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......has there been any commentary as of now about exactly how much damage would've been done to the Verrazano-Narrows had there been an impact? I'm a BIG aficianado of it - for over 50 years, since childhood (actually sought to write a fiction novel about someone trying to blow it up, half that long ago - 1995, if memory serves me correctly - but, never finished it.....)

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Excellent analysis. Here in the US we are aware that the western militaries often serve and protect their country of origin corporate interests abroad in other countries. Implicit in this is usually condemnation for the collusion between private and political interests.

My point is, we have a normalcy bias that this is not the norm and that this is a corrupt use of our tax dollars.

When dealing with the CCP & the PLA, one has to understand that the norm is the inverse.

CCP corporations are sovereign political tools first and profitability second. All corporate businesses from the CCP are not only an extension of the communist state but actively engaged in spearheading their communist, political interests. All mid-sized and larger Chinese corporations are required to have, and maintain, an internal CCP political department with oversight of the companies activities in the pursuit of CCP interests.

This is a radical departure from western business expectations. What are our normal business practices are not the same as the CCP normal business practices and failure to recognize that will lead to false conclusions.

Jack Ma got into trouble a few years ago for defying the CCP regime. When he returned to a much more subdued public presence, Jack dismissed his sudden and inexplicable disappearance to "just needing a break".

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