Perez Hilton: Is Fidel Castro dead?

National Post ^ | August 17, 2007 | Chris Boutet

[tlb]

There's an strangely ominous post on celebrity news site PerezHilton.com tonight wondering aloud if Cuban dictator Fidel Castro has died. Mr. Hilton has piqued our interest — as intrepid night reporter noted, "He's never wrong!" (Well, at least when it comes to celebrities, anyhow.) Here's what he wrote:

Is Castro Dead???

We are hearing very loud rumblings that Cuban dictator Fidel Castro has died, though it could be just a flare-up of the health rumors that have dogged the tyrant recently.

No official confirmation yet, but we will be following this story closely.

Post reporter Katie Rook spoke with Mr. Hilton and files these quotes:

"I've been hearing rumblings for days coming from Miami and now finally, I am hearing even louder rumblings. Take that for what it is. Hopefully, their will be some announcement either way: a confirmation or a denial."

"I am working every angle. I work hard and hard work gets good results."

"I've been hearing a lot of things coming from Miami for a couple of days now and then today, I just got some new information that is leading me to believe that he is [dead.] But, you know, it may just be rumours. He had his birthday on Monday, so maybe it's just a new flare-up of rumours."

Mr. Hilton, whose celebrity gossip site receives about 6 million to 7 million hits daily, says it would be "awesome" if Castro was dead and he was one of the first media outlets to report it.

"It would be awesome because I am Cuban. I have a real connection to this story. My family had to flee his dictorial, totalitarian, oppressive, communist, evil regime.

[hiredhand]

Sure thing!

Hey...Be careful if you click down into the perezhilton site. It's trash. ...nothing that will burn your eyeballs from their sockets...but pretty sleazy all the same.

[TightyRighty]

Well, if he’s never wrong then Jenna Bush is getting married because she’s pregnant.

[2111USMC]

"Note that I read celeb news ..."

Yes, we have taken note.

:)

[Fedupwithit]

There are some good responses in this page, but yours had me snarfing!!!

[garyhope]

I can only hope so. I hope he’s already spending yet another “Weekend At Bernies”.

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Now all the world has to do is get over the hero worship of Fidel and Che. How can so much of the world be so backwards?

[CaptainK]

A Freeper beat Perez to the punch

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1882807/posts

[MaxMax]

If Castro is dead I can finally go to Cuba for their
incredible health care. /s

[shield]

Thanks. I didn’t intend to visit that site. I’m selective in sites I visit. ;o)

[peggybac]

No way he’s dead. We all know Cuba has the best medical treatment ever.

[jsh3180]

From the website “the realcuba.com”
_____________________________________________________________
The rumors continue, but I don’t have any confirmation that Castro is dead

I have received dozens of e-mails asking if it is true that Cuban dictator Fidel Castro is dead. I don’t have any confirmation that it is true, at least as of Friday night.

I was able to chat with a couple of dissidents who were connected to the Internet today through the American Interest Section, and I asked them if they were aware of the rumors. They were. They said that everyone is talking about it, but they also do not have any way of knowing if it is true or not.

Some newspapers in Spain are reporting that Castro has died and that four of his military aides were arrested when they tried to find out if the rumors were true.

We will continue monitoring all the rumors and news, but will only report when there is some official confirmation from reliable sources about these rumors.

[hiredhand]

Do you speak Spanish? If so, look at -

http://www.noticierodigital.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=239753

I can pick out bits and pieces, but my Spanish is anywhere from rusty to nonexistent.

[samtheman]

I saw a love-piece on PBS the other night worshiping Castro. They made a few obligatory statements about how he “suppressed those who disagreed with him”, but basically glossed over or covered up all his crimes and repeated all the “for the people” propaganda, straight out of the dictators own mouth.

Early in the biography, they “mentioned” that he was implicated in several murders as a college student. But hey, that’s just student-pranks for a would be socialist dictator.

[John Leland 1789]

Would it be “hate speech” to say that we want any enemy combatant against the united States to take a bullet? Is it “hate speech” for the platoon leader to order the stocking up on ammunition for engaging the enemy? If not, then it cannot be “hate speech” to want the demise or death of any enemy that intends our nation or our citizens harm. It doesn’t matter if it is a soldier or a politician. Castro, by the way is one of these guys who likes to appear in public as a soldier-president, with a loaded side arm strapped on. This makes him a combatant.

[KoRn]

I hope his Fentanyl pump was broke before the end...

[shield]

Here's some of it:

"Fidel Castro died.

Great expectation in Cuba tonight!

There will be an important announcement of the government. Many Cubans within the island say that he is on the hurricane that will pass by Cuba, but others think that it is the announcement of the death of Castro.

All Cuba this to the expectation."

[EternalVigilance]

[hosepipe]

Hes not dead until Jimmah Carter and Bubba Clinton catch a plane for Havana..
OH! and half or more of Hollyweird..

[hiredhand]

It's very ominous that the hurricane would be going past the island shortly. It's "supposed" to be a CAT-4 storm now....bad news for sure!

[shield]

I love it...

[The KG9 Kid]

"... And what if he is? It isn’t as if decades of Communism will be shed overnight."

Were you serving as Eastern Bloc analyst for the CIA during the late 1980s?