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Strategies & Market Trends : VOLTAIRE'S PORCH-MODERATED -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SOROS who wrote (27786)	12/31/2000 2:23:33 PM
From: Poet	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

Thank you very much for posting that, Soros.

To: SOROS who wrote (27786)	12/31/2000 2:43:21 PM
From: Murrey Walker	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

SOROS...your archiving abilities are nothing less than remarkable. That said, I must say, "So What?" While I haven't read other Coffee Shop threads lately, are you posting the same type of message (i.e., rub the thread moderators nose in the dropings of the past), on the other threads? If so, I commend you for alerting the neophyte investor. If not...

To: SOROS who wrote (27786)	12/31/2000 5:28:09 PM
From: bela_ghoulashi	Read Replies (5) \| Respond to of 65232

Any thoughts on why Voltaire may have developed a following and a poster like, say, limtex has not? Voltaire consistently responds to everything he sees as an opportunity. Not as something to agonize over, not as something to run from, but as an opportunity to be pursued. He may be right here, he may be wrong there, but he is not driven by mendacity, duplicity, or deceit. It is simply a function of his character to see the world as a place where good things will ultimately happen, if you take the risk and reach out persistently and tenaciously enough. All successful human enterprise requires people cut from that cloth. The very purpose of these boards is to provide a place where people can find and share information, analysis, and opinion. Like it or not, they will act on what they find, in some sense or another...otherwise they wouldn't be here. No poster on SI can honestly say they aren't here looking for good information that they can act on. Who they choose to read, what they choose to believe, how they decide to act, is purely a matter of personal taste and affinity. Voltaire is no more personally culpable for anyone else's losses in this market than any other poster on SI who ever expresses an opinion. The most important single lesson anyone following this board or any board can learn is that success and failure...in investing, life, or whatever...are both, both, impermanent and relative conditions, prone to change into their opposite seemingly in a heartbeat. The important thing is tenacity and persistence in pursuit of an overarching goal, in the face of adversity, in the face of complacency. Voltaire, RR, and many others here share that same tenacity and persistence. That is what they have to offer. People naturally sense that individuals with those qualities will be the ones who ultimately prevail, despite setbacks, despite disappointments. So they will always have a following, despite whatever attempts to discredit them on this or that transient specific, because people innately see past that to the larger issues. It is not a mistake to be an optimist, living in this country, at this time, with this kind of economic potential, on the threshold of a new decade and a new century. It is a mistake to dismiss optimists altogether. The trend truly their friend. imho.

To: SOROS who wrote (27786)	12/31/2000 8:20:26 PM
From: Voltaire	Read Replies (9) \| Respond to of 65232

SOROS, No, no one to really blast you here. I feel for you and the others that labor so hard to rationalize their ill will and unhappiness, not because of these boards but because of seeds that were somehow sowed many many years ago for whatever reason. No one, nor any thing can deter me on my journey to happiness and contentment, something I so much wish was easy to transfer. I feel for you and the others but must admit a smidge of disappointment in your not delving in the archives a bit further to show the many one finger typed PM's I took the time to send you when your hopes needed bolstering. Like I say, I hold no ill will but in every trial there is a lesson and in this ephemeral downturn things are no different. The lesson: " In time of prosperity, friends will be plenty; in times of adversity not one in twenty" I want to thank the one in twenty that have kept a trueness to our friendship. It is this true friendship that keeps me here and the CALL OF THE DAY pales in comparison. Happy New Year Everyone. Voltaire

To: SOROS who wrote (27786)	1/1/2001 11:27:00 AM
From: Venkie	Respond to of 65232

Boooooom Bang Blast<gg> Now you have been blasted so have a great new yr

To: SOROS who wrote (27786)	1/1/2001 8:32:09 PM
From: Sully-	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 65232

Happy New Year SOROS! I've been away, so this reply might be a rehash of thoughts from others, but here goes anyway..... No need to blast you for your thoughts. However, there should be no problem looking at some weaknesses in your theories..... I'm sure there is a bit of reality in what you tried to imply..... no doubt there are plenty of folks who are looking for shortcuts to riches & are too lazy to put in the time & effort to develop their own style & to learn what works for themselves...... and the time & effort to perform all necessary due diligence to protect/maximize their equity & returns..... blindly following someone on a message board might seem like an easy shortcut.....AT THEIR OWN PERIL IMVHO I see you did a good job finding selected passages that supported your POV..... it's a shame that there was absolutely no balance after such extensive research..... there are a lot of instances that show Voltaire made some great calls (market & individual stocks) in 2000 that went unmentioned.... there are many instances where folks could have made money if they chose to trade many of Voltaire bullish calls..... but you seemed to miss all of those posts.... or you decided to go for creating perceptions that support your POV..... possibly by excluding all contradicting evidence that would have mitigated the impact of your findings.... that truly is a shame :-\| I also have to wonder why you selected Voltaire to the exclusion of other thread leaders on SI who also have been perma-bulls & made numerous poor selections in 2000..... I have to wonder why you failed to mention analysts, talking heads, fund managers, brokers, CNBC, etc., that are suppose to be professionals..... How many hundreds of these highly paid people failed the investing public miserably in 2000..... how many of these folks were raising estimates for earnings, raising stock price targets into the stratosphere, with BUY & STRONG BUY ratings while these stocks fell from 30% to 90% from their highs..... and only after the huge losses did they lower estimates & price targets?????? Most/all of these people are paid handsomely to affect the perceptions of the investing public. How much did anyone pay Voltaire for his thoughts? I submit that those who followed blindly got what they paid for. No doubt there were people who blindly bought stocks/options that Voltaire was bullish on...... no doubt many of these same people were not able to manage their own portfolio..... & were looking to find an easy way to riches.... rather than taking time to learn on their own what is best for their personal investment styles. Allowing the FREE advice of a thread leader(s) to have a significant influence on your personal investing decisions is a HUGE investing mistake..... now the question is, has experience taught these people anything?????? ...... or will these people find a scapegoat to blame for their very own personal mistakes? Those who choose to point fingers at anyone besides themselves are doomed to repeat many mistakes in life IMVHO. How can their own personal mistakes be laid at Voltaire's feet? He shares his thoughts & experiences to try to help people. Voltaire bends over backwards trying to help folks..... that does not mitigate any personal responsibility at all. Voltaire is human & 2000 was not kind to perma-bulls. However, there are no claims from him that, 'I'll take you by the hand to investment riches.' Those who follow anyone blindly are doomed..... sooner or later..... due to their own personal mistakes..... not because someone else made them do it. 2000 was not kind to untold millions of investors. Perhaps 2001 will begin to reveal who learns & moves forward & those who choose denial of personal responsibility. I remain Ö¿Ö

To: SOROS who wrote (27786)	1/2/2001 5:41:52 PM
From: Bridge Player	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 65232

Soros, you have done an outstanding job of collecting and posting many of the bullish posts made here in the last few months. I urge everyone who follows this message board to carefully study the posts contained within your message (#27786 as I write), note the dates and subsequent market action, and consider what effect they may have had on their own investment/speculation decision making, as well as what they may say about the credibility of the poster. I thank you for your efforts. BP.