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Mystery of Sonic Weapon Attacks At US Embassy In Cuba Deepens (theguardian.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: The blaring, grinding noise jolted the American diplomat from his bed in a Havana hotel. He moved just a few feet, and there was silence. He climbed back into bed. Inexplicably, the agonizing sound hit him again. It was as if he'd walked through some invisible wall cutting straight through his room. Soon came the hearing loss, and the speech problems, symptoms both similar and altogether different from others among at least 21 U.S. victims in an astonishing international mystery still unfolding in Cuba. The top U.S. diplomat has called them "health attacks." New details learned by the Associated Press indicate at least some of the incidents were confined to specific rooms or even parts of rooms with laser-like specificity, baffling U.S. officials who say the facts and the physics don't add up.

Suspicion initially focused on a sonic weapon, and on the Cubans. Yet the diagnosis of mild brain injury, considered unlikely to result from sound, has confounded the FBI, the state department and U.S. intelligence agencies involved in the investigation. Some victims now have problems concentrating or recalling specific words, several officials said, the latest signs of more serious damage than the U.S. government initially realized. The United States first acknowledged the attacks in August -- nine months after symptoms were first reported.

215 comments

  1. Brown Noise? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Maybe it was the Brown Noise

    1. Re:Brown Noise? by Godwin+O'Hitler · · Score: 1

      Maybe it was Toxoplasma gondii https://science.slashdot.org/s...

      --
      No, your children are not the special ones. Nor are your pets.
  2. Not really a surprise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The Cubans like vanilla ice

  3. Not Cuba by Dan+East · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I commented on this story in the past, and I'll say it again now. It doesn't make any sense that the Cuban government is doing this. They are a dictatorship, and if they didn't want US diplomats there, or didn't want to try and reconnect with the US, then they simply wouldn't do it. For them to try and injure US diplomats makes no sense at all. I believe this is being done by some 3rd party nation to try and cause problems between the US and Cuba. Why? Because they want to maintain the status quo (the US and Cuba not having diplomatic relations) because they stand to gain either financially and / or in regional influence and power. Several South American countries, as well as Russia, come to mind...

    From an excerpt from a 2016 article discussing the US restoring some relations with the Cuban Government:

    As if that wasn’t remarkable enough, this has occurred with Cuban-Russian relations at their strongest since the demise of the Soviet Union. Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev has visited Cuba twice since February 2008 while Vladimir Putin visited in July 2014. Meanwhile Raúl Castro has been to Moscow three times in recent years. Can these two relationships really keep improving in parallel?

    http://theconversation.com/cub...

    --
    Better known as 318230.
    1. Re: Not Cuba by Jeremi · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The real mystery isn't who did it, but how. There's always somebody nefarious; but this particular somebody seems to have invented a weapon that nobody else has even thought of.

      --


      I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
    2. Re:Not Cuba by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It doesn't make any sense that the Cuban government is doing this.

      Yes it does. People have this weird blindspot where they readily accept that their own society has factions, but are far more willing to believe that their adversaries are monolithic. Obama opened up relations with Cuba, and there is opposition to that by hardliners in America. But there is also OPPOSITION IN CUBA, because they have their own hardliners, who see Raul's opening to the imperialists as a betrayal of the ideals of the revolution. Some of those rejectionist hardliners are in powerful positions, and it is likely that they are doing this to sabotage relations between America and Cuba, and possibly even get rid of Raul and the Castro dynasty.

    3. Re:Not Cuba by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It could just as easily be the US or UK doing this, knowing many will blame Russia by default.
      All's fair in love and (cold) war.

    4. Re: Not Cuba by MichaelSmith · · Score: 1

      Maybe a neurotoxin in the water? Nerve damage may cause people to hear phantom noises.

    5. Re: Not Cuba by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      but this particular somebody seems to have invented a weapon that nobody else has even thought of.

      Targeted sonic weapons were thought of a long time ago. There are examples in science fiction literature from before WWII, and even hack writers like Ayn Rand used the idea in one of her trashy dime novels (Atlas Shrugged).

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    6. Re:Not Cuba by AlanObject · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It doesn't make any sense that the Cuban government is doing this.

      From the looks of it even U.S. officials don't believe that the official Cuban government has anything to do it. I have even seen stories about Cuba willing to accommodate an FBI investigation. That would have been unthinkable in the not too distant past.

      However there are a few parties around that are absolutely livid over the idea of relations between U.S. and Cuba being normalized. My money is on it turning out to be U.S.-based Cuban group whose families hated Castro for one reason or another possibly in partnership with counter-revolutionaries still in Cuba.

      Less likely is someone in Cuba who thinks Raul Castro is betraying the Revolution by engaging with the U.S. But it is possible.

      Could it be some rogue operation from some die-hard cold-warrior types either in some U.S. agency or an alumni of one? That would be too stupid to be believable if it weren't for the example of Oliver North and his ilk. I hope it isn't that.

    7. Re: Not Cuba by shubus · · Score: 1

      We need to find out how this "weapon" works and deploy it in North Korea. FAST.

    8. Re: Not Cuba by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'll give you a hint. Not like that.

    9. Re: Not Cuba by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      a weapon that nobody else has even thought of

      Reminds me of an old (offensive, yet funny and on point) joke by late comedian Patrice Oneal where he talked about the D.C. sniper attacks of 2002 and how everyone assumed it was executed by some evil genius criminal mastermind using unheard of methods; yet, ultimately it was "just a n***a in a Buick".

      We're all jumping to conclusions about some mysterious super-weapon, meanwhile it's probably some sociopath janitor on the other side of the wall with pieces of a microwave oven he took apart using instructions he saw on YouTube.

      (Link to joke I referenced above. RIP, fat funnyman)

    10. Re: Not Cuba by gravewax · · Score: 1

      if you bothered to read the details they don't believe it is a targeted sonic weapon as the physics combined with the brain damage mean it is likely something else.

    11. Re: Not Cuba by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      CIA?

    12. Re: Not Cuba by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Wow, brilliant plan. Attack the leaders of a nuclear armed country with a weapon that causes...mild inconveniences. We survived the USSR and North Korea is nothing in comparison.

    13. Re: Not Cuba by Iamthecheese · · Score: 2

      Creating sound in a specific, limited physical location through constructive interference is a well explored topic.

      --
      If video games influenced behavior the Pac Man generation would be eating pills and running away from their problems.
    14. Re: Not Cuba by Iamthecheese · · Score: 1

      Targeted infra-sound could do it.

      --
      If video games influenced behavior the Pac Man generation would be eating pills and running away from their problems.
    15. Re: Not Cuba by Presence+Eternal · · Score: 1

      If only there were some kind of device that could accurately capture and record soundwaves, even those outside of normal human hearing.

    16. Re: Not Cuba by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Well, there seems some old tech to do this:
      https://www.ted.com/talks/woody_norris_invents_amazing_things
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59h4bS4O-Rs

    17. Re:Not Cuba by quantaman · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It doesn't make any sense that the Cuban government is doing this.

      Yes it does. People have this weird blindspot where they readily accept that their own society has factions, but are far more willing to believe that their adversaries are monolithic. Obama opened up relations with Cuba, and there is opposition to that by hardliners in America. But there is also OPPOSITION IN CUBA, because they have their own hardliners, who see Raul's opening to the imperialists as a betrayal of the ideals of the revolution. Some of those rejectionist hardliners are in powerful positions, and it is likely that they are doing this to sabotage relations between America and Cuba, and possibly even get rid of Raul and the Castro dynasty.

      Alternately this was a surveillance operation gone awry, they were trying to spy on the diplomats using some kind of ultrasonic imaging device and screwed up. Either the tech was way more dangerous than they thought or the operators miscalibrated it.

      --
      I stole this Sig
    18. Re:Not Cuba by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I once read about an incident where multiple victims suffered from mysterious maladies of the brain. It was found to have been caused by prokaryotes.

    19. Re:Not Cuba by Kjella · · Score: 5, Interesting

      However there are a few parties around that are absolutely livid over the idea of relations between U.S. and Cuba being normalized. My money is on it turning out to be U.S.-based Cuban group whose families hated Castro for one reason or another possibly in partnership with counter-revolutionaries still in Cuba. Less likely is someone in Cuba who thinks Raul Castro is betraying the Revolution by engaging with the U.S. But it is possible.

      Those people exist. But who of them would think we hate that, let's create a secret sonic screwdriver to give US diplomats hearing loss and light brain damage. I mean whatever is creating this must have gone through a pretty big R&D project with a non-trivial chance of failure. It must have been tweaked and tested pretty well to both be strong enough to cause damage and weak enough to remain stealthy for quite some time. That sounds to me like a secret intelligence/military program, not some ragtag rebels. Even if they stole a prototype, somebody would know and using it correctly would not be easy - look at the rebels in Eastern Ukraine who couldn't tell the difference between military jets and a civilian airliner.

      The second thing that doesn't add up is motivation, if you're trying to sabotage US-Cuba relations you'd better not look like a third party trying to do just that. You'd try to discredit or frame Cuba, you might stage some blatant attack like a car bomb or poison their food to say the US is not wanted but this FUD? Let's be honest, diplomats are an archaic leftover from when they were trusted emissaries and negotiators because getting instructions from home took days and weeks. Even if they pulled out physically, the US could maintain normal diplomatic relations virtually. You'd only need a booth to handle physical matters, though you could probably move most things like visa applications online too. The actual embassy is today mostly for show.

      My guess is that this is an intelligence project gone wrong. This is supposed to be a form of scanner, picking up on something trying to punch through some countermeasures that are in place and causing long term damage that wasn't caught in testing. To me that's by far the most plausible explanation for why this would exist and why they'd target diplomats in particular. I mean there are probably other ways you could damage economic ties, tourism or whatever that could damage relations but only diplomats would have political information of any real value. Everything else seems a bit contrived, like you could but it wouldn't really make any sense.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    20. Re: Not Cuba by drinkypoo · · Score: 3, Interesting

      if you bothered to read the details they don't believe it is a targeted sonic weapon as the physics combined with the brain damage mean it is likely something else.

      There's really only two possibilities. One, directed sound. Two, directed RF. As it turns out, you can stimulate human hearing with certain radio frequencies.

      Either way, having the effect be strong at some points and weak at others is a classic sign of an interference pattern. Two identical, synchronized point emission sources of sound (or RF) will create both valleys of zero signal strength, and peaks of double strength.

      Either way, the effect should be measurable.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    21. Re:Not Cuba by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      My guess is Russia. Russia and the US have long argued over Cuba. They're probably the only ones in the world besides us who have developed the technology to do this sort of thing. Remember that HAARP project that people are always theorizing over? Russia has their own. The only people who might know more about RF than Russia would be us.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    22. Re: Not Cuba by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      as well as a TARDIS to bring it to an appropriate location at an appropriate time

      or maybe we should just outfit every room with detectors for everything that could plausibly be a weapon

    23. Re: Not Cuba by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I was wondering if it was some kind of virus for which the diplomats lacked immunity that caused strange neurological problems. Note that I don't have much medical knowledge at all.

    24. Re:Not Cuba by mikael · · Score: 1

      Why place the transmitter/scanner right next to the diplomats bed? Wouldn't that be the place the diplomats keep a mobile phone at all times? The Russians used microwaves in conjunction with a RFID type activated microphone and membrane concealed inside a wooden carving.

      If it were microwaves, he would have heard a crackling sound and his hair looking as if he was hit by static. That happened to people walking past Google's office in London.

      --
      Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
    25. Re: Not Cuba by Presence+Eternal · · Score: 1

      Talkin' bout smartphones dude.

    26. Re:Not Cuba by AlanObject · · Score: 1

      My guess is Russia.

      The technology involved is not that exotic. The argument against it being Russia is that the operation seems too amateurish and botched. That just doesn't fit with what we know of Russian covert ops. Of course they could have intentionally made it seem that way but the intended purpose in that case seems wholly obscure.

      If the intent was to drive a wedge (further) between the US and Cuba then the effect of the discovery that it was not Cuba that carried out the attack then the operation will have the opposite effect.

    27. Re:Not Cuba by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I commented on this story in the past, and I'll say it again now. It doesn't make any sense that the Cuban government is doing this. They are a dictatorship, and if they didn't want US diplomats there, or didn't want to try and reconnect with the US, then they simply wouldn't do it.

      Testing 'odd' weapons on diplomats is nothing new. The soviets tested microwave weapons on the U.S embassy. Perhaps it didn't work too well.

      Now, perhaps the cubans have tested some sort of ultrasound weapon. Crank up the intensity sufficiently, and there will be some damage done. Also, ultrasound is very directional so noticing it in only part of the room is possible. Who had the room below?

    28. Re:Not Cuba by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      ut there is also OPPOSITION IN CUBA, because they have their own hardliners, who see Raul's opening to the imperialists as a betrayal of the ideals of the revolution. Some of those rejectionist hardliners are in powerful positions, and it is likely that they are doing this to sabotage relations between America and Cuba, and possibly even get rid of Raul and the Castro dynasty.

      You seem to have this weird capitalist blindspot, where you think such people couldn't go for a conventional bombing/poisoning/assassination if they wanted to do such a thing. Not use some high-tech spy weapon developed in a lab in the base of a volcano by a guy with an eyepatch.

    29. Re:Not Cuba by taskiss · · Score: 1

      You think that the entire Cuban regime is of one mind about things? It would be quite remarkable if you were correct.

      --
      - real hackers don't have sigs -
    30. Re: Not Cuba by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I was thinking something along these lines. If you wanted to recharge a bug mounted in the headboards with rf energy and disguise the location of the charging apparatus you could use two directional radio beams ( maybe at 90 degree angle) to create a third radio frequency to charge a bug. Best time to recharge your remote controllable rf bug is when nothing is happening (everyone is sleeping)

    31. Re:Not Cuba by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Didn't you forget to mention China as well?

    32. Re: Not Cuba by currently_awake · · Score: 1

      A microwave beam modulated with an audio signal could match these symptoms. Cuban intelligence (or Russian) could be beaming a highly directional microwave signal through the embassy, where it bounces off stuff, and the reflected signal has a doplar shift carrying the room audio. A low power signal tuned to water would look like a leaky microwave if detected (or actually be one?), and could use any liquids in the Embassy as a microphone.

    33. Re: Not Cuba by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It could be accidental or deliberate. If deliberate, it could be something like a microwave interference weapon. Point microwave emitters from several different locations toward a point. Time the waves to intersect in a way that creates a few high-amplitude waves in a small area. Cook brains.

    34. Re:Not Cuba by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > But who of them would think we hate that, let's create a secret sonic screwdriver to give US diplomats hearing loss and light brain damage.

      Who would deliberately and secretly scare away US diplomats, military, and civilians? Just all of my older relatives in Miami. The Cuban immigrants from the early 1960's are now *old*, but a lot of them were corrupt rightwing !@#$!@#$ . And some of them brought money, and some of them brought serious techincal skills. My dad blew his own vacuum tubes and built his own isotopic scanner. The man was scary.

    35. Re:Not Cuba by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who benefits from this crime? Who benefits from poor US/Cuba relationships? That is always the first question.

      Personally, I'm sure one of the alphabet soup agencies has a hand in it.

    36. Re:Not Cuba by Graydyn+Young · · Score: 1

      It does seem like whatever device is being used here went wrong in some way. Even if it's some kind of sonic weapon and brain damage was the intended effect, you would think it wouldn't be designed to make a noise.

    37. Re:Not Cuba by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This. Cui Bono is the key. Nobody else in the world wants to fuck up Cuba but the United States.

      And then ask: "Who has this kind of technology?"

      And that's the easy part as well: The United States does. No one else in the world has created and deployed such things:

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_weapon

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Range_Acoustic_Device

      This is NOT a mystery. It's yet another US "False Flag" attempt to imperially frame/coerce Cuba.

    38. Re:Not Cuba by Xest · · Score: 2

      Consider Russia as a likely culprit, not because of the tide of anti-Russian paranoia in the US right now, but simply because of the politics of it.

      The US has in the last 9 months (since this started happening) expelled more and more Russian diplomats from it's soil and denied it access to a number of it's buildings in the US that were typically used as listening stations. The US/Russia tacitly accepted these in each others countries as it meant they had less secrets from each other and built trust post-cold war. Now they're being shut down on both sides in the US and Russia proper.

      Russia closed it's listening post in Cuba for exactly this reason back in 2001, because with the cold war supposedly having come to an end, and tacit acceptance of such listening posts in the territories themselves meant it was largely defunct.

      But Russia reopened it in 2014, and with it's US mainland listening posts now shut down it wants to make damn sure that the US and Cuba don't get close - given Cuba's proximity to the mainland US it would be astoundingly easy for the US to make Cuba Western within a very short time period because fully opening up to each other would create such a massive flow of Western culture, coupled with the ageing leadership that change in Cuba could occur in less than a decade. See here:

      http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/worl...

      So ignoring the whole Trump/Russia thing as irrelevant, there is a very strong incentive for Russia to keep the US out of Cuba and they have both the skills and the technological capability to design, build, and deploy such a weapon as well as the political and security reason to want to do so.

      I don't believe any Cuban group could build anything like this. It would require money, skills, and technology that a rag tag bunch of ex-rebels simply do not possess. This is something that requires a fairly powerful nation state behind it - I think even Venezuela would struggle, so you'd be looking at a European nation (none of which hate the US, or Cuba enough to have reason to do this), India, which has no interest in Cuba/US relations, Brazil, which again has no real reason to do this, China - again, not clear what this would achieve, very little for them to gain here, or some wealthy arab states or Israel - a possibility perhaps, but again, not the clear motive that Russia has.

  4. One can only wonder by no-body · · Score: 1

    what goes on in some people's minds and the underlying cause for it - assuming this is human activity - to cause this kind of injury to someone.

    1. Re:One can only wonder by ArylAkamov · · Score: 1

      It's just experemental weapons testing by a third party. The oppertunity to disrupt relations between the US and Cuba is just the icing on the cake.
      Personally, my bet is on NK or China.

    2. Re:One can only wonder by no-body · · Score: 1

      It's just experemental weapons testing by a third party. The oppertunity to disrupt relations between the US and Cuba is just the icing on the cake.
      Personally, my bet is on NK or China.

      Well, if that's the case - experimental, injuring unrelated people - pretty sick. Fits right into the current state of affairs.

    3. Re:One can only wonder by Immerman · · Score: 2

      Experimental weapons testing has almost always targeted "innocents". Quite often their own soldiers or citizens. Go ahead and read about some of the atrocities the US government has (then) secretly committed against US citizens in the last century. It'll break your heart.

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
    4. Re:One can only wonder by no-body · · Score: 1

      Experimental weapons testing has almost always targeted "innocents". Quite often their own soldiers or citizens. Go ahead and read about some of the atrocities the US government has (then) secretly committed against US citizens in the last century. It'll break your heart.

      It still needs a certain frame of mind, callousness and lack of empathy - just think of torture - enhanced interrogations - "allowed" under certain circumstances, and the permission comes from where? This goes for "civilized" areas where laws supposed to exist, like the USA.

      OK, and then there was this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      How early does it start in a human?

  5. More blood on his tiny orange hands by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Trump is responsible for this. He backed them into a corner.

    1. Re: More blood on his tiny orange hands by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This never happened under Obama.

  6. they thought it was sonic because victims "heard" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    WTH, do they not get that brain injuries will cause the body to sense things which are NOT coming from the sensory system? Try looking for radar, HERF weapon and any other kind of energy which can be focused.

    If it's only effecting Americans it is probably a targeted targeting weapon being used.

  7. Off the wall guess by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Maybe it was someone trying out one of those ultrasonic rodent-shooing devices?

    1. Re:Off the wall guess by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      Ultrasonic is a reasonable guess because the wavelength would be short enough to aim and meet the other characteristics described in the summary.

      What's screwy is that the source of the problem has not been tracked down and eliminated. This should not be a difficult technical problem.

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    2. Re:Off the wall guess by whit3 · · Score: 1

      Ultrasonic is a reasonable guess because the wavelength would be short enough to aim and meet the other characteristics described in the summary.

      Well, not really. The ability of air to transmit ultrasound is limited (it disperses into heat quickly), and for brain damage to result, the ultrasound has to get inside the skull. If the events happened in a water tank, ultrasound would be more credible. Infrasound has range, but requires large generating structures, and would have done things (like rattling windows) which are not reported.

    3. Re:Off the wall guess by mikael · · Score: 1

      Beta radiation beam from a smoke detector? Presumably the diplomats were sleeping with their pillows next to the wall. So it would be something that was either in the bedframe, mattress, in or behind the wall.

      --
      Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
  8. Mind Control Beams by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 2, Funny

    This time the CIA is on the receiving end and it's the Communists' fault.

    Fifty points to Slytherin for irony.

    --
    My God, it's Full of Source!
    OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    1. Re:Mind Control Beams by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This news story reminded me of my similar experience, it was July 2015. (looked up an email I had sent a friend about it to check the date). Crazy head pain, ringing in ears. Felt like being hit by an invisible wall. I thought maybe a stroke? I am a person who has had a bit of a 'sixth sense' throughout my life and my idea at the time was satellite. It felt like that. I did not go to a doctor, I felt like they would think I was koo-koo pants. Anyway, check satellite. :) After that experience I had some trouble remembering some things, and kept catching myself misspelling really stupid words while typing. All the time. The symptoms have diminished over time but I still have mild tinnitus. I have not been to Cuba, this happened in California. I'm for sure no diplomat, I'm nobody doing nothing spectacular. :)

    2. Re: Mind Control Beams by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You actually sound kind of koo-koo Pants, I would recommend at least seeing a doctor because you may still have a serious medical problem. (besides the kookiness)

    3. Re:Mind Control Beams by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, you had a stroke.
      Yes, you had a stroke!
      Yes, you had a stroke!!
      YES, YOU HAD A STROKE!!!

      If you won't see a doctor, that's your business.
      Suggest you get regular exercise and mind your Blood Pressure.
      At least see a lawyer and get your will in order.

    4. Re:Mind Control Beams by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      could be :) or maybe an aneurysm. The tinnitus never added up to me, I could not find documentation tying tinnitus to stroke or aneurysm. But maybe I wasn't looking very good. lol. Also it's true I could be koo-koo pants. A respected friend called me that once, they are on CNN every once in a while. So it's probably accurate description.

      I've lived with a few people who knew they were going to die soon, and then they died. like father in-law, girlfriends, those sorts of people. Cancer, or they just woke up one morning and decided it was time to go. I'd honestly rather not know, actually it would be better to be asleep when that time comes. That's what I'd prefer. Like the bullet is coming at you and you see it coming toward you - but really it would be better to not even see it coming I think. Who wants to think about that stuff, could be months, weeks, split-seconds. So doctors aren't the type I like to visit, at least professionally.

  9. RF directed Beams by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    One jokes but it may be some kind of RF directed energy.

    1. Re: RF directed Beams by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This.

  10. Heck, the American Right by rsilvergun · · Score: 0, Troll

    Needs bad relations with Cuba to help them win votes in Florida for presidential elections (and Florida elections in general). Lots of ne're do wells benefit from poor US/Cuban relations. Meanwhile it only hurts Cuba who could use the tourist dollars and trade.

    --
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  11. the Sonic Projector by arpad1 · · Score: 1

    Cripes, it's not all that big a secret. Here you go - https://www.wired.com/2007/06/...

    What doesn't make much sense is why it's being done. Keeping the embassy staff on edge must look like a good idea to someone of significant power in Cuba because putting the requisite technology together isn't something that average Cuban could do.

    --
    Minutus cantorum, minutus balorum, minutus carborata descendum pantorum.
    1. Re:the Sonic Projector by Nemyst · · Score: 1

      You say that like it's a done deal, but that doesn't explain the brain damage, which a sound projection device would be unlikely to be able to cause.

    2. Re:the Sonic Projector by Immerman · · Score: 1

      I wonder if there was actual sound involved, or if that was just a symptom of nerve/brain stimulation, for example by radio or microwave stimulation.

      Even if it were sound, it seems to me that strong enough intensity pressure waves could indeed cause cell damage as they passed through the skull - especially if there were infra-/ultra-sound involved, so that the "agonizing sound" was actually a fringe effect of much louder inaudible sounds.

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
    3. Re:the Sonic Projector by Nemyst · · Score: 2

      I'd expect that pressure waves strong enough to cause cell damage would also most likely cause damage to the environment, especially since you can rarely completely eliminate constructive interference everywhere but the targeted location. There'll be other points in the area that would get similarly strong pressure and that'd be enough to shatter fragile glass or cause vibrations. A microwave attack could be more plausible, but I don't know how they'd be able to set all of that up without someone noticing.

    4. Re:the Sonic Projector by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      Audible sound can damage nerves in the ear. Ultrasonic waves might be audible if they're powerful enough to drive the ear (or the air) into nonlinearity, but if the subject moves his head away from a local maximum or just turns his head to that the waves don't enter his ear well then they become inaudible. Perhaps the ultrasonics can cause localized heating in the ear's nerves and damage them, without being audible.

      Deep brain damage? The shape of the skull might focus the ultrasonic waves.

      A good argument can also be made for electromagnetic microwaves, which have killed humans by heating. A beam focused on your head could easily cause brain damage. A similar argument can be made for x-rays, although that might cause visible skin reddening at the power levels necessary to cause brain damage.

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    5. Re:the Sonic Projector by MrL0G1C · · Score: 1

      There seems to be an assumption by many that only one method is being used by the perpetrators. It is of course quite possible that both neurotoxins and sonic devices are being used.

      --
      Waterfox - a Firefox fork with legacy extension support, security updates and better privacy by default.
    6. Re:the Sonic Projector by LostMyBeaver · · Score: 0

      They are working at an American Embassy...

      Can you prove that the brain damage is not a preexisting condition? I've worked in those places before and honestly, the only people who generally don't strike me as being severely mentally handicapped are the janitorial staff and maybe the soldiers.

      I have never encountered a politician that doesn't struggle with basic verbal and memory skills.

    7. Re: the Sonic Projector by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, you can hear modulated ultrasound due to non-linear effects in the ear and in the air around it. You don't need that high power. I have experienced it when working. on (short-range) sonar.

    8. Re:the Sonic Projector by ceoyoyo · · Score: 1

      The ultrasound devices are fairly tight beams. The microwave ones probably are too, and it doesn't take much energy to shake up someone's brain, if you're depositing it effectively on the inside.

      If you got a constructive node in a wall it might shake some dust loose. Your chances of hitting something fragile would be pretty small.

      If you took that DARPA device that's designed to communicate over a kilometre and aimed it at someone's head from the other side of a hotel wall....

    9. Re: the Sonic Projector by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...and Kent-
      Stop PLAYING with yourself!

    10. Re:the Sonic Projector by mikael · · Score: 1

      Brain damage is usually caused by burst capillaries. Which is due to high blood pressure. That's either the blood vessels being constricted, or the heart pumping at super high pressures. Alternatively, the water in the blood could have been cooked by microwaves, causing them to burst.

      --
      Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
  12. CBC also has a story by Target+Drone · · Score: 5, Interesting

    CBC recently had a story on the 5 Canadian diplomats and families affected. They also speculated that since Canada has better relations with Cuba it's unlikely the Cuban government is behind this. The story also mentions that since Russia has a large diplomatic presence in Cuba, has been known to harass foreign diplomats and also has the know how to possibly develop this kind of high tech weapon that they are a possible suspect.

    1. Re:CBC also has a story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If true, this has to be one of the dumbest operations ever greenlit. Diplomats are well-accustomed to espionage efforts, and its pretty much de rigueur for all the big nations to play Spy-vs-Spy. Embassies regularly sweep for bugs and such.

      But using energy weapons on the personnel? It's cartoonishly bad. Such a terrible idea I have difficulty attributing it to anyone, including North Korea. Any nation could scrape up much better [disposable] live test subjects if needed.

      Energy weapons on US diplomats is asking for serious escalation and problems. It's a huge breach of trust, and way beyond the nonlethal cat-and-mouse games that are tolerated.

    2. Re:CBC also has a story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why would Russia do this in Cuba? It's a good way to get kicked out of the country. Also, remember when that war criminal Obama was caught monitoring Merkel's phone calls? These are big allies and yet US still spies on Germany (and everyone else).

      Most likely what happened was that US was testing some new CIA technology and didn't realize that it would cause so much damage.

    3. Re:CBC also has a story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ummm EVERYONE spies on Germany, why? Nazis. duh.

    4. Re:CBC also has a story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      seriously unlikely, Russia are more likely to do such an attack in far better locations where they are not going to be a prime suspect. Similar to the Cuban's it makes no sense for the Russians to be the source of the attacks either.

    5. Re:CBC also has a story by MichaelSmith · · Score: 5, Insightful

      anyone, including North Korea

      Actually, NK really are that reckless. They deployed VX gas in the national airport of a friendly country.

    6. Re:CBC also has a story by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 0, Troll

      Look, this ridiculous Russophibia has got to go. Blaming TEH ROOSHINS for every thing bad that happens in the world has got to come to a stop. It's not healthy. I understand that the media has been running a campaign to whip up hysteria against Russia, and I'm not surprised it's having an effect. But it's just ridiculous to blame the scary foreigners for everything. It's amazing such an old trick is still working, but that's humans for you. Be sure to check under your bed for TEH ROOSHINS before you go to sleep tonight.

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
    7. Re:CBC also has a story by quantaman · · Score: 1

      seriously unlikely, Russia are more likely to do such an attack in far better locations where they are not going to be a prime suspect. Similar to the Cuban's it makes no sense for the Russians to be the source of the attacks either.

      The motive for Russia wouldn't be to spy or harm Americans, the motive would be to sour the relationship between Cuba and the US, so that Cuba remains under Russian influence.

      --
      I stole this Sig
    8. Re:CBC also has a story by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Canada has better relations with Cuba it's unlikely the Cuban government is behind this

      Thought experiment: Why would the Cuban government do this?

      1. Get rid of diplomats? They can do that anytime they want.
      2. Don't like the renewed ties with USA? They can do this anytime they want.
      3. Don't like US politics interfering? They are a dictatorship, also see 1.

      Initially a lot of people claimed Cuba, but it just makes no sense.

    9. Re:CBC also has a story by afxgrin · · Score: 3, Informative

      The microwave auditory effect is well known and I have serious doubts that any government funded program would publish the exact details of any progress on weaponizing it. The public knowing exactly how these devices work would decrease the effectiveness if they're actually trying to make targets feel like they're hearing voices in their head not just blast their hearing with noise.

      I'd expect the intensities involved would likely be high enough to harm the device operator unless they were remotely situated from the transmitter site. You'd want a high power output to provide the device range and effectiveness through walls and windows. As a consequence the operator being in the vicinity of the transmitter would still get effected by side lobes from the transmitter.

      The Russians claimed to be working on such a device in 2012 probably in response to the US Navy contracting a company to develop a microwave auditory weapon.

    10. Re: CBC also has a story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Whatever you say, Vlad.

    11. Re:CBC also has a story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      They didn't gas the airport - it was a targeted attack on one of their own. Using dangerous agents (ricin/polonium/etc) is not unheard of. The RU-contractors left radioactive trails over England and their spygames definitely chilled relations - but the targets were always "in-house", defectors and/or expats.

      Attacking foreign diplomats is a great way to ensure your own attachés never have sanctuary anywhere, ever again.

  13. Re:they thought it was sonic because victims "hear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yeah, but does the target know that it's the targeting target being targeted?

  14. I actually agree by HBI · · Score: 0

    This is definitely a false flag operation. Who would gain from it is not clear. The US having bad relations with Cuba is not worth THAT much to the Russians. It's a backwater that they don't even care much about anymore, and honestly is mainly kept in their stable of allies for reasons of institutional memory rather than any real use they have. Cuba also still costs them money that they can ill afford.

    I keep thinking China. Who else would have motive and the belief that pushing back US relations with Cuba would benefit them somehow?

    --
    HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
    1. Re:I actually agree by HBI · · Score: 2

      The US isn't invading Cuba. I'm not relying on any non-public information that I know. I'm just stating it as a bald fact that the wherewithal might be there, but the will isn't and never will be as far as my crystal ball goes. If the US were so inclined, it would have happened in the 1990s, when more will could have been mustered. The Cuban emigres who would be the strongest supporters are getting old and dying by now.

      Given that the invasion of Cuba is a non-starter and therefore there is no profit motive here, the idea of Trump himself arranging harm to come to US diplomats is abhorrent. I'd like to say you know better, but i'm not sure about that.

      The KGB was wont to have flights of fancy toward conspiracy theory. It was one of their chief problems in evaluating events in the West. It was born of the requirement to never gainsay the belief structure of the Politburo and nomenklatura. This was bad for your career, and back in the 30s and 40s would also carry the threat of death. So the KGB evaluation of every event was wound into a complex conspiracy theory involving the mythical denizens of the West, rather than being evaluated rationally.

      The other problem they had was being captive to their ideology. Anyway, there are much simpler solutions than Trump trying to pad his bottom line. Besides which, the guy is dying soon, He couldn't care less about that, he already made and lost a fortune several times.

      --
      HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
    2. Re:I actually agree by PopeRatzo · · Score: 2, Insightful

      he already made and lost a fortune several times.

      Well, that's the myth at least. We won't know for sure until we see those tax returns.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    3. Re:I actually agree by sheramil · · Score: 1

      The US isn't invading Cuba.

      Oh, please. Invasion is so twentieth-century. The modern approach is to sabotage them economically and then buy them out when they're too weak to fight back and are begging for help.

    4. Re:I actually agree by LostMyBeaver · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Do you often hear one person talking, then a room full of people laughing and then you realize you're not?

      This is commonly referred to as "Missing the joke". It is common among people who are told one thing and hear something else.

      Of course, I don't have a good vocabulary entry regarding when it's about politics rather than jokes, but I believe you have just experienced it. There are actually therapists (not to be confused with "the rapists") who specialize in trying to help you with this disorder.

      Trump is and always has been about monuments. I've seen many of his monuments. As a real-estate developer, he was generally willing to build things just about everywhere and anywhere so long as it would have his name on it. His gift has generally always been to gather business people and investors together to pool their money for a development project. He would then make provisions that said that he really didn't care whether he made money or not himself... it was only important his name was on it. He likes big shiny things with his name on it.

      Watch every single thing he has done in D.C. so far... every deal, every negotiation. Consistently, it's been about gaining leverage for the "Trump Wall" or "Great Wall of Trump". No other topic causes him to become so impassioned as building a wall. He is backing off of dreamers now because he realized "I have to admit that there are some Mexicans that actually should be sent back"... he really doesn't care one way or the other. Hell, if he did, Trump would never have employed dreamers himself. What he does care about is that he will get one of the biggest monuments in the world with his name on it.

      So... stop thinking about Trump in terms of politics. He will (as he has so far) do absolutely anything to gain support for his new monument. Congress could get tons of stuff out of him if all they did was use 1 mile of wall as a form of payment for him ... like "Trump make this happen and we'll give you a mile of wall". He would pant and drool. He doesn't want love. He doesn't need money. He wants buildings and walls and golf courses with his name on it. He assumes that this would be his 5000 year competition for the Great Wall of China or the Pyramids. He knows that if the wall goes up, it will stay up and maintained in some form or another for at least several hundred years... dedicated to Trump.. If Hoover can get the damn, Trump can have the wall.

      Then there's Cuba.

      Cuba is an excellent opportunity for :
        a) Land grabs. Greece, Southern Italy, Sicily, Crete, Cyprus, Mallorca, Malta, Gozo, etc... are covered with hotels... almost all sea front real-estate is owned by opportunist land grabbers from elsewhere. This is probably Greece's #1 financial problem. Their most valuable industry... tourism is completely owned by external entities.
        b) Tax haven.... Trump has always loved a great tax haven... I'd bash him.. but he would be stupid if he didn't.
        c) Monuments.... the cost of building in Cuba is low enough now that Trump could build and furnish the world's largest casino for pennies on the dollar. It's not about profit. It's about making a hotel with a sign so big you'd be able to read "Trump" from the Florida Keys.

      Trump is done padding his bottom line. Even if he loses everything now, he will still get the presidential retirement package which is pretty good from what I hear. He doesn't have to make more money. He simply needs to relocate it to maximize the visibility of Trump for as long as possible.

      He wants the monuments. Casinos come and go... but with some luck, we can keep his name on one ... in neon for 200 years.

    5. Re:I actually agree by mlyle · · Score: 1

      It's against Cuba's apparent interest, yes.

      False flag is one of 3 big possibilities I can think of. Another is something that was intended to be a more subtle operation of some kind that was badly fucked up. Last, there could be rogue elements in Cuba's intelligence apparatus that would rather relations not improve.

    6. Re:I actually agree by Gavagai80 · · Score: 2

      China is the last country that would risk targeting US and Canadian diplomats. They have too many diplomats of their own and too much vested monetary interest in stability of relations (for trade) to take even the tiniest risk of the kind of worldwide condemnation that action would bring if discovered. Venezuela is a possibility because they're desperate. But a non-governmental group is more likely.

      It can't be a false flag operation, because there's no flag and no clear attempt to implicate a country. It can be a clumsy attempt by extremist elements from Miami to sabotage relations.

      --
      This space intentionally left blank
    7. Re: I actually agree by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      That comment was so long i had to brew a coffee and come back and it was still going

    8. Re:I actually agree by whodunit · · Score: 1

      You just aptly described how Trump made his money by turning his own name into a brand, rather than actual real estate investment, and then followed it with "stop thinking of Trump in terms of politics," politics being that game where it's all about turning your name into a brand...

    9. Re:I actually agree by Narcocide · · Score: 2, Informative

      He didn't show shit, you liar.

    10. Re:I actually agree by Freischutz · · Score: 3, Informative

      he already made and lost a fortune several times.

      Well, that's the myth at least. We won't know for sure until we see those tax returns.

      He's already shown them, and caused the Hillary loving media to weep. Trump's black-mark in business is a casino hotel in NV needing to go into administration (chapter 11), which it soon left to continue as business as normal. The bank that held a significant part of the debt were happy to take a large number of shares in the business as principal repayment. Hillary's media chums won't tell you that, it doesn't fit their rhetoric. It happens hundreds of times per day across the land.

      Here's an annotated list of Donald Trump black-marks in business (aka. bankruptcies). And yes, there's more than one of them: http://www.politifact.com/trut... It's worth keeping in mind that this does not count his other failed business ventures that petered out into nothing or ended up being quietly euthanized in a hailstorm of lawsuits and even fraud and racketeering allegations without actually declaring bankruptcy.

    11. Re:I actually agree by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      Of course there's a flag. What country is it happening in?

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    12. Re:I actually agree by Hognoxious · · Score: 0

      Anyway, there are much simpler solutions than Trump trying to pad his bottom line.

      Such as? Name three.

      Besides which, the guy is dying soon, He couldn't care less about that, he already made and lost a fortune several times.
             

      Nonsense. Only little people think of what they could do with money if they had it. For the big people it's about ego and keeping score. It becomes an end in itself, not a means.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    13. Re:I actually agree by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      You just aptly described how Trump made his money by turning his own name into a brand, rather than actual real estate investment, and then followed it with "stop thinking of Trump in terms of politics," politics being that game where it's all about turning your name into a brand...

      Politics is a means to an end to Trump, not the game itself. He doesn't love to play the game. He loves to see his name in gold.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    14. Re:I actually agree by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is probably Greece's #1 financial problem. Their most valuable industry... tourism is completely owned by external entities.

      So, all the money earned by local workers in the tourism industry, and all the money earned by the people who cater to *them*, doesn't mean diddly-squat? All Greece needs to do is to seize the assets of foreign owners of tourist resorts, and they can become an economic powerhouse like Cuba!

    15. Re: I actually agree by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nice redirection but that's not his tax returns

    16. Re: I actually agree by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "follow the money"

      You don't appear to be able to follow a timeline; doubt you can follow the money.

    17. Re:I actually agree by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Damn... dude... ellipses... abuse... knock... it.... off..... complete.... sentences... try... it... some... time....

    18. Re:I actually agree by hey! · · Score: 1

      Actually you may be garbling the story that Meuller *might* have Trump's tax returns.

      Nobody but the IRS has seen any of Trump's recent tax returns.

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    19. Re:I actually agree by seven+of+five · · Score: 1

      He likes big shiny things with his name on it.

      Not just his name... daddy's too...

    20. Re: I actually agree by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nice redirection but that's not his tax returns

      Nice redirection, but that list conclusively disproves your claim that Trump has only one black-mark on his otherwise unblemished record as a business prodigy.

    21. Re:I actually agree by HiThere · · Score: 1

      It's not definitely a false flag operation. It's not even definitely a real effect. It could be a neurologic problem, and allergy, a disease, or even plumbing noises and lack of sleep.

      That it's something real is quite believable. That it's a sonic weapon is a bit dubious. That it's an attack by someone is plausible.

      If it were a sonic weapon, where would that weapon need to be located? How big would it need to be? Would it need a clear air path? What could it use for reflectors, and are such things present?

      Most of those questions look quite dubious for a secretly concealed weapon. OTOH, the Russians are reported to have used microwaves to irradiate the US embassy staff (though I find it more believable that they were somehow involved in an attempt to bug the joint). So if I were going to pick a villain, and believed they hypothesis of attack, I'd opt for the Russians. And a sonic weapon seems quite dubious, though that it might be perceived as a sonic attack when the actual modality was something electromagnetic doesn't seem too implausible.

      --

      I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
    22. Re:I actually agree by benjfowler · · Score: 1

      Why are you trying so hard here to deflect blame from the Russians?

      Unless of course, you're a Russian troll information warrior talking shit.

    23. Re:I actually agree by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Right after we see the books on the Clinton foundation.

    24. Re:I actually agree by kenai_alpenglow · · Score: 1

      and his accountants.

    25. Re:I actually agree by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Best get your tinfoil hat readjusted.

    26. Re: I actually agree by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is what China will do with the US in about 20 years.

    27. Re:I actually agree by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He's already shown them, and caused the Hillary loving media to weep. Trump's black-mark in business is a casino hotel in NV needing to go into administration (chapter 11), which it soon left to continue as business as normal. The bank that held a significant part of the debt were happy to take a large number of shares in the business as principal repayment. Hillary's media chums won't tell you that, it doesn't fit their rhetoric. It happens hundreds of times per day across the land.

      "Hillary's media chums" sounds a lot less American than the trolling persona you were aiming for.

      A poor 2/10 at best, mate.

  15. The BLACK NOTE! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Which is a two whole brown notes!

  16. Bullshit. CIA did this. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Most likely these American "diplomats" (aka spies) were testing some new CIA technology to spy on the Cuban government and it backfired and that's why they kept this embarrassment low for so long. A year later, they figured they could blame their incompetence on Russians, Cubans, or "mystery".

    1. Re: Bullshit. CIA did this. by sound+vision · · Score: 1

      That might make sense if it were a couple people involved, not a couple dozen. Including several Canadians now as well.

  17. Why didn't I hear about this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why was I not informed?? WHAT???

    1. Re:Why didn't I hear about this? by nnet · · Score: 1

      you were too busy tweeting at 5am.

  18. Microwave weapons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Once had a faulty microwave oven which was on when the door was open. It was very very clearly hurting my brain as I grabbed the mains cable to pull the plug, and you hear it as a sound in your head. Think blinding migraine pain at the back of the eyes and that's what it feels like.

    Whose to blame? Putin, because a) it's non-conventional warfare (like polonium, car-bombs in Kiev, attacking elections) b) it's target is USA, and c) it's only useful with a corresponding propaganda package, something Cuba could not deliver, but Putin does).

    1. Re: Microwave weapons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      A microwave weapon seems to be the most likely hypothesis because of its ability to explain all of the symptoms observed. I haven't seen evidence that sonic weapons could explain the full range of symptoms. Microwaves can and do pass through walls, so I'm wondering about why people staying in other rooms in the direction of the microwaves wouldn't also report symptoms as well. You'd need to be fairly close in order to direct a beam that narrowly and precisely. Higher frequencies would require smaller parabolic antennas to direct the beam, plus they would attenuate more rapidly, perhaps limiting the exposure to others in the building. Accidental exposure to radar wouldn't explain this because a radar spends most of its time listening rather than transmitting. My guess is that someone is transmitting microwaves from nearby in the building.

      I find it unlikely that someone who isn't state-sponsored could carry out this volume of attacks with this degree of precision. I concur with the others in the comments who suspect Russia of being responsible. Cuba stands to benefit from normalized relations with the US and it makes no sense for them to attack American and Canadian diplomats. Russia would be the prime suspect, but this type of attack is very difficult to link to them. Simply turn off the transmitter and remove some relatively small equipent to eliminate any trace of the attack.

    2. Re: Microwave weapons by pezpunk · · Score: 1

      this also opens up the possibility that it could have merely been faulty microwave ovens in adjacent rooms.

      --
      i could live a little longer in this prison
    3. Re:Microwave weapons by guruevi · · Score: 1

      Given it's an office space as well as a living space, if what you're saying is correct, the sounds are most likely emanating from the CIA goon in the basement making hot pockets while he's burning the midnight oil, not international interference.

      --
      Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
    4. Re: Microwave weapons by Dan+East · · Score: 3, Informative

      I also suspect it is a microwave / RF based weapon. It would be extremely difficult to focus sonic energy and have it pass through walls in a building. Sound waves are, after all, vibrations through a physical medium, and every time you transition from one physical medium to another (air to wall, through the things in the wall, back to air, etc), the sound would be diffracted and reflected all over the place.

      Because the energy was very highly focused, that pretty much rules out an acoustic device unless the device was right in the room or perhaps embedded in the wall of the room. Due to the number of people affected in various locations, I don't think it is realistic that there would have been so many of these devices in so many places. Plus they would be discovered once an investigation began if they were in the buildings.

      There are many studies showing that RF energy with enough power, directed through the brain, will manifest as sound. The energy will also cause various kinds of damage to the structures in the head and brain.

      So that really only leaves RF energy as a source that can be focused to that extent ("It was as if he'd walked through some invisible wall cutting straight through his room."), which can pass through walls with little or no refraction / reflection, be operated from some distance away (even outside the building), manifests as sound when the head is directly in the path of the energy, and can cause injuries more than just hearing loss.

      It sounds like the attacks were done while people were asleep in bed. If the attacker knew the general layout of the rooms (where the bed was relative to the window) then they could easily direct the weapon to the head area of the bed and leave it for a few minutes, perhaps very slowly sweeping it across that general area. If a light was turned on, then they would probably move to the next target room because they knew they had achieved the desired result.

      Here's a study going into the specifics of RF energy being perceived as sound:
      http://grouper.ieee.org/groups...

      --
      Better known as 318230.
    5. Re: Microwave weapons by Spamalope · · Score: 2

      You could use two or more beams from different directions in order to insure that the critical level only occurred where the beams met. A bit like they way radiation therapy is done.

  19. Microwave auditory effect by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Cranial exposure to microwaves can be audible. Microwaves can also cause neurological damage.

    1. Re:Microwave Auditory Effect by MercTech · · Score: 1

      That was my first impression when the story first came out in 2016; middle ear microwave resonance.
      I had some experience with that back in the 90s thanks to doing some work in proximity to a damaged guide tube out on the weather deck.

      Now the question is, was it intentional or just a case of badly shielded microwave ovens in the Havana hotel.

      I found the article at The Verge to be a good giggle-fest. You don't get a concussion the way they described. I think I would faint if someone actually fact checked a news story.
      https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/16/16316048/sonic-weapon-cuba-us-canadian-diplomats-ultrasound-infrasound-science

      --
      NRRPT/RCT
  20. worms by nnet · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm going with mind altering cat parasites.

    1. Re:worms by Tablizer · · Score: 3, Funny

      I'm going with mind altering cat parasites.

      Chairman Meow?

    2. Re:worms by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or a Ceti eel ... Khaaaaan!!!

  21. Re:they thought it was sonic because victims "hear by nnet · · Score: 1

    Targets targetting target Luddites using targets! Targets!

  22. Cobalt 60 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    From an MRI scanner.

    1. Re:Cobalt 60 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's no Cobalt 60 in an MRI scanner. Older CT scanners may use Cobalt 60 (newer ones use X-ray tubes).

  23. Re: Bulldust by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You put your head in a microwave first.

  24. Don't care who.... by WolfgangVL · · Score: 1

    But somebody has really showed their hand.

    What neato tech!

    I doubt a western nation would burn such hot shit abilities to screw with a couple diplomats unless there's a bit of Tom Clancy style shit going on in the background.

    And who else was checked into the hotel at the time? I bet there's a pretty limited range.. any remote device would have been found already. Search the housekeepers.

    --
    You are being ripped off every second of every day, so that advertisers can help rip you off even more tomorrow.
  25. This was foreseen by hyades1 · · Score: 1

    For American diplomats who may worry that they have no protocols in place to survive sonic attack:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go0JMX3zNeA

    --
    I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
  26. Hearing loss was blamed on ear piece by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    https://m.slashdot.org/story/329843

  27. Occam's razor. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Informative

    Options

    1. Cuba has an incredible sonic mind altering weapon.

    2. US officials are lying.

    Let's see now. They lied about Iraq. They lied about Syria. They lied about Libya. That's all that they can do. Apart from spying on everyone.

    I'll take option 2.

    The question is why now? Did the US discover oil in Cuban territory? That's usually the reason.

  28. Wireless access points by LostMyBeaver · · Score: 5, Informative

    This is a US Government installation. They almost certainly are using Cisco or Aruba Wireless. Of course, they never buy the cheapest model either.

    Let's talk Cisco for a moment. Cisco delivers a technology known as "CleanAir" which Aruba also has for the most part. It's designed for site survey and is able to scan large chunks of the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz spectrum.

    Turn the feature on... then look at the map and see if there's microwave near by. It will assign pseudo MAC addresses to unknown signals and attempt to identify them by radio pattern.

    Now, if CleanAir isn't picking it up, then install some spectrum analyzers.

    As others had mentioned... you don't need to transmit audible signals into someones head to make them hear it. You simply need to transmit signals which trigger the mind to believe they are audible. Microwave and others are perfectly capable of having this effect. In fact, some people believe that the reason why some people claim to be susceptible to wireless networking is because it causes a ringing like tinnitus. Of course like Tinnitus (which I recently began suffering... Merry Christmas 2016) it's not possible to diagnose properly.

    As for targeted signals.... all frequencies can be targeted. It's not as if there's something somewhere which says audio absolutely must be as close to isotropic as possible. Any frequency can quite easily be targeted.

    As a cheap but effective example... sound showers are an example of this.

    1. Re:Wireless access points by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Well but the wifi thing is easy to test: Put the person into a room, make him write down when the noise starts and when it stops. Put experimenter into the next room with a wifi router, make him turn the thing on and off a good couple of times, record the time. Check if there is any statistically significant correlation.

      This of course has been done for electrogmagnetic sensitivity and no suprise no result. For WIFI/microwaves I don't know if it has been done..

    2. Re:Wireless access points by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are a massive set of possible causes for tinnitus. If you're looking into causes and sorted them by prevalence I'd put wifi APs at the very bottom. I'd start with looking at hypertension first.

    3. Re:Wireless access points by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Microwave and others are perfectly capable of having this effect. In fact, some people believe that the reason why some people claim to be susceptible to wireless networking is because it causes a ringing like tinnitus.

      Bullshit. Every double-blind test of people who believe they are sensitive to wireless networking has shown that they can't tell whether it's on any more reliably than by just guessing.

      Even if you cranked up the power of wifi transmissions to the point at which they were actually shaking antennas, and then embedded a metal plate into someone's ear so they'd be picking up the vibrations, they'd *still* be up at 2.4+ GHz, way outside the As others had mentioned... you don't need to transmit audible signals into someones head to make them hear it. You simply need to transmit signals which trigger the mind to believe they are audible.

      What, radio waves are psychic telepathy now?

    4. Re:Wireless access points by umafuckit · · Score: 1

      As others had mentioned... you don't need to transmit audible signals into someones head to make them hear it. You simply need to transmit signals which trigger the mind to believe they are audible. Microwave and others are perfectly capable of having this effect. .

      Here is a citation (I didn't believe you, TBH).

    5. Re:Wireless access points by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      only on slashdot could "maybe the router can see it" acquire +5 informative

    6. Re:Wireless access points by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You know... most people... know... how to write... sentences... without randomly inserting... ellipses.... but somehow... you don't... are you... afraid... of the... comma... ??? ...

    7. Re:Wireless access points by stephanruby · · Score: 1

      What's a sound shower?

    8. Re: Wireless access points by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      On my phone... same poster... I have cured wireless sickness many times by disabling the LED on the AP. We learned that the people complaining were allergic to LEDs, not wireless.

      On the same train of thought, the point being made wasn't whether it was real or not. The point was whether they could be easily tested and diagnosed. I never had problems with wireless, but I did for example get blaring headaches from CRT televisions because I was always sensitive to higher, just barely inaudible frequencies... so I always hated TV unless the sound was up so high that I couldn't here the high pitch whine from the tube itself. It would be like tinnitus and annoy me for hours after.

    9. Re: Wireless access points by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      (Same poster)

      I would agree, but I don't do hyper-tension. I have low blood pressure and am never stressed. If I have a child in danger, maybe I'll stress for a little while until it is sorted, but I don't ever feel stress and I don't even watch sports because I have absolutely no interest in competition.

      It's difficult to diagnose. And as you said, there are many possible reasons. I can picture Arnold yelling "It's not a tumor". What is worse is that it's almost impossible to diagnose because at least when I am testing myself, I sometimes wonder if there is actual ringing from it or if I just remember the ringing so clearly that I'm simply still feeling effected. A constant noise in your head can actually make you question your sanity at times.

    10. Re:Wireless access points by Xest · · Score: 1

      "In fact, some people believe that the reason why some people claim to be susceptible to wireless networking is because it causes a ringing like tinnitus. Of course like Tinnitus (which I recently began suffering... Merry Christmas 2016) it's not possible to diagnose properly."

      They can believe it all they want but it's been disproven in double blind tests.

      The fact is people claiming to suffer from this have never been able to accurately state when the test access points were on or off, even though in some cases the exact same physical access points were being used as they were claiming were harming them at home, at work etc.

      So the whole wireless gives me headaches thing was demonstrably bullshit, as no one has been able to show that they can actually tell when one is on or off as they claim - tests typically only sat around 50% accuracy, which is the exact same chance as guessing when there's a 50% chance of being right or wrong. If people could actually tell when wireless signals were on because it was causing them an audible effect, a pain effect, or some other, then the accuracy rate would be way above 50/50, you'd expect to be able to achieve a 95%+ accuracy rate, but even if they could consistently at least achieve 70%+ it would be something.

  29. Titles by hattable · · Score: 1

    I'm glad no one ever oversells a story with a catchy headline...

    --
    OMG facts!
  30. Don't believe it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    This "crisis" is brought to you by the same US diplomatic dipshits that thought Canada was bugging/tracking them when they found something on the Canadian coins in their change. They were sure they had found some sort of electronic tag stuck to the coins. Turns out it was newly minted commemorative coins with small coloured maple leafs that freaked them out.

  31. Edsel by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The most likely culprit is the Israelis, as they have the technology and are allowed to use it, like nuclear weapons (because, um, anti-semitism). Communism is their baby, as a counter to fascism, and they don't want it absorbed by capitalism. Makes perfect sense if you realise how retarded religion is.

  32. Re:Trump's fault! by Gavagai80 · · Score: 0

    I initially suspected Trump's CIA, but the USA hasn't been explicitly blaming the Cuban government or using it as an excuse to break relations. So a Cuban exile group seems more likely now (especially with the targeting of the Canadians, who have friendly relations with Cuba's government).

    --
    This space intentionally left blank
  33. It's a MASER by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's clear to me that at least one component of this so called* attack is using a MASER , since it can accomplish most of the described symptoms.

    Masers can be used as directed weapons, and since Microwaves behave in predictable ways, it's likely they can be easily targeted in a precise manner.

    I worked in the Microwave field in the mid 70's, and I've experienced first hand excessive exposure to MW's, many of the weird symptoms in this case are exactly like what I experienced over a period of about a year, before I left that field of employment due to my failing health.

    * = it could be intel gathering gone awry.

  34. Sound Canon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Atreides sound canon, against the evil Harkonnen Empire Builders!

  35. Likely ultrasonic based by Wizardess · · Score: 2

    Visit New York New York® Las Vegas hotel. Visit the Cirque show. Visit the bathrooms associated with the show. Listen to the strange voices you hear. But, only you can hear it. This is done with modulated ultrasonic sound waves, a shaped reflector, and your ears.

    And if the State Department people are so dumb they cannot turn around and sleep with their feet where their head would normally be to escape something specific to where the head normally rests, they have earned their headaches. And, yes, I believe the average US diplomat could not find its ass in the dark using both hands.

    {^_^}

    1. Re:Likely ultrasonic based by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sleep with head where ringworm was spread (as well as the last occupant), you say? Very funny!

    2. Re: Likely ultrasonic based by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you moved out of your mother's basement you would realise that sheets and mattresses usually can be moved.

  36. Re:Liberals and Cuba by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They love it. Cuba can do no wrong and the US can do no right.

  37. Monolithic by JBMcB · · Score: 1

    You're assuming the Cuban government is one monolithic entity. There might be a faction of the government that wants to mess with Cuban-US relations.

    A huge chunk of their GDP, roughly 20%, comes from assistance from Venezuela. Thawing US relations might be a threat to that income stream. Then again, Venezuela might see thawing US-Cuban relations as a threat, as well, though I don't think a Venezuelan attack on US diplomats in Cuba would happen without someone in the Cuban government, at the very least, knowing about it.

    --
    My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
  38. Re:Liberals and Cuba by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm a "card carrying" communist.

    I literally carry a CPUSA card in my wallet and I have Mao's little red book in my back pocket. I *firmly* believe socialism needs to be installed by force because the population wouldn't accept it on their own.

    Cuba is a resounding success for socialism and a model for the rest of western civilization. One day I hope to visit Cuba. It's a beautiful country.

  39. My sense of humor is absent nowadays by HBI · · Score: 1

    About the time that my Iraq battle buddy and his wife got assaulted by some Antifa thugs.

    It's very personal at this point.

    --
    HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
    1. Re:My sense of humor is absent nowadays by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why didn't they "second amendment" the thugs ?

      I mean, isn't that why you need your pop-gerns ?

      What good is that concealed carry penis extender if you can't use it to protect your family ?

      Seriously.....serious question.

      I hear a lot of these cases, about the patriots being attacked and bashed by Antifa or anti-rascist BLM thugs.

      So why aren't they all defending themselves ?????

    2. Re: My sense of humor is absent nowadays by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Seriously.....serious question."

      Do you take stupid pills?
      Seriously.....serious question.

    3. Re:My sense of humor is absent nowadays by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      When you have a weapon with a range of 27i you can't shoot somebody who's 34i away.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  40. Re:Trump's fault! by someone1234 · · Score: 1

    This stuff is older than Trump's presidency. I doubt the CIA would do this. The tech seems to be refined enough to say this is likely Russian and not Cuban, so KGB. They have all the motive (eliminate suspected enemy agents) and ability to pull this trick.

    --
    Patents Drive Free Software as Hurricanes Drive Construction Industry
  41. Re:Liberals and Cuba by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Cuba is state capitalist country, not socialist.

  42. North Korea? by whodunit · · Score: 3, Informative

    Gee, what if there was a country that has high tensions with the United States right now and is also obsessed with attacking, injuring or harming the United States as a matter of ideological zealotry, and actually has a goddamned physical embassy in Cuba to base agents out of? Gee, I fuckin wonder.

    1. Re:North Korea? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I wonder if they tested this same technology on that young American prisoner who died of severe brain damage...

  43. psychogenic illness by Martin+S. · · Score: 1

    symptoms that have no plausible organic basis;
    symptoms that are transient and benign;
    symptoms with rapid onset and recovery;
    occurrence in a segregated group;
    the presence of extraordinary anxiety;
    symptoms that are spread via sight, sound or oral communication;
    a spread that moves down the age scale, beginning with older or higher-status people;
    a preponderance of female participants

  44. "Baffled by the physics"? Morons. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is trivial to explain. You focus multiple emitters (two is enough, more is better) emitting a wave of some kind that converge on a single point. Anybody in the path of just one wave suffers minimal effects, usually not even noticing it. The focal point, however, is hit hard.

    The same technique is used in radiation treatment for cancer cells. It has also been used as a surround-sound technique, where you can use two speakers to emulate positional sound. Spies have been using this for half a century.

    Good God, anybody baffled by this is just plain incompetent. The only real question is who is responsible. Who has the most to gain by shutting down relations between Cuba and the United States? Possibly a country that rhymes with "Russia" and is under the control of a former spy with a history of violence to achieve political (and personal) goals.

  45. Blew my mind with this thought by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was reading LostMyBeavers post.
    He mentioned a little on Trump and monuments.
    As I'm reading I kept thinking about Trump, monuments and his interest to have his name on things.

    Then it hit me.

    If you wanted your monuments to stand out in the future and be more important than monuments of other figures ...
    You would have to either
    A) become a great figure/leader and thus your statue or whatever would be recognized for how great you were.
    B) take out your competition. Literally take them down. If all the monuments that remained in the future (for the most part) were yours. You kind of win by default.

    It made me wonder if he is allowing disfigurement of monuments to go on because he recognizes the advantage to it.

    On JRE they mentioned that Trump put a small monument at some golf course saying the civil war took place there.
    Next you will find out history was rewritten.

  46. Infrasound from mains hum by Martin+S. · · Score: 1

    Infrasound from mains hum would not surprise me as a trigger and attributing it to malicious intent down to the stressful situation, elsewhere people attribute this to ghosts or electronics hypersensitivity.

    I would try swap out all the power supply transformers in effected areas.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    1. Re:Infrasound from mains hum by guruevi · · Score: 1

      Mains hum at 50/60Hz, not particularly infrasound.

      --
      Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
  47. Obviously you have to expect by CptLoRes · · Score: 1

    some teething problems when building a mind probe.

  48. It's the dirty hippies! by Hognoxious · · Score: 1
    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  49. Having too much cuban rum can do wonders. by Mrakodrap · · Score: 1

    One can find himself inexplicably exposed to angry locals, and still not remember anything in the morning, other than self-suggested lies, where their bruises were caused by hypno-toad-ethical sonic waves.

  50. Smartphones by XNormal · · Score: 1

    We live in a world where virtually everyone has a camera and audio recording device on them at all times. It's no coincidence that people's willingness to believe in UFO reports, for example, has dropped sharply.

    Even if some of this is outside the hearing range, any phone should be able to record at least *something*.

    Not a single piece of recorded evidence? Count me as extremely skeptical.

    --
    Stop worrying about the risks of nuclear power and start worrying about the risks of not using nuclear power.
  51. Dude by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    baffling U.S. officials who say the facts and the physics don't add up.

    The reporter is conflating witness reports with facts. Anybody with some experience with witness accounts of anything should know they're shit for reliability. The funny thing as the psychological need some people have to assign incredible amounts of weight to witness testimony, to the point of questioning fundamental principles of physics.

  52. Vindicated by rholtzjr · · Score: 1

    Does this now point out that tinfoil hatters may not be conspiracy nutters that they are depicted as? Kind of makes you wonder.

  53. Dial M for Mystery by epine · · Score: 1

    Everyone has probably heard stories (urban legends) about gaslighting high-strung couch potatoes with adjustable rabbit ears who are too addicted to sports or sitcoms for their own good.

    (I once tried this on my younger siblings using an antique frequency generator wired to a small yagi under my bed—we lived on an isolated hilltop acreage—but it only caused minor snow and zigzag patterns, despite being just one room away; we generally had bad reception anyway, and they found the effect unremarkable.)

    To be certain an effect is localized, you need to measure it in many places at the same time.

    Otherwise, quite possibly, some asshole or algorithm merely has his/her/its hand on the dial.

  54. It's not a "sonic attack"... by hazardPPP · · Score: 2

    ...just "Despacito" playing 24/7 at a nearby cafe with the bass jacked all the way up.

  55. high power audio can be used for powering bugs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    SPY-vs.-SPY

    there is precedent on transmitting power to a remote bug with high frequency audio waves (beyond human perception) Perhaps the presumed 'secure' diplomatic faraday cages should feature a real Canary to check if it becomes deaf first? I would guess that Cuba screwed up with the biological side-effects, unless they were trying to be evil.

  56. If only we had some sort of device ... by aliquis · · Score: 1

    ... which could record sound-waves.

  57. Why No State Department Cooperation? by Toad-san · · Score: 1

    I see in the national news last night (Friday) that the Cuban Premier honestly admitted they don't know what's going on. And they invited the FBI to send down teams to investigated (although no idea if the FBI teams are still there). AND they invited the US State Department to join them in a bilateral investigation. Which invitation, naturally, the State Department didn't even bother responding to.

    Sure sounds like they're innocent. Unless there's some rogue agency doing this, of course. The Cubans have never been slouches with secret service, KGB equivalents, etc.

  58. Re: Bulldust by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Headline: "AC tries to be funny and unintentionally identifies 'sonic' attack method".

    Microwave radiation. A favorite of the Russians when they used it on the American embassy in Moscow.

  59. Same thing, new name by Lost+Penguin · · Score: 1

    Soviets used to do this as far back as the 80s....

    They get a group to assault a targeted person, torture and interrogate the victim, then pay the group to keep quiet and the result is they have a group of spies for life. /scopolomine is a awful drug.

    --
    I am the unwilling control for my Origin.
  60. Beamforming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Whoever is behind it is using beamforming to create a high-energy node around whatever their target area is. It doesn't have to be an audio signal to induce audio stimuli in the human ear either.

    It's not a simple setup (interference from different building materials can be a real pain), but several directional emitters networked together can do this.

  61. Bet it's a disease by gurps_npc · · Score: 1

    Would not surprise me if it is some disease.

    --
    excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
  62. The lack of an explanation does not.... by mark-t · · Score: 1

    .... point to a conspiracy theory as being the most probable cause.

    Sure, nobody seems to know what happened or how or why, but the most you can do at this point is try and be watchful to see if it happens again, and hopefully be prepared enough for it to take measurements and from that, isolate a cause.

    Past events for which the only existing record is human recollection, regardless of the number of people who appear to have been affected, cannot be objectively scrutinized and there is no scientifically valid basis to come to any kind of conclusion.

    Seriously, if people can be called delusional (through perhaps no fault of their own) for believing in an invisible god, I see no reason to treat the belief in some kind unknown sonic weapon being used against these people any differently until, and not before, some actual evidence that goes beyond merely anecdotal is apparent.

  63. Microwave Auditory Effect by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is probably the answer:
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17495664

    I work with high power microwave daily and I have to be very aware of exposure as to not harm myself. MW is very easy to focus and can penetrate most materials with very little attenuation. This is what I would bet on.

  64. A new thing? by WaffleMonster · · Score: 1

    Sounds to me like old-school resonate microwave cavity spy bugs gone awry.

    My guess is modern variants use extremely focused transmitters to avoid detection and idiots who installed them were not thinking placing transmitter in path where people would be dwelling for prolonged periods of time resulting in RF enriched brain cells of surveillance targets.

  65. duh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm sure there are simple portable devices to detect microwave leakage.

  66. In Case of Sonic Attack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you are making love, it is imperative to bring all bodies to orgasm simultaneously. Do not waste time trying to block your ears.

  67. Neyt Cuba, comrade.... by TiggertheMad · · Score: 1

    Excellent point. When there is a crime committed, the police will ask who benefits from it. Who benefits from Cuban diplomats being attacked and maimed?

    Also, what countries are willing to commit outlandish and almost comic book esq plots against people they don't like? The KGB springs to mind, with their strange assassination techniques that they have employed in the past. (Look up details on their radiation poisoning of people. Rather than just hit somebody with a car when they walk across the street, the have engaged in Bond villain level silliness.)

    Further, keep in mind that they have already shown that they are willing to engage in manipulation of the US elections, so they are clearly willing to try bold and aggressive things. Attacking diplomats on foreign soil as a false flag op is a pretty hostile act.

    --

    HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
  68. home-made problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just as ball lightning isn't a real but just perceived as such by the brain, induced by EM fields of the lightning, this is some other EM effect causing something audible. And some other damage. It's caused by a computer system used for spying and communication operated by the embassy. Please stop blaming others.

  69. Duuh, directed infrasonic speakers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Two directional speakers point at the same spot. The sound waves aren't audible till they mix. Loud infrasonic noises can screw with humans. My friend built one of these devices for like 30 bucks in college. And the FBI is stumped. Hahaha

  70. Don't mind... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's only Kim testing his new super weapon.

  71. The microwave scream inside your head... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    MEDUSA

    Wired article on MEDUSA including explanation of cause of possible brain damage.

    https://www.wired.com/2008/07/the-microwave-s/

    not sure how to post links here so don't know if that one will work.

  72. Get a grip! by AutodidactLabrat · · Score: 1

    This is a commercial product, focused, phase differential modulated ultrasonic flat panel speakers.
    Been a niche market toy for years.
    Now it's used as a torture device?
    Well call Beyonce, she needs more through-wall exposure

  73. Can earth tremors be the cause? by rapjr · · Score: 1

    Wikipedia says "Cuba is located in an area with several active fault systems which produce on average about 2000 seismic events each year." One explanation for why only the diplomats were affected could be that native Cuban's have adapted via evolution to the effects of tremors (maybe native Cuban's think "Oh, an earth tremor, I should walk a few feet to the side so it doesn't hurt my head", though you'd think there would be stories about something like that). A natural cause seems like a possible explanation since the size of the equipment needed to cause this kind of damage would make it very difficult to hide (e.g., a large diesel engine at each location driving a massive transducer, though I suppose it could be disguised as a large truck.) . Low frequency sounds are not directional (without something like a 100 foot long horn to direct the sound), so setting up an interference pattern that attacked one location would require quite a few huge oscillators and there would still likely be resonance peaks in other locations and other people affected (although the oscillators might be easier to hide since they would not need to be right next to the target). Tuning the oscillators so you know you'll affect a specific target area would be difficult to do in secret. It's a stretch but a natural phenomenon so far seems like the simplest explanation. Installing some measurement gear in the affected locations would provide some facts for narrowing down possible causes; I'm surprised we haven't heard anything about measurement results given how long this has been going on. The US wouldn't need Cuba's approval to install some test equipment in an embassy. It might be easy to correlate the timing of attacks with seismographic data as well to test the possibility of a natural cause.

    1. Re:Can earth tremors be the cause? by Gussington · · Score: 1

      One explanation for why only the diplomats were affected could be that native Cuban's have adapted via evolution to the effects of tremors

      WTF? Seriously? The average tourist numbers in Cuba are in the millions per year, but this only has affected a handful of US and Canadian diplomats, and it only started occurring in recent months. Whatever it is, I think you may have also been subjected to it...

  74. Obviously by HBI · · Score: 1

    Obviously I didn't spend the first 20 years of my life living under the specter of Soviet annihilation. Obviously, I don't work for the US military and have never deployed to theaters where Soviet-era weaponry was lobbed at me. And obviously, i'm a conspiracy theorist who believes Russia is behind every effect in the world.

    That pretty much covers it.

    More seriously, you lefty Russia nuts are crazy. I knew some serious anti-communists in my time, but they at least had some sense to their views at some level. You Russia people are just reflexively assuming that Russia did this and Russia did that. I'm suspicious of them - you people are seriously fucked up. Why, because they made Obama look like a fool? It wouldn't take much, you know.

    --
    HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
  75. MY ELF WEAPON by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Makes one wonder if Aaron Alexis who claimed he was being tortured with "extremely low frequency electromagnetic weapons" should have been taken more seriously.

  76. Ways to reduce your future stroke risk by Paul+Fernhout · · Score: 1

    https://www.drfuhrman.com/lear...
    "The main cause of an ischemic or embolic stroke is the Standard American Diet, which is low in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants but high in inflammatory animal products and refined/processed foods. This leads to inflammation, oxidative stress, and immune dysfunction that promote vascular damage. Strokes are associated with diseases that are a result of poor diet such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, and chronic kidney disease. Tobacco use and a sedentary lifestyle also contribute to stroke risk. Hemorrhagic strokes have a different constellation of risks, including salt, medications, and alcohol use and a low cholesterol level versus a high cholesterol level for ischemic stroke. ..."

    Good luck!

    --
    A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.
  77. LRADX by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Range_Acoustic_Device

    There are various types of these devices, but the tech is certainly not new and quite easy to replicate and shrink for 'internal' uses.
    Also see 'pain field blasters'

  78. Re:Bulldust by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why? Have you never heard of constructive inference? In this context it would apply to multiple audio sources whose phases and amplitudes were controlled so as to produce a very loud sound at a specific point. Not unlike DARPA's Sonic Projector system, just in the hands of another nation state.

  79. A Mystery to the incompetent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Read the info and you find that those who find it a mystery are a u.s. diplomat, the 'state' department, and other 'intelligence' agencies.

    Based on history and Facts, those three groups have Never Once been able to figure out anything other than ways to violate the rights of We The People.
    When have We NOT found them to be lying?

    So, this is a mystery to the incompetent u.s. government agencies. Which means there are millions of High School children that could probably figure it out.

    When you are lied to over and over again its time to stop giving the liars any attention.