Kerry probably agreed to the “weather balloon” flyovers as part of his appeasement efforts.
“John Kerry’s secret CCP negotiations probed by GOP Oversight chairman
Kerry’s activities, conducted ‘under the guise of climate advocacy,’ could undermine American interests, top Republican says”
“House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is probing Special Presidential Envoy for Climate (SPEC) John Kerry’s secretive negotiations with his Chinese counterparts.
Comer informed Kerry in a letter sent Thursday afternoon that the committee, under his leadership, has opened an investigation into Kerry’s role in the Biden administration and, in particular, his high-level climate negotiations with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). To date, Kerry has ignored information and document requests from Comer and other committee Republicans sent when they were in the minority.
“To date, you have failed to respond to any of our requests,” Comer wrote to Kerry. “Yet, you continue to engage in activities that could undermine our economic health, skirt congressional authority, and threaten foreign policy under the guise of climate advocacy.”
“The Committee requests documents and information to understand your role and provide necessary transparency over the SPEC and its activities,” he continued. “As a member of the President’s cabinet, you should be representing the United States’ interests. Your statements, however, consistently show disregard for American national security and taxpayer dollars.”
President Biden appointed Kerry to be the U.S. SPEC, a position that hadn’t previously existed and which didn’t require Senate approval, shortly after taking office in early 2021. The SPEC office is housed at the State Department and has an estimated $13.9 million annual budget with approval for 45 personnel.
Kerry’s position gives him a spot on the president’s cabinet and National Security Council. Since taking on the role, he has traveled worldwide, attending high-profile climate summits and diplomatic engagements in an effort to push a global transition from fossil fuels to green energy alternatives.”
——
Isn’t it nice that this jet setting millionaire gets to hop all over the globe on our dime?
NEW: Bloomberg reports the Biden admin was first aware the Chinese spy balloon entered U.S. airspace one week ago on 1/28, and had opted not to inform the American public about it until the Bilings Gazette published a photo of the balloon on Thursday. https://t.co/kTXFWpUalP
~ … Despite the furor, spy balloons are actually not that unusual — according to U.S. officials, they have been spotted over American territory a number of times in recent years. Both U.S. and U.K. militaries have also made inquiries about high-altitude balloons.
So why would they still be used — and why don’t we hear about them more often?
It’s only in the past 10 years or so that military attention has returned to balloons, according to Michael Clarke, a visiting professor at the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, “because they see how useful they are, or can be.”
~ “Balloons offer a few advantages over the use of satellites or drones,” James Rogers, an academic at the University of Southern Denmark and Cornell University, who currently advises the U.N. Security Council on the transnational threat of drones, said in emailed comments.
“Not only are they cheaper than launching satellites into space, but by operating within the bounds of the earth’s atmosphere, closer to the surface, they can obtain better quality images.” Rogers adds that the latest generation of balloons are high-tech in their own right, “envisaged as systems that can fly up to 90,000 feet, deploy their own drone systems,” and detect incoming missiles. …
Clarke points out that balloons can soar above the range of most planes, and their slow speed also means they aren’t always picked up by radar, while additional technology or paint can help to further conceal them.
Equally importantly, balloons can stay over one area for longer periods than satellites, if the weather permits. Satellites can provide high-resolution imagery, Clarke said in an interview, “but the ability to monitor, to pick up wireless or computer traffic is an advantage if you can stay in one place. … The satellite can only pick that up as it travels over for a relatively short period.”
There’s also the cost benefit: a satellite may cost up to $300 million over its lifetime, according to one estimate from 2020; even the most high-tech balloon would be cheaper.
Malcolm Macdonald, a professor and space technology engineer from the University of Strathclyde in Scotland, agreed that “a balloon is very difficult to see on radar, although the sensor bay underneath will be more visible.” … ~
__________________
If Trump was still in office there would be no Chinese spy balloon floating across the entire country in the first place, but anything to distract from Biden allowing it to happen. https://t.co/z3tz7ao1XJ
You have become what you claimed to abhor for the better part of 50 years: an unserious, disingenuous fool, defining yourself by what you are against, rather than advocating for a set of policies and principles.
Biden could’ve shot it down before it entered US airspace or over a sparsely populated state like Montana. Biden let the spy craft complete its mission! Don’t act tough now. 😂
BREAKING: The Pentagon briefed Biden last Saturday that the Chinese had violated our airspace with a spy craft, but Biden waited until Wednesday to order the Pentagon to shoot it down, and the Pentagon waited until Saturday to follow his order
So the #ChineseSpyBalloon entered our airspace on January 28th, was able to spy on anything/everything it wanted, and wasn’t shot down until February 4th once it made it to the Atlantic Ocean. That’s a catastrophic failure for national security.
“Early last year, there was an astounding report that several life insurance companies determined there was an overwhelming, unexplained increase (40%) in “all-cause deaths” among 18 to 49-year-olds.
From that 2022 report:
Three physician “whistle-blowers” have just released real data from the DoD, drawn from the clinical diagnosis codes. The increases found are from 2021, compared to the five year average from 2016 to 2020.
Myocardial infarction: 269% increase
Miscarriages: 300% increase
Bell’s palsy: 291% increase
Congenital malformations: 156% increase
Female infertility: 471% increase
Pulmonary embolisms: 467% increase
Neurologic abnormalities: 300% increase
Cancers: 300% increase
As of now, the CDC has not explained this data.
One year later, United Press International (UPI) finally published a story noting that there is an increase of heart attacks and strokes in young adults.
Stories like Conway’s are becoming more common, with studies showing heart attacks and stroke are on the rise among Americans younger than 40.
Certain healthy habits can help prevent heart problems — but getting younger adults to accept their risks remains an obstacle.
“It is alarming that younger people don’t feel that they’re at risk for heart disease, but it’s not surprising,” said Dr. Laxmi Mehta, director of preventative cardiology and women’s cardiovascular health at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center.
“Most young people think heart disease only happens in old people, but that’s not the case,” Mehta said in the release.
Explanations are being trial-ballooned. For example, poor mental health and depression:
Young adults with depression or overall poor mental health report more heart attacks, strokes and risk factors for cardiovascular disease than their peers without mental health issues, new research shows.
The findings, published recently in the Journal of the American Heart Association, add to a large body of evidence linking cardiovascular disease risk and death with depression, but leave unanswered questions about how one may lead to the other.
Obesity and smoking are other factors that are being cited.”
—
“And while all of that may be true, one can’t but help wonder if Big Pharma is putting pressure on the media for exactly this type of coverage. The recent revelations published in the Twitter Files demonstrate the enormous power of the pharmaceutical industry to silence data and disappear information that doesn’t fit the covid vaccine narratives.
As a reminder of why many people remain skeptical of these “explanations,” I will note that countries in Europe have nixed the vaccine for children and teenagers, asserting the risks of vaccination outweigh the risks of infection.
Australia’s former deputy chief medical officer said the country should reconsider its stance on giving the dose to children above the age of five.
The UK has stopped offering the vaccine to healthy children who turned five after August, while Sweden no longer recommends it to teenagers aged 12 to 17.
In Denmark, since July no one under the age of 18 can get vaccinated against Covid, with health officials saying very small numbers of children get severely ill from the disease, and therefore vaccination isn’t necessary.
Additionally, Florida’s Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo issued a warning to young men receiving covid vaccines, based on an analysis by the state’s health department that indicated they pose an “increased risk” of cardiac-related death.
“Today, we released an analysis on COVID-19 mRNA vaccines the public needs to be aware of. This analysis showed an increased risk of cardiac-related death among men 18-39. FL will not be silent on the truth,” Ladapo tweeted.
Therefore, I am not inclined to automatically accept the recently published explanations for the obvious rise in cardiac incidents amoung our young people. I would like numbers to be crunched and case histories to be reviewed, and then information disseminated by true scientists who did not participate in pandemic hysteria and who also do not have tight, fiscal connections to Big Pharma.”
——-
Sure, blame anything but the Covid jabs, which are the most likely cause for most.
My friend had a fall and went to Emory ER. While there she met a twenty-something college student with heart issues. My friend advocated for the scared young lady to be seen sooner as they had waited so long. She heard there were many more students with heart issues lately. Not.A.Surprise.
AJ, your reaction @8:26 was curious, the question posed in the article was merely why balloons were still being used for spying in an age of satellites and drones, which I thought brought up a good point and probably a question that would be a normal one for most readers — technologically speaking. Why a “balloon” to spy in this high-tech day and age?
It wasn’t meant to be politically provocative or to state any kind of position or opinion.
But I suppose anything now is seen as politically provocative. Sigh.
DJ’s link does not work anymore, but from the part she quoted, it looks like the article was merely explaining to readers what those balloons are, and why they are still used, which is why she shared it. Many folks were not familiar with what these balloons are or why they are used instead of more modern technology.
I don’t want to belabor this, but AJ, where do you see anything “political” at all in that piece (or in what I posted)?
It’s not there.
You’re imagining it or reading what maybe you “want” to read into it because either it came from me or from (gasp) the mainstream media.
The article simply explains why balloons — which would seem like an old-school device — are still useful for spying as they can avoid some kinds of detection.
I thought it was interesting and helped illuminate a story about why a “balloon,” of all things, could still be used successfully for spying when so many more advanced technologies were available.
And sometimes you don’t see it because it’s what you’re immersed in and surrounded by.
And yes, it is exhausting that you never seem to catch it.
The attempt by the WaPo to once again downplay the shortcomings of Biden is obvious. Their it’s no big deal attitude is only because of Biden. Do you really believe it wouldn’t be a big deal if this happened under Trump?
Wandering Views 
Kerry probably agreed to the “weather balloon” flyovers as part of his appeasement efforts.
“John Kerry’s secret CCP negotiations probed by GOP Oversight chairman
Kerry’s activities, conducted ‘under the guise of climate advocacy,’ could undermine American interests, top Republican says”
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/john-kerrys-secret-ccp-negotiations-probed-gop-oversight-chairman?intcmp=tw_fnc
“House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is probing Special Presidential Envoy for Climate (SPEC) John Kerry’s secretive negotiations with his Chinese counterparts.
Comer informed Kerry in a letter sent Thursday afternoon that the committee, under his leadership, has opened an investigation into Kerry’s role in the Biden administration and, in particular, his high-level climate negotiations with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). To date, Kerry has ignored information and document requests from Comer and other committee Republicans sent when they were in the minority.
“To date, you have failed to respond to any of our requests,” Comer wrote to Kerry. “Yet, you continue to engage in activities that could undermine our economic health, skirt congressional authority, and threaten foreign policy under the guise of climate advocacy.”
“The Committee requests documents and information to understand your role and provide necessary transparency over the SPEC and its activities,” he continued. “As a member of the President’s cabinet, you should be representing the United States’ interests. Your statements, however, consistently show disregard for American national security and taxpayer dollars.”
President Biden appointed Kerry to be the U.S. SPEC, a position that hadn’t previously existed and which didn’t require Senate approval, shortly after taking office in early 2021. The SPEC office is housed at the State Department and has an estimated $13.9 million annual budget with approval for 45 personnel.
Kerry’s position gives him a spot on the president’s cabinet and National Security Council. Since taking on the role, he has traveled worldwide, attending high-profile climate summits and diplomatic engagements in an effort to push a global transition from fossil fuels to green energy alternatives.”
——
Isn’t it nice that this jet setting millionaire gets to hop all over the globe on our dime?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cue the clowns.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Re the technology in an age of satellites and drones:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/in-a-world-of-drones-and-satellites-why-use-a-spy-balloon/
_________
WaPo:
~ … Despite the furor, spy balloons are actually not that unusual — according to U.S. officials, they have been spotted over American territory a number of times in recent years. Both U.S. and U.K. militaries have also made inquiries about high-altitude balloons.
So why would they still be used — and why don’t we hear about them more often?
It’s only in the past 10 years or so that military attention has returned to balloons, according to Michael Clarke, a visiting professor at the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, “because they see how useful they are, or can be.”
~ “Balloons offer a few advantages over the use of satellites or drones,” James Rogers, an academic at the University of Southern Denmark and Cornell University, who currently advises the U.N. Security Council on the transnational threat of drones, said in emailed comments.
“Not only are they cheaper than launching satellites into space, but by operating within the bounds of the earth’s atmosphere, closer to the surface, they can obtain better quality images.” Rogers adds that the latest generation of balloons are high-tech in their own right, “envisaged as systems that can fly up to 90,000 feet, deploy their own drone systems,” and detect incoming missiles. …
Clarke points out that balloons can soar above the range of most planes, and their slow speed also means they aren’t always picked up by radar, while additional technology or paint can help to further conceal them.
Equally importantly, balloons can stay over one area for longer periods than satellites, if the weather permits. Satellites can provide high-resolution imagery, Clarke said in an interview, “but the ability to monitor, to pick up wireless or computer traffic is an advantage if you can stay in one place. … The satellite can only pick that up as it travels over for a relatively short period.”
There’s also the cost benefit: a satellite may cost up to $300 million over its lifetime, according to one estimate from 2020; even the most high-tech balloon would be cheaper.
Malcolm Macdonald, a professor and space technology engineer from the University of Strathclyde in Scotland, agreed that “a balloon is very difficult to see on radar, although the sensor bay underneath will be more visible.” … ~
__________________
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That sounds like CYA DJ. 🙂
And if it’s totally normal as they allege, why finally shoot it down?
Yeah…..
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CYA mode, engaged.
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Trump broke him. Lol. 😂🤣😂🤣
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Delayed leadership is still leadership, right?
lol
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Speaking of broken…. 🙂
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Very strange and not a good feeling about the security of our country. Just adds to all the rest of the strangeness and insecurity of the borders etc.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Gee, whatever could be causing it? 🙄
“Report: Heart Attacks, Strokes On the Rise Among Young Adults
The reasons for the rise? Big Media says depression, mental health issues, obesity, and smoking.”
https://legalinsurrection.com/2023/02/report-heart-attacks-strokes-on-the-rise-among-young-adults/
“Early last year, there was an astounding report that several life insurance companies determined there was an overwhelming, unexplained increase (40%) in “all-cause deaths” among 18 to 49-year-olds.
From that 2022 report:
Three physician “whistle-blowers” have just released real data from the DoD, drawn from the clinical diagnosis codes. The increases found are from 2021, compared to the five year average from 2016 to 2020.
Myocardial infarction: 269% increase
Miscarriages: 300% increase
Bell’s palsy: 291% increase
Congenital malformations: 156% increase
Female infertility: 471% increase
Pulmonary embolisms: 467% increase
Neurologic abnormalities: 300% increase
Cancers: 300% increase
As of now, the CDC has not explained this data.
One year later, United Press International (UPI) finally published a story noting that there is an increase of heart attacks and strokes in young adults.
Stories like Conway’s are becoming more common, with studies showing heart attacks and stroke are on the rise among Americans younger than 40.
Certain healthy habits can help prevent heart problems — but getting younger adults to accept their risks remains an obstacle.
“It is alarming that younger people don’t feel that they’re at risk for heart disease, but it’s not surprising,” said Dr. Laxmi Mehta, director of preventative cardiology and women’s cardiovascular health at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center.
“Most young people think heart disease only happens in old people, but that’s not the case,” Mehta said in the release.
Explanations are being trial-ballooned. For example, poor mental health and depression:
Young adults with depression or overall poor mental health report more heart attacks, strokes and risk factors for cardiovascular disease than their peers without mental health issues, new research shows.
The findings, published recently in the Journal of the American Heart Association, add to a large body of evidence linking cardiovascular disease risk and death with depression, but leave unanswered questions about how one may lead to the other.
Obesity and smoking are other factors that are being cited.”
—
“And while all of that may be true, one can’t but help wonder if Big Pharma is putting pressure on the media for exactly this type of coverage. The recent revelations published in the Twitter Files demonstrate the enormous power of the pharmaceutical industry to silence data and disappear information that doesn’t fit the covid vaccine narratives.
As a reminder of why many people remain skeptical of these “explanations,” I will note that countries in Europe have nixed the vaccine for children and teenagers, asserting the risks of vaccination outweigh the risks of infection.
Australia’s former deputy chief medical officer said the country should reconsider its stance on giving the dose to children above the age of five.
The UK has stopped offering the vaccine to healthy children who turned five after August, while Sweden no longer recommends it to teenagers aged 12 to 17.
In Denmark, since July no one under the age of 18 can get vaccinated against Covid, with health officials saying very small numbers of children get severely ill from the disease, and therefore vaccination isn’t necessary.
Additionally, Florida’s Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo issued a warning to young men receiving covid vaccines, based on an analysis by the state’s health department that indicated they pose an “increased risk” of cardiac-related death.
“Today, we released an analysis on COVID-19 mRNA vaccines the public needs to be aware of. This analysis showed an increased risk of cardiac-related death among men 18-39. FL will not be silent on the truth,” Ladapo tweeted.
Therefore, I am not inclined to automatically accept the recently published explanations for the obvious rise in cardiac incidents amoung our young people. I would like numbers to be crunched and case histories to be reviewed, and then information disseminated by true scientists who did not participate in pandemic hysteria and who also do not have tight, fiscal connections to Big Pharma.”
——-
Sure, blame anything but the Covid jabs, which are the most likely cause for most.
LikeLike
My friend had a fall and went to Emory ER. While there she met a twenty-something college student with heart issues. My friend advocated for the scared young lady to be seen sooner as they had waited so long. She heard there were many more students with heart issues lately. Not.A.Surprise.
LikeLiked by 1 person
AJ, your reaction @8:26 was curious, the question posed in the article was merely why balloons were still being used for spying in an age of satellites and drones, which I thought brought up a good point and probably a question that would be a normal one for most readers — technologically speaking. Why a “balloon” to spy in this high-tech day and age?
It wasn’t meant to be politically provocative or to state any kind of position or opinion.
But I suppose anything now is seen as politically provocative. Sigh.
LikeLiked by 1 person
(There are some interesting and technological reasons to use balloons for spying, as it turns out.)
Sometimes a post is simply neutral, meant to be a point of perhaps interesting information to some of us.
LikeLiked by 1 person
And, seriously, I didn’t know what “CYA” even meant. Thanks for the enlightenment.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dj,
The corporate propagandists are all out carrying water for Biden today. As always.
That’s what my cya comment was about. The media immediately goes into damage control for Biden.
They continue to destroy what little credibility they have left.
More tomorrow, including numerous examples.
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DJ’s link does not work anymore, but from the part she quoted, it looks like the article was merely explaining to readers what those balloons are, and why they are still used, which is why she shared it. Many folks were not familiar with what these balloons are or why they are used instead of more modern technology.
LikeLike
I don’t want to belabor this, but AJ, where do you see anything “political” at all in that piece (or in what I posted)?
It’s not there.
You’re imagining it or reading what maybe you “want” to read into it because either it came from me or from (gasp) the mainstream media.
The article simply explains why balloons — which would seem like an old-school device — are still useful for spying as they can avoid some kinds of detection.
I thought it was interesting and helped illuminate a story about why a “balloon,” of all things, could still be used successfully for spying when so many more advanced technologies were available.
That’s really all there was to it.
This is getting exhausting.
There was no “secret” message here. Really.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sometimes an article is just an article.
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And sometimes you don’t see it because it’s what you’re immersed in and surrounded by.
And yes, it is exhausting that you never seem to catch it.
The attempt by the WaPo to once again downplay the shortcomings of Biden is obvious. Their it’s no big deal attitude is only because of Biden. Do you really believe it wouldn’t be a big deal if this happened under Trump?
C’mon, you know better.
LikeLike