We shot down four objects floating over U.S. airspace, but gave up looking for three. What were they exactly—and what is the government not telling us?
I have to admit: I look at the sky differently now. And at my age, I've got these round things floating on my eyeballs anyway so it can get spooky. My poor wife, sitting on our porch trying to enjoy her cup of tea. "There goes another one!" I say, then, as the eye circle slips away, "No, I guess not." I have no way of knowing what's happening in the area of the Earth that is below the level of my chin. There's another one. Damn! I'll never finish this comment.
This article is weak on research and details. Here is a better one from the Epoch Times, which is a newspaper with strong China connections of the anti-CCP type. Note the public track of a 2019 Chinese balloon which appears to have gone over Florida.
Here is a thought to consider: Shooting down hyper-sonic missiles requires satellite technology and processing power we did not have 4 years ago because it is hard to look down from space and see moving objects moving against the surface of the planet, especially with infrared. I read that learning to do this was a major goal of the US military 4 years ago.
Well, guess what, we have learned to do this and started monitoring in 2022. Thus the US was monitoring airspace when the balloon first was over Alaska in January. But that was a big object. Notice that the announcements were careful to suggest the size of the objects including down to the size of a car. Didn't this communicate to China and Russia what we can now track your hyper-sonic missiles down to the size of a car? Once the balloon made the press over North Dakota they could not keep this technology advance a secret so what better opportunity to indirectly proclaim it's capability.
Hopefully the US and Australia have made progress in developing missiles to shoot down hyper-sonic missiles now that we can track them. That would mean that Mr. Putin could cause his nation to be destroyed if he was delusional enough to try and "go nuclear". They do not have our defensive capability. I guess if I was a Russian I would start worrying and diggign a useless bomb shelter through the permafrost in my backyard.
BTW, at this point I do not think I am giving away any secrets (of course I have no idea if my suggestion is correct).
Isn’t this the fun part of the controversy that the leader of the other party is wrong and our party’s leader is always right? The lack of nuance in analysis is striking. We the people know so little about what goes on in the security/military departments. It’s notable that people like the former pilot choosing to talk about his experience is considered a pariah in his community.
Our government is too big with too many people to reasonably believe there is a coherent conspiracy. Somebody would talk. The check on such action by an independent-minded believer in the American experiment would likely be the knowledge of an untimely, yet scheduled, car or boating accident.
We’re barely scratching the surface of what’s going on. Enemies of the US win when red/blue argues against each other. We The People need more transparency and responsibility from the 545 involved in writing, executing, and interpreting our laws.
Thank you for the link to the Opinion piece you sent. It's possible to spin almost anything and your author does that admirably, but the facts remain the same - that Biden has created more new jobs and that pay has risen more in his administration than in any previous one. He has also reduced the deficit by more than any other president. The economy was reeling two years ago, largely because Trump monumentally mismanaged covid. The wealthy clearly don't pay their fair share.
When a comment ends, as yours does, with a silly insult, the commenter is simply confirming that their argument is unfounded. Thank you for making that clear.
So the Chinese hoped the US reaction to these balloons would further divide our country. Reasonable hope and one that Putin has capitalized on in similar fashion by creating a provocation and counting on the US right to respond the opposite to the way the left would just because it's anathema to them to agree with the left on anything, even when disagreeing would play into Russian or Chinese efforts to discredit our democracy. We can disagree on domestic issues and on our approaches to international issues, but when we so reflexively oppose each other on issues of national defense, such as these balloons or the Ukraine war, we weaken our nation as a whole. Even Mitch McConnell, Mr "I'll do everything to oppose Obama", gets this as he calls for unity in opposing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
I'll come at this from a slightly different perspective...
On the one hand, we have a balloon floating across our skies, traveling on a predictable course and a predictable speed. Even in the wildest of conditions, the balloon is unlikely to travel at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour, assuring anyone interested knows where the balloon is at any given time, where it is headed, and how quickly it will get there.
On the other hand, we have a state-of-the-art fighter interceptor capable of speeds that are multiples of the speed of sound and armable with a wide range of offensive and defensive kit, including single-use missiles that cost more than $400k a pop and 50mm or greater cannons capable of slinging slugs of 200-300 slugs metal per minute at supersonic speeds for the price of about $50/ per round.
But the missile and the cannon can tear the balloon apart in seconds. There's no contest.
But which of the two does the US military elect to use on the difficult mission of downing this highly (in)elusive military threat?
The $400k missile, of course. Anyone that would choose to use the bullets should immediately be busted to the level of E-2 and denied promotion for no less than 10 years.
The fearless warrior selecting the missile gains a promotion to high flag rank and awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery.
We are safe, my friends. The decades-long reinforcement of deep-state agency consensus assures few, if any, will ever have to be given welfare to survive.
Why can't they just put a small hole in the balloons so they slowly fall to the ground, with whatever is attached to them intact and ready to be analyzed?
So, Americans sniping at one another is new? Not new. The sainted Founders enjoyed a good snipe and had quite a lot of very public words arguing over this and that. The Times and others went deep complaining about Lincoln's conduct of the Civil War, especially in the early days. The Lost Cause movement which managed to convince millions that slavery was a noble enterprise was at its root sniping at the anti-slavery crowd, who never managed to overcome the propaganda of the Lost Cause. The periods before during and after the 20th century wars were periods of argument and regretful sniping between the parties not in power and those in. So, the Chinese ought learn their history. But, not to worry, we don't know their history either.
How is the US supposed to coherently respond to this issue? We can’t even agree on when our country was founded, who the rightful president is and the difference between a man and a woman. China doesn’t need a spy balloon. It already has us where it wants us.
Much like lawyers , you can tell that the CCP is lying by watching their lips move.
I have to admit: I look at the sky differently now. And at my age, I've got these round things floating on my eyeballs anyway so it can get spooky. My poor wife, sitting on our porch trying to enjoy her cup of tea. "There goes another one!" I say, then, as the eye circle slips away, "No, I guess not." I have no way of knowing what's happening in the area of the Earth that is below the level of my chin. There's another one. Damn! I'll never finish this comment.
This article is weak on research and details. Here is a better one from the Epoch Times, which is a newspaper with strong China connections of the anti-CCP type. Note the public track of a 2019 Chinese balloon which appears to have gone over Florida.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/silent-killer-inside-chinas-military-balloon-program_5061289.html?ea_src=ai&ea_med=search
Here is a thought to consider: Shooting down hyper-sonic missiles requires satellite technology and processing power we did not have 4 years ago because it is hard to look down from space and see moving objects moving against the surface of the planet, especially with infrared. I read that learning to do this was a major goal of the US military 4 years ago.
Well, guess what, we have learned to do this and started monitoring in 2022. Thus the US was monitoring airspace when the balloon first was over Alaska in January. But that was a big object. Notice that the announcements were careful to suggest the size of the objects including down to the size of a car. Didn't this communicate to China and Russia what we can now track your hyper-sonic missiles down to the size of a car? Once the balloon made the press over North Dakota they could not keep this technology advance a secret so what better opportunity to indirectly proclaim it's capability.
Hopefully the US and Australia have made progress in developing missiles to shoot down hyper-sonic missiles now that we can track them. That would mean that Mr. Putin could cause his nation to be destroyed if he was delusional enough to try and "go nuclear". They do not have our defensive capability. I guess if I was a Russian I would start worrying and diggign a useless bomb shelter through the permafrost in my backyard.
BTW, at this point I do not think I am giving away any secrets (of course I have no idea if my suggestion is correct).
Isn’t this the fun part of the controversy that the leader of the other party is wrong and our party’s leader is always right? The lack of nuance in analysis is striking. We the people know so little about what goes on in the security/military departments. It’s notable that people like the former pilot choosing to talk about his experience is considered a pariah in his community.
Our government is too big with too many people to reasonably believe there is a coherent conspiracy. Somebody would talk. The check on such action by an independent-minded believer in the American experiment would likely be the knowledge of an untimely, yet scheduled, car or boating accident.
We’re barely scratching the surface of what’s going on. Enemies of the US win when red/blue argues against each other. We The People need more transparency and responsibility from the 545 involved in writing, executing, and interpreting our laws.
I think you have the wrong link at the bottom of this article for the ‘digital fentanyl’ article.
Should be this one below, correct?
https://www.thefp.com/p/how-china-got-our-kids-hooked-on
Thank you for the link to the Opinion piece you sent. It's possible to spin almost anything and your author does that admirably, but the facts remain the same - that Biden has created more new jobs and that pay has risen more in his administration than in any previous one. He has also reduced the deficit by more than any other president. The economy was reeling two years ago, largely because Trump monumentally mismanaged covid. The wealthy clearly don't pay their fair share.
When a comment ends, as yours does, with a silly insult, the commenter is simply confirming that their argument is unfounded. Thank you for making that clear.
I am 🙏🙏🙏 for people to start paying attention and for massive push back. Thx for your comments.
“This is not the action of a friend. France would not fly a spy balloon at 60,000 feet above us.”
This Bullshit is brought to You by the same people who bugged the phone of American friend Angela Merkel.
So the Chinese hoped the US reaction to these balloons would further divide our country. Reasonable hope and one that Putin has capitalized on in similar fashion by creating a provocation and counting on the US right to respond the opposite to the way the left would just because it's anathema to them to agree with the left on anything, even when disagreeing would play into Russian or Chinese efforts to discredit our democracy. We can disagree on domestic issues and on our approaches to international issues, but when we so reflexively oppose each other on issues of national defense, such as these balloons or the Ukraine war, we weaken our nation as a whole. Even Mitch McConnell, Mr "I'll do everything to oppose Obama", gets this as he calls for unity in opposing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
I'll come at this from a slightly different perspective...
On the one hand, we have a balloon floating across our skies, traveling on a predictable course and a predictable speed. Even in the wildest of conditions, the balloon is unlikely to travel at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour, assuring anyone interested knows where the balloon is at any given time, where it is headed, and how quickly it will get there.
On the other hand, we have a state-of-the-art fighter interceptor capable of speeds that are multiples of the speed of sound and armable with a wide range of offensive and defensive kit, including single-use missiles that cost more than $400k a pop and 50mm or greater cannons capable of slinging slugs of 200-300 slugs metal per minute at supersonic speeds for the price of about $50/ per round.
But the missile and the cannon can tear the balloon apart in seconds. There's no contest.
But which of the two does the US military elect to use on the difficult mission of downing this highly (in)elusive military threat?
The $400k missile, of course. Anyone that would choose to use the bullets should immediately be busted to the level of E-2 and denied promotion for no less than 10 years.
The fearless warrior selecting the missile gains a promotion to high flag rank and awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery.
We are safe, my friends. The decades-long reinforcement of deep-state agency consensus assures few, if any, will ever have to be given welfare to survive.
Why can't they just put a small hole in the balloons so they slowly fall to the ground, with whatever is attached to them intact and ready to be analyzed?
So, Americans sniping at one another is new? Not new. The sainted Founders enjoyed a good snipe and had quite a lot of very public words arguing over this and that. The Times and others went deep complaining about Lincoln's conduct of the Civil War, especially in the early days. The Lost Cause movement which managed to convince millions that slavery was a noble enterprise was at its root sniping at the anti-slavery crowd, who never managed to overcome the propaganda of the Lost Cause. The periods before during and after the 20th century wars were periods of argument and regretful sniping between the parties not in power and those in. So, the Chinese ought learn their history. But, not to worry, we don't know their history either.
How is the US supposed to coherently respond to this issue? We can’t even agree on when our country was founded, who the rightful president is and the difference between a man and a woman. China doesn’t need a spy balloon. It already has us where it wants us.
Another possibility: this was all a distraction from the revelations of the US orchestrating the destruction of Nordstream.
I'll try harder.