The US has been tracking a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that has been spotted flying over sensitive sites in recent days, and finally shot it down after it crossed into the Atlantic.
Defense officials confirmed the “high-altitude surveillance balloon” belonged to China.
The Pentagon’s reasoning for not shooting down a Chinese Spy Balloon above Montana was that falling debris could injure those on the ground… In Montana…. a massive state with a tiny population.
Rumors: Some insiders have claimed it was not a spy balloon, but a crack-filled pinata for Hunter Biden’s birthday party on Saturday. But really, China owns about a trillion dollars in U.S. Treasuries, making it the number-two investor among foreign governments in federal debt. But tell me more about this China spy balloon.
Side-eye: Balloonfest proves once again that when it is far too late to matter, the administration will act in the least impressive way possible to do the bare minimum–surely, the administration will celebrate this takedown as a success after it surveilled some of our most sensitive military installations. On cue, the trained seals will clap.
At any rate, the balloon’s flight path took it over a “number of sensitive sites”. It may have gotten all the Intel it needed before being shot down.
But wait, don’t most of us use satellites for intelligence collection?
Balloons, which actually were used in the American Civil War, are making a comeback. Unlike satellites, which are predictable, and require LEO (Low Earth Orbit), balloons are low signature and low-to-zero emission, so hard to pick up with traditional surveillance technology. And, since balloons don’t have to worry about being in orbit, they can be steered using onboard computers to take advantage of winds, so they can loiter around an area for a good bit of time.
BREAKING: Pentagon has now confirmed there is a second Chinese Spy Balloon over South America. Not making this up.
We are still not sure what the balloon wss looking for, possibly collecting data on communication systems, or maybe even scouting real estate, a hobby the PRC is increasingly more fond of. The Chinese government claims it was a weather balloon that got off track.
Weird thought: The FBI/CIA/CDC embeds thousands of spies in all US social media companies, all gathering detailed personal information on a hundred million citizens, and no one seems to care. But China floats a balloon over US territory and everyone goes nuts.
What a great post!
Thoroughly enjoyed it!
And China has been selling our debt recently.
If they stop buying it to fund our government, where will Joe Biden turn to next to keep our lights on and government running?
It amuses me to hear all these BELLIGERENT, BELLICOSE, SABER-RATTLING JINGOS in Washington gnashing their teeth while getting puce with rage over China supposedly being this big threat to our military when the reality is that it is China and Japan (remember Pearl Harbor, anyone, sneak attack?) that are funding our military in the first place by buying the debt the Biden AUTOCRACY is wracking up big time in its quest for climate equity and other horsecrap like that.
I wonder if the balloon had “Let’s Go, Brandon” written on it in Chinese, along with an upraised middle finger, as the Chinese survey what is becoming their colony over here as Joe Biden keeps borrowing money from them to keep his regime operating, while letting Joe and the American people know exactly what the Chinese think of Joe, which is not much, at all.
HUGE NEWS!
BLOCKBUSTER BIG!
BIDEN VOWS RETALIATION AGAINST CHINA FOR MOCKING HIM BY SENDING A BALLOON ALL THE WAY ACROSS AMERICA WHILE JOE WAS A HELPLESS BY-STANDER!
REPORTS ARE THAT CHINESE LEADER XI WAS LAUGHING SO HARD AT JOE’S CONSTERNATION THAT HE PEED HIS PANTS AND FELL OFF HIS CHAIR!
BREAKING NEWS!
STAY TUNED TO THIS SAME STATION FOR UPDATES ON THIS POWERFUL STORY AS THEY HAPPEN AND NOW BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING!
What is interesting here is that while NOBODY really has a clue as to what that balloon was doing 12 miles up in the atmosphere above alleged “sensitive” areas in the United States, everybody is calling it a “spy balloon,” as if they actually know it was, as opposed to a balloon advertising the opening of a new chain of Chinese buffets to serve under-served areas of the United States in the name of racial and climate equity.
Personally, I think the Chinese just “TWITTED” (to taunt, ridicule, or tease, especially for embarrassing mistakes or faults) on the world stage to make him look like exactly what he is – a weak and damn poor national leader who can’t even defend his own air space and national security from a balloon.
As to the point of view from the Chinese side while making Joe Biden look like the BELLIGERENT, BELLISOSE, SABER-RATTLING JINGO that he really is, that comes forth in an Associated Press article titled “China accuses US of indiscriminate use of force over balloon” by Emily Wang Fujiyama on 5 February 2023, as follows:
BEIJING (AP) — China on Monday accused the United States of indiscriminate use of force in shooting down a suspected Chinese spy balloon, saying it “seriously impacted and damaged both sides’ efforts and progress in stabilizing Sino-U.S. relations.”
The U.S. shot down the balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America.
end quotes
“Sensitive” military sites?
Give me a break – the Chinese fund our military, so they were probably just checking to see how their money is spent.
If it wasn’t for the Chinese funding our military, the Pentagon would have to be holding cookie drives and bake sales to fund itself.
Getting back to the AP story, it continues as follows:
China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian aircraft.
Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng said he lodged a formal complaint with the U.S. Embassy on Sunday over the “U.S. attack on a Chinese civilian unmanned airship by military force.”
“However, the United States turned a deaf ear and insisted on indiscriminate use of force against the civilian airship that was about to leave the United States airspace, obviously overreacted and seriously violated the spirit of international law and international practice,” Xie said.
end quotes
A good line there by the Chinese side about Joe Biden’s “indiscriminate use of force against a civilian airship,” which makes Joe out to be the thug that he is, and as I have stated before, I watch world power politics the way others watch professional wrestling or women’s cage fighting, and style points go to those who earned them, in this case, the Chinese.
Going back to the AP, we have more, as follows:
Xie repeated China’s insistence that the balloon was a Chinese civil unmanned airship that blew into U.S. airspace by mistake, calling it “an accidental incident caused by force majeure.”
China will “resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, resolutely safeguard China’s interests and dignity and reserve the right to make further necessary responses,” he said.
U.S. President Joe Biden issued the shootdown order after he was advised that the best time for the operation would be when it was over water, U.S. officials said.
Military officials determined that bringing down the balloon over land from an altitude of 60,000 feet (18,000 meters) would pose an undue risk to people on the ground.
“What the U.S. has done has seriously impacted and damaged both sides’ efforts and progress in stabilizing Sino-U.S. relations since the Bali meeting,” Xie said, referring to a recent meeting between Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Indonesia that many hoped would create positive momentum for improving ties that have plunged to their lowest level in years.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning provided no new details on Monday, repeating China’s insistence that the object was a civilian balloon intended for meteorological research, had little ability to steer and entered U.S. airspace by accidentally diverging from its course.
“We have stated that this is completely an isolated and accidental incident caused by force majeure, but the U.S. still hyped up the incident on purpose and even used force to attack,” Mao said at a daily briefing.
“This is an unacceptable and irresponsible action.”
end quotes
And back to you, Joe Biden!
What is interesting here is that while NOBODY really has a clue as to what that balloon was doing 12 miles up in the atmosphere above alleged “sensitive” areas in the United States, everybody is calling it a “spy balloon,” as if they actually know it was, as opposed to a balloon advertising the opening of a new chain of Chinese buffets to serve under-served areas of the United States in the name of racial and climate equity.
Personally, I think the Chinese just “TWITTED” (to taunt, ridicule, or tease, especially for embarrassing mistakes or faults) on the world stage to make him look like exactly what he is – a weak and damn poor national leader who can’t even defend his own air space and national security from a balloon.
As to the point of view from the Chinese side while making Joe Biden look like the BELLIGERENT, BELLISOSE, SABER-RATTLING JINGO that he really is, that comes forth in an Associated Press article titled “China accuses US of indiscriminate use of force over balloon” by Emily Wang Fujiyama on 5 February 2023, as follows:
BEIJING (AP) — China on Monday accused the United States of indiscriminate use of force in shooting down a suspected Chinese spy balloon, saying it “seriously impacted and damaged both sides’ efforts and progress in stabilizing Sino-U.S. relations.”
The U.S. shot down the balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America.
end quotes
“Sensitive” military sites?
Give me a break – the Chinese fund our military, so they were probably just checking to see how their money is spent.
If it wasn’t for the Chinese funding our military, the Pentagon would have to be holding cookie drives and bake sales to fund itself.
Getting back to the AP story, it continues as follows:
China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian aircraft.
Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng said he lodged a formal complaint with the U.S. Embassy on Sunday over the “U.S. attack on a Chinese civilian unmanned airship by military force.”
“However, the United States turned a deaf ear and insisted on indiscriminate use of force against the civilian airship that was about to leave the United States airspace, obviously overreacted and seriously violated the spirit of international law and international practice,” Xie said.
end quotes
A good line there by the Chinese side about Joe Biden’s “indiscriminate use of force against a civilian airship,” which makes Joe out to be the thug that he is, and as I have stated before, I watch world power politics the way others watch professional wrestling or women’s cage fighting, and style points go to those who earned them, in this case, the Chinese.
Going back to the AP, we have more, as follows:
Xie repeated China’s insistence that the balloon was a Chinese civil unmanned airship that blew into U.S. airspace by mistake, calling it “an accidental incident caused by force majeure.”
China will “resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, resolutely safeguard China’s interests and dignity and reserve the right to make further necessary responses,” he said.
U.S. President Joe Biden issued the shootdown order after he was advised that the best time for the operation would be when it was over water, U.S. officials said.
Military officials determined that bringing down the balloon over land from an altitude of 60,000 feet (18,000 meters) would pose an undue risk to people on the ground.
“What the U.S. has done has seriously impacted and damaged both sides’ efforts and progress in stabilizing Sino-U.S. relations since the Bali meeting,” Xie said, referring to a recent meeting between Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Indonesia that many hoped would create positive momentum for improving ties that have plunged to their lowest level in years.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning provided no new details on Monday, repeating China’s insistence that the object was a civilian balloon intended for meteorological research, had little ability to steer and entered U.S. airspace by accidentally diverging from its course.
“We have stated that this is completely an isolated and accidental incident caused by force majeure, but the U.S. still hyped up the incident on purpose and even used force to attack,” Mao said at a daily briefing.
“This is an unacceptable and irresponsible action.”
FLASH NEWS!
SO HUGE YOU CAN’T BELIVE IT COULD BE TRUE!
BIDEN SHOOTS DOWN MARTIAN SPACESHIP OVER ALASKA!
CLAIMS WAS A THREAT TO OUR NATIONAL SECURITY!
MARTIAN EMBASSY FILES COMPLAINT WITH UNITED NATIONS, CLAIMS BIDEN SHOT DOWN AN INNOCENT CIVILIAN VESSEL ON A MISSION OF GOOD WILL TO PEOPLE OF AMERICA!
BREAKING NEWS!
STAY TUNED TO THIS SAME STATION FOR FURTHER DETAILS AS THEY HAPPEN!
OH, THE HUMANITY!
AND NOW, BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING!