[juxtaposezen : Do you still believe this: "Ajor has clearly done some serious fact research."]
I would have to say yes. It would be impossible to know all of those facts without having gained that knowledge from some source. He has certainly done more to advance and solidify my understanding of the company than any other poster. I will tell you why I think that is true for me personally.
I have devoted much of my life to the understanding the ontological position known as Dialectical Monism. This is very similar to the concept of Yin and Yang or the positions of Zen Nonduality or Advaita Vedanta. Ajor exhibits these polarities well. He is like a koan. Having spent so much time studying these confusing concepts I have learned how they actually bring clarity in the end. When the Zen master asks “what is the sound of one hand clapping” he is truly attempting to induce confusion for the purpose of ultimately resulting in clarity of knowledge. I think this is why I appreciate his style.
I choose to separate the wheat from the chaff, the yin from the yang, the bash from the pump. It ultimately does not matter to me what his agenda might be. If it is to reduce my clarity then he has failed. If it is to increase it then he has succeeded. Either way I am personally grateful for his contribution to my understanding.
If anyone here has so little confidence in their own investment choice that they would allow his comments to upset them or induce doubt then it is for them to look inside and figure out why. I had that experience briefly. This makes me as susceptible to confusion as he. It quickly made me realize that my doubt was real and resulted from my own lack of knowledge. That caused me to dig deeper and learn more. I quickly found that my understanding and experience were perfectly in line with my risk tolerance.
As for all those “irrelevant” points you threw out, I would ask one question: If you felt they were truly irrelevant then why didn’t you skip right over them and not concern yourself with them?
For example :“Why did Paul Smith not know when he was hired by BIGN” Well to be honest I had the exact same thought. Then I quickly realized that I did not know how long I had been at my job without a little thought. If I were under the pressure of an interview I certainly would have stumbled also. Sounded normal in my experience. End of thought.
Does Ajor get OVERLY confused by such detail? Perhaps. I am a Psychologist and I deal with patients on a daily basis who get a little too caught up in detail at times, so I have a high tolerance and appreciation for that style. Ajor definitely has a great propensity for sniffing out the details of relationships. One of the most valuable research tools he introduced me to is http://www.zoominfo.com/Search/default.aspx I was not aware of this site. Very useful tool for researching companies and relationships.
I value the diversity we have on this board. It is a “good” thing. IMHO