Spy Balloons

[Gotta Hav]

Politics. That's the only reason to get worked about this. Because when you know that China already has hundreds of spy satellites you realize this is meaningless and not worth the drama.

Why Would China Use a Spy Balloon When It Has Satellites?

On Wednesday, a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon was spotted floating above Montana. Here’s what to know

time.com

And thousands of intelligence operatives on American soil. They've even worked on campaigns for years to get House members re-elected (Salwell) and been their chauffeur (Feinstein) for two decades.

 

[Gotta Hav]

Inaccurate to say all of them didn't earn it. Many, including some people I know, worked their asses off before declining health prevented them from working. And many more still work but are eligible because of the level of poverty they're in. It's also not enough to provide much in the way of a quality standard of living. It's easy to judge when you haven't had to be in such a situation and you're listening to politicians who can only stay in office by playing off the notion others have it better than you at your expense. Are some just lazy and content to sit around doing nothing in some crappy housing project? Sure, but pretending that's all of them and that it's half the population, or anywhere close to it, is just nonsense. Most of the people who quit working after the pandemic were people in two parent households who realized waiting tables isn't worth it when all it's doing is covering daycare, which you could provide by simply staying home.

what you said so far I think is pretty accurate, but that last sentence. Whoa Nelly! Both Mom and Dad were waiting tables, but they both quit waitering and waitressing after covid? I'm in my 8th decade of living and I've never met one couple, where both parents worked waiting tables.

 

[bent20]

what you said so far I think is pretty accurate, but that last sentence. Whoa Nelly! Both Mom and Dad were waiting tables, but they both quit waitering and waitressing after covid? I'm in my 8th decade of living and I've never met one couple, where both parents worked waiting tables.

Clearly meant one quit.

 

[Gotta Hav]

Clearly meant one quit.

Ok one, but you have data supporting the assertion that most of the people who quit working after the pandemic were waiting tables.

 

[SycamoreStateofMind]

I’m so glad Bent keeps posting on this topic. He’s so much more well informed than 99% of the population.

To my earlier point that this isn’t a partisan or politically issue has Bent tried to paint things. I’d like you to watch this cnn interview:

Pretty much what most of the general population has been saying… Not political at all. What are we doing here. Handling every single issue with kid gloves is the answer. We seem to be playing checkers and everyone else is playing chess.

 

[bent20]

Ok one, but you have data supporting the assertion that most of the people who quit working after the pandemic were waiting tables.

I was speaking generally about people quitting and referenced waiting tables since many have been upset by their wait times at restaurants, and restaurant owners have blamed it for closing their doors.

As for data about people choosing to quit it's pretty easy to find.

Twenty-four percent of respondents of the Pew Research Center survey said child care issues drove them to quit their jobs; 25% said their role didn’t have enough flexibility to choose working hours, while 20% said they were simply working too much.

"Everything Else Became Secondary": The Real Reasons People Are Changing Careers During The Pandemic

When Tracy Travaglio of Pittsburgh returned to the classroom in fall of 2021 after more than a year teaching online, it was clear she was no longer solely a teacher. She was a symptom checker. A mask enforcer. A custodian, disinfecting desks between class periods. And those tasks were on top of t

www.forbes.com

 

[bent20]

I’m so glad Bent keeps posting on this topic. He’s so much more well informed than 99% of the population.

To my earlier point that this isn’t a partisan or politically issue has Bent tried to paint things. I’d like you to watch this cnn interview:

Pretty much what most of the general population has been saying… Not political at all. What are we doing here. Handling every single issue with kid gloves is the answer. We seem to be playing checkers and everyone else is playing chess.

I'm just going to ignore the 99% comment.

If all those Ifs Panetta references prove true, then yes, it is a reason for concern and a plan for a response, but we don't know that yet. It's not at all clear what, if anything, this balloon could do that their 200 plus spy satellites don't do already.

And if it's not political, and clearly it is after watching what's happened the last few days with Republicans attacking Biden, why wasn't this a bigger issue when it happened three times during the last president's time in office? Apparently we haven't been that concerned about it until the public caught wind of it and freaked out.

Yes, Chinese Spy Balloons Flew Over The U.S. When President Trump Was In Office Too

Talking heads on cable TV were up in arms about the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday. But Chinese balloons were flying over the U.S. when former President Donald Trump was in office too.

www.forbes.com

 

[Jason Svoboda]

Apparently we haven't been that concerned about it until the public caught wind of it and freaked out.

Yes, Chinese Spy Balloons Flew Over The U.S. When President Trump Was In Office Too

Talking heads on cable TV were up in arms about the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday. But Chinese balloons were flying over the U.S. when former President Donald Trump was in office too.

www.forbes.com

This is it, right? Same reasoning that Americans don't care how we spy and slaughter the rest of the world, but once it hits our shores...

 

[IndyTreeFan]

Any time any Chinese aircraft enter American airspace without prior clearance, they should be shot down. We have these things called borders for a reason. Not that you'd know it anymore. I think these things are likely a trial run for something. They're testing us, our air defenses, and our (and their) technology. Nothing good comes from letting China get away with anything. We've been letting them get away with any and everything for 30 years. Not working out well for us...

 

[4Q_iu]

Any time any Chinese aircraft enter American airspace without prior clearance, they should be shot down. We have these things called borders for a reason. Not that you'd know it anymore. I think these things are likely a trial run for something. They're testing us, our air defenses, and our (and their) technology. Nothing good comes from letting China get away with anything. We've been letting them get away with any and everything for 30 years. Not working out well for us...

Do you feel the same way about any American aircraft that may (or may not) enter PRC airspace without prior clearance?

 

[SycamoreStateofMind]

I'm just going to ignore the 99% comment.

If all those Ifs Panetta references prove true, then yes, it is a reason for concern and a plan for a response, but we don't know that yet. It's not at all clear what, if anything, this balloon could do that their 200 plus spy satellites don't do already.

And if it's not political, and clearly it is after watching what's happened the last few days with Republicans attacking Biden, why wasn't this a bigger issue when it happened three times during the last president's time in office? Apparently we haven't been that concerned about it until the public caught wind of it and freaked out.

I don't know... Maybe it's just not political for me. I'd like to think that I'd have the same reaction no matter what political party was in control. I don't know why we live in a world where every opinion on an issue has to be tied to a political party or agenda - apparently I'm not free to think or speak without it being a conservative or liberal talking point.

I think A LOT of things go on in this country that the public never knows or finds out about. The information coming out about them happening and weather they knew about it while Trump was in office seems to still be up in the air... https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/05/politics/chinese-spy-balloons-trump-administration/index.html

At any rate - if they knew about it and did nothing then that's pretty concerning for me.

 

[4Q_iu]

I don't know... Maybe it's just not political for me. I'd like to think that I'd have the same reaction no matter what political party was in control. I don't know why we live in a world where every opinion on an issue has to be tied to a political party or agenda - apparently I'm not free to think or speak without it being a conservative or liberal talking point.

I think A LOT of things go on in this country that the public never knows or finds out about. The information coming out about them happening and weather they knew about it while Trump was in office seems to still be up in the air... https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/05/politics/chinese-spy-balloons-trump-administration/index.html

At any rate - if they knew about it and did nothing then that's pretty concerning for me.

Don't forget the 2-3 "Drone Swarms" that occurred in/around military & defense sites in 2019 and 2020...

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...nprecedented-look-into-colorado-drone-mystery

 

[bent20]

This is it, right? Same reasoning that Americans don't care how we spy and slaughter the rest of the world, but once it hits our shores...

We've used aerial surveillance to spy on China a lot longer than they have us, but most Americans don't care about the double standard. They also seem oblivious to the spy satellites (of which we have more) and other spying that goes on that is kept from the public. So be it if people don't want to care, but that's why the overreaction to the balloon is silly to me. People could see it in the sky and there is footage all over the internet so that's why it's a big deal. The most amusing thing I've seen this weekend is people venting about it being allowed to spy on them on Tiktok. Brilliant.

 

[Sycamorefan96]

The most amusing thing I've seen this weekend is people venting about it being allowed to spy on them on Tiktok. Brilliant.

Anyone that still has a TikTok needs to have their heads examined. Facebook and YouTube have their own versions of it now, and I just don't understand what's so awesome about it.

Snapchat is another app that seems rather useless. I had one of those for a while, but eventually got rid of it. Instagram was cool, since it's not cluttered with stupid memes and venting, but unfortunately most of my friends don't use it.

 

[niklz62]

Anyone that still has a TikTok needs to have their heads examined. Facebook and YouTube have their own versions of it now, and I just don't understand what's so awesome about it.

Snapchat is another app that seems rather useless. I had one of those for a while, but eventually got rid of it. Instagram was cool, since it's not cluttered with stupid memes and venting, but unfortunately most of my friends don't use it.

are you saying that facebook and instagram dont do the same things tiktok are doing? i suspect they are, they are just trying to get the government to get rid of their competition.

 

[Jason Svoboda]

are you saying that facebook and instagram dont do the same things tiktok are doing? i suspect they are, they are just trying to get the government to get rid of their competition.

Big tech has so much more data than what TikTok has. Google and Amazon are among the worst.

https://www.pingdom.com/blog/how-google-collects-data-about-you-and-the-internet/ -- and this is an old list.

This is just immediate Google properties. Doesn't even go into their partner companies like Nest/YouTube/Fitbot/Waze, their Google home devices, etc. To turbocharge that shit, they've bought a host of analytics firms such as Looker, it's all fed into their massive databases and they can split you 100 different ways from Sunday trying to influence everything about you -- where you shop, where you eat, how you behave, who you vote for... it's endless.

Business Intelligence (BI) & Data Analytics Platform

Looker is a business intelligence software and big data analytics platform that helps you explore, analyze and share real-time business analytics easily.

www.looker.com

But yeah, tell me more about those 20 second dance videos on TikTok.

 

[Sycamorefan96]

And if it's not political, and clearly it is after watching what's happened the last few days with Republicans attacking Biden, why wasn't this a bigger issue when it happened three times during the last president's time in office? Apparently we haven't been that concerned about it until the public caught wind of it and freaked out.

Yes, Chinese Spy Balloons Flew Over The U.S. When President Trump Was In Office Too

Talking heads on cable TV were up in arms about the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday. But Chinese balloons were flying over the U.S. when former President Donald Trump was in office too.

www.forbes.com

They either went undetected or it never actually happened. Trump didn't just knowingly let them cross the continent from the shores of Alaska to South Carolina. See the difference?

Trump, top national security officials refute claim that Chinese spy balloons transited US under his admin

Former President Trump and top national security and defense officials refute Biden administration claims that Chinese surveillance balloons transited U.S. during his administration.

www.foxnews.com

 

[4Q_iu]

They either went undetected or it never actually happened. Trump didn't just knowingly let them cross the continent from the shores of Alaska to South Carolina. See the difference?

Trump, top national security officials refute claim that Chinese spy balloons transited US under his admin

Former President Trump and top national security and defense officials refute Biden administration claims that Chinese surveillance balloons transited U.S. during his administration.

www.foxnews.com

And Trump didn't knowingly incite a crowd to storm the Capitol... or pay hush $$ porn stars or give state secrets to the Russians

https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...0c172a-3960-11e7-9e48-c4f199710b69_story.html

 

[niklz62]

And Trump didn't knowingly incite a crowd to storm the Capitol... or pay hush $$ porn stars or give state secrets to the Russians

https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...0c172a-3960-11e7-9e48-c4f199710b69_story.html

No
Yes, but dont slut shame her.
We dont have state secrets kept from other countries, just our own citizens.

 

[niklz62]

They either went undetected or it never actually happened. Trump didn't just knowingly let them cross the continent from the shores of Alaska to South Carolina. See the difference?

Trump, top national security officials refute claim that Chinese spy balloons transited US under his admin

Former President Trump and top national security and defense officials refute Biden administration claims that Chinese surveillance balloons transited U.S. during his administration.

www.foxnews.com

its not unreasonable that their existence didn't matter during his presidency either.