Canadian poppy quarter triggered U.S. spy alert - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

RedHot25 · 05-07-2007, 07:36 AM

Alrighty then....

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...hub=TopStories

Canada's harmless poppy quarter has given some suspicious U.S. army contractors red faces after it was revealed they filed espionage accounts on the world's first coloured coin.

....

The contractors described the suspicious coins as "anomalous'' and "filled with something man-made that looked like nano-technology,'' some once-secret U.S. government reports and emails said.
"It did not appear to be electronic (analog) in nature or have a power source,'' one U.S. contractor wrote after he found the coin in the cup holder of a rental car.
"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 technology they referred to was actually a protective coating the Royal Canadian Mint applied to the coins to ensure the poppy's red colour couldn't be removed.

....

"I thought the whole thing was preposterous, to think you could tag an individual with a coin and think they wouldn't give it away or spend it,'' H. Keith Melton, a leading U.S. intelligence historian, said.
However, Melton said the army contractors were only doing their jobs when they reported their suspicious findings.
"You want contractors or any government personnel to report anything suspicious,'' he said.

....

The coins were never actually examined by the Defence Security Service.
"We know where we made the mistake,'' Cindy McGovern, a Defence Security Service spokesperson, said.
"The information wasn't properly vetted. While these coins aroused suspicion, there ultimately was nothing there.''

Flashpoint · 05-07-2007, 10:00 AM

I make long distance phone calls from the US, and always try to use the words "bomb", "terrorist", "Al-Quaeda", and "Islamic Jihad" just in the hope I am messing with the security clowns who might be eavesdropping.

I typically then go on a tirade against the waste of time that is homeland security, calling them wierd made up words like "mamyrammer", "turdburgler", and "gogan faced".

Incidents like the above are exactly why.

zukes · 05-07-2007, 10:11 AM

One day you may get brought in for doing that and have cavity searches and torture if they feel that you know something. Those dudes don't screw around, and aren't fans of people screwing around.

That'll be worth it for you won't it

Stickman44 · 05-07-2007, 10:57 PM

Flashpoint enjoys the occasional anal cavity search.
He's just too lazy to go out to the truck stops.

photon · 05-07-2007, 11:46 PM

Heh..

Slava · 05-08-2007, 02:46 PM

I thought this was a great story. You can just picture CSIS keeping tabs on the bugged money that's been sitting in a payphone or a vending machine somewhere.

Burninator · 05-08-2007, 03:00 PM

Didn't we have a thread a couple of months ago that talked about tracking terrorists or something with coins? Ring a bell anyone?

RedHot25 · 05-08-2007, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Burninator

Didn't we have a thread a couple of months ago that talked about tracking terrorists or something with coins? Ring a bell anyone?

Yah, this was it....this article now is them just coming out saying "ooops! this was our mistake". The article you are thinking of was this story before that....i.e. the "be wary of transmitters planted on US contractors etc etc".

Burninator · 05-08-2007, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedHot25

Yah, this was it....this article now is them just coming out saying "ooops! this was our mistake". The article you are thinking of was this story before that....i.e. the "be wary of transmitters planted on US contractors etc etc".

I thought it might have been the same thing. That's pretty funny actually. This case probably could have solved by a trip to the Canadian mint's website.