(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Chinese balloons go LatinX: Another hovering, two-schoolbus-sized, surveillance device [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-03 More Sinophobia. Chinese propaganda apparatus claiming the balloon story was made up by the Pentagon to smear China, before the Chinese Foreign Ministry admits it **is** their balloon The Pentagon said Friday evening it had observed another Chinese spy balloon — this one in Latin America — just hours after revealing that a similar balloon from China was making its way across the continental United States. Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the Defense Department was aware of reports of another balloon “transiting Latin America. We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon.” Earlier on Friday the Pentagon said it wouldn't attempt to remove the balloon in U.S. airspace because “any potential debris field would be significant” and could cause “civilian injuries or deaths or significant property damage” — but did not provide a plan to respond to the slow-moving violation of “U.S. airspace and international law.” The huge balloon has ignited domestic curiosities, political finger-pointing, and an international diplomatic crisis, leaving Americans across the middle swath of the country looking to the skies for the white floating apparatus. Where it will go — and whether the U.S. military may ultimately opt to shoot it from the sky — remains unknown, but officials have confirmed it continues to move east across the continental United States and are dismissing Beijing's insistence it is a weather balloon that got blown off track. www.nbcnews.com/... x This Chinese spy balloon would make a good test for this. https://t.co/nQ448eVLk4 — MarkWhittington (@MarkWhittington) February 4, 2023 You and I in a little toy shop Buy a bag of balloons with the money we've got Set them free at the break of dawn Til one by one, they were gone Back at base bugs in the software Flash the message, something's out there Floating in the summer sky 99 red balloons go by 99 red balloons Floating in the summer sky x The Red Balloon | Oscar Winning Short Film | Drama | Classic Movie https://t.co/wJvXuJo8oV via @YouTube The Chinese balloon currently over the U.S. is a serious situation, not making light of it...but watching this classic French short film might help. — Colombo (@JasonRuderman) February 4, 2023 Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed Friday that he postponed his planned trip to Beijing after the discovery of a high-altitude balloon flying over the U.S. that came from China. Why it matters: China's Foreign Ministry said the balloon — which U.S. defense officials say will be over the country for a "few days" — originated in China, but claimed it is a civilian airship for "mainly meteorological" purposes. Blinken's trip would've been the first visit by a top U.S. diplomat in six years. Pentagon officials in announcing the balloon's location Thursday said it does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground. The latest: Blinken said during a briefing Friday that he made clear to Wang Yi, China's top foreign affairs official, that the surveillance balloon in U.S. airspace "is a clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law." "We concluded that conditions were not conducive for a constructive visit at this time,” he added, calling it “detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have.” Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said during a press conference earlier Friday that the balloon is being "closely" monitored by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). said during a press conference earlier Friday that the balloon is being "closely" monitored by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). He said the airship was drifting east at an altitude of 60,000 feet and was over the center of the continental U.S., but he didn't give an exact location. A National Weather Service (NWS) station in Kansas City said it has received reports of and could see a large balloon near its station on Friday and confirmed it was not an NWS weather balloon. The U.S. military is testing high altitude, solar-powered balloons allowing the Pentagon to conduct continuous surveillance of a wide swath of the Midwest, according to a new report. The Guardian reported that the program is detailed in documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), showing that the military is sending the balloons flying across six states at altitudes of up to 65,000 feet. The Pentagon has thus far flown as many as 25 of the balloons, launching them from a site in South Dakota and flying them some 250 miles over Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Missouri. The balloons then land in central Illinois. The FCC filing was made by an aerospace and defense company Sierra Nevada Corporation. The documents explain that the craft are designed to "provide a persistent surveillance system to locate and deter narcotic trafficking and homeland security threats." It appears the first set of flights were approved by the FCC last year, while the most recent documentation shows approval for operations running from mid-July until September. Outfitted with sophisticated radars, the balloons are able to track multiple vehicles at day and night in all weathers. The balloons—which are being flown by United States Southern Command—also carry small vehicles containing sensors and communications equipment. The loadout includes a synthetic aperture radar designed to be able to detect every single moving car or boat active in a 25-mile field beneath the balloon. The craft operate as a network, fitted with advanced mesh networking technologies meaning they can communicate with one another. The balloons can pass information—including video—to each other and to receivers on the ground. www.newsweek.com/... 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