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

By William Teach February 4, 2023 – 6:23 pm

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?

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If All You See…

By William Teach February 4, 2023 – 1:00 pm

…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.

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

By William Teach February 4, 2023 – 10:30 am

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.

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

By William Teach February 4, 2023 – 7:15 am

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.

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Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 10 Comments | Trackback URL

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

By William Teach February 4, 2023 – 7:00 am

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

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Impressions Of Bose Sport And Quiet Comfort Earbuds

By William Teach February 3, 2023 – 7:44 pm

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.

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Your Fault: ‘Climate Change’ Could Make Dangerous Fungi Like In The Last Of Us

By William Teach February 3, 2023 – 3:00 pm

Of course, Gizmodo has to give a disclaimer, but, the very fact that they’re even going down this road shows how deranged this whole cult is

The Last of Us Is Right: Climate Change Is Making Fungi More Dangerous
Zombie-creating fungi are an unlikely possibility, but a warmer world will make fungi more of a threat.

“Unlikely”. Look, I love reading zombie book, and read a bunch each year. Working through a series right now. But, it’s not going to happen (well, unless scientists screw with something, and it would be more like 28 Days Later).

HBO has another bonafide hit on its hand with the recent release of The Last of Us, the post-apocalyptic TV show based on the hit video game series produced by Naughty Dog. Both the game and show (at least through the first three episodes) weave together a blend of pulse-pounding action and gut-wrenching drama, as protagonists Joel and Ellie journey across the ruins of the United States.

The central cause of said apocalypse is a fungal infection that turns its victims into zombie-like creatures. While the fictional disease has its fantastical aspects, it’s based on the very real Cordyceps and Ophiocordyceps—two related families of parasitic fungal species that spread by manipulating the behavior of their insect or arachnid hosts. Real and creepy as those fungi are, it’s unlikely that any existing Cordyceps species will pose that sort of danger to humans, at least in the near future. Among other things, it’s taken millions of years for the fungi to evolve their unique way of life with any one specific bug, and our human biology has little in common with these hosts.

Fungi tend to require a certain range of temperatures to sustain life. Our typical body temperature, roughly 97 degrees Fahrenheit, is too high to be comfortable for most fungi to regularly infect us. But as climate change raises the average temperature in many regions, the argument goes, some fungi will adapt and learn to thrive under the heat. And if people are routinely exposed to these heat-adapted fungi, some may then successfully make the jump into becoming a human pathogen.

Doom! Skipping through all the missives of climate cult apocalypse to the end

“We need more research into tracking the spread of fungal diseases and increasing our arsenal of antifungal drug treatments,” Gusa said. “This means we need better diagnostic tools, increased surveillance, new antifungal drugs and clinical trials for vaccine candidates.”

The Last of Us might be fiction, but the fungal threat is real.

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Posted in AGW Scaremongering, Global Warming | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach February 3, 2023 – 1:00 pm

…are boats set up and ready for when the seas flood, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Moonbattery, with a post on resistance to funding Ukraine rising in liberal NYC.

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China Sends Spy Balloon Over U.S., Biden Admin Doesn’t Shoot It Down

By William Teach February 3, 2023 – 10:30 am

I do have one question that hasn’t been addressed in any of the stories: just when did the U.S. military notice the balloon?

U.S. Military Monitoring Suspected Chinese Spy Balloon

The U.S. military is currently monitoring a suspected Chinese spy balloon that has been hovering for several days over the northern United States.

Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement on Thursday that the “high-altitude surveillance balloon” poses no immediate threat to the United States and will be monitored for the time-being.

“The United States Government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now,” said Ryder, adding:

The U.S. government, including NORAD, continues to track and monitor it closely. The balloon is currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground. Instances of this kind of balloon activity have been observed previously over the past several years. Once the balloon was detected, the U.S. government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information.

According to NBC News, the balloon was initially spotted over Billings, Montana, after it had flown over the Aleutian Islands and through Canada. The exact whereabouts of the balloon remains unknown to the public at this time.

Billings, Montana was the first time? It apparently, they think, floated down over Alaska then Canada, and none of our military assets, all our radars and such, noticed it? That does not provide confidence in the military’s ability to detect anything else, like, say, ICMBs, coming towards the U.S.

The leaders reviewed the threat profile of the Chinese stratospheric balloon and possible response options, and ultimately decided not to recommend taking it out kinetically, because of the risk to safety and security of people on the ground from the possible debris field. Pentagon leaders presented the options to President Joe Biden on Wednesday.

President Biden was reportedly briefed on the matter and advised not to order the balloon be shot down.

It’s not like there’s much out there in Montana. The population density is 7 people per square mile, and most are in towns. Not shooting it down shows weakness.

(Fox News) China has announced its government is looking into reports that a suspected Chinese spy balloon was discovered flying in U.S. airspace over Montana.

“China is a responsible country and has always strictly abided by international laws, and China has no intention to violate the territory and airspace of any sovereign countries,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning during a daily briefing on Friday.

She also urged U.S. officials and Chinese authorities to proceed “calmly and carefully” amid the investigation.

Yes, stay calm, just let the spy balloon fly over the U.S., capture its data, and fly away. Just like when the Soviets were able to get a lock on the U-2 flown by Gary Powers. Oh, right. That’s the game. If it gets noticed, it gets shot down. Biden’s weakness will further embolden China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, etc.

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Climate Crisis (scam) Groups Having Lots Of Problems With Unions

By William Teach February 3, 2023 – 7:15 am

What’s the point of a union? Well, one thing is to protect the employees from bad business practices from management and ownership, right?

‘Hypocritical’: environmental groups blocking union efforts, US workers say

Workers at some of the top environmental organizations in the US are calling out their managers as “incredibly hypocritical” as they argue the progressive non-profits are fighting workers’ efforts to unionize.

A wave of unionization efforts has swept the non-profit sector as part of a renewed national enthusiasm for unionization. Shortly into the Covid-19 pandemic, workers at 350.org, Sunrise Movement, the National Audubon Society, Defenders of Wildlife, Greenpeace USA, the Public Interest Network and the Center for Biological Diversity unionized.

But workers at many of these organizations say they have experienced aggressive opposition and alleged retaliation in the lead-up to unionizing and through bargaining efforts for a first union contract.

Well, that’s strange. You’d think all the Modern Socialists running those unhinged groups would be all in favor of unionization and treat the employees well, right?

Defenders of Wildlife has fought unionization since the campaign went public, according to workers, and has continued to do so through bargaining. The organization, which works to protect all native animals and plants throughout North America, rejected a request to voluntarily recognize the union, but workers successfully won a union election in September 2021 with a vote of 70 to five to join the Office and Professional Employees Union Local 2. (snip)

Workers at the National Audubon Society successfully unionized in 2021 with the Communications Workers of America (CWA), but have claimed significant union opposition from management through unionization and bargaining. At 350.org, workers have accused the environmental non-profit of retaliating against workers for unionizing.

Huh.

Zachary Barber, a field organizer for PennEnvironment, part of the Public Interest Network, claimed the organization has repeatedly rejected proposals in bargaining and recently went to arbitration to try to limit the size of the bargaining unit, which the union won. The union has filed several unfair labor practice charges against the organization, including allegations of retaliation against workers and making unilateral changes to employment without bargaining.

“We’ve been told directly by senior members in leadership that if we don’t agree with the way they’re running the organization that we should just leave,” said Barber. “Generally the point of the union is giving people the ability to come together and have a voice in their workplace, and that’s the same thing we fight for every day as a grassroots organization.”

Well, yeah. Unless it’s unsafe, if employees don’t like it they’re welcome to start their own business. Which is pretty much what these “non-profits” are. Shady money scammers.

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