End of an era

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O.G. Urcan
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Re: End of an era

Post by O.G. Urcan » Wed Jan 15, 2020 8:39 am

JustinHorton wrote:
Tue Jan 14, 2020 6:53 pm
It also provides us with the encomium
Tony Buzan will do for the brain what Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time did for the universe
which it attributes to The Times, although no specific writer is identified. A little Googling, though, suggests that the author was one Raymond Keene. I wonder why they forgot to include that information.
The quote can also be found in the wording "Tony Buzan will do for the brain what Stephen Hawking did for the Universe." Although I have access to the full Times archive database, I have found no such remark there, by Raymond Keene or by anyone else.

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JustinHorton
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Re: End of an era

Post by JustinHorton » Wed Jan 15, 2020 9:02 am

And indeed in the wording "Tony Buzan's 'Mind Map Book' will do for the brain what Stephen Hawking's 'A Brief History of Time' did for the universe."

I wonder if Ray just came up with the line and over time it's gone from being attributed to, say, "Raymond Keene, Times chess correspondent", to simply "The Times".

Incidentally, I'm put in mind of this:
a press release on October 27th stated that: "RTG Ventures, Inc. (RTGV: OB), the interactive gaming company focused on the Far East, has appointed Raymond Keene, OBE, Games Consultant to the Company. Mr. Keene is the chess correspondent for the London Times and International Herald Tribune newspapers. He is widely regarded as the worlds leading expert on chess and mind games." But RTG is partly owned by Brain Games Asia which in turn is partly owned by Keene, so RTG’s praise of Keene’s expertise presumably comes straight from his own mouth.
"Do you play chess?"
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."

lostontime.blogspot.com

Kevin Thurlow
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Re: End of an era

Post by Kevin Thurlow » Wed Jan 15, 2020 1:16 pm

"Incidentally, I'm put in mind of this:"

Reading to the end, I see that Sam Sloan seems to be involved with the publication of that stuff. Is he not a rather controversial figure himself?

As for Andrew Greystoke, he seems to have attracted unwelcome (to him) attention, but he has clearly not been disqualified as a Director by Companies House.

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JustinHorton
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Re: End of an era

Post by JustinHorton » Wed Jan 15, 2020 2:07 pm

No, I believe he was suspended from practising as a solicitor for eighteen months and barred for life from working in financial services.
"Do you play chess?"
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."

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Kevin Thurlow
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Re: End of an era

Post by Kevin Thurlow » Wed Jan 15, 2020 4:32 pm

"No, I believe he was suspended from practising as a solicitor for eighteen months and barred for life from working in financial services."

I suppose CH would say it's not their problem, which I guess is true.

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JustinHorton
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Re: End of an era

Post by JustinHorton » Wed Jan 15, 2020 9:56 pm

There's been a few tribunal reports on here recently but forum users who still have the appetite for more may find this one, on Greystoke and the boiler rooms, is quite a read.

(I'd also forgotten that Greystoke was involved in the fabulously convoluted and for that matter fantastically fraudulent 2009 Notts County takeover, of which the passage below is a summary.)
one of the most bizarre episodes of foreign investment in North Korea’s mineral sector dubbed by the media as “the trillion dollar con.” In that case, a Jersey-based convicted fraudster named Russell King reportedly engineered the takeover of a British investment bank called First London by claiming to manage the assets of deep-pocketed Middle Eastern royalty. Kevin Leech and several of his close associates became shareholders and directors of the bank and a letter of guarantee from First London helped King and his associates persuade the owners of Notts County FC, a professional English soccer team, to hand the team over for only £1. In order to recruit renowned coach Sven-Goren Eriksson, Notts County offered him millions of dollars worthof shares in Swiss Commodity Holding, a Kevin Leech-led company that claimed to possess lucrative mineral rights in North Korea. King, Eriksson and others linked to Notts County even travelled to North Korea together. When the deals were exposed as a ruse in 2010, First London imploded, Notts County fell into enormous debt and Swiss Commodity Holding’s North Korean mineral deals were cancelled by the NDIC.
"Do you play chess?"
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."

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Roger de Coverly
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Re: End of an era

Post by Roger de Coverly » Wed Jan 15, 2020 10:27 pm

JustinHorton wrote:
Wed Jan 15, 2020 9:56 pm
on Greystoke and the boiler rooms, is quite a read.
There was various material published in the early 2000s about the fund raising process for BrainGames. Some of this mentioned Atlantic Law as solicitors and advisers. That didn't ring any bells until the subsequent accusations of involvement by Atlantic Law in boiler room promotions.

Brian Towers
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Re: End of an era

Post by Brian Towers » Wed Jan 15, 2020 10:59 pm

What does Tarzan (aka Lord Greystoke) have to do with this? Is he really still alive? What about Jane?
Ah, but I was so much older then. I'm younger than that now.

Roger Lancaster
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Re: End of an era

Post by Roger Lancaster » Wed Jan 15, 2020 11:40 pm

What does Tarzan (aka Lord Greystoke) have to do with this? Is he really still alive? What about Jane?

If I'm reading the situation correctly then Andrea Greystoke is said by JH to be a major shareholder in Tony Buzan Group while Andrea Greystoke is separately the sole shareholder of Pantheon where Andrew Greystoke happens to be the sole director. Now, I can't be sure they are the same Andrea Greystoke so I wouldn't want to rush to conclusions but, if they are, there would seem to be a connection between Ray K and Andrew G.

Roger de Coverly
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Re: End of an era

Post by Roger de Coverly » Wed Jan 15, 2020 11:51 pm

Roger Lancaster wrote:
Wed Jan 15, 2020 11:40 pm
[there would seem to be a connection between Ray K and Andrew G.
That's already known, BrainGames named Atlantic Law as their solicitor/legal representative.

http://satyricon20.tripod.com/sat33-Lev ... ingame.htm
Around lunchtime on December 17th I received a letter from Atlantic Law, a firm of solicitors acting for BGN.

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JustinHorton
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Re: End of an era

Post by JustinHorton » Thu Jan 16, 2020 7:29 am

Tony Buzan Group, shareholders

Image

Pantheon International, sole director

Image
"Do you play chess?"
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."

lostontime.blogspot.com

Roger Lancaster
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Re: End of an era

Post by Roger Lancaster » Thu Jan 16, 2020 8:32 am

Roger de Coverly wrote:
Wed Jan 15, 2020 11:51 pm
Roger Lancaster wrote:
Wed Jan 15, 2020 11:40 pm
[there would seem to be a connection between Ray K and Andrew G.
That's already known, BrainGames named Atlantic Law as their solicitor/legal representative.
Noted - just useful here to remind ourselves what the Financial Services Authority said about Andrew G and his law firm back in 2010:

"Atlantic Law and Andrew Greystoke acted recklessly, without integrity and with a complete disregard of the risks to consumers," said Margaret Cole, FSA director of enforcement and financial crime.

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JustinHorton
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Re: End of an era

Post by JustinHorton » Thu Jan 16, 2020 7:10 pm

Meanwhile you may recognise some of the names on this page, including....

....this old BGN man (nearly all the old gang are on board, I'm just waiting for Alan Lubin to show up)...

Image

...and our friend from further up the thread, the professor* from the mysterious (and non-existent) institute!

Image

* here apparently downgraded to doctor
"Do you play chess?"
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."

lostontime.blogspot.com

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JustinHorton
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Re: End of an era

Post by JustinHorton » Thu Jan 16, 2020 8:20 pm

Talking of downgrading titles, I'm terribly disappointed that apparently it's back to plain old Marek Kasperski

Image

when it used to be His Serene Highness Prince Marek Kasperski.

Image
"Do you play chess?"
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."

lostontime.blogspot.com

Ian Rogers
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Re: End of an era

Post by Ian Rogers » Fri Jan 17, 2020 11:23 am

The Prince is not taken very seriously in Australia - see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvQK-sPXO_o

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