I disagree with you 100% re: short sellers..
After 9/11, the media and every other person with a soap box to stand on said buy buy buy! but the markets dropped like a brick.. Foreign sellers? possibly.. more likely- fear.. uncertaintity.. Short interest (which was already high going into 9/11) did exactly what short selling is meant to do.. put in a floor..
WCOM, Enron,Tyco, heck- even GE.. Short sellers were screaming about all this insane accounting and it fell of deaf ears.. Short selling is essential for a fair market.. it provides balance.. and any attempt to put a negative label on that is just flat out wrong..
as for Hedge Funds.. I agree there..
as for the markets/integrity/confidence- The president of my country is on TV today in hopes of restoring MY confidence in the markets.. Unfortunately, I have alot of questions for him and his dealings with the equities market/insider trading. Its times like this that I get very embarrassed by the people running my country..