But unlike the Americans, who have gone decades without tracking their gold supplies, the Canadians have known that they were getting it from a country where cocaine trafficking, paramilitary violence and the gold trade are intertwined.

Yet they continued to call it North American gold.

They did so, officials explained, because before the Colombian gold arrives in Canada, a Texas intermediary mixes it with American gold. In the Mint’s eyes, the resulting mix is entirely North American.

This fiction, and the fact that perpetuating it is completely legal, is an example of how even the world’s most credible dealers allow tainted gold into the mainstream market.

Jfc. When did the idea of lying become the government-approved way of things??

Nevermind ... I know.

[–] OrteilGenou@lemmy.world 10 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Hey, Colombia is in North America!

[–] MajorMajormajormajor@lemmy.ca 16 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Looks good to me!

[–] panda_abyss@lemmy.ca 9 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

What projection is this? Is it like a modified Mercator or am I just so not used to both Mercator and upside down this looks insane?

I mean, Alaska is bigger than 50% of the contiguous US.

[–] MajorMajormajormajor@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 days ago

No idea, I just searched for "upside down map of north and south america". It does look particularly wacky though.

[–] HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

It's really in South America tho.

[–] OrteilGenou@lemmy.world 5 points 3 days ago

I mean, if you want to go with facts, and history, and maps, and stuff, sure... But from a vibe-geography standpoint, it's in North America.

Also Panama used to be part of Colombia and Panama is in North America so I think we can grandfather Colombia in as long as they're also willing to dig a trench across their country, or something.