Thoughtless people rush to judgement. Shoot the messenger. Ignore the message.

The British government have just done it again through the Financial Services Authority.

Short selling has been banned. Short sellers labelled as "spivs and speculators" in the media.

Problem solved?

HBOS did not collapse because of short sellers.

HBOS collapsed because the bank invested in things nobody understood.

Because nobody could put a fair market value on the bank on Wednesday 17th September or Thursday 18th September.

Short sellers are the heroes in all of this.

They directed the world's attention to the fundamental weakness in the market. To the serious difficulty of calculating a fair market value for any institution holding a portfolio of derivatives that has no immediate cash value.

The last time this happened, a poor bloke was being extradited to the United States for hacking into the US Military computer system.

A lone guy, operating from his bedroom in suburban England was able to infiltrate the computer security system of the greatest nation on earth with nothing more offensive than his mind and a laptop.

The man is a hero. He should have been feted throughout the land. Become rich and famous.

Instead, he was brought before the Royal Courts of Justice. The good lords decided that he was a threat to society and ordered him shipped over to the US where he will stand trial.

My lords. You have just shot the messenger.

He appealed to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and was turned down.

Why does everybody shoot the messenger

The message?

Fix the computer security system before somebody with serious intent comes calling.

Need a consultant? Try looking in US jails under Gary McKinnon.

Get the message. Its not the "Spivs and speculators"

Clean up the market place. Get rid of derivatives. Go back to products that the world understands.