You might recall that in January of this year Australia’s psychic of the year made some predictions for 2009. It’s now December, and I thought I’d take a look back at the year that was and see how Stacey Demarco’s predictions have faired.
1. Was Barack Obama assassinated?
The witch was concerned about the possible of an attempt on the lives of Barack and Michelle Obama (and, as she helpfully notes, she’s “not the only one in the spiritual community who thinks that”). Both Barack and Michelle Obama are fine. Prediction failed.
2. Kevin Rudd “may be beset with a serious, even fatal heart problem”.
It’s been 321 days so far and The Kevin Rudd Chronometer of Valour is still ticking—and so is his heart. Kevin Rudd, who has a pre-existing heart condition (he received a cardiac valve transplant in the early 1990s), is fine. Prediction failed.
3. Is Malcolm Turnbull the Prime Minister?
Malcolm Turnbull is not the Prime Minister. We haven’t had an election. This question and the next may not have been meant for this year in particular, but that’s what the Today Tonight segment was about, so that’s how I’m rating them. For now: Prediction irrelevent.
4. Is Julia Gillard the next female Prime Minister?
See above. Prediction irrelevent.
5. Did house prices stop falling after six months?
This really doesn’t seem like the kind of field a witch ought to be concerned with, but nevertheless: in the first quarter of 2009, house prices fell 2.2%, but in the second quarter, they increased 4.2%. For the prediction to be accurate they should have kept falling in the second quarter and risen in the third, but I’m going to be generous, since she’s clearly not very good with handling timeframes to begin with. Prediction successful.
6. Was August the nadir of the economic crisis?
I’m lazy, so I’m just going to go by the unemployment rate, which peaked at 5.9% in July and was about the same (5.8%) in August. If this witchcraft business doesn’t work out, maybe this woman could become an economic statistician. Prediction successful.
7. Did Slumdog Millionaire, Mickey Rourke, and Kate Winslet win the Oscars?
The psychic of the year’s predicted winners for Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress were, funnily enough, generally considered favourites even by those without psychic powers. She was right on two counts, but was wrong about the Best Actor, which Sean Penn got in a surprise win. Now, if she had picked that one, I’d be impressed. Prediction failed.
The final score: ignoring the irrelevent predictions, two out of five. Does Australia have a new psychic of the year yet? It sounds like we need one.