Up front I realize I'm sticking my chin out with this posting...

Up front I realize I'm sticking my chin out with this posting
but here goes anyway. Given the number of shares outstanding
plus the low price of our shares, and the large number of shareholders
who have very large positions, a significant number of shares currently
shorted has nothing to do with manipulation.

There is one very legitimate reason to short a stock. A company or individual
investor who has a very large position has developed some concerns related to
the company, or the industry, or the overall market and wants to protect themselves
but not sell shares. Maybe they don't want to sell for tax reasons or because a large
sale could dramatically impact the share price, etc. So, they gradually begin a
program of short selling to protect themselves against the concerns they have.

One issue in particular has probably contributed to this shorting activity
more than anything else; namely, the havoc Morgan Stanley created with their
over supply commentary. Once these very large shareholders become convinced
that this over supply analysis is rubbish, they will all begin a gradual reduction
of their short positions. This seems to me to be a sensible activity that has nothing
to do with manipulation.