Fogbow

Phoenix520 wrote: ↑Sat Oct 16, 2021 12:06 am Is this the place where urumpers stood across the street yelling FUCK BIDEN! TRUMP WON!?

Most ‘Havana Syndrome’ Cases Unlikely Caused by Foreign Power, C.I.A. Says
A report concluded that most cases have environmental or medical causes, but the government remains focused on investigating two dozen incidents that remain unexplained.

By Julian E. Barnes
Jan. 20, 2022 Updated 8:09 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON — The C.I.A. has found that most cases of the mysterious ailments known as Havana syndrome are unlikely to have been caused by Russia or another foreign adversary, agency officials said, a conclusion that angered victims.

A majority of the 1,000 cases reported to the government can be explained by environmental causes, undiagnosed medical conditions or stress, rather than a sustained global campaign by a foreign power, C.I.A. officials said, describing the interim findings of a comprehensive study.

The C.I.A. is continuing its investigation into two dozen cases that remain unexplained. Those cases, said a U.S. official briefed on the findings, offer the greatest chance of yielding clues to whether a foreign power is responsible for some of the unexplained health incidents that have plagued American diplomats and C.I.A. personnel in Havana and Vienna, among other cities.

In addition to those two dozen cases, a significant number of others remain unexplained, the official said.

The idea that Russia, China or Cuba was responsible for attacking hundreds of diplomats around the world was never backed up by any evidence that the Biden administration could unearth. But the F.B.I., the Pentagon and others continue to investigate whether a foreign power was involved in a smaller number of incidents, the U.S. official said. Clusters of incidents in Havana beginning in 2016 and some in Vienna in 2021, along with other individual incidents, remain a focus of such investigations.

The interim findings left many victims dissatisfied, particularly current and former officials who have been battling chronic ailments for years without being given a clear explanation. In a statement, a group of victims said the C.I.A. interim findings “cannot and must not be the final word on the matter.” The release of the findings, the victims said, was a breach of faith.



https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/20/us/p ... eport.html

RTH10260 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 20, 2022 8:18 am

Most ‘Havana Syndrome’ Cases Unlikely Caused by Foreign Power, C.I.A. Says
A majority of the 1,000 cases reported to the government can be explained by environmental causes, undiagnosed medical conditions or stress, rather than a sustained global campaign by a foreign power, C.I.A. officials said, describing the interim findings of a comprehensive study.

If most of the cases were caused by "environmental causes, undiagnosed medical conditions or stress", why hasn't this shown up in other embassies/consulates?

Surely those environmental conditions would be present elsewhere. Maybe not everywhere, but I find it hard to believe that such conditions are unique to Havana.

Surely, some staff in every embassy/consulate has undiagnosed medical conditions.

Surely, stress is an ever-present risk in some embassies.

noblepa wrote: ↑Thu Jan 20, 2022 12:01 pm

RTH10260 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 20, 2022 8:18 am

Most ‘Havana Syndrome’ Cases Unlikely Caused by Foreign Power, C.I.A. Says
A majority of the 1,000 cases reported to the government can be explained by environmental causes, undiagnosed medical conditions or stress, rather than a sustained global campaign by a foreign power, C.I.A. officials said, describing the interim findings of a comprehensive study.

If most of the cases were caused by "environmental causes, undiagnosed medical conditions or stress", why hasn't this shown up in other embassies/consulates?

Surely those environmental conditions would be present elsewhere. Maybe not everywhere, but I find it hard to believe that such conditions are unique to Havana.

Surely, some staff in every embassy/consulate has undiagnosed medical conditions.

Surely, stress is an ever-present risk in some embassies.

There have been other cases with US diplomats elsewhere as other people (diplomats?) describing similar symptoms.

Wikipedia has a writeup at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havana_syndrome

pipistrelle wrote: ↑Wed Jan 26, 2022 11:15 pm

Black Farmers Fear Foreclosure as Debt Relief Remains Frozen
Lawsuits from white farmers have blocked $4 billion of pandemic aid that was allocated to Black farmers in the American Rescue Plan.

By Alan Rappeport
Feb. 21, 2022
WASHINGTON — For Brandon Smith, a fourth-generation cattle rancher from Texas, the $1.9 trillion stimulus package that President Biden signed into law nearly a year ago was long-awaited relief.

Little did he know how much longer he would have to wait.

The legislation included $4 billion of debt forgiveness for Black and other “socially disadvantaged” farmers, a group that has endured decades of discrimination from banks and the federal government. Mr. Smith, a Black father of four who owes about $200,000 in outstanding loans on his ranch, quickly signed and returned documents to the Agriculture Department last year, formally accepting the debt relief. He then purchased more equipment for his ranch, believing that he had been given a financial lifeline.

Instead, Mr. Smith has fallen deeper into debt. Months after signing the paperwork he received a notice informing him that the federal government intended to “accelerate” foreclosure on his 46-acre property and cattle if he did not start making payments on the loans he believed had been forgiven.

“I trusted the government that we had a deal, and down here at the end of the day, the rug gets pulled out from under me,” Mr. Smith, 43, said in an interview.

Black farmers across the nation have yet to see any of Mr. Biden’s promised relief. While the president has pledged to pursue policies to promote racial equity and correct decades of discrimination, legal issues have complicated that goal.

In May 2021, the Agriculture Department started sending letters to borrowers who were eligible to have their debt cleared, asking them to sign and return forms confirming their balances. The payments, which also are supposed to cover tax liabilities and fees associated with clearing the debt, were expected to come in phases beginning in June.

But the entire initiative has been stymied amid lawsuits from white farmers and groups representing them that questioned whether the government could offer debt relief based on race.





https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/21/us/p ... elief.html

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