Merged US may close Cuba Embassy over 'health attacks'

[dann]

The Return of the Drama Queen

Do you remember David Relman? You know, the guy who doesn't understand how ordinary sound works (post 1,306) and thus had to resort to microwaves to explain the Havana 'syndrome':

They left, it [= the sound of crickets] dissipated. They returned, it recurred. That to us was something that we had never heard of, we could not explain by known medical or environmental conditions, and to us deserved our special attention in an effort to understand what might be the plausible mechanism.
That mechanism, Dr. Relman's committees concluded, was most likely "pulsed electromagnetic energy." In other words, a focused beam of microwaves fired from a distance.

Relman has now become a "biosecurity expert," a private contractor, and is working with AIs, which scares the ◊◊◊◊ out of him once again:

Frontier AI Models Giving Specific, Actionable Instructions to Perpetrate Bioterror Attack (Futurism, May 3, 2026)
"It was answering questions that I hadn't thought to ask it, with this level of deviousness and cunning that I just found chilling."

We already know from his preface to the NASEM report that he is prone to dramatizing the dangers that he imagines may be out there. From the preface to the NASEM report 2020 (see post 726):

The committee is left with a number of concerns. Even though it was not in a position to assess or comment on how these DOS cases arose, such as a possible source of directed, pulsed RF energy and the exact circumstances of the putative exposures, 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.

So "as if the U.S. government does not have its hands full already with naturally occurring threats," David Relman is the guy to go to if you want to add imaginary threats to the "naturally occurring" ones!

The Futurism article continues:

According to new reporting by the New York Times, at least one frontier AI model gave a scientist viable instructions for how to both engineer a deadly pathogen and weaponize it in a massive bioterror attack.

So now David Relman not only has a new incentive to dramatize imaginary threats, he is also working with AIs, which we already know are prone to hallucinate!
That does not bode well for future research.

 

[dann]

And apropos of David Relman, he is also busy promoting the lab-leak theory:

Peter Daszak on bsky, Aug 15, 2026
Unbelievable how erstwhile good scientists believe debunked conspiracies because they can’t get over the idea that China = bad. Relman is a true believer in this as well as the prob BS microwave/sound wave attacks. He’s prob half way there on the Jewish laser beams too after a couple of drinks!

Zach Hensel on bsky, Aug 15, 2026
Absolutely wild example of "data not shown" here from someone chiding others for their overconfidence.

Zach Hensel on bsky, Aug 15, 2026
Relman's other reason, "the kind of work pursued there [at the Wuhan Institute of Virology," is problematic as well. The only work he describes as concerning is remixing viruses to make chimeras. SARS-CoV-2 did not result from that type of work.

 

[dann]

'A mass psychogenic illness': How the placebo effect's evil twin is spreading faster than ever (BBC Science Focus Magazine, Aug 24, 2026)
The 'nocebo' can render medical interventions ineffective, conjure up adverse side effects or even lead to real symptoms getting worse
(...)
No perpetrator has ever been caught or admitted responsibility, and it’s unclear how such a weapon would work. Another oddity is that people with Havana Syndrome have genuine symptoms but no obvious physical damage to their bodies.
This points to a different explanation, that their symptoms may have been caused by something called the nocebo effect.

Paper by two Canadian researchers, Danielle Elliott and Alexandrine Boudreault-Fournier:

The “Havana Syndrome”: atmospheres of anxiety and neurological states (Taylor&Francis online, Received 25 Oct 2025, Accepted 06 May 2026, Published online: 23 Jul 2026)
Drawing on historical, political, and media narratives, the paper explores how uncertainty about the syndrome’s origins – ranging from sonic weapons to psychogenic responses – reveals the deep entanglement of perception, politics, and embodiment. Ten years after the initial reports, the syndrome remains unresolved, its meaning shifting between science, suspicion, and sensation. Ultimately, the authors contend that the Havana Syndrome exposes how state relations and ideological tensions can generate an atmosphere of anxiety in which imagined threats acquire material and bodily form, demonstrating the power of geopolitical affect in shaping both experience and knowledge of illness.

With translations in Portuguese and Spanish.


The targeted Individuals aren't happy!

Len Ber on X, Aug 26, 2026
Mass Hysteria Does Not Explain Havana Syndrome!
On Aug 24, 2026 BBC Science Focus Magazine @sciencefocus ran a dangerously outdated piece recycling mass psychogenic illness. For Havana Syndrome - AHI Type 1 - that hypothesis was already rejected by the two expert panels.
The author, Helen Pilcher @HelenPilcher1, a self-proclaimed “peddler of feel-good science”, disregards every meaningful scientific and administrative development we’ve had since 2017.
I think, this is just another example of intelligence-driven narrative control trying to re-direct public opinion from the objective truth: Havana Syndrome is a form of brain insult enabled by directed energy.

Unfortunately, the two 'expert panels' were led by a nincompoop who is conspicuously ignorant of how sound works.

Len Ber on X, Aug 26, 2026
Elliott 2026 treats anxiety as the default explanation for Havana Syndrome. It does not address the finding that psychosocial factors cannot account for AHI Type 1 cases.

Yes, if the Canadians ever heard of Len Ber's finding, which I very much doubt they did, they do ignore it.
Why wouldn't they?

 

[dann]

Catherine Herridge, the MAGA journalist, posted a very long tweet yesterday:

She mentions Chris and Heidi again. She interviewed them as 'syndrome' victims in February 2026 (see post 2,443) even though the symptoms they complain about are nothing like the ones that are usually referred to as typical of the alleged syndrome. She also mentions Mike Beck again, another alleged 'sydnrome' victim:

Catherine Herridge on X, Sep 22, 2026
In April 2025, my investigation with former counterintelligence officer Mike Beck revealed the progressive nature of these brain injuries. Beck was hit in 1996, diagnosed with a Parkinson’s-like disorder, and passed away earlier this year.

There are new conspiracies in the tweet, e.g. the one about a CIA guy who is supposed to have deleted 'syndrome' documents. For some reason, it isn't one of the intelligence officers who were already fired.

I looked Herridge up today because I had stumbled on this story in a search totally unrelated to the 'syndrome':

Leo and Me: Parkinson's disease (Wikipedia)
In 2002, an investigation was launched into Leo and Me after a possible cluster of Parkinson's disease cases was noted among former cast and crew members of the show. Fox and director Don Williams were among the four with the disease, along with a writer and a cameraman.[1][2][3]
When asked about the cluster by Howard Stern in a September 25, 2013, interview on The Howard Stern Show, Michael J. Fox stated, "Believe it or not, from a scientific point of view, that's not significant."[4] Donald Calne, a Vancouver neurologist, said the incidence of Parkinson's in society is about 1 in 300, but that four of the 125 people on the Vancouver set of Leo and Me developed the disease. Calne said, "It could be coincidence. But it's intriguing, it might be something they were exposed to."[2]

Michael J. Fox doesn't seem to have suspected a Cuban, Russian, Chinese or CIA attack as the cause of his case of Parkinson's:

Michael J. Fox: Parkinson's disease (Wikipedia)
"I can think of a thousand possible scenarios: I used to go fishing in a river near paper mills and eat the salmon I caught; I've been to a lot of farms; I smoked a lot of pot in high school when the government was poisoning the crops. But you can drive yourself crazy trying to figure it out."[119]

I assume that he mentions having "been to a lot of farms" because "exposures to pesticides, metals, solvents, other toxicants and air pollution are increasingly seen as major risk factors in PD development.[62][63]" (Wikipedia)

One of the replies to Catherine Herridge's tweet:

morning_farter on X, Sep 22, 2026
If we have the evidence, we are perfectly justified in bombing Cuba.

Len Ber retweets Herridge, as he was bound to do, while complaining about her not considering Targeted Individuals to be legit 'syndrome' victims:

Len Ber MD on X, Sep 22, 2026
Civilian Havana Syndrome Lawsuit remains a blind spot in @C__Herridge investigation: https://natlawreview.com/press-releases/civilians-sue-cdc-and-nih-landmark-lawsuit-demand-equal-diagnostic-guidance

https://twitter.com/x/status/2102411474627183020

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

The saga continues:

Canadians were spying for U.S. in Cuba at time of alleged sonic attacks: source

Ottawa invokes rare law to keep details in lawsuit by injured diplomats secret, denies Canadians engaged in spying

www.theglobeandmail.com

 

[dann]

Color me surprised!
Canadians were spying for U.S. in Cuba at time of alleged sonic attacks: source (reddit, Sep 26, 2026)
I don't know if they're all Canadians, but the sentiment isn't exactly pro-USA (or pro-Carney).

Revealing Canada's secret collaboration with the U.S. in Cuba during the "Havana Syndrome": What is known? (cibercuba, Sep 27, 2026)
According to the Canadian newspaper, a diplomat assigned to the Global Security Reporting Program (GSRP) at the embassy in Havana was gathering human intelligence and occasionally relayed it directly to CIA agents at the U.S. embassy.
"Sometimes they could be asked to provide the information directly" to a CIA agent, one of the sources described.

The Canadian lawyer seems to consider the 60 Minutes & The Insider reports to be evidence that the 18 diplomats suing Canada were victims of a GRU attack with energy weapons.


First tweet in a short thread on X with quotations from The Globe and Mail:

Mark Warner on X, Sep 26, 2026
“A Canadian diplomat was sharing intelligence with American spies in Havana and Canadians were using satellite equipment brought into #Cuba by the US when officials from both countries began experiencing debilitating symptoms caused by alleged sonic attacks linked to #Russia…”

See also cbcwatcher on X, Sep 26, 2026

 

[Roger Ramjets]

morning_farter on X, Sep 22, 2026
If we have the evidence, we are perfectly justified in bombing Cuba.

Just to remind us that false beliefs can have very serious consequences. This whole thing is more about justifying such behavior than 'health'. Which is why it has gained so much traction - it's actually about demonizing your enemies.

 

[dann]

Speaking of enemies:
Always remember to flush the toilet after using it!
If you forget to flush and forget that you forgot, it may cause an international incident if you're just a little paranoid.

Hvorfor efterlader spioner afføring i toilettet? (Videnskab.dk, Oct 7, 2026)
Adskillige finske parlamentsmedlemmer har det seneste år haft mistanke om, at nogen har været i deres hjem. Intet er tilsyneladende blevet stjålet, og der er ikke fundet synlige tegn på indbrud.
I nogle tilfælde er døre blevet åbnet, lys blevet tændt, og der er pillet ved stikkontakter. Og i et tilfælde lå der afføring i toilettet.
Sagerne ligger nu hos det finske politi, som undersøger dem. Men samtidig er der spekulationer om, at det muligvis er russerne, der står bag.
Det ved vi dog ikke, og det finder vi muligvis aldrig ud af. Det er ekstremt svært at bevise, hvem der står bag denne type operationer.
Og netop usikkerheden kan være en del af formålet.

Why do spies leave feces in the toilet?
Over the past year, several Finnish MPs have suspected that someone has been inside their homes. Apparently, nothing was stolen, and no visible signs of a break-in were found.
In some instances, doors were opened, lights were turned on, and electrical outlets were tampered with. And in one case, feces was found in the toilet.
The cases are now being investigated by the Finnish police. At the same time, however, there is speculation that the Russians might be behind it.
We do not know for sure, though, and we may never find out. It is extremely difficult to prove who is behind this type of operation.
And that very uncertainty may well be part of the objective.

Lort i toilettet og mystiske sedler får Finland til at frygte russiske spioner (TV2.dk, Oct 5, 2026)
Det er "meget muligt", at en udenlandsk aktør står bag de bizarre indbrud, siger den finske statsminister.
En lort i toiletkummen.
En mystisk seddel gemt et sted, hvor man ikke umiddelbart kunne få øje på den.
Mærkeligt skrald, som ingen kunne forklare, hvordan var havnet i hjemmet.
Det lyder som scener fra en dårlig spionfilm.
Men det er virkeligheden for flere finske parlamentsmedlemmer, som det seneste års tid har oplevet mystiske hændelser i deres private hjem.
Intet er blevet stjålet. Ingen døre eller vinduer er blevet brudt op. Alligevel har nogen tilsyneladende været inde.

Feces in the toilet and mysterious notes have Finland fearing Russian spies
It is "quite possible" that a foreign actor is behind the bizarre break-ins, says the Finnish Prime Minister.
Feces in the toilet bowl.
A mysterious note hidden where it wouldn't be immediately spotted.
Strange trash that no one could explain how it had ended up in the home.
It sounds like scenes from a bad spy movie.
But it is the reality for several Finnish Members of Parliament who, over the past year or so, have experienced mysterious incidents in their own homes.
Nothing was stolen. No doors or windows were forced open. Yet, someone has apparently been inside.

Those deceitful Russians! Will they stoop at nothing?!
Drones at airports that turn out to be Venus, and now this!!!
Have they no decency?

Kansanedustaja Ylelle: Asunnossani oli käyty kahdesti – pistorasiaa purettu, jalkalista löytyi keskeltä lattiaa (YLE.fi, Oct 2, 2026)

 

[dann]

The saga continues:

Canadians were spying for U.S. in Cuba at time of alleged sonic attacks: source

Ottawa invokes rare law to keep details in lawsuit by injured diplomats secret, denies Canadians engaged in spying

www.theglobeandmail.com

Anand refers Havana Syndrome file to deputy, sidesteps calls for inquiry (Globe&Mail, Sep 28-29, 2026)
Carney will wait to be briefed on new Havana Syndrome details before deciding response (Globe&Mail, Sep 29, 2026)

Canadian diplomats say their children still suffer from Havana Syndrome (Globe&Mail, Oct 5, 2026)
Mr. [John] Bolton said Ottawa and Washington have failed to adequately investigate whether Russia used directed energy against Canadian and U.S. diplomats in Cuba.

Unfortunately, Bolton's definiton of an adequate investigation is much the same as Trump's: any investigation that says he's right.
It occurs to me that it probably hasn't been investigated at all whether Finland, Kazakhstan, Uruguay or Zimbabwe used DEWs against Canadian and U.S. diplomats in Cuba.

 

[dann]

Targeted Individuals and EHS sufferers will love this new initiative from RFK Jr.'s Department of Health and Human Services:

HHS Seeks Public Input on Electromagnetic Fields and Wireless Radiation (HHS. Sep 17, 2026)
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today issued a Request for Information (RFI) calling on Americans, scientists, physicians, industry, and public health experts to submit evidence and information on the potential health effects of electromagnetic fields (EMFs), radiofrequency (RF) radiation, and wireless radiation exposure.

Mainly, because it's not only the groups mentioned in the introduction above:

Health experiences and clinical observations. HHS invites individuals and families to share experiences involving potential adverse health effects they believe may be associated with RF/EMF exposure. The Department also seeks observations from healthcare professionals, researchers, and public health practitioners that may help identify patterns warranting further study.

I think the HHS used to have not just individuals, but actual experts, who could research stuff like this or at least knew who to go to, but nowadays it is outsourcing the job in the form of appeals to the general public:

Exposure measurement and public health surveillance. HHS is requesting information about methods for measuring individual and population-level exposure, potential improvements for assessing real-world exposure, information that should be disclosed to the public, and existing or potential surveillance systems.

 

[dann]

New book – and it appears to be as bad as the descriptions when it was announced six months ago:

The Havana Syndrome – Secret Weapons, a Government Cover-Up, and the Greatest Spy Mystery of Our Time (Kirkus Review, Oct 13, 2026)

The authors are the people who were also behind the 60 Minutes shows about the 'syndrome'.
It's peculiar that they still call it a "mystery" when they pretend to have solved it:

All (!) suffered from assaults by technology that could not be immediately traced, and although the effects were terrible—muscle, brain, and nerve damage, loss of sight and hearing, dizziness, diminished cognitive skills—because of that unknowable (!) origin, the CIA and FBI waved them off as psychosomatic, “a case of mass hysteria among the victims due to workplace stress.”

Unknowable and yet now apparently 'known' to have been caused by assaults!
No, 'all' didn't suffer from assaults by anything. After having investigated the more than 1,500 cases, the ODNI report (see post 2,332) said:

IC agencies assess that symptoms reported by US personnel were probably the result of factors that did not involve a foreign adversary, such as preexisting conditions, conventional illnesses, and environmental factors. IC confidence in this explanation is bolstered by the fact that we identified medical, environmental, and social factors that plausibly can explain many AHIs reported by US officials.

The community of Targeted Individuals are upset because they don't figure as victims of assault in the book:

Len Ber MD on X, Oct 18, 2026
Yet diagnosed civilians are left in the dust, - by the US Government and by a book that tells it as a spy story only.

So nothing's new.
The only good news is that the readership of this book appears to be Tis. At least, that's the impression I get from Amazon's six Customer reviews. Unfortunately, it won't help them overcome their delusion.

 

[dann]

The Bulwark is onboard with the DEW idea! Michael Rey, one of the two authors of the new book, is in the studio with Michal Weiss (The Insider) and Marc Polymeropoulos, the former CIA operative and 'syndrome' sufferer.

I halfway expected that they would have given up on the story about 'Joy' by now, the case from Tbilisi, because her diagnosis, semicircular canal dehiscence (see post 2,465), is so obviously not something caused by microwave attacks, but instead they are doubling down and claiming that 'Joy' underwent brain surgery, which is very unlikely and not what her diagnosis (or her surgery scar) implies.


Their stories are the same conspiracy theories we have heard Weiss and Polymeropoulos tell for a couple of years, and as always they avoid inviting critics of their ideas to participate in their podcasts.

Havana Syndrome: The Terrifying Spy Mystery the CIA Can’t Explain (w/ Michael Rey) (The Bulwark on YouTube, Oct 19, 2026 – 51:43
For years, American spies and diplomats have suffered mysterious, debilitating injuries. Was Russia secretly targeting them, and did the CIA cover it up? Former CIA officer Mark Polymeropoulos, whose career was ended by Havana Syndrome, and Michael Weiss welcome 60 Minutes investigative journalist Michael Rey to examine explosive new evidence, a suspected Russian microwave weapon, and the government’s treatment of its own officers.

00:00:00 Havana Syndrome Investigation & New Book
00:03:56 What Is Havana Syndrome?
00:06:33 Frankfurt, Tbilisi & Russia's Unit 29155
00:11:13 CIA Skepticism & Intelligence Community Dysfunction
00:17:06 The Microwave Weapon Seized by the US
00:24:27 Why the US Government Denies Havana Syndrome
00:27:23 CIA Cover-Up Claims & Pushback on Victims
00:36:44 Did Russia Target CIA Officers Tied to Ukraine?
00:40:52 Bill Burns & CIA Leadership Failures
00:45:11 Intelligence Assessment Reversal & Russian Intel
00:48:09 What's Next for the Havana Syndrome Story

 

[dann]

Great review of the book!

Havana Syndrome: The Neverending Story (The Cipher Brief, Oct 13, 2026)
If R&Z are right, the “Havana Syndrome” case represents one of the most comprehensive intelligence, counterintelligence, and security failures in U.S. government history, made worse by a cynical campaign to sacrifice government employees and hide the truth.
But are they right? Fortunately, they almost certainly are not. Despite offering some circumstantial evidence, R&Z [the two authors of the new book] make highly disputable claims about Russian attacks. As for their allegation of a CIA cover-up, the best evidence indicates the opposite. Much like their four 60 Minutes episodes on the syndrome, R&Z only offer testimony that confirms their theory. This is a shame, because after nine years of researching the Havana Syndrome, they could have helped ease the minds of many anxious and suffering victims with a more realistic account of what probably happened to them, and a more honest account of the CIA’s and other agencies’ efforts to uncover the truth.

The reviewer:

Michael J. Ard is a former CIA analyst and Deputy National Intelligence Officer for the Western Hemisphere. Ard is program director for the Master of Science in Intelligence Analysis program at Johns Hopkins University.

 

[dann]

Robert Bartholomew:

Why Mass Hysteria Still Explains ‘Havana Syndrome’ – A response to Dr. Eric Haseltine’s critique of the psychogenic model (Psychology Today, Oct 12, 2026)
KEY POINTS

• There remains no clear evidence that the symptoms are the result of an attack by a covert weapon.
• While 'Havana Syndrome' remains contentious, a psychological origin is still the most likely explanation.
• Dr Eric Haseltine's thoughtful review should be tempered with the evidence against a directed energy attack.
  
  Dr Eric Haseltine, a former American intelligence officer and neuroscientist, has expressed skepticism in his Psychology Today blog (Long Fuse, Big Bang), that “mass hysteria… does not explain much of the data from studies of victims, and remains an unproven hypothesis.”

Haseltine's articles:

What Havana Syndrome May Reveal About the Brain – The brain may be more vulnerable to some wireless radiation than we thought. (Psychology Today, Sep 27, 2026)
KEY POINTS

• Havana syndrome refers to a cluster of mysterious neurological symptoms reported by U.S. government employees.
• Some experts believe pulsed microwaves cause the syndrome but the exact mechanism of injury is unknown.
• Victims' reports hint that cumulative damage from fast-repeating acoustic microtraumas could be responsible.

Evaluating the Mass Hysteria Theory of Havana Syndrome (Psychology Today, Sep 30, 2026)
KEY POINTS

• Some experts assert that Havana Syndrome is a classic case of mass psychogenic illness (MPI) not real injury.
• There is some overlap of symptoms with MPI (e.g. headache) and social contagion may be a viable vector.
• However, MPI does not explain much of the data from studies of victims, and remains an unproven hypothesis.

By the way, Eric Haseltine and his wife Chris Gilbert, to whom he refers in both articles, are also the authors of this YA novel:

The Shadow of Time (Goodreads, Nov 17, 2024)
What if humans weren’t the first advanced civilization on Earth? And, what if these ancient beings have returned after millions of years to reclaim their planet?
When out-of-work paleontologist Jake Le Blanc uncovers tantalizing hints a long-gone civilization has returned, he must use all his investigative skills and scientific genius to save humanity from imminent extinction.
But powerful people from greedy Australian businessmen to Russian (!) Mobsters, are determined to stop Jake from revealing the shocking truth.
And what does the exotically beautiful police lieutenant who has worked her way onto his case really want from Jake?
An adventure thriller that lovers of Indiana Jones will relish.
The Shadow of time will keep you up late at night on the edge of your seat with suspense, intrigue, romance, and…danger.

I assume that "after millions of years" implies that the ancient beings aren't Russians.

 

[dann]

The Bulwark is onboard with the DEW idea! Michael Rey, one of the two authors of the new book, is in the studio with Michal Weiss (The Insider) and Marc Polymeropoulos, the former CIA operative and 'syndrome' sufferer.

I halfway expected that they would have given up on the story about 'Joy' by now, the case from Tbilisi, because her diagnosis, semicircular canal dehiscence (see post 2,465), is so obviously not something caused by microwave attacks, but instead they are doubling down and claiming that 'Joy' underwent brain surgery, which is very unlikely and not what her diagnosis (or her surgery scar) implies.
View attachment 77072

Their stories are the same conspiracy theories we have heard Weiss and Polymeropoulos tell for a couple of years, and as always they avoid inviting critics of their ideas to participate in their podcasts.

The Bulwark on bsky, Oct 20, 2026
@mpolymer1.bsky.social pushes back on claims that continued reporting on Havana Syndrome harms its victims:
"That's all we've got. The US government has betrayed us. It's been a massive betrayal…The idea that you are somehow doing a disservice to the victims, I take offense to that." 1/2
With a short video, 2:12 min.

Watch the full episode of Bulwark Takes with Marc Polymeropoulos, @michaeldweiss.bsky.social, and featuring Michael Rey: 2/2
Did Putin Have a Secret Campaign to Cripple American Spies? (w/ Michael Rey) (The Bulwark, Oct 18, 2026 - 10 min.*)

I don't think anybody actually "claims that continued reporting on Havana Syndrome harms its victims."
Instead, what Michal J. Ard writes in his review, Havana Syndrome: The Neverending Story is this:

But are they right? Fortunately, they almost certainly are not. Despite offering some circumstantial evidence, R&Z make highly disputable claims about Russian attacks. As for their allegation of a CIA cover-up, the best evidence indicates the opposite. Much like their four 60 Minutes episodes on the syndrome, R&Z only offer testimony that confirms their theory. This is a shame, because after nine years of researching the Havana Syndrome, they could have helped ease the minds of many anxious and suffering victims with a more realistic account of what probably happened to them, and a more honest account of the CIA’s and other agencies’ efforts to uncover the truth.

In other words, it's not the continued reporting on 'Havana syndrome' that harms its victims. It's the continued false reporting about DEW attacks that confirms the delusion that those attacks actually happened.
To say nothing about the CUBAN victims of this narrative, which is still being used as justification of the (exacerbated) blockade against Cuba.


* ETA: Unfortunately, Michael Rey is interrupted in the middle of telling the story about 'Joy' because The Bulwark wants us to pay to hear the rest of the story:

Paid episode
The full episode is only available to paid subscribers of The Bulwark

(Don't they mean paying subscribers???)
Fortunately, however, it's not true. I saw the full episode, including 'Joy's' story on YouTube, see post 2,512., where it can still be accessed for free.

 

[dann]

Very interesting development!

For the most part, I haven't copied what I have posted on social media about the 'syndrome' and my confrontations with supporters of the DEW-attack delusion and posted it here. I made an exception with my first confrontation with John Sipher (see post 2,489), but I have also confronted guys like Michael Weiss (The Insider), who never replied and for whatever reason abandoned BlueSky after I posted some facts that I thought he needed to know about biomarkers:

dannsim.bsky.social, April 18, 2026
"biomarkers, namely plasma neurofilament light chain and glial fibrillary acidic protein" may signify conditions much less severe than "a stroke or head injury."
NfL and GFAP may signify conditions like stress, dehydration, migraine, C19, and depression:
Clinical, Biomarker, and Research Tests Among US Government Personnel and Their Family Members Involved in Anomalous Health Incidents (JAMA/NIH/PMC, Mar 18, 2024)

I can't claim to know that Weiss left bsky because of my post, so this is not a post-hoc-ergo-propter-hoc claim. I just find it suspicious.

In recent years, the fans of the DEW-attack delusion have been very active online and in the media, but one thing that has been lacking is open debate with their critics. They claim that they are more than willing to face their critics, and yet those critics never appear in panel discussions or podcasts with them, whether at the Spy Museum, at the Hayden Center or – most recently – on The Bulwark (see post 2,512). It's always people like Polymeropoulos, Michael Weiss, Nicky Woolf or (recently) Michael Rey confirming each other's stories. They tend to ignore any and all criticism and got very upset when the former CIA analyst Michael J. Ard (see post 2,513) criticized the recently released book (see post 2,511) about the 'syndrome':

27:41–> Mark Polymeropoulos: These are senior analytic figures who are who are still there.
We saw in The Cipher Brief, um, a very strange book review by a former senior analyst, which looked like it was out of kind of Cuban propaganda, basically saying, 'This is all nuts.' I mean, and and this is a former senior analyst presumably who at the behest of other analysts um uh uh got The Cipher Brief sadly to to publish this a kind of a very questionable uh uh you know book review and that's their choice. They can do that. That's fine.
But what would you say to that? Um I mean you know these things happen. You write a book. But this one was so out of left field. They even quoted someone, a researcher who has been skeptical of vanison drugs Havana syndrome, who we know hangs out with the Cuban government all the time. I mean, it's that was kind of crazy that they even went to that length.
Michael Weiss: It was a bit of an outlier. Um, but again, it's a book review and I and I'm, you know, I'll take all all the critique and criticism and I look forward to [snorts] to the conversation about that.

These guys are such liars and hypocrites! They shy away from all critics! Rey is one of the guys behind 60 Minutes' series of episodes about the 'syndrome' where they meticulously avoided having critics appear to confront the DEW-attack beliefs.

And as for the guy who allegedly "hangs out with the Cuban government all the time," they could have invited him for one of their many one-sided and totally biased panel discussions, but they never did. By the way, 'they' didn't actually quote the guy, whose name shall not be mentioned, in The Cipher Brief's article, but Polymeropoulos is not as cautious on X as he was in the The Bulwark's podcast after I criticized it today:

DannSim on X, Oct 24, 2026
Why do these guys never face their critics in spite of claiming that they'd like to do so?
Why did The Bulwark only include people who believe in the DEW-attack delusion and not critics like Michael J. Ard and Robert Bartholomew?
Havana Syndrome: The Neverending Story (The Cipher Brief, Oct 13, 2026)

Mark Polymeropoulos on X, Oct 24, 2026
Bartholomew is buddies with the Cuban regime. That’s your answer. That’s why that Cipher Brief article was so pathetic. It cites a source who may as well be parroting Havana talking points. We were quite surprised, particularly since Michael Ard used to work in intelligence. Citing a Bartholomew, a Cuban puppet, was laughable. Lazy. And rather surprising.

DannSim on X, Oct 24, 2026
So you were talking about Bartholomew when you claimed someone mentioned by Arp "hangs out with the Cuban government all the time." It's not easy to do for somebody living in.
Your ad hominem doesn't explain why you guys isolate yourselves from open debate with your critics.

It is interesting that one of them has now finally replied to somebody criticizing them.
I wonder if it will result in an actual debate this time.
What I'm really hoping for is that will answer questions about the specifics of their claims:
'Joy's' diagnosis, the alleged biomarkers, the Norwegian researcher, etc.
I very much doubt that they will, but it remains to be seen.

ETA: I forgot to mention why I highlighted anlytic and analyst. I did it in order to stress that there appears to be a rift in the CIA when it comes to the 'syndrome': the field agents (like Polymeropoulos) and the cool-headed analysts (like Ard, both of them retired), the latter being the ones who are using their analytical skills to find out what is actually happening in the world. The field agents don't like that!

 

[dann]

I have quoted and linked to Robert Skvarla several times in the thread but not recently:

robertskvarla.bsky.social, Oct 16, 2026
In 2017, claims of "sonic attacks" targeting U.S. Embassy staff emerged from Cuba. The FBI conducted an investigation, finding no evidence of acoustic attacks, and it's now refusing to release its report in full. 1/5

Little-known FBI unit ruled Havana Syndrome not caused by acoustic weapon (Neither Confirm Nor Deny on Substack, Oct 15, 2026)
That report is now being published for the first time, courtesy of a Freedom of Information Act request filed by Neither Confirm Nor Deny. But in releasing the document, the FBI has redacted nearly all relevant information, raising questions about the nature of a mysterious condition known as Havana Syndrome.

 

[steenkh]

The FBI might not want to release the entire report at a time when conspiracy nuts are in charge of the government?

 

[dann]

The FBI might not want to release the entire report at a time when conspiracy nuts are in charge of the government?

I can see why Kash Patel might not want to release parts of an FBI report saying, allegedly, "that many of the victims may have suffered from a mass psychogenic illness." (From The Cipher Brief (see post 2,513)
It is unlikely that the people (Polymeropoulos being one of them) who claim to be victims of DEW attacks would want something like that to be released.

Since we (obviously) don't know what has been redacted, it's impossible to say for sure if redactions are due to considerations for the sentiments of 'syndrome' sufferers, or if they were about protecting the identities of investigators or their sources. In principle, it could be 'all of the above' or something completely different.

I don't know if having conspiracy nuts in charge of the government played any role in this. The FBI report was made when Trump was president, but the Biden administration didn't release it.
People on the side of the DEW-attack idea are sometimes anti-MAGA Democrats, e.g. John Sipher, Mark Zaid, Olivia Troye, Mark Polymeropoulos. The latter was happy when Tulsi Gabbard declared the most extensive investigation of the 'syndrome' null and void:

Mark Polymeropoulos on X, May 22, 2026
And there is a AHI (Havana Syndrome) statement that is sitting on her desk that she should release before leaving. It is ready to go. It essentially will rescind the old flawed assessments. This should not be controversial. All other intelligence chief have signed off on this. HPSCI on a bipartisan basis supports this. Why this has not happened remains a mystery.

(Of course, "flawed assessment" means nothing more than that it didn't confirm Polymeropoulos's claim that his 'syndrome' is a "combat injury.")

This is what Michael J. Ard says about the rescinded report:

The CIA’s new 2021 task force was a high-priority investigation, well-resourced and staffed with top agency experts. The operating assumption of Director Burns and his task force was that evidence of attacks probably would be found.
After two years of investigation, the National Intelligence Council issued the Intelligence Community Assessment that concluded that foreign adversary attacks were “very unlikely.” The intelligence community could not confirm that a single attack took place, nor could it discover the existence of the mystery weapon.

I assume that the "AHI (Havana Syndrome) statement that [was] sitting on [Tulsi Gabbard's] desk" was written by Polymeropoulos' friends (maybe with his direct involvement since he seems to know what it said) and that it was too flawed to be released. Otherwise, I don't see why it didn't happen. Gabbard didn't risk much by simply rescinding the earlier ODNI reports (without any real arguments against it or the pointing out of factual errors).

It may also have had to do with the rift between the two 'factions' that seem to exist in the CIA.