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Study Finds Cannabis Triggers
Transient Schizophrenia-Like Symptoms YALE News Release, June 14, 2004 New Haven, Conn. -- The principal active ingredient in marijuana causes transient schizophrenia-like symptoms ranging from suspiciousness and delusions to impairments in memory and attention, according to a Yale research study. Lead author D. Cyril D'Souza, M.D., associate professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine, said the study was an attempt to clarify a long known association between cannabis and psychosis in the hopes of finding another clue about the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. "Just as studies with amphetamines and ketamine advanced the notion that brain systems utilizing the chemical messengers dopamine and NMDA receptors may be involved in the pathophysiology in schizophrenia, this study provides some tantalizing support for the hypotheses that the brain receptor system that cannabis acts on may be involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia," he said. "Clearly, further work is needed to test this hypothesis." D'Souza and his co-researchers administered various doses of delta-9-THC, the main active ingredient in cannabis, to subjects who were screened for any vulnerability to schizophrenia. Some subjects developed symptoms resembling those of schizophrenia that lasted approximately one half hour to one hour. These symptoms included suspiciousness, unusual thoughts, paranoia, thought disorder, blunted affect, reduced spontaneity, reduced interaction with the interviewer, and problems with memory and attention. THC also induced euphoria and increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol. There were no side effects in the study participants one, three and six months after the study. The findings of this study go along with several other lines of evidence that suggest a contribution of cannabis and/or abnormalities in the brain cannabinoid receptor system to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Co-authors included Edward Perry, M.D., Lisa MacDougal, Yola Ammerman, Yu-Te Wu, Gabriel Braley, Ralitza Gueorguieva, and John Krystal, M.D., of Yale, and Thomas Cooper of Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. Citation: Neuropsychopharmacology, Advanced Online Publication (June 2, 2004) |
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The Tribulations of Clinical Trials
Efforts are afoot to improve the output of the drug research pipeline | By Susan Warner A plain tablet in a no-name blister-pack. It could save a life. Or maybe not. Since 1994, the Food and Drug Administration has approved year-to-year increases in the number of new candidate drugs for human testing in the United States, rising from 3,350 in 1996 to 3,900 in 2002.[1] But the number of drugs that successfully negotiate the trial process and ultimately receive FDA approval is frustratingly low. Despite pharmaceutical companies' and the National Institutes of Health's research budgets doubling since 1993, the number of approvals for new drugs with a novel chemical structure fell from 53 in 1996 to 21 in 2003. "Currently, a striking feature of this path [to market] is the difficulty, at any point, of predicting ultimate success with a novel candidate," states a recent FDA report.[2] And herein lies a large part of the problem: While new technologies have lead to significant breakthroughs at the front-end of the drug development process, the same hasn't happened at the drug-trial stage. "Not enough applied scientific work has been done in creating new tools to get fundamentally better answers about how the safety and effectiveness of new products can be demonstrated, in a faster time frame, with more certainty, and at lower costs. As a result, the vast majority of investigational products that enter clinical trials fail," the FDA states in its report. Other issues that contribute to the paucity of new drug approvals include: poor trial design (see Feature | From P Valves to Bayesian Statistics, It's All in the Numbers), the shortage of adequately trained clinicians, problems with surrogate endpoints, the industry's reluctance to move toward a more streamlined approach to data collection, and attracting enough patients to fill the trials. BEYOND OBSERVATION The foundation of the modern clinical trial process was laid in 1938 with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. In the early 1960s, the current system of clinical trials evolved, in which new drugs pass through three distinct phases of controlled testing for safety and efficacy, says Paul Herrling, head of global research at Novartis. Historically, physicians with an interest in research worked with drugs in small patient groups to develop treatment strategies based largely on experience and anecdotal evidence. Edward Jenner, in 1796, determined that the cow-pox virus could thwart small pox and about a century later, Bayer chemist Felix Hoffmann learned about the pain-relief aspects of aspirin: He gave it to his father, who had arthritis. The three phases progressively involve more people who are tested over longer periods of time. Phase I assesses how the compound affects the body: how it is absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and excreted. A typical study involves between 20 and 100 healthy volunteers; about 70% of new drugs pass this stage. Phase II studies assess the effectiveness of the novel drug in treating patients. Several hundred subjects are generally involved in these proof-of-concept studies, and 33% of the drugs pass muster. Subsequent Phase II studies assess the most appropriate dose. In Phase III, hundreds, maybe thousands, of patients take the drug or a placebo to confirm both efficacy and safety. Phase III studies frequently are longer in duration in order to provide additional reassurance regarding safety. Between 25% and 30% of the drugs clear this hurdle. Thus, only about 8% of drug submissions make it to market. Herrling says that today's more scientific process is necessary and appropriate, but it shifts much of drug development away from the clinic until the final stages. This remoteness from patients, he says, invites a higher attrition rate. Mark B. McClellan, former head of the FDA and now administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, agrees. In the 1980s and 1990s, researchers followed a simple path to a receptor target and then synthesized the molecule to fit it, he said in an interview with The Scientist last year. Now, the process is more complex. "Most product developers are testing compounds on glass slides doing microarray work, seeing if there is an impact on gene expression," McClellan said. "The problem is, [we're] not developing a whole lot of knowledge on what it means for patients." To help, the FDA outlines in its March report a goal of developing new, publicly available scientific tools such as assays, standards, computer-modeling techniques, biomarkers, and new clinical-trial endpoints that are designed to make the drug development and testing processes more effective. A further confounding factor regarding the paucity of new drugs is what biotechnology analyst Brian Rye calls a poverty of riches: So many molecules to investigate, and so many of them miss their targets. "[Researchers are] having a hard time deciphering which of those targets will be validated," says Rye, of Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia. Consequently, it is not the drugs that are failing per se, says Eric Rowinsky, an oncology researcher who directs the Institute for Drug Development, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio. "We have to select the disease and develop the methodologies to identify the tumors in which the target is really being turned on," he says. The molecular dissection of disease, to determine the importance of the target that is driving the cancer, is desperately needed; it goes hand in hand with the development of targeted therapies. "We should be conducting clinical trials in those tumors in which the target is functionally important, or in those tumors in which the target is driving the malignancy." TIME, MONEY, AND TRIALS The stakes in drug development are high. It takes nearly eight years to develop a drug, almost twice as long as it took 20 years ago. The cost of failure can be mighty. Last fall, Merck & Co. shocked financial markets when it announced it would discontinue work on a promising new antidepressant, aprepitant, which had already received marketing approval as an antinausea drug, after it failed in Phase III trials. Shares in the company's stock tumbled 6.5% in a single day. Even the costs of success are staggeringly large: more than $1 billion per drug, from concept to market, according to a report by the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, cited by the FDA. Rye says the number seems high, but adds that Pharma could be including the costs of failed molecules. Despite this, the FDA identifies two key issues that will inevitably cost more in terms of money and time. The first is the testing of a wider range of doses of candidate drugs; the other is the detection of rare adverse effects. FDA staff and some academics suspect that one issue contributing to Phase III failures may be that companies do not conduct adequate dose-response studies in Phase II. Typically, dosing is a trade-off. Companies want to use a high enough dose to guarantee effectiveness, but not so much that it triggers safety issues. Robert Temple, who directs the Office of Medical Policy in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, says companies are sometimes reluctant to spend additional time and money testing dosage. "Sometimes if you just plunge forward and study a single dose in Phase III and you get it right, you can save yourself a couple years and be out there ahead of somebody else," he says. Susan Ellenberg, director of the Office of Biostatistics and Epidemiology in the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, recalls an early AZT study that showed its effectiveness in treating HIV. The results were so good that the study was canceled. "Later on we found out the dose was twice as high as needed to be," she says. "Everyone was glad we got it on the market quicker, but it proved so toxic a lot of people wouldn't take it." The issue of safety can be dealt with better if the drug trials were larger, the FDA says. "Clinical trials ... in most cases are neither large enough nor long enough to provide all information on a drug's safety. At the time of approval for marketing, the safety database of a new drug will often include 3,000 to 4,000 exposed individuals, an insufficient number to detect rare adverse events. For example, in order to have a 95% chance of detecting an adverse event with an incidence of 1 per 10,000 patients, an exposed population of 30,000 patients would be required."[4] Considering the struggle that clinical researchers have now in trying to attract subjects, the FDA's position may be unrealistic. Rare side effects, and those that develop with chronic use or that have a long latency period are difficult or impossible to detect. Furthermore, drug trials rarely include special populations, such as children and the elderly, who are often taking several types of medications. And, trials do not always represent the population that may be exposed to the drug after approval.[5] Put yourself in the shoes of a small-to-midsize biotech, Rye says. On the one hand is a promising drug; a large trial would be ideal. But the patent has a finite shelf life, and the costs of signing everyone up, including patients, doctors, and centers, are significant. "You have got to balance," says Rye. A further potential hurdle: Congress recently ordered the FDA to give new guidance on safety procedures. The agency is considering mandatory so-called risk-management plans, which would require additional safety information, including larger safety studies to screen earlier for potential adverse reactions that may affect only a few people. Formal rulings on risk- management programs are expected this year. Until now, these risk-management programs were negotiated as part of the approval process. Ira Loss, executive vice president at Washington Analysis, an equity research firm, points to Accutane, which has had additional safety requirements and warning labels attached to it because of its danger to pregnant women. Lotronex, the drug for irritable bowel syndrome that the FDA withdrew, was allowed back on the market only after its manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), complied with a risk-management program. "Industry doesn't like it because it is more red tape and a burden, but I think we have come to a point where every product will have a risk-management program of some sort," says Loss. TRIAL MANAGEMENT WOES A noted measure of the relative inefficiency of the drug industry is that it did not move toward electronic data management until recently. The pharmaceutical sector lags behind other industries in developing computer-data capabilities, mainly because it has been successful under the old paper-based system, says Glenn Gormley, vice president of US clinical development at the British pharmaceutical firm, AstraZeneca. "We've been doing clinical trials more or less the same way for 20 years. The technology is there; it's just a matter of adopting it." Last year researchers wrote in The Journal of the American Medical Association that "although cost-benefit models of hypothetical computer-based patient record systems have shown a significant cost advantage, the entire healthcare industry continues to invest significantly less in information technology (IT) than any other information-intensive industry."[6] But there is movement. Novartis, for example, designed its data-management system and has been using it since December 2001. The company reported saving $65 million (US) in 2003.[1] Another problem is actual trial implementation. There are too few researchers to conduct them, and currently, only 8% of principal investigators conducting industry-sponsored clinical trials are younger than 40 years of age. For the past 30 years, many top physicians have turned away from going into medical research, says David Korn, senior vice president for biomedical and health sciences research at the Association of American Medical Colleges. "Bright MDs and PhDs chose to go after the experimental models. Doing research on people is difficult and, one could say, heavily burdened by regulations." And then there's the issue of trying to attract, and keep, trial participants in the first place; roughly 5 million or so people are enrolled currently. The American Cancer Society says that only 5% of adult patients with cancer participate in drug trials. MOVING FORWARD Many anticipate that a mixture of new technologies and improved regulations will increase the efficiency of the clinical trials. Some companies are trying to improve the chances of success by further studying drugs before they reach the trial stage. "The companies who will be able to do this efficiently and fast will have a huge advantage over those who can't," says Gormley. AstraZeneca and other pharmaceutical companies are changing their drug-design strategies to include what's called front-loading risk: to evaluate risk early on and find ways to test for fatal flaws in a compound.[7] Ron Krall, GSK's senior vice president of global development, says the company is putting a new emphasis on improving the quality of lead drugs. Using new high-throughput screening equipment, GSK is sifting through more compounds to find those that generate a stronger response to disease targets. "One of the things that makes it difficult to do clinical trials is when the molecule is messy: It's not very selective or it has different mechanisms of action or produces a lot of effects," says Krall. "As we get more potency ... and more specificity in our molecules, that allows us to really narrow the focus of our clinical trials and improve their quality." Like other companies, GSK is applying pharmacogenetics, the study of genetic variation underlying differential response to drugs, particularly genes involved in drug metabolism. "We don't know for sure that this is going to be successful in improving the efficacy and safety of our medicines, but we're confident it will pay off in identifying sets of patients who have improved efficacy and safety profiles," says Krall. He adds that the company is using large patient databases to narrow down the investigators with whom it wants to work. "A lot of the noise in clinical trials comes from the differences in patients that exist among the centers." A controversial issue involves the use of surrogate endpoints and markers as proxies for the ultimate endpoint--disease eradication, or longer survival--which could take years to prove. Some patient activists say that these endpoints may ultimately hurt patients by creating useless new drug therapies. For example, postmenopausal hormones can reduce cholesterol, an endpoint that researchers hoped would prove the benefit of using hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to prevent heart disease. However, when large-scale trials were run through the Women's Health Initiative, it was shown that HRT lead to increased cardiovascular problems. Adopting a new biomarker or surrogate endpoint for effectiveness standards can speed up clinical development. For example, the adoption of CD4 cell counts and, subsequently, measures of viral load as surrogate markers for anti-HIV drug approvals, allowed the rapid clinical workup and approval of life-extending antiviral drugs, with time from first human use to market as short as 3.5 years. Barbara Brenner, executive director of Breast Cancer Action in San Francisco, says that using surrogate endpoints to reach approval could be tantamount to guesswork. "The problem we're now seeing is a move to yet earlier stages in the biology of cancer and the use of surrogates for the endpoints we're looking for," she says. "It is mind-boggling that this is the direction of cancer-drug approval." The FDA's Temple acknowledges that there are disagreements. "We approve some drugs based on endpoints that some people don't think are as good as we should have," he says. "But there are [others] who would argue that what we should be doing is [shooting for] survival ... We've not accepted that position." Endpoints other than survival were the basis for 73% of all cancer drug approvals (including accelerated approvals) between 1990 and 2002, and for 67% of all regular (nonaccelerated) cancer drug approvals during the same time period.3 Another goal is to improve interactions between companies and the FDA. Companies complain about delays and multiple reviews, although most acknowledge the process sped up when the Prescription Drug User Fee Act of 1992 was passed. The law, which was reauthorized in 2002, requires companies to fund FDA staffing in return for guaranteed review times. Even with the new funds, the agency can be overwhelmed, pharmaceutical executives say. "What we would like to do is interact regularly with the agency, but they have many companies asking to do the same thing," says Gormley. Former FDA director McClellan says that early contact can help in reducing cost and time. In trying to avoid multiple cycle reviews, one of the FDA's new initiatives is a test project in which the agency is meeting earlier with the drug companies and giving them earlier feedback on applications, even on ideas still in development. Discovering viable, agreeable solutions to make the drugs flow more freely and quicker through the pipelines will involve a host of remedies, including tolerance. "I think we are going to have to be more patient," says Rowinsky. "We live in a short-term society. Investors are screaming for results right away, bean counters are screaming for big numbers right away; we're often slaves to investors. ... Patience is a virtue." References 1. "Clinical grants market decelerates," CenterWatch, 10:1-2, April 2003. 2. www.fda.gov/oc/initiatives/criticalpath/whitepaper.html#fig7 3. ASCO/FDA Lung Cancer Endpoints Workshop, April 15, 2003; for surrogate endpoint numbers, see www.fda.gov/cder/drug/cancer_endpoints/agenda.pdf 4. www.fda.gov/medwatch/articles/dig/recognit.htm 5. www.fda.gov/medwatch/articles/dig/trials.htm 6. N.S. Sung et al., "Central challenges facing the National Clinical Research Enterprise," JAMA, 289:1278-87, 2003. 7. S. Warner, "AstraZeneca early-risk strategy on trial," The Scientist, 17[22]:38, Nov. 17, 2003. |
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AVR118’s a remarkable drug Treats infections by many a known bug It fattens the cachectic Helps the apopleptic And wipes wrinkles right off your mug AVR118, it is said Is quite a wonderful med If what I heard is true You can treat celiac sprue And basal carcinomas on a forehead AVR118, there’s no doubt Is probably good for your gout A couple of doses Cures runny noses And also cold sores on your mouth AVR118 sure sounds like snake oil But many a disease it will foil Use it for colitis, Inflammed cellulitis- It works wonders applied to a boil AVR118- it’s just great! Grows new hair on your bald pate It’s superb for the flu For blood glucose too And helps skinny people gain weight AVR118 - a.k.a Bregman’s Brew Is there no end to what it can do? From warts and scabies Herpes simplex and rabies, Arthritis and multiple sclerosis too! AVR118’s a wonderful lotion I believe, I do have a notion It cured my doggy’s distemper And controls my bad temper And you can use it to quell a loose motion AVR118- that peptide-filled goop Can just put an end to the croup It treats every condition Of immune dysfunction It’s better than Mom’s chicken soup! And no matter who’s doing the talkin’ Whether Hirschman or Eli or Hawkin’ We’re told, “Just you wait’ This drug is just great! This ain’t no snake oil that we’re hawkin’ “ “Wonder Drug” is a term I could bandy But where’s the elusive new IND ADVR stock’s one off which I thought I’d get rich- I’d sure like to shop Prada and Fendi ! |
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mind- My take on the use of the
word "salvage" in that context, is that it relates directly to the salvage
of the cachexic condition. It is usual to perform CBC, liver panel, and perhaps a few other baseline bloodwork tests for reference. It's possible that T-Cell & Viral Load measures were done at this point. But, it appears that inasmuch as the clinical endpoints would be directed to the observation of the relief of the cachexic condition, (as reported by ADVR), there would be no reason to perform the T-Cell & Viral Load tests, other than a kinda "FYI". Which, is IMO shortsighted, considering that higher T-Cells & lower VL during the course of the observations could help to establish some measure of antiviral efficacy. And, then again, perhaps it was done and the results were considered negligible. Which in turn would be considered "negative" by scientific standards, and would NOT be reported. From where it stands now, it's possible that the company is stepping away from antiviral claims, (at least where this particular trial is concerned). IMO if those measurements were taken and showed positive results.....it would have been reported as such..... Perhaps we are due for a name change, maybe "Advanced VIRAL Research" is not where we are at anymore..... My 2 cents.....-kevtod |
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June 14, 2004. (FinancialWire)
FinancialWire learned several months ago that “Dateline,” the investigatory
TV program aired by General Electric’s (NYSE: GE) NBC unit, has been
preparing a blockbuster expose of “Stockgate,” the term coined by
FinancialWire to encompass the massive naked shorting scandal, that could
cause the entire financial community to implode, but FinancialWire had
honored requests from participants to keep the plans for the program
confidential. That has changed now following a story by The Faulking Truth website. “It's been called the biggest financial scandal in the history of the world, with incurred losses estimated by some experts at well over $1 trillion dollars. It's a scandal that involves over 1,200 offshore hedge funds, over 150 US brokers, [including Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCH), A.G. Edwards, Inc. (NYSE: AGE), and ETrade Group, Inc. (NYSE: ET)], and has already bankrupted over 7,000 US companies in the past six years,” said Mark Faulk in an article at http://www.faulkingtruth.com/article/?Investing101&1005 , entitled “Is Dateline Losing Credibility Over StockGate Story Delays?” “According to many of the lawsuits filed to date, the crooks include terrorist groups and organized crime syndicates. Sources say that this scandal, which involves an intricate system of selling electronic counterfeit shares of stock in an effort to destroy the market value of small publically traded companies by utilizing a method known as ‘naked short selling’, will eventually implicate almost every major broker in America, all of the governing bodies that oversee trading, and will extend into Canada and Europe,” stated the article. “Amazingly, the SEC has admitted it had been ‘observing’ naked short selling for six years, but up to now has done absolutely nothing to put a halt to it. “As The Faulking Truth has written about and followed this story over the past few months, one nagging question has remained: where is the national press coverage on this issue? Aside from a few recent articles in national newspapers, which have barely scratched the surface of this worldwide scandal, why has this been largely ignored by the mainstream media? Why hasn't one of the major network investigative shows put together an in depth expose' to blow this scandal wide open? “Incredibly, we have confirmed that Dateline has done that very thing. According to sources involved with the story, NBC's flagship news program has filmed over 100 hours of explosive footage on the ‘StockGate’ scandal, which includes evidence that will ‘blow the roof off this scandal’, stated Faulk. “There is only one problem. Originally scheduled to air in January or early February, they have postponed the show repeatedly, and now plan to air it ‘sometime in August.’ Even more incredibly, we have learned that they have signed an exclusivity contract with the two law firms that have filed the class action lawsuits that deal with the naked shorting scandal, in effect suppressing the public release of even more information about the scandal. “After publicly speaking out about the scandal early on, attorneys John O'Quinn (of the Houston law firm of O’Quinn, Laminack and Pirtle), and Wes Christian (of Christian, Smith, Wukoson and Jewell) have been uncharacteristically quiet for the past few months. That's because Dateline has kept a muzzle on the two attorneys until the ‘StockGate’ segment airs. “However, lead attorney Wes Christian has filmed over twenty hours of exclusive interviews for the Dateline segment. Although exclusivity contracts involving the media aren't unusual, this situation is a bit different. This scandal is ongoing, and in fact seems to be accelerating in the past couple of months, even after new NASD regulations supposedly aimed at putting a halt to the corruption went into affect on April 1st.” FinancialWire has learned that Dateline may be pointing a large finger of conflict at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission itself, which reportedly receives a slice of every transaction fee as part of its budget. According to court filings supported by the O’Quinn/Christian network, almost $1 billion annually is received by the Depository Trust and Clearing Corp. for its “Stock Borrow Program,” which the lawsuits claim is just a fancy name for counterfeiting, as the DTCC purportedly lends out many multiples of the actual certificates in the float. Apparently the SEC receives a transaction fee for each transaction facilitated by these loans of non-existent certificates, which could knock a hole in its budget should the revenues from the practice be halted. The North American Securities Administrators Association, comprised of state and Canadian regulators, has pointedly told the SEC that either it must rethink its cozy DTCC relationship, or it hints, some of its more aggressive state practitioners (think Eliot Spitzer) may do the rethinking for the SEC. “The shelving of this important expose' by Dateline NBC raises some very important moral and ethical issues, in this writer's opinion,” said Faulk. “If in fact they have collected information that would help to put a stop to the massive criminal activity that is robbing American companies and their stockholders of literally hundreds of millions of dollars every day, aren't they at the very least morally obligated to release that information in a timely fashion? And since they have postponed the show for the last four months, shouldn't they release attorneys O'Quinn and Christian from their exclusivity contract, so that they can disseminate information that might be vital in helping the victimized companies, their shareholders, and the various governing bodies put to end this ongoing corruption? And if in fact the money being stolen from honest Americans is being used to fund terrorism and organized crime, then shouldn't Dateline immediately make public any information that could help put an end to those insidious activities? Dateline declined to respond to repeated email inquiries for this article. “The question remains: why has Dateline been so slow to expose this monumental ongoing scandal, even as the corruption continues? There is some debate on that point. Some sources believe that they have ‘caved in to political pressure from the Right, who see this as a political time bomb for the Bush Administration’, while C. Austin Burrell, who has provided litigation and research support to O'Quinn and Christian in their lawsuits, believes that Dateline has it's own political and journalistic agenda, and plans to air the show in August to coincide with the Democratic Convention. “The scheduled August air date concerns Burrell as well. ‘August is a dead month, with half of all people on vacation, and the other half not paying attention. It is not an appropriate month to release a piece with such a business focus’,” the article quoted him as saying. “Still others close to the story say it is the complexity and constantly evolving nature of the story that makes it difficult to edit and air. According to Burrell, ‘This is not a difficult story, and it needs to get out there now. Dateline has made an important time commitment to this topic, and we simply want to see the payoff for the victims’,” the article noted. Naked short selling is worrisome for hundreds of small U.S. companies, including those recently asking to be delisted from the Berlin Stock Exchange, such as Golden Phoenix Minerals, Inc. (OTCBB: GPXM), Nannaco, Inc. (OTCBB: NNCO), 5G Wireless Communications, Inc. (OTCBB: FGWC), CyberAds, Inc. (OTCBB :CYAD), Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCBB: PVCT), House of Brussels Chocolates (OTCBB: HBSL), InforMedix, Inc. (OTCBB: IFMX), Tissera, Inc. (OTCBB: TSSR), Americana Publishing, Inc. (OTCBB: APBH), Celsion Corporation (AMEX: CLN), ChampionLyte Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB: CPLY), Pickups Plus, Inc. (OTCBB:PUPS), China Wireless Communications Inc. (OTC BB: CWLC), CareDecision Corp. (OTCBB: CDED), Titan General Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB: TTGH), IPVoice Communications, Inc. (OTCBB: IPVO), Whistler Investments (OTCBB: WHIS), WARP Technology Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB: WRPT), BGR Corp. (OTCBB: BGRR), ICOA, Inc., (OTCBB: ICOA), DICUT, INC. (OTCBB: DCUTE), NHC Communications Inc. (TSX: NHC; OTCBB: NHCMF), Stratus Services Group, Inc. (OTCBB: SERV), Golden Phoenix Minerals, Inc. (OTCBB: GPXM). Berliner Freiverkehr (Aktien) AG has been singled out as the broker and market maker that has been “listing” the companies. It is suspected that one broker, RA Angsar Limprecht, is involved in all if not most of the listings. Small public companies are squeezed not only by hedge funds, naked short sellers, overseas listers such as the Berlin Stock Exchange, and the out-of-control “Stock Borrow Program” run by the governance-conflict-laden Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation, but to the amazement of the industry, as often and not by their own regulators. A new staff recommendation by Annette Nazareth, director of the division of market regulation at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to “outlaw” ownership of paper certificates at the same time the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation is under intense scrutiny for alleged electronic counterfeiting has begun hitting the small public company markets, company executives, shareholders and manipulative short-selling opponents like the proverbial ton of bricks. A Dow Jones (NYSE: DJ) article by Judith Burns sparked the uproar, as the inextricably intertwined web of connections between the SEC and the DTC, which is sagging from the weight of conflicted governance by representatives from a rollcall of industry heavyweights, including NASD, which owns NASDAQ (OTCBB: NDAQ), the New York Stock Exchange, Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH), to name only a few. The rule proposal would bar stock transfer agents from handling shares that carry any limitations on transfer. Control over stock certificates is one of the ways that small companies have combated illegal naked short sellers. Burns quoted Nazareth as saying that these companies’ “self-help” efforts “aren’t helping U.S. markets overall.” Nazareth was quoted as saying restrictions on stocks are “a significant step backwards” in the “move from paper stock certificates to automated computerized trading.” Nazareth said that abusive “naked” short selling has been a problem “in some cases,” but that is “best dealt with by a pending SEC proposal,” presumably Regulation SHO. SEC Commissioner William Donaldson purportedly publicly refused to answer any questions from the NASD about the timing of the Commission’s consideration of the Regulation at a conference where he was simultaneously proposing early reforms of the mutual fund scandals. The Dow Jones said, however, that Robert Colby, SEC deputy market regulation division director, predicted the SEC will take that to a vote in early June. The Dow Jones report noted that “naked short-selling occurs when sellers don't buy shares to replace those they borrowed, a manipulative practice that can drive a company's stock price sharply lower. The stock certiticate plan has been put to a 30-day comment periodl Then the SEC would have to vote to adopt it. If adopted, Colby was quoted as saying that regulators might “sue firms that seek to impose restrictions on stock transfers.” The recent lawsuit filed by Nanopierce Technologies (OTCBB: NPCT) alleges that the Depository Trust and Clearing Corp. has a lot of reasons, almost one billion of them a year, to keep illegal naked short selling in operation. It was the shot across the bow by the legendary Houston law firms of Christian, Smith, Wukoson and Jewell, and OQuinn, Laminack and Pirtle, whose notches already include environmental targets, the breast implant industry and the tobacco industry, all brought to their knees. In comments to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, C. Austin Burrell, who is providing litigation support and research for the law firms, said that StockGate is more massive than anyone may have imagined. “Illegal Naked Short Selling has stripped hundreds of billions, if not TRILLIONS, of dollars from American investors,” and have resulted in over 7,000 public companies having been “shorted out of existence over the past six years.” Burrell said some experts believe as much as $1 trillion to $3 trillion has been lost to this practice. He stated that the restrictions on short selling were deliberately put into the Securities Acts of 1933 and 1934 because of the first-hand evidence then available that the “sheer scale of the crashes was a direct result of intentional manipulation of US markets through abusive short selling by a massive conspiracy.” Burrell noted that the 65-lawyer team presided over by lead lawyers Wes Christian and John O’Quinn has uncovered more than 1,200 hedge fund and offshore accounts working through more than 150 broker-dealers and market makers in a joint cooperative effort to strip small and medium size public companies of their value. Recently the NASD and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved an interim naked short-selling band-aid, requiring U.S. brokers to make an “affirmative determination” that short-sellers, even foreign short-sellers, mostly Canadian, can find certificates to cover before processing the order. Last year, many besieged public companies sought refuge from the manipulation by seeking to exit the DTC, but on June 14, 2003, the SEC stated “the issues surrounding naked short selling are not germane to the manner in which DTC operates as a depository registered as a clearing agency. Decisions to engage in such transactions are made by parties other than DTC. DTC does not allow its participants to establish short positions resulting from their failure to deliver securities at settlement. While the Commission appreciates commenters' concerns about manipulative activity, those concerns must be addressed by other means.” The Nanopierce lawsuit, said to be the first of many out of the box, emphatically suggests otherwise. According to lawyer Christian, et.al., the DTC is at the very heart of the problem, and has almost a billion dollars a year at stake in keeping the problem. The Depository Trust Company (DTC) is a member of the U.S. Federal Reserve System, a limited-purpose trust company under New York State banking law and a registered clearing agency with the SEC. The depository supposedly brings efficiency to the securities industry by retaining custody of some 2 million securities issues, effectively "dematerializing" most of them so that they exist only as electronic files rather than as countless pieces of paper. The depository also provides the services necessary for the maintenance of the securities it has in “custody.” According to the suit, the DTCC has an enormous pecuniary and conflicted interest in the entire short selling scandal through the huge income stream they were realizing from it every day. They have made literally billions of dollars lending individual real shares, in most cases over and over, getting a fee each time they made a journal entry in the “Stock Borrow Program.” The Stock Borrow Program was purportedly set up to facilitate expedited clearance of stock trades. Somewhere along the line, the DTCC became aware that if it could lend a single share an unlimited number of times, it could collect a fee each time, according to Burrell. “There are numerous cases of a single share being lent ten or many more times,” giving rise to the complaint that the DTCC has been electronically counterfeiting just as was done via printed certificates before the Crash. “Such re-hypothecation has in effect made the potential ‘float’ in a single company's shares virtually unlimited and the term ‘float’ meaningless. Shares could be electronically created/counterfeited/kited without a registration statement being filed, and without the underlying company having any knowledge such shares are being sold or even in existence.” Burrell said the Christian/O’Quinn lawsuits will seek to show that the “counterfeiting/creation of unregistered shares is a specific violation of the Securities Act of 1933, barring the ‘Sale of Unregistered Securities’.” While the Nanopierce lawsuit has been filed at the state level, another companion lawsuit just heading to the courts on behalf of Exotics.com (OTC: EXII) will be argued at the Federal level. Nanopierce’s suit in the 2nd Judicial District Court in Nevada, is Case No. CV04-01079, alleges that the DTC’s “stock borrow program” was “purportedly created to address SHORT TERM delivery failures,” but that the “end result of the program has been to create tens of millions of unissued and unregistered shares to be traded in the public market,” and in some instances resulting in “two or more shareholders who purchase shares in separate transactions to own the same shares.” The complaint alleges that the DTC has a colossal disincentive to stop the “stock borrow” program, booking revenues from services of $425,416,000 and similarly, the NSCC deriving revenues of $293,133,000. Further, the suit alleges that “open positions” resulting from this activity at the close of business on December 31, 2003, “approximated $3,025,467,000” due to NSCC, and $2,303,717,000 due by NSCC, and unsettled positions of $721,750,000 for securities borrowed through the NSCC’s “Stock Borrow Program.” Nanopierce claims that DTCC and NSCC have joined in a “scheme” to “manipulate downward the price of the affected securities, thereby reducing the market value of the open fail to deliver positions.” The suit also claims that the defendants have permitted sellers to maintain open fail to deliver positions of tens of millions of shares for periods of a year and even longer. It quotes the National Association of Security Dealers as admitting that “concerns have been raised by members, issuers, investors and other interested parties about potentially abusive short selling activities occurring in the marketplace. In particular, naked short selling, or selling short without borrowing securities to make delivery, can result in long term failures to deliver, including aggregate failures to deliver that exceed the total float of a security. NASD believes such extended failures to deliver can have a negative effect on the market. Among other things, by not having to deliver securities, naked short sellers can take on larger short positions than would otherwise be permissible, which can facilitate manipulative activity.” Nanopierce claims that it had “relied on material misrepresentations and omissions by DTC and NSCC in trading its shares in the stock market “without knowledge of Defendants’ fraud-on-the market through statements they made about the clearing and settlement services they provided.” Further, it claims that the Defendants acted with “scienter” since they had a major financial financial motivation to falsely represent their services, which Nanopierce claims are also anticompetitive. The largely unregulated DTC has become something of a defacto Czar presiding over the entire U.S. markets system, wielding more day-to-day influence and control than the SEC, the NASD and NASDAQ combined. And, as the SEC’s June 14 ruling indicates, its monopoly over the electronic trading system appears even to be protected. The Depository Trust and Clearing Corp.’s two preferred shareholders are the New York Stock Exchange and the NASD, a regulatory agency that also owns the NASDAQ (OTCBB: NDAQ) and the embattled American Stock Exchange! Regulators, regulate thyself? In an era when corporate governance is the primary interest for the SEC and state regulators, the DTCC is hardly a role model. Its 21 directors represent a virtual litany of conflict: They include Bradley Abelow, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS); Jonathan E. Beyman, Chief Information Officer, Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH); Frank J. Bisignano, Chief Administrative Officer and Senior Executive Vice President, Citigroup / Solomon Smith Barney's Corporate Investment Bank (NYSE: C); Michael C. Bodson, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MWD); Gary Bullock, Global Head of Logistics, Infrastructure, UBS Investment Bank (NYSE: UBS); Stephen P. Casper, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, Fischer Francis Trees & Watts, Inc.; Jill M. Considine,Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer, The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC); Also, Paul F. Costello, President, Business Services Group, Wachovia Securities (NYSE: WB); John W. Cummings, Senior Vice President & Head of Global Technology & Services, Merrill Lynch & Co. (NYSE: MER); Donald F. Donahue, Chief Operating Officer, The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC); Norman Eaker, General Partner, Edward Jones; George Hrabovsky, President, Alliance Global Investors Service; Catherine R. Kinney, President and Co-Chief Operating Officer, New York Stock Exchange; Thomas J. McCrossan, Executive Vice President, State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT); Eileen K. Murray, Managing Director, Credit Suisse First Boston (NYSE: CSR); James P. Palermo, Vice Chairman, Mellon Financial Corporation (NYSE: MEL); Thomas J. Perna, Senior Executive Vice President, Financial Companies Services Sector of The Bank of New York (NYSE: BNY); Ronald Purpora, Chief Executive Officer, Garban LLC; Douglas Shulman, President, Regulatory Services and Operations, NASD; and Thompson M. Swayne, Executive Vice President, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM). In their comments to the SEC regarding Regulation SHO in January, the 50 state regulators, through their association, the North American Association of Securities Administrators (NASAA) issued what many consider to be a strong warning that if the DTC is not dealt with in the final regulations, state regulators such as New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer may step to the plate. In what many considered to have been explosive comments, Ralph Lambiase, NASAA president and Director of the Connecticut Division of Securities, warned "NASAA urges the Commission to reconsider its stance regarding the role of the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (the DTC). As a threshold matter, NASAA believes that the Commission should explicitly prohibit the DTC from lending more shares of a security than it actually holds. The ability of the overall proposed rule would be severely impared unless the Commission undertakes to implement such a prohibition.” As the Nanopierce lawsuit reveals, those were indeed strong words, meddling as it did, in a substantial revenues base for the DTCC. Recently, leading market makers and brokers named in various lawsuits and other actions, including FleetBoston (NYSE: FBF), Goldman, Sachs & Co. (NYSE: GS), H. Myerson & Co., Inc. (NASDAQ: MHMY), Olde / H&R Block (NYSE: HRB), Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCH), Toronto-Dominion’s (NYSE: TD), TD Waterhouse Group and vFinance, Inc. (OTCBB: VFIN). A.G. Edwards, Inc. (NYSE: AGE), Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: AMTD), Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB), and ETrade Group, Inc. (NYSE: ET), were forced to comply with new short-selling market regulations imposed by the NASD after the SEC had “sat on” the NASD request to plug material loopholes for almost 2-1/2 years. “The new rules expand the scope of the affirmative determination requirements to include orders received from broker/dealers that are not members of NASD ("non-member broker/dealers"). The new rule is on the web at http://www.nasdr.com/2610_2004.asp#04-03 The rule itself, while welcomed by small companies and their shareholders in the U.S., nevertheless raised an outcry because the NASD’s request to put it into effect had set on a shelf at the SEC since 2001. The scandal has embroiled hundreds of companies and dozens of brokers and marketmakers, in a web of internaitional intrigue, manipulative short-selling and cross-border acctions and denials. Comments on Regulation SHO ended January 5, and may be viewed at http://www.sec.gov/rules/proposed/s72303.shtml . A hearing on Regulation SHO is believed to be set for June 23. Some 122 companies, including 13 brokers, such as FleetBoston (NYSE: FBF), Goldman, Sachs & Co. (NYSE: GS), H. Myerson & Co., Inc. (NASDAQ: MHMY), Olde / H&R Block (NYSE: HRB), Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCH), Toronto-Dominion’s (NYSE: TD), TD Waterhouse Group and vFinance, Inc. (OTCBB: VFIN). A.G. Edwards, Inc. (NYSE: AGE), Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: AMTD), Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB), and ETrade Group, Inc. (NYSE: ET), have been embroiled for over a year in a raging controversy The remaining 109 companies among the 122 named to date have issued press releases or been named in the media as having been victimized, or as taking various actions, either alone or in concert with other companies, to oppose manipulative trading in the form of illegal naked short selling. The actions have ranged from lawsuits to withdrawals and threatened withdrawals from the electronic trading system managed by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp., to withdrawals from toxic financings, to the issuance of dividends or name changes designed to squeeze manipulators, to joining associations or networks or to contacting regulatory authorities to provide documentation of abuses or otherwise complain. The complete list of those 108 companies include Advanced Viral Research Corp. (OTCBB: ADVR), AdZone Research, Inc. (OTCBB: ADZR), Amazon Natural Treasures (OTC: ANTD), America's Senior Financial Services (OTCBB: AMSE), American Ammunition, Inc. (OTCBB: AAMI), AngelCiti Entertainment (OTCBB: AGLC), ATSI Communications, Inc. (OTC: ATSC), Federal Agricultural Mortgage / Farmer Mac (NYSE: AGM) Allied Capital (NYSE: ALD), American Motorcycle (OTC: AMCYV), American International Industries (OTCBB: AMIN), Ameri-Dream (OTC: AMDR), Adirondack Pure Springs Mt. Water Co. (OTCBB: APSW), ATSI Communications,Inc. (OTC: ATSC) Bluebook International (OTCBB: BBIC), Blue Industries (OTCBB: BLIIV), Bentley Communications (OTCBB: BTLY), BIFS Technologies Corporation (OTCBB: BIFT), Biocurex (OTCBB: BOCX). Broadleaf Capital Partners, Inc. (OTCBB: BDLF), Chattem, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTT), Critical Home Care (OTCBB: CCLH), Composite Holdings (OTC: COHIA), CyberDigital, Inc. (OTCBB: CYBD). Diamond International Group (OTCBB: DMND), Dobson Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: DCEL), Eagle Tech Communications (OTC: EATC), Edgetech Services (OTCBB: EDGH); Also, Endovasc Ltd. (OTCBB: EVSC), Enviro-Energy Corporation (OTCBB: ENGY), Environmental Products & Technologies (OTC: EPTC), Environmental Solutions Worldwide, Inc. (OTCBB: ESWW), EPIXTAR Corp. (OTCBB: EPXR), eResearchTechnologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ERES), Flight Safety Technologies (OTCBB: FLST), Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE), FreeStar Technologies (OTCBB: FSRCE), Front Porch Digital, Inc. (OTCBB: FPDI), Geotec Thermal Generators, Inc. (OTCBB: GETC), Genesis Intermedia (OTC: GENI), GeneMax Corp. (OTCBB: GMXX), Global Explorations Inc (OTC: GXXL), Global Path (OTCBB: GBPI), GloTech Industries, Inc. (OTCBB: GTHI), Green Dolphin Systems (OTCBB: GLDS), Group Management (OTCBB: GPMT), Hop-On (OTC: HPON), H-Quotient, Inc., (OTCBB: HQNT), Hyperdynamics Corp. (OTCBB: HYPD), International Biochem (OTCBB: IBCL), Intergold Corp. (OTCBB: IGCO), International Broadcasting Corporation (OTCBB: IBCS), InternetStudios, Inc. (OTCBB: ISTO), ITIS Holdings (OTCBB: ITHH), Investco Corp. (OTCBB: IVCO), Lair Holdings (OTC: LAIR), Lifeline BioTechnologies Inc. (OTC: LBTT), Life Energy & Technology (OTCBB: LETH), MBIA (NYSE: MBI); Also, MegaMania Interactive (OTC: MNIA), MetaSource Group, Inc. (OTCBB: MTSR),Midastrade.com (OTC: MIDS), Make Your Move (OTCBB: MKMV), Medinah Minerals (OTC: MDMN), MSM Jewelry Corp. (OTC: MSMC), Nanopierce Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: NPCT), Nutra Pharmaceutical (OTCBB: NPHC), Nutek (OTCBB: NUTK), Navigator Ventures (OTC: NVGV), Orbit E-Commerce, Inc. (OTCBB: OECI), Pitts & Spitts (OTC: PSPP), Sales OnLine Direct (OTCBB: PAID), Pacel Corp. (OTCBB: PACC), PayStar Corporation (OTC: PYST),Petrogen Corp. (OTCBB: PTGC), Pinnacle Business Management (OTC: PCBM), Premier Development & Investment, Inc. (OTCBB: PDVN), PrimeHoldings.com, Inc. (OTC: PRIM), Phlo Corporation (OTCBB: PHLC), Resourcing Solutions (OTC: RESG), Reed Holdings (OTC: RDHC), Rocky Mountain Energy Corp. (OTCBB: RMECE), RTIN Holdings (OTCBB: RTNHE), Saflink Corp. (NASDAQ: SFLK), Safe Travel Care (OTCBB: SFTVV), Sedona Corp. (OTCBB: SDNA); Also, Sionix Corp. (OTCBB: SINX), Sonoran Energy (OTCBB: SNRN), Starmax Technologies (OTC: SMXIF), Storage Suites America (OTC: SSUA), Suncomm Technologies (OTC: STEH), Sports Resorts International (NASDAQ: SPRI), Technology Logistics (OTC: TLOS), Swiss Medica, Inc. (OTCBB: SWME), Ten Stix, Inc. (OTCBB: TNTI), Tidelands Oil (OTCBB: TIDE), Titan Construction (OTC: TTCS), Trezac Corp. (OTCBB: TRZAV), Universal Express, Inc. (OTCBB: USXP), Valesc Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB: VLSHV), Vega Atlantic (OTCBB: VGAC), Viragen (AMEX: VRA), Viragen International (OTCBB: VGNI), Vista Continental Corporation, (OTCBB: VICC), Viva International (OTCBB: VIVI), Vtex Energy (OTCBB: VXENE) and Wizzard Software (OTCBB: WIZD), WorldTradeShow.com (OTC: WTSW) and Y3K Secure Enterprise Software, Inc. (OTCBB: YTHK). Earlier in 2003, the SEC fined Rhino Advisors, Inc., $1 million for its representation of Amro International in the financing and manipulation of Sedona Corp. Amro, also known as AMRO, was registered in Panama, a secretive offshore haven, but was not named in the SEC settlement. Another 60 public companies may have been manipulated by the fined Rhino Advisors and its indicted principals, or its funding apparatus, Amro. These include: All American Food Group Inc (OTC: AAFGQ), Amanda Co Inc (OTC: AMNA), Antra Holdings (OTC: RECD), Aquis Communications Group Inc (OTCBB: AQUIS), Avanir Pharmaceuticals (AMEX: AVN), Bionutrics Inc (OTC: BNRX), Brilliant Digital Entertainment Inc (AMEX: BDE), Bravo! Foods International Corp. (OTCBB: BRVOE), Butler National Corp (NASDAQ: BUTL),Calypte Biomedical Corp (OTCBB: CYPT), Chemtrak Inc/DE (OTC: CMTR), Clicknsettle Com Inc (OTCBB: CLIK), Corporate Vision Inc (OTC: CVIA), Crown Laboratories Inc/DE (OTC: CLWB), Dental Medical Diagnostic Systems Inc (OTC: DMDS), Detour Media Group Inc (OTC: DTRM), Also, Digital Privacy Inc/DE (OTC: DGPV), Senior Services Inc (OTC: DISS), International Inc (OTC: DYNX), Endovasc Ltd Inc (OTCBB: EVSC), Esynch Corp/CA (OTCBB: ESYN), Focus Enhancements Inc (NASDAQ: FSCE), Frederick Brewing Co (OTC: FRBW), Greystone Digital Technology Inc (OTC: GSTN), Havana Republic Inc/FL (OTCBB: HVNR), Henley Healthcare Inc (OTC: HENL), Hollywood Media Corp (NASDAQ: HOLL), Ibiz Technology Corp (OTCBB: IBZT), Diagnostic Systems Inc/FL (OTCBB: IMDS), Imaging Technologies (OTCBB: IMTO), Integrated Surgical Systems Inc (OTCBB: RDOC), Also, Interferon Sciences Inc (OTC: IFSC), Interiors Inc (OTC: ITRNA), Laminaire Corp (OTC: THMZ), Medisys Technologies Inc (OTC: SCEP), Milestone Scientific Inc/NJ (AMEX: MS), Nevada Manhattan Group Inc (OTC: NVMH), Innovations Inc (OTCBB: NTGE),Systems Group (OTC: OSYM), Pacific Systems Control Technology Inc (OTCBB: PFSY), Professional Transportation Group Ltd Inc (OTC: TRUC), Rnethealth Inc (OTC: RNTT), Also, Sand Technology Inc (NASDAQ: SNDT), Sedona Corp (OTCBB: SDNA), Silverado Foods Inc (OTC: SVFO), Stockgroup Information Systems (OTCBB: SWEB) Surgilight Inc (OTC: SRGL), Tasty Fries Inc (OTCBB: TFRY), Tech Laboratories Inc (OTCBB: TCHL), Teltran International Group Ltd (OTC: TLTG), Titan Motorcycle Co of America Inc (OTC: TMOTQ), Trans Energy Inc (OTCBB: TSRG), Motorcycle Co (OTC: UMCC), Universal Communication Systems Inc (OTCBB: UCSY), Medical Systems Inc (OTC: UMSI), Vianet Technologies Inc (OTC: VNTK),Viragen Inc (AMEX: VRA), Webcatalyst Inc (OTC: WBCL), Worldwide Wireless Networks Inc (OTCBB: WWWNQ), and ZAP (OTCBB: ZAPZ). For up-to-the-minute news, features and links click on http://www.financialwire.net FinancialWire is an independent, proprietary news service of Investrend Information, a division of Investrend Communications, Inc. It is not a press release service and receives no compensation for its news or opinions. Other divisions of Investrend, however, provide shareholder empowerment platforms such as forums, independent research and webcasting. For more information or to receive the FirstAlert daily summary of news, commentary, research reports, webcasts, events and conference calls, click on http://www.investrend.com/contact.asp Advertisements • Trade like a pro with Qcharts • Try Livecharts free for 14 days! « FSRC Message list | Reply to msg. | Post new msg. « Older | Newer » You can also: Membermark this poster Ignore/Hide this poster on all boards Email this post to a friend Report TOS violation Get powerful streaming charts ... Try LiveCharts™ for free Real-time market information. 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A hearing on Regulation SHO is
believed to be set for June 23,. Some 122 companies, including 13 brokers, such as FleetBoston (NYSE: FBF), Goldman, Sachs & Co. (NYSE: GS), H. Myerson & Co., Inc. (NASDAQ: MHMY), Olde / H&R Block (NYSE: HRB), Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCH), Toronto-Dominion’s (NYSE: TD), TD Waterhouse Group and vFinance, Inc. (OTCBB: VFIN). A.G. Edwards, Inc. (NYSE: AGE), Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: AMTD), Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB), and ETrade Group, Inc. (NYSE: ET), have been embroiled for over a year in a raging controversy The remaining 109 companies among the 122 named to date have issued press releases or been named in the media as having been victimized, or as taking various actions, either alone or in concert with other companies, to oppose manipulative trading in the form of illegal naked short selling. The actions have ranged from lawsuits to withdrawals and threatened withdrawals from the electronic trading system managed by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp., to withdrawals from toxic financings, to the issuance of dividends or name changes designed to squeeze manipulators, to joining associations or networks or to contacting regulatory authorities to provide documentation of abuses or otherwise complain. The complete list of those 108 companies include Advanced Viral Research Corp. (OTCBB: ADVR), AdZone Research, Inc. (OTCBB: ADZR), Amazon Natural Treasures (OTC: ANTD), America's Senior Financial Services (OTCBB: AMSE), American Ammunition, Inc. (OTCBB: AAMI), AngelCiti Entertainment (OTCBB: AGLC), ATSI Communications, Inc. (OTC: ATSC), Federal Agricultural Mortgage / Farmer Mac (NYSE: AGM) Allied Capital (NYSE: ALD), American Motorcycle (OTC: AMCYV), American International Industries (OTCBB: AMIN), Ameri-Dream (OTC: AMDR), Adirondack Pure Springs Mt. Water Co. (OTCBB: APSW), ATSI Communications,Inc. (OTC: ATSC) Bluebook International (OTCBB: BBIC), Blue Industries (OTCBB: BLIIV), Bentley Communications (OTCBB: BTLY), BIFS Technologies Corporation (OTCBB: BIFT), Biocurex (OTCBB: BOCX). Broadleaf Capital Partners, Inc. (OTCBB: BDLF), Chattem, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTT), Critical Home Care (OTCBB: CCLH), Composite Holdings (OTC: COHIA), CyberDigital, Inc. (OTCBB: CYBD). Diamond International Group (OTCBB: DMND), Dobson Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: DCEL), Eagle Tech Communications (OTC: EATC), Edgetech Services (OTCBB: EDGH); Also, Endovasc Ltd. (OTCBB: EVSC), Enviro-Energy Corporation (OTCBB: ENGY), Environmental Products & Technologies (OTC: EPTC), Environmental Solutions Worldwide, Inc. (OTCBB: ESWW), EPIXTAR Corp. (OTCBB: EPXR), eResearchTechnologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ERES), Flight Safety Technologies (OTCBB: FLST), Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE), FreeStar Technologies (OTCBB: FSRCE), Front Porch Digital, Inc. (OTCBB: FPDI), Geotec Thermal Generators, Inc. (OTCBB: GETC), Genesis Intermedia (OTC: GENI), GeneMax Corp. (OTCBB: GMXX), Global Explorations Inc (OTC: GXXL), Global Path (OTCBB: GBPI), GloTech Industries, Inc. (OTCBB: GTHI), Green Dolphin Systems (OTCBB: GLDS), Group Management (OTCBB: GPMT), Hop-On (OTC: HPON), H-Quotient, Inc., (OTCBB: HQNT), Hyperdynamics Corp. (OTCBB: HYPD), International Biochem (OTCBB: IBCL), Intergold Corp. (OTCBB: IGCO), International Broadcasting Corporation (OTCBB: IBCS), InternetStudios, Inc. (OTCBB: ISTO), ITIS Holdings (OTCBB: ITHH), Investco Corp. (OTCBB: IVCO), Lair Holdings (OTC: LAIR), Lifeline BioTechnologies Inc. (OTC: LBTT), Life Energy & Technology (OTCBB: LETH), MBIA (NYSE: MBI); Also, MegaMania Interactive (OTC: MNIA), MetaSource Group, Inc. (OTCBB: MTSR),Midastrade.com (OTC: MIDS), Make Your Move (OTCBB: MKMV), Medinah Minerals (OTC: MDMN), MSM Jewelry Corp. (OTC: MSMC), Nanopierce Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: NPCT), Nutra Pharmaceutical (OTCBB: NPHC), Nutek (OTCBB: NUTK), Navigator Ventures (OTC: NVGV), Orbit E-Commerce, Inc. (OTCBB: OECI), Pitts & Spitts (OTC: PSPP), Sales OnLine Direct (OTCBB: PAID), Pacel Corp. (OTCBB: PACC), PayStar Corporation (OTC: PYST),Petrogen Corp. (OTCBB: PTGC), Pinnacle Business Management (OTC: PCBM), Premier Development & Investment, Inc. (OTCBB: PDVN), PrimeHoldings.com, Inc. (OTC: PRIM), Phlo Corporation (OTCBB: PHLC), Resourcing Solutions (OTC: RESG), Reed Holdings (OTC: RDHC), Rocky Mountain Energy Corp. (OTCBB: RMECE), RTIN Holdings (OTCBB: RTNHE), Saflink Corp. (NASDAQ: SFLK), Safe Travel Care (OTCBB: SFTVV), Sedona Corp. (OTCBB: SDNA); Also, Sionix Corp. (OTCBB: SINX), Sonoran Energy (OTCBB: SNRN), Starmax Technologies (OTC: SMXIF), Storage Suites America (OTC: SSUA), Suncomm Technologies (OTC: STEH), Sports Resorts International (NASDAQ: SPRI), Technology Logistics (OTC: TLOS), Swiss Medica, Inc. (OTCBB: SWME), Ten Stix, Inc. (OTCBB: TNTI), Tidelands Oil (OTCBB: TIDE), Titan Construction (OTC: TTCS), Trezac Corp. (OTCBB: TRZAV), Universal Express, Inc. (OTCBB: USXP), Valesc Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB: VLSHV), Vega Atlantic (OTCBB: VGAC), Viragen (AMEX: VRA), Viragen International (OTCBB: VGNI), Vista Continental Corporation, (OTCBB: VICC), Viva International (OTCBB: VIVI), Vtex Energy (OTCBB: VXENE) and Wizzard Software (OTCBB: WIZD), WorldTradeShow.com (OTC: WTSW) and Y3K Secure Enterprise Software, Inc. (OTCBB: YTHK). Earlier in 2003, the SEC fined Rhino Advisors, Inc., $1 million for its representation of Amro International in the financing and manipulation of Sedona Corp. Amro, also known as AMRO, was registered in Panama, a secretive offshore haven, but was not named in the SEC settlement. Another 60 public companies may have been manipulated by the fined Rhino Advisors and its indicted principals, or its funding apparatus, Amro. These include: All American Food Group Inc (OTC: AAFGQ), Amanda Co Inc (OTC: AMNA), Antra Holdings (OTC: RECD), Aquis Communications Group Inc (OTCBB: AQUIS), Avanir Pharmaceuticals (AMEX: AVN), Bionutrics Inc (OTC: BNRX), Brilliant Digital Entertainment Inc (AMEX: BDE), Bravo! Foods International Corp. (OTCBB: BRVOE), Butler National Corp (NASDAQ: BUTL),Calypte Biomedical Corp (OTCBB: CYPT), Chemtrak Inc/DE (OTC: CMTR), Clicknsettle Com Inc (OTCBB: CLIK), Corporate Vision Inc (OTC: CVIA), Crown Laboratories Inc/DE (OTC: CLWB), Dental Medical Diagnostic Systems Inc (OTC: DMDS), Detour Media Group Inc (OTC: DTRM), Also, Digital Privacy Inc/DE (OTC: DGPV), Senior Services Inc (OTC: DISS), International Inc (OTC: DYNX), Endovasc Ltd Inc (OTCBB: EVSC), Esynch Corp/CA (OTCBB: ESYN), Focus Enhancements Inc (NASDAQ: FSCE), Frederick Brewing Co (OTC: FRBW), Greystone Digital Technology Inc (OTC: GSTN), Havana Republic Inc/FL (OTCBB: HVNR), Henley Healthcare Inc (OTC: HENL), Hollywood Media Corp (NASDAQ: HOLL), Ibiz Technology Corp (OTCBB: IBZT), Diagnostic Systems Inc/FL (OTCBB: IMDS), Imaging Technologies (OTCBB: IMTO), Integrated Surgical Systems Inc (OTCBB: RDOC), Also, Interferon Sciences Inc (OTC: IFSC), Interiors Inc (OTC: ITRNA), Laminaire Corp (OTC: THMZ), Medisys Technologies Inc (OTC: SCEP), Milestone Scientific Inc/NJ (AMEX: MS), Nevada Manhattan Group Inc (OTC: NVMH), Innovations Inc (OTCBB: NTGE),Systems Group (OTC: OSYM), Pacific Systems Control Technology Inc (OTCBB: PFSY), Professional Transportation Group Ltd Inc (OTC: TRUC), Rnethealth Inc (OTC: RNTT), Also, Sand Technology Inc (NASDAQ: SNDT), Sedona Corp (OTCBB: SDNA), Silverado Foods Inc (OTC: SVFO), Stockgroup Information Systems (OTCBB: SWEB) Surgilight Inc (OTC: SRGL), Tasty Fries Inc (OTCBB: TFRY), Tech Laboratories Inc (OTCBB: TCHL), Teltran International Group Ltd (OTC: TLTG), Titan Motorcycle Co of America Inc (OTC: TMOTQ), Trans Energy Inc (OTCBB: TSRG), Motorcycle Co (OTC: UMCC), Universal Communication Systems Inc (OTCBB: UCSY), Medical Systems Inc (OTC: UMSI), Vianet Technologies Inc (OTC: VNTK),Viragen Inc (AMEX: VRA), Webcatalyst Inc (OTC: WBCL), Worldwide Wireless Networks Inc (OTCBB: WWWNQ), and ZAP (OTCBB: ZAPZ). 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Kev: Dicke is not shorting stock.
Given his position, he would probably have to file. Given that he is more then a 10% holder, I dont think he is legally able to do that. Plus, for Dicke, $12 mill is chump change. If it turn to $100 million or $0, it really wont effect his life style at all.
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