My spookometer isn't going off because of what happened with the diplomats, but why the story is covered so darn much in the news.
Easy it’s casus belli to create (likely already exist) and use similar weapons.
Microwave Weapons Are Suspect in Ills of U.S. Embassy Workers
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Re: Microwave Weapons Are Suspect in Ills of U.S. Embassy Workers
#32Why is this effect not used to develop a device that converts normal sounds into such microwaves that the deaf can hear?
Because of that minor (/s) side effect of brain damage?
Re: Microwave Weapons Are Suspect in Ills of U.S. Embassy Workers
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
A simple experiment result published by the MIT Media Lab, found tinfoil hats are not really effective. https://web.archive.org/web/20100708230258/http://people.csa... > For all helmets, we noticed a 30 db __amplification__ at 2.6 Ghz and a 20 db amplification at 1.2 Ghz, regardless of the position of the antenna on the cranium. In addition, all helmets exhibited a marked 20 db attenuation at around 1.5 Ghz, with no…
You don't even need SDR... a really simple LED and a few variable antennas would do a good job into the GHz.
For detection, yes, it can be done by an extremely simple circuit. But you would need the raw I/Q sample data over a broad frequency range to perform a technical analysis to identify the nature of the microwave. Here's when a SDR comes handy.
Re: Microwave Weapons Are Suspect in Ills of U.S. Embassy Workers
#34I just want to point out that this is an exceptionally well-researched and cited article, didn't expect that (which is funny - I just realized I set a lower standard for mainstream media than the tech blog posts I read that people write in their free time).
I am sure the author appreciates that back-handed complement, I appreciate that you reinforce the facade of programmer arrogance in tech-pop.
I'm told that there's a great deal of automatically generated sports reporting. Good reporting is actually much rarer these days, because no one online wants to pay for it. Recent years have also seen the rise of Buzzfeed and Breitbart. The journalists seem to think that there's a journalism crisis. I might suggest that you have been confining yourself to high-quality news sources, to where you don't see that this is a problem, but I don't think many of those exist. If you have strong feelings about the image of programming in tech-pop, you may reflect upon the varying levels at which people might value such a thing, and try to be constructive in your criticism.
Re: Microwave Weapons Are Suspect in Ills of U.S. Embassy Workers
#35My spookometer isn't going off because of what happened with the diplomats, but why the story is covered so darn much in the news.
Why wouldn’t this create news coverage? Regardless of its factual merits, it almost reads like a plot from a spy thriller, of course people are gonna read articles discussing it. I’d be far more surprised if the opposite was true.
Re: Microwave Weapons Are Suspect in Ills of U.S. Embassy Workers
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
You don't even need SDR... a really simple LED and a few variable antennas would do a good job into the GHz.
For detection, yes, it can be done by an extremely simple circuit. But you would need the raw I/Q sample data over a broad frequency range to perform a technical analysis to identify the nature of the microwave. Here's when a SDR comes handy.
The LED just reveals power (detection of radiation over many visible orders of magnitude) ... it doesn't need to detect coherent I/Q, because I don't think neural effects are sensitive to phase either. Selectively cooking a brain would require relatively high power and beam forming, but not high data rate. Audio frequencies are visible (use multiple band pass filters if you like) .
You'd also want a controlled test source so you'd know if the attacker had burned it out.
Re: Microwave Weapons Are Suspect in Ills of U.S. Embassy Workers
#37There is a point to bring: during the WWII and later cold war, Soviets were extremely vocal about untouchability of top political leadership, and immunities provided by Vienna convention being absolute. And they uphold that dearly. Now my Western friends, try spending some time to think why they did so.
Are you referring to their desire for immunity in ordering crimes against humanity?
Yes, so they thought.
It was their desire to make the West to believe that is a "West vs East" conflict, not "the West vs them personally."
All Soviet leaders were quite paranoid when it came to assassination fears, and the West going after right/left hand person.
Re: Microwave Weapons Are Suspect in Ills of U.S. Embassy Workers
#38Okay I'm skeptical. On the one side some 'bad other' could be using an undefined device to attack only American people, only in foreign lands, and for uncertain reasons. That narrative conveniently fuels paranoia and makes for good reading. Alternative explanations exist, based on well established medicine, which I think need air time, link below. Now, I'm all for exciting stories but this one keeps being resurrected…
Especially knowing the USA has been a thorn in Cuba's side since the 50's, repeatedly trying to kill Castro and undermine their economic system. Americans live under constant propaganda from their own government, deployed by their own mainstream newspapers and TV media. Chomsky's 'Manufacturing Consent' is an eye opening look into the continuous war/regime change drum that's beating inside the USA. This is just more…
Cuba has been led by a dictatorship regime so I can see why US would like to change it. You don't need propaganda to see for yourself that Cuba has no free elections. So far US used sanctions instead of war and it seems it didn't work.
Re: Microwave Weapons Are Suspect in Ills of U.S. Embassy Workers
#39My spookometer isn't going off because of what happened with the diplomats, but why the story is covered so darn much in the news.
Because we have 24 hour news cycles that are heavily dependent on providing entertainment masquerading as news to generate revenue. And this has all the makings of a cliched spy novel. Super secret weapons, forces covertly attacking each other to no apparent ends, and a good deal of conspiracy and paranoia all around.
Re: Microwave Weapons Are Suspect in Ills of U.S. Embassy Workers
#40I just want to point out that this is an exceptionally well-researched and cited article, didn't expect that (which is funny - I just realized I set a lower standard for mainstream media than the tech blog posts I read that people write in their free time).
Where is the evidence that it's actually happening?
It’s a newspaper not a scientific journal. What makes you think they would have access to any evidence? They are merely summarizing the research that others have done.