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(CNN)   U.S. Intel Sources say that the Chinese balloon indicates China may have an extensive intelligence gathering network not unlike our own. Remember, we pay people good money for this analysis   (cnn.com) divider line
77
    More: Facepalm, Surveillance, United States, Jet stream, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Intelligence agency, The Washington Post, China, United States Intelligence Community  
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636 clicks; posted to Politics » on 08 Feb 2023 at 2:47 PM (7 weeks ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook



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cretinbob [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-08 12:43:17 PM  
media.tenor.comView Full Size
 
NewportBarGuy [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-08 1:59:07 PM  
The pearl-clutching crowd really just ignores everything our intelligence services have done over the years, don't they?
 
macadamnut
2023-02-08 2:50:24 PM  
y.yarn.coView Full Size
 
I dont want to be on this planet anymore
2023-02-08 2:50:25 PM  

NewportBarGuy: The pearl-clutching crowd really just ignores everything our intelligence services have done over the years, don't they?


pbs.twimg.comView Full Size
 
durbnpoisn [BareFark]
2023-02-08 2:50:53 PM  
Wait...  Are you telling me that all countries spy on each other all the time?!

Still...  This was a very silly move by China.  Normally surveillance of any kind is a little more discreet than, "let's just float this thing over there."

I wonder if all they were really trying to do was provoke a reaction.
 
BorgiaGinz [TotalFark]
2023-02-08 2:52:12 PM  
Family Guy Chinese among Japanese
Youtube oTjFbKJYkkw
 
Eunice's Social Calendar [recently expired TotalFark]
2023-02-08 2:53:38 PM  
nice tag subby...it's not like we don't farking advertise ours...
Fark user imageView Full Size
 
SirGunslinger
2023-02-08 2:54:56 PM  

durbnpoisn: Wait...  Are you telling me that all countries spy on each other all the time?!

Still...  This was a very silly move by China.  Normally surveillance of any kind is a little more discreet than, "let's just float this thing over there."

I wonder if all they were really trying to do was provoke a reaction.


It reminds me of the antics between the US and USSR. Each side would troll the other to see what kind of reaction they would get and potentially reveal secret capabilities unintentionally.
 
palelizard
2023-02-08 2:55:03 PM  

durbnpoisn: Wait...  Are you telling me that all countries spy on each other all the time?!

Still...  This was a very silly move by China.  Normally surveillance of any kind is a little more discreet than, "let's just float this thing over there."

I wonder if all they were really trying to do was provoke a reaction.


That's the Beauty of J. Donald! He let three balloons pass by without indicating to China we knew they were there! He was luring the into a trap of confidence! And J. Biden had to ruin it all! Now tell me who's more effective! 6th Dimensional PON FAR! Chug migs, libtoobs!
 
Karma Chameleon
2023-02-08 2:57:00 PM  
Intelligence knows more than they're letting on. They no doubt have the name of China's leader.
 
wxboy
2023-02-08 2:58:14 PM  

durbnpoisn: Wait...  Are you telling me that all countries spy on each other all the time?!

Still...  This was a very silly move by China.  Normally surveillance of any kind is a little more discreet than, "let's just float this thing over there."

I wonder if all they were really trying to do was provoke a reaction.


Maybe it really was a mistake, a bull in China's intelligence shop, so to speak.
 
gbv23
2023-02-08 3:03:11 PM  
They jailed a bunch of our spies!
 
phalamir [TotalFark]
2023-02-08 3:03:36 PM  

durbnpoisn: Wait...  Are you telling me that all countries spy on each other all the time?!

Still...  This was a very silly move by China.  Normally surveillance of any kind is a little more discreet than, "let's just float this thing over there."

I wonder if all they were really trying to do was provoke a reaction.


Considering they had evidently done it a few times without us even realizing, I suspect they weren't worried about a reaction.  Besides which, it doesn't help China to provoke a reaction.  We generally biatch at them in a pro forma manner and they shrug and go back to setting Uighurs on fire with magnifying glasses.  Making us actually pissy gets them what?  You provoke someone because you want to get something and want cover by having them hit you first.  China has 99% of what they want already by having us wag our finger at them occasionally.
 
swankywanky
2023-02-08 3:04:25 PM  
thumbs.gfycat.comView Full Size
 
johnphantom
2023-02-08 3:06:12 PM  

durbnpoisn: Wait...  Are you telling me that all countries spy on each other all the time?!

Still...  This was a very silly move by China.  Normally surveillance of any kind is a little more discreet than, "let's just float this thing over there."

I wonder if all they were really trying to do was provoke a reaction.


arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-bostonglobe.s3.amazonaws.comView Full Size
 
Greil
2023-02-08 3:06:59 PM  

NewportBarGuy: The pearl-clutching crowd really just ignores everything our intelligence services have done over the years, don't they?


Ehh, it's a thankless job by definition. A plot foiled is one that never happened, after all. Imagine the 9/11 Hijackers being rolled up one day near the end of training school. Most wouldn't have heard, and some anti-government rag that did would have called it a fabricated excuse to black bag a few brown people.
 
Snarcoleptic_Hoosier
2023-02-08 3:07:18 PM  
If they're going to send balloons, I want a giant sky clown to turn them into Chinese spy balloon doggies. I'd feel much more safe that way.
 
AmbassadorBooze
2023-02-08 3:07:18 PM  
We need kiloswarms of "civilian" weather balloons over china.  And they need to all be shaped like Winnie the Pooh.

Thousands of Pooh's collecting data for the US and locking down Chinese military sites.  And they can't shoot them down because if they did, they would be just as bad as us.  And if the balloons are over land, it is too dangerous to shoot down.

World peace through balloon Superiority!
 
kmgenesis23
2023-02-08 3:09:04 PM  

phalamir: durbnpoisn: Wait...  Are you telling me that all countries spy on each other all the time?!

Still...  This was a very silly move by China.  Normally surveillance of any kind is a little more discreet than, "let's just float this thing over there."

I wonder if all they were really trying to do was provoke a reaction.

Considering they had evidently done it a few times without us even realizing, I suspect they weren't worried about a reaction.  Besides which, it doesn't help China to provoke a reaction.  We generally biatch at them in a pro forma manner and they shrug and go back to setting Uighurs on fire with magnifying glasses.  Making us actually pissy gets them what?  You provoke someone because you want to get something and want cover by having them hit you first.  China has 99% of what they want already by having us wag our finger at them occasionally.


China is our #1 trading partner by a significant amount, and we need them more than they need us.
 
Greil
2023-02-08 3:09:09 PM  

wxboy: durbnpoisn: Wait...  Are you telling me that all countries spy on each other all the time?!

Still...  This was a very silly move by China.  Normally surveillance of any kind is a little more discreet than, "let's just float this thing over there."

I wonder if all they were really trying to do was provoke a reaction.

Maybe it really was a mistake, a bull in China's intelligence shop, so to speak.


NGL the whole thing is so weird I'd buy that explanation. Anything they could do with that balloon that they couldn't with the satellites is probably a capability they wouldn't want us to find after we inevitably shot it down.
 
Gergesa
2023-02-08 3:09:49 PM  
I don't doubt that they do and it is good someone competent is President to invest in counter measures instead of tweeting constantly.
 
Rapmaster2000
2023-02-08 3:10:44 PM  
frinkiac.comView Full Size
 
RasIanI
2023-02-08 3:11:53 PM  
Fark user imageView Full Size
 
Halfabee64 [TotalFark]
2023-02-08 3:12:22 PM  
Maybe as it flew over China, it kept right on clicking away.

Fark user imageView Full Size
 
SirGunslinger
2023-02-08 3:12:51 PM  

phalamir: durbnpoisn: Wait...  Are you telling me that all countries spy on each other all the time?!

Still...  This was a very silly move by China.  Normally surveillance of any kind is a little more discreet than, "let's just float this thing over there."

I wonder if all they were really trying to do was provoke a reaction.

Considering they had evidently done it a few times without us even realizing, I suspect they weren't worried about a reaction.  Besides which, it doesn't help China to provoke a reaction.  We generally biatch at them in a pro forma manner and they shrug and go back to setting Uighurs on fire with magnifying glasses.  Making us actually pissy gets them what?  You provoke someone because you want to get something and want cover by having them hit you first.  China has 99% of what they want already by having us wag our finger at them occasionally.


There is a whole line of intelligence gathering techniques around intentionally getting caught. A low level spy gets caught doing random shenanigans and gets interrogated. Based off of the lines of questioning, the spy can know what the country is interested in or concerned about. Then, when the spies get traded back under the table then the intelligence agency gets some valuable Intel.
 
brainlordmesomorph
2023-02-08 3:13:30 PM  

Greil: NewportBarGuy: The pearl-clutching crowd really just ignores everything our intelligence services have done over the years, don't they?

Ehh, it's a thankless job by definition. A plot foiled is one that never happened, after all. Imagine the 9/11 Hijackers being rolled up one day near the end of training school. Most wouldn't have heard, and some anti-government rag that did would have called it a fabricated excuse to black bag a few brown people.


It must be like IT support.

When you do it perfectly nobody notices, but as soon as anything goes wrong, they blame you.
 
nytmare
2023-02-08 3:14:36 PM  
I can't find info on how we quickly knew the generic looking balloon is of Chinese origin.
 
On-Farkin-On
2023-02-08 3:15:18 PM  

durbnpoisn: Wait...  Are you telling me that all countries spy on each other all the time?!

Still...  This was a very silly move by China.  Normally surveillance of any kind is a little more discreet than, "let's just float this thing over there."

I wonder if all they were really trying to do was provoke a reaction.


They've gotten away with just floating this thing over there at least 4 times prior to this, aside from the Blinken meeting timing what was different this attempt?
 
RasIanI
2023-02-08 3:16:03 PM  

kmgenesis23: phalamir: durbnpoisn: Wait...  Are you telling me that all countries spy on each other all the time?!

Still...  This was a very silly move by China.  Normally surveillance of any kind is a little more discreet than, "let's just float this thing over there."

I wonder if all they were really trying to do was provoke a reaction.

Considering they had evidently done it a few times without us even realizing, I suspect they weren't worried about a reaction.  Besides which, it doesn't help China to provoke a reaction.  We generally biatch at them in a pro forma manner and they shrug and go back to setting Uighurs on fire with magnifying glasses.  Making us actually pissy gets them what?  You provoke someone because you want to get something and want cover by having them hit you first.  China has 99% of what they want already by having us wag our finger at them occasionally.

China is our #1 trading partner by a significant amount, and we need them more than they need us.


Would you say the same of Canada? Because until very recently we were the USAs largest trading partner - and we're #2 now.
 
Hyjamon
2023-02-08 3:17:12 PM  

phalamir: Considering they had evidently done it a few times without us even realizing,


I am still fuzzy on how we detected these balloons retroactively.

any farker able to shed light on this part?
 
berylman [TotalFark]
2023-02-08 3:18:23 PM  
One thing that bothers me which doesn't check out at all it that the DoD declares that three surveillance balloons were detected over US airspace during the Dump administration but only discovered retroactively which makes no sense. So they were detected during that time period and just got shoveled because you know Dump doesn't read and the PDBs didn't have enough pictures of scantily clad Ivanka and was thus ignored as a matter of importance.
 
Jiggatron69
2023-02-08 3:18:59 PM  
Fark user imageView Full Size
 
SirGunslinger
2023-02-08 3:20:18 PM  

Hyjamon: phalamir: Considering they had evidently done it a few times without us even realizing,

I am still fuzzy on how we detected these balloons retroactively.

any farker able to shed light on this part?


I think they were detected, but the Trump admin just let them fly.
 
Rapmaster2000
2023-02-08 3:20:23 PM  
Intel source:  Archimede's Principle falls into Chinese hands.  Can boats be far behind?
 
Arkanaut
2023-02-08 3:22:17 PM  

RasIanI: kmgenesis23: phalamir: durbnpoisn: Wait...  Are you telling me that all countries spy on each other all the time?!

Still...  This was a very silly move by China.  Normally surveillance of any kind is a little more discreet than, "let's just float this thing over there."

I wonder if all they were really trying to do was provoke a reaction.

Considering they had evidently done it a few times without us even realizing, I suspect they weren't worried about a reaction.  Besides which, it doesn't help China to provoke a reaction.  We generally biatch at them in a pro forma manner and they shrug and go back to setting Uighurs on fire with magnifying glasses.  Making us actually pissy gets them what?  You provoke someone because you want to get something and want cover by having them hit you first.  China has 99% of what they want already by having us wag our finger at them occasionally.

China is our #1 trading partner by a significant amount, and we need them more than they need us.

Would you say the same of Canada? Because until very recently we were the USAs largest trading partner - and we're #2 now.


Hey, don't you get uppity now!
 
Hyjamon
2023-02-08 3:24:34 PM  

berylman: One thing that bothers me which doesn't check out at all it that the DoD declares that three surveillance balloons were detected over US airspace during the Dump administration but only discovered retroactively which makes no sense.


if they did this in the 80s, I could see how the public at large wouldn't know. Maybe a few people spotted it randomly while birding or looking at clouds, but who would they tell or how would they prove it?

In the world of social media that now exists, not seeing how it didn't become some viral thing where people are sharing and tracking this thing just as a social media event when normal people spotted it with their own eyes and phones.
 
Hyjamon
2023-02-08 3:26:41 PM  

SirGunslinger: Hyjamon: phalamir: Considering they had evidently done it a few times without us even realizing,

I am still fuzzy on how we detected these balloons retroactively.

any farker able to shed light on this part?

I think they were detected, but the Trump admin just let them fly.


so maybe it is just the phrasing that is throwing me. Three balloons went largely unnoticed and without concern by the public and media?
 
Halfabee64 [TotalFark]
2023-02-08 3:27:29 PM  

kmgenesis23: phalamir: durbnpoisn: Wait...  Are you telling me that all countries spy on each other all the time?!

Still...  This was a very silly move by China.  Normally surveillance of any kind is a little more discreet than, "let's just float this thing over there."

I wonder if all they were really trying to do was provoke a reaction.

Considering they had evidently done it a few times without us even realizing, I suspect they weren't worried about a reaction.  Besides which, it doesn't help China to provoke a reaction.  We generally biatch at them in a pro forma manner and they shrug and go back to setting Uighurs on fire with magnifying glasses.  Making us actually pissy gets them what?  You provoke someone because you want to get something and want cover by having them hit you first.  China has 99% of what they want already by having us wag our finger at them occasionally.

China is our #1 trading partner by a significant amount, and we need them more than they need us.


Au contraire mon frère,

We have and $383 billion annual trade deficit with China.  THEY need us more than we need them, though they own $807 billion of our debt.  It would hurt initially to lose them as a trading partner but necessity is the mother of invention and we would find a way to live without their disposable crap.
 
NewportBarGuy [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-08 3:31:19 PM  
Team America was a documentary filmed in real time:

i.ytimg.comView Full Size
 
gameshowhost [OhFark]
2023-02-08 3:32:01 PM  

Karma Chameleon: Intelligence knows more than they're letting on. They no doubt have the name of China's leader.


Fark user imageView Full Size
 
Anenu
2023-02-08 3:32:32 PM  

berylman: One thing that bothers me which doesn't check out at all it that the DoD declares that three surveillance balloons were detected over US airspace during the Dump administration but only discovered retroactively which makes no sense. So they were detected during that time period and just got shoveled because you know Dump doesn't read and the PDBs didn't have enough pictures of scantily clad Ivanka and was thus ignored as a matter of importance.


Most likely they were discovered via traditional espionage tactics, stuff like informants inside Chinese spy agencies, intercepted communications, or whatever else. They will never tell the public because if they were listening in on calls from Chinese officials they don't want the Chinese to know about it and anything you tell the public you are also telling to the entire world.
 
Rapmaster2000
2023-02-08 3:34:11 PM  

berylman: One thing that bothers me which doesn't check out at all it that the DoD declares that three surveillance balloons were detected over US airspace during the Dump administration but only discovered retroactively which makes no sense. So they were detected during that time period and just got shoveled because you know Dump doesn't read and the PDBs didn't have enough pictures of scantily clad Ivanka and was thus ignored as a matter of importance.


FlightRadar24.com can record radar information for X number of days.  If some free app can do it, I assume NORAD can and does record everything in the airspace so that they can go back later and look at it.  Maybe they took the radar signature of this balloon and searched for identical signatures in the past.  That could be one way to identify that an identical or similar balloon was here before.
 
Halfabee64 [TotalFark]
2023-02-08 3:34:30 PM  
They've been the kings of industrial espionage forever.  My wife worked in a company that developed and licensed nuclear reactor technology.  She caught a guest rifling through filing cabinets after hours, reported it, and nothing was done about it to her knowledge.

Any company that went offshore to manufacture in China got what they deserved:  their intellectual property stolen, manufactured and rebranded for Chinese consumption.
 
kmgenesis23
2023-02-08 3:35:59 PM  

RasIanI: kmgenesis23: phalamir: durbnpoisn: Wait...  Are you telling me that all countries spy on each other all the time?!

Still...  This was a very silly move by China.  Normally surveillance of any kind is a little more discreet than, "let's just float this thing over there."

I wonder if all they were really trying to do was provoke a reaction.

Considering they had evidently done it a few times without us even realizing, I suspect they weren't worried about a reaction.  Besides which, it doesn't help China to provoke a reaction.  We generally biatch at them in a pro forma manner and they shrug and go back to setting Uighurs on fire with magnifying glasses.  Making us actually pissy gets them what?  You provoke someone because you want to get something and want cover by having them hit you first.  China has 99% of what they want already by having us wag our finger at them occasionally.

China is our #1 trading partner by a significant amount, and we need them more than they need us.

Would you say the same of Canada? Because until very recently we were the USAs largest trading partner - and we're #2 now.


If Canada floated a spy balloon over the continental US, I doubt very much would come of it other than finger-wagging as well. Money tends to win out over performative anger that people we're spying on are also spying on us.
 
SirGunslinger
2023-02-08 3:36:37 PM  

Hyjamon: SirGunslinger: Hyjamon: phalamir: Considering they had evidently done it a few times without us even realizing,

I am still fuzzy on how we detected these balloons retroactively.

any farker able to shed light on this part?

I think they were detected, but the Trump admin just let them fly.

so maybe it is just the phrasing that is throwing me. Three balloons went largely unnoticed and without concern by the public and media?


I mean, weather balloons are legitimately fairly common and most observers would write it off as one. It wasn't till the Biden admin said something that the R's got all frothy about it. Biden did the smart thing and waited till it was out to sea and drop it using well known and conventional means.
 
wxboy
2023-02-08 3:36:57 PM  

nytmare: I can't find info on how we quickly knew the generic looking balloon is of Chinese origin.


If it was transmitting data, we probably were able to tell from the signal.
 
kmgenesis23
2023-02-08 3:37:39 PM  

Halfabee64: kmgenesis23: phalamir: durbnpoisn: Wait...  Are you telling me that all countries spy on each other all the time?!

Still...  This was a very silly move by China.  Normally surveillance of any kind is a little more discreet than, "let's just float this thing over there."

I wonder if all they were really trying to do was provoke a reaction.

Considering they had evidently done it a few times without us even realizing, I suspect they weren't worried about a reaction.  Besides which, it doesn't help China to provoke a reaction.  We generally biatch at them in a pro forma manner and they shrug and go back to setting Uighurs on fire with magnifying glasses.  Making us actually pissy gets them what?  You provoke someone because you want to get something and want cover by having them hit you first.  China has 99% of what they want already by having us wag our finger at them occasionally.

China is our #1 trading partner by a significant amount, and we need them more than they need us.

Au contraire mon frère,

We have and $383 billion annual trade deficit with China.  THEY need us more than we need them, though they own $807 billion of our debt.  It would hurt initially to lose them as a trading partner but necessity is the mother of invention and we would find a way to live without their disposable crap.


*looks around at all the disposable crap in the USA*
*very much doubts that assessment*
 
Bennie Crabtree
2023-02-08 3:39:21 PM  
I swear to Lord Kermit God of Sarcastic Amphibians (may His gluey tongue and pingpong eyes guide us to our everlasting rewards in His nerfy gullet), every day I read news about what "Intel sources" say and I cannot, for the life of me, understand why I don't have that job. They have all the subtlety and insight of a Diana Gabaldon novel. Like, these are not "top...men..." nor worthy of speaking roles in a John Le Carre movie.
 
baron von doodle [OhFark]
2023-02-08 3:39:54 PM  

SirGunslinger: phalamir: durbnpoisn: Wait...  Are you telling me that all countries spy on each other all the time?!

Still...  This was a very silly move by China.  Normally surveillance of any kind is a little more discreet than, "let's just float this thing over there."

I wonder if all they were really trying to do was provoke a reaction.

Considering they had evidently done it a few times without us even realizing, I suspect they weren't worried about a reaction.  Besides which, it doesn't help China to provoke a reaction.  We generally biatch at them in a pro forma manner and they shrug and go back to setting Uighurs on fire with magnifying glasses.  Making us actually pissy gets them what?  You provoke someone because you want to get something and want cover by having them hit you first.  China has 99% of what they want already by having us wag our finger at them occasionally.

There is a whole line of intelligence gathering techniques around intentionally getting caught. A low level spy gets caught doing random shenanigans and gets interrogated. Based off of the lines of questioning, the spy can know what the country is interested in or concerned about. Then, when the spies get traded back under the table then the intelligence agency gets some valuable Intel.


Usually traded for another person on the other side who was doing the same thing.
 
AmbassadorBooze
2023-02-08 3:41:09 PM  

kmgenesis23: Halfabee64: kmgenesis23: phalamir: durbnpoisn: Wait...  Are you telling me that all countries spy on each other all the time?!

Still...  This was a very silly move by China.  Normally surveillance of any kind is a little more discreet than, "let's just float this thing over there."

I wonder if all they were really trying to do was provoke a reaction.

Considering they had evidently done it a few times without us even realizing, I suspect they weren't worried about a reaction.  Besides which, it doesn't help China to provoke a reaction.  We generally biatch at them in a pro forma manner and they shrug and go back to setting Uighurs on fire with magnifying glasses.  Making us actually pissy gets them what?  You provoke someone because you want to get something and want cover by having them hit you first.  China has 99% of what they want already by having us wag our finger at them occasionally.

China is our #1 trading partner by a significant amount, and we need them more than they need us.

Au contraire mon frère,

We have and $383 billion annual trade deficit with China.  THEY need us more than we need them, though they own $807 billion of our debt.  It would hurt initially to lose them as a trading partner but necessity is the mother of invention and we would find a way to live without their disposable crap.

*looks around at all the disposable crap in the USA*
*very much doubts that assessment*


It isn't the underchuds that need the stuff.  It is the overmasters that need the world engine turning.  That's why "WE" need them.  Because the overmasters need them.
 
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