Replies to post #134979 on Zeev's Turnips Patch-No Politics (ZEEV)

[TJ Parker]

goodness. we've forgotten how to build things and now intend to protect ourselves by setting up a new casino. i remember when darpa used to build stuff. like, say, the internet.

[langostino]

ok augie

If you want to barb by suggesting my brain is on the barbie, may I suggest you leave the glass bubble in Nirvana and join the real world? Did you think I was incapable of comprehending the bogus premise floated out there by this den of theives?

II've spent 20 years in politics, many of those in a professional capacity. Every scam has a rational (or semi-rational) cover. If you seriously believe this is about helping the Pentagon predict terrorist attacks I've got some waterfront property in Florida and bridge up in Brooklyn to sell you.

If the Pentagon wants free market produced data on the likelihood of terrorist attacks and specific vulnerabilities, it's all there in the insurance industry actuarial data and pricing decisions.

The notion that a market is going to pre-sage a terrorist attack, presupposes that the market will have superior information. If you believe that's going to be the case, you have to ask yourself, where the market participants are getting the information. Will it be new information? Or will they simply find ways to corrupt the pre-existing information channels. Do you really believe some schmoe on Wall Street is going to "gather" better information than the CIA and Pentagon? Without corrupting and stealing from their intelligence sources?

Perhaps more imporantantly, surely you are fully cognizant of the market's tendency to react visciously to false rumors. Can you imagine the damange done by creating a market like this that will GUARANTEED generate rumors aplenty -- most false.

Your question about whether I think it's a good idea to try and prevent terrorist attacks is not only insulting, it's patently absurd. Engage your brain next time. THINK about how this would really work. Even if you're hopelessly naive about how the political world really works, the mechanics of how the "echo chamber" would have to work for this to provide superior information to what CIA, FBI, NSA, Pentagon, etc. source develop ought to be enough to lay this thing bare as the scam that it is.

Then again, maybe you like market manipulation and corruption and would like to promote the cover story for getting more of it?