
Medical Mystery Grows as U.S. Consulate Workers in China Fall Ill - anonu
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/06/world/asia/china-guangzhou-consulate-sonic-attack.html
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dmix
So how many employees exactly went 'ill' in China? According to the article it
seems 1 person originally this past spring and now 2 parents this past week.

> The mystery spread to China this spring, when the first employee fell ill,
> and fears escalated last month when the government warned other employees to
> seek medical attention if they experienced unusual ailments. So far this
> week, another employee, his wife and their two children were evacuated after
> the parents exhibited neurological symptoms. Officials said they expected
> that at least some others would be flown out of the country as well.

Not a huge sample size to guarantee something is happening... but I'd imagine
the US gov has looked into it pretty closely and isn't overreacting without
some good evidence of deteriorated health.

~~~
dv_dt
I wonder if it's something like a side effect of some travel immunization?
There is the one Fulbright scholar who had a psychotic break attributed to an
interaction with an anti-malaria drug.[1] Somewhere there is a podcast about
that, but I can't recall/find exactly which.

One side effect of a yellow fever immunization is listed as "throbbing ears".
Though that doensn't seem like a common immunization to China/Cuba travel
recommendations.

[1] [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/18/health/the-answer-to-
the-...](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/18/health/the-answer-to-the-riddle-
is-me-a-debut-takes-on-memory-loss.html)

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Steel_Phoenix
I'm assuming that an embassy or consulate will have some pretty solid
shielding to prevent espionage. Could these injuries be a side effect of
someone either trying to power through such a shield to get information out,
or a satellite used for either direct communication or information gathering?

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wahern
Propublica published a story this past February recapping what's known and
debated about the Cuba "problem":
[https://www.propublica.org/article/diplomats-in-
cuba](https://www.propublica.org/article/diplomats-in-cuba)

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juris
Following US patent application number: 20180139557

Is it possible to conceive a weapon that generates sound at specific distances
in space using ultrasonic signals as a carrier to get -into- hotel rooms? Can
sound do this much damage to the human brain?

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basicplus2
Like the previous case in Cuba, this fits the effects of microwaves on the
brain

~~~
jessaustin
One wouldn't expect unknown parties in Cuba to work closely with unknown
parties in China. The constant in both situations is American diplomats. They
don't want to get sick, but there are others present who wouldn't care about
it. Who's to say this isn't a side effect of something secret that other
Americans at the consulate are doing?

~~~
adventured
Your first sentence doesn't make any sense. If it's one party, eg Russia or
China, then these aren't two unknown parties working together, they're one
party operating at two locations. Russia and China both have the reach to
operate in Cuba and China, both are devoted adversaries of the US when it
comes to politics, espionage and military.

Further, it may be espionage gear that both Russia and China are now using,
such that one party (Russia) is using it in Cuba, and the other party (China)
is using it in China.

That is all a lot more plausible than the US severely harming their own people
at their living quarters in multiple locations around the globe.

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jessaustin
"Doesn't make any sense" is not the same thing as "doesn't match my
assumptions". There is no reason to assume that one entity is at work in both
of these locations, other than the one entity who we know is at work in both
locations. Russia and Cuba have a long history of cooperation, but China and
Cuba don't. Few in Cuba would want to piss off Russia by inviting in the
Chinese for some goofy microwave project. China and Russia are also not the
closest of allies. Just as the USA military-industrial complex is not a
monolith, its symbionts abroad are not monoliths.

There is no reason to believe any particular thing we're told about these
events. We should be extremely Bayesian, paying attention only to things we
know: both phenomena affected USA diplomats, USA has routinely experimented on
and otherwise disregarded the safety of those serving abroad, descriptions of
symptoms are provided on the record while wide-ranging speculation is given
anonymously, etc.

~~~
xamarinthrw
Very logical comment, thank you.

<joke> I assume you don't know Javascript? </joke>

