Terror market to reopen

I'm stealing this entire post from kos.
It's just too incredible:
"Amazing to believe, but a sharp-eyed reader has found that the Policy
Analysis Market -- that Pentagon-funded and Poindexter-led futures
market -- will reopen in March.

You remember this particular DARPA project:

The program is called the Policy Analysis Market. DARPA
said it was part of a research effort "to investigate the broadest
possible set of new ways to prevent terrorist attacks." Traders would
have bought and sold futures contracts -- just like energy traders do
now in betting on the future price of oil. But the contracts in this
case would have been based on what might happen in the Middle East in
terms of economics, civil and military affairs or specific events, such
as terrorist attacks. Holders of a futures contract that came true
would have collected the proceeds of traders who put money into the
market but predicted wrong. A graphic on the market's Web page Monday
showed hypothetical futures contracts in which investors could trade on
the likelihood that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat would be
assassinated or Jordanian King Abdullah II would be overthrown.
Although the website described the Policy Analysis Market as a Middle
East market, the graphic also included the possibility of a North Korea
missile attack.

The announcement at the Policy Analysis Market website now brags that
it will reopen "free of government involvement." The idea is still
grotesque, and the site would still allow terrorists to make money off
their own attacks. Bet on an attack, conduct the attack, cash the
check. Beyond ridiculous.
Who is behind the new site? The domain is registered to Net Exchange, which originally developed the market with Pentagon funding. So who is funding the market now?

I'm not a journalist. But someone should find out."

Posted by flow Frazao on November 15, 2003 at 11:20 PM | Permalink