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Pentagon Lets You Bid on Terrorism?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the too-real-for-words dept.

Elysdir writes "DARPA is creating an idea futures market, the Policy Analysis Market, to try to predict events in the Middle East. See Bloomberg article for more info." Read this article. I mean it. This is amazing. Update: 07/29 14:45 GMT by J : The NYT story claims "The White House also altered the Web site so that the potential events ... that were visible earlier in the day ... could no longer be seen," but those example images are still being served: Jordanian overthrow, bidding on assassinations, cool graphics... Update: 07/29 16:44 GMT by M : Looks like the publicity was too much.

10 of 846 comments (clear)

  1. Convenient container by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Please place all american-bashing statments under this comment. Thank You.

    1. Re:Convenient container by Ominous+Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Where should we put our All-American Bashing-statements? You know, the ones that insult all other countries because we're #1?

      --
      Ceci n'est pas une sig.
    2. Re:Convenient container by wirelessbuzzers · · Score: 5, Funny

      Where should we put our All-American Bashing-statements? You know, the ones that insult all other countries because we're #1?

      Dunno. How 'bout under that .sig you copied from a French artist?

      --
      I hereby place the above post in the public domain.
  2. Considering how much they pay CIA personell by typical+geek · · Score: 4, Funny

    I can't wait for a few middle east specialists to start skewing data to make their bets pay off.

    "Woot! Car Bomb in Riyadh! That pays 100-1, guess I shouldn't have sat on that report about Saudi terrorists."

  3. question? by Yaruar · · Score: 5, Funny

    If al-quieda sign up will they get taken to court for insider trading?

    --
    Working for the (other) man
  4. Quality!!! by iainl · · Score: 5, Funny

    And you thought that the "short the dying guy" strategy on Hollywood Stock Exchange was a slightly sick game to play.

    So this is what they mean when they talk about a "peace dividend". I never realised it was quite so literal.

    --
    "I Know You Are But What Am I?"
  5. Let me get this straight by Morgahastu · · Score: 4, Funny

    They want the same people who made the dot com bubble decide what happens in the middle-east?

    Just tell them about Wi-Fi startups in the middle east and they'll throw money at it...

  6. I can see the dialogue now... by Noryungi · · Score: 4, Funny

    Rumsfeld: How is it going?

    Expert: Not very good.

    Rumsfeld: What do you mean, "not very good"??

    Expert: Well... The market experts all seem to think attacking Iran is a bad idea, that staying in Iraq is a bad idea, and the probability that G.W. Bush will lose the 2004 election has reached 94.7%

    Rumsfeld: All Right! They have told us exactly what the surrender cheese-eqting monkeys don't want us to do! Therefore, let's do it!! Iran, here we come -- let's blast some mullah back to Kingdom come!

    Expert: But uh, sir...

    Rumsfeld: Great work, Johnson! Keep an eye on those Frenchies and Arabs for us, and you'll get that nice little raise we talked about! Ah, who needs the CIA when you can have contrarian web sites to point the way at the best interests of the USA?!

    [Donald Rumsfeld leaves the room with his entourage]

    --
    The right to offend is far more important than the right not to be offended. (Rowan Atkinson)
  7. Re:Predicted in SF by ryanvm · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yeah, it's also called "Poll the Audience" on Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

  8. Re:No kidding! by idfrsr · · Score: 4, Funny
    The statisticians may not find anything...

    You don't know any statisticians do you....

    --
    "The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away" -Tom Waits