The guy has been this close to dying (insert mental image of your thumb and forefinger less than an inch apart) for quite some time. But he was a no-show at his own 80th birthday bash. And everybody knows how much Castro loves a good bash.

A Blog For All has more links to the latest “Castro is Dead” rumors:

Is he dead? Is it official? Does any of this even matter to the very people most affected by the decision; the Cuban people themselves who will have to put up with Fidel’s brother Raul until he croaks. At a minimum Castro dying gives the Cuban people a glimmer of hope, and [T]hugo Chavez will have to find a new icon to drool over.

The usual suspects, Val Prieto and Michelle Malkin are on top of the situation. Pajamas Media is trying to track down the rumors.

Val is quite certain he’s dead, even if the Cuban government – aka Raul – hasn’t made it official. Such is the way of totalitarian regimes with a dose of cult of personality thrown in.

I hope the people of Cuba don’t cower under the continued threats of repression under another Castro regime (Raul). I hope they take this opportunity to take back their country.

I won’t pop the champagne until there’s an “official” announcement from Raul and a televised burial/parade from Cuba.
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OTHERS:

• The Jawa Report
• The Dread Pundit Bluto
• Small Dead Animals (from Dec 2, 2006)
• IMAO (from July 11, 2006)
• Rantings of a Sandmonkey (dated July 12, 2006)
• ElBlogador (dated August 1, 2006)

Okay…so “Castro is Dead” rumors have been floating around for quite some time. But one of these times, we’re going to get lucky, and he’ll actually be dead.