To: Bill Ulrich who wrote (1227 ) 11/25/1997 9:10:00 PM From: Ken Merwin Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 1267
MrB: Heeeesssss baaaacccckkkkkk I just copied this over from Mr. Westergaard's daily e-mail digest that I get mainly for the Y2K stuff. O Editor John Westergaard Reporting * It's All About Disclosure, Anaxie!!! Tuesday November25th: "Anaxie" responded yesterday to my "Hype vs Vision" piece by renewing the debate over Pluvia. Readers will recall that Westergaard Online offered a reward for information leading to the identification of a person posting twisted information about Premier Laser Systems (PLSIA 9 5/8 Nsdq) on Silicon Investor under the pen name "Pluvia". Anaxie states: "Westergaard judged that the best way to react to the critical comments of a private individual was by intimidation; he failed in that case.". My Good Sir, Anaxie: It seems to me that our unveiling of the true identity of "Pluvia" was hardly failing in our objective which was to determine who he was and what were his motives. As it turned out, we established that he was not posting on Silicon Investor for purposes of advancing the investment dialoque re PLSIA, but was in fact a stalking horse for a competitor and that he had a direct interest in seeing PLSIA fail and its products be discredited because he owns a portfolio of the other company's systems for teeth whitening which he rents or leases to dentists. Not only did he discredit PLSIA's comparable systems at Silicon Investor but I am told he also called dentists telling them that if they bought the PLSIA equipment they could be sued for patent infringement. Pluvia was perpetrating a fraud on the membership of Silicon Investor. He was presenting himself as an investor representing short sellers (this is what he told PLSIA management) when in fact he was representing the interests of a competitor to PLSIA in the manufacture of laser systems. By unveiling Pluvia's true identity following posting of a $5,000 reward for information leading to his identity, we brought this fraud to light as a result of which Pluvia was issued a "cease and desist" letter. He hasn't been heard from since re PLSIA. The matter of Pluvia vs Westergaard is about disclosure. I have no problem with persons posting negative information and if they choose to do so anonymously, it wouldn't be my style but it's accepted on the Internet. Where I take issue is the use of an investment medium such as Silicon Investor -- which I think is a great service, by the way -- to pursue a scurrilous business agenda such as did Pluvia by defaming PLSIA and failing to disclose his true interest to the membership of Silicon Investor. Perhaps we need a contest to report any and all "Pluvia sightings", much like the "Elvis" sightings. I'll start - I saw "Pluvia" on this past Sunday's Fox network coverage of our awesome Green Bay Packers vs. Dallas Cowboys football game. He was disguised as "Towel Man" and was noticeable for his whitened teeth. Regards, Ken Merwin Wisconsin