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A fleeing Al Qaeda guerrilla, desperate for water, is plodding along through the Iraqi desert, when he sees something far off in the distance. Hoping to find water, he walks toward the object, only to find a little old Jewish man, at a small stand, selling neckties. The Arab asks, "Do you have any water?" The Jewish man replies, "I have no water. Would you like to buy a tie? They are only $5.00." The Arab shouts, "Idiot Jew! Israel should not exist! I do not need an overpriced tie. I need water! I should kill you, but I must find water first." "OK", says the old Jew, "it does not matter that you do not want to buy a tie and that you hate me. I will show you that I am bigger than that. If you continue over that hill, to the east, for about two miles, you will find a lovely restaurant. It has all the water you need. Shalom." Muttering, the Arab staggers off, over the hill. Several hours later he staggers back, near collapse, from exhaustion. With deep animosity he says, "Your brother won't let me in without a tie."
If you are correct that sp has hit it's bottom I,d like to ask you to explain what you believe shall happen when the stock is delisted. Should we see it surge upward at this happenstance??Or alternativly when death spiral financing is resorted to then what??
Shown below, is an actual letter that was sent to a bank by an 86 year
old woman. The bank manager thought it amusing enough to have it
published in the New York Times.
Dear Sir:
I am writing to thank you for bouncing my check with which I endeavored
to pay my plumber last month.
By my calculations, three nanoseconds must have elapsed between his
presenting the check and the arrival in my account of the funds needed to
honor it.
I refer, of course, to the automatic monthly deposit of my entire
pension, an arrangement which, I admit, has been in place for only eight
years.
You are to be commended for seizing that brief window of opportunity, and
also for debiting my account $30 by way of penalty for the inconvenience
caused to your bank.
My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident has caused
me to rethink my errant financial ways.
I noticed that whereas I personally answer your telephone calls and
letters, --- when I try to contact you, I am confronted by the
impersonal, overcharging, pre-recorded, faceless entity which your bank
has become.
From now on, I, like you, choose only to deal with a flesh- and-blood
person.
My mortgage and loan repayments will therefore and hereafter no longer be
automatic, but will arrive at your bank, by check, addressed personally
and confidentially to an employee at your bank whom you must nominate.
Be aware that it is an offense under the Postal Act for any other person
to open such an envelope. Please find attached an Application Contact
which I require your chosen employee to complete.
I am sorry it runs to eight pages, but in order that I know as much about
him or her as your bank knows about me, there is no alternative .
Please note that all copies of his or her medical history must be
countersigned by a Notary Public, and the mandatory details of his/her
financial situation (income, debts, assets and liabilities) must be
accompanied by documented p roof.
In due course, at MY convenience, I will issue your employee with a PIN
number which he/she must quote in dealings with me.
I regret that it cannot be shorter than 28 digits but, again, I have modeled
it on the number of button presses requ ired of me to access my account
balance on your phone bank service. As they say, imitation is the
sincerest form of flattery
Let me level the playing field even further.
When you call me, press buttons as follows:
IMMEDIETELY AFTER DIALING, PRESS THE STAR (*) BUTTON FOR ENGLISH
#1. To make an appointment to see me
#2. To query a missing payment.
# 3. To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there.
# 4. To transfer the call to my bedroom in ca se I am sleeping.
# 5. To transfer the call to my toilet in case I am attending to nature
# 6. To transfer the call to my mobile phone if I am not at home . #7.
To leave a message on my computer, a password to access my computer is
required. Password will be communicated to you at a later date to that
Authorized Contact mentioned earlier.
# 8 To return to the main menu and to listen to options 1 through 7. #
9. To make a general complaint or inquiry. The contact will then be put
on hold, pending the attention of my automated answering service.
# 10. This is a second reminder to press* for English.
While this may, on occasion, involve a lengthy wait, uplifting music will
play for the duration of the call.
Regrettably, but again following your example, I must also levy an
establishment fee to cover the setting up of this new arrangement. May I
wish you a happy, if ever so slightly less prosperous New Year? Your
Humble Client
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The MSN Entertainment Guide to Golden Globes is here. Get all the scoop.
Yup! Looks like my Uncle Looie!
My last repsonse to your post was intended to indicate to you that I don't think the bottom has yet been reached. I expect that to happen within three days of delisting.
Given Imaging Leading European Consortium Developing Cancer Screening System for the Gastrointestinal Tract
Tuesday January 16, 4:01 pm ET
Industry Leaders in Imaging, Biosensing Technologies and Ultra-Low Power Design Join in Development of PillCam(TM) Capsule Endoscope With Molecular Diagnostics
YOQNEAM, ISRAEL--(MARKET WIRE)--Jan 16, 2007 -- Given Imaging Ltd. (NASDAQ:GIVN - News) today announced that it has received approval from the European Commission of the Sixth EU Framework Program of Research and Technological Development ("FP6 commission") to lead a consortium that will develop an integrated imaging-biosensing system to screen for cancer of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The "Nano-based capsule-Endoscopy with Molecular Imaging and Optical biopsy" (NEMO) project kicked off in Tel-Aviv at the end of November.
ADVERTISEMENT
In addition to Given Imaging, the consortium includes Zarlink Semiconductor (Sweden and UK), Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Israelitic Hospital and Indivumed (Germany), Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine (London, England), ITC-irst Research Institute (Italy), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Novamed and Ernst &Young (Israel). The NEMO Group will invest EUR 4.7 million over the next three years, of which the European Commission will contribute EUR 2.8 million. Given Imaging's gross and net contribution is EUR 1.3 million and EUR 0.6 million, respectively.
The objective of the NEMO project is to increase patient compliance with currently recommended screening guidelines by developing an advanced cancer screening system that is patient-friendly, highly sensitive and specific for early detection of cancer. To achieve this NEMO will converge optical technologies with Nano-technologies, biosensing and maneuvering technologies to create a unique PillCam capsule endoscope capable of secretion analysis and the detection of marked and deep tissue disorders. The consortium believes the combination of the image and molecular analysis to mark the tumor may provide a novel and effective medical device for mass screening for GI cancer.
"We are proud to advance our research in the biosensing field with such leading research and industrial organizations," said Elisha Rabinovitz, DSc, Chief Scientist of Given Imaging and the consortium coordinator. "This project further exemplifies Given's commitment to develop new and innovative solutions to help physicians treat their patients and could represent a revolutionary platform of biopsy free procedures
Four old timers were playing their weekly game of golf, and one remarked
how nice it would be to wake up on Christmas morning, roll out of bed and
without an argument go directly to the golf course, meet his
buddies and play a round. His buddies all chimed in and said, "Let's do it!
We'll make it a priority, figure out a way and meet here early Christmas morning."
Months later, that special morning arrives, and there they are on
the golf course.
The first guy says, "Boy this game cost me a fortune! I bought my wife
such a diamond ring that she can't take her eyes off it."
Number 2 guy says, "I spent a ton too. My wife is at home
planning the cruise I gave her. She was up to her eyeballs in brochures."
Number 3 guy says "Well my wife is at home admiring her new car, reading the manual."
They all turned to the last guy in the group who is staring at them like they have lost their minds.
"I can't believe you all went to such expense for this golf game.
I slapped my wife on the butt and said, 'Well babe, Merry Christmas! It's a great
morning for sex or golf ' ...... and she said, "Take a sweater with you..."
Did you hear about the Texas teacher who was helping
one of her kindergarten students put on his cowboy boots?
He asked for help and she could see why.
Even with her pulling and him pushing, the little boots
still didn't want to go on.
By the time they got the second boot on,
she had worked up a sweat.
She almost cried when the little boy said, "Teacher,
they're on the wrong feet." She looked, and sure enough,
they were. I t wasn't any easier pulling the boots off than
it was putting them on. She managed to keep her cool as,
together, they worked to get the boots back on, this time
on the right feet.
He then announced, "These aren't my boots."
She bit her tongue, rather than get right in his face and
scream, "Why didn't you say so?", like she wanted to.
Once again she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off his little feet.
No sooner had they gotten the boots off when he said,
"They're my brother's boots. My Mom made me wear 'em."
Now she didn't know if she should laugh or cry. But she
mustered up what grace and courage she had left to wrestle
the boots on his feet again.
Helping him into his coat, she asked, "Now, where are your mittens?
He said, "I stuffed 'em in the toes of my boots."
She will be eligible for parole in three years.
__________________________________________________
FDA PROPOSES BARRING CERTAIN CATTLE MATERIAL
FROM MEDICAL PRODUCTS AS BSE SAFEGUARD
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is proposing to limit the materials
used in some medical products in order to keep them free of the agent
thought to cause mad cow disease, also known as bovine spongiform
encephalopathy or BSE.
This is the latest in a series of BSE safeguards that would bar material
that has been found to harbor the highest concentrations of this fatal agent
in infected cattle. These materials would be prohibited from use as
ingredients in medical products or elements of product manufacturing.
The proposed rule would cover drugs (prescription, over-the-counter, and
homeopathic), biologics (such as vaccines) and medical devices intended for
use in humans as well as drugs intended for use in ruminant animals like
cattle and sheep. Cattle can get mad cow disease, while sheep can get a
similar disease known as scrapie.
$B!H (JThese measures build on a series of barriers FDA and the U.S. Department
of Agriculture have erected to further protect humans from exposure to the
fatal agent linked to BSE, $B!I (J said Andrew von Eschenbach, M.D., Commissioner
Food and Drugs. $B!H (JThis proposed rule adds one more safeguard that will
reduce the risk of transmission even further. $B!I (J
The cattle materials prohibited in the proposed rule are those that pose the
highest risk of containing infectious material and include:
$B!| (J the brain, skull, eyes and spinal cords from cattle 30 months and older;
$B!| (J the tonsils and a portion of the small intestines from all cattle
regardless of their age or health;
$B!| (J any material from $B!H (Jdowner $B!I (J cattle--those that cannot walk;
$B!| (J any material from cattle not inspected and passed for human consumption;
$B!| (J fetal calf serum if appropriate procedures have not been followed to
prevent its contamination with materials prohibited by this proposed rule;
$B!| (J tallow that contains more than 0.15 percent insoluble impurities if the
tallow is derived from materials prohibited by this proposed rule and;
$B!| (J mechanically separated beef.
To ensure that companies comply with these prohibitions, FDA proposes to
require that records be kept to demonstrate that any cattle material used as
an ingredient in these medical products or as part of their manufacturing
process meet the rule $B!G (Js requirements.
Since 1996, strong evidence has accumulated for a causal relationship
between ongoing outbreaks of mad cow disease in Europe and a disease in
humans called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob (vCJD) disease. Both disorders,
which are thought to be caused by an unconventional transmissible agent, are
invariably fatal brain diseases with incubation periods typically measured
in years. Transmission of the BSE agent to humans, leading to vCJD, is
believed to occur via ingestion of cattle products contaminated with the BSE
agent; however the specific products associated with this transmission are
unknown.
About 200 cases of vCJD have been identified worldwide, including three
cases in the U.S. However, there is no evidence that those three patients
contracted the BSE agent in the U.S.
FDA and USDA $B!G (Js efforts to help protect the public from vCJD have included
several other significant steps such as the FDA $B!G (Js 1997 ruminant feed
regulation, which forbids the use of certain mammalian-origin proteins in
ruminant feed. Also, a 2005 interim final rule bans the use of certain
high-risk cattle material in food, dietary supplements and cosmetics.
####
good work
The ASCO abstracts are not published by any professional journal I am familiar with. As such they can be viewed as advertising for ASCO. But if an abstract exists and the paper is to be presented at ASCO it must have undergone peer review and I would expect have been or will shortly be published in a recognized journal. If you had a on line account with the library you could "search" for the article given the title on the abstract.
1. Even though a clinical trial may be over the confidentiality requirement still pertains. There can be a long period of time from the conclusion of a trial and the submission of the results to the FDA.The fact that a trial is over can be subject of a news release but it may not include the derived results.
2. ASCO has nothing to do with any action the FDA might take. But the FDA recognizes ASCO as a legitimate medical convention and can grant exception to confidentiality rule. Same for ASH.
3. I agree with your item referring to difference bewteen ASH and ASCO. But ASCO has a much broader scope than does ASH.
4.PACCE trial--will be kept confidential until ASCO.
5. I am located less than 2 miles from the National Library of Medicine and have access to their resources. One need not be a health professional to use the library either in person or via the internet. All professional publications are available and if an abstract exists the full paper can be accessed (in general)
Upon application from the company data may be released at recognized scientific or medically oriented meetings.Otherwise mums the word
An old lady was standing at the railing of the cruise ship
holding her hat tight
so that it would not blow away in the wind.
A gentleman approached her and said,
"Pardon me, madam.
I do not intend to be forward
but did you know that your dress
is blowing up in this high wind"Yes, I know," said the lady.
"I need both my hands
to hold onto this hat."
"But madam, you must know that you are
not wearing any panties
and your privates are exposed!"
said the gentleman in earnest.
The woman looked down,
then back up at the man
and replied,
" Sir, anything you see down there
is 85 years old.
I just bought this hat yesterday !!! "
* I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.
* Police were called to a daycare where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.
* Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now.
* The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Conference.
* To write with a broken pencil is pointless.
* When fish are in schools they sometimes take debate.
* The short fortune teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
* A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.
* A thief fell and broke his leg in wet cement. He became a hardened criminal.
* Thieves who steal corn from a garden could be charged with stalking.
* We'll never run out of math teachers because they always multiply.
* When the smog lifts in Los Angeles , U C L A.
* The math professor went crazy with the blackboard. He did a number on it.
* The professor discovered that her theory of earthquakes was on shaky ground.
* The dead batteries were given out free of charge.
* If you take a laptop computer for a run you could jog your memory.
* A dentist and a manicurist fought tooth and nail.
* What's the definition of a will? (It's a dead giveaway)
* A bicycle can't stand alone; it is two tired.
* Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.
* A backward poet writes inverse.
* In a democracy it's your vote that counts; in feudalism, it's your Count that votes.
* A chicken crossing the road: poultry in motion.
* If you don't pay your exorcist you can get repossessed.
* With her marriage she got a new name and a dress.
* Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft and I'll show you A -flat miner.
* When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.
* The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine was fully recovered.
* A grenade fell onto a kitchen floor in France , resulted in Linoleum Blownapart.
* You are stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.
* He broke into song because he couldn't find the key.
* A calendar's days are numbered.
* A lot of money is tainted: 'Taint yours, and 'taint mine.
* A boiled egg is hard to beat.
* He had a photographic memory which was never developed.
* A plateau is a high form of flattery.
* Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.
* When you've seen one shopping center you've seen a mall.
* When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she'd dye.
* Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead to know basis.
* Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.
* Acupuncture: a jab well done.
My wife's oncologist is the head of the cancer treatment and infusion center of our hospital. Although my wife is not on any regimen using erbitux I asked him abut its use vs Avastin. He chuckled and said We are using more erbitux every day and until there is an FDA approval resulting from full blown clinical trials we shall not prescribe avastin.
He treasts my wife for CML and with use of Gleevex he has kept her in remission for 7 years now.
Phase I
ASCO asnd ASH are very aware that the FDA requires all data being developed durinbga clinical trial to be held confidential by both the agency and the company conducting the trial. By mutual agreement some data can be released at ASCO and at ASH.
Sorry-you know not of what you posted. FDA prevents release.
The FDA requires that all information acquired during a clinical trial be held confidential by both the FDA and the company conducting the trial. Only at ASCO may some information about results be made public.
Merck News Release
Merck KGaA: Erbitux Meets Primary Endpoint in First-Line Phase III
Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Study
Darmstadt, Germany, January 10, 2007 – Merck KGaA announced today that a
Phase III study of Erbitux® (cetuximab) plus irinotecan-based therapy met
the primary endpoint of increasing median duration of progression-free
survival in patients with previously untreated metastatic colorectal cancer
(mCRC). This randomized Phase III international trial, known as CRYSTAL
Cetuximab combined with iRinotecan in first line therapY for metaSTatic
colorectAL cancer, studied patients treated with Erbitux plus FOLFIRI
(irinotecan-based chemotherapy) compared with FOLFIRI alone.
The complete news release can be downloaded at the following link:
http://me.merck.de/n/5BE1C55BDCA32E01C125725E004DFBE1/$FILE/crystal_e.pdf
T his is too good !!!!
you will enjoy this.............
Tandem Writing Assignment
Here's a prime example of "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus" offered by an English professor from the University of Colorado for an actual class assignment. The professor told his class one day:
"Today we will experiment with a new form called the tandem story. The process is simple. Each person will pair off with the person sitting to his or her immediate right.
As homework tonight, one of you will write the first paragraph of a short story. You will e-mail your partner that paragraph and send another copy to me. The partner will
read the first paragraph and then add another paragraph to the story and send it back, also sending another copy to me. The first person will then add a third paragraph, and so on back-and-forth.
Remember to re-read what has been written each time in order to keep the story coherent. There is to be absolutely NO talking outside of the e-mails and anything you wish to say must be written in the e-mail.
The story is over when both agree a conclusion has been reached.
The following was actually turned in by two of his English students
Rebecca and Gary.
THE STORY: (first paragraph by Rebecca)
At first, Laurie couldn't decide which kind of tea she wanted. The chamomile, which used to be her favorite for lazy evenings at home, now reminded her too much of Carl, who once said, in happier times, that he liked chamomile But she felt she must now, at all costs, keep her mind off Carl. His possessiveness was suffocating, and if she thought about him too much her asthma started acting up again. So chamomile was out of the question.
(Second paragraph! by Gary )
Meanwhile, Advance Sergeant Carl Harris, leader of the attack squadron now in orbit over Skylon 4, had more important things to think about than the neuroses of an air-headed asthmatic bimbo named Laurie with whom he had spent one sweaty night over a year ago. "A.S. Harris to Geostation 17," he said into his transgalactic communicator. "Polar orbit established. No sign of resistance so far..." But before he could sign off a bluish particle beam flashed out of nowhere and blasted a hole through his ship's cargo bay. The jolt from the direct hit sent him flying out of his seat and across the cockpit.
(Rebecca)
He bumped his head and died almost immediately, but not before he Felt one last pang of regret for psychically brutalizing the one woman who had ever had feelings for him. Soon afterwards, Earth stopped its pointless hostilities towards the peaceful farmers of Skylon 4. "Congress Passes Law Permanently Abolishing War and Space Travel", Laurie read in her newspaper one morning. The news simultaneously excited her and bored her. She stared out the window, dreaming of her youth, when the days had passed unhurriedly and carefree, with no newspaper to read, no television to distract her from her sense of innocent wonder at all the beautiful things around her. "Why must one lose one's innocence to become a woman?" she pondered wistfully.
( Gary )
Little did she know, but she had less than 10 seconds to live. Thousands of miles above the city, the Anudrian mothership launched the first of its lithium fusion missiles. The dimwitted wimpy peaceniks who pushed the Unilateral Aerospace Disarmament Treaty through the congress had left Earth a defenseless target for the hostile alien empires who were determined to destroy the human race. Within two hours after the passage of the treaty the Anudrian ships were on course for Earth, carrying enough firepower to pulverize the entire planet. With no one to stop them, they swiftly initiated their diabolical plan. The lithium fusion missile entered the atmosphere unimpeded. The President, in his top-secret mobile submarine headquarters on the ocean floor off the coast of Guam , felt the inconceivably massive explosion, which vaporized poor, stupid Laurie.
(Rebecca)
This is absurd. I refuse to continue this mockery of literature. My writing partner is a violent, chauvinistic semi-literate adolescent.
( Gary )
Yeah? Well, my writing partner is a self-centered tedious neurotic whose attempts at writing are the literary equivalent of Valium. "Oh, shall I have chamomile tea? Or shall I have some other sort of F˜KING TEA??? Oh no, what am I to do? I'm such an air headed bimbo who reads too many Danielle Steele novels!"
(Rebecca)
As*h@le <mailto:As*h@le> .
( Gary )
B*tch!
(Rebecca)
F**K YOU - YOU NEANDERTHAL!!
( Gary )
In your dreams, Ho. Go drink some tea.
(TEACHER)
A+ - I really liked this one
This email is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If the reader of this email message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender and destroy/delete all copies of the transmittal. Thank you.
Subject: Three Little Ducks
Three little ducks go into a Bar..............................
"Say, what's your name?" the bartender asked the first duck.
"Huey, " was the reply.
"How's your day been, Huey?"
"Great. Lovely day. Had a ball. Been in and out of puddles all day. What else could a duck want?" said Huey.
"Oh. That's nice," said the bartender. He turned to the second duck, "Hi,
and what's your name?"
"Dewey," came the answer from duck number two.
"So how's your day been, Dewey! ?" he asked.
"Great. Lovely day. I've had a ball too. Been in and out of puddles all day myself. What else could a duck want?"
The bartender turned to the third duck and said, "So, you must be Louie?"
"No," she said, batting her eyelashes.
"My name is Puddles."
Now tell me YOU'RE NOT going to Forward THIS.
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
Wall Street's Lobbies for more Profit Protection - January 4, 2007
David Patch
In today's Traders Magazine columnist Peter Chapman discussed the most recent Wall Street debate over Regulation SHO and the now infamous grandfather clause imbedded in the law. In reading between the lines of the article, Wall Street appears to be looking for more party favors from the SEC to keep the 2006 jamboree rolling into 2007.
Recall, in 2004 the SEC released the final version of Regulation SHO to the public and with this release they presented, for the first time, this otherwise unheard of hall pass called the "grandfather clause". After succumbing to the lobbying of the Securities Industry Association (SIA) the SEC incorporated this controversial clause into law without the benefit of public comment or even public awareness. The clause, intended to protect the industry members from their responsibility (liability) in settling what were considered to be excessive and sometimes illegal short positions, was quietly added to the fine print of the released at the 12th hour against the wishes and recommendations of Congressional oversight.
Today, after reconsidering such rule making, the SEC has proposed eliminating this controversial clause identifying it as a loophole that needs to be closed. One SEC Commissioner has called the revision under consideration a mere fine-tuning of the newly created law.
"In fine-tuning Reg SHO," SEC Commissioner Roel Campos remarked in a speech this summer, "our efforts are targeted at protecting a small universe of thinly-capitalized securities from abusive trading wherein the level of fails to deliver can harm the market for the security."
Consider that the difference between today and June 2004 is merely 18-months of opportunity for Wall Street to slowly cover potentially abusive trade liabilities profitably.
As for that "small universe of thinly-capitalized securities" referenced by Campos, to date more than 25% of all NYSE and 30% of all NASDAQ listed securities have held a position on the SEC's threshold security list for excessive failures with neither market rarely considered as being loaded with thinly capitalized companies. In total over, 4000 of the near 13,000 publicly traded companies have seen time on the list.
No small universe by my standards.
The 18-month delay by the regulators in enforcing the laws still may not satisfy Wall Street as the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), formerly SIA, apparently continues to lobby the SEC on behalf of the members of Wall Street.
SIFMA contends that the elimination of the grandfather clause would lead to a rash of short squeezes as presented in an industry sponsored comment memo to the SEC by the lobbyist organization. Preventing short squeezes was why the SEC created the grandfather exemption in the first place, SIFMA contends.
A short squeeze occurs when shorts are forced to buy in their positions. In this case, Industry concern is over being responsible to cover shorts sold to investors but never delivered beyond a 13-day trading period.
But short squeezes are not illegal and certainly not illegal if they are the result of simply making the seller deliver what he/she sold. Manipulating the market by flooding the market with stock that does not exist to deliver, and gaining the leverage by upsetting the true balance of supply and demand, is.
By law, any short that is executed on behalf of an investor must settle within 3 business days. Rules 15c3-3 and 15c6-1 of the Exchange Act of 1934 spell that out very clearly. Any failure thereafter becomes the liability of he industry members who executed such orders without fully performing the duties of execution.
Wall Street broker dealers will charge the short seller the fee to borrow the security making the liability of the fail for not borrowing the shares the firms. It is this liability that SIFMA seeks to eliminate from the financial service operations and pass on to the investing public.
The only exempted short from the 3-day settlement period are those shorts created by market makers and specialists who are exempted from the 3-day settlement while making a bona-fide market in a security; creating liquidity. However, bona-fide market making laws also maintain that such transactions must be done to address temporary volatility in the market and can not be claimed exempt if it is for a house account under a trading strategy.
Trading into indefinite deliveries is a trading strategy and not a temporary adjustment for market volume volatility.
But Knight Securities, UBS, and other market making firms like Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities look at this differently. "This [eliminating grandfather clause] is going to have a serious impact on our ability to make markets," Mark Madoff, co-director of trading at the family-owned Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, said of the SEC's planned elimination of the grandfather clause.
There is only one problem with Madoff's assertions.
Making markets is about matching legitimate buyers and sellers and about only creating temporary liquidity when they two can't be matched. Using a naked shorting exemption to sell off securities to unsuspecting buyers, and then failing to make good on delivery of these securities for long indefinite periods in time, is not considered temporary market making. Such a trading strategy is no longer making a bona-fide market but executing a trading strategy. When involved in this type of trading strategy market makers then fall under the same trading guidelines as every other market investor and carry the equivalent risk an investor would carry.
In law, there should never be any legal exemption for market makers in any security to execute a trading strategy that insures risk is only passed on to the investor. Such a legal exemption would be the first step to creating a rigged marketplace and would be the cornerstone to possible market manipulation. To make such concessions into law would disrupt investor confidence in the system and the regulators and have an overall negative impact on our markets.
But to a Wall Street Industry where $57 Million bonuses are being handed out to top executives that produce record earnings, this is exactly what is being expected of industry laws and exactly what the industries top lobbyist is preaching in the very halls of the SEC.
Total Wall Street bonuses, using trading profits as a catalyst, peaked at over $27 Billion for 2006 and still that is not enough. SIFMA, representing the industry, wants more and wants it at investor risk.
Protect us from any possible losses is what the SIFMA is requesting and until now how the SEC has responded favorably. Ultimately what SIFMA really wants is for Wall Street to continue to grow and thus continue to invest heavily in SIFMA's high-powered lobbying efforts.
SIFMA, who claims to represent the interests of nearly 93 Million investors, is actually representing none. SIFMA speaks for the industry interests at the expense of 93 Million investors financial safety.
How the SEC will finally conclude this saga is anyone's guess. They have shown little backbone in standing up to industry lobbyists in the past and may very well cower under industry pressures again. One thing is for sure however, Congress is watching this time and Congress, unlike Commissioner Campos, are seeing the results of the data and have concluded one in three companies is not a small universe of companies after all.
If applied equally, one in three investors would equal more than 30 million people who may have been impacted by this reportedly small problem.
For more on this issue please visit the Host site at www.investigatethesec. com .
I consider it a very good buy even at today's price.
You are quite premature in your prediction
CLN: Awards Options to Michael Tardugno
Celsion Corporation (CLN) reported the grant of a stock option award to Mr. Michael Tardugno, who commenced employment with Celsion as its President and Chief Executive Officer today. As previously disclosed, the Board of Directors of Celsion approved the option grant to Mr. Tardugno effective as of January 3, 2007, to purchase 430,000 shares of common stock at a per share exercise price equal to the closing price of the common stock on The American Stock Exchange on January 3, 2007. The closing price on such date was $2.42.
The stock option granted to Mr. Tardugno vests in four equal annual installments commencing on the first anniversary of the grant date and is subject to forfeiture in the event of resignation or termination for cause prior to vesting.
bizjournals.com
Celsion stock up after study results
Wednesday January 3, 2:08 pm ET
Stock in biotechnology company Celsion rose as much as 13 percent after the company reported on experiments using its heat sensitive cancer treatment.
Columbia-based Celsion says scientists at Duke University used temperature-sensitive liposomes developed by Celsion in lab experiments with rodents, and found that heat, and the time at which heat was used, showed evidence of controlling the delivery of tumor killing drugs and their effectivenes
It says the results were published Wednesday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Celsion has global licensing rights to the heat activated liposome technology. It is currently in Phase I clinical trials as a potential treatment for liver cancer and recurring breast cancer.
Celsion (AMEX: CLN - News) had $4.1 million in revenue last quarter, up 29 percent. The company cut its loses in half to $990,000, largely from resumed shipments of its prostate cancer treatment, Prolieve. The catheter kit was taken off the market for several months last year because of manufacturing defects.
Published January 3, 2007 by the Washington Business Journal
that's fine with me.
A lonely widow, aged 70, decided that it was time to get married again.
So she put an ad in the local newspaper that read:
HUSBAND WANTED:
MUST BE IN MY AGE GROUP (70’s),
MUST NOT BEAT ME,
MUST NOT RUN AROUND ON ME,
AND MUST STILL BE GOOD IN BED!
ALL APPLICANTS PLEASE APPLY IN PERSON.
On the second day she heard the doorbell. Much to her dismay, she opened
the door to see a grey-haired gentleman sitting in a wheel chair. He had
no arms or legs.
“You’re not really asking me to consider you, are you?” the widow said.
“Just look at you — you have no legs!”
The old gentleman smiled, “Therefore, I cannot run around on you!”
“You don’t have any arms either!” she snorted.
Again, the old man smiled, “Therefore, I can never beat you!”
She raised an eyebrow and asked intently, “Are you still good in bed??”
The old man leaned back, beamed a big smile and said,”I rang the door
bell, didn’t I?”
The wedding is scheduled for Saturday
The positives certainly "out weigh" the negatives by far!
Perhaps if you paid attention to the ongoing saga of NMKT the news releases might start having meaning to you.
Are you absolutely sure????
In 1986, Mkele Mbembe was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from
Northwestern University. On a hike through the bush, he came across a
young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air The
elephant seemed distressed, so Mbembe approached it very carefully. He
got down on one knee and inspected the elephant's foot, and found a
large piece of wood deeply embedded in it. As carefully and as gently
as he could, Mbembe worked the wood out with his hunting knife, after
which the elephant gingerly put down its foot. The elephant turned to
face the man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at
him for several tense moments.
Mbembe stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled.
Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away.
Mbembe never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.
Twenty years later, Mbemb was walking through the Chicago Zoo with
his teenaged son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of
the creatures turned and walked over to near where Mbembe and his son
Tapu were standing. The large bull elephant stared at Mbembe, lifted
its front foot off the ground, then put it down. The elephant did that
several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.
Remembering the encounter in 1986, Mbembe couldn't help wondering if
this was the same elephant. Mbembe summoned up his courage, climbed
over the railing and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right
up to the elephant and stared back in wonder.
The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of
Mbembe's legs and slammed him against the railing, killing him
instantly.
Probably wasn't the same elephant.
When I got home last night,
my wife demanded that I take her out to some
place expensive
So I took her to a gas station !!!!!!!
There was a man who worked at the Post Office whose job was to process all the mails that had illegible addresses. One day, a letter came addressed to God with no actual address. He thought he should open it to see what it was about. The letter read:
"Dear God:
I am an 83-year-old widow, living on a very small pension. Yesterday someone stole my purse. It had $100 in it, which was all the money I had until my next pension check.
Next Sunday is Christmas, and I had invited two of my friends over for dinner. Without that money, I have nothing to buy food with. I have no family to turn to, and you are my only hope.
Can you please help me?
Sincerely, Edna"
The postal worker was touched. Each one dug into his and her wallet and came up with a few dollars. By the time he made the rounds, he had collected $96, which they put into an envelope and sent to the woman. The rest of the day, all the postal workers felt a warm glow thinking of Edna and the dinner she would be able to share with her friends.
Christmas came and went. A few days later, another letter came from the same old lady to God. All the workers gathered around while the letter was opened. It read:
"Dear God:
How can I ever thank you enough for what you did for me? Because of your gift of love, I was able to fix a glorious dinner for my friends. We had a very nice day, and I told my friends of your wonderful gift. By the way, there was $4 missing. I think it must have been those bastards at the Post Office.
Sincerely yours, Edna"
SUMMARY OF THIS LAST YEAR ON MY COMPUTER:
I must send my thanks to whoever sent me the one about rat poop in
the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet towel with
every envelope that needs sealing.
Also, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same
reason.
I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny
Brown) who is about to die in the hospital for the 1,387,258th time.
I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I
receive the $15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft and AOL are sending me
for participating in their special e-mail program.
I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels
looking out for me, and St. Theresa's novena has granted my every
wish.
I no longer eat KFC because their chickens are actually horrible
mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.
I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a
water buffalo on a hot day.
Thanks to you, I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I
forward an email to seven of my friends and make a wish within five
minutes.
Because of your concern I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can
remove toilet stains.
I no longer can buy gasoline without taking a man along to watch the
car so a serial killer won't crawl in my back seat when I'm pumping
gas.
I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr. Pepper since the people who make
these products are atheists who refuse to put "Under God" on their
cans.
I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.
And thanks for letting me know I can't boil a cup water in the
microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face...disfiguring
me for life.
I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be
pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.
I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a
perfume sample and rob me.
I no longer receive packages from UPS or FedEx since they are
actually Al Qaeda in disguise.
I no longer shop at Target since they are French and don't support
our American troops or the Salvation Army
I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a
number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica,
Uganda, Singapore, and Uzbekistan.
I no longer have any sneakers -- but that will change once I
Receive my free replacement pair from Nike.
I no longer buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus since I now
have their recipe.
Thanks to you, I can't use anyone's toilet but mine because a big
brown African spider is lurking under the seat to cause me instant
death when it bites my butt.
Thank you too for all the endless advice Andy Rooney has given us. I
can live a better life now because he's told us how to fix
everything
And thanks to your great advice, I can't ever pick up $5.00 I
dropped in the parking lot because it probably was placed there by a
sex molester waiting underneath my car to grab my leg.
Oh, and don't forget this one either!
I can no longer drive my car because I can't buy gas from certain
gas companies!
If you don't send this e-mail to at least 47,000 people in the next
47 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at
5:47 PM this afternoon and the fleas from 47 camels will infest your
back, causing you to grow a hairy hump.
I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of
my next door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's second husband's cousin's
beautician...
Have a wonderful day....AND
A scientist from Argentina, after a lengthy study, has discovered
that people with insufficient brain and sexual activity read their
e-mail with their hand on the mouse.
Don't bother taking it off now, it's too late...
__________ NOD32 1935 (20061222) Information __________
Legally Correct Greeting Card
I wanted to send out some sort of holiday greeting to my friends and family,
but it is so difficult in today's world to know exactly what to say without
offending someone. So I met with my attorney, and on his advice I wish to
say the following:
Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an
environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non addictive
gender neutral, celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within
the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or
secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular
persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their
choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.
I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically
uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar
year 2007, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other
cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great (not
to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country or is
the only "AMERICA" in the western hemisphere), and without regard to the
race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, or sexual
preference of the wishes.
By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms: This greeting is
subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no
alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to
actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void
where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the
wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected
within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or
until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes
first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a
new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.
Disclaimer: No trees were harmed in the sending of this message, however a
significant number of electrons were inconvenienced.
Thank You
NMKT: Continues to Build Relations In China
Monday , December 18, 2006 16:33 ET
By Brian Edwards, bedwards@knobias.com
NewMarket Technology, Inc. (NMKT) announced Monday it was named as an official partner to the Chinese Government to promote the Chinese Software industry in North America. NewMarket will be introduced as an official partner to the Chinese Government at the COSEP (Chinese Offshore Software Engineering Program) 2006 Annual Conference, which will be held on Dec. 19, 2006.
COSEP was started in 2004 by Torch Center, the Chinese government agency in charge of advocating technology industries. COSEP is considered the most important Chinese government initiative to promote the Chinese software industry in the European and North American markets. The mission of COSEP is to build four "public platforms" for Chinese software firms in respect to training, sales and marketing, pre-competitive technology development, and financing. In the past few years, COSEP has qualified about 100 pilot Chinese software companies to receive support from the program's public platforms.
Besides COSEP, Torch Center also monitors and supports 29 software parks around China which house software companies contributing more than 60% of all Chinese software revenue. Companies in these software parks also contribute more than 40% of Chinese software exports. China currently has a $17 billion software development industry exporting $3 billion in software development annually outside of China, primarily to Japan.
Taken from the press Release "NewMarket has been working with the Torch Center for months to develop this partnership," said Philip Verges, CEO of NewMarket Technology, Inc. "The partnership with Torch is just the first step in an overall plan between Torch and NewMarket to bring Chinese software development services to North America. This partnership enables NewMarket to bring tremendous business opportunities to both Chinese software companies and North American clients with great potential to expand our own business and client base."
Earlier this month NMKT and IICP entered into an agreement with Moviii.com to test market a digital IPTV service in the United States. Last month IICP announced that Dr. Larry Wu Former Senior Advisor to Premier of China, Dr. Wu Xianghong (Larry) as VP of Business Development.
According to a Company Representative, “NewMarket has worked to establish itself in China through developing relationship with China since 2002 and has proven itself with established contacts.” The Representative went on to say, “Relationships in China are most important and not something a company can do very easily. A company must prove itself over time with China.”
The Representative concluded, “In the future NewMarket expects to develop relationships vastly on our relationship contacts in China.”
Knobias, Inc. has received monetary compensation from the above company for services rendered as part of the Knobias Media Package. Please refer to the "Media Package Disclaimer."
Rick Lutz
LC Group
404-261-1196
__________ NOD32 1931 (20061220) Information __________
This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system.
http://www.eset.com
A $2 Bill
---
Everyone should start carrying them!
I am STILL laughing!!
I think we need to quit saving our $2 bills and bring them out in public.
The younger generation doesn't know they exist.
STORY:
On my way home from work, I stopped at Taco Bell for a quick bite to eat.
In my billfold are a $50 bill and a $2 bill.
I figure that with a $2 bill, I can get something to eat and not have
to worry about anyone getting irritated at me for trying to break a
$50 bill.
Me:
"Hi, I'd like one seven-layer burrito please, to go "
Server:
"That'll be $1.04. Eat in?"
Me:
"No, it's to go." At this point, I open my billfold and hand him the
$2 bill... He looks at it kind of funny.
Server:
"Uh, hang on a sec, I'll be right back."
He goes to talk to his manager, who is still within my earshot.
The following conversation occurs between the two of them:
Server:
"Hey, you ever see a $2 bill?"
Manager:
"No. A what?"
Server:
"A $2 bill. This guy just gave it to me."
Manager:
"Ask for something else. There's no such thing as a $2 bill."
Server:
"Yeah, thought so."
He comes back to me and says, "We don't take these. Do you have anything else?"
Me:
"Just this fifty. You don't take $2 bills? Why?"
Server:
"I don't know."
Me:
"See here where it says legal tender?"
Server:
"Yeah."
Me:
"So, why won't you take it?"
Server:
"Well, hang on a sec."
He goes back to his manager, who has been watching me like I'm a
shoplifter, and says to him, "He says I have to take it."
Manager:
"Doesn't he have anything else?"
Server:
"Yeah, a fifty. I'll get it and you can open the safe and get change "
Manager:
"I'm not opening the safe with him in here."
Server:
"What should I do?"
Manager:
"Tell him to come back later when he has real money."
Server:
"I can't tell him that! You tell him."
Manager:
"Just tell him."
Server:
"No way! This is weird. I'm going in back."
The manager approaches me and says, "I'm sorry, but we don't take big
bills this time of night."
Me:
"It's only seven o'clock! Well then, here's a two dollar bill."
Manager:
"We don't take those, either."
Me:
"Why not?"
Manager:
"I think you know why."
Me:
"No really, tell me why."
Manager:
"Please leave before I call mall security."
Me:
"Excuse me?"
Manager:
"Please leave before I call mall security."
Me:
"What on earth for?"
Manager:
"Please, sir."
Me:
"Uh, go ahead, call them."
Manager:
"Would you please just leave?"
Me:
"No."
Manager:
"Fine -- have it your way then."
Me:
"Hey, that's Burger King, isn't it?"
At this point, he backs away from me and calls mall security on the
phone around the corner. I have two people staring at me from the
dining area, and I begin laughing out loud, just for effect. A few
minutes later this 45-year-oldish guy Comes in.
Guard:
"Yeah, Mike, what's up?"
Manager (whispering):
"This guy is trying to give me some (pause) funny money."
Guard:
"No kidding! What?"
Manager:
"Get this A two dollar bill."
Guard (incredulous): "Why would a guy fake a two dollar bill?"
Manager:
"I don't know. He's kinda weird. He says the only other thing he has
is a fifty."
Guard:
"Oh, so the fifty's fake!"
Manager:
"No, the two dollar bill is."
Guard:
"Why would he fake a two dollar bill?"
Manager:
"I don't know! Can you talk to him, and get him out of here?"
Guard:
"Yeah."
Security Guard walks over to me and......
Guard:
"Mike here tells me you have some fake bills you're trying to use."
Me:
"Uh, no."
Guard:
"Lemme see 'em."
Me:
"Why?"
Guard:
"Do you want me to get the cops in here?"
At this point I am ready to say, "Sure, please!" but I want to eat,
so I say "I'm just trying to buy a burrito and pay for it with this
two dollar bill.
I put the bill up near his face, and he flinches like I'm taking a
swing at him. He takes the bill, turns it over a few times in his
hands, and says, "Hey, Mike, what's wrong with this bill?"
Manager:
"It's fake."
Guard:
"It doesn't look fake to me."
Manager:
"But it's a two dollar bill."
Guard:
"Yeah?"
Manager:
"Well, there's no such thing, is there?"
The security guard and I both look at him like he's an idiot, and it
dawns on the guy that he has no clue.
So, it turns out that my burrito was free, and he threw in a small
drink and some of those cinnamon thingies, too.
Made me want to get a whole stack of two dollar bills just to see
what happens when I try to buy stuff. If I got the right group of
people, I could probably end up in jail. You get free food there, too.
Just think...those two will be voting
soon...........................................