Skip to content
Do you have adblock enabled?
 
If you can read this, either the style sheet didn't load or you have an older browser that doesn't support style sheets. Try clearing your browser cache and refreshing the page.

(Independent)   Xi, you've lost *another* "weather balloon"?   (independent.co.uk) divider line
381
    More: Awkward, United States, Force majeure, Air force, The Pentagon, second Chinese spy balloon, Missile launch facility, Atmosphere of Earth, Airship  
•       •       •

5027 clicks; posted to Main » and Politics » on 04 Feb 2023 at 3:05 AM (6 weeks ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook



381 Comments     (+0 »)
View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest


Oldest | « | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | » | Newest | Show all

 
olorin604
2023-02-04 3:09:06 AM  
97 to go, but the color is wrong.
 
Paddy [OhFark]
2023-02-04 3:14:49 AM  
"lost"? As in: You seriously believe they weren't doing that on purpose?
 
tekmo
2023-02-04 3:18:34 AM  
I'm a softie. How can I adopt one of these tragically lost Chinese surveillance balloons?
 
lilplatinum
2023-02-04 3:20:07 AM  

Paddy: "lost"? As in: You seriously believe they weren't doing that on purpose?


Someone doesn't watch much cinema.
 
olorin604
2023-02-04 3:25:13 AM  

Paddy: "lost"? As in: You seriously believe they weren't doing that on purpose?


Well the captain of the balloon probably defected because the Chinese government let his wife die.
 
backhand.slap.of.reason
2023-02-04 3:25:35 AM  
How do we know it's not seeding biological weapons?  We don't.  But we have seen them murder millions of their citizens over the past month and a half, so what is stopping then from murdering ours?
 
SomeAmerican
2023-02-04 3:27:28 AM  
What kind of intel do they expect to gain from randomly wandering balloons that they couldn't get from spy sats?

What a bizarre stunt.
 
DarksideHalo
2023-02-04 3:32:18 AM  
Fark user imageView Full Size
 
bacchanalias and consequences
2023-02-04 3:32:56 AM  

backhand.slap.of.reason: How do we know it's not seeding biological weapons?  We don't.  But we have seen them murder millions of their citizens over the past month and a half, so what is stopping then from murdering ours?


Mutually assured destruction, hopelessly interdependent economic systems despite professed opposed ideologies, general desire to continue selling cheaply manufactured goods to the west while dick-waving to the rest of Asia...

China doesn't want war with the US. Nominal conflict, a-okay but if it affects trade they're not down.
 
replacementcool
2023-02-04 3:33:40 AM  

backhand.slap.of.reason: How do we know it's not seeding biological weapons?  We don't.  But we have seen them murder millions of their citizens over the past month and a half, so what is stopping then from murdering ours?


the fact that your country is perfectly willing to murder it's own citizens too?
 
Ragin' Asian [TotalFark]
2023-02-04 3:34:40 AM  
Fark user imageView Full Size
 
wademh
2023-02-04 3:36:23 AM  
cdn.quotesgram.comView Full Size
 
lilplatinum
2023-02-04 3:36:42 AM  

olorin604: Paddy: "lost"? As in: You seriously believe they weren't doing that on purpose?

Well the captain of the balloon probably defected because the Chinese government let his wife die.


He would have liked to see Montana.
 
Confabulat [TotalFark]
2023-02-04 3:51:32 AM  
Fark user imageView Full Size
 
falkone32
2023-02-04 3:56:32 AM  

SomeAmerican: What kind of intel do they expect to gain from randomly wandering balloons that they couldn't get from spy sats?


They can see how we respond.  Also, satellites cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
 
Paddy [OhFark]
2023-02-04 4:04:45 AM  

lilplatinum: Paddy: "lost"? As in: You seriously believe they weren't doing that on purpose?

Someone doesn't watch much cinema.


Meh. The meme has been trotten to death on here. To me it doesn't fit in this situation, but never mind, not the time for memeology.
 
Oysterman
2023-02-04 4:06:09 AM  

SomeAmerican: What kind of intel do they expect to gain from randomly wandering balloons that they couldn't get from spy sats?


Intercept signals from something?  Not sure what they're looking for if anything in particular.
 
SerpentWithin
2023-02-04 4:23:31 AM  
This whole goddamn "story" is such obvious manufacture of consent. For Christ's sake it's a balloon.
 
rej1138
2023-02-04 4:29:03 AM  
So is it possible for us to just shoot it down?  I mean, if we flew a surveillance plane over China, they sure as tootin' would be trying to do that.   Heck, when "W" was President, didn't the Chinese play "chicken" with a surveillance plane that was over international waters causing the plane to have to land on Chinese soil - allowing them to dig through our surveillance plane with a fine-toothed comb?  When the SR-71 used to fly, the subjects of scrutiny would sometimes shoot at it (but never hit one - too high, too fast).  Gary Powers was shot down over Cuba.  Generally, it's egg on the face of the country that's violating the other country's airspace.

Or do we have nothing that can shoot down a weather balloon?  Although I guess wasting a missile or something worth millions to down something that you used to be able to buy out of the back of comic books might be overkill.
 
mistahtom
2023-02-04 4:30:14 AM  
When they launch an EMP....
 
Trik
2023-02-04 4:32:47 AM  
Should be some way to spray those things with a thick coat of lead based paint.
 
sidailurch
2023-02-04 4:45:14 AM  
What's to gain from all this though? I don't doubt they did it and are lying about it. But what kind of flex is this? "We use seriously outdated technology that is completely redundant with the modern technology we are believed to have. Assholes."

/oh yeah, Ted told me to call you a bunch of weiners
 
LiberalConservative [OhFark]
2023-02-04 4:56:33 AM  
FFS. Just shoot it down. This isn't complicated. The chance of hitting anything of value is low. If hits something then the damage wont be much.
 
wildsnowllama
2023-02-04 4:57:34 AM  

SerpentWithin: This whole goddamn "story" is such obvious manufacture of consent. For Christ's sake it's a balloon.


Thank you.
Conservatives are losing their GD minds and I'm sitting here thinking "why do you think our government said anything?"
Clearly we don't care or we want someone to think we don't care because this is misdirection and we don't want the Chinese to know that we see the palming the ball.
 
FarkKnuckleDos
2023-02-04 4:58:42 AM  

Trik: Should be some way to spray those things with a thick coat of lead based paint.


It's from China, they used lead based everything in the construction. That baby good factory had to keep busy.
 
Alphax
2023-02-04 5:05:17 AM  

LiberalConservative: FFS. Just shoot it down. This isn't complicated. The chance of hitting anything of value is low. If hits something then the damage wont be much.


The cost of the weapon that can actually hit anything that high would be a lot greater than the value of the target.

I dunno what they can learn up there that we don't broadcast ourselves.  'Wow, their AM radio is really toxic!'
 
Gordon Bennett [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-04 5:13:12 AM  

Confabulat: [Fark user image 470x261]


Bag Boy
Youtube 8igvORygAew
 
fluffy_pope
2023-02-04 5:20:06 AM  

sidailurch: What's to gain from all this though? I don't doubt they did it and are lying about it. But what kind of flex is this? "We use seriously outdated technology that is completely redundant with the modern technology we are believed to have. Assholes."


It's steampunk Sputnik.
 
TheAlgebraist
2023-02-04 5:27:17 AM  

Ragin' Asian: [Fark user image image 425x239]


Username checks out.
 
I dont want to be on this planet anymore
2023-02-04 5:28:26 AM  

sidailurch: What's to gain from all this though? I don't doubt they did it and are lying about it. But what kind of flex is this? "We use seriously outdated technology that is completely redundant with the modern technology we are believed to have. Assholes."

/oh yeah, Ted told me to call you a bunch of weiners



That's where your thinking is flawed. After they turn up all the EMP to eleven, balloons are going to be the only things that fly ! That's how they'll do it. They're working on their EMP bombs in their EMP bomb factories. They have these secret balloon factories too where they are ready to deploy thousands of these floaty platforms of death against us. We won't be able to do anything, just watch the balloons come in and BANG. We're all dead from Covid. Study it out.
 
Birnone
2023-02-04 5:32:30 AM  
In my day people would say it's on a slow boat from China. Today it's on a slow balloon from China. Is this what people call 'progress'?
 
Fasces Breaker
2023-02-04 5:36:23 AM  
Well... since they were in the vicinity of that silo field we all know what the deal is.
 
cherryl taggart [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-04 5:48:33 AM  
The phrase "trial balloon" had a basis in reality, for the slow jocks in the back.

China is watching to see what happens.  That's all for now.  Next phase will be slightly different.
 
olorin604
2023-02-04 5:56:22 AM  

SomeAmerican: What kind of intel do they expect to gain from randomly wandering balloons that they couldn't get from spy sats?

What a bizarre stunt.


There are collecting the tv remote information for every tv in America so they can launch a concerted attack to screw with Americans ability to watch TV uninterrupted.

Don't tell them that all our TV's were made in China anyway.
 
Jumbled
2023-02-04 5:58:08 AM  
Grown adults. 🤣
 
Tom Marvolo Bombadil
2023-02-04 6:00:16 AM  
Fark user imageView Full Size
 
Noticeably F.A.T. [TotalFark]
2023-02-04 6:01:04 AM  

mistahtom: When they launch an EMP....


...nobody but them will know because it will be indistinguishable from any standard power outage caused by our un-maintained grid.
 
YixilTesiphon
2023-02-04 6:02:30 AM  

SerpentWithin: This whole goddamn "story" is such obvious manufacture of consent. For Christ's sake it's a balloon.


Manufacture by whom of consent for what?

The only concrete action here was taken by the PRC which launched something. It's visible from the ground in the US; it would be far weirder for the government to say nothing.
 
Nimbull
2023-02-04 6:11:59 AM  

Noticeably F.A.T.: mistahtom: When they launch an EMP....

...nobody but them will know because it will be indistinguishable from any standard power outage caused by our un-maintained grid.


Your giving Ercot ideas for power outage excuses you know.
 
YabbaDabbaDouchebag [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-04 6:12:59 AM  
Fark user imageView Full Size
 
Munden [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-04 6:13:58 AM  

SomeAmerican: What kind of intel do they expect to gain from randomly wandering balloons that they couldn't get from spy sats?

What a bizarre stunt.


Capturing over the air transmissions.  If you've got a balloon the size of three buses you can outfit it with big antennas.
 
cfreak [TotalFark]
2023-02-04 6:23:18 AM  

SomeAmerican: What kind of intel do they expect to gain from randomly wandering balloons that they couldn't get from spy sats?

What a bizarre stunt.


It doesn't make any sense at all. Not terribly excited by all the loud voices calling for a war with China.
 
mistahtom
2023-02-04 6:26:00 AM  

Noticeably F.A.T.: mistahtom: When they launch an EMP....

...nobody but them will know because it will be indistinguishable from any standard power outage caused by our un-maintained grid.


Apparently, Wuhan is home to the world's #1 supplier of fentanyl precursor 🤔

(starts at 8:53)
How China Is Fuelling America's Drug Epidemic | News on Drugs
Youtube z6iW1poC-0c
 
Noticeably F.A.T. [TotalFark]
2023-02-04 6:30:36 AM  

mistahtom: Noticeably F.A.T.: mistahtom: When they launch an EMP....

...nobody but them will know because it will be indistinguishable from any standard power outage caused by our un-maintained grid.

Apparently, Wuhan is home to the world's #1 supplier of fentanyl precursor 🤔

(starts at 8:53)
[YouTube video: How China Is Fuelling America's Drug Epidemic | News on Drugs]


Does "EMP" mean something different to you than to the rest of us?
 
mistahtom
2023-02-04 6:35:03 AM  

Noticeably F.A.T.: mistahtom: Noticeably F.A.T.: mistahtom: When they launch an EMP....

...nobody but them will know because it will be indistinguishable from any standard power outage caused by our un-maintained grid.

Apparently, Wuhan is home to the world's #1 supplier of fentanyl precursor 🤔

(starts at 8:53)
[YouTube video: How China Is Fuelling America's Drug Epidemic | News on Drugs]

Does "EMP" mean something different to you than to the rest of us?


It means many things, one of them is waving bye bye to working consumer electronics over a decent sized area.

Why do you think the GOP is acting this way? Do you believe the corporate controlled media is behaving this way on accident?

They're planning on sending your kids and grandkids into military armed conflicts.
 
Tipperary
2023-02-04 6:36:28 AM  

SomeAmerican: What kind of intel do they expect to gain from randomly wandering balloons that they couldn't get from spy sats?

What a bizarre stunt.


Maybe their spy satellites are crap?
 
Aussie_As
2023-02-04 6:40:11 AM  

rej1138: Gary Powers was shot down over Cuba.


Nope, over the USSR, specifically over Sverdlovsk in the Ural region. American media treated him pretty poorly when he had to confess his espionage activities at his trial in Moscow. I think he regained his reputation after returning to the US and going through various government processes to assure the military and Congress he had done everything he reasonably could to follow his mission instructions.
 
Unscratchable_Itch
2023-02-04 6:42:51 AM  
Sure, joke all you want, but when these things start landing we're all farked...

vignette.wikia.nocookie.netView Full Size
 
Noticeably F.A.T. [TotalFark]
2023-02-04 6:49:39 AM  

mistahtom: Noticeably F.A.T.: mistahtom: Noticeably F.A.T.: mistahtom: When they launch an EMP....

...nobody but them will know because it will be indistinguishable from any standard power outage caused by our un-maintained grid.

Apparently, Wuhan is home to the world's #1 supplier of fentanyl precursor 🤔

(starts at 8:53)
[YouTube video: How China Is Fuelling America's Drug Epidemic | News on Drugs]

Does "EMP" mean something different to you than to the rest of us?

It means many things, one of them is waving bye bye to working consumer electronics over a decent sized area.

Why do you think the GOP is acting this way? Do you believe the corporate controlled media is behaving this way on accident?

They're planning on sending your kids and grandkids into military armed conflicts.


Tell you what. Why don't you sit down, have a cup of coffee, get your thoughts in order, then come back and we can have something approaching a conversation. This pointless rambling is, well, pointless.
 
Flab [TotalFark]
2023-02-04 6:51:08 AM  

olorin604: Paddy: "lost"? As in: You seriously believe they weren't doing that on purpose?

Well the captain of the balloon probably defected because the Chinese government let his wife die.


His second in command always wanted to see Montana.
 
Displayed 50 of 381 comments


Oldest | « | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | » | Newest | Show all


View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest

Redisplay/refresh comments
This thread is closed to new comments.

Continue Farking

Want more news before we break it? Try

TotalFark

See what's behind the green door
and help keep the tap flowing

learn more | sign up
On Twitter

  1. Links are submitted by members of the Fark community.

  2. When community members submit a link, they also write a custom headline for the story.

  3. Other Farkers comment on the links. This is the number of comments. Click here to read them.

  4. Click here to submit a link.