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July 29, 2003

Extremely Asinine Idea

Have you heard about this?

The latest brainchild of a contentious Pentagon program — an online gambling parlor that allows anonymous investors to make money predicting assassinations and terrorist attacks — is drawing fire from Capitol Hill.

The Terrorist Information Awareness office will open the waging scheme Friday and begin signing up 1,000 traders to deposit funds for transactions. In a report to Congress, TIA said the program will provide the Defense Department "with market-based techniques for avoiding surprise and predicting future events."

Online trading begins Oct. 1, and by Jan. 1, at least 10,000 traders will be able to participate in the Policy Analysis Market.

W.T.F? Whose completely asinine idea is this?

A spokesman for DARPA issued a written statement that the agency has "undertaken this research as part of its effort to investigate the broadest possible set of new ways to prevent terrorist attacks and will continue to reevaluate the technical promise of the program before committing additional funds beyond Fiscal Year 2003."

The program will explore new ways "to help analysts predict and thereby prevent terrorist attacks through the use of future market mechanisms," the statement said.

"Research indicates that markets are extremely efficient, effective and timely aggregators of dispersed and even hidden information. Futures markets have proven themselves to be good at predicting such things as election results; they are often better than expert opinions," the statement said.

Riii-iight. And get this: They've already spent $800,000 of our tax dollars on this little hare-brained scheme....and are asking for 8 million more.

Them boys need to put down their crack pipes and get their damn hands out of our pockets.

Posted by Rita at July 29, 2003 05:44 AM

Comments

Yeaaaah.......uh huh.

Excuse the fuck outta me while I grab my ClueClub™ and beat some sense into these assholes for using MY tax dollars when there are kids who go hungry, sleep in the streets, and who need major medical treatment.

Posted by: Da Goddess at July 30, 2003 03:17 AM

Aha! Another intelligent person who recognizes this is not the greatest idea since sliced bread.

Posted by: Rita at July 30, 2003 07:57 AM