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Technology Stocks : Westell WSTL -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DWCraig who wrote (19961)	8/9/2000 10:25:40 AM
From: Michael F. Donadio	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 21342

I for one am glad that SI has taken some responsible action. How did the WSTL fall prey to the likes of Auric Goldfinger? Auric understands next to zero about the future of DSL or its history, but is a genius in psychology and manipulating public opinion --- to his own profit. WSTL unfortuately has a profile which fits the bill for a good short. This happened because WSTL was too early into DSL and languished for so long while the RBOCs got their act together. He uses his pulpit from SI to herald shorts to attack a stock. I don't consider that wrong, but like anything else one must examine the accuracy. Here is such a rallying cry from yesterday. Message 14181691 [John Huber is asking Auric if SONS would be a good short] John Huber who wrote (5577) From: Auric Goldfinger Tuesday,Aug 8, 2000 2:52 PM ET Reply # of 5634 Overvalued & high beta yes, but a good underwriter & pretty hot space. I'd look for something with weaker mgmt, lower margins, less aggresive instituional investors. WSTL fits all this, but it's getting schmacked today, wait a few and you'll get another chance, these fish just love to hand out money.... Thus we see how WSTL's great earnings, revenue growth, and determination to be a world class player in the DSL market, (which John Chambers said yesterday is doubling quarter by quarter), can be overlooked and "schmacked". The power of the emerging DSL technology will eventually overtake the ignorant and shortsighted DSL shorts, but much harm can be done to developing companies which become the prey of unrelenting attacks by organized shorts who use their anonymity to defame and assassinate the character of a company and its executives -- IN ORDER TO MANIPULATE STOCK PRICES. This is a recent successful case brought by Biometrix against anonymous Yahoo posters who claimed the CEO was a NAZI and its products resulted in death: <<Judge Peter F. Boggia of the New Jersey Superior Court in Bergen Country ruled July 25 against three people who posted "clearly libelous" messages. The trio alleged in an Internet message board run by Yahoo! Inc. that the company's chief executive was a Nazi and that its product to treat arthritis has killed people. *** In his ruling, Judge Boggia said he disagreed with the defense's claim that no one would take seriously their postings about Biomatrix. Those postings published on Yahoo! Finance alleged, among other things, that Biomatrix CEO Endre A. Balazs was a "Nazi SS doctor" who "tortured and experimented on helpless human beings during World War II." Another poster said that a woman who used a company product that is injected in the knee to treat arthritis caused her to "cough up blood and scream in agony before she died." The fact that some messages contained statements saying they were "100% accurate" and contained information from "inside sources" suggests that the writers wanted to be taken seriously, the judge said.>> Message 14157517 I am not against shorts, but I am against contrived manipulation of information about stocks and their executives -- to the point of defamation -- in order to profit. There are good reasons for an alias, but as a cloak for slander is not one of them. Many of the lies and defamatory comments made about MZ and others at WSTL I have found sickening. These are some fine people who deserve to be treated "as you would like others to treat you". All the best, Michael