UPDATE: The Pentagon announced on Saturday that a US fighter jet shot down the balloon after it drifted over the Atlantic off the coast of the Carolinas.
After the Pentagon claimed there was a Beijing-operated surveillance balloon hovering over American skies, Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled his plans to visit China next week. While a Department of Defense official told the media it has "high confidence" the unknown balloon is a Chinese-operated surveillance craft, it has released no details on how the Pentagon reached that conclusion. Beijing issued a statement saying the balloon is from China, but it is merely a civilian weather balloon.
On Thursday, American defense officials revealed to reporters that the DoD has tracked a balloon for several days in American skies. However, the Pentagon admitted Beijing would gain little from such a surveillance device. "First, our best assessment at the moment is that whatever the surveillance payload is on this balloon, it does not create significant value added over and above what the PRC (People’s Republic of China) is likely able to collect through things like satellites in Low Earth Orbit," the official said.
The official added that the Pentagon did not shoot down the balloon, which is located in the skies above Montana, because falling debris could injure people on the ground. DoD spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the balloon will not interfere with civilian aircraft and does not present a military threat.
The White House is reacting to the alleged Chinese craft by canceling a high-level diplomatic summit in Beijing. Had Blinken made the trip he would have met with the Chinese foreign minister and potentially President Xi Jinping.
A senior State Department spokesperson told reports on Friday, "[a]fter consultations with our interagency partners, as well as with Congress, we have concluded that the conditions are not right at this moment for Secretary Blinken to travel to China." The US is claiming that the talks are postponed and will take place at a later date, but did not indicate when that may happen.
China issued a statement on Friday saying the craft was a weather balloon for civilian scientific purposes. "The airship comes from China and is of a civilian nature, used for scientific research such as meteorology," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. Beijing claimed strong winds created a situation outside of its control that pushed the balloon into American airspace.
Beijing said it regretted that its balloon drifted into American skies and called for talks to resolve the dispute. However, talks will now be less likely as the State Department is keeping its distance from China.
Still, some in Congress are calling for more action. Senator Marco Rubio asserted the balloon was a Chinese surveillance craft that should be shot down. "It was a mistake to not shoot down that Chinese spy balloon when it was over a sparsely populated area. This is not some hot air balloon, it has a large payload of sensors roughly the size of two city buses & the ability to maneuver independently," Rubio Tweeted Friday.
Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com, news editor of the Libertarian Institute, and co-host of Conflicts of Interest.
Seems to me the U.S. Propaganda machine Clearly wanted the Public to know about this Spy Device/Weather balloon. But ask yourself why? China is the only other nation that has sent a successful probe to MARS. It landed on the surface just like American probes have. I tend to believe that China’s Spy Satellites ate more than capable of getting the reconnaissance they need without the fanfare of a TOTALLY time era impractical Spy Balloon….
But when you need an enemy, when you need a villain, when you need more reasons to do things that seem unnecessary. Outrage and fervor are great tools to get the ‘winds blowing in the right direction’. Did u catch my drift.
The GOP propaganda machine is spinning the notion that none of them want to cut Social Security and Medicare in any way or fashion. The Democrat propaganda machine is in crazy mode. Spy balloons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????????????
the GOP will eliminate SS and medicare and pretend that they didn’t
SS is where Democrats hid vast and vital programs for disability and for children who lost parents. More than half of SS goes to pay things that are not retirement pensions.
We did not want to acknowledge the programs or the cost of them. So they were hidden in the administrative definition of Social Security disability and early death benefits.
I suspect that is more the target than retirement benefits.
If so, then we should pay for SS by acknowledging these programs and paying for them outside the pension system.
As usual, great point!
“as usual!”
my mama and my daddy had social security “benefits” deducted out of their pay-checks. that money was deducted with the premise that they would get some of it back. are you suggesting that my mama and my daddy should not receive their retirement fund?
Your mama and your daddy got scammed.
That’s not a good thing.
It’s also not a reason to continue letting the scammers run their scam.
yes my mama and my daddy got scammed.
but they did collect some money every month after they got old. i see your photo there – do you collect SS ?
me, i have never paid into it so i will never get anything out of it.
No, I don’t collect Social Security. Even if I eventually choose to try to do so, I’m quite a few years short of being able to do so and by no means confident that the Ponzi will still be rolling along by then.
And you , like the rest of us, will have your ass down to your local SSI office or you’ll be signing up online.
Rather unlikely, but not impossible.
You’re not going to collect on something you’ve paid into? Or there won’t be anything to collect?
Check your premises.
Those “benefits” are as guaranteed as regular tax deductions benefitting you.
Read again. Not at all.
Seems to me your conspiracy nut. Everyone can see it. Had the government not said anything you’d be claiming secret aliens or some sh*t
i saw the china spy balloon on TV. when you see it on TV that makes it a reality
You’re right man, there is no balloon, your the only one smart enough to realise that, you should start a blog to spread the (goofy conspiracies) truth .
What a joke. We’re represented by a bunch of sissies.
What? What the hell does this mean, not tolerating other nations fly unknown thing in your air ways, makes you a sissy? Good lord.
The state department would cancel any kind of diplomacy over a Blinken hangnail. The balloon was such a godsend.
Blinken is spouting a line that only a Straussian neocon could appreciate or even understand.
Voltaire once said, “Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”
Definition of “spying:” “work for a government or other organization by secretly collecting information about enemies or competitors.” The Chinese are so dumb. How dumb are they? While they probably could “secretly” spy on the US, they sent a totally visible balloon. (Sarcasm alert)
Perhaps shooting down the ballon will release something in the atmosphere we wouldn’t want.
I can just imagine conversations in Montana….” I reckon that there balloon is plenty full of that China Virus!”
Sounds like a biological weapon of mass destruction on a NATO country.
That’s it for sure. Time to enact Article 5.
😉
Agreed. We wouldn’t want more absurdity leaking out of it.
In 1950’s US sent a spy balloon over Russia, and when Russia caught it, US claimed it was a weather balloon. But, now there are satellites, plenty of them in Russia, China, and US, plus a number of other countries, that spy on each other. Using balloons for spying is a joke. Chinese reason makes a lot more sense, than the nonsense coming out of theUS officials like Blanken Blinken.
Just because there are satellites doesn’t other means spying bo longer exist, just because miss the US government, doesn’t mean you to be fool a d believe whatever the Chinese government says, Jesus Christ.
Say that in English.
LOL that is what passes for english nowadays
Maybe he indeed is a bot, programmed to spout a bunch of balloony.
+++
Yup, phone F’d that up. but my point still stands. Just because there are weather satellites, doesn’t mean other forms of spying no longer exist. Just because you rightfully mistrust the word of the US government, doesn’t mean, you should foolishly believe the word of the Chinese or Russian government.
“Say that in English” means I believe the word of the Chinese and Russian governments? Or are you just another troll with standard irrelevant replies?
“Just because you rightfully mistrust the word of the US government”
So, does that make you a Chinese and Russian stooge also? And did your employers not tell you that no negative talk about the exceptional nation was allowed? They might now dock your pay for that part of your comment.
No, it means miss trusting the US government, doesn’t trust the Russian government or CCP.
Maybe I am naive, but in matters that affect my life, I have come to disbelieve most of what other governments purport and all of what my government says unless verified. Especially concerning the Ukraine war.
LOL. Bots make more sense in gibberish. Except, when readers consume large amounts of vodka, or have pre-drilled holes in their heads for frequent brainwashing.
It’s a Chinese balloon to start fire in your neighborhood. Be scared.
No, it’s a Chinese balloon possible to spy on my nation, will capture and study it, not stupidly believe the CCP’s, it’s just a whether balloon bro, don’t worry about it. How can you guys be such globule morons, when it comes to the CCP and Russia?
In that case I suggest keeping your pants on when you sunbathe in the back yard.
Why, I’ll sunbathe naked in my backyard if I want too.
China had never invited Blinken to visit China in the first place, and have complained about the US talking one way and then acting the exact opposite after they leave. The balloon is just an excuse to cancel the trip because nothing would have been gained anyway.
Bingo!
Polish authorities are recruiting crews for German Leopard tanks supplied to the Ukrainian military.
“Protect the native Polish lands. Become a tank driver. Protect Poland in Ukraine,” reads the advertisement in the Polish metro.
The President of Poland claimed that in addition to the Leopards, he was ready to transfer the remaining T-72s to Kiev. Warsaw has already sent 240 tanks, more than 100 armored vehicles, self-propelled howitzers and ammunition.
No one hates quite as well as the Polish.
The way it is going – Russia will have to hit Warsaw eventually and hit it HARD.
What if it is just a wayward weather balloon? They actually do go off track quite often The idea one couldnt shoot it down is so convenient to the narrative…in the least populated area of the US….pull the other one.
If it was the Chinese would have just said so, and why shoot it to destroy it instead of capturing, God that would be a stupid unessesary move.
How stupid and craven this cancellation is.
Why?
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2023/02/03/washington-inflates-the-china-balloon-threat/
Nonsense, no country would toll0orat their air space violated, you guys have jumped from russian stooges, to chinese stooges, pathetic.
Your brain is so small that the only thing you can deploy against a policy argument is mindless McCarthyism. You are the zombie and don’t even realize it. BTW, re “no country would toll0orat [?] their air space violated.” Really? So you support Iran and Syria bombing Tel Aviv and Yemen droning Riyadh for the violation of their airspace?
“So you support Iran and Syria bombing Tel Aviv and Yemen droning Riyadh for the violation of their airspace?”
What? Hell no, why would I?
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Stop me! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
It has crashed already in the toilet of Tuckewr Clarkson releasing a lot of information about his desire to get US move away from white Russia and slam against yellow China . Ballon also talked to him . Now some guys from Montana got an opportunity to sound surprised disgusted and very patriotic same time.They usually don’t get all 3 .
This is embarrassing bro
Why have actual diplomacy when you can throw a hissy fit over a stupid off course balloon?
This doesn’t mean diplomacy is over, the Chinese would throw a “hissy fit” over this sort of stuff, nation tend not like there air space violated.
The Chinese are not the ones cancelling high level diplomatic meetings planned for years and freaking out over a balloon. The Chinese came out and even apologized, despite their emphasis on face.
Again this doesn’t mean diplomacy is over, no reaction to being spied on is in invitation to keep doing it, and this was mild reaction at best.
The intelligence value over satellites is probably minimal,but its a good way to mock the US,testing the lack of backbone response.It would also be a good way to get an EMP device over the country,since our fool leaders did not respond.
Lack of backbone response? Lol what, the hell do you want the US fire missiles at it, instead of capturing it? God were lucky a baffon like you is not in power.
LOL Chinese spy balloon sound like Jewish satellites starting fire in California. Did China run out of spy satellites needing spy balloons?
Sounds like Saddam’s chemical weapons spewing drones being a threat to the continental United States.
Spy balloons are still used, moron
No, they aren’t Bot.
Yes, they are, CCP stooge.
Yes, they are, it’s happening right now, stooge
Does it make sense that the balloon has been over US territory for multiple days???? Montana is not that close to any ocean.
We did track it as it traveled over Canadian and US territory right???
How did they get a balloon to hover? That is the most fascinating aspect of this whole thing. As far as spying goes, not need to resort to cameras they will just download the files they want when they want them.
Bro, you can’t be this dumb?
look at the balloon… look at the ballon… SPIES!!!
Entire US Population .. goes back to TikTok for 10 hours a day
No one is doing that, we’re paying attention to an unknown foreign balloon in our air space, as would any one.
Republicans are using this as an excuse to go full in on agression vs China, and hatred of Biden. They made it quite clear that they are only against Biden’s war in Europe, and want to divert resources to THEIR war in Asia.
There seems to be a universal US consensus for max military spending, with a robust and divisive battle over which conflict to spend it on.
Both sides think THEIR conflict is the crucial one, and that the other party is mishandling the conflict that it priotitizes.
Meanwhile we have the doofus-in-chief in Tel Aviv, itching to get in on the action with a special operation to destroy the people with the funny headgear in Iran.
Republicans are using this as an excuse to go full in on agression vs China, and hatred of Biden. They made it quite clear that they are only against Biden’s war in Europe, and want to divert resources to THEIR war in Asia.
There seems to be a universal US consensus for max military spending, with a robust and divisive battle over which conflict to spend it on.
Both sides think THEIR conflict is the crucial one, and that the other party is mishandling the conflict that it priotitizes.
The current studied show that the benefits of vitamin D interventions in patients hospitalised with Covid-19 are providing a protective effect against ICU admissions and mortality.
Further studies are needed to assess how valuable vitamin D is in reducing deaths for hospitilisations for patients with Covid-19.
Yeah, it’s well being overall healthy diminish your risk of death from, covid, the government should be encouraging to hit the gym, it should be requirement for all aged schooling.
The Chinese should have invited Blinken to take a balloon ride.
♪♫Up up and awaaaay ♫♪ ♫♪In my beautiful my beautiful balooooon♫♪
We’re not shooting it down because that would prove it’s a weather balloon and Blinken couldn’t use that as an excuse to cancel his uninvited trip to China. Obviously if we really thought it was a spy balloon it would have been shot down over Alaska or Canada. Just think about it and don’t go like rats to the tune of the Pied Piper.
This. Weather balloon or useful ratchet towards public panic and world war?
Shouldn’t we have scrambled some of our own balloons to intercept this balloon?
Get some parade balloons up there.
I wanna see Snoopy take on the Red Baron.
You mean the ABB’s – the anti-balloon balloons?
Indeed. Would be equipped with big, long needles.
LOL
A baloon incident?
Symptomatic of US foreign policy — full of hot air. Current geopolitical storm will blow it off course
Oh no – it’s Balloongate!
Oh, please no. Not another “-gate”. That trope should have died with Watergate.
“Amid Concerns Over a Balloon, US Cancels High-Level Meeting with China
Beijing said it regrets that one of its weather balloons drifted into”
Beta male Blinken is a disgrace to the world of diplomacy. Under Blinken the Department of State has become the de facto War Department.
Between allowing NEOCONs to run amuck and failure to use any diplomacy in Eastern Europe the Department of State has become a joke department. Victoria Nuland is allowed to honcho the overthrow of elected governments and the National Endowment for Democracy NED has become the dirty tricks wing of a hybrid CIA/Department of State group. The NED roams the world trying to destabilizing any country the NEOCONs don’t like in the name of American Empire.
That about sums it up, alright.
Germany is sending 88 tanks to Ukraine!
88 is a Nazi number symbol for Heil Hitler:
‘H’ is the 8th letter in the alphabet.
Did Germany specifically provide 88 tanks to send a Nazi message to Russia?
China does not like Blinken. In their first two meetings they felt insulted, and they responded in the meeting with hostility and near-insults.
Cancelling his visit may be seen as a good thing by China, certainly by some powerful portions of the Chinese government.
“China does not like Blinken”
Hmm
Well, Blinken is an idiot, so there’s that. In fact, I’d say he’s a Blinken’ idiot 😉
Breaking news!!!!!! 😂
The US, along with close consultation with NATO allies, shot down the Chinese high altitude tactical airship (weather balloon) that was deemed a threat to national security and a clear violation of international law.
This was done off the Carolinas coast and the State Department is happy to announce that no civilian lives were lost in this high-risk, tactical operation that few countries would be able to achieve.
To quote someone from 20 years ago, “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!”
2 takeaways:
1) I’m glad the US didn’t use this as part of their training program for the Ukrainian military (on US soil) for Patriot Missile Systems because I’m sure one of those missiles would have taken out my house here in Canada. Of course Russia would have been blamed.
2) The only thing that could have topped this is for the Chinese to have borrowed one of Roger Waters’ Pig floats from his concert tour. Roger, please take note,
“This is not a drill” 😉 😂
Operation Full of Hot Air successfully. executed. And this one not caused by Trump.
Aww, a Tucker Carlson viewer too. Of course, he is pro Russia.
Blinken has said that a balloon is considered “a clear violation of US Sovereignty”. If that is true, would a US satellite looking down on Russia or China also be a clear violation of sovereignty?
Would shooting down a balloon capable of surveilling US territory set a precedent for shooting down a satellite that is providing real time intelligence and/or communications capabilities to forces attacking the Donbass or Crimea?
Is China exercising freedom of the skies in much the same way as the US Navy is exercising freedom of the seas in the Taiwan Strait?
Is the publicity of such a balloon being used to cause paranoia among American citizens?
Or is this just Blinken fabricating an excuse to do what he does best: refuse to negotiate with anyone who challenges his views?
The whole ballon fiasco provided an excuse for Blinken to cancel his trip to Beijing. He was never invited in the first place, and the two-faced approach of Blinken is well known to China. Say this and that while there, and then immediately do the opposite after departing.
I’ll take door number three, primarily because, as far as I’ve seen so far, Blinken is a blinken idiot.
Has anybody considered that, God forbid, China’s explanation that it was a meterological balloon was true?
Firstly, it makes no sense to spy with a balloon that moves with the winds when they have satellites which remain stationary. Second, had it been a spy balloon, it would have been shot down the moment it was discovered, collateral damage be damned; just like the civilian plane that was shot down over Pensylavania back on 911.
It was allowed to complete the trip over the US to whip up ant-China fervor and prepare the population for a war.
One website says it was a stealth jet. Oh my, the poor balloon never saw it coming.
GMTA
Everyone out from under their beds now!!! What a nation of sissies.
This song comes to mind. It says it all; 99 luft ballons…
I read they used a stealth fighter (we only use the very best) so that the balloon wouldn’t even know what hit it.
US media is desperate to start a war with China. The US military after being asked why would China spy on US with a balloon said he doesn’t know because they have very sophisticated satellites that are spying on US constantly. The next question should have been is it possible this was a weather research balloon that got caught in the jet stream. But you don’t question US military, as we are still suffering from Saddam’s nukes.
Interesting fact about Anthony Blinken:
Trilateral Commission – Founded by David Rockefeller
Aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America.
Carl Bildt: European Deputy Chairman
Notable member: Anthony Blinken US Secretary of State, Michael Bloomberg of Bloomberg LP, Mark Brzezinski CEO Brzezinski Strategies and Ambassador to Sweden, Zbigniew Brzezinski US National Security Advisor to the Carter Administration
A balloon. Seriously. All of this? The urge to turn ones face to the wall is strong with this idiocy on parade.