The source is interesting - the FAZ is roughly (very roughly) the German version of the Wall Street Journal, and is proably the most pro-American major media outlet (not that many Americans are likely to understand that - the FAZ doesn't feel the need to hide reality to spare the feelings of torturers and kidnappers, for example). It is also the hometown newspaper, so to speak, of the European Central Bank and the Bundesbank.

With such stories, you never know where the hall of mirrors leads - as the FAZ, like any major newspaper, is one player in never-ending games.

But still, if there was a German newspaper you would expect to dismiss such a story if printed in any other German source, it is the FAZ, which makes the sourcing alone notable.

Thanks for the perspective. I had been inclined to dismiss this since I didn't have a clue about the reliability of the source. I'll be interested to see where this leads. If the story has legs, you would expect others to pick it up.

I guess they started feeling bad about all those drugs making it into the country so they started printing money instead....oh wait...they still are. Must be making some nice coin. I take it this is used to pay warlords and such, but where do the bills show up when they are detected? I mean these are those notes that make it past all but the best scanners, right?

http://thefinancedude.blogspot.com