The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

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Richard Kaufman
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The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Richard Kaufman » February 20th, 2021, 12:21 pm

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Subscribe to Genii at http://www.geniimagazine.com for as little as $35 for 1 year and receive free access to every issue of Genii ever published and every issue of MAGIC magazine as well.
This month we dig into a mystery. Jamy Ian Swiss returns to Genii for an investigation into a demonstration that took place in the basement of a house in Brooklyn in the 1940s, where the so-called Phantom at the Card Table, Walter Scott, bamboozled a bunch of the smartest guys in our field. How? Why? And where was Dai Vernon? I’m sure you’ll find this tale of magicians, con men, and sleight of hand fascinating.
* David Regal’s second “Material Concessions” column pops up this month, and a bill flies through the dark.
* John Bannon brings his style to bear on Bro. Hamman’s “Magic Cards.”
* Jon Racherbaumer exhumes; Hannibal reflects; Lambert looks ahead; Ward examines.
* Chloe Olewitz looks around for the latest news; Jonathan Friedman brings you three tricks in “Magicana.” The talented pro magician Ryan Plunkett of Chicago joins our rotating staff of reviewers this month—he’ll be dealing with tricks. Also this issue, Nathan Coe Marsh reviews videos and Elliott Terral reviews books.
We also have full obituaries for Siegfried Fischbacher, Mark Wilson, David Roth, Bev Bergeron, and Joe Porper.
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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby TerryTerrell » February 20th, 2021, 9:55 pm

February issue was just delivered today. USPS living up to it's nickname - snail mail.

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Tom Gilbert » February 21st, 2021, 9:31 pm

Great cover story, anxious for part 2.

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Will Power » February 22nd, 2021, 3:52 pm

What a fantastic front cover picture! I would love to have been a fly on the wall in that room.

Will.

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Zig Zagger » February 22nd, 2021, 4:00 pm

A good read and a compelling photograph! Vernon surely must have felt ousted...

Maybe I missed it, but do we know by whom that picture was taken? Someone from the Baker family or maybe a ninth magician?
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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Marco Pusterla » February 23rd, 2021, 4:18 am

The photo was taken by Cardini.
The whole story of Walter Scott has been narrated in detail in Phantoms of the Card Table by David Britland and Gazzo, first published in 2003 (and re-published later).
Marco Pusterla - https://mpmagic.co.uk

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Denis Behr » February 23rd, 2021, 4:38 am

Zig Zagger wrote:A good read and a compelling photograph! Vernon surely must have felt ousted...
Maybe I missed it, but do we know by whom that picture was taken? Someone from the Baker family or maybe a ninth magician?

Apparently it was shot by pulling a string that triggered the camera. In another photograph Cardini did it according to a caption in The Phantom of the Card Table - Critical Edition, in the Genii cover either Cardini or perhaps McLaughlin (who is sitting where Cardini is sitting in the photograph with the mentioned caption).

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Richard Kaufman » February 23rd, 2021, 12:15 pm

Marco Pusterla wrote:The photo was taken by Cardini.
The whole story of Walter Scott has been narrated in detail in Phantoms of the Card Table by David Britland and Gazzo, first published in 2003 (and re-published later).


No, not the whole story. That we give you in Genii.
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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Zig Zagger » February 23rd, 2021, 4:44 pm

Thank you, Marco and Denis!
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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby erdnasephile » February 28th, 2021, 12:27 pm

Have others besides Mr. Terrell received their mailed copy of this month's Genii in CONUS?

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Richard Kaufman » February 28th, 2021, 3:19 pm

Which month?

I think we all know the post office is officially screwed up.
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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby erdnasephile » February 28th, 2021, 7:58 pm

Richard Kaufman wrote:Which month?

I think we all know the post office is officially screwed up.


Hi, RK: March 2021
And yes, I concur---I was just wondering if everyone was getting theirs already except for me ;)

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby J-Mac » February 28th, 2021, 11:07 pm

Nope. Not received yet here. (SE PA)

Jim

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Anthony Vinson » March 1st, 2021, 8:00 am

I am having problems with the Genii app crashing on my iPad. Second month in a row. Running latest ios. Just me? Hints, tips, suggestions?

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Joe Lyons » March 1st, 2021, 8:04 am

I had the same problem. It works when I allow the issue to fully load before I begin reading it.

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 1st, 2021, 9:34 am

Tell me your type of device, operating system, and is the app up to date? Send all info to moobooks@verizon.net
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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Jack Shalom » March 1st, 2021, 9:37 am

I Dream of Genii in Brooklyn, but not here yet.

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Anthony Vinson » March 1st, 2021, 10:29 am

Richard Kaufman wrote:Tell me your type of device, operating system, and is the app up to date? Send all info to moobooks@verizon.net


Thanks, Richard. Will email shortly.

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby J-Mac » March 2nd, 2021, 11:14 am

I just received the January 2021 issue yesterday. No February or March issues yet!

Jim

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 2nd, 2021, 4:34 pm

Bummer!
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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Bob Farmer » March 2nd, 2021, 6:11 pm

I ordered a trick from Penguin on January 1. Still waiting for it to arrive. The mail system does not work.

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Ted M » March 3rd, 2021, 2:04 pm

I'm up to date. Things are getting better.

Jan issue -> mailed in Dec -> received Feb 1 (1.5 months in transit)
Feb issue -> mailed in Jan -> received Feb 15 (1 month in transit)
Mar issue -> mailed in Feb -> received Mar 1 (0.5 month in transit)

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 3rd, 2021, 5:46 pm

USPS is so awful. I apologize on behalf of their terrible service.
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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Richard Hatch » March 4th, 2021, 7:15 pm

Happy to report I did get my March issue on March 1st or 2nd, pretty much on schedule, here in northern Utah. Looking forward to "the rest of the story" in the April issue.

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Chris Aguilar » March 5th, 2021, 1:45 am

Arrived today (March 4th) in Sacramento.

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 5th, 2021, 11:41 am

Our "home" copy sent the same way as everyone else's showed up yesterday.
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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Bob Coyne » November 3rd, 2021, 2:50 pm

[Long post]

It has been several months since Jamy Ian Swiss’s One Night in Brooklyn article was published in Genii (Feb-March 2021). The article alleges an elaborate conspiracy behind Walter Scott's famous 1930 demonstration. Its strategy is threefold:

  1. Dispel the aura around Scott’s otherworldly skills by arguing that the famous Brooklyn demonstration was rigged. The alleged conspiracy includes the following claims:
    a) Scott’s demonstration was a set-up involving McGuire, Baker, and Downs, wherein Baker secretly rang in a pegged deck in order to give Scott the tools he needed to fool Cardini, Horowitz, and Holden. Thus Scott’s feats were’t actually as impressive as they seemed.
    b) McGuire’s goal was to impress Horowitz with Scott, thereby giving McGuire an opening (as the gatekeeper to Scott) to access Vernon's and Horowitz's secrets.
    c) McGuire wanted Vernon dethroned and replaced by Scott as the top card guy. And Holden (through his column) was the vehicle by which that would happen.
  2. Argue that Scott was primarily a con man and exposé artist and not a lifelong professional card cheat, and that the techniques he used were not practical in real games. Therefore the bona fides he brought to the demonstration and his subsequent reputation were fraudulent.
  3. Attack the credibility of Scott and his supporters (Eddie McGuire, Artanis, Joe Crist, and Bill Kalush) while defending Vernon at every turn.
In arguing the case, speculation and erroneous information is passed off as fact. False dichotomies, straw man arguments, and cherry picked quotes are used to buttress what are otherwise just unsubstantiated conjectures. Swiss writes fluently and with an air of authority, though often in a condescending and bullying tone. As a result, readers who haven’t invested the time to research the matter themselves will likely come away misled. Hopefully, pointing out some of the many mischaracterizations and logical/factual errors will help clear the way for a more objective assessment of Scott’s feats at the card table as well as Vernon’s role in the matter.

Factual errors

  • Swiss describes Cardini as not having seen Scott (“new eyes”) before the famous June 1930 Brooklyn session. This is wrong. They had certainly met before, probably in 1928 or even 1927. A detailed account of Cardini's visit to Providence is given in the March 1930 Sphinx, where film that Cardini had taken of Scott is discussed.
  • Swiss claims that Scott met Vernon only once. This is incorrect. Vernon met Scott on at least several occasions. Scott claimed that he had even loaned Vernon his Faro box which Vernon never returned. In addition, there is a photo of Scott and Vernon together.
  • Swiss claims that “no one has ever found any evidence that cheats of the era and beyond ever heard of Walter Scott.” This is wrong. The gambler Fox Jackson attested that he had heard of the Phantom, and in fact knew of him as Montana Scotty.
  • In denigrating Scott and minimizing the impact of Scott’s negative opinion of Vernon, Swiss claims “Scott had little good to say about anyone other than himself.” Swiss is apparently unaware that Scott praised and respected Cardini and Nate Leipzig among others.
  • Swiss claims "The [Scott] technique [for the second deal] ... can be found at least as early as 1843." This is incorrect. There is no description of Scott's technique prior to the Phantom manuscript. If Swiss is equating any strike second deal (vs two card push-off) as Scott’s technique, he is missing the key differences in the technique used by Scott. It is also a red herring, as Scott never claimed to have invented the move.
  • Swiss claims that using punched cards for information is a "contemporary and sophisticated" technique. In fact, it’s a very old technique. Gilbert Walker, in the 1500s, explicitly mentioned using punched cards for this purpose.
  • Swiss incorrectly states that Ritter's "Advantage Card Playing" came out in 1847. It was 1905.
  • Swiss claims that using Scott’s technique of the peg with seconds is “slow and studied.” In reality, it is completely fluid and natural, as when Joe Crist and Scott expertly perform the move. Swiss, tellingly, has never even met Crist.
  • In an attempt to discredit Joe Crist, Swiss suggests that Crist intentionally and "mysteriously" took down his first Instagram account. That is not what happened.
  • In an another attempt to discredit Crist, Swiss claims no magician or cheat has ever heard the term “highline,” which Crist uses to describe Scott’s card handling abilities. This is false. Jason England on the Magic Cafe forum mentions hearing the gambler Rod the Hop use the term several times.
  • Swiss claims that Crist attacks Charlie Miller. This is a mischaracterization. In fact, Crist highly praises Miller's skills as a magician while simultaneously pointing out that Miller lacked the nerve and knowledge tried by fire to work at the card table. That is hardly an attack.
  • Swiss garbles Crist’s story about Erdnase in his Forward to Expert at the Card Table. It was Artanis’s teacher, not Artanis himself, who knew Erdnase and witnessed the event.
Factual omissions and cherry picking

  • Swiss proclaims "we can be certain" Scott quit cheating in 1924, since Scott said so. But he neglects to mention that Scott also says he had a game going for 60 years and many other statements to the contrary. And one wonders how Swiss can be certain of a particular statement Scott made when it is contradicted by numerous other statements. It should also be pointed out that Scott’s inconsistent statements can be easily explained as “throw offs” that he made to avoid discussing certain topics at certain times with certain people.
  • Swiss argues that Scott was primarily a con man, not a card cheat. In doing so, he again fails to inform the reader of the many examples where Scott describes his experiences of cheating at the card table, even down to details about how the way he grips the cards changes during the game: "It's because if you go into a poker game at eight o'clock at night your fingers and hands feel a certain way. At one in the morning chemical changes are taking place in the hands and the cards start slipping. That's when you have to use grip number two." These small details are borne of deep experience at the card table and speak more strongly than all the voluminous prose in Swiss's article.
  • Swiss seems unaware that Artanis told the Erdnase story to other people besides Joe Crist. Instead he mocks Crist for relaying the story.
  • Swiss highlights a couple of statements made by Miller that downplay Scott’s ability. But he fails to connect it to the crucial incident where Scott threw Miller out of his house. This rejection clearly could have colored Miller’s subsequent statements about Scott. Swiss also neglects to mention that Miller visited Scott multiple times and brought Persi Diaconis with him. Why would he do that if he thought Scott was overrated and a con man?
  • Swiss fails to inform the reader that Charlie Miller raved about Joe Crist’s amazing card handling ability on multiple occasions. Miller, in his Genii Intermission column, writes “I am spending some time in Philadelphia with a gentleman who for several years was a protege of the late Joe Artanis, the well known card table expert from New York. When it comes to doing stuff at the card table — WOW! I have been around for many years and have witnessed the best. I have received training under such top men as Vernon, Walter Scott, F. W. Ross, Doc Daly, and others and I think I recognize great talent when I see it. This Philadelphia chap does stuff that is absolutely unbelievable.”
  • To undermine McGuire’s credibility, Swiss uncritically accepts Faucet’s Ross’s third hand account that Malini barely remembered McGuire and that all he did was “take tickets at the door.” The Downs/McGuire letters tell a very different story (see Gibiciere, Summer 2021). Swiss also fails to inform the reader that much of what is known now about Malini's methods came straight from McGuire, and that Ross supplied McGuire's Malini manuscript to Ganson for his book on Malini. Why would Ross do this if he didn't believe the relationship was real?
  • Swiss fails to mention that neither Jay Marshall (whom he otherwise quotes) nor Persi Diaconis believed Baker switched decks. Diaconis has extensive knowledge of card table technique, knew the principals, and owns the Ross playlet. See Gibiciere, Summer 2012.
False dichotomies and straw man arguments

  • Swiss disputes that Scott was an international cheat because his mentor Holman was cheating in one place for decades. This simplistically assumes that all cheats (e.g. bust-out men like Holman vs Scott who traveled extensively to find new games) are constrained in the same way.
  • Swiss insinuates that Scott's attending a magic club and doing the blindfolded demo means he wasn't a cheater. This doesn't follow. It is not uncommon for people in the magic and hustling worlds to intermingle. Rod the Hop is a good example. Al Cooper, Steve Forte, Dom Paolino, Robert Mills, Fox Jackson, Del Cartier, and Willis Kenney are just a few more. Furthermore, Swiss knows that Scott was mentored by Walter Holman who was a card cheat (not a magician). And yet, he perversely avoids the obvious conclusion (from this and other evidence) that Scott cheated at the card table.
  • Swiss claims that Scott's use of the magician's term "pass" (vs "hop" or "shift") indicates he wasn't a cheater. This doesn't follow. Note that Swiss, himself, is a magician and comfortably uses gambler's terminology such as “bug” and "cold deck.”
  • Swiss says (regarding Joe Crist) "he claims to be a cheat and not a magician. So what does he know about Dai Vernon…”. Another false dichotomy. Magicians and card cheats sometimes associate with each other and share knowledge. And as above, there’s the obvious irony that Swiss (a magician) presumes to write about Scott’s skill at cheating at the card table while quoting Miller (another magician) on the same subject.
  • There is clear evidence that Scott was a con man as Swiss points out. But this in no way implies that he didn’t also cheat professionally at the table. In fact Scott attributes his skill as a con man to his overall ability and success at the card table. Cheating at cards requires a certain psychological stance that Scott excelled in. People felt comfortable with him.
  • Swiss makes the glib argument that Artanis’s bottom deal instruction record means he was just an “exposé artist.” In reality, when Scott referred to “exposé artists” he meant what he also called “bedroom cheaters”, those who never cheated under fire. It is well established that Artanis cheated at the card table professionally for years.
  • Swiss claims that Scott’s use of the glimpse and second/bottom deals in games implies that therefore the punch was just for demos. This doesn't follow. Techniques can vary with circumstances. Also, Swiss’s apparent acceptance that Scott used the glimpse and 2nd/bottom deals in games runs counter to his whole narrative that Scott wasn’t really a cheat.
  • While discussing using punched cards for information vs second dealing Swiss says: "the advantage thus achieved is so powerful that using the Second Deal to control the punched cards is virtually too strong for most intents and purposes, because the cheater would quickly overpower the game..." This is another vapid false dichotomy — a powerful tool can be calibrated by using it less frequently, as desired. In fact, Scott directly makes this point: "I don't think I would deal too many seconds in a game. I do it the least I possibly can."
  • Swiss says that Scott’s strike second wasn’t his invention. So what? He never claimed it was. But his execution of the deal, his refinements, and his overall system is what floored the people who witnessed it. And when Scott boasted truthfully that his work was never duplicated, it was clearly his system that he was talking about.
Unsubstantiated speculation, often presented as fact.

  • Swiss claims that Vernon was deliberately excluded from the Brooklyn demonstration. In doing so, he ignores the fact that the demo was arranged to coincide with Downs' annual trip to the East. In addition, Vernon was subsequently invited several times to see Scott but didn't go. Instead, Swiss claims, without giving evidence, that McGuire tried to keep Vernon away. Vernon, himself, never made this claim.
  • Swiss suggests that McGuire’s goal was to "knock Vernon off his ever-rising perch in the world of magic". And elsewhere he says “Just as McGuire hoped, Holden wrote about the session at length in The Sphinx -- doubtless exceeding McGuire’s wildest wishes by not only lauding Scott, but in slighting Vernon.” Swiss provides no evidence that McGuire wanted to slight Vernon. Moreover, it is evident from the McGuire/Downs letters and from Vernon's letters to McGuire and Horowitz that the two men liked and respected each other.
  • Swiss gives no actual evidence for the alleged hoax and instead relies on 2nd and 3rd hand speculation from people who weren’t there. Cardini was not only an eye-witness but had first-hand knowledge of gambling techniques and had seen Scott before. And Horowitz, like Cardini, was a first hand witness who clearly believed that Scott was the real deal. In 1933, Vernon writes to Horowitz saying he knows that Scott is a "real expert" because of what Horowitz and Cardini have told him.
  • Any credence in the conspiracy hinges on whether Downs told people that there was a fraud, and that is never established. In a 1933 letter from Vernon to Horowitz, Vernon says that Downs described how McGuire brought Scott to NY "to fool the boys" and pry out their secrets. But there is no evidence that Downs said anything about Baker switching decks. In fact, Persi Diaconis, who knew the principals, has written that he found it implausible that Baker was involved in the purported conspiracy. Scott, himself, mentioned the New York trip as a way to have a good time and enjoy the liquor and women. And that he didn't even intend on performing. Swiss provides no evidence that Scott was not telling the truth.
  • The playlet by Faucet Ross was FICTION that spoofed an “imagined showdown” between Vernon and Scott. Swiss uncritically offers this fiction as evidence. And he provides no text from the playlet pertaining to the purported deck switch.
Insults and personal attacks

  • Critics of Vernon are summarily dismissed as being “in the peanut gallery.”
  • Swiss describes Swan Cardini as “embittered” and “delusional” in an ugly pattern of disparaging those who have negative things to say about Vernon.
  • In further defense of Vernon, Swiss lambasts John Fischer's critical comments about Vernon in his Cardini biography as "dross, served up in the guise of historical research." Swiss later gives the game away when he accuses Fischer of trying to "elevate Cardini's standing at Vernon's expense." This is actually an apt description of Swiss's article: elevating Vernon over Scott with dross, served up in the guise of historical research.
  • Swiss suggests falsely and without any evidence that Kalush’s “intended purpose” is to profit from “unsupported conspiracy theories” in his Houdini book. Ironically, Swiss’s central project in his two-part article is to advance a conspiracy theory.
  • Swiss says (insulting both Kalush and Crist) “No one of any consequence believes he [Scott] cheated anytime past the 1920s, much less as a lifetime career.”
  • Swiss says (after mentioning Forte and Conley): "Nuff said, for almost anyone -- and anyone else doesn’t really count, do they?” Again disparaging Kalush and Crist by implication.
  • Swiss asks "Who and what the hell is a Joe Crist.”
  • Swiss ridicules Crist’s Erdnase story in his “poorly produced” edition of Expert at the Card Table, saying that “words fail me.” As mentioned above, Swiss doesn’t even get the story straight. Yes, words did fail him.
  • Swiss mocks Crist's discussion of the "awakening" necessary to reach the higher levels of card handling. Swiss doesn't seem to realize that this is not referring to a "mystical plane" (as Swiss would have it) but is a term Erdnase used to describe the process of overcoming his own "insufferable conceit." One wonders how well Swiss knows Erdnase and if he actually read what Crist wrote or just skimmed it looking for things to make fun of.
  • Swiss repeats Forte’s unsubstantiated claims that Crist is "a reckless and dubious source.”
  • Swiss sneers at the “magically imaginary world that exists solely within his [Crist’s] head.” In fact, those who know Crist are continually amazed by the information he imparts that can be independently verified through unpublished letters etc. Swiss has never met or talked to Crist.
  • Swiss refers to Crist's "brief and content-free prolog" (to the new Phantom book) and his "imaginary terms of 'lowliners' and ‘highliners’.” He calls him a "bulls*t artist,” “con man,” and “self-deluded crackpot.”
  • Swiss similarly describes McGuire as “a scheming, self-promoting, confabulating b.s. artist.”
  • Regarding magicians who hunt out secrets, Swiss claims “McGuire was in a class by himself, because his conniving avarice knew no bounds.”
  • Swiss snidely refers to the “cartoon version” of academic research done by the “faux academics” who helped Kalush put together the new Phantom book. The "faux" academics involved have 5 degrees between them. Two undergrad degrees, two masters, and a PhD.
Summary: The article presents a series of straw man arguments, factual errors, and cherry picked evidence that falls apart under examination. As a result, Swiss's core claims that Baker secretly switched decks and that Scott was never a true professional card cheat remain little more than unsubstantiated conjectures. Perhaps, to make up for the lack of any conclusive evidence, the article ridicules opposing views and belittles those who support them. The Scott demo is a subject worthy of a fair-minded assessment of all the evidence. But, unfortunately, Swiss writes as an advocate (pro-Vernon and anti-Scott) and more often than not obscures rather than uncovers the truth.

Disclosure: I am friendly with both Kalush and Crist and have discussed the claims and errors in the article with them.

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Brad Henderson » November 3rd, 2021, 3:56 pm

Bob, This is a great rebuttal and well supported. I know we have disagreed about your methods in other issues, but this is very good work.

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Bob Coyne » November 3rd, 2021, 4:21 pm

Thanks Brad, that (sincerely) means a lot!

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby MagicbyAlfred » November 3rd, 2021, 4:33 pm

My Goodness, Bob! I'm with Brad on this. This is a serious derriere-kicking. And very cleverly and colorfully written. If I were ever to write an article for publication, I'd be more scrupulous than Caesar's wife with my facts and reasoning knowing there was even a remote possibility you'd be reading it.

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Ian Kendall » November 3rd, 2021, 4:46 pm

FWIW, on a rainy day in the summer of 1991 I spent an afternoon in a pub with Gazzo, pre-stroke. While sitting next to him, I saw him demonstrate the techniques he learned from Scott (and the original Phantom book).

If Scott was anything like that - and I have no reason to doubt that he was - I am convinced of the efficacy of the moves.

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Tarotist » November 3rd, 2021, 6:09 pm

Very thorough and detailed rebuttal. It is always good to get both sides of the story.

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby jwjmcd » November 4th, 2021, 7:05 pm

Bob Coyne wrote:[Long post]

It has been several months since Jamy Ian Swiss’s One Night in Brooklyn article was published in Genii (Feb-March 2021). The article alleges an elaborate conspiracy behind Walter Scott's famous 1930 demonstration. Its strategy is threefold:

  1. Dispel the aura around Scott’s otherworldly skills by arguing that the famous Brooklyn demonstration was rigged. The alleged conspiracy includes the following claims:
    a) Scott’s demonstration was a set-up involving McGuire, Baker, and Downs, wherein Baker secretly rang in a pegged deck in order to give Scott the tools he needed to fool Cardini, Horowitz, and Holden. Thus Scott’s feats were’t actually as impressive as they seemed.
    b) McGuire’s goal was to impress Horowitz with Scott, thereby giving McGuire an opening (as the gatekeeper to Scott) to access Vernon's and Horowitz's secrets.
    c) McGuire wanted Vernon dethroned and replaced by Scott as the top card guy. And Holden (through his column) was the vehicle by which that would happen.
  2. Argue that Scott was primarily a con man and exposé artist and not a lifelong professional card cheat, and that the techniques he used were not practical in real games. Therefore the bona fides he brought to the demonstration and his subsequent reputation were fraudulent.
  3. Attack the credibility of Scott and his supporters (Eddie McGuire, Artanis, Joe Crist, and Bill Kalush) while defending Vernon at every turn.
In arguing the case, speculation and erroneous information is passed off as fact. False dichotomies, straw man arguments, and cherry picked quotes are used to buttress what are otherwise just unsubstantiated conjectures. Swiss writes fluently and with an air of authority, though often in a condescending and bullying tone. As a result, readers who haven’t invested the time to research the matter themselves will likely come away misled. Hopefully, pointing out some of the many mischaracterizations and logical/factual errors will help clear the way for a more objective assessment of Scott’s feats at the card table as well as Vernon’s role in the matter.

Factual errors

  • Swiss describes Cardini as not having seen Scott (“new eyes”) before the famous June 1930 Brooklyn session. This is wrong. They had certainly met before, probably in 1928 or even 1927. A detailed account of Cardini's visit to Providence is given in the March 1930 Sphinx, where film that Cardini had taken of Scott is discussed.
  • Swiss claims that Scott met Vernon only once. This is incorrect. Vernon met Scott on at least several occasions. Scott claimed that he had even loaned Vernon his Faro box which Vernon never returned. In addition, there is a photo of Scott and Vernon together.
  • Swiss claims that “no one has ever found any evidence that cheats of the era and beyond ever heard of Walter Scott.” This is wrong. The gambler Fox Jackson attested that he had heard of the Phantom, and in fact knew of him as Montana Scotty.
  • In denigrating Scott and minimizing the impact of Scott’s negative opinion of Vernon, Swiss claims “Scott had little good to say about anyone other than himself.” Swiss is apparently unaware that Scott praised and respected Cardini and Nate Leipzig among others.
  • Swiss claims "The [Scott] technique [for the second deal] ... can be found at least as early as 1843." This is incorrect. There is no description of Scott's technique prior to the Phantom manuscript. If Swiss is equating any strike second deal (vs two card push-off) as Scott’s technique, he is missing the key differences in the technique used by Scott. It is also a red herring, as Scott never claimed to have invented the move.
  • Swiss claims that using punched cards for information is a "contemporary and sophisticated" technique. In fact, it’s a very old technique. Gilbert Walker, in the 1500s, explicitly mentioned using punched cards for this purpose.
  • Swiss incorrectly states that Ritter's "Advantage Card Playing" came out in 1847. It was 1905.
  • Swiss claims that using Scott’s technique of the peg with seconds is “slow and studied.” In reality, it is completely fluid and natural, as when Joe Crist and Scott expertly perform the move. Swiss, tellingly, has never even met Crist.
  • In an attempt to discredit Joe Crist, Swiss suggests that Crist intentionally and "mysteriously" took down his first Instagram account. That is not what happened.
  • In an another attempt to discredit Crist, Swiss claims no magician or cheat has ever heard the term “highline,” which Crist uses to describe Scott’s card handling abilities. This is false. Jason England on the Magic Cafe forum mentions hearing the gambler Rod the Hop use the term several times.
  • Swiss claims that Crist attacks Charlie Miller. This is a mischaracterization. In fact, Crist highly praises Miller's skills as a magician while simultaneously pointing out that Miller lacked the nerve and knowledge tried by fire to work at the card table. That is hardly an attack.
  • Swiss garbles Crist’s story about Erdnase in his Forward to Expert at the Card Table. It was Artanis’s teacher, not Artanis himself, who knew Erdnase and witnessed the event.
Factual omissions and cherry picking

  • Swiss proclaims "we can be certain" Scott quit cheating in 1924, since Scott said so. But he neglects to mention that Scott also says he had a game going for 60 years and many other statements to the contrary. And one wonders how Swiss can be certain of a particular statement Scott made when it is contradicted by numerous other statements. It should also be pointed out that Scott’s inconsistent statements can be easily explained as “throw offs” that he made to avoid discussing certain topics at certain times with certain people.
  • Swiss argues that Scott was primarily a con man, not a card cheat. In doing so, he again fails to inform the reader of the many examples where Scott describes his experiences of cheating at the card table, even down to details about how the way he grips the cards changes during the game: "It's because if you go into a poker game at eight o'clock at night your fingers and hands feel a certain way. At one in the morning chemical changes are taking place in the hands and the cards start slipping. That's when you have to use grip number two." These small details are borne of deep experience at the card table and speak more strongly than all the voluminous prose in Swiss's article.
  • Swiss seems unaware that Artanis told the Erdnase story to other people besides Joe Crist. Instead he mocks Crist for relaying the story.
  • Swiss highlights a couple of statements made by Miller that downplay Scott’s ability. But he fails to connect it to the crucial incident where Scott threw Miller out of his house. This rejection clearly could have colored Miller’s subsequent statements about Scott. Swiss also neglects to mention that Miller visited Scott multiple times and brought Persi Diaconis with him. Why would he do that if he thought Scott was overrated and a con man?
  • Swiss fails to inform the reader that Charlie Miller raved about Joe Crist’s amazing card handling ability on multiple occasions. Miller, in his Genii Intermission column, writes “I am spending some time in Philadelphia with a gentleman who for several years was a protege of the late Joe Artanis, the well known card table expert from New York. When it comes to doing stuff at the card table — WOW! I have been around for many years and have witnessed the best. I have received training under such top men as Vernon, Walter Scott, F. W. Ross, Doc Daly, and others and I think I recognize great talent when I see it. This Philadelphia chap does stuff that is absolutely unbelievable.”
  • To undermine McGuire’s credibility, Swiss uncritically accepts Faucet’s Ross’s third hand account that Malini barely remembered McGuire and that all he did was “take tickets at the door.” The Downs/McGuire letters tell a very different story (see Gibiciere, Summer 2021). Swiss also fails to inform the reader that much of what is known now about Malini's methods came straight from McGuire, and that Ross supplied McGuire's Malini manuscript to Ganson for his book on Malini. Why would Ross do this if he didn't believe the relationship was real?
  • Swiss fails to mention that neither Jay Marshall (whom he otherwise quotes) nor Persi Diaconis believed Baker switched decks. Diaconis has extensive knowledge of card table technique, knew the principals, and owns the Ross playlet. See Gibiciere, Summer 2012.
False dichotomies and straw man arguments

  • Swiss disputes that Scott was an international cheat because his mentor Holman was cheating in one place for decades. This simplistically assumes that all cheats (e.g. bust-out men like Holman vs Scott who traveled extensively to find new games) are constrained in the same way.
  • Swiss insinuates that Scott's attending a magic club and doing the blindfolded demo means he wasn't a cheater. This doesn't follow. It is not uncommon for people in the magic and hustling worlds to intermingle. Rod the Hop is a good example. Al Cooper, Steve Forte, Dom Paolino, Robert Mills, Fox Jackson, Del Cartier, and Willis Kenney are just a few more. Furthermore, Swiss knows that Scott was mentored by Walter Holman who was a card cheat (not a magician). And yet, he perversely avoids the obvious conclusion (from this and other evidence) that Scott cheated at the card table.
  • Swiss claims that Scott's use of the magician's term "pass" (vs "hop" or "shift") indicates he wasn't a cheater. This doesn't follow. Note that Swiss, himself, is a magician and comfortably uses gambler's terminology such as “bug” and "cold deck.”
  • Swiss says (regarding Joe Crist) "he claims to be a cheat and not a magician. So what does he know about Dai Vernon…”. Another false dichotomy. Magicians and card cheats sometimes associate with each other and share knowledge. And as above, there’s the obvious irony that Swiss (a magician) presumes to write about Scott’s skill at cheating at the card table while quoting Miller (another magician) on the same subject.
  • There is clear evidence that Scott was a con man as Swiss points out. But this in no way implies that he didn’t also cheat professionally at the table. In fact Scott attributes his skill as a con man to his overall ability and success at the card table. Cheating at cards requires a certain psychological stance that Scott excelled in. People felt comfortable with him.
  • Swiss makes the glib argument that Artanis’s bottom deal instruction record means he was just an “exposé artist.” In reality, when Scott referred to “exposé artists” he meant what he also called “bedroom cheaters”, those who never cheated under fire. It is well established that Artanis cheated at the card table professionally for years.
  • Swiss claims that Scott’s use of the glimpse and second/bottom deals in games implies that therefore the punch was just for demos. This doesn't follow. Techniques can vary with circumstances. Also, Swiss’s apparent acceptance that Scott used the glimpse and 2nd/bottom deals in games runs counter to his whole narrative that Scott wasn’t really a cheat.
  • While discussing using punched cards for information vs second dealing Swiss says: "the advantage thus achieved is so powerful that using the Second Deal to control the punched cards is virtually too strong for most intents and purposes, because the cheater would quickly overpower the game..." This is another vapid false dichotomy — a powerful tool can be calibrated by using it less frequently, as desired. In fact, Scott directly makes this point: "I don't think I would deal too many seconds in a game. I do it the least I possibly can."
  • Swiss says that Scott’s strike second wasn’t his invention. So what? He never claimed it was. But his execution of the deal, his refinements, and his overall system is what floored the people who witnessed it. And when Scott boasted truthfully that his work was never duplicated, it was clearly his system that he was talking about.
Unsubstantiated speculation, often presented as fact.

  • Swiss claims that Vernon was deliberately excluded from the Brooklyn demonstration. In doing so, he ignores the fact that the demo was arranged to coincide with Downs' annual trip to the East. In addition, Vernon was subsequently invited several times to see Scott but didn't go. Instead, Swiss claims, without giving evidence, that McGuire tried to keep Vernon away. Vernon, himself, never made this claim.
  • Swiss suggests that McGuire’s goal was to "knock Vernon off his ever-rising perch in the world of magic". And elsewhere he says “Just as McGuire hoped, Holden wrote about the session at length in The Sphinx -- doubtless exceeding McGuire’s wildest wishes by not only lauding Scott, but in slighting Vernon.” Swiss provides no evidence that McGuire wanted to slight Vernon. Moreover, it is evident from the McGuire/Downs letters and from Vernon's letters to McGuire and Horowitz that the two men liked and respected each other.
  • Swiss gives no actual evidence for the alleged hoax and instead relies on 2nd and 3rd hand speculation from people who weren’t there. Cardini was not only an eye-witness but had first-hand knowledge of gambling techniques and had seen Scott before. And Horowitz, like Cardini, was a first hand witness who clearly believed that Scott was the real deal. In 1933, Vernon writes to Horowitz saying he knows that Scott is a "real expert" because of what Horowitz and Cardini have told him.
  • Any credence in the conspiracy hinges on whether Downs told people that there was a fraud, and that is never established. In a 1933 letter from Vernon to Horowitz, Vernon says that Downs described how McGuire brought Scott to NY "to fool the boys" and pry out their secrets. But there is no evidence that Downs said anything about Baker switching decks. In fact, Persi Diaconis, who knew the principals, has written that he found it implausible that Baker was involved in the purported conspiracy. Scott, himself, mentioned the New York trip as a way to have a good time and enjoy the liquor and women. And that he didn't even intend on performing. Swiss provides no evidence that Scott was not telling the truth.
  • The playlet by Faucet Ross was FICTION that spoofed an “imagined showdown” between Vernon and Scott. Swiss uncritically offers this fiction as evidence. And he provides no text from the playlet pertaining to the purported deck switch.
Insults and personal attacks

  • Critics of Vernon are summarily dismissed as being “in the peanut gallery.”
  • Swiss describes Swan Cardini as “embittered” and “delusional” in an ugly pattern of disparaging those who have negative things to say about Vernon.
  • In further defense of Vernon, Swiss lambasts John Fischer's critical comments about Vernon in his Cardini biography as "dross, served up in the guise of historical research." Swiss later gives the game away when he accuses Fischer of trying to "elevate Cardini's standing at Vernon's expense." This is actually an apt description of Swiss's article: elevating Vernon over Scott with dross, served up in the guise of historical research.
  • Swiss suggests falsely and without any evidence that Kalush’s “intended purpose” is to profit from “unsupported conspiracy theories” in his Houdini book. Ironically, Swiss’s central project in his two-part article is to advance a conspiracy theory.
  • Swiss says (insulting both Kalush and Crist) “No one of any consequence believes he [Scott] cheated anytime past the 1920s, much less as a lifetime career.”
  • Swiss says (after mentioning Forte and Conley): "Nuff said, for almost anyone -- and anyone else doesn’t really count, do they?” Again disparaging Kalush and Crist by implication.
  • Swiss asks "Who and what the hell is a Joe Crist.”
  • Swiss ridicules Crist’s Erdnase story in his “poorly produced” edition of Expert at the Card Table, saying that “words fail me.” As mentioned above, Swiss doesn’t even get the story straight. Yes, words did fail him.
  • Swiss mocks Crist's discussion of the "awakening" necessary to reach the higher levels of card handling. Swiss doesn't seem to realize that this is not referring to a "mystical plane" (as Swiss would have it) but is a term Erdnase used to describe the process of overcoming his own "insufferable conceit." One wonders how well Swiss knows Erdnase and if he actually read what Crist wrote or just skimmed it looking for things to make fun of.
  • Swiss repeats Forte’s unsubstantiated claims that Crist is "a reckless and dubious source.”
  • Swiss sneers at the “magically imaginary world that exists solely within his [Crist’s] head.” In fact, those who know Crist are continually amazed by the information he imparts that can be independently verified through unpublished letters etc. Swiss has never met or talked to Crist.
  • Swiss refers to Crist's "brief and content-free prolog" (to the new Phantom book) and his "imaginary terms of 'lowliners' and ‘highliners’.” He calls him a "bulls*t artist,” “con man,” and “self-deluded crackpot.”
  • Swiss similarly describes McGuire as “a scheming, self-promoting, confabulating b.s. artist.”
  • Regarding magicians who hunt out secrets, Swiss claims “McGuire was in a class by himself, because his conniving avarice knew no bounds.”
  • Swiss snidely refers to the “cartoon version” of academic research done by the “faux academics” who helped Kalush put together the new Phantom book. The "faux" academics involved have 5 degrees between them. Two undergrad degrees, two masters, and a PhD.
Summary: The article presents a series of straw man arguments, factual errors, and cherry picked evidence that falls apart under examination. As a result, Swiss's core claims that Baker secretly switched decks and that Scott was never a true professional card cheat remain little more than unsubstantiated conjectures. Perhaps, to make up for the lack of any conclusive evidence, the article ridicules opposing views and belittles those who support them. The Scott demo is a subject worthy of a fair-minded assessment of all the evidence. But, unfortunately, Swiss writes as an advocate (pro-Vernon and anti-Scott) and more often than not obscures rather than uncovers the truth.

Disclosure: I am friendly with both Kalush and Crist and have discussed the claims and errors in the article with them.

This would be a great lead article in a future episode of a Great magazine.

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby David Ben » November 4th, 2021, 8:28 pm

Or not.

Bob’s commentary has fabrications, most likely fed to him directly by Mr. Kalush and Mr. Crist. Unless he can provide citations, for example, of what Persi Diaconis believes, other than by Jeff Busby, I would take them all with a grain of salt. Persi relayed to me in a personal letter that what Busby wrote related to Persi in The Secrets of the Palmetto for example, was all new to him.

And it would have been more helpful and transparent if he had disclosed his relationship at the beginning of his post rather than the end.

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Bob Coyne » November 4th, 2021, 11:26 pm

David,

You yourself write (Gibiciere Summer 2012):
Dr. Diaconis took issue with my theory that Al Baker was part of the plan. He indicated that, based on his research, having spoken with some of the principals, Baker was not part of it.

So my description of Persi's disagreement with Baker being involved in the purported conspiracy is accurate. I'm not in the business of promoting fabrications, and it's insulting to suggest that I am. If I made any mistakes I would appreciate hearing specifics versus generalities and insinuations. And let's not avoid the real issue -- that Jamy's article was riddled with logical and factual errors, not to mention the nasty tone. Perhaps you could address all that.

Also, I fail to see how it's relevant whether I mention my connection to Kalush and Crist at the beginning vs end of my rebuttal. I would also point out that Jamy lists various "experts" with whom he had "invaluable conversations" AT THE END of his article. Do you object to that placement? And I notice that you are one of those listed. Surely Genii forum readers would like to know that connection when reading your response. That would have been more "transparent." And they might not even care if you mentioned it at the beginning or the end :-)

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby David Ben » November 5th, 2021, 5:52 am

Bob

This requires such a long response, and this thread is not the most appropriate forum, so to speak, to address all that has been raised, that it will have wait until another time. (And it doesn’t help that I will be in transit shortly.)

Forgive me for suggesting you were in collusion with Bill Kalush and Mr. Crist. I don’t know Mr Crist, but I do know Bill. And while I admire what he has built with CARC, he knows that I disagree fundamentally with a lot of ideas he has promulgated. (Bill and I have agreed to disagree many times in person.)

Although I spoke with Jamy while he was writing his article - which I only skimmed once published - I told him the gist of my research, which I still stand by, was set out in my Vernon book. So, his thank you which I now see at the end was definitely a well-appreciated courtesy.

The Scott session was, in my opinion, a promotional scheme by a pure promoter (not Scott) to enhance the perceived value of intellectual property (secrets) so those secrets could be traded for rarer secrets held in the greatest repository of secrets (Vernon) that that promoter (and others) thought were more valuable.

It was a road show pure and simple to manipulate a media person (Holden) to pump up the value of the commodity.

The promoter was moderately successful until the holder of rare secrets (Vernon) realized that better market analysts (Scarne and Finley) were not there to place a value on the commodity. End of story.

There are, of course, lots of sidebars that historians of manipulation can delve into, but again this is not the place.

I will leave this discussion heeding the advice of both Erdnase and Willis Kenney. As it is almost impossible to defeat a combination, it is best to just say “luck is not with me today” and save my chips for another day. :)

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Bob Coyne » November 5th, 2021, 9:48 am

David,

Thank you for your response. As I say in my rebuttal, my objection to Jamy's article was not so much the conspiracy theory itself but his faulty logic, misrepresentations of evidence, cherry picking, etc. And I found the tone of the article abhorrent. So I felt the record needed to be corrected.

Regarding the conspiracy itself, I respect that you have a different view on what happened. I think the evidence is clear that McGuire and Downs were using Scott to get access to Vernon's and Horowitz's secrets. And I say that in my rebuttal. However, that's a bit of a red herring and a far cry from the wider conspiracy that Scott was not a real card cheat, that Baker switched the decks, or that McGuire wanted to slight Vernon. At that point it becomes speculation. If Jamy had given a fair minded assessment of the evidence, there would be no problem. But that's not what he did.

I'd be interested in hearing more about whatever new or different facts there might be. It's really just the truth that matters.

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby David Ben » November 5th, 2021, 10:01 am

Writing this from an airplane. I have never doubted that Scott was once a cheat. Whether he was a good one is open to debate. I do not believe McGuire had any intention of slighting Vernon. I do not believe Baker switched decks. I believe the pre-punched/marked decks were placed in a drawer as requested, and he just produced them when asked. A common tactic.

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Bob Coyne » November 5th, 2021, 10:53 am

Ok, so sounds like your theory of what happened varies somewhat on the specific details and claims vs Jamy's. But the question of having evidence still remains. Again, I think it's fine to speculate and even give arguments as to what is plausible or likely etc, as long as evidence is accurately presented and logic is not abused. Jamy utterly failed to to do that. And his personal attacks on various parties were beyond the pale.

Perhaps a more civil and evidenced-based discussion of the theory can be had in the future.

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Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns

Postby Chris Aguilar » November 5th, 2021, 11:33 am

Bob Coyne wrote:... And his personal attacks on various parties were beyond the pale.
...

For JIS, pretty much par for the course. Which is why I was content to skip this article once I saw the byline.


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