Merged US may close Cuba Embassy over 'health attacks'

[dann]

The cause of 'Havana syndrome' remains elusive (Advisory Board, Mar 6, 2023)

No, the causes of 'Havana Syndrome' are pretty clear and have been for quite some time.

Some mysteries go unsolved, but who perpetrated the inhumane “brain attacks” in 2016 on 1,500 American diplomats stationed in Cuba and other parts of the world shouldn’t be one of them.
It’s hard to fathom that all these years after Americans were beset with headaches, dizziness, tinnitus and other symptoms, some of them permanent, the U.S. intelligence community concluded that the diplomats were unlikely to have been victims of attacks by a forei ...
Editorial: Hard to believe ‘Havana syndrome’ all in our heads (Boston Herald, Mar 7, 2023)

No, it isn't hard to fathom at all. Some people get headaches, dizziness, tinnitus and other symptoms every day. They did so before the 'syndrome' and they will continue to do so after. Very, very few of those people think somebody is attacking their brains with rayguns.

As for who perpetrated it: They were the people who persuaded people with headaches, dizziness, tinnitus and other symptoms that those were the symptoms of a raygun attack. And that includes you, Boston Herald, and you are still doing it, you are still perpetrating this inhumane attack on people's minds.

 

[dann]

This is the much-needed common sense supplement to the highbrow article in Scientific American mentioned in post 1,760 yesterday. You should read both articles:

Fortunately, “Havana syndrome” has dissipated gradually. If you’re a believer in the energy-weapon hypothesis, it was only to be expected that whoever was behind the attacks would dismantle their secret diplomat death ray before they got caught with it. Many experts, perhaps most, believe that “Havana syndrome” has actually just been a mass psychogenic illness among people far from home in high-stress, high-security environments. The dwindling of the syndrome is consistent with that, too.

Nowhere in the national intelligence briefing documents is infectious hysteria mentioned explicitly. You have to read between the lines and the black censorship bars: the assessment tells us “the evidence points away” from foreign activity or even any “causal mechanism” (!!) as the source of the illnesses. Haines sums up by saying, “IC agencies assess that symptoms reported by U.S. personnel were probably the result of factors that did not involve a foreign adversary, such as pre-existing conditions, conventional illnesses and environmental factors.”
Colby Cosh: The (REDACTED) tale of Havana syndrome (SaltWire, Mar 6, 2023)

 

[dann]

I wonder what happened to this guy: CIA Vienna station chief removed amid 'Havana syndrome' criticism -Washington Post (Reuters, Sep 24, 2021)

I would have loved to see a transcript from the public meeting at the 8th Annual Ambassador's Forum last week with retired ambassador Pamela Spratlen, who "briefly returned to State in 2021 to oversee efforts to address the “Havana Syndrome”" and was then apparently also 'removed amid 'Havana syndrome' criticism'.

 

[dann]

Where did all the evidence go?!

It occurred to me some time ago that Krystal and Saagar no longer appeared in videos from The Hill, but apparently they have started something of their own.
This is a great presentation of some of the outrageous claims about the 'syndrome' that we have heard over the years on mainstream media.

It is shocking to hear (again!) how sure almost all mainstream networks were that the 'syndrome' constituted an attack, that Cuba, Russia and/or China were behind this thing, and that all kinds of evidence existed for those claims. It is almost like hearing Mike Lindell or Sidney Powel talk about all the evidence they have against the Dominion voting machines. It is as far out as those claims.

On NBC:

Well, it's still partially a mystery, Chris, but they have more and more evidence, they say, three U.S. officials tell us, pointing to Russia, including communications intercepts that suggest that the Russian intelligence agency was allowed. Now really, there was only three suspects from the beginning, Russia, China and the Cubans.

One of the claims was that the Russians had been overheard talking about the 'syndrome', but as the ODNI report shows, other nations did indeed talk about it. How]could they not talk about something they were accused of doing? But those other countries were confused by the American allegations and tended to believe that it was a very deliberate attempt to create an excuse for U.S. aggression - which it probably also was, at least to some extent. It's certainly how it was used against Cuba!

But who were the people who claimed to have all this evidence that they didn't actually have? (Also like Powell and Lindell.) Was Marco Rubio the one who made it up or were there others?

What is the punishment for making false claims like these? At one point, Mr. Burns threatened Putin based on this fake evidence. Could that have something to do with Russia's fear of being encircled by new NATO countries?

Krystal and Saagar discuss the CIA admitting that Havana Syndrome was NOT caused by some foreign adversary attack after the media and establishment politicians pushed the issue as real.
DEBUNKED: MSNBC Fake CIA Illness 'HAVANA SYNDROME' (Breaking Point on YouTube, Mar 2, 2023 - 8:22 min.)

Another quotation from the video is Marc Polymeropoulos on MSNBC:

But my suspicions started growing when, you know, the next day and the days after the symptoms didn't necessarily abide. And when I got back to the United States, particularly in early 2018, you know I developed symptoms such as brain fog, I lost my long-distance vision. You know, at that point it was pretty clear to me that something very unusual had happened.
This is a big deal, you know. These are attacks. You know, it's an act of war against U.S. officials.

They guy appears to be in his mid-to-late-50s, doesn't he? I don't think brain fog is unusual after a panic attack caused by severe stress. At his age, it shouldn't come as surprise to him that his eyesight is getting worse and that he needs glasses. In my mid-50s, I was told by my optician that I should not be riding my motorcycle at night. At that point, I had to get so close to traffic signs on the highway before I could read them that I didn't have enough time to get the information I needed.

So much for loss of long-distance vision being a combat injury! I was never anywhere near anything resembling combat!

 

[Roger Ramjets]

So much for loss of long-distance vision being a combat injury! I was never anywhere near anything resembling combat!

It's all about cause and effect. You were never in combat, so your loss of long-distance vision couldn't have been a combat injury. But if you were in combat, it would have been. This simple logic was burned into our brains even before the human species evolved.

Marc Polymeropoulos spent 26 years in the CIA, and during that time was put under "the most high-stress circumstances you can imagine as ... one of the CIA’s most decorated field officers."

In his book Clarity in Crisis he gives some sage advice:-

Though your crisis situations may not entail international counter terrorism as Marc’s did, in our age of social media and a 24-hour news cycle, the consequences of mishandling a crisis can escalate quickly, leaving irreparable damage to a company’s reputation and bottom line in its wake.

In Clarity in Crisis, Marc shares how true leaders need to lead in and through times of crisis and thrive under conditions of ambiguity, rather than message their way out or duck from hard decisions. Far from mere theory, Marc outlines the unique and specific mindset and strategies he himself practiced and honed throughout his remarkable career.

So you can see the mindset. The conditions might be ambiguous, but you know the filthy Marxists are behind it, lurking in the shadows ready to harm you in whatever nefarious way they can. When a crisis occurs you don't 'message your way out of it'. You use your 26 years of experience to see clear through the fog of ambiguity and identify the bad guys behind it (remembering that there is always a bad guy behind anything bad). And don't for a moment think that the stress might be clouding your judgement - that's giving in to doubt. You thrive on stress and ambiguity!

 

[Roger Ramjets]

It is shocking to hear (again!) how sure almost all mainstream networks were that the 'syndrome' constituted an attack, that Cuba, Russia and/or China were behind this thing, and that all kinds of evidence existed for those claims. It is almost like hearing Mike Lindell or Sidney Powel talk about all the evidence they have against the Dominion voting machines. It is as far out as those claims.

Is this really true though?

A fake Russian ray gun destroyed the media's BS detector

Anybody could fall for mass sociogenic illness in the right context. But there is some shame on the great many journalists and members of Congress who stoked inflammatory, implausible claims about magic Russian ray guns.

A very brief sample: Ana Swanson, Edward Wong, and Julian E. Barnes reported in October 2020 at The New York Times that several diplomats in China were likely victims of Havana syndrome. Ken Dilanian, Andrea Mitchell, and Brenda Breslauer reported in December 2020 at NBC News that a CIA officer who worked in Moscow could be a victim as well. (Dilanian, incidentally, was one of the biggest syndrome hysterics, but he also helped break the story of the new CIA report, probably because of his very friendly history with the agency.) A National Academy of Sciences report that argued there could be a scientific basis for a secret microwave gun got respectful coverage from CNN, NBC, ABC, The New York Times, Axios, The Guardian, and countless other outlets.

Let's take a look at some of these so-called examples of 'stoking inflammatory, implausible claims':-

CNN

‘Sonic attacks’ suffered by US diplomats likely caused by microwave energy, government study says
The mysterious head injuries suffered by US diplomatic staff in China and Cuba that had been described as “sonic attacks” are consistent with the use of directed microwave energy, according to a report published Saturday by the National Academy of Sciences.

“Overall, directed pulsed RF (radio frequency) energy, especially in those with the distinct early manifestations, appears to be the most plausible mechanism in explaining these cases among those that the committee considered,” the report said.

The report added that it considered possible incidents of persistent postural-perceptual dizziness as a possible secondary issue in some of those affected a contributing factor.

While the report does not conclude that the use of directed microwave energy in these instances was done deliberately, it said such action could be used for nefarious purposes.

“The mere consideration of such a scenario raises grave concerns about a world with disinhibited malevolent actors and new tools for causing harm to others, as if the U.S. government does not have its hands full already with naturally occurring threats,” the report said.

The report said that it considered chemical exposures, infectious diseases and psychological issues as potential causes or aggravating factors of the injuries, but the overall analysis appeared to show they were not the likely cause.

Despite this report coming from one of the most prestigious scientific organizations in the world, CNN still put the phrase ‘Sonic attacks’ in scare quotes. Nowhere in the article did CNN make any pronouncement on how 'sure' they were that the report was accurate. For sure they didn't debunk it either, but considering the source...

NBC

'Havana Syndrome' likely caused by pulsed microwave energy, government study findsExclusive: Report on neurological symptoms of U.S. diplomats in China, Cuba does not address whether directed energy was delivered intentionally, by a weapon...

NBC News reported in 2018 that U.S. intelligence officials considered Russia a leading suspect in what some of them assess to have been deliberate attacks on diplomats and CIA officers overseas. But there was not — and is not now — conclusive intelligence pointing in that direction, multiple officials who have been briefed on the matter said...

The State Department, responding to the report, said that "each possible cause remains speculative" and added that the investigation, now three years old, is still "ongoing." Although it praised the National Academies of Sciences for undertaking the effort, the State Department offered a long list of "challenges of their study" and limitations in the data the academies were given access to, suggesting that the report should not be viewed as conclusive...

Over the years, the FBI, CIA, U.S. military, State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have investigated the incidents. None has come forward with any conclusions, and the State Department has quietly ceased using the word “attacks” to describe what happened, as then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and other top officials did in the early days after the incidents first came to light publicly in 2017...

NBC don't seem to be so sure...

ABC

Scientists suggest US embassies were hit with high-power microwaves – here's how the weapons work...

As an electrical and computer engineer who designs and builds sources of high-power microwaves, I have spent decades studying the physics of these sources, including work with the US Department of Defense...

The National Academies report links high-power microwaves to impacts on people through the Frey effect.

The human head acts as a receiving antenna for microwaves in the low gigahertz frequency range. Pulses of microwaves in these frequencies can cause people to hear sounds, which is one of the symptoms reported by the affected US personnel...

Power decreases dramatically with distance through the inverse square law, which means one of these devices could produce a power level at the target that would be too low to affect electronics but that could induce the Frey effect.

The Russians and the Chinese certainly possess the capabilities of fielding high-power microwave sources like the ones that appear to have been used in Cuba and China.

The truth of what actually happened to US personnel in Cuba and China — and why — might remain a mystery, but the technology most likely involved comes from textbook physics, and the military powers of the world continue to develop and deploy it.
Edl Schamiloglu is a Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Associate Dean for Research and Innovation in the School of Engineering at the University of New Mexico.

Did ABC publish this article because they were so 'sure' that microwaves were actually used? Or were they simply sucked in by the credentials of this 'expert'?

AXIOS

A radio frequency energy of radiation that includes microwaves likely caused American diplomats in China and Cuba to fall ill with neurological symptoms over the past four years, a report published Saturday finds.

Why it matters: The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's report does not attribute blame for the suspected attacks, but it notes there "was significant research in Russia/USSR into the effects of pulsed, rather than continuous wave [radio frequency] exposures."

It also states that military personnel in "Eurasian communist countries" were exposed to non-thermal radiation.

Driving the news: The State Department commissioned the report after government personnel and their families began falling ill at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, in late 2016 and the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China, in early 2017...

Read the report, via DocumentCloud:

'Sure' that attacks occurred, or just repeating what was in the report? Read it yourself if you don't trust them.

The Guardian

First official explanation of illness that affected US diplomats in Cuba says ‘pulsed’ energy may have led to unexplained symptoms...

Those suffering from Havana syndrome, as the condition has become known, have complained of headaches, nausea, dizziness, blurred vision and other ailments.

Possible explanations have included everything from mosquito fumigation to noisy crickets.

But a report from National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, commissioned by the State Department, suggests the involvement of radio frequency energy...

The report says that while psychological and social factors could play a part in Havana syndrome, they did not explain “the acute initial, sudden-onset, distinctive, and unusual symptoms” and signs.

“However, the significant variability and clinical heterogeneity of the illnesses affecting state department personnel leave open the possibility of multiple causal factors including psychological and social factors,” said the researchers.

“These factors could exacerbate other causes of illness and cannot be ruled out as contributing to some of the cases, especially some of the chronic symptoms or later in the course of illness in some cases.”...

Donald Trump blamed the episodes on the Cuban government, saying: “It’s a very unusual attack, as you know. But I do believe Cuba is responsible.”

The Cuban authorities have flatly denied any involvement but said they treated the matter “with utmost importance”, adding: “Cuba has never, nor would it ever, allow that the Cuban territory be used for any action against accredited diplomatic agents or their families, without exception.”

Hmm. Who you gonna believe - Donald Trump, or Cuba?

All the news media is really quilty of is giving too much credence to expert opinion. In a time when so many flatly refuse to listen to experts on important matters such as vaccinations and global warming, why are we accusing the media of not being sufficiently skeptical when those same experts weigh in on other matters? I don't blame the news media for simply reporting the news as it appears to be. They are just the messengers.

The real problem is the experts themselves, whether they be CIA agents, doctors, scientists or electrical engineers. When this is finally resolved, some of them are going to look like idiots.

 

[dann]

It's all about cause and effect. You were never in combat, so your loss of long-distance vision couldn't have been a combat injury. But if you were in combat, it would have been. This simple logic was burned into our brains even before the human species evolved.

I think you mean that if I had been in combat, I might have 'connected the dots' and associated being in combat with my 'loss of long-distance vision'. As it were, however, it didn't really come as a surprise to me because that's what happens to human beings, and we all know that: vision deteriorates with age, more in some people than in others. It's not a secret. People talk about it. Opticians' commercials point it out when they want to sell us corrective lenses: the lens stiffens with age, which is why age makes us need glasses that correct for both short-sightedness for watching a movie or driving and for far-sightedness for reading.

By the way, I got this a little wrong:

In my mid-50s, I was told by my optician that I should not be riding my motorcycle at night.

He told me I should not be riding my motorcycle at night without glasses, something I had already noticed wasn't safe anymore. I still have a problem with this. Because it's not a problem in daylight, I tend to remember to bring only my reading glasses.
But notice the difference between: 'I am growing old and now need corrective lenses at night for watching things at a distance.' And the much more dramatic version: 'A combat injury made me lose my long-distance vision.'

Everybody knows about this common condition. Warriors do too. Without ever having seen a magazines or website targeting soldiers and spooks, I am pretty sure that they also mention it and have advertising addressing it. It should not have come as a surprise to Polymeropoulos that it might also happen to him, unless, as I suspect, he thought of himself as a superhuman being to whom something like this would never happen.

Marc Polymeropoulos spent 26 years in the CIA, and during that time was put under "the most high-stress circumstances you can imagine as ... one of the CIA’s most decorated field officers."

In his book Clarity in Crisis he gives some sage advice:-

So you can see the mindset. The conditions might be ambiguous, but you know the filthy Marxists are behind it, lurking in the shadows ready to harm you in whatever nefarious way they can. When a crisis occurs you don't 'message your way out of it'. You use your 26 years of experience to see clear through the fog of ambiguity and identify the bad guys behind it (remembering that there is always a bad guy behind anything bad). And don't for a moment think that the stress might be clouding your judgement - that's giving in to doubt. You thrive on stress and ambiguity!

I wouldn't call his advice sage. And don't forget the attitude that 'I am somebody who can cope with this, I am strong, I am tough, and I don't succumb to stress like some wuss who is only good at reading books and doesn't know about the real world the way I do'. In fact, Polymeropoulos is still out there preaching this gospel:

Marc has honed a unique leadership style based on nine core principles which he terms “Finding Clarity in the Shadows.” Each principle builds on the next and is designed for real world applicability, where one often operates under time constraints and with a lack of complete situational awareness. Marc describes how one must not fear but instead wildly embrace this ambiguity. His unique leadership style is based on years of hard time on the streets of the third world vice learning leadership from university lectures or books. The “Glue Guy,” “Winning an Oscar,” and “Adversity is the PED to Success” are just some of the principles that his clients will immediately relate to. Marc will provide real work vignettes from the world of intelligence and paramilitary operations, yet also stress that his principles can be used across the private sector in any profession.
Marc Polymeropoulos, Leadership Expert (The Harry Walker Agency, The World's Leading Speakers Bureau)

He seems to have become the victim of his own leadership philosophy. And/or as I mentioned recently: toxic masculinity. He also looks like he has put on a few pounds, which may have contributed to making it more difficult for him to live up to his own expectations. And then he finds himself all alone, at night, in a Moscow hotel room, operating under time constraints, with a lack of complete situational awareness, and having to wildly embrace this ambiguity, which is no longer as easy or rewarding as it used to be ...

On a personal note: I succumbed to stress in 2019. As you may have seen me refer to before, I was a high school teacher. My subjects were English and German. At 60, we were supposed to get something called "age reduction", i.e. a reduced work load. What happened instead was that my work load was increased. I ended up teaching five classes with a higher number of students in those classes than I'd ever had before. Before that, I had never had more than four classes except for very brief periods if another teacher was sick, for instance. At the same time, my hearing was deteriorating, which was worse for me as a language teacher than for my colleagues teaching other subjects because high school students tend be shy when they have to leave the 'safe space' of their native language. They don't like to speak up. So I had to be more focussed, which also took a toll on my brain and nerves. When I told my superiors that I was down to sleeping only three or four hours a night (and sometimes less than that), their response was, 'But you're still holding out, right?!' Which I was, of course, until I wasn't.
I was even told that my work load was lower than it was supposed to be, which I later discovered was an outright lie.

So I threw in the towel and haven't regretted* it. Still, it took me a year before I could get back to sleeping six hours or more a night again.

But I never had any delusional ideas about what was happening. Even when a cricket took up residence in one of the classrooms - the first time it ever happened in all my years as a teacher - I never mistook it for a raygun. But that was also a few years after we had found out that the 'syndrome' in Havana wasn't caused by the sound of crickets but by the interpretation of the sound of crickets. And the cricket was a wonderful opportunity to tell my students about the 'syndrome' when we were doing American studies!


ETA: *Since March 2020, I've actually thought of it as a blessing in disguise. Unlike my former colleagues, I didn't have to spend time in SARS-CoV-2-contaminated classrooms.

 

[dann]

Peter Isackson at Fair Observer has made a new friend, Chad, aka ChatGPT.
In a new article, they have a breakfast conversation about the 'syndrome':

Chad then unsurprisingly concluded in the usual way. “It is important to note, however, that speculation without evidence can lead to false conclusions and potentially harmful actions. The intelligence community’s assessment should be taken seriously, and continued investigation into the Havana Syndrome should focus on uncovering concrete evidence rather than relying on speculation or political considerations.”
Breakfast with Chad: Havana Syndrome (Fair Observer, Mar 3, 2023)

As almost always, this Fair Observer article doesn't pop up when I google 'Havana Syndrome'. I have to include the name of the website to get a link to the article. Maybe Chad can tell me how come ...

 

[dann]

Klobuchar, Moran, Murphy, Marshall, Warren Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Lift Trade Embargo on Cuba (News Release, klobuchar.senate.gov, Mar 6, 2023)

 

[dann]

The (Brain) Fogs of War - The Pentagon Variant

The Pentagon is testing weapon systems to determine what could cause Havana Syndrome’s symptoms.
Is the case really closed on Havana Syndrome? (Politico, Mar 7, 2023)

I wonder who the test subjects are and if they are testing the two most obvious weapons on them: the power of suggestion and mass psychogenic illness.

Oh, my bad! I can see that they already did the test: Pentagon urges all employees to report symptoms of ‘Havana syndrome’ (Military Times, Sep 16, 2021)
And it worked, obviously!

As Bartholomew noted, when you have the State Department and Defense Secretary warning diplomats, intelligence officers and service members to report "anomalous health incidents," you create an incentive to further a possible psychogenic illness.
Scientists are skeptical that 'Havana Syndrome' is anything more than a psychogenic illness (Salon, Oct 21, 2021)

And they are already paying compensation to the American victims of the tests!
So why are they still testing?
Politico, continued:

What the Pentagon is doing: A “cross-functional team” in the Pentagon “remains focused” on addressing the incidents, a DoD spokesperson said, established by the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act to address the national security challenges posed by the incidents and ensure the victims receive adequate care.
DoD treats government employees who have suffered brain injuries, including some related to the Havana Syndrome incidents, at Walter Reed National Medical Center.
The Pentagon’s research arm is testing weapon systems to determine what could cause the symptoms, and the agency is also working on developing “defenses” against the syndrome.

It is very unlikely that any "government employees" have actually "suffered brain injuries" that were "related to the Havana Syndrome incidents". The DoD may have screwed up their minds, but unless they did more than that, it can't have injured their physiological brains. Unless ... Did they also medicate them in addition to the suggestion campaign?

As for "developing “defenses” against the syndrome", I am probably not the most obvious person to become a consultant to Pentagon, but the best defense "against the syndrome" would probably be to hire somebody who is an actual expert in the field, somebody like Robert Bartholomew, for instance.

It is not the only time something like this has happened. Remember the incident in Syria, for instance?

The official said that the injuries occurred when one of the Russian vehicles apparently deliberately collided with the American vehicle causing the crew to suffer “concussion-like injuries.”
Initial reports indicate as many as four Americans may have been injured.
The officials said a Russian military helicopter flew low and fast over the area in a tactic that is often used by military forces to try to disperse personnel on the ground.
Multiple US troops injured in collision with a Russian military convoy in Syria (CNN, Aug 26, 2020)

The briefings included information about injuries sustained by U.S. troops in Syria, the people said. The investigation includes one incident in Syria in the fall of 2020 in which several troops developed flu-like symptoms, two people familiar with the Pentagon probe said.
Pentagon investigated suspected Russian energy attacks on U.S. troops (Politico, April 22, 2021)

The alleged attacks prompted the Pentagon to launch an inquiry, with the officials believing Moscow was behind the incidents, POLITICO reported, noting that a formal attribution, however, can be rather complicated, as the symptoms related to directed-energy incidents could have other causes.
Another former national security official also told the outlet that, in one case, when a Marine was allegedly injured in Syria as a result of such an attack, a Pentagon investigation concluded that the symptoms were caused by food poisoning.
Russia Attacked US Soldiers With Laser Weapons – US Department Of Defense Probes (EurAsian Times, April 22, 2021)

Some cases that appeared at first to be part of the cohort of Havana Syndrome incidents were ruled out later. A group of U.S. troops in Syria reported symptoms after a Russian helicopter was seen hovering overhead, for example, but it was determined that the troops had come down with food poisoning.
As many as 200 Americans have now reported possible symptoms of 'Havana Syndrome,' officials say (NBC News, July 20, 2021)

I am sure that Bartholomew's fee would save the Pentagon an awful lot of money in the long run - and maybe even WW3. That's gotta be worth something.

Are you reading this, Roger Ramjets?
Do I know for certain that the CNN article refers to the same incident as the other articles about U.S. troops in Syria reporting symptoms because they got nauseous and saw a Russian helicopter?
No, I don't. And the secrecy of Pentagon officials doesn't make it easy to get a confirmation. But if Russian vehicles had collided with a U.S. vehicle, why would they only get concussion-like injuries? Wouldn't it be proper concussions?

But growing up in Denmark, I have heard Hans Christian Andersen's story It's Quite True! so many times that it's stuck in my mind.


Fortunately, common sense won out ... this time.
And it probably only did because this particular piece of fake news was damaging the morale of the troops!

 

[dann]

HAVANA, March 3 (Reuters) - Cuba on Thursday blasted the United States for taking too long to accept evidence that the ailment "Havana Syndrome" was not likely caused by a foreign enemy, saying Washington ignored the science as a pretext for cutting off relations with the Communist-run island.
(...)
Cuba has for years labeled as "science fiction" the idea that ´Havana Syndrome´ resulted from an attack by a foreign agent, and its top scientists in 2021 found no evidence of such allegations.
Cuba blasts U.S. for years of disregarding evidence on 'Havana Syndrome' (Reuters, Mar 3, 2023)

Inclusion on the terrorist list bars Cuba from access to most international finance. “The real purpose of slandering Cuba as ‘terrorist’ is to justify the criminal blockade on Cuba,” according to the National Network on Cuba (NNOC).
Among the grassroots organizations working to get Cuba off the terrorist list are ACER (https://acere.org/) and the NNOC (https://nnoc.org/). The latter observes:

Despite the devastating impacts of the U.S. economic blockade, Cuba still has a longer life expectancy, lower infant and maternal mortality rates, better health outcomes, higher literacy, more education, and less violence than in the U.S.

The Havana Syndrome, used to falsely accuse Cuba of attacking U.S. personnel, exemplifies how distorted U.S. policy is. Like drug peddlers hooked on their own supply, the spooks and kooks who populate the U.S. governmental apparatus suffered literal physical damage believing the paranoic false propaganda that they push on the populace to justify the empire’s forever wars and brutal regime-change intrigues.
The Havana Syndrome case cracked (MRonline, Mar 8, 2023)

I think the spooks and kooks suffered figurative physical damage and literal psychological damage, but apart from that ...

 

[dann]

New Poll: What Americans think (and know) about the 'syndrome' and the ODNI report

Conducted online Mar 3-6, 2023 among 1,000 U.S. adult citizens. Link to an earlier poll, Jan 13-18, 2022, in the article:

Americans' views on the U.S. government's response to Havana syndrome
Fewer than half of Americans (42%) have heard about the new U.S. intelligence report on the origins of Havana syndrome, including just 6% who say they have heard a lot about it. When told that the report found that Havana syndrome is very unlikely to have been caused by a foreign adversary, 34% say they believe these findings, while 21% say they do not; many — 44% — are unsure. Belief is somewhat polarized by party: 44% of Democrats say they believe the report's findings, compared to 29% of Republicans.

Only one in three Americans believe the government's recent findings on the origins of Havana syndrome; many are not sure
Many Americans remain uncertain about the origins of Havana syndrome (YouGov, Mar 7, 2023)

 

[Bob001]

Here's someone who contends that Havana Syndrome is real, but it's closer to an information-processing error than a medical illness.

“When patients hear the word psychogenic, they think that’s a doctor accusing me of imagining my symptoms,” says Stone. Instead, he says, there’s another plausible, arguably overlooked explanation here: a functional neurological disorder, or FND.

An FND is essentially a disorder of brain functioning, but not one caused by an obvious physical problem, like a stroke. It’s more about how the brain communicates with itself.

FNDs can be kicked off by something like a fall, a virus, or an episode of vertigo, but then, rather than improving, the brain gets stuck in an extended state of dizziness, nausea, or fogginess. That initial cause can also be stress or anxiety. In diagnosing someone with an FND, neurologists have to make sure the patient isn’t suffering from an underlying medical condition like multiple sclerosis or a stroke.

Stone says he often explains FNDs to patients as being like software errors on a computer. “If a program crashes on your computer ... would you assume you would find a burnt-out circuit that explained to you why your computer was not working? You wouldn’t,” he says. “There’s something going wrong with the software.”

https://www.vox.com/unexplainable/2...-neurologist-functional-neurological-disorder

 

[dann]

Good Vox article/interview!
I don't think the Roberts Baloh & Bartholomew, for instance, would disagree, and in many ways it seems to be a 'You say potato' problem more than any significant real difference:

“When patients hear the word psychogenic, they think that’s a doctor accusing me of imagining my symptoms,” says Stone. Instead, he says, there’s another plausible, arguably overlooked explanation here: a functional neurological disorder, or FND.
An FND is essentially a disorder of brain functioning, but not one caused by an obvious physical problem, like a stroke. It’s more about how the brain communicates with itself.
FNDs can be kicked off by something like a fall, a virus, or an episode of vertigo, but then, rather than improving, the brain gets stuck in an extended state of dizziness, nausea, or fogginess. That initial cause can also be stress or anxiety. In diagnosing someone with an FND, neurologists have to make sure the patient isn’t suffering from an underlying medical condition like multiple sclerosis or a stroke.
How Havana syndrome helps us rethink the brain (Mar 7, 2023)

The term mass psychogenic illness (MPI) is already an attempt to avoid the stigma associated with the term mass hysteria, and when you hear Jon Stone's explanations and analogies (e.g. hardware - software), it very soon becomes clear that, much like MPI, FND is in the mind but affects the brain and the body. And that is the explanation that the 'Havana Syndrome' (HS) patients don't want to hear, so I don't think that it will help the HS group of patients much to rename their ailment. On the contrary, it might feel safer to accept what happened to them as a group experience because there's a kind of safety in the group diagnosis: 'It's no me that's crazy. The others got it, too.' (Apart from the fact that nobody but they themselves calls them crazy.) On the other hand, in the current situation the group seems to encourage them to stick with the 'attack' diagnosis.

I think MPI is the better term of the two mainly because of the word mass, which doesn't seem to be a part of the term (or concept of) FND. (Other experts seem to prefer the term sociogenic illness over mass psychogenic, probably in order to remove psycho from psychogenic.)
If we call FND mass functional neurological disorder (MFND) instead, I don't think there is any difference between the two things. The difference seems to be that FND is something that may happen to one single patient. That can't be the case with MPI, obviously. In other words, FND lacks the element of contagion.

Another difference is this:

Qualities of MPI outbreaks often include:
symptoms that have no plausible organic basis;
symptoms that are transient and benign; symptoms with rapid onset and recovery;occurrence in a segregated group;
the presence of extraordinary anxiety;
symptoms that are spread via sight, sound or oral communication;
a spread that moves down the age scale, beginning with older or higher-status people;
a preponderance of female participants.
Mass psychogenic illness: Causes (Wikipedia)

I have highlighted the two things where the 'Havana Syndrome' deviates from the definition, but I think it does so for one reason only: "once it is determined that the illness is psychogenic, it should not be given credence by authorities." (Wikipedia) The Havana case is connected to a group of influential authorities with their own agenda and reasons to keep it alive. And according to what we have heard in the VICE and Project Brazen podcast series, many of the HS patients didn't consider their symptoms to be anything serious until they were convinced by the doctors that they were.

And then there is this:

Mass psychogenic illness is when people in a group start feeling sick at the same time even though there is no physical or environmental reason for them to be sick. They could think they’ve been exposed to something dangerous, like a germ or a toxin (poison). This could happen to a class in a school or workers in an office.
(...)
Many outbreaks of mass psychogenic illness start with an environmental “trigger.” The environmental trigger can be a bad smell or a suspicious-looking substance. Or it could be something else that makes people in a group believe they have been exposed to a germ or a poison. When this happens, many of them may begin to experience symptoms of sickness at the same time. In some cases, one person gets sick and then other people in the group also start feeling sick.
Mass Psychogenic Illness (Family Doctor, Jan 2021)

The trigger in Havana was obviously THE SOUND. And it was believed to be a SONIC ATTACK. This kind of trigger doesn't seem to be characteristic of FND at all.

On the other hand, the sudden onset also wasn't exactly what happened in Havana. The psychological contagion seems to have happened a little slower than usually and not like the cases in schools, for instance, where everybody comes down with the symptoms almost simultaneously. (By the way, there appears to be a case of MPI going on in Iran right now among schoolgirls in stressful circumstances: Dozens of schoolgirls taken to hospital after new gas poisonings (BBC, Mar 1, 2023), Iranian schoolgirls mass poisoning reports (Wikipedia).)

The HS cases in the rest of the world happened years later - the cases in Paris and Geneva as late as January 2022 - which is why Robert Bartholomew talks about mass suggestion rather than mass psychogenic illness.

Anyway, the treatment that the HS patients receive seems to be lacking the most important element: a correct explanation. From the Vox article:

the treatment involves beginning with explanation. If you’re trying to sort out a problem where the patient’s own brain is going wrong, you have to help them understand what’s happening. To make sense of it as a starting point. That there’s a software problem in the brain that we want to try and retrain the brain.

Cuba's Dr. Mitchell Valdes Sosa used the word iatrogenic for something like this. See post 1,689.

By the way, Jon Stone's experience with his own FND patients is very similar to what neurologist Robert Baloh has described.

 

[dann]

Is this really true though?

A fake Russian ray gun destroyed the media's BS detectorLet's take a look at some of these so-called examples of 'stoking inflammatory, implausible claims':-

CNNDespite this report coming from one of the most prestigious scientific organizations in the world, CNN still put the phrase ‘Sonic attacks’ in scare quotes. Nowhere in the article did CNN make any pronouncement on how 'sure' they were that the report was accurate. For sure they didn't debunk it either, but considering the source...

NBCNBC don't seem to be so sure...

ABC
Did ABC publish this article because they were so 'sure' that microwaves were actually used? Or were they simply sucked in by the credentials of this 'expert'?

AXIOS'Sure' that attacks occurred, or just repeating what was in the report? Read it yourself if you don't trust them.

The Guardian

I assume that you are aware that ABC and The Guardian aren't U.S. news outlets.
Your point seems to be that the media sometimes simply quotes sources. That is also the excuse used by Fox when they 'interview' Sidney Powel, Mike Lindell, Rudy Giuliani and the other crazies about the stolen election, pretending to be unaware that it's a lie and claiming that other voices, not the crazies, are unreliable.
It's the technique that we call 'holding the mic' in Danish, i.e. giving interviewees the opportunity to spread all kinds of lies.

And then you excuse them with your question: Weren't they simply "sucked in by the credentials of this 'expert'?"
Yes, maybe they were, and it is obvious that they weren't the only ones. In this thread Checkmite was sucked in by the credentials of David Relman and his NAS group. Argument from authority (Wikipedia).

In Scandinavia, we recently (2020) saw almost the entire population of Sweden being sucked in by their own trust in authorities that shouldn't have been trusted. They believed in fake scientific authorities who told them that the virus wasn't airborne, herd immunity was the way to go, and the pandemic would be over next month (and next month and next month) if only schools and everything else stayed open (while at the same time claiming that children didn't get or spread the virus). The rest of the Nordics followed suit in the winter of 2021-22 when we were told that there was nothing to worry about anymore after the vast majority of the populations had got the jabs. If only we got infected, too, we would have acquired super-immunity. And it shows: Covid-19 deaths in the Nordics since Jan 1, 2022. Danish health authorities didn't realize (or acknowledge) that the virus is airborne until this week!

Unconditional faith in authorities (even alleged scientific authorities) kills people, which is the reason why Trust science! is a dangerous slogan. It may seem appealing in comparison to Trump's lies, but Trump also took advantage of this belief and hired his own alleged authorities - much the same way Rhonda Santis (as recent AI-generated subtitles called him) is doing now.

One thing is what ordinary people do. They don't usually have the time or the expertise to evaluate the messages from health authorities and other authorities. Quite another thing is what the news media does.

Hmm. Who you gonna believe - Donald Trump, or Cuba?

There is really no comparison. Trump lies about everything, and I haven't seen a single Cuban lie about the 'syndrome'. People in Western countries would trust Cuba if it weren't for all the lies they've been told and believed - often because they trust the authorities telling those lies. Otherwise, why wouldn't you trust Cuba?!

The 10 most common lies about alleged health incidents affecting U.S. diplomats in Cuba (Granma.cu, April 26, 2018)
No scientific evidence to prove alleged attacks on U.S. diplomats (Granma.cu, Oct 4, 2018)
No scientific evidence to support allegations of sonic attacks (Granma.cu, Mar 4, 2020)
U.S. deception syndrome to discredit adversaries (Granma.cu, May 14, 2021)
No Attacks ever Occurred against US Diplomats in Cuba] (ACN.cu, March 3, 2023)
Expert Report: An Assessment of the Health Complaints during Sojourns in Havana of Foreign Government Employees and their Families (Granma.cu, Sep 2021)

(Since I have already mentioned trust in authorities and used the pandemic as an example: I also haven't seen Cuba lie about the pandemic. Why do you think Cubans trust the authorities so much that everybody gets vaccinated? The stories we hear, especially when there was a riot in July 2021 ('We love those, don't we, folks?' as Trump would say), is that all Cubans hate the government because it is a brutal regime keeping them down. And yet Cubans don't seem to fear that there are communist microchips in the syringe. So let me add Cuba's death toll to Covid-19 deaths in the Nordics + Cuba since Jan 1, 2022) There is another thread for most things Cuban, but beware of the lie in the OP.

All the news media is really quilty of is giving too much credence to expert opinion. In a time when so many flatly refuse to listen to experts on important matters such as vaccinations and global warming, why are we accusing the media of not being sufficiently skeptical when those same experts weigh in on other matters? I don't blame the news media for simply reporting the news as it appears to be. They are just the messengers.

The real problem is the experts themselves, whether they be CIA agents, doctors, scientists or electrical engineers. When this is finally resolved, some of them are going to look like idiots.

Yes, the media is indeed guilty of giving too much credence to (false) authorities. But you seem to think that it's OK. I do "blame the news media for simply reporting the news as it appears to be" and for pretending to be "just the messengers." They have been the messengers of an awful lot of fake news about the 'syndrome', and yet you, a skeptic, seems to defend it and think that it's alright not to be skeptical.

We are a bunch of amateurs on this thread, not professional journalists, and look what we managed to discover by combining our intellectual resources (and a bit of expertise) but without access to the kind of experts that journalists have.
This is Alphaba on Oct 13, 2017!:

Quite interesting divergent developments about this affair since yesterday.

On the one hand, the Guardian published an article relying upon "enior neurologists " to push a "mass hysteria" explanatory hypothesis (BTW, "mass hysteria" has been relabeled mass psychogenic illness since the nineties).

On the other hand, Associated Press has put online what they claimed to be the first public audio of the sound allegedly broadcast to the affected persons in Cuba:

Obviously, major news medias then analyzed this audio file, like in making a specter analysis. And cautiously commented about it, a worthy example being an NBC article: "Listen to What Americans Heard in Mysterious Cuba Sound ‘Incidents’".

Well, I've made with Audacity a sound specter of the AP file:
[qimg]https://media.joomeo.com/large/59e0fffc6fb9a.jpg[/qimg]

Out of the obvious 50-240 Hz AC hum/noise background parasitizing the recording device (I've a lot of it on my own records ), what's curious is around the 7000 Hz peak. I'll focus on it if you're interested.

This is calebprime on Oct 15, 2017:

A tone at 8k is very directional, very hearable, and won't penetrate most solid walls.
There may have been other elements to the sound, but if that 8k was there, all you had to do was locate the sound by ear and say wtf, maybe put in some foam earplugs, go to a different room or leave the building. I do that kind of thing all the time in response to noise.
I don't get it.
Could you sleep through some "sonic attack" that was damaging your hearing?
It seems too weird to be true, but maybe.

And Alphaba again, on Oct 18, 2017:

OK, I did exactly that, to focus, in focusing on a shorter, more accurately representative sample of 2.31 seconds of duration:
[qimg]https://media.joomeo.com/large/59e7fc8ca6576.jpg[/qimg]


Then in magnifying the "size" [Taille] of the frequency spectrum from 1024 to 65536 [changing Audacity's language from French to English on the fly had a funny effect, which disappeared after a restart], which gave the following spectrum [screencapped]:

[qimg]https://media.joomeo.com/large/59e7ee767ef50.jpg[/qimg]



Lots of well defined peaks and harmonics in what appeared as an undifferentiated mound at low "sizes". Both 40Hz and 50Hz AC peaks and their harmonics (until ~240Hz) are present. And also 15, 17, 25, and 30Hz peaks (all those ± 2Hz).

The mound morphed into a fancy fractal.

Don't make up excuses for the media's presentation of fake news. That is probably the only thing that Trump got right ... except that what he called fake news was the truth about himself that he didn't want to hear.

The media should be skeptical of its sources, but most of the time, it isn't. In particular when it is dealing with government sources, it tends to be uncritical, unless those government sources are foreign government sources.

 

[dann]

At first, I thought that this might be satire, but it isn't:

Top U.S. intelligence officials briefed lawmakers Wednesday about unresolved mysteries, such as the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and an ailment known as the Havana Syndrome. Copyright 2023 NPR
Senate panel holds hearing on global threats with heads of U.S. security agencies (WPSU/NPR, Mar 9, 2023 - 3:31 min.)

The intelligence officials take questions from the House Committee today.
As for the origins of SARS-CoV-2, Susan Collins insists that it leaked from a lab:
"I just don't understand why you continue to maintain on behalf of the intelligence community that these are two equally possible explanations. They simply are not."

As for the 'syndrome':

- What's another mystery for which the best answer, according to the intelligence community, would seem to be, we don't know.
- Well, the intelligence community produced a ...? report last week into the so-called Havana Syndrome. These are the ailments that have been suffered by U.S. intelligence officials, diplomats and soldiers overseas.
But the report didn't offer a clear explanation. It said there was no evidence it was an attack by a foreign government, as some suspect And perhaps it came from existing medical conditions.
And this just didn't sit well with New York Democratic senator Kirsten Gillibrand:
"Sounds as if there is no external cause, which I think is really problematic. I find it unacceptable that we are not continuing diligent analysis of possible causes."

It doesn't seem to have much to do with questions. It seems to be more about senators telling intelligence officials the answers that they want to hear. 'Do what we tell you to do: Say that Covid-19 leaked from a lab and that the brains of U.S. spooks were damaged by a raygun!'

 

[dann]

The U.S. government’s narrative had two main components: first, that the symptoms were the result of a sonic attack; and second, that the attack was perpetrated by a foreign adversary, likely Cuba or Russia.
This narrative was quickly adopted by the mainstream media, which helped to spread the story and reinforced Washington’s falsehoods. The media coverage was often sensationalized and focused on the “mystery” surrounding the symptoms and the U.S. government’s search for the perpetrator.
The U.S. government also used its influence to shape the scientific research and investigation into the symptoms.
It provided funding for research and studies, which often focused on the sonic attack theory. This funding was used to support research that was biased in favour of the US government’s narrative, while other rational explanations were ignored or dismissed.
For instance, the possibility of a natural cause or a psychosomatic explanation was largely overlooked.
The Havana Syndrome Hoax: How Hegemony Can Twist the Truth (TFIGlobal, Mar 4, 2023)

I am not sure what TFIGlobal is. Venezuelan? Chinese?
The author doesn't seem to be aware that the the sonic attack theory was dropped in favor of the microwave attack theory a few years ago.

 

[dann]

In case you're wondering how the DoD's continued research into the real cause of the 'syndrome' is going, Politico's new article tells all:

The Defense Department is funding experiments on animals to determine if radio frequency waves could be the source of the mysterious ailment referred to as “Havana Syndrome” that has afflicted hundreds of U.S. government personnel in recent years, according to public documents and three people familiar with the effort.
(...)
The Army in September awarded Wayne State University in Michigan a $750,000 grant to study the effects of radio frequency waves on ferrets, which have brains similar to humans, according to information on the grant posted on USASpending.gov. The aim is to determine whether this exposure induces similar symptoms to those experienced by U.S. government personnel in Havana, Cuba, and China, the documents show.
The Pentagon is funding experiments on animals to recreate ‘Havana Syndrome’ (Politico, Mar 9, 2023)

And, no, I'm not confusing ferrets with monkeys. I'll get back to that. And in case you're wondering how exactly they'll determine if the ferrets have similar symptoms to U.S. government official - Are the ferrets expected to get anxious if somebody looking suspiciously Cuban is around? Or if they see a white van? - we get a few more details about how the study is conducted:

During the Wayne University study, researchers planned to expose the 48 ferrets to radio frequency waves for two hours a day for 60 days. This is expected to result in “an exposure profile that is likely comparable to that which our embassy personnel received.” Twenty-four additional ferrets will receive “sham exposure,” according to the summary.

Yeah, Mr. White!, Yeah, science, bitch!

I do hope that this is a proper RCT study, double-blinded and all. And since the article doesn't tell us, I wonder how exactly the "sham exposure" is going to work: Will the researchers be playing cricket recordings to the control group of ferrets? You know, the well-known placebo for directed pulsed electromagnetic energy attacks. In that case, they should watch out for possible Pavlovian confounding: Can ferrets eat crickets? If the ferrets begin to salivate, it may not be because their brains have been fried!

After subjecting the ferrets to the radio frequency waves, researchers will perform cognitive measurements, for example testing memory, learning and anxiety, and assess the animals’ balance and hearing functions “to determine whether RF exposure induces a neurosensory syndrome similar to that which has been found for men and women” who’ve reported Havana Syndrome symptoms.

I assume the ferrets will also be asked to fill out a questionnaire and give a detailed description of how exactly the Frey effect sounded to them.

But I promised to get back to the monkeys:

DoD has also recently tested pulsed radio frequency sources on primates to try to determine whether their effects can be linked to what the government calls “anomalous health incidents,” according to one former intelligence official and a current U.S. official who were briefed on the effort.

I think it's safe to say that microwaving the brains of living monkeys does indeed constitute an anomalous health incident. I don't know an awful lot about monkeys, but I do know that it happens extremely rarely to monkeys in both nature and captivity. I don't know if it might happen to monkeys purchased at a Chinese wet market, but that is the only place I can imagine that it might occur (outside of the DoD, of course): Monkey brains (Wikipedia)

I don't think these studies will upset senators Collins, Shaheen, Gillibrand and Rubio. I assume that, on the contrary, they will see any sign of distress in ferrets having their brains fried as proof positive that Russians microwaved the brains or U.S. diplomats. However, some people do object to this:

Animal rights group pushes back

But the star of the 'syndrome' sufferers remains optimistic:

“This type of testing will be integral to us finally finding out what happened to the AHI victims as we will be able to compare the imaging that was done on our brains to what will be seen from animals who are subject to radio frequency waves,” said Marc Polymeropoulos

I am sure that it will be a piece of cake to point out similarities between microwaved ferret brains and the brains of U.S. officials allegedly damaged by Russian attacks.



ETA: I forgot about this one, and I'll just leave it here with not comments. I am aware that the word occult is very sciencey in the context, and I look forward to the Hollywood adaptation of this story starring George Clooney, The Men Who Stare at Ferrets:

There is “strong rationale” that the Havana Syndrome was caused by “occult exposure to radio frequency (RF) waves”

 

[dann]

Mark S. Zaid, the 'Havana Syndrome' lawyer, retweets Miles Taylor (and it seems to be Miles, not Mike's), one of the people who claim to have been exposed to an AHI attack in Washington:

On Havana Syndrome, just because there’s no smoking gun, doesn’t mean a gun wasn’t fired. Kudos to @MarkSZaidEsq for representing victims. I’ve heard horrific stories from diplomats, intel officials, and their children. The gov’t still needs to get to the bottoms of this.
Miles Taylor (on Twitter, Mar 7, 2023)

The tweet contains a video clip from this longer video from an interview with Miles Taylor and Tracey Walder. There is a longer version of that interview on YouTube:

Alex Witt on MSNBC interviews Mike’s Taylor/Havana Syndrome - Outcome of Intelligence investigation (PJo Darko on YouTube, Mar 7, 2023)


After the ONID report last week, these people argue like woos whose claims have just been debunked. I don't know how many times astrologers, psychics and dowsers have told me that science just hasn't got the tools yet to detect the very real powers or their respective professions:

Miles Taylor:

... suspicious incidents at my house on Capitol Hill ... what we do know is, these people didn't do this to themselves ... didn't hit themselves on the head with hammers before bedtime ... just because they didn't find a smoking gun doesn't mean a gun wasn't fired ... the intelligence community's own scientific panel said there a good chance that this was a directed energy weapon ... just like in a murder case, because you put out tips and most pan out, it doesn't mean a murder didn't happen ...

Alex Witt:

You know, I've read your narrative of what happened, a number of things, but what is most peculiar, that one at 3:30 in the morning, you wake up, you have these ringing headaches, you go to the window and see a white van. It bolts the moment it can see somebody looking out the window.

Alex Witt (quoting Mark Zaid):

"Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence."

Miles Taylor:

There is still an unsolved mystery here, and it can't be explained as just sort of mass delusion, because again: We have physical evidence. There are bullet holes here. So even if we don't have the smoking gun, you know, we've got these white matter lesions on people's brains that weren't there the night before, uh, something happened, and they're highly, highly unusual.

As a lawyer, Mark Zaid ought to know that absence of evidence isn't evidence that the thing you imagine is out there actually is our there but just hasn't been found yet. I think that Zaid actually does know. So does Miles Taylor, who is very upset by all the evidence that has been found and has been determined to have perfectly natural causes. (I consider ultrasound pest control devices and malfunctioning air-conditioning to be natural causes in this context.) It annoys the hell out of him that actual evidence has been found that these cases were not caused by microwave attacks even though they are otherwise indistinguishable from the cases that he thinks of as genuine.

It reminds me of what James Randi used to say when he emulated Uri Geller's spoon bending tricks: "If Uri Geller bends spoons with divine powers, then he's doing it the hard way." It is not exactly the same thing, but if you need to bring in nefarious Russians to explain why people wake up with headaches, tinnitus and/or feeling dizzy or nauseous, you are looking for an extremely contrived explanation for your problems. You are doing it the hard way. (Come to think of it, looking for zebras instead of horses when you hear hoofbeats is the better analogy.)

I don't know if Miles Taylor is lying, exaggerating or has been told that "these white matter lesions on people's brains ... weren't there the night before," but his claim implies two things: 1) that white matter lesions actually, unambiguously exist and have been detected as such; and 2) that these people's brains were scanned the night before and were then found to be perfectly healthy.
Need I add that this doesn't seem to be the case?

As for the white van, I need to ask the Americans on this thread: When did white vans become so suspicious? Did white vans portend evildoers before the pursuit of O.J. Simpson in 1994? I'm asking because it's not a thing in my country at all, which made it a peculiar experience to hear Adam Entous and Jon Lee Anderson freaking out over seeing an actual white van when they visited the London hotel where one of the allegedly Russian allegedly attacks allegedly with a raygun was supposed to have happened.
Is it something we foreigners need to be aware of as a symbol in Hollywood movies? White van appears, somebody's out to get you! If so, it's something I have been completely oblivious of until now.

And since I have already referred to some of the skeptical classics in this post: Aren't unknown foreigners with "nefarious abilities that we can't detect" akin to the invisible dragon in my garage?

 

[dann]

It is no surprise that the Miami Herald finds it just as difficult to understand this as Marco Rubio does:
It's hard to believe no one is responsible for hurting American diplomats / Opinion (Miami Herald Editorial Board, March 3, 2023)

Neither Marco Rubio nor the Miami Herald editors have any problems believing that non-existent enemies are conducting non-existent attacks by wielding non-existent microwave weapons on those diplomats and spies. That the people keeping the delusion alive are the ones who are actually "responsible for hurting American diplomats" is beyond them, and at this point they have become addicted to the idea and can't give it up.

Unfortunately, some of the critics of the delusion are as clueless as the Miami Herald, and come up with their own conspiracy theories:
Letter: Could U.S. be to blame for Havana syndrome? (Reading Eagle, Mar 10, 2023).
Yes, U.S. is to blame for 'Havana Syndrome', but not the way you think.

The assumption that the 'syndrome' only affects government employees is wrong. For the most part, the community of 'Targeted Individuals' doesn't seem to consist of diplomats and CIA officials.
By the way, I wonder how large that community is. Judging by the number of comments to articles and videos about the 'syndrome', there are quite a lot of them.