Object Seen in the Sky over northwest US

[Yazata]

MR! Your ride's here!

It's big, maybe 100'/30m in diameter

The US Air Force is on the case, scrambled jets and have identified it as a balloon, believed to be a Chinese spy balloon. The Air Force is reluctant to shoot it down and are just watching it. It's drifting eastwards with the jet-stream, well above altitudes where commercial airliners fly. It's headed in the general direction of Malmstrom Air Force Base, one of America's largest ICBM bases, but anything sensitive is under wraps (spy satellites pass overhead every day).

https://www.flyingmag.com/suspected-chin...r-the-u-s/

https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-chin...SKBN2UC219

https://abc7news.com/large-chinese-spy-b.../12763282/

[Image: spy-balloon-closeup-ht-jt-230202_1675380...x9_992.jpg]

[C C]

The Japanese balloons that reached the US and Canada during WWII were carrying bombs to start forest fires.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fu-Go_balloon_bomb

[Yazata]

The Chinese balloon crossed the US diagonally from northwest to southeast, departing over the Atlantic across the South Carolina coast. At which time, a USAF F-22 fighter jet from Langley AFB in SE Virginia shot it down with a single missile.

The Chinese acknowledged that the balloon was theirs, and insist that it was a meteorological research balloon. Which may or may not be true. My own speculation is that it was collecting electronic intelligence. I assume that the USAF was capturing all of the telemetry data that it was sending back and know a lot about what it was doing.

So, if they knew that it was sending back meteorological data and really was a meteorological research balloon, why did they shoot it down? Letting it drift around the world with the jet stream might conceivably have some scientific value.

And if they knew that it was a spy balloon and was sending back electronic intelligence to China, why did they let it cross the US and accomplish its spying purpose before shooting it down?

Something seems a little off about this.

[Syne]

First, US officials say they knew it had crossed into US airspace on Jan 28 and knew it was over Idaho Jan 31. Second, they didn't tell anyone because Secretary of State Blinken was on a "diplomatic mission" to China at the time. Knowing the accusations about Joe, through Hunter, being influenced by China, the delayed US response does seem suspect. If not civilian, it certainly accomplished it's entire mission, being allowed to cross the whole country. Did Blinken go over to secure a bribe?

The Chinese stated, "China will resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of relevant companies, while reserving the right to make further necessary reaction."
That sounds like a stronger statement than a civilian weather balloon would warrant. "Accidentally" breaching the airspace of another country does not give you international carte blanche.

[C C]

From worried about "falling debris could endanger civilians" to this...
- - - - - - -

Pentagon reveals why it waited days to shoot down Chinese surveillance balloon
https://dailycaller.com/2023/02/04/penta...e-balloon/

EXCERPT: Waiting to down the balloon “actually provided us a number of days to analyze this balloon, and through a number of means,” the defense official said. “We don’t know exactly all the benefits that will derive, but we have learned technical things about this balloon and its surveillance capabilities.”

The U.S. was able to “study” and “scrutinize” the balloon and its spying capabilities, which the official described as “broad.”

Additional information about Chinese surveillance methods could be gathered once U.S. Navy and Coast Guard vessels recover debris that splashed down in the water, officials said. While recovery efforts had already begun, the officials could not provide an exact timeline.

[Syne]

All the while it would have been transmitting it's broad spying capabilities back to China, while the Biden admin allowed it to traverse the entire country.
This sounds like a prelude to us finding out about serious treason.

[stryder]

I don't want to sound a shill, however one of the things I looked at prior to the pandemic (as an armchair observer) was the amount of emissions that Chinese production centres (their major cities) were producing and how it likely effected the Jetstreams. (Pollution generating higher pressure would cause the jetstreams to shift and the concern was that when a jet stream shifts it effects global weather patterns such as moving cold fronts done from some places and applying them elsewhere, such as the number of hurricanes and storms the US has endured over recent years)

During the pandemic there was some satellite scans done by NASA over those chinese cities with the comparisons of the Pollution levels. During the Pandemic Chinas pollution levels dropped which again would of caused jetstreams to shift another way.

I'd concerned myself that perhaps China had unwittingly over the years been influencing the US weather through their mass production. It infact made me come to the conclusion that the "Global" state of the world means we shouldn't be building singular industry centres where we pool all our resources and have all the pollution in a given area as it causes far greater weather effects than it we'd actually spaced all those places of production out across the globe.

There was also the concern that the Russian venting and flaring of gas for a number of months in the Arctic circle could of have also influenced the recent wave of Arctic weather related anomolies. (although the thawing of permafrost from global warming also leads to an increase in Methane release)

In either sense it generates a concern that we aren't just dealing with Global Warming but with the potential of Eco-terrorism if a country is knowingly doing such things.

It's therefore possible that China might well have been conducting a meteorological survey of those weather system interactions, however if that is the case they should be able to output the information in the same detail as NASA has done with some of their meteorological projects in the past.

[Kornee]

Talk about drawing a long bow! An eco-terrorism come spy thriller novel next?
How about the obvious - the balloon was as China stated on a harmless meteorological mission and simply drifted off course owing to the vagaries of upper level winds.
Considering how easily detected and tracked a target it was, and it's necessarily rather unpredictable drifting, the suggestion of 'covert' surveillance of 'sensitive' US military assets is just plain idiotic.
Each country has for decades used swarms of highly capable satellites for that kind of thing. Plus far more precisely navigated stealth drones.
We all know the US has long been preparing for a war with China, to fend off the trending threat of being relegated to the #2 superpower. That can't be allowed to happen.
Hence, instead of quiet diplomacy, jack up the storm in a teacup incident to something of 'grave significance' that needed 'resolute and strong action'. Sigh.

Everyone can take away something they like from this article: https://time.com/6252673/chinese-spy-balloon-satellite/

[Kornee]

Hilarious take by a commenter in a MoonOfAlabama article:
"This incident demonstrates that there's a significant balloon gap between the US and Communist China! Unless congress immediately allocates an additional trillion dollars to the pentagon for balloon research and development, the next CPC balloon won't just be carrying surveillance equipment, but also a biological or nuclear payload. Clearly, we're witnessing a watershed moment in armaments history. Hypersonic missiles were clearly just a short-lived fad -- whoever achieves balloon superiority, controls the battlefield of the future."

Further down, a more pointed and revealing entry:

"Yes it did fly over Canada first but didn’t make the headlines.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/canada-t...-1.6259770
“When asked about why the public was never informed about the balloon until after it had entered U.S. airspace, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino cited the sensitivity of the timing of the information. "We have to strike that balance and make sure that we are not in any way compromising our operations and the techniques that we use to protect Canadians…”
https://globalnews.ca/news/9457135/chine...-airpsace/
“Sources had told Global News the surveillance balloon spent time in Canadian airspace, but the details of when and for how long have not been made clear by Canadian authorities.
But a series of NOTAMs (Notice to Air Mission) sent by NAV Canada and reviewed by Global News warned pilots flying into and out of airports in Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City to exercise “vigilance” over the object.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/china-c...-1.6736300
“A Canadian government source with direct knowledge of the situation told CBC the balloon did travel over Canada on its way to Montana. The source said the balloon was first noticed this past weekend over Alaska, that Canadian and American defence officials spoke with each other at that point, and that Biden and Trudeau have not spoken with each other about the situation.”"

[Yazata]

It's hard not to speculate that the reason the balloon was shot down was largely political. Joe and his deep-state handlers saw all the criticism he was receiving (including from within his own party) for letting the balloon drift over the US. So he/they decided to shoot it down in hopes of making him look strong. But given that they only shot it down after it had crossed the US and completed its mission (assuming that it was a spy balloon which seems likely), criticism is continuing and I don't think that belatedly shooting it down helps Joe very much.