Suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down off South Carolina coast

Discussion in 'Political Discussions' started by LevelUP, Feb 4, 2023.

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  1. LevelUP

    LevelUP Active Member

    Last edited: Feb 4, 2023
  2. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Yeah, you guys did. Good job. Now take out the spy-gadgets and send the rest back to Xi - in a humongous body bag. Send a message.
     
  3. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    And they did it just as expected: after it drifted out over water so it could fall without the chance of hurting people and property. This while ignoring frantic screams from certain politicians to do it immediately. You know, like a prudent decision-maker would.

    While I certainly have no inside information, I'm pretty sure our military deployed effective countermeasures to blunt its ability to collect intelligence. It was more of an irritation and rude intrusion than anything else.
     
    Johann likes this.
  4. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Exactly. :)
     
  5. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

    The part of this story that I found the most amusing were the folks (e.g., Donald Trump Jr) that were suggesting private citizens should shoot it down, apparently under the delusion that a rifle bullet could reach an object 11 or 12 miles up in the air.
     
    Rachel83az likes this.
  6. LevelUP

    LevelUP Active Member

     
    Last edited: Feb 5, 2023
    Bill Huffman likes this.
  7. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Phineas Fogg for the win!
     
    nosborne48 likes this.
  8. Rachel83az

    Rachel83az Well-Known Member

    The sun is only 30 miles up, so the balloon must be much closer. Duh! :rolleyes:
     
  9. LevelUP

    LevelUP Active Member

  10. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Apparently there were three similar incidents during TFG's term.
     
  11. nomaduser

    nomaduser Active Member

    Xi Jinping, Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin all suck
     
  12. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    One key difference: no one shot down those. Funny how certain critics are forgetting that.
     
    SteveFoerster likes this.
  13. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Sadly, the Deep State™ prevented him.
     
  14. datby98

    datby98 Active Member

    Wow, what is inside the balloon? Fake cash?
     
  15. LevelUP

    LevelUP Active Member

    Maybe the balloon was an elaborate gender reveal.
     
    Maniac Craniac likes this.
  16. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    NORAD detected Chinese spy flight before it reached US, but 'could not' take action, general says



    NORAD personnel detected China's surveillance balloon before it reached the coast of Alaska, but "could not" take action to shoot it down, a top military official said Monday.

    NORAD chief Gen. Glen VanHerck spoke to reporters in a press call on Monday and faced questions as to why the U.S. did not shoot down China's surveillance craft as it crossed Alaska's Aleutian Islands. VanHerck confirmed that NORAD had detected the craft before it entered Alaskan airspace, but said he "could not" take immediate action because the balloon did not pose a direct threat.

    "The domain awareness was there as it approached Alaska. It was my assessment that this balloon did not present a physical military threat to North America," VanHerck said Monday. "This is under my NORAD hat and therefore, I could not take immediate action because it was not demonstrating hostile act or hostile intent."
     
  17. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    Did Phineas Fogg actually go up in a balloon? In the book I mean.
     
  18. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    I wish I knew what this thing really was. It seems awfully clumsy for intelligence gathering.
     
    SteveFoerster likes this.
  19. Rachel83az

    Rachel83az Well-Known Member

    I'm pretty sure he does so when crossing the continental US. It's been a while since I read the book.
     
  20. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Maybe it's a stupidity-gathering device. :)
     
    nosborne48 and Rich Douglas like this.

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