Another one spotted sailing over South America.
It's kind of hilarious.
The US government says they won't shoot theirs down because it would be dangerous. Is is a pinata carrying a virus that might spill out?
Fratello wrote: ↑Sat Feb 04, 2023 9:32 am
A bit strange alright. You would think they could put a small hole in it so it would drop slowly or someting.
Isha here is an interesting article. It's a bit long so read it with a cup of tea and a few biscuits later. It's got a twist.
Actually we are wondering why not take it down with a drone? And why have clever locals not just sent up their own drones? And I also saw that apparently Biden knew about it but was saying nothing till after Blinken had his tete a tete with Xi, but some pesky Montana newspaper ran with the story and photos first. Could be a lie. But I like it
Thinking out loud, and trying to be occasionally less wrong...
The US is spying the whole world with satellites and drones, and here we are wanting to shoot down one thats a chinese balloon. What about all the other spying weapons.
The crazy Chinese and their indestructable helium balloon death ships. Reminds me abit of reading of the panic associated with the War of the Worlds radio broadcast in the 30s where people fled areas that were mentioned in the broadcast fearing being zapped by the alien invaders.
If the Pentagon released an update that they suspect it is a Chinese facial recognition information gathering program and advised their population to stay indoors for the next 2 days until it passes I suspect the media and people reading the media would swallow it hook, line and sinker.
The Chinese has said it is a meteorological balloon that's after going off course and have apologised for it. They have enough reconnaissance and commercial satellites to do the job of surveilling the US continent the same as the Americans and Russians.
Course Blinken's cancellation of his trip to China has just increased the panic. Big feckin child.
Fratello wrote: ↑Sat Feb 04, 2023 9:32 am
A bit strange alright. You would think they could put a small hole in it so it would drop slowly or someting.
Isha here is an interesting article. It's a bit long so read it with a cup of tea and a few biscuits later. It's got a twist.
Really enjoyed that Damn Interesting podcast and even listening to another one about a slave ship wrecked and castaways living on a tiny island for 15 years. Nice one
Thinking out loud, and trying to be occasionally less wrong...
They seem to be determined to make this into quite a big deal.
The first Chinese surveillance balloon that the Pentagon found flying over sensitive US ballistic missile sites may be guided by advanced artificial intelligence technology, a US expert said.
William Kim, a specialist in surveillance balloons at the Marathon Initiative think tank in Washington, said that balloons are a valuable means of observation that are difficult to shoot down.
Guided by AI?
Mr Kim said the first Chinese balloon looked like a normal weather balloon but with distinct characteristics.
It has a quite large, visible "payload" - the electronics for guidance and collecting information, powered by large solar panels.
And it appears to have advanced steering technologies that the US military hasn't yet put in the air.
What advantages over satellites?
Mr Kim said that as satellites become more vulnerable to being attacked from the Earth and space, balloons have distinct advantages.
Firstly, they don't easily show up on radars.
"These are materials that don't reflect, they're not metal. So even though these balloons expand to quite large, detecting... the balloon itself is going to be a problem," he said.
And the payload, if small enough, can be overlooked.
Balloons also have the advantage of holding relatively stationary positions over a surveillance target, compared to constantly orbiting satellites used by spy agencies to take photographs.
"These things can stay overhead, they can stay over one spot months at a time, compared to the low-Earth-orbit satellites," Mr Kim said.
isha wrote: ↑Sat Feb 04, 2023 2:20 pm
Really enjoyed that Damn Interesting podcast and even listening to another one about a slave ship wrecked and castaways living on a tiny island for 15 years. Nice one
