It wears a nicer face in my beautiful balloon
It looks more like one of those terrifying Rovers in the 1960’s cult TV show, The Prisoner, which helped keep people under control in The Village.
But actually it’s a Chinese “weather balloon” that is just gently floating across the USA at an altitude of some 60,000 feet. Specifically it’s floating over Montana, where Strategic Air Command (SAC) has about 150 ICBM nuclear missile silos.
The US Military is on the case:
“The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now,” Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told NBC News. “We continue to track and monitor it closely.” Officials have confirmed that the balloon belongs to China.
…
“Currently we assess that this balloon has limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective over and above what the PRC can do through other means,” the official said. “Nevertheless we are taking all necessary steps to protect against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information.”
Completely by accident of course:
Beijing had sought to defuse tensions with Washington on Friday over the balloon, expressing its regret over the incident, and saying the balloon was for civilian research and had “deviated far from its planned course.”
You have to laugh at the sociopathic nature of that whopper: a lie so blatant that the CCP just wants to see if you’ll buy it.
Even funnier is that article’s title: For God’s Sake. Just Shoot the Damn Thing Down Already.
Well, yes! Obviously. Where’s General Buck Turgidson when you need him. Hair Mussed?
But you’ll get just as many laughs looking at the collection of video clips in this article on the resulting Pentagon briefing, where some hapless, helpless modern-day successor to “Buck” talks in circles:
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Awesome. Who needs an $800 billion a year military when you can buy a small telescope or a pair of binoculars for a couple of hundred bucks. Or ordinary video cameras:
Over in the comments section I see that regular commentator Andrei has had some fun with this by showing the classic 1980’s anti-war song, 99 Luftballons, which plays with the idea of the Cold War turning hot when radars are triggered by children’s balloons- but I prefer the following
No Minister 
How quickly we forget
I certainly had. But that’s probably because they found the six year old boy hiding somewhere else and not in the balloon?
BTW, are you implying that the Chinese balloon is also just a stunt?
Heres one for Andre!
Something has happened – maybe one was blown out of the sky??
Questions.
Why would Chinsese use a High Altitude Helium balloon for surveillance when it is uncontrollable, verses one of their many satellite??
If a Helium balloon was shot down, helium being an inert gas would not produce a smoke trail. so what was really shot down? If anything
Good question. Perhaps the USA should float an identical one across China and see what they do?
Perhaps it wasn’t a helium balloon?
Possible but I can’t imagine anybody wanting to screw around with hydrogen…
Perhaps it was a UFO. Anything is possible in a fertile imagination 🙂
Just leave your critical thinking behind.
Distraction??
This is how utterly pathetic modern Americans really are, after getting their arses by Pastun Tribesman in Central Asia they are now thumping their chests over popping a weather balloon.
The whole world is laughing at them
We call it a storm in a tea cup Andre.
In Russia they call it a bad Vodka in a plastic bucket.
Meanwhile in Russia some idiot decided to test American resolve, and came up short, real short.
I guess the civilised world is not laughing, more horrified at the Stalingrad type losses being endured by the Russian people.
Do you find that funny, or is it because you are one of the Russian elitewho sneer and look down on the peasants, still!
Wrong Rossco we actually call it loosing the plot.
If you knew what was really going on, which you clearly don’t, you would realize that the USD is being undermined by sovereign nations starting to trade among themselves using other mechanisms outside the dollar and western banking systems,
In particular Russia. China, India, Iran and Brazil are leading this development.
And that is why the American establishment a running around like headless chooks over a stray high altitude weather balloon.
Its hilarious to watch, like reading that hastily cobbled together article in Tom’s comment below trying to convince people that balloons are highly manoeuvrable and potentially dangerous weapons.
Monty Python stuff
Sure Andre !
Russia – run by a nut case tyrant
China – see above
India – ummm reserve judgement
Iran- run by a nut case religious tyrant
Brazil – run by a totally corrupt individual, and a nut case.
Except India all basket cases, seeking a way out of the USD system. The Gold Standard might be a solution but refer meaning of nut case.
The USA is the dominant country for the next 200-650 years, ergo USD is the currency of the world.
Refer UK for historical context.
Refer Russia for how to fuck a country and its people. The vodka standard simply wont work!
Interesting article on using balloons in modern warfare.
Also this…