Binoy is right in concluding Biden wants to paint himself as a "Tough on China" president, with a view to his Nov 2024 Presidential Re-Election.

The balloon being permitted to fly 1,000s kms across the continental US prolonged the confected balloon so-called "Crisis" - for Biden's benefit.

It also served as a justification for the US military-industrial complex spending US$100 millions per F-22 balloon popper.

A much cheaper Patriot SAM could have shot down the balloon the first day it entered US airspace http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIM-104_Patriot

down the balloon the first day it entered US airspace

Maverick,
Maybe the Woke Democrats & the Rainbow Generals were waiting for a meteorite to hit it to avoid making decisions ?

Shoot them all down ASAP and forget the BS coming out of a technology stealing China. Who knows what they'll try next. The spread of anthrax via an airship that (So solly) "wandered off course"?
Alan B.

Yes, there are elements of absurdity about this odd tale, and it’s hard to see the balloon as much of a threat in this era of satellite and electronic surveillance.

But no country could ignore such a brazen and public infringement of its sovereign territory by a hostile foreign power for malign purposes. And the fact that Chinese authorities cheerfully spout patent lies about the balloon’s function and provenance show yet again its Orwellian commitment to doublethink. What is particularly disappointing is that Binoy appears to give some credence to the claim it was a weather balloon.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy7ngv/spy-balloon-china-shot-down

So a 60m high balloon, weighing almost a ton is hard to detect? I find that hard to believe? Also, Alaska and Canada are prime monitoring posts for potential incoming ICBM's from Russia and have been for decades. You would thing a large balloon would be easily detected at it's high'ish altitude then investigated and prosecuted? I also find it a bit rich of the USA outrage seeing they have been overflying sovereign nations for years with U2's and previously SR71's.

China is now seen as threat & a problem but for a long time it came in handy for cheap products & manufacturing for an insatiable West !
Whatever is happening now it's the western greed's doing !
The real scary part is that our tattooed & drugged to the eyeballs lot will be a burden rather than a help in an upcoming crisis !

What Rhian says!
Alan B.

China has 300 satellites, they don't need a weather balloon to spy on America.
Maybe they use a weather balloon to understand weather patterns, in regards to global climate issues.

They sure did a good job of making America look stupid.
- Shooting it down after it had left America to head back out to the Atlantic, after it originated near Korea, before crossing the pacific into Alaska, then Canada and down into the US.

Now China has justification to shoot down the United States actual spy planes.

Hi AC,

"China has 300 satellites, they don't need a weather balloon to spy on America. Maybe they use a weather balloon to understand weather patterns, in regards to global climate issues."

We think alike on this nonsense. American propaganda, do you think the Americans will allow an independent inspection of all this Chinese "spy equipment". Me thinks not. BTW the Americans spy on everyone, including Australia, they have a better understanding of out resource locations than we do. They Americans have the estimates of our agricultural production before we do.

As for who is the great warmonger of modern times, what country has been responsible for more deaths from militarism than all other countries combined, yet have not engaged in one modern war on their own soil, sine the Civil War of 1861-65

They have satellites that can be jammed and made almost useless. Hence the intel gathering balloons. And a prerequisite to a possible invasion?
American is not perfect nor without some history, but not in the game of forcefully annexing other folks Sovreign territory.
Alan B.

"American is not perfect nor without some history, but not in the game of forcefully annexing other folks Sovreign territory."

Nah of course not....ha.

Alan B has made himself the laughing stock of the forum with that one.
Let's talk about Syria hey?

Dana Stroul, Biden official, boasts that Washington "owns" one third of Syria
http://youtu.be/FSE3FWKFp4g
Right out of her mouth Alan B.

'How dare Russia take Crimea when we spent time and money overthrowing the country and want to put a NATO base there with nukes for Russia and deprive them of the Black Sea? Only we are allowed to steal and annex other countries territory'

- Listen carefully to what 'Dana' says about preventing them from rebuilding.

Now read this article about preventing Assad from rebuilding by former staff member of US state dept.
No sanctions relief for earthquake victims.

The US has formented wars, armed terrorist opposition everywhere, conducts state terror by blowing up Nordstream pipelines, (against it's own allies) and using an unsuspecting dupe to conduct a terror attack on Kersh Bridge, turns a blind eye to chemical weapons use in Ukraine, whilst staging terrorist attacks for political ends in Syria, deprives them of food and medicine and trade.
Conducts theft on a global scale on Russian individials assets.
Rules by threats, blackmail, regime change and military intervention and has probably already decided to start WWIII with China if it hasn't already started one with Russia.

- And the WEST HAS BECOME THE VERY DEFINITION OF GLOBAL FASCISM, all multinationals in bed with globalists (and their muppet branch manager leaders of all our western countries), against the will of a nations people.

The US is happy if Venezuelans are eating cats and dogs.
'We can't have you selling your oil, that may affect our American companies profitability, and besides we want it for ourselves'

And these are just a couple of countries, has bases and 5th column operations EVERYWHERE.

The US is an evil empire who is losing it's strength and thrashing around like a man drowning.
Don't swim out to them to help, they'll pull you under to try to stay alive.

Go back to sleep Alan, sorry mate but you're way out of your depth here.

(Forgot to add the article)

Lifting sanctions on Syria won’t help earthquake victims
- From Washington Post.
http://archive.is/S58vA

'Don't send money to Assad, send it to our NGO's listed below.
Only we can offer to take the foot off Assads throat, no-one else is allowed to help.
- Donate to American exceptionalism and the rules-based order here'

(Read the article above and you'll know what I mean.)

The US does this shite EVERYWHERE, but you're all too dumb watching the crap they spoonfeed you through the bought-and-paid-for media to even know.

You'd think cancel culture might've helped clue you all on.
- Nope, too stupid.

Hey maverick,

"Binoy is right in concluding Biden wants to paint himself as a 'Tough on China' president, with a view to his Nov 2024 Presidential Re-Election."

The Deep State (Unelected career beaurecrats, globalist elite and others) ensure that U.S. stays on track on its foreign policy agendas NO MATTER who is the President.

Why do you think they all went nuts over Trump and concocted the Russiagate hoax?
Hillary was their man, she was supposed to become President and Trump was too soft on Putin.
They actually planned to entrap Trump with those 'Pissgate' lies when he was planning to go on a holiday to Russia to develop a new Hotel there, but he didn't end up going at that time.

- The Christopher Steele dossier was already written and prepared at that time anyway, so they went with it to drive a wedge, as he was considered soft on Putin, and wanted peace and good relations;
- when the neoconservatives had been arming Ukraine and planning this war long before Trump ever made it into office.
Neocons overthrew the country in 2014.
They wanted a NATO base in Crimea (Hence the reason why they went nuts over that) and to isolate Russia after it intervened in Syria, and also wanted to create a political crisis in Russia, overthrow the country and oust Putin.
What do you think Bill Browder and the Magninsky act was all about.
Alexei Navalny, Nokachuk and the Scripals...
The DNC server Trump was looking for was moved to the US embassy in Ukraine where he couldn't get to it.

Now this isn't directed at you personally Maverick;
- Sometimes I wonder whether any of you people being spoonfed crap from the idiotbox have any idea of what actually goes on in the world.