My Dead Pool for 2008

Here is my list of the some of the noteworthy individuals globally that could pass away in 2008, be it by natural causes or as a victim of circumstances, intentional or accidental. (month and year of birth in parentheses)

Mahmoud Abbas: President of Palestine (3/35)

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: President of Iran (10/56)

Akihito: Emperor of Japan (12/33)

Buzz Aldrin: Astronaut, second man on moon as part of Apollo 11 (1/30)

Marty Allen: Comedian/actor (3/22)

Patty Andrews: one-third of singing group The Andrews Sisters (2/18)

Maya Angelou: Author, poet, civil rights activist (2/28)

Michael Ansara: Actor, played Klingon on Star Trek TV series (4/22)

Allen Arbus: Actor, known for Dr Freedman on M*A*S*H (2/18)

James Arness: Actor, known for Marshall Dillon on Gunsmoke (5/23)

Eddy Arnold: Country Singer from 1950s-60s (5/18)

Bea Arthur: Actress, known for All in the Family, Maude, Golden Girls roles (5/23)

William Avery: Second oldest living former governor (KS) (8/1911)

F Lee Bailey: Attorney, celebrity (6/33)

Conrad Bain: Actor, known for role in Different Strokes TV show (2/23)

Howard Baker: Former US Tennessee Senator, bureaucrat (11/25)

Chuck Barris: Game Show Producer/Host (6/29)

Sammy Baugh: Football Quarterback/Coach/Hall of Fame member (3/14)

Harry Belafonte: Singer/Actor/Activist (3/27)

Pope Bendedict XVI: Leader of Catholic Church (4/27)

Yogi Berra: Baseball Player/Manager/Hall of Fame member (5/25)

Chuck Berry: Oldies rock 'n' roll guitarist/singer (10/26)

Barbara Billingsley: Actress, known for role in Leave it to Beaver TV show

Osama bin Laden: Terrorist, Criminal Mastermind (3/57)

Ernest Borgnine: Actor (1/17)

Ray Bradbury: Science Fiction Author (8/20)

Wilford Brimley: Actor (9/34)

Edward Brooke: Former US Massachusetts Senator (10/19)

Bobby Brown: Rapper, Drug Addict, Criminal (2/69)

Dave Brubeck: Historic Jazz pianist and musician (12/20)

Harry Byrd: Former Virginia US Senator (12/1914)

Robert Byrd: Current US West Virginia Senator (11/20)

Sid Caesar: Comedian/Actor/Emcee (9/20)

Pierre Cardin: Fashion designer (7/22)

Fidel Castro: Communist dictator of Cuba (8/26)

Channing: Actress/Comedianne (1/21)

Cyd Charisse: Actress (3/21)

Dick Cheney: US Vice-President (1/41)

Arthur C Clarke: Science Fiction Author (12/17)

Mike Connors: Actor, known for role in TV show Mannix

Walter Cronkite: Journalist/Reporter (11/16)

Al Davis: Pro Football Oakland Raiders Owner, Rabblerouser (7/29)

Doris Day: Actress, Animal Rights activist (4/24)

Olivia de Havilland: Actress (7/16)

Dino De Laurentiis: Film Producer (8/19)

Dom DeLuise: Actor, Chef (8/33)

Bo Diddley: Musician/Guitarist/Actor (12/28)

Phyllis Diller: Actress/Comedienne (7/17)

Dom DiMaggio: Baseball player, brother of legendary Joe (2/17)

Ronnie James Dio: Rock musician (7/42)

Anatoly Dobrynin: Soviet diplomat/ambassador (11/19)

Fats Domino: Musician/singer (2/28)

Kirk Douglas: Actor (12/16)

Robert Downey Jr: Actor, drug addict (4/65)

Hugh Downs: Broadcaster (2/21)

Angelo Dundee: Boxing Trainer/manager (8/23)

Charles Durning: Actor (2/23) *[may be a guideline for yours truly]

Lou Duva: Boxing Trainer/manager (5/22)

Roger Ebert: Film Critic, writer (6/42)

Blake Edwards: Movie director (7/22)

Nanette Fabray: Actress (10/20)

Peter Falk: Actor (9/27)

Louis Farrakhan: Militant political activist (5/33)

Lawrence Ferlinghetti: Beat poet, City Lights Bookstore owner (SF) (3/19)

Mel Ferrer: Actor (8/17)

Eddie Fisher: Actor/Singer/Entertainer (8/28)

Larry Flynt: Pornographer, constitutional rights activist (11/42)

Joan Fontaine: Actress (10/17)

Betty Ford: widow of former US President Ford (4/18)

John Forsythe: Actor (1/18)

Pete Fountain: Jazz clarinetist (7/30)

Aretha Franklin: Singer (3/42)

Annette Funicello: Actress (10/42)

Zsa Zsa Gabor: Celebrity/actress (2/17)

James Garner: Actor (4/28)

George Gaynes: Actor (5/17)

Mikhail Gorbachev: USSR President, writer, activist (3/31)

Micheal Gough: Actor (11/17)

Billy Graham: Evangelist, activist (11/18)

Peter Graves: Actor (3/26)

Rosey Grier: Football Player, actor, minister (7/32)

Robert Griffin: Former US Michigan Senator (11/23)

Andy Griffith: Actor, personality (6/26)

Bob Guccione: Publisher of Penthouse (12/30)

Larry Hagman: Actor (9/31)

Alexander Haig: Military General, bureaucrat (12/24)

Rob Halford: Lead singer of Judas Priest (8/51)

Monty Hall: Game show host (8/23)

Ralph Hall: Current US Texas Representative (5/23)

Clifford Hansen: Former US Wyoming Senator, governor (10/1912)

King Harard V of Norway: (2/37)

Ray Harryhausen: Cinematic Special Effects Genius (6/20)

Paul Harvey: Radio voice of the political Right Wing (9/18)

Mark Hatfield: Former US Oregon Senator, governor (7/22)

Stephen Hawking: Author, genius (1/42)

Charlton Heston: Actor, activist (10/24)

Paris Hilton: Celebrity, pornography actress (2/81)

Albert Hofmann: Chemist, created LSD (1/1906)

Hal Holbrook: Actor (2/25)

Earl Holliman: Actor (9/28)

Ernest Hollings: Former US South Carolina Senator, governor (1/22)

Celeste Holm: Actress (4/19)

Dolores Hope: Widow of Comic Bob Hope (5/1909)

Lena Horne: Jazz singer (6/17)

Whitney Houston: Singer (8/63)

Lee Iacocca: Automobile manufacturing executive (10/24)

Michael Jackson: singer, freak, child molester (5/58)

Etta James: Singer (1/38)

Wojciech Jaruzelski: Last Communist dictator of Poland (7/23)

Ron Jeremy: Pornography actor (3/53)

Van Johnson: Actor (8/16)

Ernie Johnson Jr.: Sports broadcaster (?/56)

KC Jones: Pro basketball player/coach (5/32)

Kim Jong-Il: Communist dictator of North Korea (2/41)

Ramzan Kadyrov: President of Chechnia

Ethel Kennedy: Widow of RFK (4/28)

George Kennedy: Actor (2/25)

Edward Kennedy: Current US Massachusetts Senator (2/32)

Eunice Kennedy-Shriver: Fifth of nine Kennedy siblings (7/21)

Kirk Kerkorian: Billionaire business magnate

Ali Khamenei: Supreme Ayatollah and Leader of Iran (6/39)

Abdul Qadeer Khan: Pakistani nuclear scientist (4/36)

Richard Kiel: Actor (9/39)

BB King: Blues guitarist, songwriter, singer (9/25)

Larry King: Television/Radio/Media personality (11/33)

Henry Kissinger: US Foriegn Policy developer/analyst, author (5/23)

Eartha Kitt: Actress, singer (1/27)

Jack Klugman: Actor (4/22)

Marion Knight: Rapper, criminal (4/65)

Helmut Kohl: Former chancellor of Germany (4/30)

C Everett Koop: Surgeon General, honest physician (10/16)

Harvey Korman: Actor (2/27)

Jake LaMotta: Boxer (7/21)

Angela Lansbury: Actress (10/25)

Tom Lantos: US Congressman from CA (2/28)

Christopher Lee: Actor (5/22)

Harper Lee: Authoress (4/26)

Stan Lee: Marvel Comics cartoonist (12/22)

Tommy Lee: Rock musician (10/62)

Claude Levi-Strauss: Anthropologist (11/1908)

Jerry Lewis: Actor/Comedian, activist (3/26)\

Jerry Lee Lewis: Musician (9/35)

Art Linkletter: TV host/personality (7/12

Lindsay Lohan: Celebrity, drug abuser (7/86)

Gavin McLeod: Actor (2/30)

Patrick Macnee: Actor (2/22)

Karl Malden: Actor (3/12)

Nelson Mandela: South African political prisoner, President, activist (7/18)

Charles Manson: Murderer, criminal, inmate, nutcase (11/34)

Imelda Marcos: Widow of Phillipines dictator Marcos, shoe fetishist (7/29)

Rose Marie: Actress (8/23)

Dick Martin: Comedian, actor (1/22)

George Martin: Producer of the Beatles (1/26)

Al Martino: Singer, actor (10/27)

Johnny Mathis: Musician, singer (9/35)

Ed McMahon: Television personality, host, actor (3/23)

Robert McNamara: US Secretary of Defense, banker, author (6/16)

Jayne Meadows: Actress (9/20)

Zubin Mehta: Classical music conductor (4/36)

Vera Miles: Actress (8/29)

Mitch Miller: Musician, performer (7/1911)

Liza Minelli: Actress, singer, celebrity (3/46)

Al Molinaro: Actor (6/19)

Ricardo Montalban: Actor (11/20)

Sun Myung Moon: Religious cultist, publisher, criminal (1/20)

Harry Morgan: Actor (4/15)

Ennio Morricone: Composer (11/28)

Kate Moss: Model, drug abuser (1/74)

Hosni Mubarak: President of Egypt (5/28)

Robert Mugabe: Dictator of Rhodesia/Zimbabwe (2/24)

Rupert Murdoch: Australian uber-capitalistic media magnate (3/31)

Pervez Musharaff: Dictator of Pakistan, human rights abuser (8/43)

Hassan Nasrallah: Lebanese Shia leader, terrorist, murderer (8/60)

Bob Newhart: Comedian/actor (9/29)

Edwin Newman: Journalist/reporter (1/19)

Vo Nguyen Giap: North Vietnamese general, politician (8/1911)

Leslie Neilson: Actor (2/26)

Leonard Nimoy: Actor (3/31)

Nick Nolte: Actor (2/41)

Maila Nurmi: Actress (12/21)

Rosie O'Donnell: Actress, activist, lesbian (3/62)

Maureen O'Sullivan: Actress (8/20)

Mullah Omar: Taliban leader, terrorist, murderer (?)

Ryan O'Neal: Actor (4/41)

Alan Oppenheimer: Voice actor (4/30)

Ozzy Osbourne: Musician, singer, celebrity, drug addict (12/48)

Peter O'Toole: Actor (8/32)

Terrell Owens: Professional football player (12/73)

Bettie Page: Actress, model (4/23)

Greg Page: Boxing champion (10/58)

Arnold Palmer: Golfer, philanthropist (9/29)

Don Pardo: Television/radio announcer (2/18)

Fess Parker: Actor (8/24)

Les Paul: Musician, songwriter, singer, inventor (6/15)

Patriarch Pavle: Serbian religious leader (9/14

James Pearson: Former US Kansas Senator (5/20)

I M Pei: Architect (4/17)

Claiborne Pell: Former US Rhode Island Senator (11/18)

Charles Percy: Former US Illinois Senator (9/19)

Shimon Peres: Former Israeli Prime Minister, politician (8/23)

Javier Perez de Cuellar: Former UN Secretary-General (1/20)

Johnny Pesky: Baseball player/manager, Boston legend (9/19)

Fred Phelps: Religious pastor/leader, ardent hater of homosexuals (11/29)

Prince Philip: Husband of British Queen Elizabeth II (6/21)

Roddy Piper: Celebrity wrestler, entertainer (4/54)

Joe Piscopo: Comedian/actor (6/51)

Sidney Pottier: Actor, entertainer, activist (2/27)

Iggy Pop: Musician, actor, drug addict (4/47)

Ahmed Qurei: Former Palestinean Prime Minister (3/37)

Louise Rainer: Actress (1/1910)

Jack Ramsey: Basketball coach, television/radio analsyst (2/25)

Nancy Reagan; Actress, activist, widow of US President Reagan (7/21)

Keith Richards: Guitarist, celebrity, drug addict (12/43)

Don Rickles: Actor, comedian, celebrity (5/26)

Oral Roberts: Tele-evangelist, hustler (1/18)

David Rockefeller: Banking magnate, member of Bilderbergs (6/15)

Mickey Rooney: Actor, personality (9/20)

Albert Rosselini: Oldest living former governor (WA) (1/1910)

Donald Rumsfeld: Inept politician, bureaucrat (7/32)

Jane Russell: Actress (6/21)

William Safire: Author, journalist, speechwriter (12/19)

Eva Marie Saint: Actress (7/24)

Soupy Sales: Comedian, entertainer, personality (1/26)

J D Sallinger: Author, legend, recluse (1/19)

Juan Antonio Samaranch: Olympics executive (7/20)

Frederick Sanger: Novel Laureate chemist (8/18)

William Schallert: Actor (7/22)

Helmut Schmidt: Former Chancellor of Germany (12/18)

Pete Seeger: Singer, songwriter, activist (5/19)

Yitzhak Shamir: Former Israeli Prime Minister, guerilla, politician (10/15)

Ravi Shankar: Hindu guru for the Beatles (4/20)

Ariel Sharon: Former Israeli Prime Minister, politician (2/28)

Charlie Sheen: Actor, celebrity, drug abuser (9/65)

Eduard Shevardnadze: Soviet bureaucart, President of Georgia (1/28)

King Sihanouk: Ousted king of Cambodia, politically exiled (10/22)

Neil Simon: Playwright, screenwriter (7/27)

OJ Simpson: Football player, actor, celebrity, murderer, criminal (7/47)

Tom Sizemore: Actor, drug addict (11/61)

Percy Sledge: Singer (11/40)

Alexander Solzhenitsyn: Author, activist, politicallu exiled (12/18)

Boris Spassky: Chess champion (1/37)

Britney Spears: Celebrity, drug addict (12/81)

Yves St Laurent: Fashion designer (8/36)

Jackie Stallone: celebrity, psychic, nutcase (12/21)

Harry Dean Stanton: Actor (7/26)

Jean Stapleton: Actress, activist (1/23)

Scott Stapp: Singer, drug addict (8/73)

George Steinbrenner: Baseball New York Yankees owner, business magnate, nutcase (7/30)

John Paul Stevens: US Supreme Court Justice (4/20)

Sly Stone: musician, singer (3/43)

Darryl Strawberry: Baseball player, inmate, drug addict (3/62)

Gloria Stuart: Actress, known for role in Titanic (7/1910)

Bert Sugar: Boxing publisher (6/36)

Suharto: Dictator of Indonesia (6/21)

Charles Taylor: Dictator of Liberia (1/48)

Elizabeth Taylor: Actress (2/32)

Rod Taylor: Actor (1/30)

Shirley Temple-Black: Actress, ambassador, activist (4/28)

Studs Terkel: Author, journalist, broadcaster (5/1912)

Margeret Thatcher: British Prime Minister, politician (10/25)

Pete Townshend: Guitarist, songwriter, sex offender (5/45)

Verne Troyer: Actor, celebrity (1/69)

Margaret Truman: Author, biographer, daughter of US President Truman (2/24)

Donald Trump: Business magnate, meglomaniac, nutcase (6/46)

Desmond Tutu: Religious leader, activist, political leader (12/31)

Joseph Tydings: Former US Maryland Senator (5/28)

Mike Tyson: Boxer, rapist, criminal, nutcase (6/66)

Abigail Van Buren: Newspaper columnist, moralist (7/18)

Steve Van Buren: Professional football player (12/20)

Dick Van Dyke: Actor, comedian (12/25)

Theodore Van Kirk: Navigator of the Enola Gay (2/21)

Dick Van Patten: Actor, celebrity (12/28)

Gloria Vanderbilt: Heiress, socialite, celebrity, activist (2/24)

Donatella Versace: Fashion designer, celebrity (5/55)

Gore Vidal: Essayist, novelist, playwright, commentator (10/25)

Abe Vigoda: Actor, celebrity (2/21)

Jan-Michael Vincent: Actor (7/44)

Otto von Habsburg: Crown Prince of Austria, celebrity (12/1912)

Max von Sydow: Actor (4/29)

Mike Wallace: Journalist (5/18)

Eli Wallach: Actor, philanthropist (12/15)

Charlie Watts: Drummer (6/41)

Scott Weiland: Singer, drug addict (10/67)

The Duke of Wellington: Aristocrat (7/15

Kitty Wells: Singer (8/19)

Adam West: Actor, celebrity (9/28)

Ruth Westheimer: Sex therapist, author, wartime sniper (6/28)

Betty White: Actress, activist (1/22)

Kevin White: Former Mayor of Boston MA (9/25)

Slim Whitman: Singer (1/24)

James Whitmore: Actor (10/21)

Phyllis Whitney: Author (9/1903)

Richard Widmark: Actor (12/1914)

Elie Wiesel: Activist, novelist (9/28)

Gene Wilder: Actor, screenwriter, director (6/33)

Andy Williams: Singer (12/27)

John Williams: Composer (2/32)

Brian Wilson: Musician (6/42)

Amy Winehouse: Singer, songwriter, drug addict (9/83)

Jonathon Winters: Comedian, actor, writer (11/25)

John Wooden: Greatest college basketball coach (10/1910)

Herman Wouk: Author (5/15)

Andrew Wyeth: Painter (7/17)

Bill Wyman: Guitarist (10/36)

Chuck Yeager: Military officer, test pilot (2/23)

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi: Guru (10/1911)

Victor Yushchenko: President of Ukraine (2/54)

Franco Zeffirelli: Film Director (2/23)

Jiang Zemin: Dictator of China (8/26)

Efrem Zimbalist Jr,: Actor (11/18)
************************************

We should also see some of these other oldest living former governors , oldest former US congresspeople, or another of these oldest living US Senators pass.

A good source for a list of those still alive over age 85 is...

http://www.deadoraliveinfo.com/dead.nsf/viewdocs-nf/oldpeople

And one is macabre enough to want to enter a contest to challenge others on whom that is noteworthy that will die in 2008, you can go to...

http://www.thedeadpool.com/

http://dir.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Contests__Surveys__and_Polls/Pools/Death_Pools/

-----

Aggregate Losses of Trillions of Dollars

That is what is being projected for homeowners collectively in their housing values across the nation by a leading respected Yale University economist, Dr Rober Shiller. The research he is doing indicates strongly that home values are now falling everywhere in all regions around the nation and will continue to for the foreseeable future. The economist says, "This housing recession will go on for years." Distressing news and negative projections of this strong magnitude is very alarming, but on the good side, perhaps prices will get down to a point where someone like me will become eligible to buy a new home within a decade.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article3111659.ece

-----

California, Like Elsewhere, to Change Greatly in Coming Years

The effects and consequences of Global Warming on most places will quite rapid. Areas and regions closest to oceans and seas will probably see changes the fastest. The California we all know, appreciate, and enjoy will undergo strong climatic and environmental alterations with the next two decades. More of the state will be like Baja California and the western Mexican coastal area.

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/climate-set-to-alter-california/20071229195309990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

-----