I suggest people read the agreement betwen Roy and Hicks of Southridge and also do a little reasearch into Southridge, enough SEC issues regarding their illegal practices.
In the agreement Roy stipulates no short before and during valuation period and that is it. After that Southridge may in fact short and has a history of shorting against it's own position.
Short Interest has in fact climbed in the month of December and is likely to be as high if not higher in January:
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