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I always kind of liked the Aussies, more like us Americans than our close British cousins, really. Big V-8 cars... Christian... wide open spaces... surfing, beautiful blondes... good people down there! Especially this one... No bad 'biggs' or 'down undah' jokes in a  Crocodile Dundee accent, please... respect the young (20) lady- she's a guest here! Video/more at Reaganite Republican

(Sept. 17) -- The world's koala population is being ravaged by an epidemic that would seem at odds with the animal's image as the cuddly emblem of Australia. According to researchers, 50 to 80 percent of the marsupials are infected with a disease commonly associated with human promiscuity: chlamydia. That's right, chlamydia. The situation is so dire, in fact, that experts fear the koala may become extinct in a few decades if a vaccine isn't developed.

May your soul rest in peace, Steve Irwin, because your estate certainly won’t let it. Australia Zoo, the native Australian animal reserve founded in Queensland by the late Crocodile Hunter, has decided it’s good business to keep the high-octane Irwin persona alive. Not just alive, in fact, but in rude health...and still wrestling crocodiles. Irwin was just 44 when he died in 2006 after being pierced through the heart by the barb of a stingray while shooting a marine life documentary off the Queensland coast. His death unleashed a wave of national mourning in Australia, similar in feeling (if not...

The stems of the Dollarweed form a floating mat, full of Crawdads, snails and other good stuff. The Little Blue Heron is light enough to walk all over it. I may have to trap some of those Crawdads myself!

At rail stations and shopping malls around the world, reports are popping up of people, particularly young children, getting their toes caught in escalators. The one common theme seems to be the clunky soft-soled clogs known by the name of the most popular brand, Crocs. One of the nation's largest subway systems — the Washington Metro — has even posted ads warning riders about wearing such shoes on its moving stairways. The ads feature a photo of a crocodile, though they don't mention Crocs by name. Four-year-old Rory McDermott got a Croc-clad foot caught in an escalator last month at...

A Queensland family has been fleeced of more than $1.3 million in an elaborate variation of a scam that persuades people to part with large sums of money so they can retrieve an overseas inheritance, police say. The fraud has become known as the Nigerian 419 scam. Steven Baker, a member of the Queensland family who lost up to $1.5 million, has told police he was approached by a friend who believed her father, whom she had never met, had left a $US17 million ($20.38 million) estate when he passed away. He said the woman had never met her father,...

BEERWAH, Australia - Bindi Irwin wants her new TV show to continue the educational and conservation work of her father, the late "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin. "I'm proud to be showing kids that conservation and helping wildlife is a stack of fun," the 8-year-old Bindi said Friday at the Australian launch of "Bindi: The Jungle Girl." "It's just the most amazing thing that we could ever do," she said. Producers say the show will feature Steve Irwin in scenes shot before he was killed by a stingray last fall while filming one of his popular television documentaries. Irwin's widow, Terri,...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bindi Irwin, the 8-year-old daughter of late "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin, will launch her new television series in June with her father appearing in some episodes, Discovery Kids Channel said on Tuesday. The exuberant, khaki-clad Australian naturalist and his daughter began filming the 26-part cable TV show, "Bindi: The Jungle Girl," in early 2006 with the aim of getting children more interested in wildlife conservation. Irwin, however, died last September after a stingray's serrated barb pierced his heart while he was filming scenes for a documentary off Australia's northeast coast. But after 44-year-old Irwin's death, his...

Woman Has Crocodiles Strapped to Body Mar 26 11:19 AM US/Eastern By DIAA HADID Associated Press Writer JERUSALEM (AP) - A woman with three crocodiles strapped to her waist was stopped at the Gaza-Egypt border crossing after guards noticed that she looked "strangely fat," officials said Monday. The woman's shape raised suspicions at the Rafah terminal in southern Gaza, and a body search by a female border guard turned up the animals, each about 20 inches long, concealed underneath her loose robe, according to Maria Telleria, spokeswoman for the European observers who run the crossing. "The woman looked strangely fat....

TENNIS fans told today of Croatian and Serbian supporters punching and kicking each other during a clash at the Australian Open, but also accused police of targeting ethnic groups. Up to 150 people were ejected from the showpiece tournament in Melbourne today after clashes between Croatian and Serbian fans wearing national colours. Dozens of police moved into the concourse area to break up the fight. Five Croatian fans later slammed the violence as "disgusting''. Marina, 19, Danijela, 19, Ivana, 17, Kristina, 16 and Marija, 20, all from Melbourne, who did not wish to use their last names, said they were...

LAKELAND -- Deputy Billy Osborne heard the man's cries for help but couldn't see him through the thick brush and pre-dawn darkness. " 'I have two broken arms, and an alligator's got me pinned. I can't move. Please help me,' " the Polk County deputy sheriff recalled the man saying at a news conference Wednesday. As Osborne listened, he followed the pleading voice through more than 20 yards of weeds in Lake Parker's murky, chest-deep water about 4 a.m. Then he saw them: a naked man slumped over, caught in the jaws of a huge alligator amid thick cattails in...

THE executive producer of the BBC's Planet Earth series has branded the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin a "showman" more interested in his own stardom than the animal kingdom. Alastair Fothergill launched an extraordinary attack on the Australian TV star who was killed by a stingray while making a wildlife program in September. "What Steve Irwin did for a living was as different from what we do as it's possible to get," he told the Radio Times. "Let's face it, Steve was a showman. Yes, he introduced a lot of people to natural history, but his basic stock in trade...

EIGHT-year-old Bindi Irwin was greeted with screams of support tonight as she honoured a commitment made by her father. The daughter of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin attended tonight's Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards in Sydney, making her first public appearance since her father's memorial service on September 20. At that service, Bindi Irwin pledged to continue the wildlife work of her father, who was killed by a stingray barb to the chest while filming footage for his daughter's TV series on the Great Barrier Reef on September 4. Steve Irwin had earlier agreed to attend tonight's awards ceremony so his daughter...

Reminder--Airing tonight 10PM ET/9PM Central on ABC

In the three weeks since Steve Irwin, the Australian "Crocodile Hunter," died suddenly at age 44 from a rare stingray attack, FReepers have poured out their hearts to show their great love for Irwin's infectious enthusiasm and passion for his work; his devotion to his family, his country, his friends and the public at large; and his one-of-a-kind brand of wildlife education and entertainment. His widow, Terri, and his 8-year-old daughter, Bindi, will be on U.S. television Wednesday night in an interview with Barbara Walters on ABC. His 2-year-old son, Bob, is a little too young to make an appearance...

WATCHING through teary eyes the extraordinary tribute to Steve Irwin was one of those rare occasions, like the opening and closing ceremonies of the Sydney Olympics, when what it is that makes Australians unique becomes so clear. By now the knockers, the whingers, the Lefties and the chardonnay socialists, with intellectual tickets on themselves, will have sneered and derided the event and the man. But, it was about Australian values and how we express them. Leaving aside attempts by the politically correct and minority groups to hijack and mould Australian values to their causes, what do Australians themselves believe in?...

Steve Irwin's Memorial Service to Air on Animal Planet TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, FROM 9-10 P.M. ET/PT. Get a reminder! (Silver Spring , MD) — Animal Planet is airing Steve Irwin's memorial service exclusively in the U.S., commercial-free, on Tuesday, September 19, from 9-10 p.m. ET/PT, with an encore broadcast airing 12-1 a.m. ET/PT. The memorial service, entitled Steve Irwin: He Changed Our World, will be a same-day broadcast (with a two-hour delay) of the event Wednesday morning in Australia. The public memorial service for the beloved animal conservationist and television personality is being held in the "Crocoseum," a 5,500-seat stadium...

TERRI IRWIN, the widow of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin today spoke for the first time about the loss of her "soulmate" in a freak accident off the north Queensland coast.In a statement read by her father-in-law Bob Irwin today, Mrs Irwin described her late husband as as her "soul mate" and thanked the community for their "overwhelming outpouring of love, support and prayers". Bob Irwin today announced the details of a memorial service for the larger than life conservationist and television personaility. It will be held at Australia Zoo on Queensland's Sunshine Coast next Wednesday.Irwin, 44, died last Monday when...

I WAS standing just down from the radio station 3RRR at ... in Melbourne when my phone rang.... I flipped open the batphone ... and found out that Steve Irwin was dead. I swore loudly as the moment fused, possibly forever, into memory. Something similar happened millions of times over in this country alone. Perhaps hundreds of millions of times across the world. You almost certainly remember exactly what you were doing when you heard. ... Not everyone is mourning, however. ... ... Germaine Greer pulled on her redundant fright mask and charged into print to bitchslap and rake at...

There are no plans to air video capturing the shocking death of famed "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin, but media experts predicted yesterday it will soon be circulating on the Internet.... "It shows that Steve came over the top of the ray and the tail came up, and spiked him here," said Stainton, pointing to his chest. "[Irwin] pulled it out, and the next minute he's gone." The tape shows "no evidence Mr. Irwin was threatening or intimidating the stingray," Queensland State police Superintendent Michael Keating said. While Stainton said every effort will be made to keep the video away from...

R.I.P: Steve Irwin's body isn't yet cold and already the Pecksniffs are out, tut-tutting the late crocodile hunter's risky encounters with wild beasts. They miss the point: Irwin's life was about enriching humans. Irwin, who died over the weekend after a freak attack by a stingray, did not live a riskless life. In fact, for those who've watched his Animal Planet shows, some wonder why a fatal encounter hadn't happened earlier. But it's indisputable that he mastered nature with a rare talent — a talent that took him to the edge of possibility. For the sake of the rest of...

Several posts in honor of Steve Irwin:http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2006/09/everyone_loved_.htmlhttp://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2006/09/the_good_peeps_.htmlhttp://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2006/09/favorite_austra.htmlhttp://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2006/09/goodbye_steve.htmlhttp://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2006/09/australian_anim.htmlhttp://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2006/09/australian_anim_1.html

US PRESIDENT George W. Bush yesterday led a wave of tributes to Steve Irwin as details emerged about the freak accident that led to the Crocodile Hunter's death. A White House spokesman said the President had been saddened by Irwin's death. Mr Bush met him in October 2003 at a barbecue at The Lodge with Prime Minister John Howard. The spokesman said Mr Bush was praying for Irwin's widow, Terri, and children, Bindi and Bob. "The President and Mrs Bush are saddened by the news of his passing and their prayers are with his wife and two young children," the...

Feminist Greer slams Steve's antics By Fiona Hudson in London September 06, 2006 01:00am Article from: The Daily Telegraph AS glowing tributes and praise for Steve Irwin filled newspapers and television screens around the world, fellow Australian Germaine Greer launched a distasteful tirade on the much-loved Crocodile Hunter yesterday. Most London papers carried sympathetic news articles, features, columns and obituaries mirroring the disbelief felt in Australia. But Greer launched a scathing attack on Irwin, declaring "the animal world has finally taken its revenge". In her column in The Guardian newspaper, Greer said the wildlife warrior displayed the "sort of self-delusion...

STEVE Irwin will get a state funeral if that's what his family wants, Queensland Premier Peter Beattie says. The 44-year-old media personality and environmentalist conservationist died yesterday when a stingray barb punctured his heart while he was filming a nature documentary off the coast of Port Douglas in north Queensland.

OK, here's a thread where all the Steve Irwin bashers can post away to their hearts content. Please leave the threads titled "In Memory..." or "Tribute to..." alone. Not every single thread about Steve Irwin on FR has to include the incident of him holding his son in the croc enclosure, a mention of Darwin, and/or the word "Fool" Sometimes the old saying is true "If you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all."

Irwin family offered state funeralSTEVE Irwin will get a state funeral if that's what his family wants, Queensland Premier Peter Beattie says. The 44-year-old media personality and environmentalist died yesterday when a stingray barb punctured his heart while he was filming a nature documentary off the coast of Port Douglas in north Queensland.... Asked if his government would honour Irwin with a state funeral, Mr Beattie replied: "We will honour Steve Irwin in whatever way his family wants." But first it was important to let his wife Terry and two young children, who recently returned to Queensland from Tasmania, deal...

STEVE Irwin's grieving wife Terri will have the final say on whether footage of his last moments alive is made public. The head of the US TV company that broadcasts his show said today the film had already been handed to Queensland police preparing a report for the Coroner as fans worldwide come to grips with the freak death. Billy Campbell, the president of Discovery Networks, which owns the Animal Planet channel, said it was far too early to decide what footage viewers would see from Irwin's fatal trip on the Great Barrier Reef. Talks would take place with Terri...

See for example this thread first. I'm greatly saddened to say Steve Irwin killed by a sting ray The tail-tip dart Pierced him in the heart Rest in Peace, Steve--that's what I pray.

Steve Irwin dead at 44, diving and killed by a stingray. Survived by wife and two children, RIP. Reports: Australia’s ‘Crocodile Hunter’ Steve Irwin killed The Associated Press Monday, September 4, 2006 Brisbane, Australia — Steve Irwin, the hugely popular Australian television personality and environmentalist known as the “Crocodile Hunter,” was killed Monday by a stingray during a diving expedition, Australian media said. He was 44. Irwin was filming an underwater documentary on the Great Barrier Reef in northeastern Queensland state when the accident occurred, Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on its Web site. The Australian Broadcasting Corp. said...

<p>CROCODILE hunter Steve Irwin's reputation for single-handedly tackling crocodiles, with a constant string of ockerish gags, helped the reptile enthusiast reach worldwide fame.</p> <p>Born in Essendon, Victoria, the 44-year-old’s lifetime love of animals was inherited from his parents Bob and Lyn Irwin, both naturalists.</p>

Irwin Takes Baby to Crocodile Feeding BRISBANE, Australia - Crocodile hunter Steve Irwin took his month-old son to his first croc feeding on Friday, offering the reptile a chicken with one hand and holding the baby in the other. With a capacity crowd looking on, Irwin dangled a dead chicken before the 13-foot crocodile named Murray, which snapped up the offering. Irwin's tiny son Bob looked on from his other arm. "He's one-month-old, so it's about time Bob got out there and did his first croc demo," the Australian celebrity told the crowd at his Australian Zoo. Irwin's wife Terri,...

<p>He was killed in a freak accident in Cairns, police sources said. It is understood he was killed by a sting-ray barb that went through his chest.</p> <p>He was swimming off the Low Isles at Port Douglas filming an underwater documentary and that's when it occured.</p>

Worried callers overwhelmed the state's nuisance alligator hot line Monday as the national media seized on the news that three women had likely met their deaths in the reptiles' jaws in less than a week. The outcry started Wednesday when a 9-foot gator pulled 28-year-old jogger Yovy Suarez Jimenez into a Broward County canal. Trappers found Suarez's arms in the gator's belly when they captured it Saturday. On Sunday, friends and family pried the body of 23-year-old snorkeler Annemarie Campbell from an alligator's jaws in a lake south of Gainesville, and officials recovered the mauled body of 43-year-old Judy Cooper...

Leaping Crocodile Slams Into Car 25 minutes ago SYDNEY, Australia - This was an auto accident with a difference. A 6.5-foot saltwater crocodile leapt out of a roadside culvert and slammed into the side of a passing car, authorities said Thursday. The crocodile died in the collision and was given to local Aborigines, who ate it, said Garry Lindner, crocodile management officer at the Kakadu National Park in northern Australia. "It was probably startled and it just leaped in the wrong direction once it heard the vehicle coming," Lindner said. "The driver barely had time to respond and the (crocodile)...

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A new species of crocodile which lived 40 million years ago has been discovered in tropical Australia, filling a gap in the evolution of the prehistoric-looking crocodile, researchers said on Thursday. Two nearly complete skulls and a lower jaw of a new species of crocodile that belonged to a group called Mekosuchinae were unearthed by miners in the northern state of Queensland, said Australia's Monash University researcher Lucas Buchanan. "There is a big gap from about 30 to 60 million years ago of which we have no clue, except for these guys," Buchanan told Reuters on Thursday....

This crocodile was on the beach in front of the Petroleum club, Plage Sportive in Pointe Noire (Republic of Congo) . 21 FT long, 4,500 lbs, around 80 years old minimum. Specialists said that he was looking to eat humans because he was too old to catch animals. For the past few months in some villages close to Pointe Noire people were complaining that some people in their villages have been disappearing, could be this crocodile? This crocodile was killed by the army last Sunday at 3:00 pm, currently he is in the freezer at the Azur hotel.

Move over Siegfried and Roy. The bite of a tiger may have left Las Vegas punters horrified, but creatures with even bigger jaws are likely to make their way to Vegas. Steve Irwin is planning to turn his Crocodile Hunter series into a Vegas spectacular, complete with live crocodiles and other animals. The mega-rich television adventurer, who also appeared in his own feature film, has decided to tackle a new frontier: live theatre. Despite his personal fortune, much of which he donates to environmental causes, Irwin is searching for a financial backer for a production in the gambling city. (No...

BRISBANE, Australia - Crocodile hunter Steve Irwin took his month-old son to his first croc feeding on Friday, offering the reptile a chicken with one hand and holding the baby in the other. With a capacity crowd looking on, Irwin dangled a dead chicken before the 13-foot crocodile named Murray, which snapped up the offering. Irwin's tiny son Bob looked on from his other arm. "He's one-month-old, so it's about time Bob got out there and did his first croc demo," the Australian celebrity told the crowd at his Australian Zoo. Irwin's wife Terri, who gave birth to her second...

<>Crocodile chases surf skier for 40mBy Paul Jackson April 16, 2003A LIFESAVER told last night how a 3m crocodile chased him while he was paddling on his surf ski. "I thought I was a goner," said Darwin Surf Club member Neil Bridgewater. He saw the crocodile coming at him through the waves. "I just paddled like hell," he said. "It chased me for about 40m and just as it got to the board it disappeared. "I didn't know where it had gone. "I was running out of puff but just kept paddling madly. "I thought it was going to appear...

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