Chinese Balloon

[whipski]

Just skimmed this thread but the takeaway is the chinese balloon caused a train derailment?

[Timberridge]

Yes. It was basically like a tornado that ripped across the American heartland. The supposed solar arrays were actually superconducting magnets that ripped train cars off tracks, etc.

[MontuckyFried]

Paging TGR conspiracy theorists to the chemtrail white courtesy phone.

[BmillsSkier]

I'm going to withhold my theories until Puregravity weighs in on this.

[Timberridge]

I'm going to withhold my theories until Puregravity weighs in on this.

Is he still here? or just under a new alias?

[frorider]

you just want to jerk your scottyb to the thought of an underage raccoon gangbang

Wait, ‘scottyb’ is official trg slang now for penis? Asking for a friend.

[JimmyCarter]

Wait, ‘scottyb’ is official trg slang now for penis? Asking for a friend.

I also didn’t know there was an age of consent for raccoons, but makes sense that Hugh would be on top of that.

[BmillsSkier]

I prefer the term “trash panda”.

[LongShortLong]

So let me get this straight

guy representing people who fly untracked balloons with no control thru commercial airspace, where the payload may plummet to earth in a populated area, thinks US Govt is not very smart for shooting them down?

Wait till the FAA comes over for a chat about requirements for tracking and notification regarding descent

Apparently small balloons are like small boats. Anyone can go floating, no licenses required. There's three countries with radio restrictions, so you need to shut that down while overflying. Not clear whether the government will have to pay damages, article doesn't discuss. IANAL, but looks like a "taking" to me

It's a clown show

[dunfree]

Wait, ‘scottyb’ is official trg slang now for penis? Asking for a friend.

an angry inch penis, not a hunter biden

[SumJongGuy]

Chinese balloon = tiny condom for tiny penis.

[Nobody Famous]

If the last three shoot-downs are really $150 hobbyist balloons then that is probably the worst possible outcome.

It will show our adversaries how they can cause disruption -- think scrambling multiple fighter jets and all the time, coordination, support, maintenance, manpower and resources involved -- to identify and neutralize one $150 balloon.

Someone over in Beijing is already thinking, imagine the chaos if we got 100 hobbyist balloons up in the air over North America, we just sit back and watch from our satellites how it all plays out.

[MontuckyFried]

If the last three shoot-downs are really $150 hobbyist balloons then that is probably the worst possible outcome.

It will show our adversaries how they can cause disruption -- think scrambling multiple fighter jets and all the time, coordination, support, maintenance, manpower and resources involved -- to identify and neutralize one $150 balloon.

Someone over in Beijing is already thinking, imagine the chaos if we got 100 hobbyist balloons up in the air over North America, we just sit back and watch from our satellites how it all plays out.

That would be SOOOOOOOO easy. Not to mention pranksters just having some fun screwing with the government, the news media, and the populace just for teh lulz. Imagine a Fight Club-esque coordinated effort.

[LongShortLong]

If the last three shoot-downs are really $150 hobbyist balloons then that is probably the worst possible outcome.

It will show our adversaries how they can cause disruption -- think scrambling multiple fighter jets and all the time, coordination, support, maintenance, manpower and resources involved -- to identify and neutralize one $150 balloon.

Someone over in Beijing is already thinking, imagine the chaos if we got 100 hobbyist balloons up in the air over North America, we just sit back and watch from our satellites how it all plays out.

Supposedly the Russians already caught on, and flew a bunch of balloons with their last missile attack on Ukraine. A bunch more missiles got through. So, yeah, looks like an own goal.

[dunfree]

Supposedly the Russians already caught on, and flew a bunch of balloons with their last missile attack on Ukraine. A bunch more missiles got through. So, yeah, looks like an own goal.

think you got that backwards


clearly there’s a narrative here, and it clearly doesn’t give a fuck how much jets cost to operate. Fuckers, the missile is cheap compared to a couple fighters and an airtoair refueling rig

[J. Barron DeJong]

Fighter jet just flew over my house. I assume I’m now safe from another middle school project.

[SumJongGuy]

Do the $150 balloon pilots have to go through the same licensing and regulation hoops that the $200 Drone operators do? A decent drone can definitely trigger as much or more chaos as a hobbyist level weather balloon.

[old goat]

Obviously the US and everyone else worth spying on is going have to figure out how to detect the spy balloons and other hostile balloons without scrambling the AF every time a harmless one is detected. Which almost certainly means a lot more restrictions on hobby and science balloons. The game keeps changing. It always has and it always will. Flying airplanes into skyscrapers. Underwear bombs. Shoe bombs. Covid 19. It's always nice when we anticipate and neutralize a threat before it's successfully deployed the first time, but then we wouldn't hear about it would we?

[bennymac]

this is the terrain where the balloon in Canada was shot down - nothing but treeless mountains now covered in very deep and very dry snow with zero cohesion - that snow won't melt until well into June.

The debris may never be found.

[ötzi]

I hope mylar balloons somehow get banned because of all of this, that would be a win

[ötzi]

this is the terrain where the balloon in Canada was shot down - nothing but treeless mountains now covered in very deep and very dry snow with zero cohesion - that snow won't melt until well into June.

The debris may never be found.

That guy down there in the right foreground can just grab it.

[bennymac]

she can be grabby at times

[LongShortLong]

think you got that backwards


clearly there’s a narrative here, and it clearly doesn’t give a fuck how much jets cost to operate. Fuckers, the missile is cheap compared to a couple fighters and an airtoair refueling rig

woosh? Russians reminded balloons can be used for military purposes -> Russians successfully employed balloons for military purposes. If we hadn't reminded them with our clown show, defense radars not confused by balloons -> missile shootdown rate would have been high as usual.

[SumJongGuy]

I hope mylar balloons somehow get banned because of all of this, that would be a win

Yep, They should all be made from more biodegradable material.

Speaking of rogue balloons, about 10 years ago on New Year's Day our satellite reception started acting up. I went out to take a look and found one of those tea light candle powered balloons hanging off of it. The balloon fabric was burned some like it caught on fire then crashed on our roof. Church a couple miles away released bunch of them for some NYE church service ceremony. Carolina Balloon Bomber FTW!!

[baron]

well, in WW2 the Japanese did try and use balloons to attack the USA.

They fixed incendiary's to them and set 'em sail ...started a few fires in Alaska ,I think?

But, we all know this is a deflection story while congress spends our tax money on hookers and blow