Ever since I saw the four photos released today in Cuba that show Fidel Castro alive and recovering and are alleged to have been taken yesterday — right down to the hostage-like photo of Fidel holding up a newspaper to display the headline and pinpoint the date — several things have been bothering me.

And one of them has definitely…bugged me. But more on that below the fold.

Mis-match of red logo and title color in actual Saturday edition of Cuba newspaper Granma
and black logo and title in newspaper Castro is shown holding in an 80th birthday photo

First, notice in the photo above that the Granma newspaper that Fidel Castro is shown displaying has a black logo and a black headline. The problem is that Granma uses a bright red logo, and often uses color in other places on the front page.

The second photo, to the right, shows the actual front page of yesterday’s Granma, with a red logo and a bright red headline.

Why the discrepancy?

Perhaps the copied red text did not show up as well in the photo when Photoshopped onto the newspaper Fidel was actually holding in this picture. Perhaps the red color of the headline and logo were more difficult to match in with Fidel’s hand at the top where his thumb was overlapping the page. Perhaps the Cuban government hired freelancer Adnan Hajj to prepare the photo.

I don’t know why they would have changed the color of the headline and logo. I only know that the color is different from that in yesterday’s actual edition of the newspaper.

Part two of the problem with the newspaper. Even if the color of the headline and logo were explainable, the size of the Cuban newspaper is not the same as the size of the newspaper Castro is shown holding.

Size mis-match of Granma newspaper and newspaper Castro shown holding in photo.
Overlay shows Granma to be wider and shorter than newspaper Castro holding

In the photo above, the actual Granma newspaper frontpage from Saturday, August 12, 2006 is overlaid on the photo released today purportedly showing Fidel Castro holding the same edition of the newspaper. The overlay is partially transparent to show the underlying Castro image.

Note that the black Granma logo on the Castro photo matches the red Granma logo overlaid on it in size. Note that the picture of Castro illustrating the story matches in size in both the birthday photo and the overlay photo (although they are slightly out of register). Note also that the text columns at the bottom of the newspaper page in the overlay match in height and width the text columns in the paper Castro is show holding.

Now notice the headline. In the overlay, it stretches far beyond the width of the newspaper page that Castro is holding. The color is not the only thing that is different. The headline on the newspaper Castro is holding has been reduced in size so that it will fit.

The columns of text which end above Castro’s right hand, holding the bottom of the newspaper, appear to be at the actual bottom of the page on the real Granma front page. This would explain the large amount of white space at the bottom of the newspaper in the birthday photo.

The hands of the woman holding the real Granma newspaper, when overlaid on the Castro birthday photo, also appear quite large in comparison to Castro’s hands. This also indicates that parts of the front page of Granma were enlarged and manipulated in order to fit the size of the newspaper Castro was holding in the photo.

That isn’t all.

The story continues on the next page.

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A closer examination of the photos released this morning from Cuba purportedly showing Fidel Castro after his surgery reveal some discrepancies that raise questions about their authenticity. Facial details do not match up with the most recent photos of the Cuban dictator before his recent hospitalization.

Age Spot on Fidel Castro’s Face in July 26, 2006 Photos Missing in
Purported Post-Surgery Photos Released on Cuban Leader’s Birthday

In the photo above, a large “age spot” on Castro’s right cheek near the cheekbone shown in a photo taken on July 26, 2006, at his last public appearance before his recent illness is missing in the photo alleged to have been taken yesterday. This raises questions about whether the photos released to the media this morning were actually taken weeks, or even months, in the past.

This is not the only discrepancy in the four photos released today.

Evidence of deliberate manipulation of one of the photos is below the fold.

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The first photos of Fidel Castro since his emergency surgery two weeks ago were published today, his 80th birthday, by Cuba’s Communist Youth newspaper in their online edition Juventud Rebelde.

First Post-Surgery Photos of Fidel Castro Published by Cuba Communist Youth Newspaper

In the first of the four photos, shown above, Castro holds a copy of the Saturday August 12, 2006 edition of Granma, the Cuban Communist Party newspaper. The headline reads “Absolved by history.” The photos were picked up this morning by the Associated Press wire surface, and offered with this statement:

“The Associated Press cannot verify the authenticity or the date when these photographs were shot”.

And so, the first question of the day is whether the photos truly show Fidel Castro recuperating from his illness, or whether they were photoshopped or are deceptive in some other way.

The second question is why AP is so hesitant in identifying them definitely as authentic post-surgery Fidel Castro photos (fall-out from the photo scandals hitting them, Reuters, and other media? Or something more specific that gives them pause?)

The third question is exactly how serious the situation is in Cuba behind the shield of military mobilization and total news blackout of the past few days if it is necessary to publish a picture of Fidel Castro holding up a newspaper in a hostage-like attempt to show that he was alive as of yesterday.

Prior to these photographs published today and purportedly taken yesterday, Castro was last photographed on July 26, 2006, at the 53rd anniversary of his barracks assault that launched the Cuban revolution.

A photo from that event is shown for comparison of the Cuban leader’s appearance then and in the latest photos.

No matter what the ultimate answer to that question may be, one thing is certain. Change has come to Cuba and nothing will be the same as it was before the Communist dictator ceded power for the first time in nearly a half century.

Cuba, and the world, are now seriously contemplating the reality of life post-Fidel.

More on this latest development, and more photos, below the fold.

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Current conjecture among medical experts is that Fidel Castro has widely metastatic colon cancer and either did not survive the surgery announced by Cuban officials, or — if he survived — will be dead within a matter of a few weeks.

The condition is terminal.

It was known before Castro’s sudden collapse last weekend that he had stomach cancer, but the speed of his decline caught his medical team by surprise. It is thought to have been contributed to by depression over his declining health and anxiety over whether or not the revolutionary movement he founded would long survive his passing.

There are several other possible medical conditions that fit the facts reported in official Cuban government statements on Castro’s condition, but all of them are terminal. If Castro is not dead already, or dying, then the official statements have been false and Castro’s illness and relinquishment of power were a ruse.

Published reports have indicated that Fidel Castro is hospitalized in an exclusive hospital in the Kohly area reserved for members of the Cuban Politburo and other high government officials. Cigar Envy has learned that those published reports are probably in error.

Where the Cuban leader was actually operated on, and the circumstances following his operation at the hospital in question, raise questions about his current condition and the statements issued this past week by Cuban authorities.

Full details after the jump.

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Related Link: Free Movies Free Movies

In a statement that has further raised speculation over the fate of dictator Fidel Castro, Cuba’s Communist Party on Thursday stressed it would stay in control no matter what happened to the convalescent leader. The statement again failed to clear up questions over whether Castro is dead or alive, and doubts over who is in actually charge of the island nation now.

Cuban Communist Party statement fuels speculation that Castro is dead

In a typically cryptic message analysts said was designed to dispel fears of a disorderly transition of power, the main Communist newspaper Granma printed part of an old speech by Cuba’s temporary leader, Castro’s brother Raul.

In the speech, delivered on June 14 to army officers and first printed in Granma the following day, Raul Castro said, “Only the Communist Party …. can be the worthy heir of the trust Cubans have placed in their leader.”

The question of who will actually succeed Fidel Castro is not simple to answer. The story continues below the fold.

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Two days after the unprecedented handover of power in Cuba from dictator Fidel Castro to his brother, Raul, neither man has made a public appearance or been show in media reports. The questions being asked by many is, where are Fidel and Raul, what is happening out of sight, behind the scenes, and — most important of all — is Fidel Castro dead?

Demonstrator in Miami’s Little Havana with sign Is Castro Dead?”

A slight but perceptible mobilization of police in Havana’s streets was accompanied by a tightening of security at the country’s exit points, along with a mobilization of Communist Party activists and rapid response brigades. Cubans are pondering the fate of their leader of nearly five decades after he reportedly underwent gastrointestinal surgery.

A top official said Wednesday that Fidel Castro, 79, remained “very alert” following his operation, and continued to closely follow domestic and international affairs. However, no pictures have been shown of the island nation’s leader, and he has not been seen since last week.

As the hours have lengthened into days since the announcement of Fidel Castro’s health crisis, neither he nor his brother Raul, named as temporary replacement to Fidel on Monday, have appeared in public or made any direct statements to the media. Their continuing absence, along with the increasing security measures in Cuba, are stoking concerns over the country’s future.

National Assembly Speaker Ricardo Alarcon told US-based Pacifica Radio’s “Democracy Now” show that he had spoken Monday and Tuesday with Fidel.

“Of course, he is forced to have a period of rest. He underwent complicated surgery,” said Alarcon. “But he is very alive and very alert as always, very interested in what’s going on around him and around the world,” he said.

Despite Alarcon’s claim to have spoken with with Castro, the ailing dictator’s absence from public view has continued to fule speculation that he might be comatose, more gravely ill than reported…or worse.

Details of Castro’s health have been declared an official state secret because of, Cuban government sources state, the continuing threat posed by the United States. Rather than bringing reassurance, the move has prompted questions of what health details could be dangerous to the state — except confirmation of Castro’s death.

“They should have appeared,'’ said Rolando Anderson, a vendor in Havana’s historic center. “There are many people asking questions.'’

More news from Cuba and Florida below the fold.

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