The Havana syndrome saga is an epic failure of science

[El Presidente]

Truly astonishing saga indeed. 

 

 

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN

 

How ‘Anomalous Health Incidents’ in Cuba Sidelined Science

The Havana syndrome saga is an epic failure of science, one with severe consequences both for patients and for international relations

• By Mitchell J. Valdés-Sosa on March 6, 2023

 

In 2016, U.S. diplomats began suffering from a bewildering collection of neurological symptoms, officially known as “anomalous health incidents” (AHIs) and widely branded as “Havana syndrome.” First reported in Cuba but later spread to U.S. diplomatic missions worldwide, their most common explanation was that medical science now faced a new disease produced by “directed energy” weapons wielded by unidentified enemies. The story was eagerly embraced in news reports and by some U.S. government officials, but met with skepticism from many scientists, a standoff that went on for years.

On March 1, however, seven U.S. intelligence agencies released an updated AHI assessment, which essentially rejected the idea that these ailments resulted from attacks by foreign adversaries or were caused by directed energy weapons. The assessment also negated the notion that AHIs are the expression of a single identifiable syndrome, a criticism made by several researchers when the syndrome was first proclaimed. These conclusions came after medical review of more than 1,000 cases, extensive inquiries, surveillance, laboratory reports and the appraisal of diverse sources of information, according to the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence. One can only imagine the resources mobilized to thoroughly assess these real—but baffling—health complaints.

The Havana syndrome saga is an epic failure of science, one with severe consequences both for patients and for international relations, which reveals how medical evidence warps under political pressure. It is troublesome that a scientifically unreliable narrative about the AHI survived for almost seven years. Beyond misinforming the public, its story distorted U.S. policy decisions and, most important, deepened patients’ suffering, which it cannot be said enough, is very real. Could you avoid anxiety and despair if authorities told you that your sickness was the result of an attack with a mysterious weapon that causes an unknown disease? What failures in the scientific process let this happen?

 

CONTINUED

[Cigar Surgeon]

I just want to point out some bias here that the author, Mitchell J. Valdés-Sosa, is with the Cuban Neuroscience Center. So this article should be taken with some level of skepticism.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/havana-syndrome-symptoms-11626882951

Quote

The most recent and thorough examination resulted in a report released in March 2023 by the Director of National Intelligence, which found no credible evidence that any foreign adversary was using anything that was causing the injuries reported. Instead, the government concluded that a combination of factors including pre-existing medical conditions, conventional illnesses and environmental factors were the cause of the reported symptoms.

It certainly gives the appearance that people are suffering from a very real condition that they have not been able to diagnose and that they're hand waving it away. 

From Wiki:

Quote

A 2019 study commissioned by Global Affairs Canada of 23 exposed Canadian diplomats, completed in May 2019, found "clinical, imaging, and biochemical evidence consistent with the hypothesis" of overexposure to cholinesterase inhibitors (a class of neurotoxic pesticide) such as organophosphates (OPs) as a cause of brain injury; the embassies and other places in Cuba had been sprayed frequently as an anti-Zika virus mosquito control measure. The study concluded that other possible causes could not be ruled out.

Organophosphates are very bad news, I just don't know whether they would cause the type of brain injury that is being reported.

[El Presidente]

 

[Nevrknow]

It was dem dere aliens. Me and Martha seen'em out in the cornfield.

[jhalischuk]

The reports from people suffering from whatever this is are compelling. They all mention hearing a sort of buzzing and feeling an immense pressure build up in their skull. Only when moving from the room they were in did it dissipate.

This was at a time when there was no name for this and no publication or widespread knowledge of symptoms. And in Havana at least it was only US officials that ended up being affected. 

[Cigar Surgeon]

Well well well. 

https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/13/politics/havana-syndrome-device-pentagon-hsi

The Defense Department has spent more than a year testing a device purchased in an undercover operation that some investigators think could be the cause of a series of mysterious ailments impacting US spies, diplomats and troops that are colloquially known as Havana Syndrome, according to four sources briefed on the matter.

[riderpride]

This is a weird one. This impacted multiple nations as well as the US, though the media never gave it much, if any airtime. The Canadian embassy was greatly understaffed for over a decade as people refused to be stationed there. Workers complained of the same symptoms, but those who fell ill were not taken seriously and accused of fabricating the whole thing and looking for an early pension or disability. 

It's odd the things people do to one another. 

Cheers!

[Ciscojohansson]

No Mr Bond, I expect you to get a mysterious ailment...

[Li Bai]

How hard it has become to trust anything from the news and even (to some extent) scientific papers nowadays, all the more since COVID.

Everyone defends his own interest and we ordinary folks are in the middle, trying to figure out what the f is going on. I don't know much but I do know we're being fed a lot of cr*p from all sides.

[Puros Y Vino]

And yet, there are reports of use of sonic or exotic weapons in the Venezuela invasion. I wonder who would have and make use of such tech??

[SCgarman]

9 hours ago, Puros Y Vino said:

And yet, there are reports of use of sonic or exotic weapons in the Venezuela invasion.  I wonder who would have and make use of such tech??

The correct answer would be the US military. My wife works for a major defense contractor. Hint, hint.

[Cigar Surgeon]

Sorry to bump this but there's more weirdness coming out:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-havana-syndrome-report-finds-u-s-government-tested-energy-weapon/

Quote

 

This week, 60 Minutes reported on the Havana Syndrome, the mysterious constellation of injuries – like cognitive difficulties, vision impairment, and issues with balance – that have befallen high-ranking officials in the United States government while they were serving in the U.S. and abroad. 

For nine years, producers Oriana Zill de Granados and Michael Rey reported with correspondent Scott Pelley on what victims described as an invisible force that suddenly overwhelms their senses, causing headaches, nausea and vomiting in some cases, while they are in their homes, walking to their cars, or asleep in their beds. 

Some victims believed they were attacked with an energy weapon, and were targeted because of their job within the U.S. government. 

"When we first heard all of these stories, it sounded odd and hard to believe… that some invisible ray gun was hitting these people and hurting them," Zill de Granados told Overtime.

But this week, 60 Minutes reported the U.S. government acquired a directed energy weapon from a Russian criminal network, and is believed to be testing it on animals. 

"We now believe there are directed-energy weapons that can do this, and we believe that in a subset of the large body of cases, that's what happened, " Zill de Granados said. 

60 Minutes Overtime spoke with Zill de Granados and Rey about their Havana Syndrome investigation, which found links between Havana Syndrome incidents and Russian intelligence, and over 65 victims who believe they were targeted by a directed energy weapon. 

[...]

 

 

[El Presidente]

"60 Minutes Overtime spoke with Zill de Granados and Rey about their Havana Syndrome investigation, which found links between Havana Syndrome incidents and Russian intelligence, and over 65 victims who believe they were targeted by a directed energy weapon"

 

Good enough for me.  

I fondly remember the old investigative 60 minutes. 

 

 

 

[ImTripN2]

10 hours ago, El Presidente said:

"60 Minutes Overtime spoke with Zill de Granados and Rey about their Havana Syndrome investigation, which found links between Havana Syndrome incidents and Russian intelligence, and over 65 victims who believe they were targeted by a directed energy weapon"

 

Good enough for me.  

Looks like you're in the minority. Todays' CBS is a far cry from the old 60 minutes show.

Personaly, I am extremely frightened for my grandchildren growing up and living in a world where it is impossible to separate truth from fiction unless you see it with your own eyes. SMH

 

 

GPT-4o mini

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