Fidel the Blogger

The Cuban revolutionary also noted that he found Alan Greenspan’s recent book extremely useful in helping understand the current situation, particularly "the consequences of printing bills and spending without limits."

The U.S. elections have been another frequent topic on the blog, and Comrade Fidel has been especially tough on John McCain, who he finds arrogant. “More than 2,400 years ago, Socrates wrote…. ‘I only know that I know nothing,’” Castro wrote. “Today, McCain tells his fellow countrymen: 'I only know that I know everything.'" 

Castro has been easier on Obama. Though he quibbled with Obama’s foreign policy in a blog entry, he qualified his criticism by adding “I am not questioning Obama’s great intelligence, his debating skills or his work ethic. He is a talented orator and is ahead of his rivals in the electoral race.”

He also has a soft spot for Obama’s daughters, Malia and Sasha. “I feel sympathy for his wife and little girls, who accompany him and give him encouragement every Tuesday. It is indeed a touching human spectacle.”

Some Cubans, including the punk rocker Gorki Aguila, the lead singer of Porno para Ricardo, are starting to feel a little impatient with the uber-blogger. In  a recent song called “The Commander”, Aguila denounces Fidel as a self-satisfied old man who “wants me to applaud him after he speaks his delirious shit.”

Aguila, who relies on the Internet to illegally distribute his songs bashing the Castro siblings and the Cuban regime, was recently arrested for “social dangerousness” and received a four year prison sentence that was later revoked.

Castro’s prolific blogging is especially frustrating to legions of young Cubans who frequently find their blogs blocked inside Cuba when they criticize the government online. (See the blog of Yoani Sánchez called Generation Y).

As rumors swirl about Castro’s failing health, some readers wonder if a ghost-blogger might be manning the controls.

While no one can be entirely sure, Gabriel García Márquez once said, “Fidel isn’t like the rest of us. He thinks he has all the time in the world. Death isn’t part of his plans.” For now, blogging definitely is.