I don't really think it's justifiable to target short...

I don't really think it's justifiable to target short selling. As annoying as it is, it's just another tool for trading. There will be people who bet against you, that's part of being in the markets. And just like if there is lots of excitement about a stock the longs will bid the price up, if there's lots of concern about a stock the shorts will push it down. There's nothing wrong or unfair about that, it's just supply and demand. Prices will naturally move when shorters short and longs buy.

Both methods are prone to manipulation, with "long" investing actually having substantially more examples of manipulation (eg the good old pump and dumps). I don't think we should ban something because we don't like it (more regulation in markets is not a good thing) and if we are trying to address manipulation, regulators must focus on those who have long positions first rather than shorters.

Nonetheless, anyone who is short this company is setting themselves up for plenty of pain I reckon - the market will punish them for their poor calls (as it should).