Grieved @ 99

So, while you may be right, it may happen with China in a similar way, after some actual strife has occurred

All ready started last year with Jack Ma, he was lucky, Putin would have had him vanish while on an arctic 4X4 excursion, and the USA/UK/Mossad would have tossed him off his yacht with an anchor tied to his feet. Xi is a softie, hope he’s got what it takes 🙃

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Feb 3 2023 0:41 utc | 104

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Feb 3 2023 0:18 utc | 101

Much quieter today here in the backroom than on the UKR discussion out in the bar, ugly crowd came in, bridge and tunnel weekend creeps.

I like to think of this as the lounge, the saloon bar, where conversation is generally polite, thoughtful and restrained, in a homely atmosphere. The other place is the public bar, crowded, sawdust on the floor, drinks being spilled, shouting and occasional brawling, drunks being turfed out. I tend to shun the place.
Each to his own I guess.

Posted by: Walt | Feb 3 2023 0:49 utc | 106

The US went from needing 99% of the people working to grow our food to less than 1%, and manufacturing jobs are down to only 7% of the labour force. And yet the remaining 90% of us are not all unemployed, as jobs have proliferated in the service sector, where most of those jobs are now considered to be better jobs than the lost agricultural and manufacturing jobs.
[…]
Which allowed the Americans to concentrate on producing other things and play more golf and have more leisure time.
It WAS a win, win for the US. Now look at the state they are in.
Posted by: Derek Henry | Feb 1 2023 22:51 utc | 26
This “concentration” on the least labor input and maximum profit led to a very unbalanced economy and society.
Like Derek, one can start with agriculture. Meat is produced almost “soylent green” style, in smelly factories of enormous size. So meat is very affordable, at least the cheapest types. This is supported by grain from huge farms with very large fertilizer input. Thus it takes ca. two pounds of cheap vegetables or fruit for one pound of chicken breast. Whole grains, in old days the staple, became luxury. The result is that big proportion of the population cannot afford healthy food, or is steered toward unhealthy diet by the combination of price pressures and marketing of junk food. The resulting obesity is a significant contributor to non-enviable expected length of life (but good for balancing social security …).
Sometimes this focus backfires, at least on consumers. Surprise, surprise: hens in gigafarms get sick and some gigafarms go in flames like refineries. So eggs became luxury foods… but so are onions.
Transportation is another imbalanced sector. In cargo, you can have very slow huge trains serving few points, or trucks. No in-between option of trains somewhat slower than trucks and of smaller size (than huge) that would be more efficient, in fuel and labor, than trucking. And of course, no place for passenger trains with exceptions preserved like endangered wildlife.
About the jobs in service sector being superior to manufacturing. That happened in part because manufacturing offers much more crappy conditions than in the past. Another reason is existence of bloated sectors like handling health insurance, health providers need numerous clerical workers to handle the jumble of health plans, and an even larger army of clerical workers has to handle those bills, checking them twice, in insurance companies. Actual doctors, nurses and technicians are still there, but as a sector, health care gobbles much larger work force and GDP percentage than more rational countries. And outcomes are rather miserable if we compare to, say, Costa Rica.
But we have better jobs and leisure time! Not that much in evidence. But we have drug overdose epidemic because people are so happy with the better jobs.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Feb 3 2023 1:29 utc | 108

About Xi being a “softie.” China has executed quite a few prominent people for corruption since Xi began his anti-corruption campaign, but they were done in legally via the Chinese legal system. The Empire doesn’t make too much fuss over that because of its massive amounts of corruption and doesn’t want the public to get any ideas. Here, the FBI protects corruption in high places.

Posted by: karlof1 | Feb 3 2023 2:28 utc | 110

Whats common to all USAss military bases ?
Paradise on earth.
UNESCO certified natural treasures.
Moral of the story,
Whatever you think of the USAss military,
have to concede, they are connoisseur of fine arts.

Posted by: denk | Feb 3 2023 3:48 utc | 112

“is derek henry a bot?” james@86
Nope, just a guy who is really enthused by Modern Monetary Theory. At least he doesn’t think that vaccines are designed to kill us. Or that the Jews are, and always have been, responsible for all our troubles.
He’s a breath of fresh air really.

Posted by: bevin | Feb 3 2023 4:12 utc | 114

From the current ukraine thread Posted by: Test | Feb 3 2023 3:35 utc
Well given most Palestinians are Arabs or Canaanite/Semite, as are Jews ,so yes, your Palestinian parent may have been Jewish a long time ago. Lol .Both sons of Abraham .

Posted by: Brother Ma | Feb 3 2023 4:21 utc | 116

Posted by: bevin | Feb 3 2023 4:16 utc | 116
!
And the sport on a giant screen.

Posted by: Walt | Feb 3 2023 4:36 utc | 118

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Feb 2 2023 21:33 utc | 95
Got it, thanks.
Here’s a relaxer for you, a bit old but an hour of fun
if you get tired of chasing evil reportage: imagine

Posted by: waynorinorway | Feb 3 2023 4:59 utc | 120

@ bevin | Feb 3 2023 4:12 utc | 115
@ james
I noticed Derek Henry recently posted a complete essay, “Reset Part One: The rise of the moral elite,” written by Robin McAlpine, which is posted at robinmcalpine dot org, the first of a three-part series, without any attribution. I thought perhaps he did not give attribution because it is he but in some of his other posts the identity wanders from Scot to ‘American’ so then I wondered if james’ query might be accurate. I don’t know.

Posted by: suzan | Feb 3 2023 5:05 utc | 122

@Blissex
You said; “The PRC have an “absolutely never first use in any circumstance” policy”
It’s nice to believe in prancing unicorns, and rainbows. That America is great, and strong, and that the Untied States can conduct two wars with two large nuclear nations, and … win.
In case you haven’t been paying attention, nuclear bomb production inside of China is expanding exponentially, as is hyper-velocity glide vehicles. This explains why Russia is exporting so much uranium to China these days.
Knowing China, as I do (after all, I live here), China is not a nation known for bluffing.
So why make all these nuclear hyper-velocity, AI guided, nuclear missile delivery systems if they are not intended to be used?
The answers…
[1] As a deterrence? Hardly, the United States already has adopted “first use policy”.
[2] So the Chinese can invade the USA? If so, then this would be paired with an increase in logistical systems. This is not happening.
[3] As a response to USA first use? China, a practical nation, would devote so much time towards the period after it is destroyed? Nope. that is not China at all.
[4] To destroy American cities in the event the USA launches it’s long-awaited war against it.
And yes. The answer is [4]. There simply isn’t any other reason.
You have to see things as they actually are, instead of what you want to believe.

Posted by: Rufus Arrr | Feb 3 2023 9:23 utc | 124

waynorinorway #121
Thank you. I really grok Feynman. His book QED – the strange theory of light and matter is a goodie too.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Feb 3 2023 10:24 utc | 126

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Feb 3 2023 10:24 utc | 127
Oh, and I just picked up another quote by Feynman last nite watching one of his
lectures from New Zealand. He puts the metaphysical in its place anwering this question:
Q. When you are looking at something do you see only light or do you see the object?
A. The question of whether or not when you see something you see only the light or you see the thing you’re looking at is one of those dopey philosophical things that an ordinary person has no difficulty with. Even the most profound philosopher, in sitting eating his dinner, has many difficulties making out that what he looks at perhaps might be only the light from the steak but it still implies the existence of the steak which he’s able to lift by the fork to his mouth. The philosophers that were unable to make that analysis and that idea have fallen by the wayside through hunger. – Richard Feynman

Posted by: waynorinorway | Feb 3 2023 11:05 utc | 128

Posted by: Rufus Arrr | Feb 3 2023 9:23 utc | 125
There is a maximal speed for ballistic missiles: they should not fly so fast to fly away from Earth, and inter-continental missiles are close to that. Hypersonic vehicles are SLOWER.
The only reason to make them is to avoid anti-missile system by having somewhat random trajectory: to hit an object moving at enormous speed, the trajectory of the object is identified and anti-missile is directed at a predicted future position. Few random turns disable this approach. So anti-missiles can be augmented with tracking sensors, but that would require them to turn accordingly when needed, and it is not easy to make turns at a huge speed, while the hypersonic vehicle will make another turn before being hit etc.
In short, hypersonic weapons were a response to American decision to abrogate the treaty that would prevent that futile arms race, and to make two pronged buildup in arms design and production, (a) increasing precision and decreasing the load of missiles for first strike capability (b) anti-missile systems.
Additionally, your options [1,3,4] are overlapping.
That said, once you have anti-missile and hypersonic missile programs there are additional uses, namely conventional weapons to destroy important objects/facilities in spite of those objects possessing anti-missile defense, American fleets and bases being of most interests to Chinese. Suppose that USA and allies impose a maritime blockade (why they insists on loitering on China Seas, East and South?).

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Feb 3 2023 11:29 utc | 130

Suppose that USA and allies impose a maritime blockade (why they insists on loitering on China Seas, East and South?).
Posted by: Piotr Berman | Feb 3 2023 11:29 utc | 131
China has long feared a blockade at the Malacca strait of course, that’s at Singapore/ Malaysia. That would seriously strangle their shipping exports westward. Take a look at the map. Shipping would have go due south and cross through Indonesia. I think the gap near Jakarta is too shallow, they would need to go by Bali, or near there, a huge additional distance.
Now look again at the map and draw a line from China to Bali. Oops, there’s the Philippines, well well, subject of earlier discussion above. I thought the US interest in Palawan was to put a naval base at a good sheltered western harbour such as Port Barton to interfere at the Spratlys, but maybe there’s more to it than that.

Posted by: Walt | Feb 3 2023 12:14 utc | 132

Without the sensor, there is no sound.
I think I need another glass of wine.
Posted by: Walt | Feb 3 2023 11:29 utc | 130
So the Big Bang was soundless?
Garçon, another bottle for me and my new drinking friend Walt, please!

Posted by: waynorinorway | Feb 3 2023 13:04 utc | 134

Recently there were presidential elections in the Czech Republic. The winner got 58,3%. Recently there were presidential elections in France. The winner got 58,3%. Recently there were presidential elections in Slovakia. The winner got 58,3%
Statistically this is impossible.

Posted by: Oblomovka daydream | Feb 3 2023 13:16 utc | 136

@Walt | Feb 3 2023 13:28 utc | 138
“You must be in the far north?”
Tromsø, Paris of the north.
Aquavit the choice here.
Sleep well.
Thanks for your posts on China, btw.

Posted by: waynorinorway | Feb 3 2023 13:38 utc | 138

Sure, many (if not most) people are disruptive in the workplace, yet they tend to be the ones who are less likely to lose their jobs.
For example, essential workers are more likely to face unemployment, and they make a greater contribution than PMC.
Many of the unemployed are instead those who can actually contribute, but institutions don’t reward contribution and loyalty, they reward sabotage and betrayal, whether the institution is a government, a religious group, an NGO or a private company.
For example, the more job-hopping employees do, the faster their raises will be, not the other way around.
The employees who get promoted the most are the ones who work only when the boss comes, not the ones who work all the time.
Thus, JG will increase rather than decrease efficiency, even though its financing plan circumvents the nationalization of enterprises necessary to attract as many people as possible.

Posted by: Colin | Feb 3 2023 14:58 utc | 140

China has published what will prove to be an interesting report, “The US Willful Practice of Long-arm Jurisdiction and its Perils,” although I have yet to find it online. This report announces its existence and substance:

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday released a 2,576-word report on US long-arm jurisdiction, a typical US practice that severely harms the international political and economic order and the international rule of law.
Experts said that revealing the truth and facts on the US’ failure in governance is important as it helps the international community to get a clearer understanding of US hegemony, its exports of uncertainties, and disruptions to global order.
Entitled The US Willful Practice of Long-arm Jurisdiction and its Perils, the report was unveiled on Friday afternoon by the ministry, and consists of three major parts – an overview of US long-arm jurisdiction, exercise and expansion of US long-arm jurisdiction, and the perils of US long-arm jurisdiction.
The US has a longstanding practice of exerting frequent long-arm jurisdiction over other countries, including both its allies and countries with which it has hostile or strained relations, the report said. In recent years, the practice has kept expanding in scope, with US “arms” stretching longer and longer. Examining the cases of US abuse of long-arm jurisdiction, this report lays bare the severe harm it has done to the international political and economic order and the international rule of law.

Posted by: karlof1 | Feb 3 2023 16:55 utc | 142

Grieved | Feb 3 2023 4:30 utc | 118
“I note the reports of the food processing plants that have been destroyed by fire recently – is it really something like 200 facilities? – with the massive egg producer going up in flames as the most recent highlight of the trend.”
With the egg producers, there’s also something wrong with certain global brands of chicken feed.
I’ll note that eggs produced on an industrial scale are needed to make many of the traditional vaccines.

Posted by: Scotch Bingeington | Feb 3 2023 17:17 utc | 144

Posted by: Walt | Feb 3 2023 11:29 utc | 130
“Without the sensor, there is no sound.”
Consider all the insects, of which many are on the falling tree, and animals within earshot, they certainly sense/hear it loud and clear.
Posted by: Walt | Feb 3 2023 13:13 utc | 136
“But, nobody was there to see it…so.”
Consider the probability of alien civilization(s) from parallel universe(s) or dimension(s) who all certainly saw/heard/recorded it 🙂

Posted by: nathan in WA US | Feb 3 2023 17:39 utc | 146

Australian Syrah, can still get it in China.
Posted by: Walt | Feb 3 2023 13:28 utc | 138
Cheers Walt. In my neck of the wood it’s spelled Shiraz, a town in south-central Iran, not too far away from Persepolis — the seat of the empire. I believe the original Aussie grape vines came from there. I’m planning to visit Shiraz soon. Another delicacy from there is paloodeh/faloodeh, cold dessert similar to a sorbet. It consists of thin vermicelli-sized noodles made from starch in a semi-frozen syrup containing sugar and rose water. mmm mmm.
Oh, and on the sound: does it have to be human ear to hear it? Do other ears count?

Posted by: Sakineh Bagoom | Feb 3 2023 19:46 utc | 148

When the various drunken philosophers wake from their slumbers, here’s a story regarding that tree falling in the forest.
Annie Dillard in her wonderful book, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, tells of walking around a corner and seeing a bird up above the second story fold one wing and spiral down toward the ground. At the very last moment the bird snapped its wing back out and soared back aloft.
Her conclusion, regarding the sound of the tree falling unwitnessed, was that in this universe beauty is happening all the time. The least we can do, she said, is to try to show up for it.
~~
So, that will never parse in scientific or even philosophical terms, but then perhaps the universe and its mysteries are best appreciated in poetic terms anyway?

Posted by: Grieved | Feb 3 2023 19:55 utc | 150

In Response to Grieved above @19:55 and @20:08
~
I raise a toast to you of some Evan Williams. Now, let me go get it, but there is wisdom in what you type and it is appreciated by peasants who just want justice.
BK

Posted by: Buffalo_Ken | Feb 3 2023 20:16 utc | 152

Grieved #151

Her conclusion, regarding the sound of the tree falling unwitnessed, was that in this universe beauty is happening all the time. The least we can do, she said, is to try to show up for it.
~~
So, that will never parse in scientific or even philosophical terms, but then perhaps the universe and its mysteries are best appreciated in poetic terms anyway?

Thank you. Delightful words to show up with my breakfast.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Feb 3 2023 21:15 utc | 154

Among the useless clutter in the attic of my mind I found this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlyERnu7zUw

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Feb 3 2023 21:58 utc | 156

@Grieved #151 – lovely.
I personally don’t have much interest in the covid and vax topic principally because there is too much BS to wade through. That said, I am still very curious about the nature and function of viruses having learned from about 20 years living with Lyme Disease that the microbiome is a fascinating, only relatively recently noted phenomenon. The following piece has quite a bit of basic information about both the biome and virome so for those interested in such things, enjoy. The title seems to lead towards some sort of political point (which again have no interest in), but the first part of the article provides neat background scientific information. Mainly from the intro:

The Microbiome
The microbiome (derived from the Greek words micro, meaning “small,” and biotikos, meaning “pertaining to life”) is a massive ecosystem consisting of trillions of microorganisms. Incredibly, some 40,000 species of bacteria, 300,000 species of parasites, 65,000 species of protozoa, and between 3.5 million and 5 million species of fungi inhabit the environment around us and live in or on the human body. This complex world of microorganisms continually secretes a sea of viruses, which serve as a communication network for the bacteria, parasites, protozoa, and fungi. And, as we will discover shortly, these viruses have always been here to help us, not hinder us. In other words, they are life-affirming, not death-inducing.
Here’s a hint of the microbiome’s intricacy, incredible diversity, and infinitesimal size: The number of genes within the fungal kingdom is at least 125 trillion! The human genome, by comparison, consists of a mere 20,000 genes. A fruit fly has 13,000 genes, a flea 31,000. Thus, in terms of genetic complexity, the human genome has just a tiny fragment of genetic information compared to the vast world of genomic information contained within the microbiome.
One fascinating aspect of the microbiome is its symbiotic communication network, which allows the transmission of protein information from one microorganism to one another. For example, the mycelial network (a matrix of fine white filaments) in fungi allows the fungi to communicate with each other over distances that can stretch to several kilometers. These mycelial structures are capable of transferring mineral and protein resources more than a kilometer. How? They use light energy and electrons that flow through the pathways within the soil system. In this way, the microbiome helps plants and other multicellular life forms flourish. It is no exaggeration to call the mycelial network in the fungal kingdom the literal “brain” of the planet. Incidentally, all of the tiny, intelligent organisms that make up the microbiome are powered by the biophotonic energy of the sun.
Hard as it is to fathom, at least 1.4 quadrillion bacteria and 10 quadrillion fungi live inside the human body. Within the human colon alone are 3.8 x 1013bacteria cells. Every single organ in the body, including the brain, has its own microbiome. The purpose of the bacteria and fungi in our bodies is to nourish and nurture our cells, keeping us healthy and in equilibrium with the larger microbiome surrounding us.
The Virome
The virome is the immense world in which Mother Nature’s messengers exist. It is composed of trillions upon trillions of viruses produced by the aforementioned microbiome’s bacteria, parasites, protozoa, and fungi….
I contend in this article that, contrary to what Rockefeller medicine has been teaching us for over one hundred years, viruses are not here to attack our cells or to harm us in any other manner. On the contrary, the DNA and RNA genetic molecular information contained within the viruses are literally the building blocks of life on earth. To use a modern analogy, we can think of a virus’s information stream as a software update carrying important molecular intelligence that can be uploaded, when required, to any cell of a living multicellular organism—including any one of the 70 trillion cells contained in the human body. Our cells regulate which new genomic information is received and which information is not received. The viruses are simply seeking to adapt to the cells for the purpose of creating resilient human health…..
Since a virus is not a living organism, our innate immune system cannot kill viruses—nor would it want to. Instead, as mentioned above, the innate immune system simply comes into genetic balance with a new virus. It does this by replicating or receiving updates from that virus—and by immediately responding to that new viral upload. Once genetic balance has been achieved, typically 4 to 5 days after initial exposure to the virus, our innate immune system refuses to receive further updates. …
[and also about flus in general]:
The question scientists should be focusing on is: What is taking place in Sub-Saharan Africa that is creating such an abnormal relationship between people living in that area and the HIV retrovirus, causing 95 percent of them to test HIV-positive?
For an answer to that question, we need to look at the terrain where viruses reside and stay in balance with the human body. (By “terrain” I mean a geographic area with its associated ecosystem. I am not referring here to the aforementioned Bernard/Béchamp terrain theory.) When a terrain is disrupted by anything unnatural to it—for example, poisoning of the environment by irresponsible human behaviour—the viruses become overexpressed and the body’s balance with the virome is lost.
Taking account of the terrain, we find that the number one factor common to all so-called infectious disease epidemics or pandemics is the destruction of the ecosystem. In other words, the natural terrain has been altered by irresponsible human behaviour to such an extent that our innate adaptation to all the genetic information surrounding us is undermined.
It is not that the viruses are causing a disease. Rather, it is that they are simply presenting the body with a new genetic adaptation option. The body’s innate immune system then determines how much of that new information it will absorb. If the cells are in dire need of repair—perhaps as a result of poor dietary choices, a sedentary lifestyle, or toxicity in the environment—the virus will create an inflammation event as the body goes through its regenerative process. This is usually accompanied by a fever, loss of appetite, and an elevated white blood cell count. Such an inflammatory event is what we commonly refer to as “the flu.”
What we derogatively call an inflammatory event—implying it is bad for the body—is actually a part of the body’s healing process. The inflammation is needed to create regeneration within the body. It is acting on behalf of the body, not against it. But if the body’s microbiome is replete instead of wanting, it will not need an update, and therefore no inflammation will take place. …
From the information covered thus far, we can rightly conclude that it is impossible for viruses or pathogens to create infectious disease pandemics and epidemics—for there is no such thing as an infectious disease in the traditional sense of the term—examples being “AIDS,” “Ebola,” and other unfounded “viral” pandemics. Yes, pharmaceutical propaganda has been pushing the infectious disease paradigm on world thought for centuries. But the belief that such diseases exist is no more than an outgrowth of Pasteur’s debunked germ theory. What we commonly refer to as an epidemic or a pandemic is simply the result of a degraded innate immune system showing up in a segment of the planet’s population. The reasons for this degradation can include chemical poisoning from herbicides, pesticides, or genetically modified foods, which we will look at in more detail below.
As we can see by the above description of the virome, it is no exaggeration to say that the virome is the language of all life on earth. We are literally swimming in a vast sea of genomic information that was essential for life to begin and flourish on this precious earth and that is still trying to help all species survive. The matrix of organisms that make up the microbiome have built a viromic information stream that has allowed for adaptation and biodiversity to occur on the planet. And that very same viromic information stream is responsible for building the human species.
Thus, humans are not separate from the virome and the microbiome but are, rather, integral to the virome and microbiome’s vast, complex ecosystem. Yet we have increasingly placed ourselves in direct opposition to the very living system of which we are an intrinsic part: nature.

https://www.globalresearch.ca/humanity-march-toward-extinction/5750260
Although a bit ‘out there’ compared to most mainstream scientists/biologists, I suspect his vision of the biome and virome is more or less correct. However, he does not take into account the effects of genetically tampered viruses. Given how hard Lyme is for some people, and given that it most likely is the result of early genetic modification experiments in the Long Island Sound (with the able assistance of some Operation Paperclip liberated German scientists!), it might be that genetically enhanced viruses are going to be creating reactions beyond what were above described as part of an overall health mechanism shared between all the world’s millions of organisms.

Posted by: Scorpion | Feb 3 2023 22:19 utc | 158

The blatant hypocrisy of the European Union and the illegal occupation of Palestine.

An estimated $32 million of the donations are allocated to increasing the volume and quality of drinking water in Gaza. Around $39 million will be used to fund smaller businesses in the West Bank, as well as to help the PA launch environmental reforms.
Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff, the EU representative to the Palestinian Territories, said: “An effective Palestinian Authority guided by the principles of democratic governance and rule of law is a key element for stability, peace, and security. In this context, we will continue to call for the respect of existing agreements between Palestinians and Israelis. We will also continue to work with the Palestinian government towards structural, economic, and fiscal reforms that will improve the performance and efficiency of its public services.”
However, a day prior, the Israeli Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, took $29 million from the PA’s funds to compensate the Israeli “victims” of recent Palestinian retaliatory attacks. Tel Aviv typically confiscates $14.7 million from the PA monthly.

My emphasis.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Feb 3 2023 22:27 utc | 160

Dr John Campbell.
Who knew Covid Grandpa had such a dry wit:
His latest upload addressing the Pfizer media release, issued in response to the Project Veritas entrapment video, and promotion van parked in front of Pfizer HQ:
Pfizer MR says “Pfizer is committed to transparency blah blah blah……… “
Covid Grandpa: “Some might say more transparency after the application of alcohol and the possibility of sexual opportunity …”
I actually laughed out loud.. a real life LOL.
Lol.

Posted by: Melaleuca | Feb 3 2023 22:32 utc | 162

Addendum to above. Here is a link to the full four-part ebook. My excerpt above was from Part 1.
https://www.globalresearch.ca/our-species-genetically-modified-witnessing-humanity-march-toward-extinction-viruses-friends-not-foes/5763670

Posted by: Scorpion | Feb 3 2023 22:44 utc | 164

Ha ha – Yes of course the USG is busy Karen-ing over the situation. My only concern was that China may have exacerbated the ‘situation’ by using the word “mostly” when describing the balloon as a weather/meteorological device transport. That of course leaves an open door for AmeriKKKan propagandists to paint it as a commie plot to probe the defenses of the USA for a future EMP bomb attack.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Feb 3 2023 23:02 utc | 166

Some info, real or not, on the Balloon cross-linked by Pepe Escobar:
https://t.me/rocknrollgeopolitics/6159
or
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FoBHTefXkAA7SIl?format=png&name=900×900

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Feb 3 2023 23:02 utc | 168

Tom_Q_Collins #167
“mostly”
a Confucian term designed to trigger mass cerebral hysteria.
“wuhan” has similar properties.
A bit like a homeopathic brain tonic. Then there is “tarentula” but fortunately not indicated yet.
If I find any detail I will be sure to post same after I stop laughing.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Feb 3 2023 23:10 utc | 170

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Feb 3 2023 23:10 utc | 171
I’ll do the same…Oh wait…it already has its own Wikipedia page!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_China_balloon_incident

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Feb 3 2023 23:12 utc | 172

I got a kick out of this BBC article in which it is played up to the max.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-64508086

“Beijing is probably trying to signal to Washington: ‘While we want to improve ties, we are also ever ready for sustained competition, using any means necessary,’ without severely inflaming tensions,” independent air-power analyst He Yuan Ming told the BBC.
“And what better tool for this than a seemingly innocuous balloon?”
The balloon’s anticipated flight path near certain missile bases suggests it is unlikely it has drifted off course, He Yuan Ming said.
But China expert Benjamin Ho said Beijing had more sophisticated surveillance technology at its disposal.
“They have other means to spy out American infrastructure, or whatever information they wanted to obtain. The balloon was to send a signal to the Americans, and also to see how the Americans would react,” explained Dr Ho – coordinator of the China programme at Singapore’s S Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
It may even be the case that China wanted the US to detect the balloon.

Those sly Chinese! Showing us our air defenses are helpless against weather balloons (or EMP/neutron bomb death balloons).

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Feb 3 2023 23:26 utc | 174

Caitlyn Johnstone weighs in on the death balloon.
https://twitter.com/caitoz/status/1621626636084088832

Oh my god are Americans STILL freaking out about the Chinese balloon? You guys know you’re literally *in* the US, right? The nation with flying murder robots patrolling foreign skies and the most powerful and destructive intelligence cartel ever assembled? Shut the fuck up.

LOL

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Feb 3 2023 23:36 utc | 176

Tom_Q_Collins #175
“It may even be the case that China wanted the US to detect the balloon.”
I imagine the Chinese may have alerted the USA as a matter of courtesy to the balloon going off its intended course. Whether the USA will ever admit that is unlikely.
It would not surprise me if the USA Karens actually nuke it as their pride and stupidity is paramount right now. Certainly the Chinese PLA have inadvertently discovered a cute, low cost, weapon to antagonise the USA.
Watch North Korea suddenly create an atmospheric physics research project given the uncertainty arising from the Tonga volcano 😉

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Feb 4 2023 0:11 utc | 178

bevin
Thank you. It begs the question – Was Blake an occasional drinker?

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Feb 4 2023 1:11 utc | 180

I just seen a weather report on YouTube showing the current location and the trajectory of THE BALLOON. It is actually possible that USA does not have capability for shooting it down due to the combination of altitude (high) and speed (very low) that does not occur in normal military applications. So, in about two days THE BALLOON will be over Atlantic, and that, my dear friends from northern hemisphere, is the start of a long nightmare.
Well made balloon that tracks the jet stream can return! Zigzagging over American allies on the way, what can do the likes of UK and Sweden do about it but tremble and seethe that USA did not solve the problem. And as the jet stream circumnavigates North Pole, THE BALLOON will return. Imagine innocent victims, Americans succumbing to strokes, heart attacks and untold number of Chinese expiring from laughter.
I can imagine furious Congressional hearings following the THIRD coming of THE BALLOON. GOP congresscreatures already demand that the Administration assures that IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN. At some point, Pentagon will have to admit that even if USA obliterated China with nukes, THE BALLOON may be returning every month.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Feb 4 2023 2:30 utc | 182

Piotr Berman #183
OMFG Such good news.
Next time make it a red balloon.
Russian style
Chinese BTG coming to USA any day

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Feb 4 2023 2:42 utc | 184

China grows a pair.

China intends to have both spherical objects merge into a pair before hovering over the Pentagon.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Feb 4 2023 3:35 utc | 186

Cynthia Chung considers Japan.

Japan’s economy does not require a prophet or crystal ball to tell you what lies ahead in its very near future: that is, that Japan has become the ticking time bomb for the world economy.
In case you haven’t been able to hear under all the media thunder of doomsday prophesying by so-called “experts” on China’s future economic performance (which has been going on for close to a decade and is more akin to wishful thinking than economic analysis), Japan’s economy does not require a prophet or crystal ball to tell you what lies ahead in its very near future: that is, that Japan has become the ticking time bomb for the world economy.
According to NIKKEI Asia, in an October report, Japan’s “yen weakened past 150 against the dollar reaching a new 32-year low as the policy gap widens between the Bank of Japan and the U.S. Federal Reserve…The Fed has repeatedly raised interest rates to tackle inflation, while the Bank of Japan maintains its ultraloose monetary policy to support the economy.
The Fed’s hawkish monetary policy, along with persistent inflation expectations, has pushed the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield up to 4%. The Bank of Japan, meanwhile, is continuing to hold the 10-year Japanese government bond yield near zero. The Japanese central bank conducted a bond-buying operation for the second straight day to keep the yield within its implicit range of -0.25% to 0.25%.
The yield gap is prompting investors to invest in dollars rather than yen, exerting strong downward pressure on the Japanese currency.” [emphasis added]

More at Strategic Culture

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Feb 4 2023 3:52 utc | 188

Kamala Harris spoke at the funeral of Tyre Nichols on Wednesday. Daily Show comic D.L. Hughley shared this response on Thursday:

But seriously, there is a good reason to have a Black vice president. If you’re not going to do anything about police reform, at least you can have somebody that goes to those funerals!

Posted by: Aleph_Null | Feb 4 2023 4:48 utc | 190

For the first time, the United States has publicly announced the transfer of some of the confiscated Russian assets to Ukraine. We are talking about an amount of 5.4 million dollars; the funds belonged to Russian businessman Konstantin Malofeev. 
This decision was announced by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, as quoted by CNN.
Garland explained that the funds would first be at the disposal of the U.S. State Department.
At the same time, it is not quite clear (or rather, it is not at all clear) when and how this money will be transferred to Ukraine.
https://t.me/Zornkrieger/28957
We now have a precedent of US stealing private person’s assets. Most likely it will go directly to pay an Ukrainian debt to Raytheon to pay for some weapon. But it actually just helps Putin in de-dollarizing the global economy, through deteriorating trust to the US currency and system.

Posted by: unimperator | Feb 4 2023 7:26 utc | 192

Larry links a video from monkeyworx reporting on NINE USA balloons above USA right now plus a bunch over europe.
https://sonar21.com/more-on-the-high-flying-balloons/

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Feb 4 2023 9:55 utc | 194

Does anyone know which US Air Defense System can take this balloon down?
Posted by: Vajezatha | Feb 4 2023 14:27 utc | 196
Perhaps the genuine problem is avoiding civilian (or even military) damage, as we know from events in Ukraine. Missiles are designed for various purposes and scenarios, I suspect you need very heavy stuff to shoot at targets in the stratosphere. And when it falls down, in can kill a tractor crew or destroy a house, put a factory on fire etc. The most prudent course of action is to do it over the ocean, or even better, wait.
From what I gathered on YouTube etc, such balloons are regularly deployed in USA, like every month, for scientific purposes, like astronomy. The scientific apparatus makes observations, and then the ballon self-destructs, while the apparatus falls down on a parachute and is recovered. Most probably, Chinese were experimenting with it, but self-destruct malfunctioned. Stratospheric balloons can have floppy shape, with much lighter “shell” and the pressure equal to the outside, the minus is that they go up and down as air warms during the day and cools at night. More expensive spherical version uses heavier “shell”, so they maintain fixed volume, and when the outside pressure decreases, the shell is strong enough to prevent bursting. As a result, they can stay up for more than 300 days. In any case, as long as you do not damage them, they are harmless.
Perhaps the public should be warned about the trajectory to avoid outdoor activities in the nude…

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Feb 4 2023 14:54 utc | 196

While it certainly could be an accident, after recent Stoltenberg’s visit to Japan and things he said over there, we can not rule out the other options.
So the question is, does US has means to take ballon down and if yes, are they readily available.

Posted by: Vajezatha | Feb 4 2023 15:49 utc | 198

RED ALERT
Chinese balloons over America!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiwgOWo7mDc

Posted by: GT Stroller | Feb 4 2023 16:46 utc | 200