# Anyone here watch the 60 minutes episode on Havana Syndrome? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 1, 2024, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-watch-the-60-minutes-episode-on-havana-syndrome/999704 "2024-04-01T20:37:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![survinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@survinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/survinga)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2024, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-watch-the-60-minutes-episode-on-havana-syndrome/999704/1 "2024-04-01T20:37:27Z")
Pretty scary stuff. Russia might be involved, or not. These people are all coming down with severe symptoms, and there’s no cure or treatment for it. > **[Has the Havana Syndrome Mystery Finally Been Solved?](https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/the-havana-syndrome-debate-is-back-in-earnest.html)** > > A 60 Minutes report alleges a connection between mysterious symptoms experienced by American diplomats and a Russian directed-energy weapon. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2024, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-watch-the-60-minutes-episode-on-havana-syndrome/999704/2 "2024-04-01T20:51:16Z")
This is nothing new. In the 'Seventies, Russia was found to be beaming microwave energy between 2.4 GHz and 4 GHz at the American embassy, presumably to ‘illuminate’ (activate) passive surveillance devices, and a number of Embassy personnel reported various maladies and illnesses (including although unlikely, leukemia). Investigations found that while the signal was genuine, the reported symptoms were either unverifiable or attributed to other causes (gas leaks, normal respiratory illnesses), and that rates of cancer and other chronic health conditions were not out of family with the general population, and there is no known mechanism by which microwave radiation as those absorption profiles could result in the reported symptoms or illnesses. Whether those conclusions were justified or not is uncertain because elements of the investigation were not revealed to the public or press. The larger question is what the Chinese or Russians would have to gain from doing such a thing. There is obvious blowback if they were found to actually using some kind of directed energy weapon to attack members of embassy staff, and while there are intelligence gathering activities that occur within embassies and consulates, most of the staff are civil servants who are not engaged in any kind of espionage or propaganda operations, nor would this seem to be an effective way of preventing spying and recruitment. So, even assuming the phenomena is real and deliberate, there is still the question of why they would be doing this other than harassment to no useful end. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2024, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-watch-the-60-minutes-episode-on-havana-syndrome/999704/3 "2024-04-01T20:51:48Z")
I didn’t see last night’s story yet but have wondered if there are any preventative measures to block the waves from giving people cerebral problems. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2024, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-watch-the-60-minutes-episode-on-havana-syndrome/999704/4 "2024-04-01T20:53:31Z")
I watched it, it was an interesting episode. There was new info, as well. The specific Russian agency alleged to be responsible was ID’d. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2024, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-watch-the-60-minutes-episode-on-havana-syndrome/999704/5 "2024-04-01T20:57:07Z")
IDD? I’ve heard of KGB. I’ve heard of NKVD. What’s IDD? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2024, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-watch-the-60-minutes-episode-on-havana-syndrome/999704/6 "2024-04-01T20:59:22Z")
😄 I don’t recall the name. It was a number, that much I recall. I wasn’t paying a _terrible_ amount of attention, as usual. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2024, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-watch-the-60-minutes-episode-on-havana-syndrome/999704/7 "2024-04-01T21:15:18Z")
Two studies just released showing a lack of evidence of neurologic damage in “Havana syndrome” patients, and U S. intelligence reporting no foreign power involvement make me think that 60 Minutes got off on the wrong track. [https://www.skeptic.com/reading\_room/new-study-finds-no-evidence-for-havana-syndrome/](https://www.skeptic.com/reading_room/new-study-finds-no-evidence-for-havana-syndrome/) There may be some deep, dark secretive reason for our spooks denying that such “attacks” occurred, but it’s hard to figure what it might be without descending into a rabbit hole of conspiracy conjecture. ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2024, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-watch-the-60-minutes-episode-on-havana-syndrome/999704/8 "2024-04-01T21:16:28Z")
> [@Eric1](#): > > I didn’t see last night’s story yet but have wondered if there are any preventative measures to block the waves from giving people cerebral problems. Tinfoil hats… ---
**Author:** ![NicoleEspresso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ebca7d/32.png) [@NicoleEspresso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicoleEspresso)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2024, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-watch-the-60-minutes-episode-on-havana-syndrome/999704/9 "2024-04-01T21:19:48Z")
Why, anything that could induce staff of foreign embassies to wear tinfoil hats could be useful, couldn’t it? It’s the silliness, potentially weaponized silliness, that gets me. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2024, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-watch-the-60-minutes-episode-on-havana-syndrome/999704/10 "2024-04-01T21:38:25Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > There may be some deep, dark secretive reason for our spooks denying that such “attacks” occurred, but it’s hard to figure what it might be without descending into a rabbit hole of conspiracy conjecture. I watched much of the episode, but I wasn’t paying close attention, and I missed the end. The sense I got was the _60 Minutes_ was reporting the story from the attitude that the US government is covering something up, and all of the reports from agencies not being able to find anything are because the US doesn’t want anything to be found or are incompetent. By doing this the US is causing further harm to the victims. The new evidence they found was a guy arrested in the US who might (even probably) is a Russian spy. It wasn’t entirely clear to me that there was any evidence linking the spy to any of the harm (but that might have been due to me not paying too much attention). ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2024, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-watch-the-60-minutes-episode-on-havana-syndrome/999704/11 "2024-04-01T21:46:03Z")
Well, that guy had some equipment in his vehicle that erased all the info on his GPS and some other equipment that might have been part of what was being used to cause the harm that the victims are claiming they suffered. But if he is a spy, he might have just been listening or something. ---
**Author:** ![2outta3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2outta3/32/15520_2.png) [@2outta3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2outta3)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2024, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-watch-the-60-minutes-episode-on-havana-syndrome/999704/12 "2024-04-01T22:48:12Z")
Exactly! They work like Faraday cages around the brain! 😄 ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2024, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-watch-the-60-minutes-episode-on-havana-syndrome/999704/13 "2024-04-01T23:01:53Z")
But to work effectively you need the chin strap. Also, always remember: shiny side out. ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-watch-the-60-minutes-episode-on-havana-syndrome/999704/14 "2024-07-08T03:27:27Z")
60 Minutes just broadcast another story about this with more victims. The interview subjects were very moving. Who can say if they were genuine or not? ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-watch-the-60-minutes-episode-on-havana-syndrome/999704/15 "2024-07-08T04:04:39Z")
> [@Eric1](#): > > 60 Minutes just broadcast another story about this with more victims It was a rerun of the episode that started this thread. I was not paying close enough attention to see if they added anything new beyond what was in the original broadcast. [What I said previously still applies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-watch-the-60-minutes-episode-on-havana-syndrome/999704/10), but having it on in the background while I played video games a _second_ time, my impression of the reporting is: some people are sick, the Russians spy on us, some Russian spies have been caught, therefore the Russians are making people sick. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-watch-the-60-minutes-episode-on-havana-syndrome/999704/16 "2024-07-08T12:50:24Z")
> [@Eric1](#): > > Who can say if they were genuine or not? To answer your question: Scientists who have studied this case can say. And what they say is that no, it’s not genuine. The phenomenon can’t be studied, because it doesn’t exist. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-watch-the-60-minutes-episode-on-havana-syndrome/999704/17 "2024-07-08T14:24:49Z")
Agree. It might exist. But so far, there’s no evidence it exists. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-watch-the-60-minutes-episode-on-havana-syndrome/999704/18 "2024-07-08T14:52:54Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > I don’t recall the name. It was a number, that much I recall. I wasn’t paying a _terrible_ amount of attention, as usual. > **[GRU Unit 29155](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GRU_Unit_29155)** > > Unit 29155 is a Russian military intelligence unit of the GRU. It is associated with foreign assassinations and other activities aimed at destabilizing European countries. The unit is thought to have operated in secret since at least 2008, though its existence only became publicly known in 2019. The Unit was commanded by Maj. Gen. Andrey Averyanov and based at the headquarters of the 161st Special Purpose Specialist Training Center in eastern Moscow. Its membership has included veterans from Russ... ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2026, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-watch-the-60-minutes-episode-on-havana-syndrome/999704/19 "2026-03-09T14:18:37Z")
I saw the updated report last night. I thought they made a pretty compelling case for the directed microwave weapon. According to their sources, the US through some skulduggery has actually acquired one of the devices, but the official government position is still “Nothing to see here, folks.” ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2026, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-watch-the-60-minutes-episode-on-havana-syndrome/999704/20 "2026-03-09T14:27:24Z")
FWIW, the new CBS drama _CIA_ (starring _Lucifer_’s Tom Ellis) used a directed-energy weapon attack as the first plot domino of the pilot episode. They portrayed the weapon as typical movie magic: turn device on, everyone within 50 yards\*\* gets violently ill and goes into convulsions. \*\* _made-up distance by moi_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-watch-the-60-minutes-episode-on-havana-syndrome/999704.md?page=2)