this time a Diamondback Turtle found in Queens.
- The conjoined diamondback turtles, barely bigger than a thumbnail, were found 12 days ago at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens, said Hofstra University Associate Professor of Biology Russell Burke.
- Jekyll & Hyde "is a really weird animal" with six legs, two heads, two tails and one shell, he said.
- Chemical pollution could be responsible for the mutation, but the most likely explanation is "it happened completely naturally - because every reproduction event is a toss of the dice," Burke said.
- --New York Post
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2007.09.28, 13:56 (CDT)
 Sept. 26: The two-headed red slider turtle, held by store manager Jay Jacoby at Big Al's Aquarium Supercenter in East Norriton, Pa. -Fox News The biggest turtle news this week is that another two-headed turtle has shown up this week.
- A two-headed red slider turtle was at Big Al's Aquarium Supercenter. With all of the oddities inside the store, the turtle could almost fit into a sideshow department, NBC 10's Doug Shimell reported.
- The yet-to-be-named turtle has two heads on opposite sides of its shell, four front legs, two back legs and a combined tail. -MSNBC
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Stephen Colbert's Favorite Turtle Missing After Great Race
2007.09.19, 04:43 pm ET
Shortly after snagging 2nd place in the Great Turtle Race, the leatherback turtle "Stephanie Coburtle" went missing and she has been "offline" for more than 100 days, it was announced today.
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Albino Turtle Draws Visitors at Indian Zoo
 Yellow turtle at Nandana Kanan Zoo. 2007.09.13
Now here's a case where being a mutant gets you worshiped instead of ostracized.
- “We got to know that villagers were worshipping a special creature at Pakhimunda village near Satyabadi in Puri district during December last year. When we went there, we found that the creature, being worshipped is a turtle, which is yellow in colour,” [...] Wildlife experts believed the turtle lacked excess melanin for which it turned yellowish with soft shell.
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