you gotta get the vote

Comrades,

So, the DJ Trump! presidency is a quarter over, and the poor man has been forced to cancel a celebratory golfing weekend in the balmy climes of Florida on account of the administration of Govt. is in the process of shutting down.
It's no surprise really, as that's the way it's been going for the past 12 months; America through the S-bend and out to a filthy polluted sea.
And my, how time flies when yr having fun.
It seems like only yesterday that I wandered into a random bar on the night The Donald was being swept into office by a handful of rednecks at the polls, and seeing scribbled in chalk on a blackboard above the top shelf that read:
"The Edge...there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over - HST".
What the pea-brain rattling inside the over-sized cranium of the Trumpotus has failed to understand is that while you can rig the Electoral College all you like, and a little birdie might be constantly singing 'tweet tweet', when you get to Washington you gotta get the vote, if you need to get yr grubby mits on a single penny of Federal money.
He can't get the 60 he needs in the Senate now, and Republicans will be trounced in the November "mid-terms" and lose their majorities in both Houses, so, if he isn't already, DJ! will become a lame-duck President for his last two years in office, that's if he doesn't drop dead or resign first, or he cops it with both barrels from Bobby "Three Sticks" Mueller for foolin' 'round with them damned Ruskies and ends up in an impossible imbroglio of an impeachable position.
Oh, oh, oh, it's all so predictable...
You get the cheeseburger [hold the pickle] and diet Coke politicians you deserve, baby.

In the meantime, I note that the knitted winter woolen Pussy Hat was dusted off over the weekend for the Women's March II across The States [and the world, for that matter].
The Americans are past masters when it comes to making protest placards, in a democracy where anything goes, and free speech [even Twitter] is Constitutionally protected.
You've gotta love 'em, and after reviewing what seems like hundreds in the crowds, here are just two of my favourites.
Go girls!

and then came this

Comrades,

Things sensible have never been widely reported in the news, what with the Silly Season going well beyond its end date in Washington DC as furious arguments rage over which countries are shitholes, and which aren't.
So it was little wonder that only scant coverage emerged in the western press of South and North Korean excellencies & dignitaries sitting down to formal talks in a bit of old fashioned diplomacy over that timeless political football - sport.
Our course, the IOC has invited the North Korean Olympic Committee, their delegation and their team to the PyeongChang winter games in about three weeks time.
The IOC - which has never been political, oh no - will have anyone, now that they've pretty much lost their ability to elicit bribes.
They'll be in their element, as it's a top spot for snow sports at the mo' with the temps last week typically in the -9°C to +1°C range.
Unmatched top-shelf seven-star facilities, also.
I don't know about you, but I'll be going off-piste for the duration.
South Korea agreed to a North Korean request for their officially sanctioned cheer squads to be allowed to attend the games armed with thousands of little North Korean flags on sticks.
In the trade off, North Korea agreed there would be no hanky-panky or funny business during the games; no shooting rockets off or letting Big One's go, in the name of the mutually accepted idea of peace, even tho' they have never completely come around to it, given the truce is now 64 years old, and let's face it, it's all about face, and not losing it.
People have forgotten that the Korean peninsular remains the most heavily militarised spot on the planet.
Since the armistice, as a nod to peace and reconciliation, both countries have had Ministers for Reunification while maintaining huge standing armies of around 1.6M active personnel North/South combined, ready for battle tomorrow, along with something like nine million army reserves and paramilitaries to call on.
So the gates of the border ceremonially opened as impeccably suited gentlemen from each side arrived to meet to polite applause and handshakes all 'round for some chit-chat in that wild & wacky place known as the Korean DMZ.
PyeongChang is just 80km south of the 38th parallel or thereabouts, so the North's team buses won't have far to go, bringing with them trailer loads of crates of quality seafoods and gallons of top-notch Made in North Korea soju, to get them in the mood.
The South promises they will do all they can to prevent the North Koreans from defecting [there will be Choco Pies, aplenty], but asked in return that the North release some political prisoners.
Talks go on.
Backroom boys in smoke filled dens are still working on the idea of fielding a combined North/South Korean women's ice hockey team, because they know as separate entity's they haven't got a hope in snowflakes of medalling, but together could give the hockey comp a good shake.
Makes sense.
Of course this has very little to do with the Miracle of Democracy in a part of the world rife with rampant corruption and cronyism, but it says a fair bit about rapprochement.
You'll remember it took months of street protests in Seoul to evict from the Blue House the former President, Park Geun-hye, accused of being totally on the take by creaming about $US75M off the top of bribes paid by the chaebol in order to get on with the business of doing business.
Park is in the jailhouse now, and that resulted in the fait accompli election of Moon Jae-in as no-one else really put their hand up for the job.
Enough already has been said about Fat Boy Kim, the very personification of corruption and cronyism.
Then came this.
Have you ever regretted writing a very personal text message or e-mail, and then pushing the 'send' button, instantly knowing you have made a terrible mistake?
Like dropping that letter that you never meant to send in the postbox?
Ever called yr bosses a useless mob of utter wankers, or worse, and then sent them all the txt mssg by mistake?
There is no calling it back or sending it into a black hole, once you send it, it stays sent.
Have you ever got a together a txt mssg that says the Great State of Hawaii is about to go up in one helluvan exploding fireball at any minute and then sent it off to all one million mobile phone users, advising them to panic and run for the hills, or hide in a bomb shelter, or maybe a handy manhole, that you may or may not have, otherwise you are all going to burn in hell?
There is no heaven in this one:

To their credit, the good burghers of Honolulu, at least, didn't panic, they simply went to the beach in small groups with bottles of their finest whiskies and bourbons and sat under the gently swaying palms to watch the horizon for the incoming multi-kiloton Armageddon which sends the Hawaiian archipelago to the bottom as flaming wreckage.
Sort of brings new meaning to the old idea "if the ship is on fire, there is instinct to answer the call 'all hands to the pumps!' but honest desire remains to stay seated and at ease while awaiting your fate".
The Dept. of Deefense, Hawaiian authorities, or somebody or another who wasn't looking at the time, blamed "human error" for the clusterfuck.
Well, if some dumb intern in the Communications Dept. can fire off that one with a press of the green button marked 'send', then it doesn't really matter who's got the bigger Big Beautiful Nuclear Button on their desks, does it?
DJ Trump, early in his Presidency, delegated all matters military to his generals, so he's not the only one with the foreign policy numbers in the briefcase.
Like Trump, Fatboy is not a madman; they aint no nutjobs, they're just cruel and calculating in everything they do to advance and protect their own brands and interests.
Mr Moon has recently re-established the hotline with Pyŏngyang, and installed the big red telephone at the end of it on his desk.
He don't need no button.
North and South want the Trumpotus out of the Korean deal, but at the minute it seems some low ranking lieutenant wackjob in the US Air Force could push the no going back send button "human error"-style on a bunch of ballistic missiles, and it's good night nurse, in a megaton kind of way.
ICAN didn't win the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for nuthin', you know.
Easily fixed.
No nukes.

[Graphic: Hanna Barczyk/NYT]

CRAZY CRAVES TOP 100 OBITUARIES 2017

Survivors,

It's that time of year again!
This is a bit out of the bailiwick of this bloggy-blog-blog thingy, as precious few of these people have anything to do with the Miracle of Democracy, but there is at least one out-and-out statesman, half a dozen or so politicians, a couple of dictators and a master of the 'dark arts' among them.
As a nod to the steady marking of time, for yonks I used to publish Crazy Craves Top 20 Obituaries, but last year I got tired of it with people saying "why'd ya put him in? why'd ya leave her out?" so I set the editor's pen aside and pushed the boat right out with a list of 111 deaduns, arranged in chronological order.
Obviously I went way too far, so this year, for the sake of brevity, I have limited the bell-tolling to a straight 100.
In any case this is a highly subjective and idiosyncratic list - these people [and two non-humans] may or may not in one way or another have had an influence on my life, may or may not have been famous or important folks, may just have led obscure but interesting lives per se, or the date, place, manner and cause of death, may have been somewhat unusual.
Or, all four.
That's the criteria for these simple mentions...so I give you...

CRAZY CRAVES TOP 100 OBITUARIES 2017

*January*

John Berger, 90, January 2, Paris. Long-time French resident British art critic, novelist, screenwriter, essayist, Marxist rabble-rouser, cattle farmer. Booker Prize winner [1972]. Best known for BBC television art documentary Ways of Seeing [1972]. Natural causes.
Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, 82, January 8, Tehran. Machiavellian authoritarian ruler. Former President of Iran [1989-1997]. Close ally of Ayatollah Khomeini who overthrew the last Shah of Iran [1979]. Cardiac Arrest.
Peter Sarstedt, 75, January 8, Sussex, England. British folk singer/songwriter. One hit wonder. Best known for song Where Do You Go To (My Lovely). Complications of supranuclear palsy.
Michael Chamberlain, 72, January 9, Gosford, New South Wales. Central figure in the Azaria Chamberlain mystery. New Zealand born Seventh Day Adventist pastor, author, doctor of philosophy, failed political candidate. Father of missing child Azaria, former husband of Lindy Chamberlain, who was convicted of murder, then pardoned and then exonerated at fourth Coronial inquest. Served suspended sentence after being convicted accessory after the fact of murder. Royal Commission star witness. Leukemia.
Clare Hollingworth, 105, January 10, Hong Kong. British journalist and war correspondent. Reported first-hand the German invasion of Poland [1939], scooped the defection of Kim Philby [1963], ended war correspondents career in Vietnam, then posted to China. Long-time active member and stalwart of the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents' Club. Died at home. Extreme old age.
Antony Armstrong-Jones, The Lord Snowden GCVO RDI, 86, January 13, Kensington, London. Eccentric English fashion designer and Royal photographer, inventor, serial pants-man. Coxed the winning Cambridge Eight in the 1950 Boat Race. Former husband of the Princess Margaret, sister of Queen Elizabeth II [1960-78]. Controversial member of the House of Lords. Twice divorced. Five children by three women. Natural causes.
Zhōu Yǒuguāng, 111, January 14, Beijing. Chinese banker, economist, linguist. Invented the system to Romanise the alphabet of the Chinese Mandarin language known as Pīnyīn. Extreme old age.
Eugene Cernan, 82, January 16, Houston, Texas. American astronaut, US Navy test pilot, electrical engineer. Last man to walk on the moon [1972, Apollo 17]. Covered more than 35km in the Lunar Rover over 22 hours. Flew to space three times, twice to the moon. Chronic illness.
Colo, 60, January 17, Colombus, Ohio. Oldest female Western Lowlands gorilla known to man. First gorilla to be born in captivity [1956]. Three offspring and great-great-grandmother. Old age.
Mary Tyler-Moore, 80, January 25, Greenwich, Connecticut. American television personality, actor and 1970's feminist icon. Star of The Dick Van Dyke Show and the 168 episode eponymous sit-com The Mary Tyler-Moore Show. Multiple show business honours including six Emmy Awards. Chronic illnesses, complications of diabetes.
Sir John Hurt CBE, 77, January 25, Cromer, Norfolk, England. British film character actor and voice-over man. Best known for his distinctive voice and lead role in the film Elephant Man [1980]. Four BAFTA awards. Knighted [2015]. Pancreatic cancer.
Edgar Britt OAM, 103, January 28, Gold Coast, Queensland. Australian journeyman thoroughbred jockey. Rode more than 2000 winners on four continents in 30 year career. Won the 1947 Irish Derby & Irish St. Ledger. Old Age.
Carl Djerassi, 91, January 30, San Francisco, California. Austrian-born American chemical scientist, science-fiction novelist, playwright. Known as "the father of The Pill". Developed norethindrone in Mexico City in 1951, the main active ingredient in the first human female birth control pill. Liver cancer.

*February*

Lou Rowan, 91, February 3, Yangan, Queensland. Controversial Australian cricket umpire, Queensland drug squad detective, author. Known for key involvement in the confrontational 1970-71 Ashes test series and the riot by furious spectators during the 7th test match at the SCG. Turned down every LBW appeal against Australia in '70-'71. Openly accused of bias, staunchly denied. Petitioned for outlaw "chuckers" to be weeded out of the game. Died at home. No suspicious circumstances.
Granddad, age unknown, probably late 90's, February 7, Chicago, Illinois. Permanent US resident male Queensland Lungfish. Oldest known fish in captivity. Captured in Mary or Burnett Rivers, Queensland to be exhibited at the 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair. Spent much of his time imitating a submerged log in the Shedd Aquarium for 84 years. Weight at death 11kg . Euthanised due to organ failure.
Kim Jong-nam, 43, February 14, Kuala Lumpur. Prominent Korean resident of Macau and estranged half-brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. Assassination by poisoning.

*March*

Tanya Dalton, 45, March 1, Auckland. Word Championship winning New Zealand netballer [2003] and successful businesswoman. Played 12 test matches at GS for the Silver Ferns. Brain aneurysm.
Thomas E. Starzl, 90, March 4, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. American surgeon and chemist. Human transplant pioneer who performed the first successful liver transplant [1967]. Leading researcher into anti-rejection drugs for transplant patients. Natural causes.
Bill Leak, 61, March 10, Gosford, New South Wales. Australian artist, political cartoonist, novelist. Seven-time finalist Archibald Prize, never won. Nine Walkley Awards. Cheated death in balcony fall [2008]. Cardiac arrest.
John Surtees CBE, 83, March 10, London. British motor racer. Only man to have won world championships on two wheels and four. Won 500cc World Motorcycle Championship [1956, 1958-60] on an Agusta. Won F1 World Drivers' Championship in a Ferrari [1964]. Three times winner of the Isle of Man TT. Respiratory failure.
Murray Ball ONZM, 78, March 12, Gisborne, New Zealand. New Zealand artist and cartoonist. Created comic strip Footrot Flats in 1975, which ran in newspapers for 20 years. Alzheimer's disease.
Sir Derek Walcott OBE, 87, March 17, Cap Estat, St. Lucia. West Indian Nobel Laureate, poet, playwright, painter. Author of epic poems and 40 plays in English. Won Nobel Prize for Literature [1992]. Knighted Order of St Lucia [2016]. Chronic illnesses.
Chuck Berry, 90, March 18, St. Louis, Missouri. American singer/songwriter and pioneer of Rock'n'Roll. Musical superstar [1955-61]. Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award [1984]. Original inductee Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame [1986]. No.1 smash hit Johnny B. Goode the only rock'n'roll song to go to space aboard Voyager 1 & 2 [1977]. Did three stints of jail time on trumped up charges. Cardiac arrest.
Robert B. Silvers, 87, March 20, New York City. American literary editor. Founding editor of the New York Review of Books, remaining in the position for 44 years until his death. US National Humanities Medal [2012]. Chevalier Légion de Honour. Brief illness.
David Rockefeller, 101, March 20, Pocantico Hills, New York. American banker, art collector, philanthropist. Long-time chairman of Chase Manhattan banking corporation. Last remaining patriarch of the Rockefeller family. Estimated net worth at time of death $US3.3B. Congestive heart failure.
Martin McGuiness, 66, March 21, Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Irish nationalist. Former leader of the Provisional Irish Republican Army [IRA]. Prominent member of the IRA's political wing Sinn Féin. Reformed terrorist, peace broker widely regarded as chief architect of the Good Friday Agreement ending "The Troubles" [1968-96]. Retired as long-serving Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland two months before death. Amyloidosis.
Chuck Barris, 87, March 21, Palisades, New York. Madcap American television game show host. Most famous as host of The Gong Show [1976-80]. Variously known as "The King of Schlock," "The Baron of Bad Taste" and "The Ayatollah of Trasherola." Natural causes.
Ian Turnbull, 82, March 27, Sydney. Farmer and convicted murderer. Serving 35 years jail at time of death for shooting dead a state environmental officer over a land clearing dispute three years earlier. Unknown terminal illness.
Gilbert Baker, 65, March 30, New York City. Eccentric American designer, graphic artist, drag queen, gay rights activist. Designed "Rainbow Flag" [1978]. Original on display at MoMA. Worked for Paramount Flag Company, San Francisco for 25 years. Years long complications of stroke.

*April*

Sir Doug Myers KNZM CBE, 78, April 8, London. New Zealand businessman, philanthropist and beer baron. Established Lion brewery [1965], and created popular beer Steinlager. Sold out to Japanese brewer Kirin [1998], becoming one of New Zealand's richest men. Retired to London. Knighted [2010]. Bowel cancer.
John Clarke, 68, April 9, near Halls Gap, Victoria. New Zealand-born Australian actor, author, screen-writer, satirist, comedian. Creator of iconic New Zealand comic character Fred Dagg in the mid 1970's. Extensive career as a character actor in Australian film and television. Wrote and starred in acclaimed 26 episode TV series The Games satirising preparations for the 2000 Olympics. Created decade-long running weekly three minute television political satire Clarke & Dawe. Died while hiking with family & friends in the Grampians National Park. Cardiac arrest.
Emma Morano, 117, April 15, Verbania, Italy. World's oldest person to that date. The last known person born in the 19th century. Credited her longevity to eating three eggs a day, two raw. Died in favourite armchair at home. Extreme old age.
Ueli Steck, 40, April 29, near Mt Everest, Nepal. Swiss mountaineer. Known as "the Swiss Machine" for his rapid ascents using the 'fast and light' technique. Once climbed all 82 peaks of The Alps in 62 days. Two time winner Piolet d’Or. Fatal injuries sustained in fall of 3,280 feet.

*May*

Lou Richards MBE, 94, May 8, Melbourne. Australian rules footballer, publican, entertainer, newspaper columnist, author, radio and television personality. Known as "Louie the Lip". Played 250 games for Collingwood as small forward and goalsneak, four years as captain. Won Premiership [1953]. Long running career (1956-2008) as professional buffoon in the media. Former King of Moomba. Owned and ran several Melbourne pubs. Controversially denied "legend" status in the Australian Football Hall of Fame (2009), after being inducted 15 years earlier. Complications of dementia.
Roger Ailes, 77, May 10, Palm Beach, Florida. American media executive and political operative. Devised media strategy for winning US Presidential campaigns of Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George Bush Snr. Regarded as the "father" of the right-wing Fox News service, serving as CEO for 20 years. Sacked by owner Rupert Murdoch over a sexual harassment scandal a year before his death. Cranial subdural hematoma after fall.
Mark Colvin, 65, May 11, Sydney. Old school Australian radio journalist. 43 year long career at the ABC, known for his authoritative melodious voice. Contracted nephritic auto-immune disease while on assignment as correspondent in Rwanda [1994] and almost died of kidney failure. Kidney transplant recipient (2012). Complications of Wegener's granulomatosis, melanoma, lung cancer.
Chris Cornell, 52, May 17, Detroit, Michigan. American singer/songwriter. Lead singer of 1980's grunge band Soundgarden. Found dead after performing in concert. Suicide by hanging.
Sir Roger Moore KBE, 89, May 23, Switzerland. British film and television actor. Starred in seven James Bond motion pictures [1973-1985]. Starred in long running television series The Saint [1962-69]. Self described multi-millionaire tax evader. Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. Knighted 2003 for services to charity. Chevalier L'ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Four times married. Liver and lung cancer.
Manuel Noriega, 83, May 29, Panama City. Former de-facto President of Panama (1983-89). Strong-arm military dictatorship prompted US invasion (1989). Served 17 years in US jail for racketeering, 18 months in French prison for money laundering. Died six years into 20 year term for murder. Brain anuyerism.

*June*

Sotirios "Sam" Panopolous, 83, June 8, London, Ontario, Canada. Greek-born Canadian inventor of the pineapple pizza known as "The Hawaiian" [1962]. Brief illness.
Adam West, 88, June 9, Los Angeles. American film and television actor. The original Batman. Starred in the eponymous television series and the first Batman motion picture [1966]. Active acting career over 70 years, featuring work as a voice over man in animated television comedies until his death. Leukemia.
Helmut Kohl, 87, June 16, Oggersheim, Germany. German statesman and politician. Former German Chancellor [1982-98]. Credited as the mastermind of German re-unification [1990] and the establishment of the Euro zone. Natural causes.
Michael Bond CBE, 91, June 27, London. British author. Creator and writer of children's book series Paddington Bear [first published 1958], selling 35+ million copies. Natural causes.
Dame Simone Veil DBE, 89, June 30, Paris. French politician and activist. Holocaust survivor. Champion of women's rights. Architect of legislation for legal birth control and abortion in France. Appointed as only the sixth female "immortal" of the Academie Francaise [2010]. Awarded Grand Cross Légion d'Honneur and an Honourary Dame of the British Empire. Natural causes.

*July*

Liu Xiaobo, 61, July 13, Shenyang, China. Chinese academic, author, dissident, political activist. Nobel Peace Prize laureate [2010], awarded while serving fourth prison term for anti-Chinese Communist Party activities. First arrested after taking a leading role in student protests which led to the Tiananmen Square massacre [1989]. Lead author of Charter 08 calling for an end to one-party rule in China. Liver cancer.
Maryam Mirzakhani, 40, July 14, Palo Alto, California. Iranian mathematics genius. Professor of Mathematics at Stanford University. Winner Fields Medal [2014] for 400+ page paper on the behaviour of moving spheres, using billiard tables as a Riemann surface, exploring the interplay of dynamics and geometry. Breast cancer.
Jeremy Strode, 53, July 17, Sydney. English-born Australian chef, newspaper columnist, author. Executive chef Bistrode CBD, after 25 years in the Australian restaurant industry. Suicide.
Chester Bennington, 41, July 20, Los Angeles. American singer/songwriter and leader of metal rock band Linkin Park, selling 30+ million records world wide since 2000. Suicide by hanging.
Garrumulul Yunupingu, 46, July 25, Darwin. Australian indigenous musician, singer/songwriter. High-ranking Yolngu man. Founding member of Aboriginal 'cult' rock band Yothu Yindi, followed by acclaimed solo career. Born blind. Complications of liver and kidney diseases.
Hywell Bennet, 73, July 25, Cardiff, Wales. British character actor. Best known as star of eponymous television sit-com Shelley [1979-84]. 42-year career in stage, film and television. Natural causes.
Les Murray AM, 71, July 31. Sydney. Hungarian-born Australian soccer commentator, analyst, author, musician and media legend. Arrived in Australia under Hungarian refugee program [1957]. Bought international soccer to Australian television when the Special Broadcasting Service [SBS] was established [1980], where he commentated on the 'world game', a phrase he coined, for the next 24 years. Complications of chronic illness.

*August*

Sir John Graham KNZM CBE, 82, August 2, Auckland. Former All-Black. New Zealand rugby union player, educator and anti-apartheid activist. 22 test matches for New Zealand [1958-64]. Captain 3 matches. Headmaster, Auckland Grammar School for 21 years. Knighted [2011]. Undisclosed cancer.
Betty Cuthbert, AM, MBE, 79, August 6, Perth, Western Australia. Australian athletics track star universally known as "The Golden Girl". Won four Olympic gold medals [Melbourne 1956 & Tokyo 1964] in 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and 400m. Life Member, SCG Trust. Wheelchair bound for the last 20 years of her life. Multiple Sclerosis.
Glenn Campbell, 81, August 8, Nashville, Tennessee. American country-pop singer, acclaimed guitarist, session musician, and superstar in the late 1960's-mid 70's selling 35+ million records world wide in 50-year show business career. 18 Grammy Awards. Alzheimer's disease.
Stephen Wooldridge OAM, 39, August 14, Sydney. Australian Olympian team's pursuit cyclist, mechanical engineer. Olympic gold medalist [Athens 2004] and four-times world champion. Suicide.
Gary O’Callaghan, MBE, 83, August 19, Wauchope, New South Wales. Australian radio broadcaster and personality. Legendary 49 year career at Sydney radio station 2UE. Hosted top rating breakfast show with his alter ego "Sammy Sparrow" throughout the 1960's. Australian Commercial Radio Hall of Fame inductee. Natural causes.
Sir Colin Meads, KNZM, MBE, 81, August 20, Tu Kuwiti, New Zealand. Former All-Black. National icon. Widely regarded as New Zealand rugby union's best ever player. 55 test matches for New Zealand [1957-71], Captain 11 matches. Devoted later life to philanthropy. Knighted [2009]. Pancreatic cancer.
Jerry Lewis, 91, August 20, Las Vegas, Nevada. American entertainer. Actor, comedian and singer. Appeared in 16 Hollywood movies as sidekick to Dean Martin [1949-56]. Long running solo comedy star in television. Activist and humanitarian in later life. Complications of peripheral vascular disease and congestive heart failure.
Fiona Richardson, 50, August 23, Melbourne. Australian Labor politician. Women's right's advocate. Victorian MP and the state's first Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence. Metastatic breast cancer.
Drew Morphett OAM, 69, August 25, Pakenham, Victoria. Australian sports commentator. 40 year veteran of broadcasting, hosting Australian Rules television show The Winners on the ABC, before going to the Seven Network for 13 years calling football, then returning to the ABC as a radio football, cricket and Olympic Games broadcaster. Cardiac arrest while watching football on television at home.
Dean Mercer, 47, August 28, Gold Coast, Queensland. Australian Iron Man champion and surf-lifesaver. Cardiac arrest following single car motor crash.
Sumiteru Taniguchi, 88, August 30, Nagasaki, Japan. Japanese nuclear disarmament campaigner and peace advocate. Survivor of nuclear bombing of Nagasaki [1945]. Chairman of the Nagasaki Council of A-Bomb Sufferers until his death. Keloid tumours.

*September*

Mike Cockerill, 56, September 1, Bellingen, New South Wales. Australian sports journalist. Former chief soccer writer for the Sydney Morning Herald and a three-decade multi-media career in soccer reporting. Brief cancer-related illness.
Walter Becker, 67, September 3, Maui, Hawaii. American musician, song writer, record producer. Co-founder of American jazz-soft-rock band Steely Dan [1972-1981]. Chronic illnesses due to long-term drug and alcohol addiction.
John Ashbery, 90, September 3, Hudson, New York. American poet. Pulitzer Prize winner [1975]. US National Humanities Medal [2011]. Self-confessed aim in life “to confuse the hell out of people.” Natural causes.
Peter Luck, 73, September 6, Sydney. Australian television journalist and author. 40 year media career. Pioneer reporter on ABC current affairs programs This Day Tonight and Four Corners. Produced and presented landmark 36-part TV documentary This Fabulous Century for Seven Network [1979]. Author of ten popular history books. Parkinson's Disease.
Kate Millet, 82, September 6, Paris. American radical feminist author, critic, academic. Author of Sexual Politics [1970]. Cardiac arrest during annual visit to Paris.
Sir Peter Hall CBE, 86, September 11, London. British theatre actor and director. Founder of the Royal Shakespeare Company [1960]. Champion of public funding for the arts. Knighted [1977]. Chevalier L'ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Pneumonia.
Harry Dean Stanton, 91, September 15, Los Angeles. American actor. Legendary bit-part player over six decades in American cinema. Appeared in 128 Hollywood movies, but played only two lead roles, in Paris, Texas [1984] and Repo Man [1984]. Never nominated for an Oscar or any other acting award. Never retired. Brief illness.
Robert “Dutchy” Holland OAM, 70, September 17, Newcastle, New South Wales. Australian test cricketer. Played 11 test matches [1984-85], debuting at advanced age of 38 as a leg spinner, taking ten wickets against West Indies at SCG. 95 first class matches; won the Sheffield Shield three times with New South Wales. Dedicated later life to grass roots cricket, administration and coaching. Brain cancer.
Liliane Bettencourt, 94, September 21, Paris. French business tycoon and philanthropist. World's richest woman at time of death, as major shareholder in the L'Oreal cosmetics empire. Estimated net worth at time of death $US44.3 billion. Complications of dementia.
Eman Abdul Atti, 37, September 25, Abhu Dhabi. World's "heaviest woman" at time of death. Estimated maximum weight during final year of life put at 498kg. Complications of extremely rare thyroid disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, gout, congestive heart and lung disease, kidney failure.
Hugh Hefner, 91, September 27, Los Angeles. American magazine publisher, media magnate, philanthropist, serial pants-man. Founded Playboy magazine in 1954, remaining editor-in-chief for 34 years. Sepsis.

*October*

Tom Petty, 66, October 2, Santa Monica, California. American musician, singer/songwriter. Founder of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers [1976], selling 80 million records world wide. Also known for association with Bob Dylan & Co in the 1980's 'supergroup' Travelling Wilberrys. Cardiac arrest.
Danielle Darrieux, 100, October 19, Paris, Legendary French actress. Hollywood film star of the 1930's. Accused of collaboration with the Nazi's in WWII. Still working in movies until age 99, appearing in more than 110 motion pictures. Complications of a fall at home.
George Young, 70, October 23, Portugal. Scottish-born Australian musician, songwriter, producer. Founding member of smash hit band The Easybeats. One half of the Vanda & Young hit-making songwriting team. Produced all five AC/DC early albums. Inaugural inductee ARIA Hall of Fame (1988). Retired in 1992. Recluse in later life. Brother of Malcolm Young. Natural causes.
Fats Domino, 89, October 24, Harvey, Louisiana. American legend, musician, R&B singer selling 120M+ records world wide, surpassed only by Elvis Presley. US National Medal of Arts recipient. Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame inductee [1998]. Natural causes.
Sir Ninian Stephen KG AK GCMG GCVO KBE QC, 98, October 29, Melbourne. Distinguished Australian lawyer, barrister, High Court judge [1972-82], diplomat, ambassador, international peace-broker. Knighted [1972]. Commandeur Légion d'honneur. Governor-General of Australia [1982-89]. Judge of the International Court of Justice and International War Crimes Tribunal [1991-97]. On active service [1944-45]. 68 years at the bar. Old age.


*November*

Antonio Carluccio OMRI OBE, 80, November 8, London. Italian-born British chef, author, restaurateur, television personality, raconteur, mushroom aficionado, pants-man. Complications of a fall.
Chuck Mosely, 57, November 9, Los Angeles. American musician, singer-songwriter, chef. Front man of punk-funk-metal band Faith No More [1985-88] until acrimonious split. Also appeared in metal bands Bad Brains and Cement. Died penniless. Complications of chronic alcoholism.
Gustav Åhr aka Li'l Peep, 21, November 15, Tuscon, Arizona. White American facially-tattooed emo hi-hop rapper. Died three months after first album release and brief career as YouTube star. Flamed out. Suicide by drug overdose.
Salvatore 'Toto' Riina, 87, November 17, Parma, Italy. Mafia mobster, racketeer, terrorist, assassin. Known as "The Beast" and the "Boss of Bosses" of the Cosa Nostra. 23 years on the run, 24 years in prison. Died in jail serving 26 life sentences. Responsible for more than a hundred known murders. Complications of cardiac surgery.
Gillian Rolton OAM, 61, November 18, Adelaide. Australian Olympian. Dual Equestrian gold medalist, team eventing Barcelona [1992], Atlanta [1996]. Legend of the South Australian Sports Hall of Fame. Edometrial cancer.
Malcolm Young, 64, November 18, Sydney. Scottish-born Australian musician and songwriter. Co-founder of hard rock group AC/DC [1973]. Inaugural inductee ARIA Hall of Fame [1988]. Retired in 2014 due to illness. Brother of George Young. Complications of dementia.
Charles Manson, 84, November 19, Bakersfield, California. American cult leader and mass murderer. Ordered the killing of seven people over two nights in Los Angeles [1969], including pregnant Hollywood actress Sharon Tait. Despite numerous applications for parole, spent his last 46 years behind bars. Natural causes.
Jana Novotná, 49, November 19, Omice, Czech Republic. Czech tennis player and Olympian. 1998 Wimbledon ladies singles champion. 12 Grand Slam doubles titles and four mixed doubles titles. Three time Olympic medalist. Inductee International Tennis Hall of Fame [2005]. Undisclosed cancer.
David Cassidy, 67, November 21, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Former American teen heart-throb. Starred in 1970's television musical sit-com The Partridge Family, later becoming a bubblegum pop star. Complications of cirrhosis of the liver, kidney failure, dementia.
Sol Bellear AM, 66, November 30, Sydney. Crusading Australian aboriginal activist and rugby league footballer. High-ranking Bundjalung man. Chairman, Redfern Aboriginal Medical Service. Co-author Uluru Statement [2017],. Co-Chairman, ATSIC [1991-94], Director, South Sydney RLFC [2002-06]. Chronic illnesses.
Jim Nabor, 87, November 30, Honolulu, Hawaii. American actor, comedian, crooner, macadamia farmer. Best known for his role as the goofy character Gomer Pyle in two television series [1962-69]. Released 28 albums of romantic ballads and standards. Sang "Back Home in Indiana" before the start of the Indy 500 motor race for 42 years. Complications of Hepatitis B.

*December*

Christine Keeler, 75, December 5, Farnborough, England. Former English teenage model and cabaret dancer principally known for her role in the murky and notorious spy scandal the Profumo Affair [1963] at the height of the "cold war". Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Hayden Hataina, 72, December 5, Eyre Peninsular, South Australia. New Zealand born Australian race horse trainer principally known for his involvement in the infamous horse-substitution ring-in scandal known as the Fine Cotton Affair [1984]. Did jail time for race fixing and warned off race tracks world wide for life [ban lifted on appeal 2013]. Chronic illness.
Johnny Hallyday, 74, December 6, Marnes-la-Coquette, France. French rock'n'roll musician and singer known as the "French Elvis". Sold 110+ million records world wide in a 57 year career starting in 1961 with the smash-hit French language version of "Let's Twist Again". Retired in 2009. Self-confessed multi-millionaire tax-evader. Five times married. Interred near his winter home on St. Barths, French Caribbean. Lung cancer.
Ray Hughes, 72, December 7, Penrith, New South Wales. Australian art dealer and prominent Sydney gallery owner. Relentless promoter of contemporary Australian art, bon vivant, raconteur, and colourful host of legendary Thursday "long lunch" for more than 30 years. Retired to the Blue Mountains due to ill health [2015]. Pneumonia.
Rory O'Donoghue, 68, December 13, Sydney. Australian musician, composer, actor, author, comedian. Best known as the character 'Thin Arthur' in absurdist television comedy series The Aunty Jack Show [1972-73]. 51 year partnership with Graeme Bond AM. Wrote film, theatre and musical scores, and a long time fixture in the Australian advertising industry. Suicide in hospital while being treated for chronic melancholic depression.
Max Drayton, OAM, 86, Cessnock, New South Wales. December 16. Australian vigneron and vintner. Worked at and then managed W. Drayton and Sons Wines for 70 years. Legend of the Hunter Valley winemaker's association's honour roll. Cheated death in tractor accident [1959]. Lost a son in winery explosion [2008]. Complications of a fall in winery one month prior to death.
Barry Cohen, AM, 82. December 18. Gosford, New South Wales. Australian Labor politician, author, raconteur, pamphleteer, political scientist, social commentator, scholar, gentleman, after-dinner comedian. Minister in the Hawke Government [1984-87]. 21 years in Federal Parliament, but lost in the High Court over being diddled out of a full pension. Alzheimer's sufferers and older people's advocate in later years. Alzheimer's disease.
Kim Jong-hyun aka Jonghyun, 27, December 18, Gangham, Seoul, South Korea. Korean K-pop megastar, singer/songwriter, former radio host. Lead vocalist of superstar boy band Shinee "The Princes of K-Pop". Died three years after also launching hugely successful solo career. Suicide by smoke inhalation.
Cardinal Bernard F. Law, 86, December 20, Rome. Archbishop-emeritus of Boston. America's most senior Catholic prelate. Resigned in 2002 over allegations of decades-long protection of boy buggering priests, but retained the title of Cardinal and lived off various appointments of the Vatican for his last 13 years. Never saw evil. Supernatural causes.
Lady Florence "Flo" Bjelke-Petersen, 97, December 20, Kingaroy, Queensland. Australian conservative agrarian politician, author, domestic scientist, peanut farmer, landscaper, gardener, cook, baker. Chiefly known for legendary pumpkin scone recipe. Two terms as Senator for Queensland [1981-93]. Wrote three best-sellers on traditional "country" cooking, baking and household tips. Widow [2005] of long serving Premier of Queensland, Sir John Bjelke-Petersen. Old age.
Ken Catchpole OAM, 78, December 21, Sydney. Former Australian rugby union captain. Skippered the Wallabies 13 times, debuting in 1961 in a 27 test career. Regarded as one of the greatest union half-backs of all time. Rendered in life-size bronze outside Sydney Football Stadium. Chronic illnesses.