*Ø* Blogmanac | Plan for Terrorism Futures Market Dumped
Only a day after it was disclosed, outraged senators of both parties called for the immediate end to the online trading bazaar that would have rewarded investors able to predict terror attacks and other global unrest. Pentagon officials raced to oblige, saying it would be shut down posthaste.

"It is a very significant mistake," said Senator John W. Warner, Republican of Virginia, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee.

Democrats quickly pointed the finger at John M. Poindexter, a retired rear admiral who was a key official involved in developing the plan.

"This Poindexter program is still a runaway horse that needs to be reined in," said Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, one of the two Democrats who brought the plan to light on Monday.

Admiral Poindexter first gained notoriety in the Iran-contra scandal during the Reagan administration and more recently he oversaw a Pentagon program for extensive electronic surveillance of computer records in the search for terrorists.

Mr. Wyden and Senator Byron L. Dorgan of North Dakota disclosed the existence of the futures program on Monday, calling it grotesque.

Full text at NewYorkTimes