Society's Child

US shoots down alleged Chinese spy balloon

Sputnik
Sat, 04 Feb 2023 19:30 UTC

The balloon, which the United States has claimed is a Chinese surveillance balloon, first became public knowledge on Thursday, though Bloomberg reported earlier on Saturday that the Biden administration has known about the craft since January 28.

The US Military shot down the Chinese balloon that has been flying over the United States over the past few days on Saturday afternoon. Witness video of the balloon's destruction was first posted on social media and live streamed by national media. The balloon was reportedly shot down off the East Coast of North Carolina.

The Chinese government says the balloon is a civilian vessel designed to monitor weather patterns that had blown off course. The balloon was reportedly flying at about 66,000 feet.

Prior to the operation that brought down the balloon, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had paused flights at three airports in the area "to support the Defense Department in a national security effort." The grounding of those airports has reportedly been lifted.

Earlier in the week, it was reported that the US Military advised against shooting down the craft while it was over land. Officials feared the falling debris could be dangerous to civilians on the ground.

Despite those apprehensions, multiple Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, criticized President Joe Biden for not shooting down the plane. Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. encouraged citizens in Montana to take action into their own hands while the alleged surveillance balloon was over the state.

Beach-goers at Myrtle Beach, North Carolina captured the operation using cell phone cameras and posted it to Twitter and other social media sites. US Fighter Jets can be seen circling the craft before one appears to fire a missile at it, causing the remnants of the balloon to crash back to earth.

Earlier on Saturday, President Biden told reporters that his administration was "gonna take care" of the balloon when asked if he planned to shoot it down. The Pentagon said on Friday that the balloon did not pose a threat militarily or politically.

The official added that the order was given by the President and was supported by military leadership.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was scheduled to visit Beijing on Sunday, that trip has been indefinitely postponed because of the incident, though China says the trip was never officially announced. Beijing added that it respects Washington's decision to cancel the trip.

President Biden spoke to reporters after the operation on Saturday, saying he wanted to bring the balloon down on Wednesday. The balloon did not become public knowledge until Thursday.

"On Wednesday when I was briefed on the balloon, I ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down — on Wednesday — as soon as possible. They decided, without doing damage to anyone on the ground, they decided that the best time to do that was as it got over water ... within a 12-mile limit. They successfully took it down and I want to compliment our aviators who did it," the President told reporters in Maryland on Saturday.

Comment: See also: The Chinese 'spy balloon' story as manufactured crisis: An alternative reading

Reader Comments

KRNABRNY · 2023-02-05T11:48:01Z

USA is like a football player on the field who, while kicking the ball, finds himself alone!

But he doesn't stop kicking the ball and starts playing with himself :-)

Dwoods44 · 2023-02-05T13:39:55Z

KRNABRNY He wants someone to join the game...

zman · 2023-02-05T13:59:34Z

OK, what a load of manure. So, if it was a 'spy' vehicle, our military just showed it's complete ineptitude. They wanted to wait until it was safe to down it? Like it was NEVER over an area where it would have been safe? Do they think, if it was a spy vehicle, that they thwarted the op? I suppose it would never occur to the Chinese to have it upload any data immediately to a Chinese 'cloud'? Just how much damage could a balloon and it's cargo do hitting the ground? It should never have gotten past the point of discovery...especially if the military saw evidence of it's being a spy device.

life · 2023-02-05T14:33:02Z

zman good points 👍🏻

also if the ballon / debris had fallen into civilian hands and parts were photographed what language would we find ?

VooDoo6 · 2023-02-05T14:50:38Z

Ah yes the fictional boogey man of Doom to conjure up the rally monkey. Like a conductor seemingly conjures his cacophony of sounds using various instruments into some meaningful masterpiece. More Bass, less Cowbell please.

What if the Balloons had Gain of Function Bio-weapons or other toxic pathogens in them ?

So glad they checked the balloons out throughly before they shot a AIM-120C or AIM-9 ATA missile from the YF22 into the balloon.

Humanity got hi-jacked by a hegemony of madmen.

“Only the madman is absolutely sure.”

― Robert Anton Wilson, Masks of the Illuminati

KRNABRNY · 2023-02-05T15:12:25Z

VooDoo6 Not only the madman is absolutely sure.

The one who made and released this balloon is also absolutely sure!

I suggested it in the first post here :-)))

Can't you see how your government is making fools of you?

VooDoo6 · 2023-02-05T15:21:58Z

VooDoo6 Not only the madman is absolutely sure.

The one who made and released this balloon is also absolutely sure!

I suggested it in the first post here :-)))

Can't you see how your government is making fools of you?

Yes my friend in cyberspace on the other side of the pond, we (many do see it & some do not) see it. Agree with you of course.

The US 4th Reich empire is dying & in that process its last gapping breaths of self-destruction & insanity. Stay tuned more to come.

It’s frustrating to treated as ignorant chattel on the Animal Farm. All animals are equal some animals are more equal than other’s.

They control the transmission: [Link]
There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image, make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur, or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. We repeat: There is nothing wrong with your television set. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to... The Outer Limits.

life · 2023-02-05T15:22:08Z

VooDoo6 someone at the rink last night had a cowbell, oh man 🤪, think i'm near deaf and have developed mad cow disease 🤣

spot on with the notion toxins could be released - as someone else on the forum pointed out with the Japanese launching munition carrying balloons over north america in ww2.

yes, why use a missile - for the drama affect ? a couple of squirts from the cannon would have brought it down, likely more intact.

likely another dog and pony show to sow fear into the planet's population by the world sts management team.

VooDoo6 · 2023-02-05T15:29:48Z

VooDoo6 someone at the rink last night had a cowbell, oh man 🤪, think i'm near deaf and have developed mad cow disease 🤣

spot on with the notion toxins could be released - as someone else on the forum pointed out with the Japanese launching munition carrying balloons over north america in ww2.

yes, why use a missile - for the drama affect ? a couple of squirts from the cannon would have brought it down, likely more intact.

likely another dog and pony show to sow fear into the planet's population by the world sts management team.

Spot on. “When the Balloon goes up” 🎈

life · 2023-02-05T17:20:18Z

KRNABRNY

Can't you see how your government is making fools of you?

i offer you this thought: what if ALL national governments create or include turmoil and distraction for the purpose of keeping their population and others, dumbed down, fearful, paranoid, and intuitively unaware.

recent examples include: the war in ukraine, this chinese balloon, and the "appearance" of disagreements between supposed allies ( e.g. Turkey / France or Germany / USA ) - what if all this drama is stage managed, whether the leaders of those countries know this or not, by a worldwide or planet management group.

rational logic will keep one inside the box; intuition will show one that the box is an illusion.

cheers

VooDoo6 · 2023-02-05T17:45:38Z

life,

KRNABRNY
Can't you see how your government is making fools of you?
i offer you this thought: what if ALL national governments create or include turmoil and distraction for the purpose of keeping their population and others, dumbed down, fearful, paranoid, and intuitively unaware.

recent examples include: the war in ukraine, this chinese balloon, and the "appearance" of disagreements between supposed allies ( e.g. Turkey / France or Germany / USA ) - what if all this drama is stage managed, whether the leaders of those countries know this or not, by a worldwide or planet management group.

rational logic will keep one inside the box; intuition will show one that the box is an illusion.

cheers

Everything you articulated is spot on. I suspect some of the other’s out there have not had the totality of that cathartic epiphany just yet. That awakening is still inbound.

I wrote earlier in the Catherine Austin Fitts article about how the financial system actually works vs. not the usual milquetoast version that Fitts wrote. How banks create money gubMINTS contractually must use & then the bankers buy back Bonds at discounted rates with the very same phony fiat currency money the banks just create. Then offer interest on those bonds which the bank the Fed already bought a with money they printed for free. The ultimate Ponzi scheme.

Why are they doing it?

"Going Direct Reset" explained by Catherine Austin Fitts. I am often asked - "Why is DOD (US Government, all Western globalist governments) acting against the people, killing and injuring the...

Namaste’

life · 2023-02-05T20:26:09Z

VooDoo6 "I suspect some of the other’s out there have not had the totality of that cathartic epiphany just yet."

nah, i just had a narsty spill on my mountain bike a few years back, bounced the ol' knoggin pretty good. 🤣

but thank you [Link]
cheers !

VooDoo6 · 2023-02-06T00:36:16Z

life,

VooDoo6 "I suspect some of the other’s out there have not had the totality of that cathartic epiphany just yet."

nah, i just had a narsty spill on my mountain bike a few years back, bounced the ol' knoggin pretty good. 🤣

but thank you [Link]
cheers !

Life is a contact sport.

Ha ha very clever life.

That looks to be a RCAF McDonnell Douglas CF-101B Voodoo ✈️ I could be wrong but not betting on it. 🍻🍺

life · 2023-02-06T13:36:17Z

VooDoo6 👍🏻 100%, no bet necessary; as young kid i'd peddle my bike to a road near the end of a local base's runway - i've the afterburner's flame and howl etched in my head so it's a flashback whenever i read the word voodoo, 🍻

VooDoo6 · 2023-02-06T17:43:52Z

VooDoo6 👍🏻 100%, no bet necessary; as young kid i'd peddle my bike to a road near the end of a local base's runway - i've the afterburner's flame and howl etched in my head so it's a flashback whenever i read the word voodoo, 🍻

Very interesting comment. You mentioned ‘etched’ which perfectly describes the characteristic phenomenon. Almost indelibly etched into our hard drives. I have several of those crucible moments where an event happened to me & I can almost viscerally recall that moment lucidly & vividly. My jacked up brain does that exact same thing & some other esoteric weird stuff.

Not everybody’s the same or even conscious of what you & I are exchanging ideas about as I was to figure out later in life.

We do not remember days, we remember moments . The richness of life lies in memories we have forgotten.

gonexploring · 2023-02-05T17:13:29Z

ChatGPTs' version of the chinese balloon spectacle in the style of Terry Pratchet (worked out pretty well to be fair).

In the grand scheme of things, the Chinese spy satellite balloon crossing North American airspace was but a blip on the radar. But to those in the know, it was a cause for concern. You see, in a world where magic and technology co-exist, it's not just the eyes in the sky that you need to worry about.

The Chinese had found a way to infuse their spy balloons with a magical energy that allowed them to bypass all known security measures and gather information without detection. And now, one of these balloons was hovering over North America, collecting all sorts of sensitive information.

The wizards of the Unseen University were called upon to deal with the situation. RinceWIND, the bumbling wizard, was tasked with disabling the balloon. With a twinkle in his eye and a wave of his wand, he set out on the mission.

Along the way, he encountered all manner of obstacles, including dragons, trolls, and even a talking cat. But with his quick wit and a bit of luck, Rincewind was able to complete his mission and disable the balloon.

But as he stood there, triumphant, he couldn't help but wonder what other secrets the Chinese were keeping. And how many more spy balloons were out there, hovering unnoticed above the world.

And so, with a chuckle, Rincewind realized that the world was a much more complicated place than he had ever imagined. But, with a twirl of his cloak and a grin on his face, he set off to explore it all.

earthwatcher · 2023-02-06T00:20:26Z

It was just a helpless and 'do no harm' balloon. Aren't the Chinese capable of developing a spy in the sky that is undetectable, like a mini cloacking drone? Didn't they create the bullshit Covid virus in their labs? These people cannot even make waterproof boots that will last at least a few years. What makes people so sure that they are able to create a virus or send a huge 'spy' balloon for everyone to see? If a balloon is visible then it is not spying on anyone because everyone can see it.