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Commentary - Jun 20, 2004 - Printable Version
- A Call To Arms: Firing The First Shots
by Mark Faulk
The first skirmish has already begun in the war to reform the US stock market. Dateline has been bombarded with emails concerning their repeated delays in the airing of the naked short selling scandal, and have been called to task concerning their refusal to allow John O'Quinn and Wes Christian (the two lead attorneys involved in the massive lawsuits involving naked short selling) to release pertinent information to the public that might help to bring an end to this rampant corruption. Hundreds of concerned investors (with more added every day) have joined a "stock activist" coalition that intends to systematically lobby federal regulators, the government, and the media in order to shine a light on this corruption, and begin the process to right the massive wrongs that have been inflicted upon American companies and investors. Dateline, for the most part, has totally ignored their viewers' emails and phone calls, and refuses to even respond to their concerns over the numerous delays of the stock market scandal expose' that was originally scheduled to air as early as January. In fact, of the dozens of emails that have been sent to Dateline, only one response has been confirmed. In this response, they state simply, "There's nothing nefarious at work here: The story is complicated, the reporting takes time, and the program is not ready to air yet."
That reply is unacceptable, in this writer's opinion. They do not address in any way the real issues involved here, such as the fact that they are sitting on information that sources say "could blow the roof off this scandal", and that they have muzzled O'Quinn and Christian as well. It is vital that companies and investors keep the pressure on Dateline. We have learned that Sharon Hoffman is the producer of the story, so emails and phone calls should be addressed to her.
As for my inquiries to Dateline, they still choose to ignore my numerous requests for a statement. Considering the fact that they are a show that relies on interviews and the open exchange of information, it seems a bit hypocritical that they would refuse requests for a statement, and ignore their viewers concerns. Here is my latest email to Sharon Hoffman, which was sent to her on Friday:
Sharon,
I am the writer who released the article about the Dateline expose' on the ongoing stock market scandal. I have been following this for several months, and receive new information on a daily basis. I emailed Dateline several times, both before and after my article was released, and never received any response whatsoever. I would still like to have a response from Dateline as to why you have postponed the story several times since January or February, which is what my sources have told me.
Since this is an ongoing scandal, and small companies and investors are being fleeced every day, do you not feel that Dateline has at the very least a moral obligation to expedite the release of pertinent information that might help to bring a speedy end to this scandal? At the very least, shouldn't you release O'Quinn and Christian from their exclusivity contract so that they might disseminate information that could conceivably assist the hundreds of companies that are being damaged by this scandal? Is it possible that you underestimate the power of your show to effect positive change in an ongoing scandal? If it is a question of continuing breaking developments in the story, surely you don't intend to wait until further damage is done to companies and investors. Why not release what you have now, and run a follow-up segment as it unfolds?
Also, there have been reports that terrorist groups might be involved in this scandal as well. If that is the case, shouldn't you release immediately all information you have, even if there is the slightest chance that it will help our homeland security efforts?
If this were a resolved issue, and not an ongoing scandal, I would have no problem with the lengthy delays in the airing of your show, but the overwhelming response I have received is that you are in fact enabling the criminals by sitting on the story, and suppressing evidence by not allowing O'Quinn and Christian to speak out. And since Dateline has chosen not to reply to my inquiries for a statement on the subject, and has apparently ignored the dozens of emails it has received from my readers (and involved investors and company representatives) as well, it gives the impression that you in fact aren't responsive to your listeners' concerns.
I would appreciate any response that you have on this subject. I am including a link to the Dateline article, as well as links to earlier articles about both the Canadian and Berlin connections. Two of the articles were picked up and widely distributed by financialwire.net
"Is Dateline Losing Credibility Over StockGate Story Delays?"
http://www.faulkingtruth.com/Articles/Investing101/1005.html
"Financial Terrorism In America"
http://www.faulkingtruth.com/Articles/Investing101/1001.html
"The Berlin Connection?"
http://www.faulkingtruth.com/Articles/Investing101/1004.html
In other developments, the Berlin-Bremen Stock Exchange still maintains their complete innocence in the naked short selling scandal, stating in their last press release (which was sent to The Faulking Truth on June 11th) that the "Berlin-Bremen Stock Exchange is convinced that the German and U.S. supervisory and regulatory bodies have understood that there is no conspiracy to circumvent NASD short selling rules by introducing OTC-BB stocks to trading on its Third Market. For the future, it has been agreed that the participants of the meeting will stay in touch to continue their fruitful discussion."
However, after discussing this issue with numerous sources, I am of the opinion that the Berlin-Bremen Exchange is being used to naked short these companies by utilizing the arbitrage exemption, and that the volume is showing up in the U.S. instead of in Berlin. Incredibly, none of the present or proposed regulations closes that loophole.
Also, it has been reported that the unauthorized listing of companies' stocks by the Berlin Exchange has extended into London, where over 150 companies have reportedly been listed without their permission, and to Israel, where some of that nation's largest companies have been drawn into the controversy, including Teva Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: TEVA), Check Point (Nasdaq: CHKP), Amdocs (NYSE: DOX), Comverse Technology (Nasdaq: CMVT), Koor Industries (NYSE: KOR), Mercury Interactive Corporation (Nasdaq: MERQ), Elbit Systems (Nasdaq: ESLT), ECI Telecom (Nasdaq: ECIL), Given Imaging (Nasdaq: GIVN), TTI Team Telecom International (Nasdaq: TTIL), AudioCodes (Nasdaq: AUDC), Tower Semiconductor (Nasdaq: TSEM), Taro Pharmaceutical Industries (Nasdaq: TARO), Radware (Nasdaq: RDWR), and RIT Technologies (Nasdaq: RITT).
I am including a link to the complete list of all the American OTC companies that Berliner Freiverkehr has listed on the Berlin-Bremen Stock Exchange, now totalling over 1,000 companies. Take a look at this list, and if you recognize any companies that have not yet begun the process of delisting their shares from the Berlin Exchange, or if you own shares in any company on the list, please contact them immediately! These companies need to take immediate steps to protect their investors by exiting the Berlin-Bremen Stock Exchange as soon as possible.
Editor's note: I own small positions in eleven OTC companies (less than $1,200.00 invested in each company), which I have held without buying of selling since the beginning of this series of articles. After posting this article, I checked the Berliner Freiverkehr list to see if any of those companies were listed. Of the eleven, ten were on the list, two who have already begun the delisting process, and eight who didn't have a clue that they were listed on the Berlin-Bremen Stock Exchange, didn't give their permission, and weren't notified by Berliner Freiverkehr. That's how prevalant this problem is, and how much work remains to be done. I am in the process of contacting those companies right now.
I am also putting together an email detailing who to contact at Berliner Freiverkehr, and how to begin the delisting process. And, once again, I am urging all victimized OTC companies to form a coalition to fight this problem from a stronger position. Please contact me if you need the information to begin the Berlin delisting process, or if you would be interested in either organizing or becoming a member of an OTC Companies' Rights Coalition.
Add your name to our "Stockgate activist list" at info@faulkingtruth.com. We will email you only when we have new articles or information dealing with this issue. Please link the articles everywhere you can, post them on stock message boards, and send them to the appropriate public entites. To enact positive change requires positive action.
Companies listed on the Berlin-Bremen Stock Exchange by Berliner Freiverkehr:
http://www.effektengesellschaft.de/cgi-bin/otc1.pl
Email Dateline at: Dateline@NBC.com
(Attn. Sharon Hoffman)
Or contact them by phone: (212) 664-4444
Voice your opinion on our message board (you don't have to sign up to post).