my complaint to asic lodged by fax today, page-46

You're singing down a well buddy, sorry to say...

Like anything in this life one should always be aware of potential sleight of hand and manipulation and factor that into any investment decisions you make - conduct a realistic risk assessment before you buy. Same goes for the unexpected impact of new media, such as social networking. If you can't shoulder the risk or can't afford to lose what you put in you shouldn't be investing in shares in the first place. Sorry to be so blunt, but that's a long-standing adage. I've been hit too since 2008 to the tune of several hundred thousand dollars, but that doesn't prevent me from taking other measures in my investment universe to cushion losses and/or make profits or improvements to my family's lifestyle elsewhere... for example I've been buying the dips in precious meals since 2008 and have offset some of my share losses. Plus I've done a fair amount of retraining and will shortly start a new career - at 47 - it's always a good move to spend money on yourself or paying-down the mortgage when one can. If its any compensation, I hold 80k shares in LYC, showing a $70k loss - but that's ok because I'll be holding them for 10 years, so not phased by short-term movements in sp, in fact quite the opposite - if you can, and have the cojones, go buy those dips & play the game like the institutions do. Best wishes ;)