I started off in this debate a few posts ago by simply stating that it is not my business to convince anyone of anything. Believe what you want to folks. If someone were to suggest that little green men were coming down to earth in spaceships and brainwashing investors to behave irrationally, I would not bother to respond. The very fact that we are seeing a debate at all is enough to validate that there is some basis for concluding that manipulation is a factor. But I could not care less whether some people agree with my conclusions. Disperse your money however you wish, under any framework that makes you happy with your decision making.

I did not make hints that I had any specific information. I made some observations, and then made some assumptions preceded by "IFS". As in, IF someone could show that it was the same houses that were always behind the selling. I do not know, and have no way to find out, but IF that is true, it would certainly give support to that argument that something is not right.

When others make assumptions going on unknown unknowns, some people write off the discussion because we do not have PROOF. How can the same person than issue open ended questions and dismiss everyone else's opinions because they are not answered? PROVE to me that there is no manipulation. The same tactic works both ways...

If I turn on my TV set and notice it is not working right, I do not need to have an advanced degree in electronics to know. I do not need to prove that something is wrong and identify the specific component that has failed. I simply know that something is not right, and take it to the repairman. Well in the markets, the repairman is the SEC, OSC, BCSC, etc and unfortunately, he is not doing his job.

Denying that there are scams afoot because of a lack of proof is not going to cut it. By the time the proof was on the table for Enron, everyone had already lost their money. By not having proof, it did not make the problem go away.

Manipulation is a fact of life in our markets. It is now coming out of the closets that various government agencies are acting behind the scenes out of 'national interest' to support the dollar, support the market, hold private meetings to determine strategy and in some cases arrive at secret deals to determine the fate of public traded companies, etc. Again, I state that it is beyond my understanding how some people cannot accept that manipulation may trickle all the way down to individual stocks. But believe whatever floats your boat.

cheers!

mike