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<p>[QUOTE="krav83, post: 374528, member: 12441"]A little info on why North Korea can't be behind the Supernotes</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>"North Korea purchased an intaglio press from the Swiss firm Giori in the mid-1970s.<a href="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en03" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en03" rel="nofollow">3</a> This fact is regarded as an indication that the nation has the technology available to print supernotes. Yet there have been significant advances in the field since the time of its purchase. Because certain auxiliary equipment is lacking, the model owned by the DPRK is considered by experts to be incapable of achieving the level of quality seen on supernotes. Not long after purchasing the Giori, North Korea defaulted on its loan after having made just two payments. For that reason, as well as due to U.S. pressure, Giori ceased shipping spare parts to North Korea many years ago, and according to one expert the North Korean printing press now stands idle.<a href="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en04" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en04" rel="nofollow">4</a></p><p><br /></p><p>One striking feature of supernotes is the composition of the paper. Throughout the world, currency is printed on cotton-based paper. But U.S. currency is different, being composed of a mix of 75 percent cotton pulp and 25 percent linen. Supernote counterfeits rely on the same unique combination. To produce secure paper like that used in U.S. currency requires advanced technology and the cost far surpasses that of manufacturing regular paper. The price of even a small plant can exceed $100 million. To remain profitable, a paper plant would have to produce more than four thousand metric tons of such banknote paper a year. But the quantity of supernotes seen in circulation so far has required only a tiny fraction of that total. It would seem, then, that the only option for North Korea would be to procure its paper from an existing plant outside of its borders. This would be no easy matter. The paper used in U.S. currency is produced on a Fourdrinier machine at a plant located in the state of Georgia. This machine uses longer pulp fibers than the short pulp fibers used by the rest of the world relying on cylinder mold methods.<a href="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en05" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en05" rel="nofollow">5</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Remarkably, supernote paper even incorporates colored microfibers, a thin security thread marked "USA 100" in microprint, and a multi-tone watermark. These features can only be produced through the use of sophisticated technology at substantial cost. One expert who conducted a chemical and physical analysis of supernotes discovered that the cotton originated in the southern region of the U.S. — precisely where the Bureau of Engraving and Printing gets its cotton. Southern U.S. cotton is available on the world market, but this would make it traceable to some extent. The expert conducting the analysis is said to have been warned by "interested parties" not to make the results public. The implication was that these parties worked for the U.S. government.3</p><p><br /></p><p>One of the special features of U.S. currency is the use of optically variable ink (OVI) manufactured by the Swiss firm Société Industrielle et Commerciale de Produits Amon (SICPA). This organization is the sole source for OVI. On the U.S. $100 bill, this color shifting ink is employed on the number in the lower right hand corner. Turning the bill one way, the number appears bronze green. Turned another, it appears black. Supernotes duplicate the same color shift.<a href="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en08" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en08" rel="nofollow">8</a> This particular color combination is reserved for the exclusive use of the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing and is manufactured at only one location in the world. A joint venture was established between SICPA and the California-based OCLI laboratory to manufacture this combination of OVI ink. Bronze-green and black OVI is mixed at the SICPA plant in Virginia, which serves only the U.S. market. The rest of the world gets its supply of OVI from SICPA's main plant in Switzerland.<a href="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en09" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en09" rel="nofollow">9</a></p><p> North Korea was at one time a client of SICPA. Each nation is assigned a unique color combination. The DPRK's combination was green and magenta, which Treasury official Daniel Glazer asserts can be manipulated to appear similar to the U.S. combination.<a href="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en10" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en10" rel="nofollow">10</a> Yet a forensic laboratory has found that the security ink used in supernotes is not similar. It matches U.S. currency.<a href="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en11" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en11" rel="nofollow">11</a> Furthermore, it is probable that North Korea has long ago exhausted its limited supply of OVI. SICPA spokeswoman Sarah Van Horn points out, "We ceased all OVI deliveries in early 2001, and later that year all security ink supplies." Severing trade with North Korea came at the request of U.S. officials, long before the Bush Administration publicly accused North Korea of manufacturing and distributing supernotes.<a href="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en12" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en12" rel="nofollow">12</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>There is much that is odd about supernotes. Banknote specialist Klaus W. Bender points out that experts regard the print quality as "simply superb." In some ways, Bender continues, "the supernotes are even better than the authentic 100-dollar bills of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Under the microscope, for example, the supernote shows an especially fine execution of lines on the facing side, which cannot be found on the real note. The complicated seal of the Department of the Treasury on the facing side is copied with absolute perfection, but just below it, one finds in the banknote numbering a marking compound that should not be there. And then, missing from this excellently copied supernote, of all things, are the magnetic and infrared security features that would prevent banknote examining systems from bouncing it. Every surveillance device of an American bank or the Fed recognizes the supernote immediately as a counterfeit and spits it out. Do the counterfeiters perhaps intend that the supernote be recognized immediately in the United States?"<a href="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en45" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en45" rel="nofollow">45</a> A report issued by the Swiss police concurs that the makers of the supernote seem to have deliberately introduced subtle errors into the process. Extra strokes have been added. When placed under ultraviolet or infrared light, stripes can be seen or numbers vanish on supernotes.<a href="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en46" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en46" rel="nofollow">46</a></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p>The most perplexing aspect of supernote production is their low quantity. By 2006, the Secret Service had seized $50 million in supernotes, an average of just $2.8 million per year since the first one was discovered. And since supernotes are usually detected the moment they enter the international banking system, the total quantity produced is probably not significantly higher. Supernotes make up a small percentage of the total counterfeit dollars in circulation. "To provide a point of reference," said Michael Merritt of the U.S. Secret Service, "during fiscal year 2005, the Secret Service seized over $113 million in counterfeit U.S. currency." Not only is the amount of supernotes small relative to less sophisticated counterfeits, but it is insignificant compared to the $760 billion in genuine U.S. currency in circulation.<a href="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en47" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en47" rel="nofollow">47</a></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p>The Swiss police observe, "What defies logic is the limited, or even controlled, amount of 'exclusive' fakes that have appeared over the years. The organization could easily circulate tenfold that amount without raising suspicions." Yet a printing press "like the one in North Korea can produce $50 million worth of bills in a few hours."<a href="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en48" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en48" rel="nofollow">48</a> During the 1970s, Giori replaced its standard model printers in a phased approach with its new "Super" series. The standard model was capable of printing three thousand sheets per hour. Each sheet held 32 notes. If North Korea purchased one of the older standard models, it would have taken just over five hours to produce $50 million. And $2.8 million a year would have required running the press for less than half an hour. Production would be done for the year. The newer Orlof press can spew out 12,000 sheets per hour, each sheet containing sixty notes. Only two and a half minutes would be needed to generate $2.8 million in notes.<a href="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en49" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en49" rel="nofollow">49</a> Clearly, supernotes are being produced for a very specific purpose."</p><p><br /></p><p>Link to the full article</p><p><a href="http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8919" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8919" rel="nofollow">http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8919</a></p><p><br /></p><p>None of it makes sense, who would spend all that money for the equipment and then not print any substantial quantities. Unfortunately it would make sense for the US or CIA to do this. You can fund operations without Congress approving the money. And it allows us to point the finger at whoever we have a gripe with at the moment.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="krav83, post: 374528, member: 12441"]A little info on why North Korea can't be behind the Supernotes "North Korea purchased an intaglio press from the Swiss firm Giori in the mid-1970s.[URL="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en03"]3[/URL] This fact is regarded as an indication that the nation has the technology available to print supernotes. Yet there have been significant advances in the field since the time of its purchase. Because certain auxiliary equipment is lacking, the model owned by the DPRK is considered by experts to be incapable of achieving the level of quality seen on supernotes. Not long after purchasing the Giori, North Korea defaulted on its loan after having made just two payments. For that reason, as well as due to U.S. pressure, Giori ceased shipping spare parts to North Korea many years ago, and according to one expert the North Korean printing press now stands idle.[URL="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en04"]4[/URL] One striking feature of supernotes is the composition of the paper. Throughout the world, currency is printed on cotton-based paper. But U.S. currency is different, being composed of a mix of 75 percent cotton pulp and 25 percent linen. Supernote counterfeits rely on the same unique combination. To produce secure paper like that used in U.S. currency requires advanced technology and the cost far surpasses that of manufacturing regular paper. The price of even a small plant can exceed $100 million. To remain profitable, a paper plant would have to produce more than four thousand metric tons of such banknote paper a year. But the quantity of supernotes seen in circulation so far has required only a tiny fraction of that total. It would seem, then, that the only option for North Korea would be to procure its paper from an existing plant outside of its borders. This would be no easy matter. The paper used in U.S. currency is produced on a Fourdrinier machine at a plant located in the state of Georgia. This machine uses longer pulp fibers than the short pulp fibers used by the rest of the world relying on cylinder mold methods.[URL="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en05"]5[/URL] Remarkably, supernote paper even incorporates colored microfibers, a thin security thread marked "USA 100" in microprint, and a multi-tone watermark. These features can only be produced through the use of sophisticated technology at substantial cost. One expert who conducted a chemical and physical analysis of supernotes discovered that the cotton originated in the southern region of the U.S. — precisely where the Bureau of Engraving and Printing gets its cotton. Southern U.S. cotton is available on the world market, but this would make it traceable to some extent. The expert conducting the analysis is said to have been warned by "interested parties" not to make the results public. The implication was that these parties worked for the U.S. government.3 One of the special features of U.S. currency is the use of optically variable ink (OVI) manufactured by the Swiss firm Société Industrielle et Commerciale de Produits Amon (SICPA). This organization is the sole source for OVI. On the U.S. $100 bill, this color shifting ink is employed on the number in the lower right hand corner. Turning the bill one way, the number appears bronze green. Turned another, it appears black. Supernotes duplicate the same color shift.[URL="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en08"]8[/URL] This particular color combination is reserved for the exclusive use of the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing and is manufactured at only one location in the world. A joint venture was established between SICPA and the California-based OCLI laboratory to manufacture this combination of OVI ink. Bronze-green and black OVI is mixed at the SICPA plant in Virginia, which serves only the U.S. market. The rest of the world gets its supply of OVI from SICPA's main plant in Switzerland.[URL="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en09"]9[/URL] North Korea was at one time a client of SICPA. Each nation is assigned a unique color combination. The DPRK's combination was green and magenta, which Treasury official Daniel Glazer asserts can be manipulated to appear similar to the U.S. combination.[URL="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en10"]10[/URL] Yet a forensic laboratory has found that the security ink used in supernotes is not similar. It matches U.S. currency.[URL="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en11"]11[/URL] Furthermore, it is probable that North Korea has long ago exhausted its limited supply of OVI. SICPA spokeswoman Sarah Van Horn points out, "We ceased all OVI deliveries in early 2001, and later that year all security ink supplies." Severing trade with North Korea came at the request of U.S. officials, long before the Bush Administration publicly accused North Korea of manufacturing and distributing supernotes.[URL="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en12"]12[/URL] There is much that is odd about supernotes. Banknote specialist Klaus W. Bender points out that experts regard the print quality as "simply superb." In some ways, Bender continues, "the supernotes are even better than the authentic 100-dollar bills of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Under the microscope, for example, the supernote shows an especially fine execution of lines on the facing side, which cannot be found on the real note. The complicated seal of the Department of the Treasury on the facing side is copied with absolute perfection, but just below it, one finds in the banknote numbering a marking compound that should not be there. And then, missing from this excellently copied supernote, of all things, are the magnetic and infrared security features that would prevent banknote examining systems from bouncing it. Every surveillance device of an American bank or the Fed recognizes the supernote immediately as a counterfeit and spits it out. Do the counterfeiters perhaps intend that the supernote be recognized immediately in the United States?"[URL="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en45"]45[/URL] A report issued by the Swiss police concurs that the makers of the supernote seem to have deliberately introduced subtle errors into the process. Extra strokes have been added. When placed under ultraviolet or infrared light, stripes can be seen or numbers vanish on supernotes.[URL="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en46"]46[/URL] The most perplexing aspect of supernote production is their low quantity. By 2006, the Secret Service had seized $50 million in supernotes, an average of just $2.8 million per year since the first one was discovered. And since supernotes are usually detected the moment they enter the international banking system, the total quantity produced is probably not significantly higher. Supernotes make up a small percentage of the total counterfeit dollars in circulation. "To provide a point of reference," said Michael Merritt of the U.S. Secret Service, "during fiscal year 2005, the Secret Service seized over $113 million in counterfeit U.S. currency." Not only is the amount of supernotes small relative to less sophisticated counterfeits, but it is insignificant compared to the $760 billion in genuine U.S. currency in circulation.[URL="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en47"]47[/URL] The Swiss police observe, "What defies logic is the limited, or even controlled, amount of 'exclusive' fakes that have appeared over the years. The organization could easily circulate tenfold that amount without raising suspicions." Yet a printing press "like the one in North Korea can produce $50 million worth of bills in a few hours."[URL="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en48"]48[/URL] During the 1970s, Giori replaced its standard model printers in a phased approach with its new "Super" series. The standard model was capable of printing three thousand sheets per hour. Each sheet held 32 notes. If North Korea purchased one of the older standard models, it would have taken just over five hours to produce $50 million. And $2.8 million a year would have required running the press for less than half an hour. Production would be done for the year. The newer Orlof press can spew out 12,000 sheets per hour, each sheet containing sixty notes. Only two and a half minutes would be needed to generate $2.8 million in notes.[URL="http://www.kpolicy.org/projects-spotlight.html#en49"]49[/URL] Clearly, supernotes are being produced for a very specific purpose." Link to the full article [url]http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8919[/url] None of it makes sense, who would spend all that money for the equipment and then not print any substantial quantities. Unfortunately it would make sense for the US or CIA to do this. You can fund operations without Congress approving the money. And it allows us to point the finger at whoever we have a gripe with at the moment.[/QUOTE]
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