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Comment by null_object | Hacker News Reader

So taking down hospitals and healthcare facilities was fair game. But messing with Big Oil was just a step too far.

The pipeline thing was just a pretext to open the can of whupass. It could have been an electrical grid, chemical plant, whatever. The hospitals the the past few months would have been the catalyst for the dept. of whatever TLA that pulled off this operation. It takes a while to get authorization, staff up the team etc.

Oil shortages and long lines make for good/bad TV. Fear of bad media coverage energized the Govt. to act.

Perhaps part of the difference was that it took longer for the victim to pay this time. Presumably Hospitals cave before the impacts make the headlines.

I’ve got colleagues who have had radiology hardware that got locked - CT scanners specifically. The NHS paid and they were back to work in a couple of hours.

I'd guess that it's entirely the other way around - govt wanted to act, so they drummed up the bad media coverage to justify removing any restrictions they had to (re)act quickly, instead of through the usual law enforcement process which takes months or years.

It's an interesting point. I think there is a big difference between hitting decentralized targets and disabling fuel transport for the entire east coast, BUT

if it was this possible before, why wait until now?

Or, if it isn't true - perhaps they're deflecting attention.

That shouldn't be a much of a surprise; the US has always aligned itself with protecting it's oil supply.

Crude insult. Akin to criticizing someone for "aligning with protecting his oxygen supply".

Cage match. Me with no gas vs. you with no oxygen

Sure. You with oxygen, me with gas ... and the striker omnipresent on my keychain. You're goin' down in flames.

:-)

I believe you mean a Light Sweet Crude insult.

> Crude insult.

Kudos if that was a deliberate joke.

Every country protects its food, water, and energy supply. Exceptions stop being countries.

Why are you being down voted? Every major war and international crisis in my lifetime has been directly or indirectly related to US prioritizing oil above pretty much all else. From the Iranian revolution to the Gulf wars, to the terrorism our involvement in the middle east has caused, to the climate crisis and our lack of efforts to reduce consumption.

Whoever called this an insult isn't paying attention.

Everyone freaks out about oil. Japan attacked the United States in World War 2 because the United States stopped exporting oil to Japan. It was the primary motivator behind Pearl Harbor.

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