Octopus Overlords

The construction of a Chinese-owned corn mill in North Dakota will likely be halted after the U.S. Air Force flagged it as a “significant threat to national security.”

Fufeng Group, an MSG and xanthan gum manufacturer based in Shandong province, China, previously bought 370 acres of farmland in Grand Forks through its American subsidiary.

The city council approved the company’s $700 million proposal to build the mill last year, citing economic development success.

However, thousands of residents have since expressed their disapproval of the mill. In August 2022, at least 5,000 residents signed a petition that sought to prevent the mill’s development.

Although city officials initially supported the mill’s construction in the hopes of generating jobs and tax revenue, Mayor Brandon Bochenski issued a statement on Tuesday asserting that the proposed mill “should be stopped.”

“The federal government has requested the city’s help in stopping the project as geo-political tensions have greatly increased since the initial announcement of the project,” he said.

Bochenski said that he would block the construction by denying building permits and refusing to connect city infrastructure to the building site.

The Air Force called the mill, which was to be built 12 miles from Grand Forks Air Force Base, "a significant threat to national security"

The corn mill was proposed to be built 12 miles away from the Grand Forks Air Force Base, which is home to U.S. intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance units, including its top-secret drone technology.

In a joint press release on Tuesday, Hoeven and Cramer called on city officials to “discontinue” the project and instead “work together to find an American company to develop the agriculture project.”

Unagi wrote: ↑Fri Feb 03, 2023 12:32 pm Which seems to make one wonder why this company from China would want to.

a suspected Beijing-operated spy balloon spotted hovering over sensitive U.S. airspace

Defiant wrote: ↑Fri Feb 03, 2023 4:35 pm

a suspected Beijing-operated spy balloon spotted hovering over sensitive U.S. airspace

Where's those space lasers when you need them?

Holman wrote: ↑Sat Feb 04, 2023 4:04 pm Don't the Chinese already have spy satellites overflying the US every day?

Kraken wrote: ↑Sat Feb 04, 2023 5:28 pm It wouldn't take but a few cannon rounds to shred the envelope.

A runaway weather balloon floating toward Britain over the North Atlantic is proving a tough target for some of Canada’s top guns.

The helium-filled balloon, a 25-story high unmanned research station used to measure ozone levels over Canada, was launched Monday from Vanscoy, Saskatchewan.

Instruments attached to the balloon were supposed to separate from it at the end of the test Monday, said Dale Sommerfeldt, vice president of Scientific Instrumentation Ltd. of Saskatoon, which coordinated the launch.

``The termination device failed and the backup system failed and that’s why the balloon is where it is right now,″ he said.

Jet fighters trying to bring the balloon down fired more than 1,000 rounds into it Thursday, but it remained aloft. The air force hopes the now-leaking balloon will eventually come down.

Kraken wrote: ↑Sat Feb 04, 2023 5:28 pm Does using a missile on a balloon seem excessive to anyone else? It wouldn't take but a few cannon rounds to shred the envelope.

A senior defense official said there have been four previous Chinese balloon incursions over the continental United States, including one early in the Biden administration and three during the Trump administration. Former defense secretary Mark T. Esper, speaking to CNN on Friday, said that he did not ever recall the issue coming up. “I would remember that for sure,” said Esper, a Trump appointee. “My focus was on implementing the national defense strategy to take on the Chinese as the greatest strategic threat facing our country.”

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Sat Feb 04, 2023 8:29 pm If Space Force can't capture and secure the Balloon for detailed examination, then I guess I don't understand why they exist.

malchior wrote: ↑Sat Feb 04, 2023 8:19 pm I'm fairly confident - though it's a guess still - that cost was not a major consideration in the mission design.

A senior defense official told CBS News that an F-22 dispatched out of Langley Air Force Base took down the balloon with one AIM-9X air-to-air missile.

381,069.74,[2] AIM-9X all up round Block II FY 2019

Kraken wrote: ↑Sat Feb 04, 2023 5:28 pm Does using a missile on a balloon seem excessive to anyone else? It wouldn't take but a few cannon rounds to shred the envelope.

Unagi wrote: ↑Sun Feb 05, 2023 11:34 am This just seems like such a stupid thing for China to have done.

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Sun Feb 05, 2023 11:51 am

Unagi wrote: ↑Sun Feb 05, 2023 11:34 am This just seems like such a stupid thing for China to have done.

Why? The managed to float 3 over the United States while TFG was in charge and he didn't do anything. Why not see if "sleepy Joe" acts the same?

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Sun Feb 05, 2023 11:51 am he didn't do anything.

Trump, a known liar

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sun Feb 05, 2023 12:29 pm Lawn Chair Larry didn't have a 90-foot balloon. And this was considerably larger than a hot air balloon (let alone a small weather balloon.)

Having seen a few reactions to the balloon being shot down, my real fear is that the next time anyone sees any sort of balloon, we're going to have hundreds or rednecks shooting guns into the air.

Kraken wrote: ↑Sun Feb 05, 2023 12:15 am

malchior wrote: ↑Sat Feb 04, 2023 8:19 pm I'm fairly confident - though it's a guess still - that cost was not a major consideration in the mission design.

What's an air-to-air missile going for these days? It's been a while since I've bought any.

stimpy wrote: ↑Sun Feb 05, 2023 3:12 am So is it a boy or a girl?

malchior wrote: ↑Fri Feb 03, 2023 8:55 pm The right is LOSING IT'S MIND over this balloon thing. They're demanding it be shot down immediately. Maybe it should be. I don't know but it should not be because the people with the least knowledge are screaming about it. Especially after being driven mad by complete and utter nonsense like this. The smile at the end is the *chef's kiss*. "I can't believe I'm saying this but it's a living."