Based Underground is now a conservative news aggregator AND curated newsletter.
(Mises)—On Sunday night, the CBS show 60 Minutes ran a segment about the series of mysterious medical episodes suffered by United States intelligence officers and government officials that has been given the nickname “Havana Syndrome.” For almost a decade, officials and their families have reported hearing sudden ringing sounds in their ears and experiencing headaches, dizziness, and other symptoms, usually while stationed abroad.
Many journalists, commentators, and government officials—including a number of those claiming to have suffered from Havana Syndrome—argue that Russian spies are deliberately causing these symptoms with some type of nonlethal acoustic or microwave beam.
- Preserve your retirement with physical precious metals. Receive your free gold guide from Genesis Precious Metals to learn how.
The 60 Minutes segment ran with this narrative and presented new evidence that a specific unit from Russia’s military intelligence agency (GRU) may have been behind several specific Havana Syndrome cases.
Anyone who has been following this story would find the examples in this new report familiar. An FBI agent at home in Florida experienced a sudden, intense ringing in one of her ears while standing by a window in her laundry room. She then felt pain and pressure in her head and chest. After the episode, the agent experienced memory issues and some occasional vertigo.
The second case featured in the segment was the wife of a Justice Department official stationed at the US embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia. The woman was also in her laundry room when she experienced a piercing ringing sound in her left ear that quickly grew into a headache. She then walked outside to find a man sitting in a car nearby who looked like a suspected member of Unit 29155, the GRU unit that 60 Minutes presented as the likely perpetrator of these attacks.
The journalists from 60 Minutes, The Insider, and Der Spiegel who collaborated on this report identify and track some men who are alleged to be members of the GRU unit in question and suggest that it is possible they were present in cities where US officials experienced Havana Syndrome symptoms. The other big piece of evidence was a document that apparently indicates that a member of Unit 29155 was given a bonus for performing good work on the “potential capabilities of nonlethal acoustic weapons.”
The producers sprinkle in other scraps of evidence along with interview clips with former intelligence officers and other officials to paint the picture of a nefarious group of Russian spies sneaking around the world to direct acoustic weapons or microwave beams into the homes of Americans working against Russia.
This is a textbook example of a conspiracy theory. But it also doesn’t make a lot of sense.
For an acoustic weapon to be behind these symptoms, soundwaves powerful enough to cause seemingly permanent damage to the target’s inner ear would have had to be directed through the laundry room windows, all without damaging the glass or even being heard by others nearby.
And as former Los Alamos scientist Cheryl Rofer explained in a 2021 article, microwave beams are similarly implausible. First, the power supply needed to generate microwaves powerful enough to injure someone’s brain would make a portable weapon impractical. Second, the range of such a weapon would likely be minimal, so it would be hard for the perpetrator to remain hidden from the target throughout the attack. Third, because of how microwaves generate heat, if a microwave beam powerful enough to damage the brain were directed at a target’s head, there would also be visible burns on the skin and flesh where the beam first made contact. There is no way to isolate the effect to one internal part of the body.
That’s not to say it’s impossible that any one of these sudden headaches and inner ear problems are somehow the result of an attack. But any honest observer would have to admit that, so far, the narrative put forward by 60 Minutes can only be considered an implausible conspiracy theory.
It is important for any truth-seeking news consumer to notice the contrast in how narratives that lack concrete evidence are portrayed by the so-called mainstream press.
Take, for instance, the idea that Hunter Biden may have landed his $83,000-a-month board seat for a Ukrainian gas company because it was understood that he could offer access to his father. Or that the SARS-CoV-2 virus originated not in a Wuhan market, but in the nearby virology lab that we know was conducting US-funded gain-of-function research on coronaviruses. Or that FBI informants, who had a heavy presence in the organizations that planned the rally on January 6, may have played a part in leading the crowd to the Capitol.
All three of these theories are way more plausible than the theory that the Russians are diverting some of their most elite intelligence operatives to go take potshots at the homes of US officials with an energy weapon that doesn’t make any physical sense. Yet only the latter gets a full, serious segment on the top Sunday night news program. Why? Because it contributes well to the anti-Russia narrative that the political establishment is trying to push. The others, in contrast, each go completely against the establishment’s preferred account. So, they are either dismissed, demonized, or outright ignored in the establishment-friendly media.
The discourse about Havana Syndrome makes it clear that members of the Washington establishment and their friends in the media are completely fine with farfetched conspiracy theories, as long as they find them useful.
TRENDING ARTICLES
OMG: O’Keefe Media Group Exposes Disney’s “Gender Expression Transitioning” Program
by Liberty One News
On Thursday, O’Keefe Media Group disclosed internal documents that uncover Disney’s Gender Expression and Transitioning programs. The G.E.T. program advocates for modifying one’s natural body, and the documents further expose Disney’s health insurance plans covering genital mutilation surgeries. Per James O’Keefe: REVEALED: O’Keefe Media reveals internal videos and documents exposing…
Track Coach Sues After Allegedly Being Fired For Opposing Policy Allowing Male Athletes In Female Sports
by Daily Caller
An Oregon high school track and field coach filed a lawsuit Thursday claiming he was improperly fired after stating that biological males had an unfair advantage against female athletes. John Parks was fired in June after sending a letter to the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) suggesting the regulatory agency…
“They’re Starting Brutal Attacks”: James Carville Says Cackling Kamala’s “Best Day” of the Campaign Is Already Behind Her
by The Liberty Daily
Democratic strategist James Carville on Wednesday declared the “best day” of Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential run is already behind her. Biden abruptly withdrew from the presidential race on Sunday and endorsed Harris, who is running based on a Democratic Party insider vote with almost no primary voter approval, after…
5 Ways Kamala Harris’s Democrat and Media Enablers Are Gaslighting America
by Breitbart
Vice President Kamala Harris’s Democrat and mainstream media allies are gaslighting American voters in five ways as her presidential campaign gets underway with just over 100 days to election day. The manipulation is being carried out in various forms: the covering up of President Joe Biden’s apparent cognitive decline, claims…
Major Study of 9 Million Confirms COVID Shots Cause VAIDS
by Slay News
An explosive new study, which analyzed the data of nine million people, has sent shockwaves through the scientific community after proving that Covid mRNA shots are responsible for the global surge in cases of AIDS-like vaccine-acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (VAIDS). The peer-reviewed study was conducted by a team of world-renowned South…
The Secret Service Was Obviously Going to Be the Next Vehicle of the Deep State
by The Federalist
Was the assassination attempt a failure because Trump survived? Or was it a failure because he was shot in the first place? The since-resigned Secret Service director conceded before House lawmakers Monday that this month’s shooting of former President Donald Trump was the worst agency security failure since President Ronald…
Emhoff’s Ex Opens up About Kamala Parenting Her Kids
by Headline USA
Kerstin Emhoff, the first wife of Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, has spoken up about the non-existent attacks aimed at Vice President Kamala Harris for having no biological children. In remarks to CNN on Thursday, Emhoff claimed that Harris has acted as a parent to her children, Ella and Cole Emhoff,…
Illegal Alien ‘Got-Away’ Accused of Killing Nashville Restaurateur Matt Carney
by Breitbart
An illegal alien “got-away” has been accused of killing 42-year-old Matthew Carney, the owner of the Smokin Thighs restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee, in a hit-and-run crash. Ulises Raigoz-Martinez, a 24-year-old illegal alien from Mexico, has been charged with criminal homicide, tampering with evidence, vehicle theft, criminal impersonation, and evading arrest…
Kamala Ran S.F. Program That Helped Illegals Who Were Arrested Avoid Deportation
by Headline USA
As San Francisco’s district attorney, Kamala Harris ran a program that helped illegal immigrants arrested for drug crimes avoid deportation, get jobs, and even have their records expunged. The “Back on Track” program was run by the San Francisco district attorney’s office while Harris was district attorney from 2004 to…
Hamas Lovers Hit New Low in D.C. Protest
by PJ Media
So you saw the latest batch of Hamas lovers burning American flags, releasing maggots, and vandalizing our monuments in Washington, D.C., recently since Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited. My friend Stephen Kruiser discussed it a bit in his latest Morning Briefing, as did Athena Thorne, who went into more…
Congress Ordered Research into Military Covid Shot Injuries
by Infowars
Congress has included a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2024 directing the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to investigate the negative health outcomes on military personnel following administration of the Covid vaccination. “Study and report on health conditions of members of the Armed Forces…
FBI Director Debunks Biden’s Claim That J6 ‘Gallows’ Were Designed to Hang Mike Pence
by Headline USA
President Joe Biden said in a recent speech that the infamous gallows built on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2021, were “erected to hang Vice President Mike Pence.” That’s a strong claim coming from the sitting—at least for now—leader of the free world. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., asked FBI Director…
Legal Group Launches Several Investigations Focusing On Kamala Harris’ Record, Use of Campaign Funds
by Trending Politics
“A lot of her tough on crime reputation goes to her prosecution when she was San Francisco DA, individuals who use marijuana and other sorts of things,” AFL President Dan Epstein said in a statement to Fox News. “Our investigation, however, makes it very clear that Kamala Harris does not…
Kamala Harris Once Mocked Trump’s Warning of Terrorists Crossing Through Border
by Daily Caller
Vice President Kamala Harris mocked the idea that a border wall was necessary to keep terrorists from entering the country during a February 2019 interview in New Hampshire. During the sit-down interview with WMUR-TV, then-Democratic California Sen. Harris mocked President Donald Trump’s assertion that a massive border wall between the…
Ultra-Processed Foods Are Harming Children: What’s Being Done About It?
by The Epoch Times
Ultra-processed foods have become a significant part of many children’s diets, and it may come as no surprise that such foods come with a cost. A cross-sectional study published in JAMA in May revealed that children who consumed high amounts of ultra-processed foods exhibited higher body mass index, waist circumference,…
Democrats Urge OpenAI to Allow Government Access to Models Before They Go Public
by Reclaim the Net
Five Democrat senators have penned a letter to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, as a form of not-so-subtle pressure to commit “to making its next foundation model available to US Government agencies for pre-deployment testing, review, analysis, and assessment.” But, “pre-deployment testing by government agencies?” Are these guys sure this is…
These Important Election Integrity Initiatives Might Be On Your 2024 Ballot
by The Federalist
From voter ID to mail-in voting, these proposed ballot measures could significantly alter the way states administer their elections. While most political pundits are focused on the pending matchup between former President Donald Trump and (presumably) Vice President Kamala Harris, a major facet of the 2024 contest that’s not getting…
News from across the conservative media sphere! Subscribe for free to the brand new Based Underground Newsletter for a daily uncensored recap of the news and opinions that are most important to American patriots.