3 ms·

Havana Syndrome seems to be a CIA psyop to soften the US public to warhawk policy. The proposed mechanism is... magic. Incredible stuff.

harddrivereque 6mo ago
Speaking in layman's terms, it's fancy remote microwaving.
- willis936 6mo ago
  No, it's not. There was one hasty study that claimed that early on, riddled with issues, and unable to be replicated. The symptoms are not RF burns.
  - CGMthrowaway 6mo ago
    Source? It is known (and studied) that even at low power levels that do not significantly raise body temperature, short RF pulses can cause rapid, microscopic thermal expansion in the brain. This creates mechanical stress waves that can lead to TBIs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave_auditory_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave_auditory_effect
    - quietsegfault 6mo ago
      That's the cool thing! No one really knows, so any remotely scientific theory is indistinguishable from truth. Maybe even the more outlandish the better, so as to scare people more effectively.
      - CGMthrowaway 6mo ago
        Did you mean to reply to a different comment? Struggling to connect this reply with what was said before it
  - anxman 6mo ago
    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-military-tested-device-that-may-be-tied-to-havana-syndrome-60-minutes-transcript/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-military-tested-device-that-... Things have changed. The weapon was acquired by DOD.
    - krunck 6mo ago
      "...the importance of the energy being pulsed in order to have biological effects on humans. When you produce pulses like this, you can actually stimulate electrically active tissue like brain tissue and the heart, for that matter, mimicking what the brain normally does, but now you're driving it with your pulses from the outside." Ah, so a portable pulsed microwave device. Current phased array technology is certain to be able to produce a narrow and powerful beam. Current energy densities of batteries allow for a significant amount of portable power. Expecting to see "Show HN" on this soon...
mc32 6mo ago
It’s been going on since the Obama admin. Could be longer. Purportedly a unit was smuggled out of some former Soviet republic and we now have a copy of the actual device. When tested on animals, the device produced injuries in alignment with those experienced by US foreign service personnel. It’s been a great source of fodder for conspiracy theorists though.

harddrivereque 6mo ago

Speaking in layman's terms, it's fancy remote microwaving.

willis936 6mo ago
No, it's not. There was one hasty study that claimed that early on, riddled with issues, and unable to be replicated. The symptoms are not RF burns.
- CGMthrowaway 6mo ago
  Source? It is known (and studied) that even at low power levels that do not significantly raise body temperature, short RF pulses can cause rapid, microscopic thermal expansion in the brain. This creates mechanical stress waves that can lead to TBIs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave_auditory_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave_auditory_effect
  - quietsegfault 6mo ago
    That's the cool thing! No one really knows, so any remotely scientific theory is indistinguishable from truth. Maybe even the more outlandish the better, so as to scare people more effectively.
    - CGMthrowaway 6mo ago
      Did you mean to reply to a different comment? Struggling to connect this reply with what was said before it
- anxman 6mo ago
  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-military-tested-device-that-may-be-tied-to-havana-syndrome-60-minutes-transcript/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-military-tested-device-that-... Things have changed. The weapon was acquired by DOD.
  - krunck 6mo ago
    "...the importance of the energy being pulsed in order to have biological effects on humans. When you produce pulses like this, you can actually stimulate electrically active tissue like brain tissue and the heart, for that matter, mimicking what the brain normally does, but now you're driving it with your pulses from the outside." Ah, so a portable pulsed microwave device. Current phased array technology is certain to be able to produce a narrow and powerful beam. Current energy densities of batteries allow for a significant amount of portable power. Expecting to see "Show HN" on this soon...

mc32 6mo ago

It’s been going on since the Obama admin. Could be longer. Purportedly a unit was smuggled out of some former Soviet republic and we now have a copy of the actual device. When tested on animals, the device produced injuries in alignment with those experienced by US foreign service personnel. It’s been a great source of fodder for conspiracy theorists though.