THE Reuters Fact Check on February 4, 2023 headlined on its news side the very important and clarificatory news, “Fact Check – HBAL617 balloon tracker online is from U.S. company Aerostar, not China” that immediately shot down the sensationalized false story of U.S. mainstream media that it was a Chinese “spy balloon.”
But despite this Reuters fact check, the false narrative of the “Chinese balloon” has continued to this day.
Another important news that shoots down the U.S. narrative about the “Chinese “spy balloon” as absolute nonsense is the comment of ex-Pentagon analyst Chuck Spinney who said, “It is hard to imagine why the Chinese would risk sending military-grade surveillance equipment in a vulnerable, uncontrollable balloon that cannot even be directed to a specific target,… These high-altitude balloons basically go where the wind blows.”
Of course, China itself was confused for a moment since it, as many nations do, have many high-altitude balloons floating around the atmosphere for many purposes from meteorological, atmospheric and climate research, pollution monitoring, telecommunications and imaging, educational and submillimetre astronomy.
China, being invariably straightforward in its official communications provided honest information at hand at that time.
The Global Times in the early hours of February 3, headline China’s response: “China rejects US’ spy balloon accusation, says civilian airship deviated from planned course caused by force majeure.”
The next day, Global Times issued its second report, “China blasts ‘spy balloon’ hype, urges communication to avoid misjudgment” and stressed that the postponed Blinken visit to China has never been formally scheduled anyway.
Some believe that the false “China spy balloon” hype was instigated by the Deep State to abort the Blinken meet in China agreed upon between Biden and Xi to help iron out differences between the two sides that erupted from the Pelosi visit in 2022 that forced China to cut off bilateral talks over vital issues with the U.S. Hence, Blinken’s statement that the timing at the moment for his visit is “not conducive” due to the “Luftballon” incident. I use the German term for “air balloons” to transition to our next point.
“99 Luftballons” is a popular 1980s Cold War period anti-war 1983 song by the German band “Nena” which had been a huge hit in Europe and Japan; I would also say it was a big hit in the Philippines. I am playing the song from You Tube as I write this piece, enjoying the popular beat and wonderful guttural German when put into songs – but the important thing is the story of the song which I will use the Wikipedia summation to illuminate my point.
“99 balloons are mistaken for UFOs, causing a general to send pilots to investigate. Finding nothing but balloons, the pilots put on a large show of fire power. The display of force worries the nations along the borders and the war ministers on each side encourage conflict to grab power for themselves. In the end, a cataclysmic war results from the otherwise harmless flight of balloons and causes devastation on all sides without a victor, as indicated in the denouement of the song: ‘99 Jahre Krieg ließen keinen Platz für Sieger,’ which means ‘99 years of war left no room for victors.’”
From my perspective there were three critical periods in the past three-quarters of a century that the danger of a nuclear war was imminent, the period of the Cuban Missile Crisis 1962, the period of leading to the Fall of the Berlin War in 1989 and today when the U.S. is threatened by three conditions: the continuing explosion of inflation and the U.S. debt, plus the global de-dollarization that will lead to the collapse of the U.S. dollar in the immediate years ahead.
The U.S. needs to disrupt the global geo-economic conditions but short of triggering a final nuclear showdown.
This is exactly what the U.S. is doing on the European continent in its proxy war with Russia via Ukraine and pushing the crisis only to the edge of Ukraine’s border, and in Asia, beginning with the present pressure on Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines to intensify militarization with U.S. military-political sources predicting a US-China war over Taiwan by 2025 even as NATO starts to expand in Asia.
The people of the world and the Philippines must now launch an Anti-War Movement, we are starting it with a Media Forum on February 6, Monday, at the Kamuning Bakery Café with speakers, US Army Col. (ret.) Ann right Zooming from Hawaii, former DFA Usec. and presidential candidate Ernie Abella, Wilson Fortaleza spokesman of Partido Manggagawa, yours truly, Prof. Anna Malindog-Uy and analyst Sass Rogando Sassot.
Join us online at: (search) Global Talk News Radio and Asian Century Philippines on FB, Global Talk News Radio on You Tube; raise you questions and type your comments online.