NY Times Analyzes Spy Balloon Incident, Calls It Pure Gall (And Forgets To Mention Biden)

It’s amazing: a web top of the front page analysis, and the word “Biden” appears nowhere in the piece. It’s like there’s no president (you can see the piece reproduced here, to avoid the paywall)

Balloon Incident Reveals More Than Spying as Competition With China Intensifies

It may be months before American intelligence agencies can compare the audacious flight of a Chinese surveillance balloon across the country to other intrusions on America’s national security systems, to determine how it ranks.

After all, there is plenty of competition.

There was the theft of the designs of the F-35, enabling the Chinese air force to develop its own look-alike stealth fighter, with Chinese characteristics. There was the case of China’s premier hacking team lifting the security clearance files for 22 million Americans from the barely secured computers of the Office of Personnel Management. That, combined with stolen medical files from Anthem and travel records from Marriott hotels, has presumably helped the Chinese create a detailed blueprint of America’s national security infrastructure.

But for pure gall, there was something different about the balloon. It became the subject of public fascination as it floated over nuclear silos of Montana, then was spotted near Kansas City and met its cinematic end when a Sidewinder missile took it down over shallow waters off the coast of South Carolina. Not surprisingly, now it is coveted by military and intelligence officials who desperately want to reverse-engineer whatever remains the Coast Guard and the Navy can recover.

It was basically China saying “we triple dog dare you to do something about it”, and Biden chickened out. He just let it roam.

“We don’t know what the intelligence yield was for the Chinese,” Evan Medeiros, a Georgetown professor who advised President Barack Obama on China and Asia with the National Security Council. “But there is no doubt it was a gross violation of sovereignty,” something the Chinese object to vociferously when the United States flies over and sails through the islands China has built from sandbars in the South China Sea.

“And this made visceral the China challenge,” Mr. Medeiros said, “to look up when you are out walking your dog, and you see a Chinese spy balloon in the sky.”

Good job, Joe. Way to protect the U.S.

As it turns out, it was hardly the first time. Hours before the giant balloon met its deflated end, the Pentagon said there was another one in flight, over South America. And it noted a long history of Chinese balloons flying over the United States (which the Pentagon, somehow, never wanted to talk about before, until this incident forced it to).

News outlets keep running this, but, they aren’t able to provide a shred of substantiation. At one point, reporters would have demanded extraordinary proof for extraordinary claims. Now, if it helps to protect a Democrat, they’ll just run with it. Anyhow, nations spy on each other all the time

Few experts doubt that had the situation been reversed, China would have used force — it has threatened to do that when it believed outsiders were entering disputed waters, much less established Chinese territory.

But, when a nation gets caught, there are consequences. Does anyone think China wouldn’t have shot it down immediately?

1,347 words, 25 paragraphs, and not one mention of the President of the United States, like he wasn’t involved in this at all. But, since he blew out for Delaware Friday, then took another long fossil fueled trip on Saturday to Syracuse and then to Camp David, well, perhaps he isn’t.

Read: NY Times Analyzes Spy Balloon Incident, Calls It Pure Gall (And Forgets To Mention Biden) »

If All You See…

…is a horrible fossil fueled vehicle, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Weasel Zippers, with a post on Fetterman giving Dementia Joe a run for his money.

Making it easy, it’s bikinis week. Just finished Gates Of Victory, kind of a slow reading week, started on The Secret Base Saturday.

Read: If All You See… »

Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

Patriotic Pinup

Happy Sunday! Another fine day in the Once And Future Nation Of America. The Sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the NJ Devils head out of the all star break with the 4th best points total, while still have a few games up on the leaders. This pinup is by Gil Elvgren, with a wee bit of help.

What is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. Powerline discusses climate scam predictions vs measurements
  2. The Feral Irishman has video of the spy balloon being knocked down
  3. The First Street Journal wonders if the spy balloon’s mission was to make Biden look bad
  4. The Gateway Pundit highlights how dangerous parts of Chicago are
  5. The Last Refuge covers the governing class vs the governed
  6. The Lid discusses why Omar was kicked off the Foreign Relations committee
  7. The O.K. Corral notes that the economy is getting worse
  8. The Other McCain covers MSNBC never letting go of J6
  9. Victory Girls Blog discusses NPR scolding KC Chiefs fans
  10. Weasel Zippers notes that the Brandon admin is still coming after gas stoves
  11. Moonbattery covers an anti-cop LA city councilor getting extra cop protection
  12. Legal Insurrection notes that the Brandon admin actually knew about the spy balloon on January 28th
  13. Jihad Watch discusses a mother suing a UK school for forcing her son to participate in LGBT madness
  14. IOTW Report says to view the trans movement as a suicide cult and it makes sense
  15. And last, but, not least, Geller Report notes that COVID aid fraud could be $4 trillion

As always, the full set of pinups can be seen in the Patriotic Pinup category, or over at my Gallery page (nope, that’s gone, the newest Apache killed access, and the program hasn’t been upgraded since 2014). While we are on pinups, since it is that time of year, have you gotten your Pinups for Vets calendar yet? And don’t forget to check out what I declare to be our War on Women Rule 5 and linky luv posts and things that interest me. I’ve also mostly alphabetized them, makes it easier scrolling the feedreader

Don’t forget to check out all the other great material all the linked blogs have!

Anyone else have a link or hotty-fest going on? Let me know so I can add you to the list. And do you have a favorite blog you can recommend be added to the feedreader?

Two great sites for getting news links are Liberty Daily and Whatafinger.

Read: Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup »

Good News: CIA Director Says China Prepared To Invade Taiwan By 2027

And China is certainly thrilled that Biden did absolutely nothing to stop the spy balloon

China’s Xi has ordered military to be ready for Taiwan invasion by 2027, CIA Director Burns says

CIA Director William Burns has revealed that Chinese President Xi Jinping has instructed his country’s army “to be ready by 2027 to conduct a successful invasion” of Taiwan.

Burns made the remark Thursday during an event at Georgetown University, where he also said he believes that Xi has been closely watching Russian President Vladimir Putin’s prolonged and costly invasion of Ukraine. Beijing has been engaged in a tense territorial dispute with the island, which it claims is part of China.

“On Taiwan, I guess I would say our assessment at CIA is that I wouldn’t underestimate President Xi’s ambitions with regard to Taiwan. He has been pretty clear about that over the years,” Burns said. “I think he has watched very carefully – it seems to us – Putin’s experience in Ukraine and been a little bit unsettled and sobered by that as well.

“We know as a matter of intelligence he has instructed the People’s Liberation Army to be ready by 2027 to conduct a successful invasion,” Burns continued.

China has obviously had designs on Taiwan for pretty much as long as it’s been Taiwan, but, now Xi sees the weakness in Biden and the Woke U.S. military. He’s watched the botched Afghanistan withdrawal, along with the how that weakness led to Putin going into Ukraine and showing no signs of leaving.

“Now, that does not mean that he’s decided to conduct an invasion in 2027, or any other year, but it’s a reminder of the seriousness of his focus and his ambition,” Burns added.

“Therefore, I think it’s very much in our interest as a policy matter in the United States to make clear our commitment to the status quo, to make clear we are not interested as a country in changing that status quo, that we are deeply opposed to anyone trying to change that unilaterally, especially by the use of force,” the CIA director also said.

And what, exactly, is the Biden admin doing to discourage Xi? A few years ago, under President Trump, the news was about jobs, better trade deals, folks cheering jobs coming back to their town, and Americans First. Now the news is about war machines, war, death, peoples lives destroyed by war, and the doomsday clock closing in on 12 midnight. I sure miss President Trump and America First policies of peace and prosperity. Does anyone think the Woke and going Woker military scares Xi?

Read: Good News: CIA Director Says China Prepared To Invade Taiwan By 2027 »

Let’s Go Brandon Finally Allows Military To Shoot Down Chinese Spy Balloon

You know, once it got done gathering data across the United States

United States Shoots Down Chinese Spy Balloon

The U.S. military has shot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon that has been in the sky above the continental United States this week.

The suspected Chinese surveillance balloon was shot down on Saturday morning while it was over the Atlantic Ocean off the Carolina coast. On Saturday, South Carolina residents caught video footage of the hostile foreign country’s spy balloon being shot out of the sky.

“This afternoon, at the direction of President Biden, U.S. fighter aircraft assigned to U.S. Northern Command successfully brought down the high altitude surveillance balloon launched by and belonging to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over the water off the coast of South Carolina in U.S. airspace,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said in a statement.

Oh, good, and over water, making recovery tougher (they’ve already said it was a huge debris field, which is sinking), though, they’ll give it a shot. Of course, China probably doesn’t care, because they got all the data they needed already. The wishy washy Secretary of Defense, Lloyd J. Austin III, said

The balloon, which was being used by the PRC in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States, was brought down above U.S. territorial waters. On Wednesday, President Biden gave his authorization to take down the surveillance balloon as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to American lives under the balloon’s path. After careful analysis, U.S. military commanders had determined downing the balloon while over land posed an undue risk to people across a wide area due to the size and altitude of the balloon and its surveillance payload. In accordance with the President’s direction, the Department of Defense developed options to take down the balloon safely over our territorial waters, while closely monitoring its path and intelligence collection activities.

This action was taken in coordination, and with the full support, of the Canadian government. And we thank Canada for its contribution to tracking and analysis of the balloon through NORAD as it transited North America. Today’s deliberate and lawful action demonstrates that President Biden and his national security team will always put the safety and security of the American people first while responding effectively to the PRC’s unacceptable violation of our sovereignty.

Yeah, well, if they did, they would have shot it down before it even made it over Alaska. Before it had time to gather lots of intelligence, feeding it back to China. Seriously, Biden can call it “unacceptable violation”, but, what’s he going to do about it?

https://twitter.com/ashlynforsc/status/1621956652688711682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1621956652688711682%7Ctwgr%5E1553c58f5f75a452579b2e08d86e94b8ad6153a5%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.breitbart.com%2Fpolitics%2F2023%2F02%2F04%2Funited-states-shoots-down-chinese-spy-balloon%2F

China is laughing. Perhaps all the way to invading Taiwan. And, what does Putin think, watching Biden be this squishy? How about Iran and North Korea?

Read: Let’s Go Brandon Finally Allows Military To Shoot Down Chinese Spy Balloon »

If All You See…

…is an area flooded by Bad Weather clouds, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Never Yet Melted, with a post noting what would have happened with the Chinese spy balloon if Trump was president.

Doubleshot below the fold, check out Pacific Pundit, with a post on another spy balloon over Latin America.

Read More »

Read: If All You See… »

Gender Confused Man Charged With Indecent Exposure After Doing It In Front Of Children At YMCA

This should be the norm, not saying “sure, male with mental health issues, go ahead, you can use the bathrooms, showers, and locker rooms of women”

Trans woman faces indecent exposure charge for being naked in front of young girls at YMCA ladies’ locker room

A transgender woman is facing complaints of indecent exposure after allegedly being naked in the presence of minor girls in the women’s locker room of a YMCA in Ohio.

Darren Glines, 31, was charged with three counts of indecent exposure related to incidents dating back to 2021 and 2022, according to Xenia Municipal Court documents reported by local station WHIO.

The outlet noted that Glines identifies as a woman and uses the name Rachel, but has not undergone transgender surgery.

The charges against Glines stemmed from at least three complaints from people who “reported seeing a naked male in the female’s locker room,” one of which asserted juvenile girls were present, according to court records.

Want to use the female rooms? Fully transition. Cut that tallywacker off. And when one of the women went to the front desk of the Y, per the city council meeting

“So she went to the front desk and said, ‘Hey, I don’t know if you know what’s going on, but there’s a naked man in there,'” Urschel said, according to the local outlet. “She was informed, ‘No, this is actually a woman, and that you shouldn’t be disturbed by this.'”

No, he is not. The left can’t even tell the difference. They’re supporting mental illness and what’s really a fad.

Meanwhile

DeSantis Admin Moves To Revoke Liquor License Of Venue That Allowed Kids To See ‘Sexual’ Drag Show

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration moved to revoke an Orlando venue’s liquor license after it allowed minors to attend a “sexual” drag performance, according to a complaint filed by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco.

The department said Friday that the venue, The Plaza Live, operated by the Orlando Philharmonic Plaza Foundation, violated Florida statute and that the department would move, therefore, to “enter a penalty revoking [its] license,” according to the complaint. The decision came after the DeSantis administration warned in December it would revoke the venue’s liquor license if it did not age-restrict its “A Drag Queen Christmas” show which featured “sexual” acts.

Good for him. He said he would do this for any who allowed minors to be in the establishment for a sexual performance, and he did it. Without the liquor license, The Plaza Live will probably survive, but, attendance will be greatly reduced for concerts and such. The state should think about doing what they do for bars and strip clubs that allow minors in, shut them down temporarily with a warning, then permanently revoke their license to operate after a few occurrences.

Read: Gender Confused Man Charged With Indecent Exposure After Doing It In Front Of Children At YMCA »

Climate Cult Youts Try A Die-In At Thurston, Oregon City Council Meeting

First question: how did they all travel to the city council meeting? Second question: how many of them are wearing clothes that use fossil fuels to manufacture and ship? How many have iPhones made in China and shipped across the Pacific using fossil fueled ships?

Thurston youth ‘die’ at council meeting to protest lack of action on climate change

Five members of the Thurston Youth Climate Coalition fell dramatically to the floor at Lacey City Council on Thursday in a “die-in” to protest what they see as a lack of local action to fight climate change.

OK. Turn the heat and AC off at their schools. Turn off the WiFi so the kiddies stop streaming and uploading all those videos. No school buses, they can walk or ride bikes.

As Avanti High School student and coalition member Elsie Sabel rattled off sobering figures about climate change’s effect on the planet, her fellow members fell one by one to the floor.

Sabel, citing data from the National Academy of Sciences and the World Health Organization, spelled out a grim scenario.

No NOAA sea rise station in Oregon shows even average sea rise. In fact, the Astoria station, the longest going back to 1925, shows a slight negative trend.

Sea-level rise by the year 2100 is expected to displace 2.5 percent of the world’s population, she told the council, plus there’s the impact on farming and raising crops, which could result in 500,000 people dying from lack of food.

The impact of climate change is estimated to kill 5 million people between 2030 and 2050 and another 83 million by 2100, Sabel said.

“When youth imagine our future, this is what we have to look forward to,” she said.

It’s no wonder the kiddies have mental health issues when they’re being forcefed this scary cult propaganda. This was all theatrics, no actual facts, and nothing from them on what they are doing in their own lives. I’m sure they made sure to upload it to TikTok before driving somewhere in fossil fueled vehicles.

Read: Climate Cult Youts Try A Die-In At Thurston, Oregon City Council Meeting »

China’s Not Shot Down Spy Balloon To Pass Over NC Saturday

No one really agrees where it will pass over

CBS17 has it passing through the Charlotte area into South Carolina. The Raleigh News And Observer includes this

Read More »

Read: China’s Not Shot Down Spy Balloon To Pass Over NC Saturday »

Impressions Of Bose Sport And Quiet Comfort Earbuds

I’ve probably mentioned in the past that I’m not a big fan of earbuds that go in your ear canal, since they stuff your ears up and make it seem like you have a cold, hearing every little breath like your ears and nose are stuffed up. But, it’s really hard to find ones that are really good and don’t. I do have a pair of JBLs that do not go in the ear canal, sound is OK. Use them for just being out and about and talking on the phone (I like to use just the left one). Not great for the gym in terms of staying in. I’ve been using these Vidonn at the gym, since they wrap around ears and stay in. Decent sound and volume. But, they are getting a bit old, battery doesn’t hold charge as long. I’ve tried Skullcandy Push Ultra, but, they have a problem with the left dropping out all the time.

Had some extra cash, was thinking of getting a pair of Apple earbuds, the Bose Sport were on sale around October, thought I would give them a try, had some birthday money sitting around. I love the sound of Bose, have speakers and a pair of wired earbuds. Well worth it. They have a less round rubber tip, do not go way down in the ear canal. Sound is outstanding, really like it, and, sounds louder since blocking some of the outside sound. Battery length is good. I’ve been using them for both out and about and at the gym. They stay in, very comfortable, my ears do not hurt even after a long session. The only downside is that you can only use the right one for phone calls, since it has the microphone. I’ll grab my JBLs if I need to makes some calls. Definitely a good value for $129

I was given the Quiet Comfort 1’s for Christmas. I probably would not have bought them for $199 myself, would be afraid to carry them around. I was close to returning them, because the case is pretty big, not exactly convenient for carrying around. But, gave them a shot at the gym, and they are great. The noise cancellation is wonderful, really getting rid of the noise from other people and the overhead music. And, since the buds are a little bigger than the Sports, the sound is a bit better. And the gym is where I listen the most at one time. Extremely comfortable. And you can adjust the bass, middle, and treble from the app. One nice things is that there are not a ton of controls on the buds, so, you cannot mess things up by accident. The case is wireless, so I can plop it on a charging pad, have a few, no problem. They aren’t quite as loud with the noise cancellation on, but, even cranking the volume of the phone up the sound quality doesn’t suffer. I do not mind that the buds are a bit bigger, can barely feel the weight.

Have not tried them with phone calls yet. Probably won’t, as the mike is in the right. Neither is truly “True Wireless”, since the left requires the right to be connected. I’m fine with that. Less chance of dropping out. For both, if you take the right one out of your ear music and videos will pause. I like that.

The Quiet Comforts 2 have a smaller case and are a bit smaller, but, I’m not spending $249 (sale price) and carrying them around in a pocket.

Read: Impressions Of Bose Sport And Quiet Comfort Earbuds »

Pirate's Cove