Geopolitically speaking, we are considered enchanting and as cute as buttons. (If anyone should ask, this would be the most central and forceful argument in this blog) That said, everyone loves our passports. (but this may be more of a curse)
An interesting story on passport abuse was done on CTV's W-Five about allegations of a passport fraud ring within the Canadian High Commission in Hong Kong that operated in the 90's, prior to the British hand-over to main land China. (I recall that the Canadian business community were peeing their pants in excited anticipation of all that investment money that would arrive here.)
But even more fascinating events occurred in 1997, when Mossad agents, carrying Canadian passports, were arrested in Jordan for the attempted assassination of a Hammas leader named Khaled Mashall.
Canadian officials quickly claimed that the passports were forgeries, but Norman Spector, a former Canadian ambassador to Israel, AND chief of staff to former (Yay! Former!) Prime Minister Brian Mulroney made the claim that Canadian secret services routinely dangled passports to other security services. Basically we ain't got much when its time to trade info with the other services, so here, take a few passports, and by the way, would you happen to know what the U.S. is bidding on that grain sale to the Ukraine?
Be reassured that an official signal of our displeasure over this event was proposed and perhaps even delivered.
I also googled for images of everyone else and their passports, but this is all I found for you.
How dare he not want my passport.
What do I have to achieve in order to be issued the cute kitties version of the Canadian passport?
You could probably make one--the question is, is it a crime?
I thought you had unicorns on your passport Sally.
From Passport Canada's FAQ (says nothing about defacement):
Q: What benefit do I get from being the bearer of the newly designed passport?
A: The newly designed passport is one of many changes that are being implemented to ensure that the Canadian passport remains one of the most advanced and secure travel documents in the world.
Those aren't unicorns, they're horses with mailing tubes strapped to their foreheads.
There is a law against defacing money here. The title of the act is something like "defacing the queen's coin". I learned about that in the fourth grade. I also learned what Hansard was in fourth grade. I also learned then, that in the House of Commons, honourable members were not allowed to call each other liars and they could only address the speaker of the house and not each other. That way all debate sounds like it was being conducted by pissy teenagers who aren't speaking to each other.
(I am starting to wonder if the fourth grade was when I reached my intellectual peak)
I have a friend who, when she was eight years old, in the fifties, spent a weekend with another friend's family at their cottage. There was an ancient grandfather, who was basically marginalized by the hurly-burly of the younger generations. My friend spent a lot of time playing checkers with him. He was so grateful for the attention that he rewarded her with a subscription to Hansard. She said it was fairly useless, to someone of her tender years, but she had sense enough to appreciate the gesture. And by the time I knew her (college room-mate) she was an avid reader of it, taking politics and geography, and headed into an international diplomatic career.
There's a string in my back that you can pull to hear me recite Hansard debates.
"Mr. Speaker, I beg leave to table the Annual Report, for the fiscal year ended, March 31, 2004, for the Department of Fisheries."
"Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay."
"Hear hear!"
"Order, please! Order, please! Order, please!."
This makes me very popular at parties. Do you mean to tell me that I could have parlayed that trick into an international diplomatic career?
Regarding the comment about the illegality of defacing money:
When we were in Sudbury last week I bought the paperback SciFi compilation 'Alpha 4' edited by Robert Silverberg (1973). The final story in this collection is '5,271,009' by Alfred Bester (1954). Highly recommended reading when the subject of defacing money is discussed.
A quote from the short story '5,271,009' by Alfred Bester:
"HimmelHerrGottSeiDank! I'm crazy, man, crazy. Eclectic, by God," he told the flabbergasted department store president. "The Weltmann type, nicht warr? My ideal: Goethe. Tout le monde. God damn."
That's defacing the Queen's English.
Hear hear.
Does anyone remember 'spocking' the Canadian 5 dollar bill? A few years ago my partner in crime, S.C. made an art installation featuring hundreds of photocopied 'spocked' 5 dollar bills. S.C.'s personal addition to this transformation of Laurier was the Star Trek insignia placed on Laurier's collar, very subtle! My favorite part of helping with this installation was convincing our local photo copy shop (now out of business) to let us make hundreds of colour copies of the original 'spocked' 5 dollar bill. Of course the government must have caught on to the trend because with the new bills Laurier is not as spockable. Also rumors abound of doing away with the 5 dollar bill all together, gasp!
By way of mnobody:
|
Geopolitically speaking, we are considered enchanting and as cute as buttons. (If anyone should ask, this would be the most central and forceful argument in this blog) That said, everyone loves our passports. (but this may be more of a curse)
An interesting story on passport abuse was done on CTV's W-Five about allegations of a passport fraud ring within the Canadian High Commission in Hong Kong that operated in the 90's, prior to the British hand-over to main land China. (I recall that the Canadian business community were peeing their pants in excited anticipation of all that investment money that would arrive here.)
But even more fascinating events occurred in 1997, when Mossad agents, carrying Canadian passports, were arrested in Jordan for the attempted assassination of a Hammas leader named Khaled Mashall.
Canadian officials quickly claimed that the passports were forgeries, but Norman Spector, a former Canadian ambassador to Israel, AND chief of staff to former (Yay! Former!) Prime Minister Brian Mulroney made the claim that Canadian secret services routinely dangled passports to other security services. Basically we ain't got much when its time to trade info with the other services, so here, take a few passports, and by the way, would you happen to know what the U.S. is bidding on that grain sale to the Ukraine?
Be reassured that an official signal of our displeasure over this event was proposed and perhaps even delivered.
I also googled for images of everyone else and their passports, but this is all I found for you.
How dare he not want my passport.
- L.M. 9-25-2005 7:49 pm
What do I have to achieve in order to be issued the cute kitties version of the Canadian passport?
- sally mckay 9-26-2005 1:34 am
You could probably make one--the question is, is it a crime?
- tom moody 9-26-2005 1:58 am
I thought you had unicorns on your passport Sally.
- L.M. 9-26-2005 2:38 am
From Passport Canada's FAQ (says nothing about defacement):
Q: What benefit do I get from being the bearer of the newly designed passport?
A: The newly designed passport is one of many changes that are being implemented to ensure that the Canadian passport remains one of the most advanced and secure travel documents in the world.
- sally mckay 9-26-2005 2:43 am
Those aren't unicorns, they're horses with mailing tubes strapped to their foreheads.
- sally mckay 9-26-2005 2:45 am
There is a law against defacing money here. The title of the act is something like "defacing the queen's coin". I learned about that in the fourth grade. I also learned what Hansard was in fourth grade. I also learned then, that in the House of Commons, honourable members were not allowed to call each other liars and they could only address the speaker of the house and not each other. That way all debate sounds like it was being conducted by pissy teenagers who aren't speaking to each other.
(I am starting to wonder if the fourth grade was when I reached my intellectual peak)
- L.M. 9-26-2005 3:11 am
I have a friend who, when she was eight years old, in the fifties, spent a weekend with another friend's family at their cottage. There was an ancient grandfather, who was basically marginalized by the hurly-burly of the younger generations. My friend spent a lot of time playing checkers with him. He was so grateful for the attention that he rewarded her with a subscription to Hansard. She said it was fairly useless, to someone of her tender years, but she had sense enough to appreciate the gesture. And by the time I knew her (college room-mate) she was an avid reader of it, taking politics and geography, and headed into an international diplomatic career.
- M.Jean 9-26-2005 4:54 am
There's a string in my back that you can pull to hear me recite Hansard debates.
"Mr. Speaker, I beg leave to table the Annual Report, for the fiscal year ended, March 31, 2004, for the Department of Fisheries."
"Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded, Nay."
"Hear hear!"
"Order, please! Order, please! Order, please!."
This makes me very popular at parties. Do you mean to tell me that I could have parlayed that trick into an international diplomatic career?
- L.M. 9-26-2005 5:47 am
Regarding the comment about the illegality of defacing money:
When we were in Sudbury last week I bought the paperback SciFi compilation 'Alpha 4' edited by Robert Silverberg (1973). The final story in this collection is '5,271,009' by Alfred Bester (1954). Highly recommended reading when the subject of defacing money is discussed.
- Von Bark (guest) 9-26-2005 6:11 am
A quote from the short story '5,271,009' by Alfred Bester:
"HimmelHerrGottSeiDank! I'm crazy, man, crazy. Eclectic, by God," he told the flabbergasted department store president. "The Weltmann type, nicht warr? My ideal: Goethe. Tout le monde. God damn."
- Von Bark (guest) 9-26-2005 6:17 am
That's defacing the Queen's English.
Hear hear.
- L.M. 9-26-2005 6:59 am
Does anyone remember 'spocking' the Canadian 5 dollar bill? A few years ago my partner in crime, S.C. made an art installation featuring hundreds of photocopied 'spocked' 5 dollar bills. S.C.'s personal addition to this transformation of Laurier was the Star Trek insignia placed on Laurier's collar, very subtle! My favorite part of helping with this installation was convincing our local photo copy shop (now out of business) to let us make hundreds of colour copies of the original 'spocked' 5 dollar bill. Of course the government must have caught on to the trend because with the new bills Laurier is not as spockable. Also rumors abound of doing away with the 5 dollar bill all together, gasp!
- rusty_k 9-26-2005 9:37 pm
By way of mnobody:
- L.M. 9-26-2005 10:06 pm