Steve Fossett, who went missing in a light plane last September has now been declared dead.
Steve Fossett declared dead February 16, 2008 - 12:20PM
A Chicago judge has declared US millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett legally dead, five months after his aircraft disappeared over the Nevada desert.
Fossett was a record-setting balloonist, sailor and pilot who completed nonstop flights around the world.
He vanished in September after taking off in a light aircraft, and a long search produced no trace of him.
A judge heard testimony today from Fossett's wife, Peggy, and a family friend and from a search and rescue expert before deciding there was sufficient evidence to declare him dead.
Fossett earned millions of dollars trading futures and options on Chicago exchanges.
Lawyers representing his estate had filed a petition to have him declared legally dead so his assets could be distributed according to his will.
Friend Suzanne Bellamy says the crocodile attack was a turning point in Dr Plumwood's life.
"Being attacked by the crocodile - that in a sense did bring a moment of consciousness for her on a personal level - that the human race could be prey, and we had forgotten this in this incredible intellectual arrogance in separation from nature," she said.
The 68-year-old spent the last 40 years actively campaigning to protect Australian forests and was a fellow of the Australian Research Council at the Australian National University.
Ms Bellamy says Dr Plumwood left a great legacy.
"Val was a real original thinker, a puncher of a hole through conventions," she said.
"I'd say that she would want to be remembered primarily as a philosopher - as a great Western philosopher - ...and as a women that is not an easy thing to be.
"But on the level of philosophy - she unpicked the Western patriarchal tradition that has lead us to the place where the planet is in danger
"It's just the beginning really of remembering Val."
Police say there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding her death.
Sad news today with the passing of Arthur C Clarke Extract from sbs world news article....
Sci-Fi writer Clarke dies at 90 Wednesday, 19 March, 2008
Arthur C Clarke was the author of more than 100 books (Getty) Groundbreaking science fiction writer Arthur C Clarke, the author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, has died in Sri Lanka at the age of 90. Mr Clarke wrote more than 100 books on space, science and the future, and in 1945 predicted the creation of communication satellites. Arthur C Clarke was born in England on December 16, 1917, and served as a radar specialist in the Royal Air Force during World War II. He was one of the first to suggest the use of satellites orbiting the earth for communications, and in the 1940s forecast that man would reach the moon by the year 2000 - an idea experts at first dismissed as rubbish. Mr Clarke had finished reviewing the final manuscript of his latest novel The Last Theorem just days ago.
Raymond Leblanc, the Belgian publisher behind the global rise of Tintin's comic-book adventures, has died at the age of 92, the company he founded said.
Lombard editions paid tribute to "the qualities of the man and of the shrewd publisher who contributed to recognition of animated books as the ninth art.
"In launching the 'Tintin journal' and the innumerable paper heroes it gave rise to, he goes down as one of the essential figures behind the international boom in French-Belgian comic-books."
A resistance fighter during the Second World War, Leblanc convinced Tintin's artistic creator Georges Remi to launch a periodical for the young. Herge had encountered difficulty publishing his work during the war.
The iconic boy reporter character had first appeared in 1929, with 12 books already under Herge's name, but the association with Leblanc saw Tintin become the hero of a fortnightly magazine born in 1946 to immediate success.
Leblanc's simultaneous creation of the Lombard publishing house, aimed at readers "from seven to 77," met rapid growth as Tintin's success expanded.
Today, a a giant statue of the character at their Brussels base is classed as a national monument.
Translated into 60 languages, the animated books still sell upwards of two million copies per year.
Legendary Hollywood actor Charlton Heston has died at his Beverley Hills home, aged 84.
Heston's family said in a statement that the actor famed for his "tough guy" roles, who had been battling Alzheimer's disease in recent years, died with his wife of 64 years Lydia at his side.
Heston was best-known for playing heroic and Biblical characters, particularly his Oscar-winning performance in the 1959 epic Ben Hur.
In 1950, he played Marc Antony in the film Julius Caesar and in 1956, he played Moses in the Film The Ten Commandments.
"To his loving friends, colleagues and fans, we appreciate your heartfelt prayers and support," the Heston family said in a statement.
"Charlton Heston was seen by the world as larger than life. He was known for his chiselled jaw, broad shoulders and resonating voice, and, of course, for the roles he played.
"Indeed, he committed himself to every role with passion, and pursued every cause with unmatched enthusiasm and integrity.
"We knew him as an adoring husband, a kind and devoted father, and a gentle grandfather, with an infectious sense of humour. He served these far greater roles with tremendous faith, courage and dignity.
"He loved deeply, and he was deeply loved.
"No one could ask for a fuller life than his. No man could have given more to his family, to his profession, and to his country. In his own words, 'I have lived such a wonderful life! I've lived enough for two people.'"
Heston was also a commanding figure as president of the influential National Rifle Association lobbying group in the US.
As an actor, I loved Charlton Heston BUT his 'right to bear arms' and civil rights views in real life, were IMHO bizarre. Bless his family and thank you Mr.Heston for giving us some of the greatest moments of the Silver screen!
Stanley Kamel, who played Tony Shalhoub's on-screen psychiatrist Dr. Charles Kroger on the television series Monk, has died of a suspected heart attack. He was 65.
"The Daily Telegraph has just about run out of adjectives to capture the incompetence of these Macquarie St state-stranglers. For now, we'll limit it to three: deceitful, callous and irresponsible." - Editorial, Wednesday November 12, 2008
Logged
I loved that actor, especially in Monk. 
