I’ve waited to write about the Chinese balloons for several reasons, including the fact that I really didn’t want to post a mass of invective in place of reasoned thought. The invective is still there, but I have it on a leash for now. Sort of.
I will start by saying that right now I don’t believe a word of what is being said by any branch, part, or employee of the Federal government — nor should you. Until it is confirmed by a reliable and reputable source, don’t trust it or them.
Have balloons been used for intelligence work before? Yes, pretty much since those wacky French brothers got things going on this side of the world. Did the Chinese float three across the U.S. under Trump? No. That story is deflating fast, but not fast enough.
Are balloons being researched for a range of options including aimed delivery of precision weapons, drones, or even chemical/biological payloads? Smart money says yes. Are they the optimal platform for such? Magic Eight Ball says maybe. There are a host of factors that go into such an assessment, and for a number of reasons I will just stick with maybe for now.
Anyone telling you that balloons are no different that satellites and it’s no big deal is a liar and a complete and total idiot to boot. Satellites are moving, and moving fast. There are limits to what they can observe, when they can observe, and on the data they collect. A balloon can be a remarkably steady platform, especially if it can be steered and controlled. Using modern optics, hyperspectral and multispectral imaging, and other sensing systems (and you can pack a lot on a truss that size), you would be amazed at the data that can be collected. Especially if you have nuclear thermocouples or other systems for the real power hogs so that solar can go to other systems including steering.
An amazing amount of data. Data that was collected and transmitted back to China.
Notice also that corporate media, and far too many others, have pretty much dropped coverage of the fact that there was at least one other balloon acknowledged. If you can find any coverage, go back and note just how carefully the government didn’t say where it had been, much less exactly where it was located at that time other than Latin America — which could be anywhere from Mexico to Tierra del Fuego. There were “unconfirmed” reports from non-governmental sources that indicate it was possible that balloon had travelled down the West Coast. You know, where all the military bases that would be responding to actions by China are located.
As it is, the government and corporate media are dropping like a hot potato any mention that the balloon we did finally shoot down may have spent three days loitering over Malmstrom AFB, which happens to house the majority of our Minuteman missiles. Among other things. Look at all the bases and such along the flight path of the balloon. Want to place a bet that if the data is not already being shared with Moscow, it soon will be?
And let’s not forget that the balloon(s) were allegedly not picked up before they were over the Aleutian Islands. If that is true, that would indicate that multiple systems failed in their job. No one, not two, but multiple systems. Also, note that neither was shot down right then either over ocean or in a remote area, despite the violation of American airspace and international law. Instead, they were allowed to continue on and complete their mission.
Dereliction of Duty is the politest term I can use for what has happened. This applies to our military and our civilian leadership. The alleged reason for trying to cover up the incursion is beyond belief in terms of competent, professional, and honest leadership. For the Biden Regency, par for the course. Hey, this is an unprecedented and catastrophic intelligence breach, but better that than embarrassing the Chinese. You know how sensitive they are.
There are no good words to describe how bad the damage is to our military and national defense. As bad as we think it is, I suspect it is even worse than we realize at this time.
The military leadership that failed to detect or take action to prevent the unprecedented overflight should all suck-start their sidearms and apologize to their ancestors in person. The civil leadership that did the same should also go apologize to theirs in person as well.
That said, if the key people involved in this had been acting in the best interest of the United States of America, in full honor of the oath sworn to the Constitution and the Republic, this would not have happened. That it did happen makes it rather clear that one or more people in positions of power were not working for or in the best interest of the United States. If they are not working for us, then for whom are they working? The answer seems pretty clear to me.
The termites are in the woodwork, and the cockroaches are in the walls. The gates all open from the inside, and we have allowed the horse inside the walls.
The published photos of the Chinese balloon look like a copy or spin-off from Google’s ‘Project Loon’. That project (afaik) pioneered dual-use of spar-mounted solar panels as a wind-sail and power source, using AI navigation to position the telecom hub. Most were deployed over Africa, but there was one over South America for a while as well.
There are only a few basic questions:
1) From whom, exactly, and to what degree, are key members of the Biden Administration receiving extra-curricular compensation, of what type and amount?
1b) From whom, exactly, and to what degree, are key members of the American military receiving extra-curricular compensation, of what type, and amount?
1c)From whom, exactly and to what degree, are members of the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate receiving extra-curricular compensation, of what type and mount?
1d) From whom, exactly, and to what degree, are upper echelons of American Executive Branch agencies receiving extra-curricular compensation, or what type and amount?
2) To each of the named parties in the above questions, is “receiving extra-curricular compensation” their only crime or are they also being blackmailed, and by whom, about what and what has that blackmail effort required on their part?
Ths issues involved include, but are not limited to, incompetence, corruption, malfeasance, dereliction. There are specific identifiable causes for the actions taken or not taken and those causes need to be identified, investigated and explained to the full and complete satisfaction of all concerned parties.
It should be noted that while “cash” may figure heavily in the results of the above questions, no form of extra-curricular compensation or consideration should be exempted from scrutiny, to include but not limited to favorable deals on real estate, tangible assets, non-negotiable securities, avoidance of prosecution, retirement offers, and other considerations of intrinsic value which may vary based on individual, regardless from whom such considerations may be proffered due to the standard practice of utilizing “cut outs” to insulate or obscure those directing the proffer and benefiting from the results whether such benefit is direct or indirect.
This issue has the potential to either destroy our Republic due to government corruption or so severely compromise its operation and integrity that the result will be indistinguishable from its destruction.
From things like this bloody, and I mean bloody beyond belief and human comprehension, revolutions are sprung; it has the potential to make the French Revolution a mere asterisk if it is not handled properly. It is that serious.
Iggy
Maybe the balloon was filled with the money that Hunter took from China and they were just trying to give it back…
This is one of situations where, “Who knew about it and When did they know it” is entirely appropriate.
Also where and when was the ballon first detected? How far up the chain of command did it go? Who made the call to ignore /not react to a hostile aircraft incursion into US air space?
All the reactions and press releases have so far been CYA and deliberate missing of the point, no one in authority want to address the failures involved. I fear we have given China the go ahead to invade Taiwan similiar to the US green lights given to Saddam Hussein to invade Kuwait or the Syrians to use chemical weapons, or to Putin to invade Ukraine or to everyone to invade the US borders.
Biden Administration pretending they are Rumpelstilskin, trying to spin gold out of a foreign policy nightmare.
WHO TOLD CANADA NOT TO SHOOT DOWN THE BALLOON ?? I hope that question gets asked because the balloon spent a lot of time in Canadian airspace and all the newsies treat it like it went directly from the Aleutian Islands to Butte , Montana in 5 min. With all that fruit salad on display one of them oughta know the answer.
We Canadians are entirely stupid enough to do stupid things without stupid Biden telling us anything about the stupidity we already do stupider than Biden ever could.
Biden is a poor sort of Trudeldumb compared to our beloved father & son Olympic team of stupid, Trudeldumber the elder and Trudeldumbest the younger even though the Trudeldumbest’s name ought to be Dustbin Castreau not Justin Trudeau.
Anybody else wonder why nobody is asking “What the heck is in Butte Montana that would warrant the Chinese wanting to have a “loitering-lookie-look”.
Go ahead, use your favorite mapping website and take a looky. Nothing to see here.
EXCEPT A MAJOR RAIL HUB for CONUS.
Now again…”What would NEED a Major rail line to be UP AND FUNCTIONAL?”
What “stuff” gets moved from East to West, or South to North in the event of a Major Military Mobilization?
…………ahhhhhh…….the plot thickens just a bit….doesn’t it?
I am curious as to why it was determined to wait until it was safely off shore to down it. Of course they tell us its for safety on the ground, but it ensures no public recovery of the device to learn what it was truly doing. Plausible deniability again.
My initial reaction was that this was not much different from the satellites that we and, presumably the Chi-Coms, use to spy on other countries. This is a better explanation of why the Chi-Com balloon spying on American is different from Chi-Com satellites spying on America than I have seen elsewhere.
I am inferring there might be a legal/customary difference, which is that the balloon was in American airspace, but satellites are not. So, this is more like flying over another country with a plane like a U2 or SR71 instead of using having satellites circle the globe. And, of course, the Soviets shot down at least two U2 and a few countries unsuccessfully tried to shot down SR71s so it is within the acceptable range of behavior to shot down the Chi-Com balloon as soon as it enters America airspace.
One of my other assumptions is that we do similar sorts of things to spy on the Chi-Coms, but perhaps we don’t with the SR71 being long retired and Aurora not really existing.
Wood work? Is there any wood left by now, or is it just dust held together by primer and paint?
The “wait til the mission is done and then shoot it down over the ocean” did not make much sense to me until you mentioned a possible nuculear power source.
Shooting it down after it completed its’ mission wasn’t necessary, it should have been shot down immediately, both to stop it, and to analyze the device to determine the damage it has done to our national security. Unless, of course, it was done to protect China from the consequences of sending what could be called a “nuculear device” over the CONUS.
That the wreckage is in the ocean means that the .gov controls access to and information about the device.
“Trust us” SPIT !
Then you shoot it down over the Aleutians before it gets over land.
No it’s either incompetence, in decision making, senility, ‘or naps’… Or malfeasance ‘on 10% for the big guy’ tasking from power brokers… Either way, same future sop… Identify local collaborators and continue to prepare for wheels to depart vehicle…
They won’t be invading to we are far fewer… But Taiwan better get real… Real quick… Cause those same powers and indecisions in decision making effects them just like Benghazi…
I also noticed that it looked like the payload dropped immediately upon the balloon getting hit. I’m not sure if that is standard practice in design or not. But I think the payload hit the water a couple of hundred miles an hour faster than the deflated balloon did.
It should have hit faster, as the balloon carcass acts as a parachute. Cheers –
Imagine if our military were being run by women, weaklings and sodomites? We’d really be in trouble if that happened.
For answers, start at the top Secretary of Defense,Joint chiefs, NORAD Commander, that should be enough dead wood to start.