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The Mystery of the Havana Syndrome

newyorker.com

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Re: The Mystery of the Havana Syndrome

#21
post #15
post #2

I'm an American going to Havana tomorrow until Friday. Here's to hoping my head doesn't get long-range microwaved...?

Lol... yikes. Bad joke, friend.

Only wish I was joking, but I'm feeling genuine concern. The travel advisory[1] notes to "exercise increased caution." carloscarnero has been reassuring though!

[1] https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-tra...

Re: The Mystery of the Havana Syndrome

#23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you know the fact that "she" had a husband and twins is not also made up?

That's a good point, but why add it in the first place?

There are several mentions of the timing of CIA operatives getting sick that would allow foreign intelligence analysts to identify them if they had other sources of information about the events.

There's unlikely to be the information you think in that article otherwise the CIA is going to be having a hard time. In all likelihood the CIA worked with the reporter to ensure the right disinformation came out. Note that the FBI refused to comment but there seems to be a lot of inside info about the CIA...

Re: The Mystery of the Havana Syndrome

#24

I would be stunned to discover that this is anything other than a case of mass hysteria. Psychosomatic symptoms are still symptoms and stress and anxiety can cause physical changes to the body and brain and long lasting effects.

Dunno though. From the article:

>But their skepticism vanished when they saw the patients. “There was not one individual on the team who was not convinced that this was a real thing,” Smith said.

and from another article: (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180829115456.h...)

>"We have seen this before when the Soviets irradiated the U.S. Embassy in Moscow in the days of the Cold War," he said.

So the Soviets / Russians have form and the symptoms fit. There was also a van seen which could have had the gear:

>...looked outside her home after hearing the disturbing sounds and seen a van speeding away. (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/01/science/sonic-attack-cuba...)

Re: The Mystery of the Havana Syndrome

#25

> The name is a pseudonym, which she requested in order to protect her privacy.) Her life in Havana was fascinating but orderly. She lived with her husband and their twelve-year-old twins This is the problem with "anonymizing" a person by just changing their name, or exchanging a name in a database with a number. There's a pretty high probability that the number of FSI agents in Havana with 12-year-old twins is preci…

Her privacy is probably more about her life here in America with her neighbors, than it is about Cuban agents coming to get her.

Re: The Mystery of the Havana Syndrome

#27

> The name is a pseudonym, which she requested in order to protect her privacy.) Her life in Havana was fascinating but orderly. She lived with her husband and their twelve-year-old twins This is the problem with "anonymizing" a person by just changing their name, or exchanging a name in a database with a number. There's a pretty high probability that the number of FSI agents in Havana with 12-year-old twins is preci…

I guess (hope) they changed the details. It's not uncommon in these cases to change the irrelevant details to protect the identities. I won't be surprised it her children are not 12-year-old or twins.

Re: The Mystery of the Havana Syndrome

#28

> The name is a pseudonym, which she requested in order to protect her privacy.) Her life in Havana was fascinating but orderly. She lived with her husband and their twelve-year-old twins This is the problem with "anonymizing" a person by just changing their name, or exchanging a name in a database with a number. There's a pretty high probability that the number of FSI agents in Havana with 12-year-old twins is preci…

I guess (hope) they changed the details. It's not uncommon in these cases to change the irrelevant details to protect the identities. I won't be surprised it her children are not 12-year-old or twins.

this is the New Yorker, the crown jewel of the conde naste empire and they wouldn't do that with their editorial process. Either it wouldn't be printed, the anonymity wasn't important or there were other people who fit her profile obscure her.

Re: The Mystery of the Havana Syndrome

#29
post #26
post #2

I'm an American going to Havana tomorrow until Friday. Here's to hoping my head doesn't get long-range microwaved...?

As an American, Cuba is probably the safest place you can visit in LA.

What about Costa Rica, Uruguay, Chile..? I think Cuba is pretty safe but it's not the only safe country in LA.

Re: The Mystery of the Havana Syndrome

#30

> The name is a pseudonym, which she requested in order to protect her privacy.) Her life in Havana was fascinating but orderly. She lived with her husband and their twelve-year-old twins This is the problem with "anonymizing" a person by just changing their name, or exchanging a name in a database with a number. There's a pretty high probability that the number of FSI agents in Havana with 12-year-old twins is preci…

> There's a pretty high probability that the number of FSI agents in Havana with 12-year-old twins is precisely one.

And strangely enough I am pretty sure I know who this person is. Just based on those facts and other things from the article.

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