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Tags crickets , Cuba conspiracies , Cuba incidents , havana syndrome , mass hysteria , microwave weapons , sonic weapons , Targeted Individuals , US-Cuba relations

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Old 27th September 2023, 06:37 AM   #2001
dann
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Cuban embassy in Washington attacked - again

From post 407:
Quote:
"Let's remind Cuba: They are obligated under the Vienna Convention to protect our diplomats. It is very serious that 24 of our U.S. government colleagues suffered health attacks, some with serious and ongoing symptoms. Secretary Tillerson had to protect his staff by limiting our work at the U.S. Embassy in Havana to emergency services," she said.
"While our investigation is ongoing, rather than find excuses, Cuba should focus on helping to locate who or what is responsible for the harm caused to American citizens," Nauert added.
Cuba condemns U.S. cuts to embassy staff over health attacks (VOA News/AP, Mar. 5, 2018)

The Cubans did locate those responsible, and it didn't take them long. And in spite of Cuba's willingness to share the results of their investigation with the USA, yet it took the USA's combined Intelligence Community more than five years to determine that the Cuban investigators and researchers were right.

The USA also doesn't seem to be eager to protect Cuban diplomats in Washington from actual, not imaginary, attacks:
Quote:
Two Molotov cocktails were thrown at the embassy in the second attack since shots were fired at the diplomatic compound in 2020.
(...)
Anti-Cuban groups turn to terrorism when they feel impunity, something Cuba has repeatedly warned US authorities about,” Rodriguez said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Cuban Embassy in Washington, DC attacked with Molotov cocktails (AlJazeera, Sep 26, 2023)
Quote:
Anti-Cuban groups resort to terrorism due to the moral bankruptcy of their hatred against Cuba and the impunity they believe they enjoy. On a regular basis, in the official exchanges between the Embassy and the Department of State, we have warned that the permissive behavior of United States law enforcement agencies in the face of violent actions can encourage the commission of acts of this nature.
(...)
The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations requires the United States, as a receiving country, to take all appropriate measures to protect the premises of the mission against intrusion or damage and to prevent any disturbance of the peace of the mission or impairment of its dignity.
Terrorist attack against the Cuban Embassy in the United States (Granma.cu, Sep 25, 2023)
US Condemns Molotov Cocktail Attack on the Cuban Embassy (WashingtonPost, Sep 25, 2023)
China urges US to ensure safety of diplomatic institutions, personnel (AA, Sep 26, 2023)
Russia condemns attack on Cuban Embassy in US (AA, Sep 26, 2023)
Europeans condemn attack on Cuban Embassy in US (Prensa Latina, Sep 26, 2023)
Mexico condemns attack against Cuban Embassy in Washington (Riviera-May-News, Sep 27, 2023)
La violencia y la impunidad no pueden colonizar el mundo (Granma.cu, Sep 26, 2023)

Video Appears to Show Molotov Cocktails Being Thrown at Cuban Embassy (Inside Edition on YouTube, Sep 26, 2023 - 1:10 min)
YouTube Video This video is not hosted by the ISF. The ISF can not be held responsible for the suitability or legality of this material. By clicking the link below you agree to view content from an external website.
I AGREE
__________________
/dann
"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx

Last edited by dann; 27th September 2023 at 06:50 AM.
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Old 28th September 2023, 07:54 AM   #2002
dann
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Michael Hoffer, James Giordano & Targeted Individuals

Continued from post 1,999 and 2,000:

Quote:
My visit to Dr. Hoffer 😊 I felt seen, heard, and supported 🙏 💜✨
Shaina Shaina (Twitter/X, Sep 27, 2023)
With short video.

Quote:
Dr. Hoffer believes I am experiencing Directed energy. It has not caused Havana syndrome. He advised me to contact Dr. James Giordano of Georgetown University, whom studies the different types of directed energies. Then, I may be able to have cognitive rehabilitation near me...
Shaina Shaina (Twitter/X, Sep 27, 2023)
Quote:
Dr. Hoffer luckily being an ENT validated that he sees the microchips within both sections by my ears. I had sent him my MRI, plus my documentation. Now I hope Dr. Giordano will give you the type of D.E.W. being used on you! I'm still writing to neurosurgeon's for help.
bonnie kellerby (Twitter/X, Sep 27, 2023)
Quote:
🙏 I hope it happens for you soon, yes I thought he was very professional and tries to really understand. There is only so much he can do there. I hope I can get in contact with Dr. Giordano
Shaina Shaina (Twitter/X, Sep 27, 2023)
Quote:
I hope Dr. Giordano will be truly decent & definitely help you with how to remedy it?! Like shoot those things/perps back. lol sort of! & it is great that Dr. Hoffer preferred him to help you, that's major nice. Sorry that you're a TI also! Blessings to you Shaina.
bonnie kellerby (Twitter/X, Sep 27, 2023)
Quote:
Did he put that in the chart? That you are being exposed to Directed Energy? This could be a new diagnosis he could do for T.I.s.
Spicyroutes1 (Twitter/X, Sep 28, 2023)
Quote:
I believe it is validation for it, but he does a spoken referral. Which means he probably doesn't want to be involved further besides validation & advising me to reach out to Dr. Giordano... Can anyone blame him?
Shaina Shaina (Twitter/X, Sep 28, 2023)
Quote:
He advised me to reach out to Dr. James Giordano whom studies the different types of Directed energies. Then, from there I could possibly start cognitive rehab... I believe it was just a note on how he advised me.
Shaina Shaina (Twitter/X, Sep 27, 2023)
Quote:
Amazing that so many TI's have great experiences, but I did not have a good experience. He told me to get a hearing aid and treated me very terribly. Glad he was nice to you because a lot of us he wasn't.
TiredOfBeingTortured (Twitter/X, Sep 27, 2023)
Quote:
With so many going to him with the same issues shows there is a big problem and targeting is real!
Ginarooski (Twitter/X, Sep 27, 2023)
This problem would not have existed to this extent before social media.
The Twitter/X discussion above is all anecdotal. No copies or verbatim quotations from any reports.

Continued from post 1,998:
Quote:
[With photo from University of Miami Ear Institute - Department of Otolaryngology]
Dale Shenck (Twitter/X, Sep 27, 2023)
But nothing about the examination and what it showed.
__________________
/dann
"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx

Last edited by dann; 28th September 2023 at 08:11 AM.
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Old 28th September 2023, 08:39 AM   #2003
dann
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Attack on Cuban Embassy in Washington

Continued from post 2,001:
Cuban foreign minister denounces terrorist attack against Cuban Embassy in Washington, DC (Granma.cu, Sep 25, 2023)

Quote:
The statement warned about the message conveyed regarding the attitude of the US Government in the face of these kinds of threats against Cuba’s and other foreign embassies in Washington.
At the request of the Cuban diplomatic mission, officers with the United States Secret Service had access to the Cuban Embassy to verify the violent action. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez released a surveillance video on his X account. The images show how the attacker arrived in front of the Cuban Embassy, lit the Molotov cocktails and threw them at the building’s façade
Cuba waits for information about attack on its embassy in US (Prensa Latina, Sep 27, 2023)

Quote:
“In addition to investigating and punishing the culprit, the U.S. authorities could be fair and give them the place they really deserve on States Sponsoring Terrorism (SST) list to those who actually finance such acts,” the Cuban leader posted on X social media, while adding they should get Cuba out of the SST list.
Cuba urges to consider attack on embassy as terrorism (Representaciones Diplomáticas de Cuba en el Exterior, Sep 26, 2023)

Quote:
The Cuban diplomat said that what happened also reflects "a permissive behavior of the law enforcement authorities of this country, which have been the site of two terrorist acts against our Embassy in Washington D.C., since 2020, that is to say, it is not just something from the past".
One wonders," said Torres, "how is it possible that so close to the White House, such acts are committed and that the U.S. law enforcement authorities could not foresee an attack with an AK-47 assault weapon in 2020 and now an attack with two Molotov cocktails.
He stressed that this unfortunate event, "in which fortunately no casualties were claimed, although they could have been, serves as a reminder of the double standard of the U.S. Government in making repeated allusions to its commitment against terrorism.
However - he added - it allows constant calls to be made from its territory through social networks to commit violent acts against representatives of the Cuban authorities, both in Cuba and abroad, even with promises of monetary rewards.
"All this is public and no action is taken against these people who make these calls," Torres sentenced.
Attack on U.S. embassy proves that Cuba is a victim of terrorism (Representaciones Diplomáticas de Cuba en el Exterior, Sep 27, 2023)
__________________
/dann
"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx
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Old 28th September 2023, 08:36 PM   #2004
Roger Ramjets
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Originally Posted by dann View Post
Quote:
Anti-Cuban groups resort to terrorism due to the moral bankruptcy of their hatred against Cuba and the impunity they believe they enjoy. On a regular basis, in the official exchanges between the Embassy and the Department of State, we have warned that the permissive behavior of United States law enforcement agencies in the face of violent actions can encourage the commission of acts of this nature.
When the communists took over Cuba by armed revolution in 1959, thousands of Cubans - mostly middle and upper-class people facing nationalization of their property and wealth - fled to the US. Since then there have been several other waves of immigration. Today the Cuban-American population stands at over 2.4 million, 85% of whom identify as 'white' and 70% living in Florida. Many are active in politics and have influence over US policy towards Cuba.

One can understand why those people might hate the communist regime in Cuba. Are they morally bankrupt? That's a tricky question. While Cuba was very corrupt and wealthy people benefited from it, the communists stripped everyone of what they had regardless, even though most were probably hard working honest citizens. The Castro government was as repressive as any communist regime. This did not endear it to the US or anybody who believes in freedom and democracy.

In the minds of many it is Cuba itself which is guilty of 'moral bankruptcy', and they may have a point. Aligning itself with the USSR and allowing Russian nuclear missiles to be put on its soil (a stone's throw from mainland US) only made it worse. In this environment it's hardly surprising that people would entertain the possibility of Cuba launching 'health attacks' against US citizens. And we all know about the shenanigans Russian spies get up to (or at least we think we do) which made it all the more plausible.

But the attacks on the Cuban embassy are not relevant to this discussion. There are loonies everywhere who occasionally seek attention by committing acts of terrorism. All it shows is that there is anti-Cuba sentiment in the US - but we knew that already.

I don't put the blame on Cuban-Americans, the CIA or the diplomats involved. I blame Trump and the Deplorables who voted for him. It was Trump's moral bankruptcy that caused him to rip apart everything Obama did, including thawing US-Cuban relations. Finally some progress was being made, and that prick pissed all over it. I hope he gets prosecuted and sent to prison. Lock him up!
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Old 29th September 2023, 02:26 AM   #2005
dann
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Originally Posted by Roger Ramjets View Post
When the communists took over Cuba by armed revolution in 1959, thousands of Cubans - mostly middle and upper-class people facing nationalization of their property and wealth - fled to the US. Since then there have been several other waves of immigration. Today the Cuban-American population stands at over 2.4 million, 85% of whom identify as 'white' and 70% living in Florida. Many are active in politics and have influence over US policy towards Cuba.

Yes, many Cuban expatriates and their descendants are active in and have influence over U.S. politics towards Cuba. Marco Rubio has been mentioned a couple of times in this thread as one of the most eager proponents of the idea that the Cuban crickets constituted an actual microwave attack on the brains of U.S. diplomats and CIA agents. There are also politically and otherwise active Cubans in other parts of the USA, for instance a senator in New Jersey: Menendez’s Amazing Defense for All Those Envelopes of Cash: I’m Cuban (NewRepublic, Sep 24, 2023)

Notice that Miami Herald is doing its utmost to compartmentalize Menendez's corruption and anti-Cuban stance:
Quote:
Sen. Bob Menendez can be both — corrupt and right about Cuba's brutality.
Sen. Menendez bribery charges no reflection on Cuba stance (MiamiHerald, Sep 29, 2023)
From an exiled Cuban kingpin's obituary:
Quote:
Death spared him from watching the continued erosion of his power, possibly even from the indignity of an indictment on corruption charges. His greatest legislative triumph was the Helms-Burton bill.
Death Probably Saved Mas From Forces Threatening To Undo Him (LATimes, Nov 30, 1997)
A couple of Mas Canosa's friends and allies:
United States and state-sponsored terrorisim: Orlando Bosch (Wiki)
United States and state-sponsored terrorisim: Luis Posada Carriles (Wiki)

Originally Posted by Roger Ramjets View Post
One can understand why those people might hate the communist regime in Cuba. Are they morally bankrupt? That's a tricky question. While Cuba was very corrupt and wealthy people benefited from it, the communists stripped everyone of what they had regardless, even though most were probably hard working honest citizens. The Castro government was as repressive as any communist regime. This did not endear it to the US or anybody who believes in freedom and democracy.

I am not sure what you are talking about when you claim that the Cuban "communists stripped everyone of what they had." I seriously doubt that the Cuban revolution would have had the popular support it had and has if that had been the case.
As for repression and endearing 'regimes' "to the US or anybody who believes in freedom and democracy," I think you should have left it out. People who believe in "freedom and democracy," the US in particular, love repressive regimes - in particular, if they are the kind of genocidal regimes that are strictly anti-communist. I am surprised that you believe in the ideology. May I recommend the documentary The Act of Killing? (Wiki)

You are old enough to remember the repressive Apartheid regime. The USA supported it till the very end. And how about Pinotchet's coup in Chile? And Pinochet's freedom-and-democracy-loving friends Thatcher and Reagan. And Allende wasn't even a communist!
USA hates communists. It's as simple as that. If it's a choice between repression and communism, the USA will side with repression every time.
And, no, Cuba isn't and wasn't repressive.
(Arcade22 has never forgiven me for agreeing with him! )

Originally Posted by Roger Ramjets View Post
In the minds of many it is Cuba itself which is guilty of 'moral bankruptcy', and they may have a point. Aligning itself with the USSR and allowing Russian nuclear missiles to be put on its soil (a stone's throw from mainland US) only made it worse. In this environment it's hardly surprising that people would entertain the possibility of Cuba launching 'health attacks' against US citizens. And we all know about the shenanigans Russian spies get up to (or at least we think we do) which made it all the more plausible.

No, they don't have a point. Back then as well as now, Cuba would 'align itself' with countries willing to cooperate and trade with the country. And you get it totally wrong when you think that Cuba merely allowed (!) "Russian nuclear missiles to be put on its soil." Cuba asked for those missiles to protect itself against an extremely powerful regime armed with nuclear missiles. That regime had already attempted to invade Cuba, which is no big secret, but people tend to forget that side of the story because they always watch history from the point of view of the USA: Bay of Pigs Invasion (Wiki).
And not only that:
Quote:
The aircraft carrier group of the USS Essex had been at sea for nearly a month before the invasion; its crew was well aware of the impending battle. En route, Essex had made a night time stop at a Navy arms depot in Charleston, South Carolina, to load tactical nuclear weapons to be held ready during the cruise.
Bay of Pigs Invasion: Prelude to invasion: Fleet sets sail (Wikipedia)

Cuba wanted and needed those missiles to protect itself from the aggressive regime. Fidel Castro was seriously pissed off when Khruschchev removed them and sailed them back to the USSR:
Quote:
Over the coming days, Fidel was consumed with bitter recriminations against Khruschchev, and the hapless Mikoyan was dispatched to Havana to patch things up. Mikoyan did what he could, but Fidel and Che were convinced that Khruschchev had sold them out for his own strategic interests.
Che calmly removed his Makarov pistol from its holster, handed it to the interpreter, and said: "If I were in your place, the only thing left to do ..." According to Alexandr Alexiev, everyone laughed, including Mikoyan. Che's dark humor had cleared the air.
In public, relations between Moscow and Havana remained "fraternal," but under the surface the situation was extremely tense, and it stayed that way for some time. In the streets of Havana, indignant Cubans chanted: "Nikita, mariquita, lo que se da no se quita!" (Nikita, you little queer, what you give, you don't take away!)
Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life (Goodreads)
(Fidel Castro later apologized for the homophobia of the early years of the revolution.)

Originally Posted by Roger Ramjets View Post
But the attacks on the Cuban embassy are not relevant to this discussion. There are loonies everywhere who occasionally seek attention by committing acts of terrorism. All it shows is that there is anti-Cuba sentiment in the US - but we knew that already.

They are relevant! Your 'loonies everywhere' is the standard excuse from MAGA Republicans whenever they manage to rile up those loonies enough for one of them to threaten or actually attack politicians, judges, election officials or health-care workers.
Your argument is ridiculous and childish. The most recent attacker was masked, so it doesn't seem to have been about seeking attention. You are deliberately trivializing something that is very serious, indeed.

But, yes, we already knew that there were anti-Cuba sentiment in the US. But we also know where it comes from. You probably remember the fairly recent campaign accusing Cuba of using zap guns to damage the brains of U.S. diplomats stationed in Cuba. I have mentioned it a couple of times in this thread. The previous attack in 2020 took place when the paranoia was at its very worst, and yet that attack was treated as if it had absolutely nothing to do with anti-Cuban propaganda:
Quote:
Our city has experienced far too many tragic outcomes when someone fires a weapon indiscriminately in our community,” said Metropolitan Police Department Chief Peter Newsham. “With this indictment, it is our hope that the criminal justice system holds this individual accountable.”
Man Indicted on Charges Related to Shooting of the Embassy of Cuba (United States Department of Justice, July 22, 2020)
The hypocrisy is palpable! The case is treated as if Washington is the victim and as if the target is random. As if the perpetrator, a man riled up by "anti-Cuba sentiment," might have shot at just any building in Washington "indiscriminately".
Yes, he was crazy, too, but not any more so than all the other crazies riled up by U.S. politicians and media.

Originally Posted by Roger Ramjets View Post
I don't put the blame on Cuban-Americans, the CIA or the diplomats involved. I blame Trump and the Deplorables who voted for him. It was Trump's moral bankruptcy that caused him to rip apart everything Obama did, including thawing US-Cuban relations. Finally some progress was being made, and that prick pissed all over it. I hope he gets prosecuted and sent to prison. Lock him up!

Feel free to blame Trump, but you may not have noticed that Biden has done nothing whatsoever to undo the damage done by Trump. In this respect, it has been very much like Biden's promises to take global warming seriously. Biden has actually intensified the blockade and refused to remove Cuba from the U.S. list of terrorist states. Biden! Not Trump!

And you want to pretend that the anti-Cuban terrorists haven't noticed this official U.S. attitude, that they aren't aware that Cuba is considered to be the enemy.
__________________
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"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx

Last edited by dann; 29th September 2023 at 02:28 AM.
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Old 29th September 2023, 10:56 AM   #2006
dann
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Sudden, Unexplained Sensory Events (SUSE?)

As mentioned in post 1,997, today is the day when the DoD's study of "the effects of radio frequency waves on ferrets" conducted at Wayne State University is supposed to end, but I don't know when (if ever) we will hear about the results.

I also don't know if the following article is an attempt to revive the 'syndrome', but its message is very similar to the warnings issued by the State Department, the CIA and the DoD, which succeeded in spreading the 'syndrome' to more than a thousand U.S. employees all around the world back in 2021:

Quote:
Anomalous health incident, or AHI, is the term used to describe a constellation of unexplained and sudden symptoms, and the Defense Health Agency’s National Intrepid Center of Excellence and the Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence have developed an assessment tool to evaluate patient symptoms and better understand AHI.

The new tool helps providers who find “no clear, attributable cause” for these symptoms with a structured assessment of those reporting an anomalous health incident, otherwise known as “Havana syndrome,” according to Dr. Louis French, NICoE’s deputy director.

These symptoms may include headache, confusion, memory concerns, pain, nausea, hearing, dizziness, balance issues, or sleep disturbances. Additional signs or sensory phenomena may consist of hearing loud sounds, the feeling of pressure, experiencing vibrations or the sensation of heat during or immediately before the start of these symptoms, according to U.S. Navy Capt. (Dr.) Scott Cota, TBICoE branch chief. These symptoms can lead to a condition similar to a post-concussion syndrome, he said

DHA is actively training medical personnel to detect and assess AHI as close to an incident as possible. Cota’s TBICoE team is leading the virtual acute assessment training. The next session is scheduled for Sept. 21, 2023.
DHA Has Assessment Tool for Sudden, Unexplained Sensory Events (Health.mil, Sep 7, 2023)

Even if it weren't meant to make anybody being kept awake by loud noises paranoid, it will no doubt serve the purpose.
As it is, it has already been embraced by the TI community.
__________________
/dann
"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx
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Old 29th September 2023, 12:20 PM   #2007
dann
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Oldies but Goodies

This short video (0:56 min) with Mark Zaid, the lawyer of many of the 'Havana syndrome' sufferers, was recently retweeted/reposted by Dale Shenck:
Quote:
nsa document havana syndrome
ed rugebregt (Twitter/X, June 17, 2023)

It is appalling to hear Mark Zaid cherry-pick from the document and not mention the last sentence, but fortunately he had tweeted/posted the entire (short) document in 2021:
Quote:
NSA admitted to me in 2014 it knew of these incidents. Two years BEFORE Havana.
CIA & DIA know of incidents dating back decades.
Quote:
UNCLASSIFIED/FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY
FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, MARYLAND 20755-6000
OCTOBER 16, 2014

(U//FOUO) The National Security Agency confirms that there is intelligence information from 2012 associating the hostile country to which Mr. Beck traveled in the late 1990s with a high-powered microwave system weapon that may have the ability to weaken, intimidate or kill an enemy over time and without leaving evidence. The 2012 information indicated that this weapon is designed to bathe a target's living quarters in microwaves, causing numerous physical effects, including damaged nervous system. That National Security Agency has no evidence that such a weapon, if it existed and if it was associated with the hostile country in the 1990s, was or was not used against Mr. Beck.



UNCLASSIFIED/FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Mark S. Zaid (Twitter/X, Oct 1, 2021)

Wikipedia includes the sentence in its article about Electronic harassment:
Quote:
Mike Beck, a former NSA spy, believes his Parkinson's disease was caused by electronic harassment. In 2014, the NSA gave Beck's attorney Mark Zaid a statement which said the agency had received "intelligence information from 2012 associating the hostile country to which Mr. Beck traveled in the late 1990s with a high-powered microwave system weapon", but added that "The National Security Agency has no evidence that such a weapon, if it existed and if it was associated with the hostile country in the late 1990s, was or was not used against Mr. Beck". NSA general counsel Glenn Gerstell told The Washington Post that "the agency has not found any proof that Beck or his co-worker were attacked".
Electronic harassment: Conspiracy theories (Wikipedia)

A lawyer like Mark Zaid can't be unaware of what constitutes actual evidence and what is mere confabulation even when the story appears in an official document. He must know that he is dealing with an imaginary science-fiction weapon and that it would serve the interests of his clients to tell them so. Stringing them on wouldn't be ethical.
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"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx
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Old 29th September 2023, 06:51 PM   #2008
Orphia Nay
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I occasionally check the latest posts in this thread, but I can't remember what TI stands for.
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Old 29th September 2023, 09:57 PM   #2009
dann
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Wikipedia.
In this context, in particular the latter of the options mentioned by Wiki: "An individual claiming to experience electronic harassment
RaitionalWiki is more blunt: Targeted Individuals

Mind Games: The Tortured Live of 'Targeted Individuals' (Wired, May 4, 2018)
Government Guinea Pigs? - Investigating the Claims of 'Targeted Individuals' Who Insist They're Being Stalked, Tortured (TheReporters, June 2021)
A ‘Targeted Individual’ Follow-Up - Is Something Really Happening to Them? (TheReporters, Feb 2023)


ETA: One thing, they have in common with the group of 'Havana syndrome' victims is that they go to the medical establishment for confirmation that they are being attacked by some entity using directed-energy weapons (DEWs) (Wikipedia). Many of them get upset when they are told that they aren't or that nothing is physiologically wrong with them. They give each other advice about which doctors to go to for a diagnosis of 'Havana syndrome'. Michael Hoffer at the University of Miami Ear Institute - Department of Otolaryngology is a favorite of theirs. See post 2,002.
They also complain about not being recognized by the government and health authorities the same way the group of 'Havana syndrome' sufferers are in spite of having the same symptoms. Michael Hoffer and James Giordano appear to be exceptions. I think Hoffer and Giordano see the TI community as a way to keep the 'syndrome' alive.
But I suspect that this (post 1,709) may be another reason.
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"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx

Last edited by dann; 29th September 2023 at 10:45 PM.
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Old 29th September 2023, 11:29 PM   #2010
Orphia Nay
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Originally Posted by dann View Post
Wikipedia.
In this context, in particular the latter of the options mentioned by Wiki: "An individual claiming to experience electronic harassment
RaitionalWiki is more blunt: Targeted Individuals

Mind Games: The Tortured Live of 'Targeted Individuals' (Wired, May 4, 2018)
Government Guinea Pigs? - Investigating the Claims of 'Targeted Individuals' Who Insist They're Being Stalked, Tortured (TheReporters, June 2021)
A ‘Targeted Individual’ Follow-Up - Is Something Really Happening to Them? (TheReporters, Feb 2023)


ETA: One thing, they have in common with the group of 'Havana syndrome' victims is that they go to the medical establishment for confirmation that they are being attacked by some entity using directed-energy weapons (DEWs) (Wikipedia). Many of them get upset when they are told that they aren't or that nothing is physiologically wrong with them. They give each other advice about which doctors to go to for a diagnosis of 'Havana syndrome'. Michael Hoffer at the University of Miami Ear Institute - Department of Otolaryngology is a favorite of theirs. See post 2,002.
They also complain about not being recognized by the government and health authorities the same way the group of 'Havana syndrome' sufferers are in spite of having the same symptoms. Michael Hoffer and James Giordano appear to be exceptions. I think Hoffer and Giordano see the TI community as a way to keep the 'syndrome' alive.
But I suspect that this (post 1,709) may be another reason.
Thank you, dann! Very helpful!
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Old 30th September 2023, 12:46 PM   #2011
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Mark Zaid and the Targeted Individuals

I was wrong about this:
Originally Posted by dann View Post
A lawyer like Mark Zaid can't be unaware of what constitutes actual evidence and what is mere confabulation even when the story appears in an official document. He must know that he is dealing with an imaginary science-fiction weapon and that it would serve the interests of his clients to tell them so. Stringing them on wouldn't be ethical.
When I was writing it yesterday, I thought that the ODNI report on March 1 might have convinced him that the foreign hostile adversary with a zap gun doesn't exist, but he may be one of those people who doubles down when their delusional ideas are met with objections.

It takes a long time for the link to the Wisconsin Law Journal to open, but it is interesting to see that 'syndrome' lawyer Mark Zaid now appears to have gone full-blown conspiracy nut:
Quote:
A U.S. government cover-up?
According to Zaid, Havana Syndrome may be part of a larger scale government cover-up.
“I would dare say there is cover-up,” Zaid said, noting there are several theories why the U.S. government has downplayed it and made victims of the syndrome think there is something off with them psychologically, when in reality there is a serious brain injury.
(...)
To date, the majority of those who have been targeted are U.S. State Department employees and Central Intelligence Agency personnel who have been working on gathering intelligence on Russia, Zaid said.
On Sept. 15, 2023, Reuters reported a top Russian security official bragged how Moscow had successfully “neutralized” hundreds of foreign spies in recent years.
Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, wrote in Russia’s foreign intelligence agency’s house magazine:
“In recent years, hundreds of employees of foreign intelligence services, as well as other persons involved in organizing intelligence and subversive activities against our country and our strategic partners, have been identified and neutralized.”
Zaid said no one is safe from being targeted, even those who have never written about the subject or represented a client who suffered from it.
“An interesting working theory, wouldn’t it make sense for the adversary in order to hide tracks or undermine legitimacy of actual incidents by hitting random people across the country who have no connection to anything intelligence related? Those people sound like they are crazy, so everyone gets lumped into the same basket. Mass hysteria and mass psychosis, no evidence,” Zaid said.
Among those “random” people — Chicagoland Doctor Len Ber ...
Havana Syndrome hits CIA, Congress in Wisconsin, Russia takes credit (Wisconsin Law Journal, Sep 27, 2023)

Nice try, but no! Russia doesn't take credit for the 'syndrome'. What the linked Reuters article says is this:
Quote:
MOSCOW, Sept 15 (Reuters) - A top Russian security official said in an article published on Friday that Moscow had "neutralised" hundreds of foreign spies in recent years.
Russia has 'neutralised' hundreds of foreign intelligence agents, top security official says (Reuters, Sep 15, 2023)

It doesn't say zapped, it doesn't say microwaved! There is not a word about DEWs or fried diplomat brains in the Reuters article. Counterespionage has been about neutralising foreign spies for hundreds of years, and it's hardly news that it's still customary to do so in the Spy-vs.-Spy world nowadays. My own guess is that "neutralised" is a euphemism for killed or maybe persuaded to switch sides and become double agents. Wikipedia's article about counterespionage mentions several other steps that may be taken against enemy spies, but DEWs and microwaves are not among them.

However, this is not an obstacle for Mark Zaid's firm belief in such weapons:
Quote:
“From our understanding (!), it’s (!) a handheld device that can be easily hidden. I’m not aware of the government ever having caught anyone in the act of deploying the energy weapon. No device has been captured,” Zaid.

In other words: 'We haven't captured one, we haven't seen one, and we have never even detected one being deployed, but since we need it to exist, it must be very small and thus easily hidden! That is our understanding!'

Quote:
According to Zaid, to date there are only a few members of Congress on Capitol Hill who have stepped up to the plate to advocate for targeted U.S. Citizens who are victims of Havana Syndrome.

I am not sure exactly what he is talking about here. He can't be unaware of this:
House unanimously passes Schiff, Nunes, and Meeks' HAVANA Act to support victims of Anomalous Health Incidents (Schiff.House.Gov, Sep 21, 2021)

Unanimously doesn't sound like "only a few members" to me.

So I think that it means that Zaid is now embracing the idea of the TI community: that the 'syndrome' is not just for former U.S. spies and embassy workers in Havana anymore. They are all 'syndrome' victims, they all have "serious brain injury" whether they were ever anywhere near Havana or not, which at least one of his clients, Olivia Troye, never was. He must be talking about the "random people across the country," not just in Washington like Olivia Troye, but also TIs like Len Ber MD in Chicago or anywhere else.

It will certainly open up for a very large cohort of potential clients if every Targeted Individual in the USA is recognized as a 'syndrome' victim, but Mark Zaid will have to convince them that they are victims of Russia instead of victims of the U.S. government, which seems to be the currently preferred TI idea. He will also have to convince a judge that Hoffer, Giordano and Relman represent solid science in this question. I am sure that they will be more than willing to appear as expert witnesses for the plaintiffs, but I seriously doubt that they will be much of a match for the expert witnesses from JASON.

So far, the TIs haven't achieved much with Targeted Justice, Inc. v. Garland. I don't see what difference it will make if Mark Zaid joins them.
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/dann
"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx

Last edited by dann; 30th September 2023 at 12:49 PM.
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Old 1st October 2023, 04:26 AM   #2012
dann
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Originally Posted by Roger Ramjets View Post
I blame Trump and the Deplorables who voted for him. It was Trump's moral bankruptcy that caused him to rip apart everything Obama did, including thawing US-Cuban relations. Finally some progress was being made, and that prick pissed all over it. I hope he gets prosecuted and sent to prison. Lock him up!

Congressman Jim McGovern, Massachusetts, on the moral bankruptcy of the Biden administration:
Quote:
Rep. Jim McGovern: Current U.S. policy towards Cuba is best described as continuing the sanctions and policies of Donald Trump. Every day our policies hurt the Cuban people. One thing the United States can do to provide relief is to remove Cuba from the state sponsor of terrorism list. There is absolutely no reason for Cuba to be on that list — none. And its impact affects nearly every global financial and economic institution. Many European nations and U.S. allies want to help relieve the suffering of the Cuban people, especially in the areas of health and basic needs, but their hands are tied because of the SST list and its onerous financial restrictions and punishments. Our policy is a relic from the Cold War, and, quite frankly, it’s cruel.
Top Cuban Diplomat Seeks Probe of D.C. Embassy Attack & End to “Unbearable” U.S. Sanctions (Democracy Now!, Sep 29, 2023)
McGovern continued:
"Madam President, I voted for Joe Biden, not Donald Trump. The President has to do better. He could start by removing Cuba from the List of State Sponsors of Terrorism today."

Also on YouTube (12:13 min):
Quote:
Cuba has released footage showing an individual throwing two Molotov cocktails inside the Cuban Embassy compound in Washington, D.C., last Sunday, condemning it as a terrorist attack. An investigation is underway, but no arrests have been made. Cuba’s Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío says the country is demanding a speedy investigation, adding that it is the latest in a series of attacks against Cuban diplomatic missions in recent years. Meanwhile, international pressure continues to grow for the Biden administration to lift the embargo on Cuba and remove it from a list of state sponsors of terrorism. “Cuba’s relationship with terrorism is as a victim,” Fernández de Cossío says of the terror designation. “The reason is not very clear to us, beyond the wish of trying to make life as unbearable as possible for the people of Cuba as a way of trying to extract from Cuba political concessions.”
Top Cuban Diplomat Seeks Probe of D.C. Embassy Attack & End to “Unbearable” U.S. Sanctions (Democracy Now! on YouTube, Sep 29, 2023)
YouTube Video This video is not hosted by the ISF. The ISF can not be held responsible for the suitability or legality of this material. By clicking the link below you agree to view content from an external website.
I AGREE
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"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx
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Old 2nd October 2023, 03:06 AM   #2013
dann
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The Jason A Channel on YouTube with 1,16 million subscribers to videos like these, 2023: SOMETHING BIBLICAL IS HAPPENING, SOMETHING SATANIC IS HAPPENING (2023), 2023: SOMETHING WEIRD IS GOING ON, STRANGE SOUNDS WORLDWIDE! (2023), WE'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THS! (2023) and SOMETHING DEMONIC IS HAPPENING IN AMERICA..., has this new video, which Jason for some reason forgot to capitalize:

Something Strange is Happening Worldwide! (Jason A on YouTube, Oct 1, 2023 - 8:48 min)
YouTube Video This video is not hosted by the ISF. The ISF can not be held responsible for the suitability or legality of this material. By clicking the link below you agree to view content from an external website.
I AGREE

It consists of very short news clips in no particular order about the 'Havana syndrome' from CNN, CBSN, NBC, FOX, and others, with well-known 'syndrome' sufferers or 'experts' like Marc Polymeropoulos or David Relman talking about their idea that the 'syndrome' was caused by an attack with directed energy weapons, but also with clips about the findings of the ODNi report form March 2023 and a clip about an outbreak of mass psychogenic illness at a school (Le Roy?!).

It has already been viewed by 110.671 people, and judging by the comments I'd say that they are almost all TIs and/or conspiracy fans.
__________________
/dann
"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx

Last edited by dann; 2nd October 2023 at 03:08 AM.
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Old 2nd October 2023, 09:25 AM   #2014
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Good news for 'syndrome' sufferers - at least if they belong to the original cohort who experienced 'anomalous health incidents' (AHI) in Havana, 2016-17:

Quote:
IIntroduction. In 2016 diplomatic personnel serving in Havana, Cuba, began reporting audible sensory phenomena paired with onset of complex and persistent neurological symptoms consistent with brain injury. The etiology of these Anomalous Health Incidents (AHI) and subsequent symptoms remains unknown.
(...)
Results. Predicted expression of neuro-chemical markers that jointly satisfy documented pathways and observed symptom profiles display characteristically elevated IL-1B, IL-10, NGF and norepinephrine levels in the context of depressed BDNF, GDNF, IGF1 and glutamate expression (FDR<5%). Elevations in CRH and IL-6 were also predicted unanimously across all subjects. Furthermore, simulations of neurological regulatory dynamics reveal subjects do not appear to be “locked in” persistent illness but rather appear to be engaged in a slow recovery trajectory.
Discussion. This computational analysis of measured neuropsychological symptoms in Havana-based diplomats proposes that these AHI symptoms may be supported in part by disruption of known neuroimmune and neurotransmission regulatory mechanisms also associated with mTBI.
A Regulatory Pathway Model of Neuropsychological Disruption in Havana Syndrome (Frontiers in Psychiatry, Sep 29, 2023)
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"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx
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Old 2nd October 2023, 10:17 AM   #2015
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In post 2,011, I linked to and quoted from a recent article from the Wisconsin Law Journal:
Havana Syndrome hits CIA, Congress in Wisconsin, Russia takes credit (Sep 27, 2023).

However, I focused on lawyer Mark Zaid and mentioned that the TIs probably wouldn't agree with him on who's to blame for the alleged microwave attacks and that, if he wanted to embrace the TIs, he would "have to convince them that they are victims of Russia instead of victims of the U.S. government, which seems to be the currently preferred TI idea."

The Targeted Justice Newsletter on Substack confirms my impression of the TI attitude:
Quote:
We do not agree with Attorney Mark Zaid's statement that Russia is behind these attacks. We have overwhelming evidence that these weapons are operated by the US Space Force from Schriever Base.
Senator Ron Johnson is a Targeted Individual - The Deep State is desperate... (Oct 1, 2023)

Besides, Targeted Justice is much more interested in another aspect of the article in the Wisconsin Law Journal, the one concerning a new prominent member of the TI community, Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin):
Quote:
“I lost my hearing and my balance simultaneously,” Johnson said, noting that the 2018 hearing loss has been permanent.
(...)
“I had blood loss to my cranial nerve … I am basically deaf in my right ear. My balance has come back to a certain extent, but it’s still impaired,” Johnson said, noting he wasn’t given a definitive Havana Syndrome diagnosis, but that was being evaluated.

The Wikipedia article about the senator (68) doesn't (yet!) mention his bout with the 'syndrome', but it tells us that he had pre-vaccination COVID-19 after the infamous White House outbreak:
Quote:
On October 3, 2020, Johnson announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19. After exposure on September 14, he quarantined until September 28. He tested negative twice during the quarantine, and was asymptomatic, but tested positive again later and returned to isolation. While awaiting a COVID-19 test result, Johnson attended a fundraising event.
Ron Johnson: Personal life
I think Republicans may have misunderstood the philosophy of Pass It On ...
__________________
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"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx

Last edited by dann; 2nd October 2023 at 10:20 AM.
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Old 2nd October 2023, 10:30 AM   #2016
dann
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An awful lot of obscure websites, all of them Chinese, have this message today:
Sending Out an SOS: The Taliban Return, Booster Shots, Havana Syndrome
I have no idea what it is supposed to mean.
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"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx
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Old 4th October 2023, 03:21 AM   #2017
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It turns out that Sending Out an SOS: The Taliban Return, Booster Shots, Havana Syndrome is a podcast that is a little more than two years old at this point: TheSkimm, Aug 21, 2021. The segment about the 'syndrome' segment is from 24:50 to 31:30.

The date explains why it mentions the Taliban returning. It also explains why it says that "five years later, this case [i.e. the 'syndrome'] still hasn't been cracked," which would have been true in 2021 when it hadn't yet been solved, at least not officially.

The only remaining mystery is why more than eighty Chinese websites all of a sudden mention the title of this podcast now. It does mention Catherine Warner, one of the 'syndrome' victims, who was stationed in China when she suffered an 'anomalous health incident', but I still don't see the point of bringing back that particular podcast now. Maybe it's clickbait to attract the attention of the many Indians who became interested in the topic recently. (See posts 1,985 and 1,995.)
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"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx
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Old 4th October 2023, 08:44 AM   #2018
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Webpages about the 'syndrome' - AI-generated?!

I have recently stumbled on a couple of webpages about the 'syndrome' that I suspect may have been AI generated, for instance these two:

Havana Syndrome - Encyclopedia, Science News & Research Reviews (Academic-Accelerator)
Havana Syndrome (PopularTimelines)

If my suspicion is correct, I'm not impressed by what AIs can accomplish at this point in time.
__________________
/dann
"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx
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Old 4th October 2023, 12:19 PM   #2019
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Neuroscience vs. the fear of Neurstrikes

R. Douglas Fields was written some very good articles about the 'Havana Syndrome' and was often quoted in others, for instance in this one:
Quote:
"There is no evidence of any pathology," says Douglas Fields, a neuroscientist who has investigated and written about the events in Cuba. "And when you look at the data, there's no coherent syndrome, no pattern."
The new results should end speculation that embassy workers were injured by a sonic weapon or something even more exotic, Fields says.
"The physical evidence to support the idea that there was some sort of an energy beam is completely lacking," he says.
Brain Scans Find Differences But No Injury In U.S. Diplomats Who Fell Ill In Cuba (NPR, July 23, 2019)

It didn't prevent journalists, politicians and a few researchers from continuing to talk about brain damage or TBI - some of them are still doing it - but researchers like Douglas Fields, Robert Baloh, Robert Bartholomew and many others got vindication when the ODNI report was released on March 1, 2023.

Douglas Fields hasn't written much about the 'syndrome' in recent years, but he mentioned it in an article last year, which was updated recently:
Quote:
In 2016, the United States Department of State reported that personnel at the US Embassy in Havana, Cuba, were attacked by a neuroweapon that caused traumatic brain injury. After intensive investigations produced no evidence of any type of direct energy weapon, the reported brain injury, which takes various forms, is now called the “Havana Syndrome”.
Hacking the brain: More fantasy than reality (UNESCO Courier, Jan 11, 2022 - June 28, 2023)

In spite of the conclusion in his article, which answers the rhetorical question "Should we be afraid of NEUROSCIENCE?" with an unambiguous 'NO, not for the time being' -
Quote:
For the time being, there is no evidence of mind control, nor any evidence of an attack by a neuroweapon of any kind to explain the “brain fog” and other unexplained medical symptoms of the “Havana Syndrome”.
In spite of the fear and sensational press coverage of this supposed neuroweapon, it is important to balance this potential – but presently unsubstantiated – threat with the real threats that we now face. Fear of mind control pales in comparison to existing weapons of war, interrogation, torture, and brutality that are real and present threats. Ours is a species that embraces the prospect of “mutually assured destruction” with atomic weapons as being perfectly logical and justified. That is a dire reality that can be unleashed with the push of a button, not a fantasy-fuelled fear.
Hacking the brain: More fantasy than reality (The UNESCO Courier, 2022-1)
- some Targeted Individuals see the article as an opportunity to tell the world about the 'neuroweapon attacks' that they themselves have allegedly been exposed to:
Quote:
"I’ve been targeted, tracked, watched, eavesdropped on, humiliated, talked down to, threatened, made sick, had nastiness put inside my body, sexually viewed, sexually touched, and many other things happened inside my body for almost 3 years. (...) They also claim they can see me and take pictures and videos of me through my eyeballs. (...) Is this even possible?" (April 29, 2023)
"I think this is happening to me too. Did you find a way to stop it?" (May 17, 2023)
"I’ve been going through the same thing for a year. I’m going through everything Kaylas actually going through. Worst thing Is I know who it is. Just have trouble proving it. Please contact me." (June 3, 2023)
It is obvious that one doesn't have to be a neuroscientist to know that, no, it is completely impossible.

And it is not as if Douglas Field didn't tell them so:
Quote:
The current issue of the UNESCO Courier examines the subject of neuroweapons and mind control. Many feel new international regulation on the use of neuroscience technology for manipulating and interrogating people’s minds is needed.
I agree, but I also think it is prudent to separate fact from fear, and to put this potential threat in perspective.
The threats and ethics of neuroweapons and mind control (RDouglasFields, Feb 16, 2022)
__________________
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"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx
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Old 7th October 2023, 01:46 AM   #2020
dann
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I thought Nikki Haley might not want to appeal to the fringe element the way Trump and other MAGA Republicans do:
Quote:
CHARLESTON, S.C. — There were no red caps or QAnon flags in the crowd when Nikki Haley took the stage today at the Charleston Visitor Center.
Haley looks to move past Trump with a style that predates him (Politico, Feb 15, 2023)

But I could be wrong:
Quote:
Haley calls for harder line against China
Haley told the crowd Saturday that the U.S. needs to take a stronger position against China. She said the Chinese government has already “infiltrated” America through buying land near U.S. military bases and food producers. She also called for a halt to sharing certain technologies with China.
She said China has been “planning war with us for years,” and the Chinese Communist Party is building its military fleet and developing artificial intelligence. She also accused China of using “neuro-strike weapons” — devices allegedly used against military and government officials resulting in “Havana Syndrome.”
“You can’t appease the Communist Party like that … The only thing China’s got to respond to is strength,” Haley said.
Nikki Haley rallies against 2024 rival Vivek Ramaswamy’s voting age proposal (IowaCapitalDispatch, Sep 30, 2023)

The idea of "Neuro-strike weapons" is very popular among in the TI community:
Day 10 in the Life of Dead Blood of a Targeted Individual (Len Ber MD on NeuroStrike and Havana Syndrome, Substack, 3, 2023)
__________________
/dann
"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx
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Old 7th October 2023, 01:54 AM   #2021
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Outbreak of mass psychogenic illness at a high school in Kenya

Quote:
Schoolgirls in Western Kenya reportedly cannot walk due to an unknown illness that has left several hospitalized.
Approximately 95 students at St. Theresa's Eregi Girls High School, northwest of Nairobi, are in the hospital after suffering a form of leg paralysis, officials said according to Analolu Agency. Video posted to social media shows groups of schoolgirls dressed in white and blue uniforms shouting, struggling to walk and carrying their peers.
"A possible case of mass hysteria has broken out at an all-girls school in western Kenya, with girls reporting that they are unable to walk," the caption said.
Video Shows Kenyan School Girls Struggling To Walk As Potential Mass Hysteria Overcomes School (DailyCaller, Oct 5, 2023)
It appropriately links to an article about the "mysterious 'Havana Syndrome'" as "RELATED".

Quote:
The health authorities in Kenya are investigating an unidentified illness after more than 90 schoolgirls were admitted to hospital.
The students from Eregi Girls High School, located in the west of the country, had difficulties walking and symptoms of knee pain.
A senior education ministry official who visited the school on Tuesday told worried parents that the situation was under control.
Conclusive results to determine the cause of the illness are expected later on Wednesday.
Dozens of Kenyan schoolgirls admitted to hospital with unknown illness (BBC News on YouTube, Oct 4, 2023 - 2:30 min)
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Quote:
More than 1,000 students from St.Teresia Eregi Girls School in Kakamega County have been allowed to home following an outbreak of an unknown illness that has left more than 100 students hospitalized....
The School’s board of management says the school has not been closed due to the outbreak of the strange illness as 500 students remained despite the health scare
Eregi Girls High School students sent home amid mysterious disease outbreak (Citizen TV Kenya, Oct 4, 2023 - 3:10 min)
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Quote:
1,086 out of 1,662 students from Eregi Girls have left the school for home following a mysterious disease outbreak that has left 106 students affected.
106 students of St. Theresa Eregi Girls hospitalized (Citizen TV Kenya, Oct 4, 2023 - 1:07 min)
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Eregi Girls' parents insist they will take their children after mysterious illness strikes (Nation, Oct 3, 2023 - 1:01 min)
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One of the videos mentions that exams are approaching, which is not unusual in cases like these.

Footage of the affected girls:
Quote:
Schoolgirls seen apparently 'unable to walk' after a possible outbreak of 'hysteria' in an all-girls school in Western Kenya.
Hysteria, otherwise known as Mass psychogenic illness is a term often used to describe emotionally charged behaviour that seems excessive and out of control.
Schoolgirls seen apparently 'unable to walk' after a possible outbreak of 'hysteria' (DailyMail on TikTok, Oct 6, 2023 - 0:24 min)

During the outbreak of mass psychogenic illness in Denmark in 2015 related to the HPV vaccinations, Danish TV showed a girl who had similar difficulties walking. The convulsive walking in the Daily Mail TikTok clip looks a little like the extras in a zombie movie.

Dansk HPV-skandale afblæst: Piger blev ikke syge af vaccinen (Videnskab.dk, Dec 12, 2019)
Danish HPV scandal cancelled: The vaccine didn't make the girls ill (article in Danish)
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"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx

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Old 7th October 2023, 09:55 AM   #2022
dann
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An old case in Kenya

Robert Bartholomew and Bob Rickard write about another case of mass hysteria in schools in Kenya in 2001:
Quote:
Concerned by the ongoing presence of a "mysterious illness" striking down students, the Loreto Day Secondary School in Kenya was closed in early October amid a devil-worship scare. The mood at the Catholic school was tense. The school's closing spread fear to the neighboring Loreto-Matuda Secondary School. Uasin Gishu district education officer Julius Bissem said it was imperative to close the school in an effort to reduce the level of stress among students "following claims that some students were engaged in devil-worship". When interviewed by journalists in Eldoret town, students said that the problems had begun to surface shortly after the school reopened for the new term. Many students were upset that school officials had decided to admit several Form Three students who had been suspended for allegedly practicing devil worship. "Since we came back, ghosts have been visiting our school," said one of the disgruntled kids, "making students develop mysterious diseases and more than 100 have been admitted in hospitals."
Not long before officials decided to temporarily close the facility, there were reports that a local prophet was predicting that the building would be destroyed by a fire.
Mass-Hysteria in Schools: A Worldwide History Since 1566, page 112 (Amazon)
It may not be a coincidence that it also happened "in early October."

There is no reason to think that this is very different from similar outbreaks in the Western world (e.g. LeRoy, 2011-12) where the superstitions tend be more modern than the ones in Africa, for instance. Remember that even an American doctor sent to look into the 'Havana Syndrome' came down with it himself. I see no reason to take pride in Western progress in this respect: from witches and prophets to NeuroStrike, Jewish space lasers and carcinogenic windmills.
Notice the rational response of the Kenyan expert in the BBC YouTube clip in the previous post and compare it to the response of Western politicians and media to the 'syndrome'!

Back in 2006, I warned against the tendency of some skeptics to consider Africans to be much more primitive than Westerners: Time for skeptics to grow up?!
Since Randi was the immediate reason for me to write make that thread, I later added this post:
Originally Posted by dann View Post
Fair is fair: In the meantime I have seen James Randi newsletters where he reveals a noticeable awareness of the effect that miserable conditions of life may have on people's need to believe. Randi is definitely not a Marxist, but I think that he could at least be described as a compassionate skeptic - for lack of a better word - unlike the smart alecks we sometimes meet in this forum who seem to be so impressed by their own ability to look through the childish delusions of others that they imagine themselves to be intellectually superior to any and all believers.
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"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx

Last edited by dann; 7th October 2023 at 10:01 AM.
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Old 7th October 2023, 02:46 PM   #2023
dann
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TI self-irony:
Quote:
I just found out the neighborhood had a meeting about the crazy person on the block

It's weird that they didn't invite me
Dave (Twitter/X, Oct 7, 2023)
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"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx
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Old 7th October 2023, 02:57 PM   #2024
dann
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Originally Posted by dann View Post
TIs are convinced that Mitch McConnell is a victim of Havana Syndrome and has now joined their ranks:
Quote:
#neurostrike formerly #havanasyndrome used by shadow government, perfected through ongoing #mkultra projects, partnered with technology. When will the shadow gov be exposed? These are weapons of war, also being used on civilians #TargetedIndividuals
Shaina Shaina (Twitter/X, Aug 31, 2023)
I don't know who the other alleged Targeted Individuals in the short (0:41) video are.

Angela Merkel, too, in 11 sec clip:
Quote:
#NeuroStrike aka #HavanaSyndrome They have been VIBRATING most of us #TargetedIndividuals
This weapon can mimic any disease not just Parkinson ❗️ #NeuroWeapons #MilitaryGradeWeapons #CellTowers #DrJamesGiorando
BanNeuroStrike❌ (Twitter/X, Oct 7, 2023)
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"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx
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Old 7th October 2023, 03:14 PM   #2025
dann
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A longer clip (0:53 min) of the high-school girls in Kenya is being spread by TIs claiming that the girls are victims of the 'Havana syndrome':
Quote:
#NeuroWeapons & #NeuroStrike weapons aka #HavanaSyndrome can incapacitate or kill a victim.
The same invisible/remote weapons used in the Rwanda genocide drove them crazy zombies-like and ended up killing each other #NWO
BanNeuroStrike❌ (Twitter/X, Oct 6, 2023)

That the girls in Kenya haven't shown any signs of wanting to harm each other or anybody else is no obstacle for the comparison with the Rwanda genocide.
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"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx
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Old 7th October 2023, 03:33 PM   #2026
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Originally Posted by dann View Post
As mentioned in post 1,997, today is the day when the DoD's study of "the effects of radio frequency waves on ferrets" conducted at Wayne State University is supposed to end
I've only sporadically been following this thread, but I must say: "The effects of radio frequency waves on ferrets" sounds like the obscure sequel to "The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-moon Marigolds"
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Old 7th October 2023, 10:42 PM   #2027
dann
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I don't think I ever watched the film, but I remember the title.
If the Pentagon ever considers making a Hollywood adaptation of the Wayne University 'syndrome' study as a sequel to Paul Newman's The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-moon Marigolds, they should go with: The Effects of Micro Rays on the Gyrencephalic Female Ferret Cerebellum.
I doubt that the sex of the ferrets is important for the study, but it is for the alliteration.
(No animals were harmed in the making of this title.)
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"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx
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Old 10th October 2023, 10:41 AM   #2028
dann
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Another attack on foreign diplomats in the USA

Continued from posts 2,001 and 2,003 about the attack on the Cuban embassy in Washington:
Quote:
The suspect shot by police after they rammed into the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco has died, authorities said Monday evening.
Cellphone video shows the moments that people inside the consulate ran to get outside after a man drove right through the front of the building, then began arguing with security guards. https://abc7ne.ws/3trFGzb
Police fatally shoot driver who crashed into Chinese Consulate in San Francisco (ABC7 News Bay Area on YouTube, Oct 10, 2023 - 2:08 min)
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I don't know if I would have heard about this if it weren't for the Cuban news site Prensa Latina:
Quote:
According to US media reports, a person crashed a vehicle into the Chinese consulate and began to struggle with security guards.
Police responded a few minutes after the incident and shot the attacker in the lobby during a confrontation. He was taken to a local hospital where he died.
China asks US to guarantee protection of its diplomats on US soil (Oct 10, 2023)
Person drives into Chinese consulate in San Francisco and is killed by police after confrontation, authorities say (CNN, Oct 10, 2023)

I haven't seen any news about the Molotov cocktail attack on the Cuban embassy in Washington two weeks ago, so I assume the perpetrator is still at large. I also haven't seen any U.S. media mention that the USA is obligated under the Vienna Convention to protect foreign diplomats, an obligation that Cuba was accused of not living up to after the cricket 'attacks' on U.S. diplomats in 2016-17.
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"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx
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Old 10th October 2023, 11:42 AM   #2029
dann
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From the Kenyan School Girls to a British Case of MPI

Continued from posts 2,021, 2,022 and 2,025:
Quote:
Past cases of MPI reveal women are more likely to be affected than men. It often starts with one individual.
According to Robert Bartholomew, a US sociologist specialising in mass hysteria and social panics, there are two main types of MPI.
Writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine in 2013, he claimed the most common in Western countries - anxiety hysteria - is triggered by extreme, sudden stress in a close-knit group.
A second type - motor hysteria - results from long-term anxiety with common signs including twitching, shaking, trouble walking, uncontrollable laughing and weeping, communication difficulties and trance states.
In his book 'Mass Hysteria in Schools: A Worldwide History since 1566', he also said: 'Any place where students gather, be it a classroom, schoolyard, sports field or class trips can be fertile soil for the growth of rumours and social delusions.'
Mystery paralysing 'illness' left 100 girls in Kenya unable to walk and convulsion was triggered by mass hysteria, officials say (Daily Mail, Oct 10, 2023)

The article in the Daily Mail mentions a somewhat similar British case from 2015. Here is what the BBC and the Guardian wrote at the time:
Quote:
Another pupil, who did not wish to be named, said students had collapsed in the school's hall.
She said: "When the first boy was sick, we thought it was one off but then there was a big slap on the floor and someone had fainted.
"After that it was a bit of a domino effect, another three or four collapsed and then people started leaving the hall to get fresh air.
"One of the boys who fell was a bit concussed and had a big lump on his head.
"After that they ushered us out quickly and a couple of girls had panic attacks."
The pupil said lessons went ahead as normal during the afternoon but more students complained of feeling sick and suffering from headaches.
School pupils collapse at Outwood Academy in Ripon (BBC, Nov 11, 2015)

Quote:
Like the Lancashire mill incident, the events at Outwood academy bear the hallmarks of what was once called mass hysteria, but which is now called mass psychogenic illness (MPI). Doctors have recorded cases for hundreds of years and fresh incidents crop up around the world most weeks. “This is incredibly common and happens to completely normal people,” says Simon Wessely at the institute of psychiatry, at King’s College London, who wrote his first paper on the subject in 1987. Gatherings on hot days of people who know each other well – marching bands, cheerleaders, school groups – are particularly prone.
(...)
In Ripon, the fire services and school authorities seem to have handled the event well. But mishandled, an incident that should be brief and harmless, and which affects normal, healthy people, can leave a small number with chronic illness. A person who falls ill because of fear of an invisible gas, rather than from direct exposure, is still ill. But some who have their illness dismissed as “all in the mind” can struggle to rid themselves of the symptoms. They might embrace spurious explanations, suspect a coverup, and, faced with having to prove they are ill, fail to get well.
The challenge for emergency services, schools and public health officials, is how to get the balance right. They must investigate – gas leaks and hazardous chemicals need to be ruled out. But writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine with Robert Bartholomew, a social scientist in New Zealand, Wessely says this must be done in an atmosphere that allows fear to subside and anxiety to dissipate.
Was Ripon school gripped by mass psychogenic illness? (TheGuardian, Nov 14, 2015)

A very good description of the mishandling of the 'Havana syndrome' ...
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"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx
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Old 10th October 2023, 04:14 PM   #2030
Roger Ramjets
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Originally Posted by dann View Post
A very good description of the mishandling of the 'Havana syndrome' ...
How do you propose it should have been handled?
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Old 11th October 2023, 05:26 AM   #2031
dann
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The short answer is in post 2,029 and the articles it links to.
Look at how the two school outbreaks were handled, the one in Kenya and the one in the UK.

Then look at how the 'Havana syndrome' was handled.

It is no coincidence that, thanks to the 'syndrome' panic, I learned a new word from Cuban Dr. Mitchell Valdes Sosa earlier this year, iatrogenic.

In this thread, Alien Attack? Mass Hysteria? Conspiracy?, started on Sep 17, 2017, hysteria was suspected to be the cause from the very beginning.
On the same day, on page 1, SkepticGinger mentioned sick-building syndrome and Sherkeu wrote:
Originally Posted by Sherkeu View Post
I think if the FBI focuses on the first 2 people to complain, they will find that one of them has been interested in gangstalking and "Targeted Individual" material. They will find a history of complaints that 'something' is wrong with their phone and computer that needs debugging. There could be other odd complaints like for lighting, vents, or potential gas leaks. They will find that the move to Cuba was requested (these people think places like Cuba may rid them of covert 'harassment'). They will find the source to be a lower level staffer with no prospects for advancement.

The other injuries will follow knowledge of the first ones and will have been 'medically confirmed" through self-reporting. There will be no children affected. The union rep will support claims 100%.

And I think Castro knows all of this already which is why he welcomes the FBI to find the answer.

It is not unlikely that she wrote this because of her experiences with her sister, but considering how the story about the 'syndrome' was later embraced by the TI community, it is striking that gangstalking and Targeted Individuals were mentioned as early as page one.

Notice also the first two lines of the OP:
Originally Posted by dann View Post
I find it hard to decide where this belongs:
Quote:
Some felt vibrations, and heard sounds — loud ringing or a high-pitch chirping similar to crickets or cicadas.
(...)
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/201...er-attack.html

The next day, I wrote about my personal experiences with cricket or cicada sounds in Cuba in post 7

One month later, Alphaba posted this, post 137, and this, post 149, about the frequencies of the 'mysterious' Havana sound.

Stlll in October 2017, I wrote:
Originally Posted by dann View Post
Something is definitely going on!

Quote:
… sound could easily just be one component - and not necessarily a primary or particularly damaging one at that. If one takes time to actually read the earliest articles and those with new information to impart this impression isn't hard to come by at all - but it seems as if a lot of people, including some of this thread, would prefer to instead focus on "ZOMG sonic attack!" and insist that some kind of physically impossible BattleStarTrekWars science-fiction sound-weapon-device is central to the entire issue because that makes it easier to laugh at.
Yes, instead of isolating the alleged victims from each other to prevent them from coordinating their stories – in order to find out if there is reason to assume that any kind of attack actually took place.
Based on the reports that we have been able to read so far, I think that there is ample reason to believe that the whole thing is a combination of:
1) Something happens to somebody, e.g. one or two lose their hearing, start suffering from tinnitus, which may not only happen quite suddenly, but also sound approximately like AP’s recording, i.e.: “People who experience tinnitus describe hearing different and sometimes variably changing and intertwining sounds like ringing, hissing, roaring, crickets, screeching, sirens, whooshing, static, pulsing, ocean waves, buzzing, clicking, dial tones and even music.” And in some people, it may happen quite suddenly and at a very young age.
2) These guys are on enemy territory. They may be spies or they may be trying to stir up resentment against the government so they fear discovery and maybe even retaliation. (I don't think that good old-fashioned bad conscience about what they’re doing would have anything to do with it; this is not The Tell-Tale Heart.)
3) Their colleagues hear about this and begin to suspect that every little anomaly (whether real or imagined as in the case of the “tingling” felt by the American tourist from Charlottesville, and whether consistent with the symptoms described by others or not) is a symptom of something debilitating brought upon them by the enemy.
4) And since these ideas are taken seriously by not only their union but also by their employer, it soon escalates.

It remains to be seen if the recordings are actual recordings of something actually affecting the afflicted persons, or if they were created in order to give credence to the symptoms described by some of the first ‘victims’.
But we may not for sure until Wikileaks publishes the relevant reports.

At that point, we still hadn't heard about how 'Patient Zero' had played his cricket recording to other people at the New Years party at the embassy ...

In 2021, we heard that a declassified 2018 State Dept report suggests noises linked to 'Havana Syndrome' were probably just crickets (BusinessInsider, Oct 1, 2021). In the meantime, other researchers, non-governmental, had already come to the same conclusion as this one, the first of two JASON reports.

And yet professional medical researchers immediately jumped to the conclusion that the U.S. embassy staff and CIA agents in Havana had been attacked by perpetrators with sonic weapons, and they stuck with this explanation until they gave it up in favor of the microwave idea. Some of them have stuck with the idea ever since and done their utmost to make sure that the 'syndrome' sufferers continue to believe that they were the victims of an attack, which made them even sicker than they already were. Remember Karen Coates and Kate Husband, who now suffer from EHS!

The people responsible for this cluster-**** are guilty of having caused the 'syndrome' that they accused first the Cubans, then the Russians and recently particularly the Chinese of having caused with a raygun attack.

We still haven't heard what motivated the guy who attacked the Chinese consulate in San Francisco, but wouldn't it be ironic if it was somebody who thought he was the victim of a Chinese #NeuroStrike?
Feds, local investigators working on SF Chinese consulate investigation (Yahoo/Fox, Oct 11, 2023).


Remember how Baloh and Bartholomew summed it up this scandal in their most recent article in Skeptical Inquirer, Volume 47, No. 5, September/October 2023:
"Over the past six years, the confusion over the status of Havana Syndrome can be summed up in seven words: bad government, bad science, and bad journalism."
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"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx
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Old 12th October 2023, 08:56 AM   #2032
dann
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Originally Posted by Roger Ramjets View Post
How do you propose it should have been handled?

To spell it out based on the quotation from The Guardian in post 2,029:
Originally Posted by dann View Post
Quote:
In Ripon, the fire services and school authorities seem to have handled the event well. But mishandled, an incident that should be brief and harmless, and which affects normal, healthy people, can leave a small number with chronic illness. A person who falls ill because of fear of an invisible gas, rather than from direct exposure, is still ill. But some who have their illness dismissed as “all in the mind” can struggle to rid themselves of the symptoms. They might embrace spurious explanations, suspect a coverup, and, faced with having to prove they are ill, fail to get well.
The challenge for emergency services, schools and public health officials, is how to get the balance right. They must investigate – gas leaks and hazardous chemicals need to be ruled out. But writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine with Robert Bartholomew, a social scientist in New Zealand, Wessely says this must be done in an atmosphere that allows fear to subside and anxiety to dissipate.
Was Ripon school gripped by mass psychogenic illness? (TheGuardian, Nov 14, 2015)

1)
Quote:
In Ripon, the fire services and school authorities seem to have handled the event well. But mishandled, an incident that should be brief and harmless, and which affects normal, healthy people, can leave a small number with chronic illness.
The mishandling of the 'Havana syndrome' was grotesque. It not only left a small number with chronic illness. It actually persuaded people with minor symptoms, which they themselves didn't really think were anything serious, to believe that they had serious brain injuries, i.e. the 'jerky eye movements' as described in Project Brazen's podcast series and quoted in post 1,680:
Quote:
Cue, Doug: So even when we went to Miami, we really didn’t feel like we had any issues. You know, like I said, all the symptoms that we’d experienced, you know, some balance issues and, and headaches, that kind of thing. Nausea, easily written off to other things.
So it wasn’t until the doctors there put us in, certain equipment and certain situations where you could tease out the symptoms
One of the tests they perform in Miami is a device that tracks eye-movement. It basically moves a dot back and forth in front of you. In a healthy patient, your eyes follow it smoothly.
Cue, Doug: … what we saw in the recording of our eyes was that tracking that dot across our field of vision was jerky.
Cue, Doug: It didn’t feel abnormal when I was doing it, but the doctor explained it to me. He said, look, here’s a recording of what normal eyes look like, and then here’s a recording of what your eyes look like.
And you know, it was at that moment when I go, ‘oh yeah, I can see that it’s messed up’
it begins to dawn on Doug and Kate that something might be seriously wrong.
Cue, Doug: It really became apparent that we had some more serious impairment then you could just write off to, to something … And the doctor diagnosed us at that time with, uh, mild traumatic brain injuries.
In other words: iatrogenic.
Notice that the researchers who interpreted the 'syndrome' symptoms (for the most part) as mass psychogenic illness not only didn't say that the 'syndrome' victims were crazy. They not only said that their symptoms were real, but they had been saying it for years about MPI, even before the Miami doctors invented the 'syndrome' and persuaded people like Kate and Doug that they were brain damaged.

2)
Quote:
A person who falls ill because of fear of an invisible gas, rather than from direct exposure, is still ill.
In other words: They suffer from a neurological illness, but neurological doesn't mean mental illness or crazy or 'all in the head or mind' even though the mind plays a significant role in mass psychogenic illness.

3)
Quote:
But some who have their illness dismissed as “all in the mind” can struggle to rid themselves of the symptoms.
It is possible that some people, and even some doctors, may have put it to the 'syndrome' sufferers like that, but it wouldn't have been those professionals who said it was a case of MPI.

4)
Quote:
They might embrace spurious explanations, suspect a coverup, and, faced with having to prove they are ill, fail to get well.
Notice that this is exactly what happened with the 'syndrome' sufferers: They embraced the spurious explanation that they were the victims of an attack with directed-energy weapons (sonic and/or microwave guns), they suspected that anybody who told them otherwise was trying to cover up the imaginary attack, which they considered to be an affront to their (real!) suffering, and they saw the people who were trying to convince them that they were the victims of an attack as being on their side, be it doctors like Hoffer or lawyers like Zaid, even though what those professionals were actually siding with was their delusion.
No wonder that they failed to get well.

5)
Quote:
The challenge for emergency services, schools and public health officials, is how to get the balance right. They must investigate – gas leaks and hazardous chemicals need to be ruled out.
The 'syndrome' was investigated, thoroughly, by several agencies. Very early on, the FBI investigation mentioned MPI, the JASON group said it could possibly be MPI (and ruled out the noise being an attack: crickets), but the Miami and Penn doctors maintained that the syndrome sufferers were attack victims, and we know that James Giordano is still adamant that 'his' cohort of 'syndrome' sufferers from the U.S. embassy in Havana are DEW victims.

And even though the ODNI report dismissed a DEW (or any other kind of) attack as an explanation for the rest of the 1,700 cases that the State Department, the DoD and the CIA managed to cause all over the world, they allowed Hoffer, Giordano, Golomb etc. to keep that cohort as their own, as the ones that might have been the victims of DEW attacks even though not a shred of evidence of such an attack has ever been found.

And since DEWs were never unambiguously dismissed as the cause of the Havana cohort's symptoms, this allows the cohort's doctors and other researchers on their side to continue to tell the victims that they suffer from TBI. And they appear to have continued to tell the community of Targeted Individuals the same thing and even to have diagnosed some of them as being victims of directed energy attacks - not in Cuba! In the USA!

6)
Quote:
But writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine with Robert Bartholomew, a social scientist in New Zealand, Wessely says this must be done in an atmosphere that allows fear to subside and anxiety to dissipate.
This is the exact opposite of how the 'syndrome' was tackled by spreading it to thousands of new victims by means of suggestion, 'information' about the signs that indicate that people may have experienced an 'anomalous health incident'. And this policy never stopped, as I pointed out in post 2,006 about the "Defense Health Agency’s National Intrepid Center of Excellence and the Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence."

And one more quotation from the same article about an outbreak of MPI in a British school:
7)
Quote:
The job may be harder now than in St Clare’s day. Bringing calm to a school, or an entire community, is far more difficult, if not impossible, now social media can spread anxiety further than line of sight. When a group of girls developed facial tics at a high school in Leroy, New York, in 2011, some doctors wondered whether the bizarre movements might have spread by YouTube videos victims posted. As soon as media coverage stopped, they began to recover.
Media coverage of the 'syndrome' has more or less stopped after the ODNI report in March of this year, but the 'syndrome' is still alive and well on Twitter/X, YouTube and other social media. And the TI community is as eager to keep it alive as pro-Ana groups cultivating each other's eating disorders.

I haven't yet mentioned the role played by politics, but the term decision-based evidence-making probably describes it best. It has been used to describe Sweden's pandemic response:
'Our main objective is to achieve herd-immunity-by-infection, so the virus should be allowed to spread since attempts to slow it down will only prolong the pandemic. So we cannot allow the ECDC to declare that the virus is airborne, which would ruin our anti-mask strategy.'

In the case of the 'syndrome', it was to be handled as evidence of the enemy's bad intentions, as proof that Cubans, Russians and the Chinese are evil. Each and every doctor and scientist may not have been motivated by anti-Communism. Beatrice Golomb, for instance, probably saw it as a way to confirm her idea of the danger of "exposure to electromagnetic radiation" from new technology, but since she embraced the idea that the 'syndrome' victims had been harmed by electromagnetic radiation, she served and still serves the same political purpose. (And the TIs love her for that.)
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"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx
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Old 13th October 2023, 02:23 PM   #2033
dann
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Kenyan MPI outbreak, continued

New article by Robert Bartholomew about the outbreak of mass psychogenic illness in Kenya. See posts 2,021, 2,022, 2,025 and 2,029.
Quote:
In the Kenyan episode authorities have blamed exam tension. While this is a common scapegoat and could be a contributing factor, it is rarely the main driver. Since the 1960s, there have been many outbreaks of mass psychogenic illness in Africa. Most involve motor-based symptoms that occur in school settings. But not just any school. Christian schools have long been a hotbed of tension and a clash of cultures between the African world and the West. This is the exact setting of the Kenyan episode.
These outbreaks typically revolve around missionary schools that are notorious for ignoring local traditions such as the common practice of ancestor worship, and instead immersing students in Western religious and cultural practices.
(...)
"Similar conflicts have also arisen in African Muslim schools."
The Spectres That Haunt Africa: Strange Ailment in Kenya Sets Social Media Alight (Skeptic, Oct 10, 2023)

In her book, The Sleeping Beauties (Goodreads), Suzanne O'Sullivan describes cases of MPI in similar circumstances, i.e. girls caught up in the schism between indigenous traditions and Western culture/religion.
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"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx
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Old 13th October 2023, 03:03 PM   #2034
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Peter Isackson has written several articles about the 'Havana syndrome' (see post 1,071) in Fair Observer:
Quote:
Over the past six years, New York Times reporter Julian E. Barnes has frequently provided material for Fair Observer’s Devil’s Dictionary by reporting fanciful things he wished his readers might believe to be true. He notably authored most of the articles we skewered concerning the Havana Syndrome. He persistently reported that officials “believed” Russia was responsible. Fake news. Last week, Barnes added a new chapter to his hearsay reporting.

The New York Times’ Julian Barnes specializes in disseminating intelligence community propaganda focused on blaming Russia for every political dysfunction and social ailment felt in the US. His Havana Syndrome campaign lasted even beyond the moment early in 2022 when CIA’s Director, William Burns, officially admitted that neither Russia nor any other foreign power was behind the supposed attacks.
Is NYT the Little Journal that Could? (FairObserver, July12, 2023)

However, this article is not about the 'syndrome' or about how it was handled by NYT and other media. Instead, it is about how the word could and similar innocuous devices are used by the media to misdirect:
Quote:
Today’s Weekly Devil’s Dictionary definition:
Could:
An auxiliary verb in English particularly useful to journalists specialized in propaganda who understand that by placing it before an untrue assertion it gives the appearance that, despite the absence of evidence in the subsequent body of the article, the assertion may be true.
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"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx
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Old 13th October 2023, 05:41 PM   #2035
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Originally Posted by dann View Post
New article by Robert Bartholomew about the outbreak of mass psychogenic illness in Kenya. See posts 2,021, 2,022, 2,025 and 2,029.



In her book, The Sleeping Beauties (Goodreads), Suzanne O'Sullivan describes cases of MPI in similar circumstances, i.e. girls caught up in the schism between indigenous traditions and Western culture/religion.
When superstitions collide.
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Old 14th October 2023, 01:10 AM   #2036
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Yes, but it isn't just superstition. Other ideas may clash and cause cognitive dissonance. Bartholomew says that "Christian schools have long been a hotbed of tension and a clash of cultures between the African world and the West."

And there is the example from Muslim schools in Nigeria:
Quote:
Casey concluded that a driving force behind the outbreak was the psychological conflict generated between the pressure to follow local traditions including arranged marriages, and the desire to emulate the actors [in Bollywood films] who were promoting the glories of romantic love. The episode coincided with other stresses, including a deadly meningitis epidemic that killed thousands.
The Spectres That Haunt Africa: Strange Ailment in Kenya Sets Social Media Alight (Skeptic, Oct 10, 2023)

In The Sleeping Beauties and Other Stories of Mystery Illness by Suzanne O'Sullivan, the sleeping beauties themselves are refugee girls who have adapted to life in Sweden, and they and their families are now threatened with expulsion. There is also a chapter about the grisi siknis in the Miskito communities in Nicaragua.
Wikipedia's page about grisi siknis says:
Quote:
Girls in Miskito culture, claims Jamieson, are faced with the culturally inconsistent task of attracting a husband sexually while remaining safe and pure to maintain societal status quo. The contradictory familial pressures to both protect and marry off the daughter adds to this. Thus, says Shlomo, "the syndrome may be viewed as a safety valve" to maintain equilibrium between these conflicting pressures. Miskito girls express transitional sexuality through the syndrome while maintaining social purity, with the culture holding the victims blameless for their actions while attacked by the disease.
Grisi siknis: Western theories
Grisi siknis may take the form of local superstition, being attacked by demons, but the clash lies somewhere else.

In the case of 'Havana Syndrome' where the first cases were in men, I have hinted at toxic masculinity as one of the factors: Men are supposed to be big, strong, fearless and invincible, and then they find themselves in stressful circumstances getting scared by something that goes chirpy chirpy cheep cheep in the night and/or they are getting on in years and their 20/20 vision isn't what it used to be. It just has to be something that they can admit to coming down with and still maintain their honor: The enemy got to them with a sinister new weapon: "It's incumbent on [the CIA] to provide the medical help we require, which does not include telling us that we're all making it up. ... I want the Agency to treat this as a combat injury." See post 1,659.
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"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx
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Old 14th October 2023, 10:06 AM   #2037
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In fiction - not the 'Havana syndrome' but MPI in schools

The film The Falling is now on Prime, at least in my country.

Quote:
In 1969, Lydia and Abbie are best friends at an English girls' school. Lydia, the neglected daughter of an agoraphobic mother, becomes fixated on Abbie, who has begun to explore her sexuality. After having sex with Lydia's brother Kenneth in an attempt to abort her pregnancy by another boy, Abbie begins to suffer from fainting spells. She faints and goes into convulsions after a stint in detention with Lydia and dies in the process. Following Abbie's burial, Lydia begins suffering as well from fainting spells, and it soon becomes an epidemic, with numerous girls and a young teacher in the school spontaneously passing out for no more than a few seconds. Lydia becomes convinced that the administration must take action, much to the chagrin of the school principal.
When an assembly becomes disrupted by a mass fainting episode, the school is temporarily shut down and all affected students are hospitalised and psychoanalysed. ...
(...)
See also
* Mass psychogenic illness
* HELLP syndrome

The Falling (2014 film): Plot/See also (Wikipedia)

Interesting, but far from a scientific depiction of MPI.
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"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx
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Old 15th October 2023, 04:59 AM   #2038
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Correction:
In post 2,022, I referred to Dorcas Wangira (Wikipedia), who was interviewed by the BBC (YouTube), as an expert:
Originally Posted by dann View Post
Notice the rational response of the Kenyan expert in the BBC YouTube clip in the previous post and compare it to the response of Western politicians and media to the 'syndrome'!
However, she is not a medical doctor or a psychologist. She is an award-winning journalist and Africa health correspondent for the BBC.
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"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx
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Old 16th October 2023, 04:59 AM   #2039
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TIs

Quote:
Targeted Justice v. Garland - Ep. 33: "Breaking The Medical Ceiling" with a special guest Liliana De Lucca who has just been diagnosed with #HavanaSyndrome @AnaToledoDavila @TargetedJustice https://youtu.be/gKmCA5lDb6w?si=kZ-BihSKmEYCbqxF via @YouTube
(Twitter/X, Oct 16, 2023)

Episode 33 of Targeted Justice v. Garland has three themes:
Quote:
Apparently, one of the defendants working for the government resigned just days after receiving a copy of our lawsuit back in January of 2023. What a surprise!
Things are weird in OH. Ana does a deep dive into multiple strange cases that took place in the State of The Red Carnation.
Our special guest, Liliana De Lucca, shares details of her diagnosis of Havana Syndrome with our viewers. Her doctor is a NJ neurologist, Dr. Lydia Shajenko (office phone number 201-679-8485).
Targeted Justice v. Garland - Ep. 33: "Breaking The Medical Ceiling" (Len Ber MD on Twitter, Oct 16, 2023 - 1:07:03)
YouTube Video This video is not hosted by the ISF. The ISF can not be held responsible for the suitability or legality of this material. By clicking the link below you agree to view content from an external website.
I AGREE


I rarely watch these videos. They are long, depressing and usually not very informative. About the three themes in this one:
1) People resign from their jobs all the time, but the TIs like to think that this particular guy resigned because he feared their lawsuit. Post hoc ergo propter hoc (Wikipedia).

2) 'Connecting the dots' exercise. Stephen Marlow killed four people who he imagined were targeting him, which has inspired Ana Toledo (of Targeted Justice) to look up other mass murders and serial killings in Ohio, some of them with perpetrators claiming to have heard voices.

WARNING: It includes a clip with a TI, 14:30 to 19:30:
Quote:
August 5, 2022
39-year-old Marlow shot four neighbors. A mother with her 13-year-old daughter and an elderly couple.
He thought they were tormenting him with V2K.
He went into their homes. Murdered them.
Didn't find a microwave weapon.
Hear his confession.
FBI targeted him. FBI framed him. FBI captured him.

It shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody that TIs believe that he as well as the other mass murderers and serial killiers were targeted by the FBI:
Quote:
The FBI is liable to the victims of each serial killer they targeted, placed on the TSDB, had the Program torture them.
The FBI is liable to the convicted targeted individuals for obliterating each of these young men's lost lives.
TSDB: the Terrorist Watchlist or Terrorist Screening Database (Archives.FBI.gov.)

3) 40:00 -->
TI Liliana De Lucca has allegedly received a 150-page-long report based on the examination by neurologist Dr. Lydia Shajenko. De Lucca thinks that the report constitutes proof that she was assaulted and attacked by DEWs: "concrete evidence that I'm a Havana syndrome victim ... the Havana syndrome is caused by pulsed microwaves."

She had selected 14 pages from the report to show on screen, but Len Ber, the host, only let her show two. It didn't really matter since the pages were too blurry to read anyway. It was impossible to see if the report backed up De Lucca's claims or not. Another claim was that the alleged attacks were conducted by means of a "cell tower one mile from [her] home."

I am not even sure that the neurologist's report about the medical examination of De Lucca actually mentions 'Havana syndrome'.
__________________
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"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx
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Old 16th October 2023, 11:13 AM   #2040
dann
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TIs & Nanotechnology

The episode of Targeted Justice v Garland before the most recent one is interesting because it features James Giordano:

Quote:
In this Bonus Episode, Don Prosser and I chat about Nanotechnology and its relationship with already operational Brain-Cloud Interface. Don's prescription: This has to stop now! Easier said than done. This is an important and timely conversation that features mind-boggling quotes by Dr. Games Giordano.
Original videos of Dr Giordano used in this Episode:
HDIAC Podcast - Weaponizing Brain Science: Neuroweapons - Part 1 of 2 (Sep 2020)
McCain Conference 2022 Panel: Brain Computer Interface (Sep 2022, YouTube)
Targeted Justice v. Garland - Ep. 32 - Bonus Ep: "Nanotechnology and Brain-Cloud Interface." (Len Ber MD on Twitter, Oct 14, 2023 - 38:57 min)
YouTube Video This video is not hosted by the ISF. The ISF can not be held responsible for the suitability or legality of this material. By clicking the link below you agree to view content from an external website.
I AGREE


James Giordano appears to believe in nano-materials that can penetrate the walls of cells and then "self-assemble" to nano-machines within the cells.
"These types of aerosolizable nanomaterials, we can spray them into the air." People who already fear 'chem-trails' will feel vindicated by this idea, so it's no wonder that (some) targeted individuals love him.

Other claims: "We can zap the brain and modify the mind. ... Nanotechnology enables real-time reading from and writing into the brain. ...State of the art is now for next generation non-surgical neuro-modulation inhalables, ingestables, deliverables via very very small-scale units at the nano scale that can then be segued to where they have to go in the brain and form literally vast arrays of sensors and transmitters to be able to real-time remotely read from the living brain and write into the living brain. That sounds like sci-fi, doesn't it?! It's not. This is a project that DARPA, that I have the honor and privilege of working on, called the NCBE."


It does indeed sound like sci-fi!
I am not sure if Giordano actually believes this stuff or if he is making it up for the DoD as misdirection to confuse the enemy. A kind of updated version of the stories about the UFOs at Area 51. Be afraid, be very afraid. The TIs already are, obviously.

The story of the aerosolizable non-surgical neuro-modulation inhalables makes me wonder why Len Ber and other TIs are still worried about the alleged nanobots in vaccines. Injectionables are just so 2021!
__________________
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"Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht
"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx
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