FORTEAN FOLLOW UPS
Updates on recent news stories: sonic weapons, Catalan witches and Bigfoot in Staffordshire
HAVANA SYNDROME [FT414:8]
Havana Syndrome, which, it is claimed, has produced debilitating neurological symptoms in US and Canadian diplomatic and intelligence staff around the world since it was first reported in Cuba in 2016, continues to baffle and confuse US authorities, as demonstrated by two contrasting reports recently released by bodies investigating the phenomenon. It has long been suspected that the cause of the syndrome is an unidentified hostile foreign power using either microwaves or ultrasound to attack key US staff, but it has so far proved impossible to identify the aggressor or come up with a convincing mechanism by which these technologies could be weaponised and used covertly.
The first report to be issued, published by the CIA, looked at 1,000 potential Havana Syndrome cases and found very little convincing evidence that the syndrome exists at all, dismissing the vast majority of cases as the result of stress or natural causes. A CIA official said it was “unlikely that a foreign actor, including Russia, is conducting a sustained, worldwide campaign, harming US personnel with a weapon or mechanism.” However, they did concede that there are around two dozen unexplained cases where the role of a foreign power could not be completely ruled out and which they are still investigating.
In contrast, a second report, released a few days later by a US intelligence community panel of experts, concludes that the symptoms are “genuine and compelling” and could plausibly have been caused by a concealed device. This panel reviewed more than 1,000 classified documents and interviewed an undisclosed number of victims; these were chosen because they exhibited a consistent set of core symptoms, including the sudden onset of sound or pressure in one ear or one side of the head, vertigo, loss of balance and ear pain and a “strong sense of locality or directionality” with no other explanations. The panel then considered five potential causes for these symptoms – acoustic signals, radiofrequency or other electromagnetic energy (including microwaves), radioactivity, chemical and biological agents, and environmental factors – and whether a concealed device using any of these could produce the reported symptoms. They felt that psychological or social factors could not explain the symptoms, saying: “Several aspects of this unique neurosensory syndrome make it unlikely to be caused by a functional neurological disorder” – i.e., it is not a form of mass hysteria. They concluded that pulsed electromagnetic energy in the radiofrequency range generated by devices with “non-standard antennas” could plausibly produce the core symptoms, and that these could be concealed, use only moderate power and produce their effects through both the air and the walls of buildings. They also felt that an ultrasound weapon was possible, but to work in buildings it would need to be closer to the target. The panel, however, did not go into detail about the possible weapons, and considering who might be responsible was outside their remit. The most senior US intelligence officials, US Director of National Intelligence Avril D Haines and CIA Director William J Burns, vowed to continue their efforts to get to the bottom of the problem, stating: “We will stay at it, with continued rigour, for however long it takes.” BBC News, 20 Jan, 3 Feb; editions.cnn. com, 3 Feb 2022. For previous reports, see FT359:22, 360:14, 363:4, 370:26- 27, 382:10-11, 389:26-27, 401:9, 407:21, 411:26.
WITCH PARDONS [FT415:5]
Following similar moves in Scotland, Switzerland and Norway, the Catalan parliament has passed a resolution pardoning up to 1,000 people condemned for the crime of witchcraft there between the 15th and 18th centuries. Across most of Spain there were few witch hunts because the Inquisition was more interested in rooting out heresy among Jews and Muslims who had been forcibly converted to Christianity after the country had expelled the Moors. In Catalonia, though, they were more common because much of the region was governed by feudal lords who held absolute power and confession alone was taken as proof of
guilt. Those condemned were usually hanged rather than burned because of a shortage of firewood. In some Catalan villages, there were resident witchfinders, such as Joan Cazabrujas (John the witchhunter) from Sallent, whose activities led to the hanging of 33 women. A later investigation by the Inquisition discovered that the women were innocent, and they had Cazabrujas burned at the stake. Despite its reputation, the Inquisition was sceptical about the existence of witches and required evidence beyond just confessions in such cases, so the accused were often set free. In addition to the pardons, four children’s playgrounds in the village of Palau-solità i Plegamans have been named in honour of executed witches and there are plans to name Catalan streets and squares after others as a memorial. irishtimes.com, 27 Jan 2022.
CANNOCK CHASE BIGFOOT [FT416:5]
Cannock Chase in Staffordshire has seen reports of UFOs, big cats, werewolves and the legendary “pig man”. Bigfoot appears to be the most recent entity to have taken up residence in the woods. Last November, local investigator Lee Brickley shared photos he had taken of an extremely large footprint and claw marks on trees. A couple of weeks later, inspired by the press accounts of the footprint, local YouTuber Joshua Lester-Rigg went to see for himself and believes he successfully photographed the Cannock bigfoot and captured it on video (https://youtu.be/ t3IXth6g44E ). “We headed into some dense trees – and this is where I took the photo,” he said. “I don’t know if it is Bigfoot, but you can clearly see it looks like a kind of gorilla crouching… you can make out the knee, then the arm, then the head and face”. D.Star, 28 Nov 2021.