CNN kills Castro early

Castro did make a wonderful Queen Consort, didn't he? Or maybe it was his role as the U.K.'s favorite grandmother that tickled your heart.

Some of you might not recall these more tender moments from Fidel's past, when he served the British Royal Family. To help jog your memory, CNN this week dropped an early copy of its obituary for the Cuban leader onto its Web site, along with confused biographies on various other world figures that have not passed into the hereafter just yet.

It seems a few test pages made their way into the public domain when Fark readers discovered them in a Google search. The Smoking Gun has saved the obits on Castro, Bob Hope, Pope John Paul II, Nelson Mandela, Dick Cheney, Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford.

A quotation heading Ford's obituary said, "I'm a Ford, not a Lincoln." Ford may want to place a few calls to AOL Time Warner HQ and see what can be done about that memorable line before his time comes.

The obituaries are works in progress to be sure and are all based on this tribute to the Queen Mum.

It's for this reason that Castro finds himself in Buckingham Palace, and the Pope finds the intimate details of his marriage, divorce and love of racing exposed on the world's leading source for news.

Ronald Reagan's page has neared completion, and the CNN designers seemed fond of their work. Quotations from Dutch's life are scattered throughout the mock-ups so much so that Castro's past is marred by tales of the lifeguard, athlete, movie star, governor and president.

CNN spokespeople described the premature obit postings as being a result of human error, which is like saying nothing at all. ®