This is a little goofy, and likely another expression of the Beijing dragon doing the propaganda dance. According to multiple media sources a high altitude “spy balloon” is drifting over U.S. airspace and the Pentagon has discussed options for shooting it down yet they didn’t.
It’s goofy because the balloon is floating well above commercial airline routes and, well, what could China capture via balloon that they are not already capturing via satellite surveillance. It’s just odd. {Direct Rumble Link}
I can understand not shooting it down – after all, that approach would likely then involve bits of the thing falling to the ground, which then would pose both a hazard and a need to collect all the debris. It seems more like a Beijing propaganda effort than an actual risk to any U.S. military interests.
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Washington DC – House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Thursday night called for a briefing of the “Gang of Eight” — the group of lawmakers charged with reviewing the nation’s most sensitive intelligence information — following reports of a Chinese spy balloon flying over Montana.
“China’s brazen disregard for U.S. sovereignty is a destabilizing action that must be addressed, and President Biden cannot be silent,” McCarthy tweeted. “I am requesting a Gang of Eight briefing.” (read more)
Have no fear, the Pentagon is investigating with their best men, whoops – I mean people, or people-kind, or non-binary persons who are within what we previously called the U.S. military, or defense dept. Whatever all that is now….
The US government uses a couple of spy balloons that continually hover in two spots over the USA to pull in sgnint. They use them as part of the monitoring of us. China is just inserting their own balloon there to intercept electronic comms in the same manner….probably with the blessing of and payment to the “Big Guy” Brandon.
Honest question –
How is a “balloon” made to ‘hover’ in the same spot?
The DEA uses tethered balloons for illicit drug “surveillance and interdiction,” one tethered north of Tampa/St. Pete in the armpit of Florida, maybe around Cross City, the other in SW Texas somewhere along the RG River; they are tethered at 10-14,ooo ft., much lower then the Chinese balloons, but who’s to say they don’t serve more than one purpose and they are the only ones I know of, used to fly past the one in Florida frequently. When NOTAMS were NOTAMS, there was published info on them…always check the NOTAMS before launching.
Sometimes balloons are carrying radar to watch air traffic. In the 80’s Russian spy planes were finding gaps in Mexican radar coverage and going into Mexico then going on the deck and probing for gaps in US Radar coverage along the Southern border and mapping them. Sometimes they crossed the border to see how far they could get before they before they encountered radar coverage. When the AF began receiving civilian reports of low level Russian aircraft in Big Bend and the Rio Grande Valley the AF at first blew them off as misidentification of US military aircraft and over active imaginations. Finally a Russian Bear soy plane was spotted by a Snow Bird in the Valley who just happen to be a retired AF pilot who spent a good portion of his flying career in Air Defense Command. He saw the Bear flyover at low level while he was driving in the upper Rio Grande Valley. He rushed to the next town where he could get to a phone and called base OPs at the nearest AF base and reported the position and heading of the Bear. When the Sgt who was on phone duty that day told him (thinking he was just an overexcited Civilian) he must be mistaken and it was probably a C-130 on a low level training mission, The man then exploded over the phone and told the Sargent he was a retired USAF colonel and had incepted numerous Russian Bear Bombers over his career and damn well knew what they looked like and to tell the Base Commander to get alert fighters in the air now ! Fighters were scrambled and the Russian plane picked up the radio transmissions and promptly return to Mexican airspace and from there to international waters, After that the AF decided to take the reports seriously and moved in tethered balloon radar to monitor the airspace along with some AF reserve fighters to a local Civilian airport in the valley to keep the Russians chased out. The state dept then had a long discussion with the Mexican Government about not controlling their airspace.
Thank you. I had certainly never heard that, and still don’t know if I can completely believe it, but I would not say I actively disbelieve it. But it’s hard to imagine that Bear, a tu20 being used for that kind of attempt. If I were the russians, I just would have souped up some private aircraft available in Mexico with some electronic gear.
The bear was one of the most recognizable planes in aviation history. It is basically a B-29.
changes in altitude,tapping different air currents.
It is tethered to the ground with a cable.
That would only sometimes be possible. If the wind is not very strong for a while the propellant device attached to the balloon, probably usually an actual propeller, is simply based against the direction of the wind so that it remains stationary for some time. At the altitudes this was at, that would be relatively rare occasions unless the propulsion device was much more powerful than I believe is usually achievable.
Sure they do, lol
This one is big as three school buses, has lifting payloads of 1.2 ton, has solar panels for power, and maneuvering means. It will comm means and so much more. Not a balloon but a satellite.
Saw it in use overseas.
THIS NEEDS TO BE THE LAST STRAW!!!
The administration is going to get us all killed!!!
Of course they are. Are we really surprised at this, or any of the other depraved, treasonous acts we’ve seen carried out in plain sight?
Stolen elections without consequences are killers.
Not just THIS administration. The whole DC cabal doesn’t give a whit about any of us. We’re just here to provide them with tax money so they can make themselves and their degenerate offspring wealthy. We are their serfs and they are our masters.
Swalwell got the money for him to produce a remake of Around the World in 80 Days
OR Barack Sunday?
lets not forget the witch Diane Feinstein with the Chinese spy driver….. investigate that shyt.
these are the size of 3 school buses hovering at 60,000 ft. Canada just reported a 2nd surveillance balloon, so CCP claim the 1st was a mistake is complete BS! The DOD is such a corrupt, morally bankrupt org run by COMPLETELY NEUTERED IDIOTS!!!
RATS only destroy … for “kickbacks” of course.
When something happens that RATS are not orchestrating … that may actually need to be stopped/corrected/fixed … like this … nothing … RATS are incapable and completely clueless on how actually do/fix anything.
The fact that a 2nd ballon has been confirmed … clarifies … this is an orchestrated event … ours … China’s … or both?
Dear God, Please send Saint Michael to Protect us. Amen.
You all have no idea what is in that gondola under the balloons (there are two now).
Spying is unimportant. What if it’s a new weapons system?
If our Military does not have the ability to know with 100% certainty it is incapable of blowing an EMP at the proper altitude, people should go to prison for letting it over our territory…
Don’t expect the US military to do a dam thing, they’re toadstool trash
That cartoon SD posted above is perfect.
When a hostile nation violates our national borders you know they have the best of intentions. Biden’s paycheck depends on him parroting this line. So does the rest of the Dhimmierats Party.
Hey guys the balloon could have a bioweapon on board. If it comes down over US and Canada the bioweapon could go off and something a lot worse than COVID could be released. Several years ago it was declassified that the Japanese balloons sent to the west coast during WWII were not carrying incendiary bombs but rather bioweapon dispensers. They all failed except for one that landed in a Mexican village and sicken people in the village. US Army medics were sent there with the blessings of the Mexican government to treat the villagers and decontaminate the village. The whole incident was hushed up and classified top secret to avoid panicking the West Coast. It was only a few years ago this information was declassified.
That could be the reason they did not shoot it down over the US or Canada. It should have been downed over the North Pacific.
We live very close to the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station. We have heard a bunch of F/A 18 activity (common here) the last few days. Why those jets did not shoot down that balloon before it flew into U.S. airspace above our territory here, and across Washington state, and then Montana, was obviously a White House IRRESPONSIBLE decision. I’d bet the Pentagon wanted to shoot it down. They should have blasted that balloon before it got within U.S. airspace over our land.
Why have NORAD and all that early warning crap if nobody has the balls to blow up an intruding aircraft?
I guess the Chinese really are calling the shots at the White House.
The thing that bothers me the most…… is that this isn’t a spy satellite.
it is a Zeplin that everybody and their mother and brother can see with the naked eye.
it is blaintant in your face that the US is owned by China.
𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐘 😳
Anything to do with Western governments is a farce/sick joke or simply F***ed.
We live just north of you in British Columbia and I am looking at the San Juan’s as I plonk away here.
The Balloon drifted down through B.C. before crossing the 49. Not a cheep from anyone responsible for national security.
Hey..accept it. Get right with a God of your understanding and prepare.
Cheers to all!
F-18 can’t get that high. 60k Feet +
Doesn’t need to.
AIM-120 can’t maneuver at those altitudes. it’s radar might not even track the balloon. 20 mm slugs won’t affect it,Canada already tried those and 2.75 inch rockets fired by CF-18’s,they both passed right through the balloon,not affecting it significantly.
Or maybe it’s not even china’s, and it’s simply the latest “look a squirrel” since Hunter’s attys fubared the thing by admitting it was HIS laptop.
The US military is unconcerned because at extreme magnification, they can attest that it does have all of the requisite woke markings: BLM logo, check, rainbow flag, check, ukraine flag, check, NAMBLA logo, check, …All good emission control!
Sarc, check.
The arguments against bringing the thing down so far have been unpersuasive. The balloon is not stationary, so we could calculate the area over which any debris might fall with some degree of educated certainly, given it’s altitude, prevailing winds, etc. Also, a sufficient demoltion would serve to diminish the hazard of whatever does make it to ground.
The larger issue is a geopolitical one. When our chief global adversary feels the confidence to so openly invade our airspace, and spy out our assets, and we do no more than “monitor the situation,” then the world takes note. Lesser adversaries are emboldened by the spectacle that the U.S. is what the Chinese have always claimed we were (even when they didn’t believe it themselves) – a paper tiger. That kind of weakness invites adventurism that a response of “we’re monitoring the situation” would be totally inadequate for.
A Chinese spy vehicle posted outside our airspace we would monitor, to see if Beijing would really dare attempt a breach. But a Chinese asset boldly and brazenly flying across sovereign U.S. space, like some jaunting tourist out on a lark, completely indifferent to consequences, is not a situation to be monitored. We know, then, what the intentions are and the threat to U.S. sovereignty and national security is real time. That is a post-“monitoring the situation” situation. That is time for an object assertion of sovereignty in shooting the vehicle down. In a similar situation, the Red Bear had it right in their treatment of the U-2 spy plane.
A coup is one thing. A drugged up, degenerate son peddling state secrets to enrich his hillbilly cabal, with the blessings of his equally degenerate sire, is another thing still. But an adversary feeling the confidence to drag the entire country before the world stage, just before hosting its Secretary of State, and holding it up for ridicule, this great country for which an adversary at one time would have considered such an act only with the greatest of hesitation, is another order of thing entirely. Quite apart from any strategic value gained, the clear demonstration that we are no longer looked on as a threat to a potential aggressor is the real message behind what is happening now. Sugarcoating it to read anything less is just fooling ourselves.
Maybe.
Personally, I’ld worry more about what traverses the unprotected Southern border. There are plenty broadband sensors that can be adapted to detect slow moving bus caravans in the sky.
How much money is China paying Joe Biden to let
the Chinese Spy Balloon remain in U.S. Airspace?
Same they paid for Bagram.
The balloon is not in US controlled airspace.
Ha! I see what you did there!
When Fed.gov has completely sold out to foreign interests, there is no US controlled airspace.
Each state (i.e., country), by International Convention, has sovereignty over the space above its territory to include 12 miles out from coastline. However, there is no ICAO/International standard or agreement for what altitude that sovereignty extends to. JD is likely referring to any altitude above US definition of Class A airspace.
So far nothing done. So should we now wait for it to fly over a sea or ocean and then take it down?
how can we be certain it’s not our own government spying on us, and blaming China for it?
We need another Snowdon whistleblower.
I’ve no idea what’s going on with this but I do know it would have never happened with Trump in charge .
I say cut the entire Pentagon budget to ZERO. America cannot even intercept and shoot down an enemy balloon.
We have millions of foreigners invading the country from the south like a plague of locusts. Nobody is stopping it.
We are being led by traitors and defended by sissy cowards.
What a disgrace these America-haters in charge have become.
Congratulations: The USA is now the world’s door mat.
Why is anyone surprised by Biden’s inaction? He let 2.5 million cross the Southern border illegally, Iranian warships are approaching the Panama Canal, selling our Strategic Oil Reserve to China, Russian spy ships off Hawaii, NK testing more nuclear missiles, 100,000 Chinese managing their interests in Africa, and negotiating a military treaty with Brazil’s new socialist government while sending $100 billion to Ukraine and thereby draining our military resources.
IMO the Republican Party ( I know they are a big part of the problem) need to make this a hill to if not die on.
Make a massive statement…this is truly serious stuff!
However the U.S. and our Canada are essentially an over fed, over drugged complacent and arrogant society.
Now if the Super Bowl was in jeopardy….them would be fighting words.
How about the pro bowl the one where the Bills QB faked an injury and said “no thanks” and went golfing in a pro am 😂😂
It’s all a farce…Putin is laughing as he prepares to launch a million party balloons.
Was there not a song from the eighties about balloons.
Cheers!
Got to wonder if its gearing up for history to repeat. Seldom spoken of, May 5, 1945, Japanese balloons killed 6 in Bly, OR.
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5374039.pdf
And the 5G cell towers right outside multiple military bases are completely innocuous as well. /sarc (in case there’s any doubt)
the communists in the white house, being directed by the communist o’bama, in collusion with the communists in Bejing have just demonstrated that they are all on the same team and proving that they are unafraid of the American People.
This is the ULTIMATE TRIAL BALLOON. put there to prove that the USA Governmnet will do exactly NOTHING to protect the homelan. Next will be warships off the coast of Maryland, and the Pentagon will send a strong message urging them to adopt LGBTQWXYZ inclusive policies while inside our territorial waters.
Crossing our Southern border vs. passing above through our airspace, what difference does it make?
But send a drone up to capture lovely footage of a river in national park, and expect to be arrested and heavily fined and your drone confiscated. When YOU do it, and not a foreign adversary.
We were just at the Hoover Dam and they are stopping vehicles, you have to go through a checkpoint, there’s a guard on either side. They ask you to roll down all the windows, they look in and then ask if you have any drones or guns.
OKKKK. But a Chinese balloon is AOK.
What a screwed up country we live in.
Not to mention, the water level is so low, I’m not sure what a drone or a gun would do.
What a joke the US has become. Literally, the punchline of a joke.
That balloon should have been shot down by the time it got to the Aleutian Islands. DoD admits its a surveillance ballon, and now says its maneuverable?! And its going to be here for a few more days? Headed east over DC and the east coast?
Are you kidding me?
Use a little math and physics, figure out where the damn thing will land when you pop it, clear out the area underneath, AND SHOOT THE STUPID THING DOWN.
Or maybe use some sort of jamming device to disable the surveillance equipment on it???
Hell, lie about it! Tell the world you have taken control of it, disabled the electronics and you are guiding it out to sea where it will then be taken out.
But for the US govt to say, “Yeah theres a Chinese Spy balloon being flown over our country but we arent doing anything about it and it will probably be around for a few more days”
You may as well just wave a white flag.
Hillarious! It is a satellite.
What is the 2nd balloon?
Haven’t seen it. Probably satellite as well.
I agree with this Ethical Skeptic tweet: “If you cannot defend our border, then you have no business asking me to lose my kids in a war defending someone else’s border.”
Nor should Fed.gov any longer have the moral or legal authority to tax or do any dayum thing pertaining to our God-given liberties. Wanna regulate something? Legislate about something? Try protecting the nation’s borders–land, sea, and AIR! It’s really Fed.gov’s only constitutional purpose. If they can’t do that, they’ve broken the deal and deserve no respect at all.
Not to worry! China is simply touring their newly purchased property brokered by Hunter with 10% commission going to the big guy. Frankly I could have swung at least 15%.
Everything about this looks like a totally manufactured event. Including Tucker Carlson
It does have an Orson Welles feel to it……..
Look closely it is carrying what looks to be ground mapping radar array, very useful for precisely locating silos, critical airbase components and the like. It’s never a joke when one world power sends a surveillance asset at 60k feet over another. As I remember the PRC forced down our plane flying in International waters for using side scan radar. Our government is a joke to the world.
Do we have proof it’s from China? Did we see it take off from its place of Origin, or are we just trusting the administration? (Not)
Another theory is its origin is domestic and our installed fraudulent government is using it to distract us, terrify us into submission.
Big bad ballooon!!!! Hope it’s not filled with Ebola. (Probably made by our government too.)
Chinese air mail returning some documents.
Miss setting a precedence for violation of air space is no doubt problematic…3 passing states ago…and growing..
Will someone admit that there is a ballooning inflation problem etc? ( literally and figuratively )
It is clear…
but some prefer to dither…
“violation of air space”
The balloon is not violating US controlled airspace. US controlled airspace ends at 60,000 feet.
The space the balloon is traveling in is non controlled airspace.
I suspect we have balloons traveling in the same height and doing the same thing.
Which is why the US wont shoot this down. That would mean US balloons in that height would be targets of the Chinese or anyone else.
This balloon may be a tit for tat for things we have done. — but can’t admit to, so we can’t retaliate against them.
I just heard a report the balloon was spotted by a civilian aircraft at 47,000 feet. That IS within U.S. airspace.
The size of the balloon is key to its payload capability.
If an American flies a private aircraft over DC watch what happens and the jail time. If the Chinese do it—-well Biden better accept it if he wants his family paid.
Why not snag it and bring its payload down for examination?
“Welcome to Tennessee, the patron state of shootin’ stuff”
What if it’s used to release bio weapon?
Sorry
Or bunch of butterfly’s, that would be nice for a change, just sayin’
Biden apparenyly told AU PM Albanese, to expect another pandemic worse than covid- plague, ebola- remember the one in Africa, etc, and told him we weren’t prepared for the next one coming, who knows just be as prepared as you can & for anything. So they know they are unleashing this on us. Hello psheople zzeeing.
Corey I lost everyone too, and I mean everyone and been threatened now they wanna do a pych eval on me & they are gunning for me, everything I told you and everyone has come to pass and continuing to unfold. 2030 Ag, must not happen.
You know me from 2017/18 and been following you since you started out. They tried to shut down everyone I followed, some like you are resilient bless you.
I went quiet due to threats to me primarily and family, but I’ve been arking up again recently with My Law as i; nikki the woman under God only, they are suddenly trying to gag me by whatever means I guess, phone was hacked, being zapped, stole my house key, try to access my home, I think I am a poi to them, I can’t even enrol in my study options, they screwed with that, can’t get work, even volunteering is a struggle to get into- I’m not vaxd, haven’t even been tested and won’t and have not been crook at all with flu or cold for years thanks to CSilver. They likely to give it to me and each other as it doesn’t work. Met a guy he’s been vac twice and had co twice recently, it’s a joke.
I warned ya’s China the sleeping giant and warned many others years before that among other things.
Remember power of the Word, God’s Word and the Blue Pen.
Write your Law as a woman and Man, as citizens as dead entities no more!
We are Mankind, not citizen kind, you are not a dead entity!
Maybe go read a bit at https://www.anonymousconservative.com/blog/surveillance/
It might help some.
I have to disagree with our host. Shooting down this balloon is easy, as putting several holes in the balloon will allow the helium to escape slowly; thus allowing the inflation to leak out slowly. Recovery should be simple.
So China claims it as theirs, but if it just went “off track”, why is there a 2nd one?
https://thelibertydaily.com/massive-explosion-something-is-happening-in-the-skies-of-montana/
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/02/massive-explosion-billings-montana/
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pentagon-another-chinese-spy-balloon-traveling-over-latin-america
Since the Chinese are thumbing their nose at Biden and are completely disregarding us, who have they decided to install as President? What obscure or unknown individual will be “elected” in 2024? who could have been paid off to do their bidding?
No one knew Obama. Who is the next anointed one?
One more question, please. What is the penalty for treason?
Zelensky just asked the US for 2 billion dollars for balloons.
I’m sure the FJB Administration knew this balloon was going to transit the US,and over sensitive military areas,before it got past the Aleutians. And they knew what kind of balloon it is.
51 current and former Chinese intelligence officials have signed a letter declaring that the preposterous stories of a so-called “Chinese spy balloon” that “magically appeared” over the U.S. bear all the earmarks of a typical American disinformation operation.
Pretty cheap delivery system for the latest and greatest viral creation from one of the NIH funded labs somewhere in the world. Just sayin’….
CCP EMP or bioweapon delivery system test? No missiles or planes to trigger a defensive response. Especially from Biden.
How did the balloons get here? Where were they launched from? Did DOD know they were ‘flying’ before they arrive here? When were they detected? If a balloon over Montana was a surprise, detecting incoming missiles is really going to be tough.
Will never know what the reaction would have been if this was a Russia balloon that wondered off course.
My guess is justification for war against Russia
There are probably several advantages to being within the atmosphere. One of them I’m sure of is that radio Transmissions are picked up much better within the atmosphere. You have probably seen models of how radio waves broadcast, they tend to bounce off the top of the atmosphere and the Earth. Satellites therefore are usually mostly cut out of the capture game.
However, there is a much more menacing possibility. This may have been a trial balloon, haha, for some future infiltration of an EMP or regular nuclear device. Fast Movers attract a lot of attention from NORAD technology. Things that are moving with the Wind are often mistaken for clouds, temperature differentials which also sometimes show up on radar, or even flocks of birds at lesser altitudes.
There are probably several other possibilities of which I am ignorant. But for surveillance, closer is better.