Skarbro
05-08-2007, 07:55 AM
I found this article to be quite hilarious. :chuckle
From http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_10737.aspx
http://www.citynews.ca/images/2007-05/may0707-poppy.jpg
Simple Canadian Quarter Led To Huge U.S. Spy Warning
Monday May 7, 2007
Now it can be told - the secret weapon Canada was using to spy on the U.S. was: a quarter! A special 25-cent piece has been revealed as being the catalyst that sparked American army contractors to issue a top secret espionage memo about nano-technology being used for nefarious intelligence purposes.
Apparently, it was the Canadian Mint's (http://www.mint.ca/royalcanadianmintpublic/index.aspx?requestedPath=/en-CA/Home/default.htm) issuing of a quarter with red poppy highlights (http://www.allnationsstampandcoin.com/newsletters/news59.html) honouring this country's war dead in 2004 that created an uproar in the corridors of U.S. Intelligence. Officials down south had never seen anything like it and became suspicious when an agent found one in a rental car. Documents released under the Access to Information Act show concerned contractors described the coin as being "filled with something man-made that looked like nano-technology."
"It did not appear to be electronic (analog) in nature or have a power source," wrote one of those who examined the mysterious 'device'. "Under high power microscope, it appeared to be complex consisting of several layers of clear, but different material, with a wire like mesh suspended on top."
The "discovery" actually led to a ridiculous warning from the U.S. Defence Department (http://www.defenselink.mil/)that coins with radio transmitters had been found on three contractors with top secret clearance as they came through Canada. Conspiracy theories exploded behind closed doors, with one agent telling his superiors he didn't know where the mysterious talisman came from. "[My] coat pockets were empty that morning and I was keeping all of my coins in a plastic bag in my inner coat pocket," the "victim" wrote.
Canadian officials were alarmed as the rumours spread, and the story began reaching the highest levels of power. "That story about Canadians planting coins in the pockets of defense contractors will not go away," Luc Portelance of Canadian Security Intelligence Service (http://www.csis-scrs.gc.ca/en/index.asp) wrote in a January e-mail. "Where do we stand and what's the story on this?"
The U.S. would eventually withdraw its warnings, but the reasons for the alarms were never revealed - until now. "We know where we made the mistake," Defence Department spokesperson Cindy McGovern admits. "The information wasn't properly vetted. While these coins aroused suspicion, there ultimately was nothing there."
And to add insult to injury, because of the rate of exchange, these so-called 'spy coins' aren't even worth a full 25 cents in the U.S. Unless, it seems, misinformed intelligence agents decide to throw their own two cents in.
From http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_10737.aspx
http://www.citynews.ca/images/2007-05/may0707-poppy.jpg
Simple Canadian Quarter Led To Huge U.S. Spy Warning
Monday May 7, 2007
Now it can be told - the secret weapon Canada was using to spy on the U.S. was: a quarter! A special 25-cent piece has been revealed as being the catalyst that sparked American army contractors to issue a top secret espionage memo about nano-technology being used for nefarious intelligence purposes.
Apparently, it was the Canadian Mint's (http://www.mint.ca/royalcanadianmintpublic/index.aspx?requestedPath=/en-CA/Home/default.htm) issuing of a quarter with red poppy highlights (http://www.allnationsstampandcoin.com/newsletters/news59.html) honouring this country's war dead in 2004 that created an uproar in the corridors of U.S. Intelligence. Officials down south had never seen anything like it and became suspicious when an agent found one in a rental car. Documents released under the Access to Information Act show concerned contractors described the coin as being "filled with something man-made that looked like nano-technology."
"It did not appear to be electronic (analog) in nature or have a power source," wrote one of those who examined the mysterious 'device'. "Under high power microscope, it appeared to be complex consisting of several layers of clear, but different material, with a wire like mesh suspended on top."
The "discovery" actually led to a ridiculous warning from the U.S. Defence Department (http://www.defenselink.mil/)that coins with radio transmitters had been found on three contractors with top secret clearance as they came through Canada. Conspiracy theories exploded behind closed doors, with one agent telling his superiors he didn't know where the mysterious talisman came from. "[My] coat pockets were empty that morning and I was keeping all of my coins in a plastic bag in my inner coat pocket," the "victim" wrote.
Canadian officials were alarmed as the rumours spread, and the story began reaching the highest levels of power. "That story about Canadians planting coins in the pockets of defense contractors will not go away," Luc Portelance of Canadian Security Intelligence Service (http://www.csis-scrs.gc.ca/en/index.asp) wrote in a January e-mail. "Where do we stand and what's the story on this?"
The U.S. would eventually withdraw its warnings, but the reasons for the alarms were never revealed - until now. "We know where we made the mistake," Defence Department spokesperson Cindy McGovern admits. "The information wasn't properly vetted. While these coins aroused suspicion, there ultimately was nothing there."
And to add insult to injury, because of the rate of exchange, these so-called 'spy coins' aren't even worth a full 25 cents in the U.S. Unless, it seems, misinformed intelligence agents decide to throw their own two cents in.