Tim May[SMTP:timcmay@got.net]

On Tuesday, July 29, 2003, at 09:26 AM, Bill Stewart wrote:

...

Also, NYT Article was http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/29/politics/29TERR.html?th

But it sounds like they've chickened out, because various people freaked about the implications. (And they only got as far as it being "an incentive to commit terrorism", without getting to "a funding method for terrorism" or to "Assassination Politics".)

Not to mention the obvious problems with letting government agents bid on things like when various unwanted foreign leaders would be assassinated.

Over on Dave Farber's IP list, it's been pointed out that there is a pre-existing, live, real-money market in futures on these types of events. Go over to www.tradesports.com, and click on 'Current Events' under 'Trading Catagories' on the left. Drill down and you'll find things like 'WMDs will be found in Iraq on or before Sept 31', the value of which has dropped from 80 to 25 over the last few months. Peter Trei