quote:

Originally posted by rcraig:

quote:

Originally posted by Macswain:
"The US military just confirmed in an official statement that there were at least THREE Chinese spy balloons that flew over the US when Trump was president. Trump kept it a secret and did not shoot them down."

Never happened.

quote:

Originally posted by Macswain:
"The US military just confirmed in an official statement that there were at least THREE Chinese spy balloons that flew over the US when Trump was president. Trump kept it a secret and did not shoot them down."

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Originally posted by straightshooter:
How about this:

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Smithfield Foods Inc., one of the biggest pork producers in the United States, on Wednesday agreed to be bought by Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd., the majority shareholder in China’s largest meat processor, for about $4.72 billion.

The deal, which still faces a federal regulatory review and Smithfield shareholder approval, is the largest takeover of a U.S. company by a Chinese firm. It’s the latest in a string of such deals made recently by Chinese companies.

But the acquisition is likely to face hefty U.S. scrutiny. It comes at a time when China has had serious food safety concerns, some of which have included Smithfield’s suitor, Shuanghui.

Risks to the U.S. food supply “enters everybody’s mind,” said Paul Mariani, director at Variant Capital Advisors in Chicago, who previously worked at a food and agribusiness boutique investment bank. But he said he believes Smithfield will continue to operate as normal.

Smithfield said the deal isn’t about importing Chinese pork into the U.S. Instead, the company says it’s a chance to export into new markets with its brands, such as Smithfield, Armour and Farmland.

Smithfield CEO Larry Pope said in a conference call on Wednesday that the transaction “preserves the same old Smithfield, only with more opportunities and new markets and new frontiers.”

“People have this belief ... that everything in America is made in China,” he said. “Open your refrigerator door, look inside. Nothing in there is made in China because American agriculture is the most competitive and efficient in the world.”

Indeed, the acquisition highlights what could be growing interest in American food by Chinese consumers. Foreign food, such as milk powder from New Zealand and vegetables from neighboring Asian countries, is prized by Chinese consumers because of the frequent domestic food safety scandals in their country.

Among the most notorious, six babies died and 300,000 were sickened in 2008 from drinking infant formula and other dairy tainted with the industrial chemical melamine. And Shuanghui’s reputation was battered in 2011 when state broadcaster CCTV revealed its pork contained clenbuterol — a banned chemical that makes pork leaner but can be harmful to humans.

Derek Scissors, an expert on China’s economy the Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based conservative think tank, said companies like Shuanghui are “not looking to cause any trouble in the American market at all” or “cut corners.”

“Quite the opposite ... They want to gain from what the U.S. is able to do,” he said. “But whether they can operate an American company in the U.S. market remains to be determined.”

Oh this was in 2020.

Biden sold us out...oh wait, the former guy was President.

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Originally posted by MJines:
Good idea. Not like they have sophisticated spy satellites and surveillance aircraft. If we get rid of balloons and civilian aircraft overflights that will teach 'em a lesson.

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"why"

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Originally posted by Schrodinger:
Now that it’s accepted that balloons flew over the US during Trump’s presidency, the loons are trying to quantify the differences.

Hey, rcraig, aka, douchebag, you still maintaining that it was a lie that they were here during Trump’s time?

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Originally posted by eezridr:
Sometimes we focus on the complexity of things and technology while overlooking simple resolutions.
I agree with the "why" when you would think a country with advanced technology would revert to something simple?

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Originally posted by MJines:
Good idea. Not like they have sophisticated spy satellites and surveillance aircraft. If we get rid of balloons and civilian aircraft overflights that will teach 'em a lesson.

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Originally posted by Schrodinger:
And, tell me, Douche, exactly who it is that I’m to ask? I’ll get right on it.

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Originally posted by Schrodinger:
Funny shit, what get a loons pinhead really exploding. Send a balloon across the US and they start breathing hard, twitching and the imagination wheels start spinning.

~Ann

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Originally posted by Schrodinger:
Bullshit, this is much ado about nothing.

Of course, the Chinese spy on the US all the time.

Big deal. It’s you loons that turned it into a political circus. Must not of liked the employment figures last week.

~Ann

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Originally posted by Huvius:
...on Sunday, a senior administration official told Fox News Digital that "U.S. intelligence, not the Biden administration" assesses that "PRC (People's Republic of China) government surveillance balloons transited the continental U.S. briefly at least three times during the prior administration and once that we know of at the beginning of this administration, but never for this duration of time."

The official told Fox News that "this information was discovered after the [Trump] administration left."

"They went undetected,"

Well, I guess you can't address something you have no knowledge of.
It's a moot argument IMO but the Leftys just couldn't help themselves...

Trump: "Putin is a Genius" "Hezbollah is very smart"

quote:

Originally posted by Schrodinger:
Bullshit, this is much ado about nothing.

Of course, the Chinese spy on the US all the time.

Big deal. It’s you loons that turned it into a political circus. Must not of liked the employment figures last week.

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Originally posted by theback40:
I think the House intel needs to look into what the DOD is doing.
If they knew spy balloons have been here before, and did not notify the secretary of defense, Why?
Biden said he wanted this balloon shot down, the pentagon said wait.
This is the pentagon that over ruled officers on the ground in Afghanistan, and told Biden to continue with the withdraw. We know what a cluster fuck that was.
There is something wrong with the current staff at DOD. There must be a balance somewhere between being a hawk and a chicken.

quote:

Originally posted by theback40:
I think the House intel needs to look into what the DOD is doing.
If they knew spy balloons have been here before, and did not notify the secretary of defense, Why?
Biden said he wanted this balloon shot down, the pentagon said wait.
This is the pentagon that over ruled officers on the ground in Afghanistan, and told Biden to continue with the withdraw. We know what a cluster fuck that was.
There is something wrong with the current staff at DOD. There must be a balance somewhere between being a hawk and a chicken.

quote:

Dr. Easter has stated President Trump’s former Sec. of Defense says there were no balloons. Based on the reporting, that makes me think the Administration either 1) did not read their briefs, 2) or was not informed by the military, or 3) the Administration was properly informed and did not take it seriously.

You can decide which of those two options to believe. I am unsure. There is always a fourth option being during President Trump’s administration there were no balloons. I do not believe that one.

I really do not care. I want to look forward to better, earlier detection and response.

~Ann

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Originally posted by LHeym500:
See the rest of my post. The military leaders assuming they withheld that information should be and needs to be removed.

~Ann