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Medicine Canada

Was Cuba's Mysterious Sonic Weapon Just Mosquito Gas? (www.cbc.ca) 60

Posted by EditorDavid from the unintended-consequences dept.
Remember concerns about possible "sonic attacks" in Cuba? Long-time Slashdot reader kbahey shares an update: In the wake of the health problems experienced over the past three years by US and Canadian staff in Havana, Cuba embassies, Global Affairs Canada commissioned a clinical study by a team of multidisciplinary researchers.

Now, the working hypothesis is that the cause could instead be neurotoxic agents used in pesticide fumigation.

The BBC has more coverage on this, saying it may have been merely mosquito gas.
"The researchers found that since 2016, Cuba launched an aggressive campaign against mosquitoes to stop the spread of the Zika virus," reports the CBC: The embassies actively sprayed in offices, as well as inside and outside diplomatic residences -- sometimes five times more frequently than usual. Many times, spraying operations were carried out every two weeks, according to embassy records...

The researchers are now looking to collaborate with Cuban officials to determine whether any Cubans suffered similar brain injuries...
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Was Cuba's Mysterious Sonic Weapon Just Mosquito Gas? More

Was Cuba's Mysterious Sonic Weapon Just Mosquito Gas?

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  • More ... (Score:5, Informative)

    by kbahey ( 102895 ) on Saturday September 21, 2019 @07:37PM (#59221756) Homepage

    Here is more from the BBC [bbc.com].

    The Canadian research has said that the symptoms are consistent with nerve toxins used for mosquitoes, but can't be 100% certain it was that.

    The USA did not conduct similar tests, or if they did, the results are not published yet.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Damn fucking _#)$_+#@$@#), as if the biting isn't enough, now their farts are a problem!#!@$@#$@#

    • Well since the hypothesis of "Those USians suffer from widespread paranoid delusions" is not acceptable any outrageously silly alternative must be true. The Canadians are happy to oblige . For outsiders however there is no need to consider those outrageous alternatives.

      • And from the first reports none of the children reported any symptoms and most adults weren't also doing fine.

  • How About the US Diplomats in China? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by BBF_BBF ( 812493 ) on Saturday September 21, 2019 @07:50PM (#59221784)
    If the US diplomats in China that suffered from the same health and cognitive issues have the same chemicals in their bodies then that would seal the deal.
    • It would make more sense that this is a cover story, it doesn't make consistent logical sense and it doesnt line up with China. Next you'll see a lost of the 'toxin' side effects which will exactly mirror the degenerative symptoms. And it only effects diplomats. Right.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by PDX ( 412820 )

        Janitors should have come down with this first not diplomats. The effect is identical to microwave beam damage. It penetrated thick embassy walls better than a bullet. It is a terror weapon. No civilians harmed in the continental USA. No US militias are proudly showing off energy weapons. This points to a hostile foreign power, Russia, China, forces allied with Syria. Anyone with enough money could get a lab to build it. The timing of the attacks will help identify the guilty party. Tit for tat. An action b

        • Janitors should have come down with this first not diplomats.

          Sick Cuban janitors generally don't make the evening news in the U.S.

        • anyone coming down with it first WOULD NOT BE WORKING AS A JANITOR either in cuba, honduras, thailand, vietnam, brazil or china. they have to be resistant to symptoms or willing to STFU about symptoms to work as a janitor. you have to be thick skinned against it to work as a high end resort janitor in any of these countries as it's pretty common they will just spray the shit out of everything because they think that's a _good_ thing to do hospitality wise. they spray as much as they can monetarily afford -

      • It would make more sense that this is a cover story

        Canadian researchers covering for an attack on the USA in Cuba? That doesn't make a whole lot of sense either.

  • Question answered (Score:4, Funny)

    by sjames ( 1099 ) on Saturday September 21, 2019 @07:57PM (#59221804) Homepage Journal

    Many people have noted that government officials act as if they've been huffing bug spray...

    Now we know.

  • Disappointed (Score:3)

    by tsqr ( 808554 ) on Saturday September 21, 2019 @08:01PM (#59221810)

    When I saw "mosquito gas" in the headline, I was hoping for a story about insect flatulence.

  • It was just nerve gas

    Nothing to see here move on.

    • No, it is saying there was no weapon, just Americans being stupid.

      • Canadian researchers say they may have identified the cause of a mystery illness which plagued diplomatic staff in Cuba in 2016.

        Some reports in the US suggested an "acoustic attack" caused US staff similar symptoms, sparking speculation about a secret sonic weapon.

        But the Canadian team suggests that neurotoxins from mosquito fumigation are the more likely cause.

        Or is literacy just a personal issue for you ?

      • Just being stupid....yes that explains the degenerative illness, very smart deduction.
        • umm...who was getting the buildings sprayed so often ?

          I am pretty sure it was NOT the Cubans, Chinese, Russians, or ISIS who asked for the spaying, and if it was, let me double down on the Stupid.

  • The Energy Weapon Story (Score:5, Informative)

    by careysub ( 976506 ) on Saturday September 21, 2019 @08:53PM (#59221906)

    A fundamental problem with the reports of these illnesses being attributed to with sonic or RF energy weapons is that the U.S. intelligence community has extremely good sensors for both of these things. You don't have to know the exact modulation or frequency, etc. to detect that RF energy in various bands, or sonic energy in various frequency ranges, is present in the supposed target area.

    But I have never read a single account reporting that any anomalous energy of either type was ever detected. The lack of detection if any such monitoring was ever done would be conclusive disproof of the energy weapon hypothesis. I conclude one of the following must be true:

    1. Sonic or RF energy was detected but it is being kept highly classified
    2. No attempt at detection was ever made
    3. There was no energy weapon

    I am leaning toward item 3.

    This is different from detecting chemical contaminants, which lack the sort of broad spectrum universal detection tools. You can however detect suppressed acetylcholinesterase activity if any sort of nerve agent exposure occurred.

    • "A fundamental problem with the reports of these illnesses being attributed to with sonic or RF energy weapons is that the U.S. intelligence community has extremely good sensors for both of these things."

      Can you source this?

      Are the residencies of the embassy staff equipped with these at all times?

      "The lack of detection if any such monitoring was ever done would be conclusive disproof of the energy weapon hypothesis."

      Again, a source on sound-wave security defense protocols as they specifically refer to "meth

      • So what makes more sense here. Some undetected energy weapon was used by unknown persons for unknown reasons or the large quantities of mosquito spray used by third world countries?

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by gtall ( 79522 )

          Yes, but it has spawned reams of conspiracy "theorists" to honk on about their pet projects. Personally, I think aliens, the Deep State, and Sasquatch were involved. Cue the Greek Guy with the Electric Hair and Fox News, they make a great team.

    • It was probably insecticide, used far too much. Having said that, I would also like to reply to your post.

      Sure, a week or two after diplomats reported being sick, and then they were interviewed and mentioned hearing sounds, people later thought about the possibility of a sonic weapon. Probably ultrasonic of some sort. They thought such a thing could have been used *three weeks prior*.

      At that time they would then ship equipment that would try to detect such a thing and get that equipment set up. If, after

    • The much more fundamental problem with the American accusations of malice is that Canadians were affected too. Cuba has good relations with Canada that it has no intention of jeopardizing all that Canadian tourist money.

  • Reminds me of "Swap Gas" (Score:3)

    by Mindragon ( 627249 ) on Saturday September 21, 2019 @09:20PM (#59221958) Journal

    Government: Nothing to see here... it's just swamp gas and weather balloons.

    Rest of the world: Hmm.

    • Re:Reminds me of "Swap Gas" (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Guspaz ( 556486 ) on Saturday September 21, 2019 @09:22PM (#59221964)

      Why would Cuba attack Canadian diplomats, when Canada is an ally and trading partner? Canada never had a beef with Cuba, that was all on the US. They have no reason or motivation to attack Canada's diplomats.

      • Why would you assume its Cuba, Canada or the USA? And what about the same thing happening in China? Does this insect story even make sense at all? What insecticide makes people hear sounds and degenerates their brain? Who developed it and tested it, deemed it fit for spraying I'm the US embassy? This makes it sound like anyone can just spray poison in there at any time. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gtall ( 79522 )

      No, the rest of the world knows better than to attribute artifacts of human perception to real things. Tell you what, when you all find the actual aliens and schedule a press conference with them, let us know. We wouldn't want to miss that.

  • I've heard stories of undeveloped countries buying fancy designer pesticides from the US. The people who then use the pesticide have no idea how dangerous it is to humans and equipment operators can even end up dead. Hell, I've been gassed twice myself thanks to untrained farmers here in Florida. There's nothing like waking up in the middle of the night to police banging on doors at 3 am, then dealing with hours of burning of eyes, ears, nose, and throat.

  • The Cubans use coal smoke to kill/deter mosquitoes in areas with tourists. If you have any background in blacksmithing the smell is unmistakable. Clearly this isn't what is being used in embassies, but perhaps it should be.

  • "Was Cuba's Mysterious Sonic Weapon Just Mosquito Gas?"

  • It's scary that insecticide can be so damaging to human nervous system, I had no idea.

    • It's often just a matter of quantity & time-interval.

      Take nicotine. In small amounts, it's a useful (but highly-addictive) stimulant in humans. In even trace amounts, it's absolutely lethal to many insects (and it's theorized that nicotine in tobacco evolved AS a natural insecticide to protect the plant). In LARGE amounts, it's harmful to mammals, too (siezures, etc).

      In the media's recent anti-vaping hysteria, one theory that hasn't gotten nearly enough coverage is the possibility that many of the peopl

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by elcor ( 4519045 )
        Ah yes I didn't think of the density. You can see in the photos that the cloud of insecticide is white and you can't see through it, imagine the dose. Plus the US embassy has a AC system I bet, US peeps love their AC, so that neurotoxin gets recycled.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by sjames ( 1099 )

        While you're correct that it's the dose that makes the poison, nicotine OD is not at all consistent with the symptoms of the people ending up in the hospital with serious lung issues. Some sort of oil in the mixture fits quite well.

        Too much nicotine in the vape would be more of the turn green feel sick symptoms, much like the classic stories of yore where kid sneaks one of dad's cigars.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by pjt33 ( 739471 )

      Military nerve gas research is often covered up as insecticide development. E.g. from the Wikipedia article on novichok:

      ...a large number of compounds were made, and many of the less potent derivatives were reported in the open literature as new organophosphate insecticides, so that the secret chemical weapons program could be disguised as legitimate pesticide research.

  • The sound sounded like coil whine from cheap Chinese electronics and this is Cuba we're talking about so that's that. Then a bunch of chemicals probably banned in other countries that harm the brain...and this is Cuba we're talking about. That also makes sense. So obviously it was aliens.

  • When I was in Cuba about 20 years ago the government sprayed DDT all over the place. It's probably the most effective anti-mosquito chemical ever invented and cheap to make. It would be interesting though if they are still using DDT and it caused this. Or maybe they switched to something like Malathion. Would be interesting to know which chemical they are using these days. They were very thorough with their spraying in a way that I think would make the CDC proud. They sprayed every home whether you wanted t

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gtall ( 79522 )

      Failure to welcome the fumigators graciously into your home would have been seen as conspiracy to commit insurrection against the State. The Castro brothers never met an independent thought they liked.

  • Why no, we weren't doing anything. It was... ah... mosquito gas. Yea, that's it, mosquito gas.

  • Oldest strategy in the propaganda book:

    1. Create an outrageous fearmongering story that "people" will just eat up.
    2. Watch it explode and solidify permanently.
    3. ... (wait)
    4. Quick! Retract all and everything while nobody is watching.
    5. Profit. (Being able to argue to the moronic public, that you are a reputable news source because you retracted it.)

    I wonder if the other sides (like China, Russia, etc) do that too, and if they are any good at it. (Putin's team should have a long history, given that Stalin w

  • Nope. Just a smokescreen to coverup what is really going on. Mosquito gas... and the same thing happened in China and other countries.... nope nope nope.

  • Some kind of problem? How can we spin this into an attack to call for a regime change operation?

  • Didn't one of the sufferers in the "60 Minutes" interview say that the "sound" in their head was worse in certain physical spots than others?
  • So for years people who are supposed to be professionals were investigating something and they never though to first determine the scope of the problem by investigating who was affected and where? That is comically stupid.
  • I said it was probably dimethyl mercury (or a like neurotoxin) poisoning from trace amounts of the compound. It is deadly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]

  • All they had to do is use a little DDT.
    Fake crisis banned it. It's fine.

  • Making a stupid new term that's less informative serves nothing.

    • My thought on the term is, insecticide is what we spray at the mosquitoes. "Mosquito gas" is when they strike back in kind.

  • I'm extraordinarily skeptical that the explanation for all the symptoms described is anything other than a directed energy weapon. Why the discussion of this has been evaded (e.g.: with diversions to impossibilities such as 'sonic weapons' and now bug spray) is fascinating and deserves more scrutiny than it has received. It's as if someone doesn't want the public to understand the potential for this newer class of weapons and specialized weaponized RF modulation techniques (perhaps because of their own cla

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