March 2023 - cypherpunks@lists.ogf.org

How Wind Power and Indigenous Rights Clash in Norway
by Gunnar Larson 02 Mar '23

02 Mar '23

How Wind Power and Indigenous Rights Clash in Norway https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-02/how-wind-power-and-indig… Already a world leader in the use of renewable energy, Norway has plans to up its game. But now, two large wind parks on the country’s blustery Fosen peninsula have become the source of a collision between indigenous rights and the government’s green agenda, raising questions over future projects. Protesters concerned about the effects of the parks’ operations on the Indigenous Sami have blocked government offices and demanded that officials shut down the project’s 151 turbines. The case is considered a bellwether of the future of onshore wind power in Norway, which needs more clean power generation to supplement its vast hydropower resources in order to meet its emissions-reduction goals and prepare for the electrification of everything.

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Silvergate, a Federally Insured Bank, Just Blew Up from Ties to Crypto
by Gunnar Larson 02 Mar '23

02 Mar '23

https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/03/silvergate-a-federally-insured-bank-… By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: March 2, 2023 ~ The one thing a depositor never wants to hear from a bank that is holding his or her life savings is that it has doubts about its “ability to continue as a going concern.” Unfortunately, those very words appeared in a filing made yesterday by Silvergate Capital with the Securities and Exchange Commission – which pretty much guarantees that the ongoing run on deposits at Silvergate will continue with an added sense of urgency. Silvergate Capital is the owner of the federally-insured and taxpayer-backstopped bank, Silvergate Bank, which decided several years back that it would be a cool idea to become the go-to depository bank for crypto companies. One of those outfits was Sam Bankman-Fried’s now collapsed house of fraud. Accounts at Silvergate Bank included Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange, FTX; his hedge fund, Alameda Research, which prosecutors say looted his FTX crypto exchange customers; and North Dimension, a fake company promoting itself as an online seller of mobile phones, when it was actually laundering money for Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto enterprises, according to federal prosecutors. Once the word got out about Silvergate’s ties to FTX and Bankman-Fried, a bank run ensued. On November 11, when FTX announced it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Silvergate CEO, Alan Lane, released this statement: “In light of recent developments, I want to provide an update on Silvergate’s exposure to FTX. As of September 30, 2022, Silvergate’s total deposits from all digital asset customers totaled $11.9 billion, of which FTX represented less than 10%. Silvergate has no outstanding loans to nor investments in FTX, and FTX is not a custodian for Silvergate’s bitcoin-collateralized SEN Leverage loans. To be clear, our relationship with FTX is limited to deposits.” Apparently, having $1 billion exposure to FTX was not comforting to other depositors. On January 5, Silvergate reported that its “total deposits from digital asset customers declined to $3.8 billion” as of December 31, 2022 (down from the previously reported $11.9 billion on September 30, 2022.) That’s a 68 percent drop in one quarter – an astonishing figure for a federally-insured bank in the United States. On the same date, the company announced that it was firing 40 percent of its workforce and that it had met the demand for customer withdrawals during the quarter as follows: “Silvergate sold $5.2 billion of debt securities for cash proceeds during the fourth quarter of 2022. The sale resulted in a loss on the sale of securities and related derivatives of $718 million during the fourth quarter of 2022.” That unaudited loss figure was updated in yesterday’s statement to $948.7 million – and that may not be the last word on the matter. Another way that Silvergate apparently met the run on the bank was to obtain $4.3 billion in advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco – a program meant to support housing for the poor. (See Four Crypto-Friendly Banks Are Being Bailed Out with Billions from a Federal Housing Program.) There were more troubling phrases in Silvergate’s revelations to the SEC yesterday, such as the fact that Silvergate can’t file its annual report for the full year of 2022 (Form 10-K) on time; it needs more time to “record journal entries.” Equally troubling was the phrase that “its independent registered public accounting firm” needs more time “to complete certain audit procedures, including review of adjustments not yet recorded and the evaluation of the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.” You can read Silvergate’s full statement to the SEC at this link. In after hours trading yesterday, following the news of Silvergate’s statement to the SEC, its stock price fell by another 30 percent. Based on its closing price at 4 p.m. yesterday, it has lost 90 percent of its market value over the prior 12 months. Silvergate has other troubles as well. It’s under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice; it’s being sued by multiple plaintiffs seeking class action status; and Reuters reported in February that another crypto exchange kingpin, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, had suspiciously moved $400 million at Silvergate Bank. Eight months ago Wall Street On Parade warned our fellow Americans to Brace Yourself for Federally-Insured Bank Failures Caused by Crypto. In that article we explained how federal regulators were twiddling their thumbs as more and more federally-insured banks in the U.S. moved into crypto. We also explained that crypto is a completely discredited “innovation,” writing that: “…Warren Buffet has called the largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, ‘rat poison squared’; global economist, Nouriel Roubini, told the Senate Banking Committee in 2018 that ‘Crypto is the Mother of All Scams and (Now Busted) Bubbles While Blockchain Is The Most Over-Hyped Technology Ever, No Better than a Spreadsheet/Database.’ More recently, Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, one of the most valuable tech companies in the world, stated that cryptocurrencies are ‘100% based on greater fool theory.’ And just this past June 1, more than 1,600 scientists and software engineers wrote to Committee chairs in Congress to warn that both crypto and blockchain are shams.” The only remaining question is how long Americans are going to tolerate this madness within our financial system.

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Possessed by Damon's, Keanu to do APster ads
by professor rat 02 Mar '23

02 Mar '23

Since being reliably informed even the most limited govt is like the proverbial scorpion and will abuse the smallest power it has at the greatest cost I’m pressured, nay, forced to regard Nayib with some suspicion since he may be deploying Chainanalysis… Perhaps some OG better informed than I might put my mind at rest about this. Parallel construction is a terrible thing. You know when some ostensibly ’ limited ’ and democratic, night-watchmans govt tells people its respecting their inalienable human and civil rights while all the time utilizing the latest totalitarian surveillance tactics. " Dystopia ’ doesn’t seem bad enough to cover nightmare ( DPRK! ) scenario’s such as these. " There’s no griefing here - and we don’t talk about it ". I now see plebs being nudged into supporting the LOL-GOP party in Amerikkka. As if this repugnant herd’s stated support for cryptoanarchy is any more deep and real than their supposed decades old commitments ( round elections ) to deliver ’ smaller, leaner govt’. In fact that bogus promise became such a joke they recently had to replace it with smaller, leaner nuclear power plants. All though I joke a bit about Keaunu its good to see him take an interest in ’ closing the sale ’ of cryptoanarchy with its missing anti-crime leg of ’ everyone an assassin “. If anyone can do this its the infamous and unholy " Mr Wick.” Give this man an assassinphone.

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[ot][crazy][spam] simple inference (2-3steps?goal-oriented?)
by Undescribed Horrific Abuse, One Victim & Survivor of Many 02 Mar '23

02 Mar '23

The chicken is trying to cross the road. Two steps. Select a first step and give a reason: a) walk away from road b) spin around a squawk like crazy c) walk toward road

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Havana Syndrome Probably Wasn’t Caused by Foreign Power, US Says
by Gunnar Larson 01 Mar '23

01 Mar '23

Havana Syndrome Probably Wasn’t Caused by Foreign Power, US Says https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-01/havana-syndrome-probably… Most US spy agencies have concluded that a series of unexplained health incidents reported by government employees dating back to 2016 were “very unlikely” to have been attacks by a foreign adversary, saying they probably resulted from normal illnesses or environmental causes.

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Crypto Bank Silvergate Plunges After It Says Examining Viability, Delays Annual Report
by Gunnar Larson 01 Mar '23

01 Mar '23

Crypto Bank Silvergate Plunges After It Says Examining Viability, Delays Annual Report https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-01/silvergate-says-annual-f… Cryptocurrency-friendly bank Silvergate Capital Corp. (SI) is studying whether it’s still viable and reviewing its financial controls, following the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX. The shares plunged as much as 25%.

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Mondaq Launches Litigation Funding Comparative Guide
by Gunnar Larson 01 Mar '23

01 Mar '23

Check out my new article. This new guide is one of the best guides of its kind: https://litigationfinancejournal.com/mondaq-launches-litigation-funding-com… Given the rapid pace of innovation and expansion in the global litigation funding space, it is helpful to engage reference tools to separate the wheat from the chaff. Mondaq’s new Litigation Funding Comparative Guide guide spans 12 chapters, serving as an interactive tool for worldwide litigation franchise comparisons. Mondaq’s new guide (https://www.mondaq.com/guides/49?) includes a bevy of options, including 12 global jurisdictions with subgroups, such as ethical considerations, legal framework, tips and traps. From there, additional information allows for comparative analysis by including a list of 60 subjects that are key to litigation finance business systems and processes for each jurisdiction. The guide aims to engage internationally recognized litigation finance professionals as subject matter experts to provide responses for comparative research. Mondaq claims that over time, the guide will expand to offer more detailed analysis of the litigation investment landscape globally.

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Cryptocurrency: Action - US States Passing Ignorant and Laughably Bizarre Legislation, satoshiaction.io
by grarpamp 01 Mar '23

01 Mar '23

https://www.satoshiaction.io/so/b0OQJlZ_A https://legiscan.com/IL/text/SB1887/id/2692354 https://Illinoispolicy.org/maps/illinois-house/ https://Ilga.gov/house/ a court may order any appropriate blockchain transaction for digital property or for the execution of a smart contract. Provides that a blockchain network that processes a blockchain transaction originating in the State at any time after the effective date of the Act shall process a court-ordered blockchain transaction without the need for the private key associated with the digital property or smart contract civil penalty of between $5,000 and $10,000 for each day that the blockchain network fails to comply with the order PSA to miners and node operators in Illinois, USA (self.Bitcoin) submitted 21 hours ago * by Appropriate_Bug74662 As many of you have surely heard, senate bill 1887 as proposed would essentially outlaw mining, validating, and running a node in Illinois (in the name of consumer protection). Whether this is an act of criminal incompetence or underhandedness is unclear. Does this stop bitcoin? Of course not, but that doesn’t mean we want it slowed down either - better to win without fighting the war. If you live in Illinois I urge you to contact your house representative on this matter. You can find your representative by your address at: Illinoispolicy.org/maps/illinois-house/# After looking that up you can also look up more contact details at: Ilga.gov/house/ I just left voice messages and an email urging my representative to oppose SB1887 in its current form as it is unworkable and would drive talent, innovation, and business in the crypto industry out of state. 66 comments share save hide report all 66 comments sorted by: best Want to add to the discussion? Post a comment! [–]Magnus826 37 points 17 hours ago Thank you! I'm in Illinois. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]pcvcolin 19 points 12 hours ago* ^ Oppose this Illinois idiocy - and also advocate against certain Congresspersons' attempts to limit mining based on ESG reporting. Proof of work has also become the target of worthless partisan bureaucrats in three-letter agencies - be ready for court battles in the USA on this issue. See: https://www.satoshiaction.io/so/b0OQJlZ_A?languageTag=en&cid=21afbe68-15af-… permalink embed save report give award reply [–]soliton-gaydar 50 points 19 hours ago As if anyone needed another reason to leave Illinois. permalink embed save report give award reply [–][deleted] 15 hours ago [removed] [–]SnooMachines7409 11 points 5 hours ago I recommend not fighting the dinosaurs, they would die in next 1-2 halvings. Use TOR if you're in Illinois. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]Linrono 1 point an hour ago Don't people suggest not mining over tor because of the latency? Of course you can run a node over tor. I've also heard lightning nodes have issues over tor. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [+]deebmaster -9 points 8 hours ago* *liberal. Red states currently enshrining one’s right to mine bitcoin permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]Kinimodes 1 point 2 hours ago Nah, just dinosaurs 🦕 permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]clue5tick 30 points 19 hours ago Sue the hell out of them. Nothing like a good First Amendment penalty to focus their corrupt little brains. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]minerscentral 6 points 15 hours ago I'd get behind that. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]mossyoaktoe 15 points 17 hours ago That state has no problem infringing on the 2nd amendment, I doubt they hesitate to continue the same with the 1st. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]DatBuridansAss 2 points 3 hours ago Didn't you know? Bitcoin is hate speech against the climate. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]Neat_Caterpillar_866 4 points 9 hours ago So dumb because they are shutting down nuclear plants because of no one to buy the power…. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]fnetma 4 points 6 hours ago This state is complete shit.. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]igadjeed[🍰] 10 points 16 hours ago criminal incompetence This a court may order any appropriate blockchain transaction for digital property or for the execution of a smart contract. Provides that a blockchain network that processes a blockchain transaction originating in the State at any time after the effective date of the Act shall process a court-ordered blockchain transaction without the need for the private key associated with the digital property or smart contract ... civil penalty of between $5,000 and $10,000 for each day that the blockchain network fails to comply with the order permalink embed save report give award reply [–]Double-LR[🍰] 16 points 15 hours ago Weapon grade ignorance. What moron wrote this crap? I’d love to know who it is. I’m betting they look the part. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]igadjeed[🍰] 9 points 15 hours ago It appears to be copied from the Craig Wright lawsuit against Bitcoin developers. He's asking a UK court to order the developers to change the Core code so that he can be paid the coins for which he claims he lost the keys permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]Double-LR[🍰] 9 points 15 hours ago Oh. It’s Craig! Now it makes sense why it’s so stupid. Thanks for the info. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]ubring 7 points 16 hours ago This uses words but their ordering is so weird permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]Wise-Application-144 6 points 12 hours ago a court-ordered blockchain transaction without the need for the private key This is just plainly impossible right? That's the entire point of bitcoin, that this cannot be done? It's like saying "a court ordered pig must fly", just making a court order doesn't mean you can do impossible stuff... permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]avance70 3 points 10 hours ago there was a law to define Pi = 3.2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Pi_Bill permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]fnetma 3 points 6 hours ago This was in the 1890s.. I am not as shocked. I would also hate to do calculations with pi without a calculator. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]thealiensguy 3 points 5 hours ago This is hilarious and i never knew this. How the fuck do you legislate mathematics? Thats fucking insane lol permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]fllthdcrb [score hidden] 30 minutes ago At least a pig could theoretically be equipped with something to make it fly. What they're saying, at least where Bitcoin is concerned, is more like ordering a tornado to disperse. They clearly have no concept of just how implacable a decentralized consensus-driven network can be, especially when most of the nodes they propose to fine and/or hold liable are far out of their jurisdiction. As if any individual node operator can change things. It would be almost impossible for such an entity to change the consensus rules, and I doubt any amount of threatening of operators is going to convince the developers to implement such changes. Do they think the devs are going to go, "Oh no, those poor people in the US*. We better change the rules just so the State of Illinois can break the rules and steal people's money, in violation of everything Bitcoin stands for!"? And even if the devs did that, would the vast majority of node operators go along with it? Because that would be necessary to enforce this whole thing. If they didn't, then it wouldn't work; I imagine there would be some sort of fork. * I think this bill doesn't just apply to residents of Illinois. Although there is no explicit language to this effect, it appears to potentially fine and/or hold liable anyone anywhere, as long as it involves property in Illinois, or something along those lines. Now, as to how far they'll go, or can go, to reach people outside the state, I don't know. I just want to mention this, because simply moving out of the state might not be enough. But I'm no lawyer. That section 30 (service of process) is also laughable. What, just serve any single node operator, and the whole network is on notice? I don't think so. What if the operator keeps it to themselves? Smh. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]rydogthekidrs 4 points 13 hours ago Do they not understand public key cryptography in the slightest? This shit’s weird man permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]igadjeed[🍰] 4 points 12 hours ago You don't need a key to spend a UTXO. You only need a line of code in the software which says, "This UTXO, by court order, can be spent to this address without a key". The state's problem is that the Bitcoin node network would refuse to accept that line of code. And they're totally insane if they think they can impose a day-by-day fine on the Bitcoin blockchain On the other hand, look at all the centralized shitcoins. They have nodes which are controlled by the corporation which owns that cryptocurrency. A court can force the corporation to change the node code. The corporation has to implement the code change on all nodes. The corporation can be fined $10,000 per day for not complying permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]rydogthekidrs 1 point 3 hours ago No yeah I see where I went wrong. I was just tired and — frankly — a little drunk. It’s still absurd to me to give the government any level of authority over a decentralized system, though permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]beaker38 2 points 2 hours ago so chatGPT writing legislation now? permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]SeemoarAlpha 43 points 20 hours ago Better yet, move. The state is headed for bankruptcy and a few proposals include heavily taxing BTC. Illinois ranks 48th, just ahead of Connecticut and New Jersey, in financial stability. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]ip_address_freely 3 points 8 hours ago That’s due to the decades of corruption and ignorance toward certain social issues permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]kajunkennyg 8 points 10 hours ago All the states are headed for bankruptcy. California went from having a 100b surplus to 25b deficient in ten months. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]SeemoarAlpha 3 points 6 hours ago Not all states, some are much better run that others. California's long term outlook isn't great, but states like Illinois, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, etc. have entered the death spiral with no political will to stop it. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]kajunkennyg [score hidden] 48 minutes ago It’s going to get worst permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]cabinfvr 24 points 19 hours ago Illinois is in a death spiral. Don't let them take you down with them. Agree, move. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]AvisPhlox 8 points 14 hours ago Fuck the law, keep mining. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]recessiontime 2 points 7 hours ago I understand the sentiment but never test the government. Just walk away. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]mr_sew 13 points 17 hours ago Vote with your feet and move to another state. Computer code and sending bits willingly to other willing participants is protected in the U.S.A. under the first amendment to the U.S Constitution as free speech. If you are going to stay in Illinois, you are going to need an attorney, or organize a law suit with some organization that can provide assistance. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]fverdeja 3 points 8 hours ago Don't worry guys. I'm running Snowflake (a TOR node) in my house and I don't live in the states, you can just use TOR and your Bitcoin node could be "running" from my home or from the Nort Pole in a second. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]OceanSlim 3 points 5 hours ago Lol I just realized even if this does pass, all they've done is further decentralize Bitcoin in their state. Plebs won't stop running over TOR. This just stops and mining companies in Illinois essentially. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]porculaeyeyeb1redditor for 5 weeks 2 points 9 hours ago Wow, Illinois is getting serious about cryptocurrency. Guess it's time to look into setting up a mining rig there! permalink embed save report give award reply [–]highdra 5 points 17 hours ago THE ANSWER TO 1887 IS 1776 permalink embed save report give award reply [–]PotentialTap2 3 points 16 hours ago What happened in 1887? permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]fllthdcrb 1 point an hour ago Read the OP again. 1887 is not actually a year. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]Sweaty-Play-9746 10 points 19 hours ago That State sounds a lot like a Communist Venezuela in early stages… permalink embed save report give award reply [–]LonnieJaw748 4 points 16 hours ago Is this why Ken Griffins Citadel Securities relocated to Florida recently? He’s trying to build a CEX with Fidelity, guess he wouldn’t have been able to if still headquartered in Chicago. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]mibjt 2 points 15 hours ago 5 bucks say us cbdcs are about to be rolled out. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]ScoobyD00BIEdoo 3 points 14 hours ago Illinois is the most corrupted state unfortunately. You'd need a hefty sum of money to get them to do anything you wanted. Letters do nothing =[ permalink embed save report give award reply [–]Bitcoin_Maximalist 1 point 13 hours ago good post permalink embed save report give award reply [–]bjandrus 1 point 8 hours ago Serious question: how do these states actually plan on enforcing these bans? (I believe a similar bill has already passed in NY). Like, if I have a mining rig setup in my home, how is anybody gonna know unless I tell them? Are they trying to enact a "busybody bounty" like Texas did with abortions? I definitely urge everyone to write their senators and I do hope with every fiber of my being that these bills stop picking up steam like they seem to be doing lately. But also on the other hand, is there really anything to fear (as far as enforcement goes, anyway)? permalink embed save report give award reply [–]information-zone 1 point 5 hours ago They might not be able to stop a pleb from running a single ASIC in their basement, but big hosting companies which consume megawatts of power will not be able to hide. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]thealiensguy 1 point 5 hours ago Have you ever heard of off grid power generation? Lol permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]SucaMofo 1 point 5 hours ago This was my question. I don't mine but do run a node. How would they know I have a node? The node runs on a Pi with Umbrel so I am running Pi Hole as well. Most of my node connections are over Tor. Usually have 30 connections and 80% are over Tor. I am not in Illinois so not concerned about myself. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]americunt2 1 point an hour ago Do you know how many laws there are that are unenforceable? There's a lot. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]ip_address_freely 1 point 8 hours ago Lol that’s funny. Thinking they can ban it. 🤣 permalink embed save report give award reply [–]AnxiousQuestioner 1 point 6 hours ago Illinois? The state next to me with gambling at every corner, ridiculous taxes, and large debt? Yeah that one. Illinois will find a way to double tax your crypto. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]OceanSlim 1 point 5 hours ago Source: https://legiscan.com/IL/text/SB1887/id/2692354 Page 4 Line 13. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]that1rowdyracer [score hidden] 31 minutes ago Gotta love the commie legislation in IL. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]Full-Bluebird385redditor for 3 months [score hidden] 30 minutes ago Interesting. Illinois is a democrat stronghold. It seems to be a trend that democrats are anti-Bitcoin/crypto and republicans are not (see the Montana bill to ensure the right to mine Bitcoin). permalink embed save report give award reply

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Tor reportedly under attack
by professor rat 01 Mar '23

01 Mar '23

>>> the Tor network typically used by Liquid is under a mysterious attack that makes it harder to use <<< https://blog.nymtech.net/how-mixnets-led-to-bitcoin-blockstream-green-suppo… Reposts not outings of Satoshi Nakamoto as Microserf cypherpunk

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Ambush-style attacks against security personnel and law enforcement officers
by professor rat 01 Mar '23

01 Mar '23

In late May and early June 2020, two ambush-style attacks occurred against security personnel and law enforcement officers in California. The attacks left two dead and injured three others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_boogaloo_murders Reposts not public conspiracy to catch and kill all cops everywhere by any means necessary

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