12/06/2008
The aim of this blog is not to defame
certain players, but to raise awareness of two facts, of which I have had
first-hand experience:
a) Scrabble rules are not perfect; they require more attention in order to prevent cheating. Improvement could be achieved by borrowing some already-trialled rules such as North American Rule (III.A) requiring one to show an empty palm before drawing tiles. Personally, I do not like American rules, but they must have had a reason for this one.
b) Pretending that cheating does not exist exacerbates the problem instead of solving it. My own personal experience, after half a decade of playing, yielded the following statistics:
- About one third of the players I competed against in tournaments were potential cheats. Albeit that most cheating attempts were in the form of simple peeking into the bag.
- This ratio is much higher at a couple of clubs I frequented.
Your personal experience could be quite different from mine. Scrabble players are diverse; they are not expected to see eye to eye on every issue. As far as I am concerned, I can put players who categorically deny the existence of cheating into three categories:
(1) A small number of naive trusting individuals who believe that all humans are intrinsically honest;
(2) hypocrites who would rather deny the obvious, for whatever reasons. An example is the rambling on the internet of one individual who wrote, "Mohammed, stop your crusade against cheating. Stop accusing everybody; the reason you always lose is because you are not good."(punctuation corrected). Obviously, I never accused everybody and I do not always lose; I do win a few games every now and then;
(3) the cheats themselves. A funny example that comes to mind is a certain lady. I once moved a motion aimed at cheating players who pretend to have physical impairments that prevent proper bag handling. The motion was unanimously defeated. As the lady in question walked past me, she made the solemn pronouncement, "This is a sad day in the history of scrabble." I felt guilty for hurting the feelings of the poor innocent-looking lady, until I faced her in a recent tournament. She had the collapsed bag in her lap and freely sifted through the tiles. My guilty feeling was eased. Poor trusting "J" might still be wondering why he also lost to her that night.
"S" blamed me for taking a harsh stand against another player. When "S" played me the day before, she was struggling to keep ahead. So, she began to handle tiles with both hands, on top of the bag. I watched quietly and preferred to give her the benefit of the doubt. She benefited, no doubt!
according to a scrabble player of the name Steven Alexander (stevena@teleport.com): "People get away with things for years because no one pays close enough attention."
a) Scrabble rules are not perfect; they require more attention in order to prevent cheating. Improvement could be achieved by borrowing some already-trialled rules such as North American Rule (III.A) requiring one to show an empty palm before drawing tiles. Personally, I do not like American rules, but they must have had a reason for this one.
b) Pretending that cheating does not exist exacerbates the problem instead of solving it. My own personal experience, after half a decade of playing, yielded the following statistics:
- About one third of the players I competed against in tournaments were potential cheats. Albeit that most cheating attempts were in the form of simple peeking into the bag.
- This ratio is much higher at a couple of clubs I frequented.
Your personal experience could be quite different from mine. Scrabble players are diverse; they are not expected to see eye to eye on every issue. As far as I am concerned, I can put players who categorically deny the existence of cheating into three categories:
(1) A small number of naive trusting individuals who believe that all humans are intrinsically honest;
(2) hypocrites who would rather deny the obvious, for whatever reasons. An example is the rambling on the internet of one individual who wrote, "Mohammed, stop your crusade against cheating. Stop accusing everybody; the reason you always lose is because you are not good."(punctuation corrected). Obviously, I never accused everybody and I do not always lose; I do win a few games every now and then;
(3) the cheats themselves. A funny example that comes to mind is a certain lady. I once moved a motion aimed at cheating players who pretend to have physical impairments that prevent proper bag handling. The motion was unanimously defeated. As the lady in question walked past me, she made the solemn pronouncement, "This is a sad day in the history of scrabble." I felt guilty for hurting the feelings of the poor innocent-looking lady, until I faced her in a recent tournament. She had the collapsed bag in her lap and freely sifted through the tiles. My guilty feeling was eased. Poor trusting "J" might still be wondering why he also lost to her that night.
"S" blamed me for taking a harsh stand against another player. When "S" played me the day before, she was struggling to keep ahead. So, she began to handle tiles with both hands, on top of the bag. I watched quietly and preferred to give her the benefit of the doubt. She benefited, no doubt!
according to a scrabble player of the name Steven Alexander (stevena@teleport.com): "People get away with things for years because no one pays close enough attention."
SCRABBLE COMMON
CHEATING METHODS 15/06/2008
The most common cheating method is the
simple clumsy peeking into the bag. Detection is quite simple. A straight line
drawn between the eyes of the cheat and tiles into the bag is uninterrupted. To
achieve this, the bag will always be below eye level, or held horizontally at
eye level. The eyes, usually behind glasses, will be looking into the bag. The
bag opening is never facing away from the player. The sad aspect of this method
is that adherents to it find it quite difficult, if not impossible, to try to
quit the habit. I guess they do have a different view of honesty. They probably
believe that cheating is clever, especially if the opponent does not object,
out of politeness. Personally, I have eventually decided to openly object and
demand observing the rules of the game. Lifting the bag, which weighs less than
200 grams, is hard for some players. They will give you health excuses such as
a bad shoulder, but will never accept suggested reasonable alternative methods
that would solve the problem. Some people might argue that in such situation,
it would be enough to look away from the bag. It sounds reasonable, but do you
really, as an opponent, have any control over the swivel in another player’s
neck? I am not talking here about honest players with genuine health problems.
Those do keep tiles out of their sight.
The second common cheating technique is really fascinating, but is even easier to detect. During the process of replenishing tiles, the cheat will handle tiles with both hands. The cheat would take some tiles from the bag and put them in the hand holding it, then proceed to get more tiles from the bag. In the process, tiles are examined and unwanted tiles are dropped back into the bag. There is no reason whatsoever, other than the intention to cheat, that would warrant the following:
• handling tiles with two hands on top of the bag;
• holding tiles in the vicinity of the top of the bag;
• examining tiles while on top of the bag.
Tiles should be taken from the bag straight to the table or rack. No more tiles should be taken from the bag before other withdrawn tiles are put on the table or rack.
The third cheating method, generally called “palming”, is when a cheat take an unwanted tile back to the bag, while replenishing tiles. This is done quickly and is much harder to detect*. You have to count the tiles played by your opponent and quickly add up the sum of tiles played plus tiles remaining on the rack, while the opponent's hand is still in the bag. The total should not be less than seven. In this situation, a cheat might try to block your view of the rack.
A variation to this cheating method is when the hand of the cheat make several trips to the bag in order to replenish tiles. In the process, unwanted tiles are taken back to the bag. I guess this is why North American rules insist on always showing an empty palm before the hand can be put into the bag.
Some material on the internet talk about palming in the context of having a hidden extra tile, which allows the cheat to always select from among eight tiles. I have never detected this type of cheating, but I will keep my eyes open, and would report any occurrence of this devious method.
It is quite amusing for me to hear this comment from the mouths of some seasoned cheats, "Cheating? You are too suspicious a person. We have no cheats here."
-----------------------------------
* EUREKA!
It is much easier, than I initially thought, to detect this type of cheating. After playing a word and writing the score, the cheat will not directly replenish the rack. The cheat will first rearrange and fiddle with the tiles remaining on the rack, usually with two hands. This is when the unwanted tile is palmed. This is when the number of tiles remaining on the rack becomes momentarily less than it should.
Some might argue that it is normal to check what you can make of tiles remaining on your rack. No, it is not. What is logical is to wait until you have seven tiles on your rack. Just observe yourself when you play: Do you rearrange the small number of tiles on your rack before replenishing it? The answer is NO. I have made a point of observing players in order to confirm my assumption. Not a single honest player touched the remaining tiles on their rack before replenishing it. I am not saying that players should not touch the remainder of tiles on their rack; what I am saying is that they simply do not do so, because there is no need to do so.
In order to be able to palm that unwanted tile, the cheat unnecessarily rearrange the remaining tiles on the rack, prior to replenishing it. This is when that unwanted tile is quickly palmed. You have to wonder, what is the point in rearranging a small number of tiles on the rack, prior to replenishing it? Logically, you have to wait until you have the full component of seven tiles. You can then rearrange the tiles the way you prefer, whether you would rearrange them alphabetically, separate vowels from consonants, or keep on rearranging them in ways that would bring a bonus word to your mind. Any of such choices can only be achieved with seven tiles on your rack, unless you are considering which tile to take back to the bag!
On a certain occasion, the process of rearranging the remaining tiles on the rack was too suspicious when it was frantically done, to four tiles, with two hands. As I counted, those four tiles momentarily became three, before quickly being seven.
The moral of the story is: Be wary of players who unnecessarily rearrange the remainder of tiles on their rack, prior to replenishing it.
An honest way of handling the bag and replenishing tiles is very simple:
(1) Whether the bag is hitting the ceiling, or is simply placed on the table, the opening of the bag should always face away from the player. No tiles should be made visible.
(2) The time between tiles leaving the bag until they reach the rack or table should be close to zero seconds. There is no need to examine tiles before they are placed on the rack.
(3) Tiles drawn must be placed on the rack or table, before proceeding to draw more tiles. While this is clearly part of the rules, many cheats would hold some tiles in one hand and draw more tiles with the other.
The second common cheating technique is really fascinating, but is even easier to detect. During the process of replenishing tiles, the cheat will handle tiles with both hands. The cheat would take some tiles from the bag and put them in the hand holding it, then proceed to get more tiles from the bag. In the process, tiles are examined and unwanted tiles are dropped back into the bag. There is no reason whatsoever, other than the intention to cheat, that would warrant the following:
• handling tiles with two hands on top of the bag;
• holding tiles in the vicinity of the top of the bag;
• examining tiles while on top of the bag.
Tiles should be taken from the bag straight to the table or rack. No more tiles should be taken from the bag before other withdrawn tiles are put on the table or rack.
The third cheating method, generally called “palming”, is when a cheat take an unwanted tile back to the bag, while replenishing tiles. This is done quickly and is much harder to detect*. You have to count the tiles played by your opponent and quickly add up the sum of tiles played plus tiles remaining on the rack, while the opponent's hand is still in the bag. The total should not be less than seven. In this situation, a cheat might try to block your view of the rack.
A variation to this cheating method is when the hand of the cheat make several trips to the bag in order to replenish tiles. In the process, unwanted tiles are taken back to the bag. I guess this is why North American rules insist on always showing an empty palm before the hand can be put into the bag.
Some material on the internet talk about palming in the context of having a hidden extra tile, which allows the cheat to always select from among eight tiles. I have never detected this type of cheating, but I will keep my eyes open, and would report any occurrence of this devious method.
It is quite amusing for me to hear this comment from the mouths of some seasoned cheats, "Cheating? You are too suspicious a person. We have no cheats here."
-----------------------------------
* EUREKA!
It is much easier, than I initially thought, to detect this type of cheating. After playing a word and writing the score, the cheat will not directly replenish the rack. The cheat will first rearrange and fiddle with the tiles remaining on the rack, usually with two hands. This is when the unwanted tile is palmed. This is when the number of tiles remaining on the rack becomes momentarily less than it should.
Some might argue that it is normal to check what you can make of tiles remaining on your rack. No, it is not. What is logical is to wait until you have seven tiles on your rack. Just observe yourself when you play: Do you rearrange the small number of tiles on your rack before replenishing it? The answer is NO. I have made a point of observing players in order to confirm my assumption. Not a single honest player touched the remaining tiles on their rack before replenishing it. I am not saying that players should not touch the remainder of tiles on their rack; what I am saying is that they simply do not do so, because there is no need to do so.
In order to be able to palm that unwanted tile, the cheat unnecessarily rearrange the remaining tiles on the rack, prior to replenishing it. This is when that unwanted tile is quickly palmed. You have to wonder, what is the point in rearranging a small number of tiles on the rack, prior to replenishing it? Logically, you have to wait until you have the full component of seven tiles. You can then rearrange the tiles the way you prefer, whether you would rearrange them alphabetically, separate vowels from consonants, or keep on rearranging them in ways that would bring a bonus word to your mind. Any of such choices can only be achieved with seven tiles on your rack, unless you are considering which tile to take back to the bag!
On a certain occasion, the process of rearranging the remaining tiles on the rack was too suspicious when it was frantically done, to four tiles, with two hands. As I counted, those four tiles momentarily became three, before quickly being seven.
The moral of the story is: Be wary of players who unnecessarily rearrange the remainder of tiles on their rack, prior to replenishing it.
An honest way of handling the bag and replenishing tiles is very simple:
(1) Whether the bag is hitting the ceiling, or is simply placed on the table, the opening of the bag should always face away from the player. No tiles should be made visible.
(2) The time between tiles leaving the bag until they reach the rack or table should be close to zero seconds. There is no need to examine tiles before they are placed on the rack.
(3) Tiles drawn must be placed on the rack or table, before proceeding to draw more tiles. While this is clearly part of the rules, many cheats would hold some tiles in one hand and draw more tiles with the other.
(4) The hand must be shown to be empty
before entering the bag. This is not part of Australian rules, most likely
because some Australian players have vested interest in not introducing this
North American rule. I might follow this rule myself in future tournaments,
hoping that the notorious Kow does not require me to also show her my backside!
HOW TO IMPROVE
SCRABBLE RULES?
08/07/2008
It is easy to play the role of the armchair
critic; but it is really hard to come with practical solutions that would
address problems. I have stretched my imagination to the extent of trying to
design an "automated tile dispenser". I worked on a couple of
unsuccessful prototypes, where tiles got stuck on their way to the delivery
chute! Even if I were to be successful, tournament gear would be too bulky to
move around. I guess we will have to wait for a computer guru that would put
the game in one piece, with virtual tiles and score calculators. The computer
would replenish your tiles, calculate the score, tell you how many tiles are
left in the virtual bag, and even progressively tile track for you. It could have
a facility for resolving challenges. This feasible wish might sound like the
electric or hydrogen-driven car. The technology is available, but mass
production never saw the light. Experimental cars were fitted with small
gadgets that split water by simple electrolysis into hydrogen and oxygen. All
you needed in the way of fuel would be a bottle of water.
Back to Earth, I have several feasible suggestions to be incorporated in the rules:
Back to Earth, I have several feasible suggestions to be incorporated in the rules:
· Make
it compulsory to have the bag opening face away from the player;
· players
must avert the bag;
· the
bag remain closed until the above conditions are satisfied.
This might overcome the widespread evil of
looking into the bag while replenishing tiles.
· During
the period between placement of tiles on the board and replenishing your rack,
you should not handle the tiles on the rack. This would effectively do the job
of the American rule requiring showing an empty hand. It is simple and not as
cumbersome as showing an empty palm every time you obtain tiles from the bag.
Peeking into the bag might not always be an effective cheating method, but it is certainly annoying and distracting for the honest opponent at the receiving end. I have recently faced a player who got the tiles one by one out of the bag, which was dangling right under his eyes. He carefully examined every tile on its way out of the bag. I must admit that he might not have been trying to cheat. It could very well be a simple case of poor eyesight, but I did not like the idea of looking into an open bag. This is different from the case of "A", who is really irritating me, and sapping much of my concentration on the game, by her bag mishandling, which is followed by superb exemplary bag handling, as soon as she is comfortably ahead. I guess I should show my less accommodating side, next time I face her.
SILLY SCRABBLE RULES
LEAD ON TO SILLY SITUATIONS
14/08/2008
One of the most
defective aspects of the current rules is the need to count scores during play
time. Counting scores should be done outside play time. It should be done in a
manner similar to this suggestion:
1.
After putting your tiles on the board,
neutralise the clock, thus indicating the end of your turn. You cannot change
your mind after hitting the stop button.
2.
Calculate your score and declare it. Your
opponent is free either to challenge or to check the score before writing it
down. Once both sides agree on the correct score and both write it down, hit
the clock to start your opponent's turn.
3.
Challenges, if any, should be resolved
before play resumes.
Why
is this logical change to the rules desirable? It would result in a more
accurate calculation of the scores. At present, the desire to save time would
cause errors through hasty counting. Opponents are often reluctant to re-count,
in order to save time. An innocent, or not so innocent, miscalculation could
pass undetected. The present 50 minutes per game could be reduced to 40
minutes, if score counting is done outside play time.
In
order to circumvent the present defective rule, when I want to save time, I use
a logical loophole in it. Without actually counting, I would declare an
inflated score that would send a message to my opponent that the score should
be recounted. Thus, my understanding opponent would neutralise the clock and we
both spend adequate time for accurate counting. However, this pragmatic method
might confuse a simple person who might not understand legal intricacies. I
have recently had a player 'spit the dummy' when I declared the unrealistic
score of 200. The TD was called. Since this particular opponent had been in the
habit of creating problems if there were none, I quickly defused the situation
by offering to recount the score, in slow motion, in my own time. The incident
later attracted a silly comment from a third party, which did not warrant a
response from me. You have to make allowances for different levels of
intellectual finesse.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A
ZIONIST “KOW” PLAY SCRABBLE
25/09/2008
Below is a complaint forwarded, upon an
urgent request from MM, to the Scrabble Administrative Committee of a certain
province in a country on planet Earth:
On 12 May I was disturbed to notice a player cheating with tiles in one of the rated games.
JM was playing Mohammed Hegazi, and I was seated behind Mohammed My game had finished so I was watching play on their board, when Mohammed made a move leaving 2 tiles on his rack. JM took a fairly long time to respond, and while he was doing so Mohammed slipped one of his tiles onto his chair, under his leg. That enabled him to go out on the last move.
He won the game, but he was far enough ahead to win anyway, unless JM went out with a bingo.
I was uncomfortable about saying anything at the time, aware of etiquette in not commenting on other competitors’ plays at rated tournaments, but I was distressed to see it, given the frequency with which Mohammed accuses other players of cheating.
Perhaps I should have reported this earlier. I apologise for not doing so.
Irate Kow
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Copy of an email forwarded to Kow in response to the above complaint:
Dear Kow,
If you really have seen such an incident, why didn’t you report it to the TD at the time? Cheating is a very serious matter. Why did you have to wait for four months before telling anybody? You should have at least told JM, being the victim in your fictitious story. Luckily, JM who knows me very well, would be the first person to refute your lie. Also, a number of other players were watching the game at the time. I can remember JW being among them.
Kow, please seek psychiatric attention as soon as you can.
Mohammed
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Final Comment:
It is really difficult to catch a cheat in the act; you would have no tangible evidence to offer. However, in this fabricated story, the hypothetical cheat could have easily been caught red handed. The game was finished, with the cheat still sitting on a missing tile. All you had to do is to call the TD and tell him of what you witnessed and ask him to see for himself that the culprit was still sitting on a tile. The TD was actually watching the game. He was quite handy and should have been informed.
However, if a liar is not intelligent, the lie would have serious weaknesses in it. Watch how the liar is telling us how she was worried about etiquette in such a silly manner: The liar believes that it is bad etiquette to ask the TD to catch a cheat in the act on the spot, but it is good etiquette to spin a yarn accusing a person of cheating four months after a game, with no proof to offer. Watch also how the blatant liar is so emotionally distressed! This emotional fatigue will come again and again in other flimsy Shylockian complaints. It is reminiscent of all the terrible Hollywood Holohoax stories attributed to the poor German people during WW2.
Like all humans, I do have my shortcomings, but cheating is not one of them. I had a personality clash with this Kow, some time ago. This does not justify such a heinous lie. She probably had taken the "Kol Nidre Oath", for Jehovah to forgive her lies, free of charge, for a whole year.
MM grabbed this fable and incorporated it in a dossier of similar fables forwarded by distressed Shylockian players, which I will be discussing later, together with the resulting farce that ensued. MM wasted no time planning and conniving. She contacted JM and tried in vain to convince him to support the wild fabrication of Kow. The most she could extract from him was a report of an insignificant incident that presumably occurred during that particular tournament.
On 12 May I was disturbed to notice a player cheating with tiles in one of the rated games.
JM was playing Mohammed Hegazi, and I was seated behind Mohammed My game had finished so I was watching play on their board, when Mohammed made a move leaving 2 tiles on his rack. JM took a fairly long time to respond, and while he was doing so Mohammed slipped one of his tiles onto his chair, under his leg. That enabled him to go out on the last move.
He won the game, but he was far enough ahead to win anyway, unless JM went out with a bingo.
I was uncomfortable about saying anything at the time, aware of etiquette in not commenting on other competitors’ plays at rated tournaments, but I was distressed to see it, given the frequency with which Mohammed accuses other players of cheating.
Perhaps I should have reported this earlier. I apologise for not doing so.
Irate Kow
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Copy of an email forwarded to Kow in response to the above complaint:
Dear Kow,
If you really have seen such an incident, why didn’t you report it to the TD at the time? Cheating is a very serious matter. Why did you have to wait for four months before telling anybody? You should have at least told JM, being the victim in your fictitious story. Luckily, JM who knows me very well, would be the first person to refute your lie. Also, a number of other players were watching the game at the time. I can remember JW being among them.
Kow, please seek psychiatric attention as soon as you can.
Mohammed
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Final Comment:
It is really difficult to catch a cheat in the act; you would have no tangible evidence to offer. However, in this fabricated story, the hypothetical cheat could have easily been caught red handed. The game was finished, with the cheat still sitting on a missing tile. All you had to do is to call the TD and tell him of what you witnessed and ask him to see for himself that the culprit was still sitting on a tile. The TD was actually watching the game. He was quite handy and should have been informed.
However, if a liar is not intelligent, the lie would have serious weaknesses in it. Watch how the liar is telling us how she was worried about etiquette in such a silly manner: The liar believes that it is bad etiquette to ask the TD to catch a cheat in the act on the spot, but it is good etiquette to spin a yarn accusing a person of cheating four months after a game, with no proof to offer. Watch also how the blatant liar is so emotionally distressed! This emotional fatigue will come again and again in other flimsy Shylockian complaints. It is reminiscent of all the terrible Hollywood Holohoax stories attributed to the poor German people during WW2.
Like all humans, I do have my shortcomings, but cheating is not one of them. I had a personality clash with this Kow, some time ago. This does not justify such a heinous lie. She probably had taken the "Kol Nidre Oath", for Jehovah to forgive her lies, free of charge, for a whole year.
MM grabbed this fable and incorporated it in a dossier of similar fables forwarded by distressed Shylockian players, which I will be discussing later, together with the resulting farce that ensued. MM wasted no time planning and conniving. She contacted JM and tried in vain to convince him to support the wild fabrication of Kow. The most she could extract from him was a report of an insignificant incident that presumably occurred during that particular tournament.
COMING SOON: THEY
WANTED THEIR POUND OF FLESH
25/09/2008
Will they get it? Stay tuned!
In her dogged pursuit, MM would have approached CE and MP for further flimsy complaints. Unluckily, both ladies are too decent to have anything to do with her scheme. She might have had some luck if she approached PM or MC, but she should stay clear from TR in her little quiet country town; TR might throw up in disgust, regardless of any explanation from the clan.
In her dogged pursuit, MM would have approached CE and MP for further flimsy complaints. Unluckily, both ladies are too decent to have anything to do with her scheme. She might have had some luck if she approached PM or MC, but she should stay clear from TR in her little quiet country town; TR might throw up in disgust, regardless of any explanation from the clan.
EPISODE 1
29/09/2008
This Shylockian melodrama began with the
following email, sent to me by the “Ratings Officer” of the unnamed Scrabble
Association:
------------------------------------------------------
To Mohammed Hegazi
c. c.
SS
Secretary
President
RF
Dear Mohammed,
I am writing to you, firstly in my capacity as the ====Tournament Director, and secondly, as a member of the ==== committee.
At the ==== tournament, it was of concern to me that I was called over to a game where you had facetiously declared a score of 200 for a play which clearly did not total that amount. I consider that this ploy was done in an insolent and ill-mannered manner by you to upset your opponent, which it certainly did. I have now observed from your blog that you had deliberately intended to enact this deceptive and time-wasting ploy which is even more distressing to me and, as it was, to your opponent.
I am writing to you now because, at our regular ==== committee meeting held late last week, it came to my notice that there had already been a warning issued to you by the Tournament Director BH with regard to your inappropriate behaviour towards an opponent at the recent ==== Championships.
Following that also, at the ==== Memorial tournament last Sunday, you managed to upset one of our longest-playing and highly-respected players; which not only distressed* her but those who witnessed it happening.
The above is why I now believe it prudent to send this email to the committee and give notice that I will be moving a motion that the committee take out disciplinary action against you for what appears to be your continuing unacceptable behaviour.
Whilst you have general concerns with the rules of the game, which you can address in writing to TH, the ==== representative on the Rules Committee, you appear to constantly upset innocent opponents at tournaments with unacceptable comments and, as in the case at the ==== Tournament, ill-mannered tactics.
Your faithfully,
CJ
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com
Version: 8.0.138/ Virus Database: 270.6.6/1621 – Release Date: 8/19/2008
* Emphasis is mine.
------------------------------------------------------
As you would have noticed, the Ratings Officer made the following mistakes:
------------------------------------------------------
To Mohammed Hegazi
c. c.
SS
Secretary
President
RF
Dear Mohammed,
I am writing to you, firstly in my capacity as the ====Tournament Director, and secondly, as a member of the ==== committee.
At the ==== tournament, it was of concern to me that I was called over to a game where you had facetiously declared a score of 200 for a play which clearly did not total that amount. I consider that this ploy was done in an insolent and ill-mannered manner by you to upset your opponent, which it certainly did. I have now observed from your blog that you had deliberately intended to enact this deceptive and time-wasting ploy which is even more distressing to me and, as it was, to your opponent.
I am writing to you now because, at our regular ==== committee meeting held late last week, it came to my notice that there had already been a warning issued to you by the Tournament Director BH with regard to your inappropriate behaviour towards an opponent at the recent ==== Championships.
Following that also, at the ==== Memorial tournament last Sunday, you managed to upset one of our longest-playing and highly-respected players; which not only distressed* her but those who witnessed it happening.
The above is why I now believe it prudent to send this email to the committee and give notice that I will be moving a motion that the committee take out disciplinary action against you for what appears to be your continuing unacceptable behaviour.
Whilst you have general concerns with the rules of the game, which you can address in writing to TH, the ==== representative on the Rules Committee, you appear to constantly upset innocent opponents at tournaments with unacceptable comments and, as in the case at the ==== Tournament, ill-mannered tactics.
Your faithfully,
CJ
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com
Version: 8.0.138/ Virus Database: 270.6.6/1621 – Release Date: 8/19/2008
* Emphasis is mine.
------------------------------------------------------
As you would have noticed, the Ratings Officer made the following mistakes:
· She
used rude language. She could have related what, in her opinion, constituted
ill manners without expressing such ill-conceived subjective feelings.
· She
circulated such sensitive defaming document among other members of the association,
namely RF and SS.
· She
issued what would constitute a reprimand, even though she expressed her
intention to pass the matter on to the Committee for further action. Her act
was unconstitutional. Disciplinary action, if any, must be taken by the
Committee after adequate investigation.
In view of the above, I sent an email to MM,
the elected president of the association, requesting an enquiry and proper
application of disciplinary procedures, should the need arise.
Because my email exposed the irresponsible unconstitutional action of CJ, it simply disappeared from the documentation and did not rate a mention in the enquiry that followed. MM made it look as if disciplinary procedures were invoked by her and not at my own behest. Instead, she indulged in running around in haste, requesting complaints against me from fellow players. Most would have refused to take part in this ploy. She managed to compile a dossier of trivia, which I will discuss later, plus a couple of unlucky incidents that were worthy of further investigation, and were properly addressed by me in the enquiry that followed.
Of which later. Don't miss this Shylockian entertainment. Episode 2 will be released as soon as I have some free time.
Because my email exposed the irresponsible unconstitutional action of CJ, it simply disappeared from the documentation and did not rate a mention in the enquiry that followed. MM made it look as if disciplinary procedures were invoked by her and not at my own behest. Instead, she indulged in running around in haste, requesting complaints against me from fellow players. Most would have refused to take part in this ploy. She managed to compile a dossier of trivia, which I will discuss later, plus a couple of unlucky incidents that were worthy of further investigation, and were properly addressed by me in the enquiry that followed.
Of which later. Don't miss this Shylockian entertainment. Episode 2 will be released as soon as I have some free time.
EPISODE 2
13/10/2008
After attracting the
attention of Marj Miller to the unconstitutional behaviour of Carol Johnsen, I
expected some informal investigation that would have led to reconciliatory
action, or proper investigation and application of the constitutional
disciplinary clause, should the need arise. Instead, I received a short email
from MM telling me that I would receive a reply by ordinary mail. I have
scanned and pasted her letter below. The letter and attachments were left
intact with all the misprints and errors, if any. I only made the following
minor changes:
· All
names were replaced by initials.
· Addresses
were deleted.
· Tournaments
were indicated by shortened names.
· Forms
of the word distress were changed to red, in order to highlight
the telling frequent use of the word by presumably different writers.
I will let you read and analyse this letter,
such that you can derive your own conclusions before I add my explanation of,
and comments on, each flimsy “incident”; which will not be different from what
was clearly explained at the enquiry that followed. Your comments are welcome,
even if they were to be hostile and you would like to pass them on and remain
anonymous. You can comment on this blog. If you prefer a confidential comment,
you may email me: mohammedhegazi@gmail.com.
No one is perfect; I could have made mistakes of which I might not be fully aware.
SCRABBLE ASSOCIATION
President
MM
September l, 2008
Dear Mohammed,
The Committee of ===== wishes to bring to your attention that written complaints have been received from fellow competitors and Tournament Directors in relation to your conduct at tournaments organised by ==== and by Scrabble Clubs under the umbrella of ====.
One of the important duties of the Committee is to provide a pleasant and harmonious atmosphere at tournaments for all members to enjoy. Anything less discourages our members from attending these events. It is also important to inform you that the members of the Association, including the Committee, do not share your view that cheating is widespread in the Scrabble community.
Listed below is a summary of the complaints received along with a note of the relevant tournament.
It is of great concern that players feel it necessary to address these matters in writing; nevertheless it has been agreed by the Committee that it is fair and appropriate for you to be afforded the opportunity to provide an explanation of your conduct. You are therefore requested to attend a meeting of the Committee to be held at 7.00 pm on Thursday 18th September 2008 to give your account of the situations that gave rise to these complaints.
In the event that you do not attend this meeting (as detailed above), the Committee will review the complaints received without your input and, based on the facts as stated in the separate attachments, will make its decision as to how to proceed, reserving its rights to act on behalf of the members of the Association in accordance with the regulations of the Association’s Constitution (Rule 10.) Any such decision would be communicated to you in writing.
The members of the Committee will not enter into any communication with you in relation to these matters, by mail or by electronic means, prior to this meeting date.
Written acknowledgement of this letter via Post is required by the Association, to be addressed to me at my address as shown above.
I have enclosed a copy of the Constitution for your information.
Yours sincerely,
MM
President
Summary of incidents - copies of documents attached.
1. July 13th 2005, N #4 Tournament: Letter from MM re accusation of cheating by Mohammed Hegazi - written August 30th 2008.
2. March 22nd 2008, National Championship: Email from DB outlining incident re drawing of tiles, received August 30th 2008.
3. May 12th 2008, XB Tournament: Email from Kow reporting incident of cheating by Mohammed Hegazi, received August 29th 2008.
4. June 9th 2008, V Championship: Report from Tournament Director BH re incident between KT and Mohammed Hegazi, received August 30th 2008.
5. June 9th 2008 V Championship: Email re above incident, received June10th 2008
6. August 17th 2008, Memorial Tournament: Email from RF reporting rude and unsportsmanlike behaviour, received August 18th 2008.
7. August 17th 2008, Memorial Tournament: Letter from DB concerning above incident with RF, received August 18th 2008.
8. August 17th 2008, Memorial Tournament: Email from BH re above incident with RF, received August 20th 2008.
9. August 10th 2008, Mtn Tournament: Email re incident (a) at the Mtn Tournament, stating that this was the second time that Mohammed Hegazi had overstated his score by a large margin whilst playing against the same opponent.
10. August 10th & 17th 2008, Mtn & Memorial Tournaments: Email from Committee Member/Mtn Tournament Director CJ outlining events - received 20th August 2008.
(a) at the Mtn Tournament on August 10th where Mohammed Hegazi grossly overstated his score during a game.
(b) at the Memorial event on August 17th where many members were distressed by Mohammed Hegazi’s demeanour during a game against RF.
1) Date of Incident: July 13 2005
REPORT OF ACCUSATION OF CHEATING at the N4 Tournament.
During a break between games at the above tournament Mohammed Hegazi mentioned to me that he was concerned about cheating by fellow scrabble players.
We moved to a quiet area to discuss this, at which stage I asked Mohammed to tell me the names of the people who were cheating, mentioning that in my capacity as President of the Scrabble Players Association I would be unable to do anything about dealing with this situation without knowing the names of the offenders.
Mohammed was at first reluctant to mention any names, but when pressed again said “well, you for a start”.
I was distressed by this totally untrue accusation and let the members of the Association know that I had been accused of cheating, and I am grateful for the enormous amount of support I have received over the ensuing period of time.
MM
President
Scrabble Players Assocation
2) Date of Incident: March 22 2008
Account of what happened at the Nationals with Mohammed Hegazi
On the 22nd March 2008 at the National Championships I was drawn to play Mohammed Hegazi in the second game of the Plate Section.
We arrived at the table to commence play and Mohammed started by telling me how to hold the bag and how to draw my tiles, I assured him I knew how to do this, we started to play he then said the last time he played me I held the bag incorrectly and I could see the tiles ( I interpreted this as an accusation of Cheating) at this point I stopped the clock and called for the TD. BH came to the table and asked what the problem was. I explained what Mohammed had said. BH asked me to demonstrate how I drew tiles, I held the bag as I always do above the table, averted my eyes and drew my tiles placing each one on my score sheet face down until I had the correct number of tiles, only then did I look at them and place them on my rack. BH advised Mohammed that there was nothing wrong with the way I drew tiles and directed him to proceed with the game. We completed the game in a very uncomfortable atmosphere.
I was humiliated at being asked to demonstrate how I selected tiles by the TD. I was very upset by this whole incident.
I am not a Cheat.
DB
3) Date of Incident: May 12 2008
Ma
On 12 May at the XB tournament, I was disturbed to notice a player cheating with tiles in one of the rated games.
JM was playing Mohammed Hegazi, and I was seated beside Mohammed. My game had finished so I was watching play on their board, when Mohammed made a move leaving 2 tiles on his rack. JM took a fairly long time to respond, and while he was doing so Mohammed slipped one of his tiles onto his chair, under his leg. That enabled him to go out on the last move.
He won the game, but he was far enough ahead to win anyway, unless JM went out with a bingo.
I was uncomfortable about saying anything at the time, aware of etiquette in not commenting on other competitors’ plays at rated tournaments, but I was distressed to see it, given the frequency with which Mohammed accuses other players of cheating.
Perhaps I should have reported this earlier. I apologise for not doing so.
Kow
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4} Date of Incident: June 9 2008
Dear Ma
Here is my account of the incident at the Victorian Championship as I remember it.
Early in the game of Mohammed Hegazi vs KT in round 18, Mohammed stated his intention to concede the game and not proceed with it. I came over to see what was going on. I asked Mohammed why he wanted to stop, and he gave no reason, saying he just wanted to concede. When I persisted, he said that in the course of replenishing tiles from her rack, KT had selected too many tiles, returning some further tiles from her rack. I found nothing to suggest that KT had done such a thing. KT did not understand what Mohammed was alleging. The game was stopped. It was treated as an unrated game with a forfeit by Mohammed and an imputed win to KT with a nominal spread of +1. KT was very upset. I warned Mohammed that any further incident would result in disciplinary action.
Mohammed’s baseless allegation in this case is yet another in a string of cases which is upsetting to players and disruptive to the smooth running of tournaments.
BH
5) Date of Incident: June 9 2008
Dear Ma
Have thought a bit about this - but really isn’t is possible to do something about Mahommed. At each tournament, seemingly, he upsets a woman so badly that she spends the day and much of the evening as well in tears and shaken. Yesterday again and KJ is such a good natured and helpful person. Please Ma perhaps I’m not wording this as well as it might be, but the man is a menace. You have mentioned a few times that the numbers for the tournaments has dropped could it be the tension that is felt because of his behaviour not to mention Doug has caused this drop.
Tell me to mind my own business if you will - but come to think of it it is my business - it’s my day out too - and to watch people, one at each tournament at least, becoming so upset is very distressing.
6) Date of Incident: August 17 2008
Dear Madam President,
I was so upset by the rude and unsportsmanlike behaviour of Mohammed Hegazi at the Memorial Tournament last Sunday, that I have decided not to attend any more tournaments in Melbourne, except for the Senior Citizens Challenge in October.
Yours sincerely,
RF
7) Date of Incident: August 17 2008
To Scrabble Committee
18th August 2008
Dear Committee members,
I wish to complain about the bad behavior of Mohammed Hegazi at yesterdays Memorial Tournament.
Yesterday I witnessed yet another of our members (a most senior one at that) RF be subjected to his awful behavior. BHa and I were so upset and concerned for RF we had to stop our clock to regain composure for our game.
I personally have been in this position with Mohammed (At the Nationals) and it is very unpleasant to say the least.
DB
Membership Officer
(Continued overpage)
7) contd. MY OBSERVATIONS OF WHAT HAPPENED
Mohammed was late for the start of the game, Ma came and started the clock, at this stage I was unaware who RF’s opponent was.
When Mohammed arrived at the table to find his clock had been started he threw something on the table and told RF it was her game and walked off.
Ma came and eventually got them to start play. Mohammed wanted to start Ruth’s clock before she has selected her tiles and she objected causing more distress. BH and l were very distressed and upset for RF at being subjected to this behavior, we stopped our Clock for some time to regain our composure. When we recommenced our game the unpleasantness went on, we stopped our Clock again and I informed Ma that Mohammed was still giving RF a hard time. BH sat and observed the latter stages of the game between RF and Mohammed, with no further incident I believe.
BH sat with RF for quite some time afterwards consoling her, she was just so upset.
8) Date of Incident: August 17 2008
Dear Ma,
I’m writing to express my frustration at the joy having been taken out yet again, of my enjoyment of a scrabble tournament when I witnessed RF’s distress while she was playing a game against Mohammed Hegazi. It was evident that a confrontation had taken place. My partner and I had to stop the clock so we could compose ourselves before we continued with our game.
The reason ! was so badly affected by what happened to RF was that my experiences of playing against Mohammed have been nerve racking and filled with anxiety. I experience his behaviour as hostile and intimidating which results in my inability to play my best. Each time I see his name listed as a participant in a tounament, my heart sinks because I dread the prospect of having to play against him.
I ask that the committee seeks to redress this situation through whatever means that are open to you. Regards, BHa
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Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com
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9} Date of Incident: August 10 2008
Hi Ma
As far as I can remember it went like this
Mohammed placed a 7 letter word on the board over the triple score on the right hand border
He announced ‘200’
As he had played this game with me at a previous tournament I said to him ‘come on now you’re not doing this to me again’ and called CJ over to adjudicate
What it was was that his time was running out - he was playing for time or some such
10) Date of Incident/s: August 10 & 17th 2008
To Mohammed Hegazi
c. c.
SS
Secretary
President
RF
Dear Mohammed,
I am writing to you, firstly in my capacity as the ====Tournament Director, and secondly, as a member of the ==== committee.
At the ==== tournament, it was of concern to me that I was called over to a game where you had facetiously declared a score of 200 for a play which clearly did not total that amount. I consider that this ploy was done in an insolent and ill-mannered manner by you to upset your opponent, which it certainly did. I have now observed from your blog that you had deliberately intended to enact this deceptive and time-wasting ploy which is even more distressing to me and, as it was, to your opponent.
I am writing to you now because, at our regular ==== committee meeting held late last week, it came to my notice that there had already been a warning issued to you by the Tournament Director BH with regard to your inappropriate behaviour towards an opponent at the recent ==== Championships.
Following that also, at the ==== Memorial tournament last Sunday, you managed to upset one of our longest-playing and highly-respected players; which not only distressed her but those who witnessed it happening.
The above is why I now believe it prudent to send this email to the committee and give notice that I will be moving a motion that the committee take out disciplinary action against you for what appears to be your continuing unacceptable behaviour.
Whilst you have general concerns with the rules of the game, which you can address in writing to TH, the ==== representative on the Rules Committee, you appear to constantly upset innocent opponents at tournaments with unacceptable comments and, as in the case at the ==== Tournament, ill-mannered tactics.
Your faithfully,
CJ
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6:53 PM
=============================
MM et al did not expect me to attend the enquiry, which would have facilitated their Shylockian mission. Instead, I sent the following reply:
Mrs MM
Representative
Scrabble Players Association
September 7, 2008
Re: enquiry on 18/09/2008
Dear Mrs M,
I hereby acknowledge receipt of your letter of 01/09/2008. I will be attending the enquiry meeting of 18/09/2008.
I expect all ten members of the Committee to be informed of the gravity and nature of the forthcoming enquiry. It would be desirable to have most, if not all, members to attend. While a number of members might want to distant themselves from this event, it should be explained to all that a skeletal quorum of five members would be inadequate for a thorough and unbiased investigation.
I noted that four members of the committee are doubling as adversaries, namely:
MM
DB
CJ
BH
I am of the opinion that, from an ethical angle, they should abstain from voting on the completion of the enquiry. However, this would be up to the committee to decide, in my absence.
Please email me with the consensus among other Committee members as to my intention to have a silent observer attend the meeting.
Yours faithfully,
Mohammed Hegazi
Member
Scrabble Players Association
No one is perfect; I could have made mistakes of which I might not be fully aware.
SCRABBLE ASSOCIATION
President
MM
September l, 2008
Dear Mohammed,
The Committee of ===== wishes to bring to your attention that written complaints have been received from fellow competitors and Tournament Directors in relation to your conduct at tournaments organised by ==== and by Scrabble Clubs under the umbrella of ====.
One of the important duties of the Committee is to provide a pleasant and harmonious atmosphere at tournaments for all members to enjoy. Anything less discourages our members from attending these events. It is also important to inform you that the members of the Association, including the Committee, do not share your view that cheating is widespread in the Scrabble community.
Listed below is a summary of the complaints received along with a note of the relevant tournament.
It is of great concern that players feel it necessary to address these matters in writing; nevertheless it has been agreed by the Committee that it is fair and appropriate for you to be afforded the opportunity to provide an explanation of your conduct. You are therefore requested to attend a meeting of the Committee to be held at 7.00 pm on Thursday 18th September 2008 to give your account of the situations that gave rise to these complaints.
In the event that you do not attend this meeting (as detailed above), the Committee will review the complaints received without your input and, based on the facts as stated in the separate attachments, will make its decision as to how to proceed, reserving its rights to act on behalf of the members of the Association in accordance with the regulations of the Association’s Constitution (Rule 10.) Any such decision would be communicated to you in writing.
The members of the Committee will not enter into any communication with you in relation to these matters, by mail or by electronic means, prior to this meeting date.
Written acknowledgement of this letter via Post is required by the Association, to be addressed to me at my address as shown above.
I have enclosed a copy of the Constitution for your information.
Yours sincerely,
MM
President
Summary of incidents - copies of documents attached.
1. July 13th 2005, N #4 Tournament: Letter from MM re accusation of cheating by Mohammed Hegazi - written August 30th 2008.
2. March 22nd 2008, National Championship: Email from DB outlining incident re drawing of tiles, received August 30th 2008.
3. May 12th 2008, XB Tournament: Email from Kow reporting incident of cheating by Mohammed Hegazi, received August 29th 2008.
4. June 9th 2008, V Championship: Report from Tournament Director BH re incident between KT and Mohammed Hegazi, received August 30th 2008.
5. June 9th 2008 V Championship: Email re above incident, received June10th 2008
6. August 17th 2008, Memorial Tournament: Email from RF reporting rude and unsportsmanlike behaviour, received August 18th 2008.
7. August 17th 2008, Memorial Tournament: Letter from DB concerning above incident with RF, received August 18th 2008.
8. August 17th 2008, Memorial Tournament: Email from BH re above incident with RF, received August 20th 2008.
9. August 10th 2008, Mtn Tournament: Email re incident (a) at the Mtn Tournament, stating that this was the second time that Mohammed Hegazi had overstated his score by a large margin whilst playing against the same opponent.
10. August 10th & 17th 2008, Mtn & Memorial Tournaments: Email from Committee Member/Mtn Tournament Director CJ outlining events - received 20th August 2008.
(a) at the Mtn Tournament on August 10th where Mohammed Hegazi grossly overstated his score during a game.
(b) at the Memorial event on August 17th where many members were distressed by Mohammed Hegazi’s demeanour during a game against RF.
1) Date of Incident: July 13 2005
REPORT OF ACCUSATION OF CHEATING at the N4 Tournament.
During a break between games at the above tournament Mohammed Hegazi mentioned to me that he was concerned about cheating by fellow scrabble players.
We moved to a quiet area to discuss this, at which stage I asked Mohammed to tell me the names of the people who were cheating, mentioning that in my capacity as President of the Scrabble Players Association I would be unable to do anything about dealing with this situation without knowing the names of the offenders.
Mohammed was at first reluctant to mention any names, but when pressed again said “well, you for a start”.
I was distressed by this totally untrue accusation and let the members of the Association know that I had been accused of cheating, and I am grateful for the enormous amount of support I have received over the ensuing period of time.
MM
President
Scrabble Players Assocation
2) Date of Incident: March 22 2008
Account of what happened at the Nationals with Mohammed Hegazi
On the 22nd March 2008 at the National Championships I was drawn to play Mohammed Hegazi in the second game of the Plate Section.
We arrived at the table to commence play and Mohammed started by telling me how to hold the bag and how to draw my tiles, I assured him I knew how to do this, we started to play he then said the last time he played me I held the bag incorrectly and I could see the tiles ( I interpreted this as an accusation of Cheating) at this point I stopped the clock and called for the TD. BH came to the table and asked what the problem was. I explained what Mohammed had said. BH asked me to demonstrate how I drew tiles, I held the bag as I always do above the table, averted my eyes and drew my tiles placing each one on my score sheet face down until I had the correct number of tiles, only then did I look at them and place them on my rack. BH advised Mohammed that there was nothing wrong with the way I drew tiles and directed him to proceed with the game. We completed the game in a very uncomfortable atmosphere.
I was humiliated at being asked to demonstrate how I selected tiles by the TD. I was very upset by this whole incident.
I am not a Cheat.
DB
3) Date of Incident: May 12 2008
Ma
On 12 May at the XB tournament, I was disturbed to notice a player cheating with tiles in one of the rated games.
JM was playing Mohammed Hegazi, and I was seated beside Mohammed. My game had finished so I was watching play on their board, when Mohammed made a move leaving 2 tiles on his rack. JM took a fairly long time to respond, and while he was doing so Mohammed slipped one of his tiles onto his chair, under his leg. That enabled him to go out on the last move.
He won the game, but he was far enough ahead to win anyway, unless JM went out with a bingo.
I was uncomfortable about saying anything at the time, aware of etiquette in not commenting on other competitors’ plays at rated tournaments, but I was distressed to see it, given the frequency with which Mohammed accuses other players of cheating.
Perhaps I should have reported this earlier. I apologise for not doing so.
Kow
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Checked by AVG - http:/www.avg.com
Version: 8.0.169 / Virus Database: 270.6.12/1640 - Release Date: 8/28/2008 6:58 PM
4} Date of Incident: June 9 2008
Dear Ma
Here is my account of the incident at the Victorian Championship as I remember it.
Early in the game of Mohammed Hegazi vs KT in round 18, Mohammed stated his intention to concede the game and not proceed with it. I came over to see what was going on. I asked Mohammed why he wanted to stop, and he gave no reason, saying he just wanted to concede. When I persisted, he said that in the course of replenishing tiles from her rack, KT had selected too many tiles, returning some further tiles from her rack. I found nothing to suggest that KT had done such a thing. KT did not understand what Mohammed was alleging. The game was stopped. It was treated as an unrated game with a forfeit by Mohammed and an imputed win to KT with a nominal spread of +1. KT was very upset. I warned Mohammed that any further incident would result in disciplinary action.
Mohammed’s baseless allegation in this case is yet another in a string of cases which is upsetting to players and disruptive to the smooth running of tournaments.
BH
5) Date of Incident: June 9 2008
Dear Ma
Have thought a bit about this - but really isn’t is possible to do something about Mahommed. At each tournament, seemingly, he upsets a woman so badly that she spends the day and much of the evening as well in tears and shaken. Yesterday again and KJ is such a good natured and helpful person. Please Ma perhaps I’m not wording this as well as it might be, but the man is a menace. You have mentioned a few times that the numbers for the tournaments has dropped could it be the tension that is felt because of his behaviour not to mention Doug has caused this drop.
Tell me to mind my own business if you will - but come to think of it it is my business - it’s my day out too - and to watch people, one at each tournament at least, becoming so upset is very distressing.
6) Date of Incident: August 17 2008
Dear Madam President,
I was so upset by the rude and unsportsmanlike behaviour of Mohammed Hegazi at the Memorial Tournament last Sunday, that I have decided not to attend any more tournaments in Melbourne, except for the Senior Citizens Challenge in October.
Yours sincerely,
RF
7) Date of Incident: August 17 2008
To Scrabble Committee
18th August 2008
Dear Committee members,
I wish to complain about the bad behavior of Mohammed Hegazi at yesterdays Memorial Tournament.
Yesterday I witnessed yet another of our members (a most senior one at that) RF be subjected to his awful behavior. BHa and I were so upset and concerned for RF we had to stop our clock to regain composure for our game.
I personally have been in this position with Mohammed (At the Nationals) and it is very unpleasant to say the least.
DB
Membership Officer
(Continued overpage)
7) contd. MY OBSERVATIONS OF WHAT HAPPENED
Mohammed was late for the start of the game, Ma came and started the clock, at this stage I was unaware who RF’s opponent was.
When Mohammed arrived at the table to find his clock had been started he threw something on the table and told RF it was her game and walked off.
Ma came and eventually got them to start play. Mohammed wanted to start Ruth’s clock before she has selected her tiles and she objected causing more distress. BH and l were very distressed and upset for RF at being subjected to this behavior, we stopped our Clock for some time to regain our composure. When we recommenced our game the unpleasantness went on, we stopped our Clock again and I informed Ma that Mohammed was still giving RF a hard time. BH sat and observed the latter stages of the game between RF and Mohammed, with no further incident I believe.
BH sat with RF for quite some time afterwards consoling her, she was just so upset.
8) Date of Incident: August 17 2008
Dear Ma,
I’m writing to express my frustration at the joy having been taken out yet again, of my enjoyment of a scrabble tournament when I witnessed RF’s distress while she was playing a game against Mohammed Hegazi. It was evident that a confrontation had taken place. My partner and I had to stop the clock so we could compose ourselves before we continued with our game.
The reason ! was so badly affected by what happened to RF was that my experiences of playing against Mohammed have been nerve racking and filled with anxiety. I experience his behaviour as hostile and intimidating which results in my inability to play my best. Each time I see his name listed as a participant in a tounament, my heart sinks because I dread the prospect of having to play against him.
I ask that the committee seeks to redress this situation through whatever means that are open to you. Regards, BHa
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com
Version: 8.0.138 / Virus Database: http://270.6.5/1620- Release Date: 8/19/2008 6:04 AM
9} Date of Incident: August 10 2008
Hi Ma
As far as I can remember it went like this
Mohammed placed a 7 letter word on the board over the triple score on the right hand border
He announced ‘200’
As he had played this game with me at a previous tournament I said to him ‘come on now you’re not doing this to me again’ and called CJ over to adjudicate
What it was was that his time was running out - he was playing for time or some such
10) Date of Incident/s: August 10 & 17th 2008
To Mohammed Hegazi
c. c.
SS
Secretary
President
RF
Dear Mohammed,
I am writing to you, firstly in my capacity as the ====Tournament Director, and secondly, as a member of the ==== committee.
At the ==== tournament, it was of concern to me that I was called over to a game where you had facetiously declared a score of 200 for a play which clearly did not total that amount. I consider that this ploy was done in an insolent and ill-mannered manner by you to upset your opponent, which it certainly did. I have now observed from your blog that you had deliberately intended to enact this deceptive and time-wasting ploy which is even more distressing to me and, as it was, to your opponent.
I am writing to you now because, at our regular ==== committee meeting held late last week, it came to my notice that there had already been a warning issued to you by the Tournament Director BH with regard to your inappropriate behaviour towards an opponent at the recent ==== Championships.
Following that also, at the ==== Memorial tournament last Sunday, you managed to upset one of our longest-playing and highly-respected players; which not only distressed her but those who witnessed it happening.
The above is why I now believe it prudent to send this email to the committee and give notice that I will be moving a motion that the committee take out disciplinary action against you for what appears to be your continuing unacceptable behaviour.
Whilst you have general concerns with the rules of the game, which you can address in writing to TH, the ==== representative on the Rules Committee, you appear to constantly upset innocent opponents at tournaments with unacceptable comments and, as in the case at the ==== Tournament, ill-mannered tactics.
Your faithfully,
CJ
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com
Version: 8.0.138/ Virus Database: 270.6.6/1621 – Release Date: 8/19/2008
6:53 PM
=============================
MM et al did not expect me to attend the enquiry, which would have facilitated their Shylockian mission. Instead, I sent the following reply:
Mrs MM
Representative
Scrabble Players Association
September 7, 2008
Re: enquiry on 18/09/2008
Dear Mrs M,
I hereby acknowledge receipt of your letter of 01/09/2008. I will be attending the enquiry meeting of 18/09/2008.
I expect all ten members of the Committee to be informed of the gravity and nature of the forthcoming enquiry. It would be desirable to have most, if not all, members to attend. While a number of members might want to distant themselves from this event, it should be explained to all that a skeletal quorum of five members would be inadequate for a thorough and unbiased investigation.
I noted that four members of the committee are doubling as adversaries, namely:
MM
DB
CJ
BH
I am of the opinion that, from an ethical angle, they should abstain from voting on the completion of the enquiry. However, this would be up to the committee to decide, in my absence.
Please email me with the consensus among other Committee members as to my intention to have a silent observer attend the meeting.
Yours faithfully,
Mohammed Hegazi
Member
Scrabble Players Association
EPISODE 3
25/10/2008
In order to save the reader the effort of
going back to previous posts, I have copied and pasted the alleged “incidents”
in colour.
1) Date of Incident: July 13 2005
REPORT OF ACCUSATION OF CHEATING at the N4 Tournament.
During a break between games at the above tournament Mohammed Hegazi mentioned to me that he was concerned about cheating by fellow scrabble players.
We moved to a quiet area to discuss this, at which stage I asked Mohammed to tell me the names of the people who were cheating, mentioning that in my capacity as President of the Scrabble Players Association I would be unable to do anything about dealing with this situation without knowing the names of the offenders.
Mohammed was at first reluctant to mention any names, but when pressed again said “well, you for a start”.
I was distressed by this totally untrue accusation and let the members of the Association know that I had been accused of cheating, and I am grateful for the enormous amount of support I have received over the ensuing period of time.
Marj Miller
President
Scrabble Players Assocation
My Comment:
You would have noticed that the date of the alleged “incident” goes back to 2005. As far as I can remember, this did happen within the context of a “friendly” conversation with MM, when I expressed my concern about what attracted my attention, as a newcomer to the scrabble scene. I was appalled on that day by the mishandling of the bag by both MM and BH. To be fair to BH, this was the only time he mishandled the bag against me. I played him on many later occasions, when he always defeated me fair and square. At the time, MM showed no symptoms of such “distress”, perhaps because she was fully aware of what she did. I continued to express my concern, on several other occasions, in the context of other conversations. I recall that, at one tournament in Geelong I was expressing to MM my desire to ask the TD to emphasise the importance of handling the bag according to the rules of the game, when MM requested me not to do so saying, “Do it for me.” I could not exactly understand what she meant at the time. I am still wondering about what she meant.
My diplomatic relations with MM have not been stable, but never severed. Matter of fact, they continued to steadily improve as MM became more tolerant of my obsession with the need for total honesty in the game, and I tried harder to accept the fact that cheating is part and parcel of some player’s enjoyment, especially in the Recreation Division, where I spent most of my scrabble time.
However, it is unforgivable for MM to come up with such unworthy twisted complaint, after more than three years. The context of her complaint speaks for itself, being trivial and unnecessarily vindictive.
2) Date of Incident: March 22 2008
Account of what happened at the Nationals with Mohammed Hegazi
On the 22nd March 2008 at the National Championships I was drawn to play Mohammed Hegazi in the second game of the Plate Section.
We arrived at the table to commence play and Mohammed started by telling me how to hold the bag and how to draw my tiles, I assured him I knew how to do this, we started to play he then said the last time he played me I held the bag incorrectly and I could see the tiles ( I interpreted this as an accusation of Cheating) at this point I stopped the clock and called for the TD. Barry Harridge came to the table and asked what the problem was. I explained what Mohammed had said. BH asked me to demonstrate how I drew tiles, I held the bag as I always do above the table, averted my eyes and drew my tiles placing each one on my score sheet face down until I had the correct number of tiles, only then did I look at them and place them on my rack. BH advised Mohammed that there was nothing wrong with the way I drew tiles and directed him to proceed with the game. We completed the game in a very uncomfortable atmosphere.
I was humiliated at being asked to demonstrate how I selected tiles by the TD. I was very upset by this whole incident.
I am not a Cheat.
Dorothy Barraclough
My Comment:
The finale of the above complaint is “I am not a cheat”. Even though I do disagree with such profound conclusion, I never accused her of cheating as such. I only expressed reservation about the way she mishandled the bag. She made no effort to demonstrate that the tiles are kept out of sight. Otherwise, I would have had no reason to object. Until recently, DB’s favourite method of handling the bag had been to hold it by the part of the rim facing her opponent. Thus the opening of the bag would be facing her and hidden from the view of the opponent. She would then slowly get the tiles out, examining them while they are hidden from the view of the opponent and dropping back unwanted tiles. I could hear the rattle of dropped tiles, but could do nothing about it.
If you read her complaint above you will find nothing wrong with my demand that she hold the bag according to the rules of the game. The way she described to the TD how she usually drew her tiles is quite different from what she actually did against me, even for the remainder of that particular game.
I remember that in another tournament at the premises of the Nunawading club, I had my name and hers on a relatively short list, which meant that the chance of playing her was high. I went to MM and explicitly said, “If anyone tried to cheat against me, I would concede and abandon the game.” She objected and said that the Committee would not be happy about such stand. MM would certainly have gathered that I was referring to DB, because as soon as she walked away, she had a word with her.
I must admit that I played DB a couple of times after “the Nationals” and she showed an exemplary way of handling the bag. The fact that she lost both games, after a long streak of unfair wins against me, does not detract from the virtue of being honest. At the end of the day, scrabble is only a game. We all win some and lose some, except those young players who made scrabble an essential part of their “raison d’etre”.
3) Date of Incident: May 12 2008
Marj
On 12 May at the XB tournament, I was disturbed to notice a player cheating with tiles in one of the rated games.
John Mina was playing Mohammed Hegazi, and I was seated beside Mohammed. My game had finished so I was watching play on their board, when Mohammed made a move leaving 2 tiles on his rack. JM took a fairly long time to respond, and while he was doing so Mohammed slipped one of his tiles onto his chair, under his leg. That enabled him to go out on the last move.
He won the game, but he was far enough ahead to win anyway, unless JM went out with a bingo.
I was uncomfortable about saying anything at the time, aware of etiquette in not commenting on other competitors’ plays at rated tournaments, but I was distressed to see it, given the frequency with which Mohammed accuses other players of cheating.
Perhaps I should have reported this earlier. I apologise for not doing so.
Kow
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My comment:
This complaint was discussed in full in this post:
http://scrabbledetective.blogspot.com/2008/09/what-happens-when-zionist-kow-play.html
What I may add here is that I sent to Kow a generous offer, for her to withdraw her complaint in exchange for my word not to discuss the matter with any third party. Instead, she forwarded to Marj Miller a copy of my personal email to be tabled for discussion in the enquiry, or maybe she only meant to say to MM, “See what you got me into!”
4} Date of Incident: June 9 2008
Dear Marj
Here is my account of the incident at the Victorian Championship as I remember it.
Early in the game of Mohammed Hegazi vs KT in round 18, Mohammed stated his intention to concede the game and not proceed with it. I came over to see what was going on. I asked Mohammed why he wanted to stop, and he gave no reason, saying he just wanted to concede. When I persisted, he said that in the course of replenishing tiles from her rack, KT had selected too many tiles, returning some further tiles from her rack. I found nothing to suggest that KT had done such a thing. KT did not understand what Mohammed was alleging. The game was stopped. It was treated as an unrated game with a forfeit by Mohammed and an imputed win to KT with a nominal spread of +1. KT was very upset. I warned Mohammed that any further incident would result in disciplinary action.
Mohammed’s baseless allegation in this case is yet another in a string of cases which is upsetting to players and disruptive to the smooth running of tournaments.
Barry Harridge
My Comment:
This incident is one of two important core incidents worthy of detailed investigation and proper assessment.
The incident itself was discussed as a unique cheating method in this post:
http://scrabbledetective.blogspot.com/2008/06/scrabble-common-cheating-methods.html
I stand by my finding, which was based on accurate observation and full analysis after the incident. I never wanted to embarrass KT. I simply cannot continue with a game where I have to unnecessarily put up with cheating. This I do at a price, which is conceding the game. Scrabble rules should include a way of resolving the situation where a player may want to concede, in a manner that does not interfere with the smooth running of tournaments. The lack of a clear rule is behind this unfortunate incident. According to the current Rule 12.3, BH only had the right to allow me to concede without much ado. Forcing me to give a reason for wanting to concede is not part of the current Rule. Therefore, the responsibility for the unfortunate ensuing developments is BH’s. His unintended mishandling of the situation forced me to embarrass KT.
As to BH’s report, it contained the following inaccuracies:
● He did not quite grasp the exact cheating technique I tried to explain. Maybe my explanation was not clear enough.
● His comment, “I found nothing to suggest that KT had done such a thing” is absurd. What did he expect to find in the postmortem?
● The game was recorded as a bye, not a forfeit as mentioned by BH. Recording the game as a bye suggests that at that stage, up to 9 June 2008, nothing was planned against me, by the Shylockian clan as represented by the gang of ten.
● The remark “I warned Mohammed that any further incident would result in disciplinary action.” Is a figment of BH’s imagination. If he ever made such a comment at the time, my verbal response would have been something he would never forget.
● His remark that I made a" baseless allegation" is also absurd. How could he judge? He was not watching the game.
Looking at the incident objectively, any third party can only say, “I don’t know”. When I challenged BH during the enquiry and asked him, “On what grounds are you claiming that I made a baseless allegation?” He stuttered and only said, “KT is a nice person.” I replied, “As an old male, I cannot compete, credibility wise, with a young female capable of shedding tears on demand.” At this stage, I had ten pairs of eyebrows raised at this metaphoric comment. What I meant to say was that BH had two opposing versions of an incident and was not in a position to be able to judge. Being nice and being a cheat are not mutually exclusive. Most people who cheat in a game of poker are nice people.
5) Date of Incident: June 9 2008
Dear Marj
Have thought a bit about this - but really isn’t is possible to do something about Mahommed. At each tournament, seemingly, he upsets a woman so badly that she spends the day and much of the evening as well in tears and shaken. Yesterday again and KJ is such a good natured and helpful person. Please Marj perhaps I’m not wording this as well as it might be, but the man is a menace. You have mentioned a few times that the numbers for the tournaments has dropped could it be the tension that is felt because of his behaviour not to mention Doug has caused this drop.
Tell me to mind my own business if you will - but come to think of it it is my business - it’s my day out too - and to watch people, one at each tournament at least, becoming so upset is very distressing.
My Comment:
Such rambling is not worthy of a comment. I was told during the enquiry that this anonymous complaint was from Stephanie Saunders. I will discuss SS’s attitude in the context of another tabled complaint from her.
So far I have discussed five “incidents”, out of a total of ten. The remaining five will be discussed in another post. There is nothing worthwhile, except one unlucky misunderstood situation, which generated this ridiculous rash of makeshift "incidents". The rest is rather more of the same Shylockian trash, compiled in a hurry.
1) Date of Incident: July 13 2005
REPORT OF ACCUSATION OF CHEATING at the N4 Tournament.
During a break between games at the above tournament Mohammed Hegazi mentioned to me that he was concerned about cheating by fellow scrabble players.
We moved to a quiet area to discuss this, at which stage I asked Mohammed to tell me the names of the people who were cheating, mentioning that in my capacity as President of the Scrabble Players Association I would be unable to do anything about dealing with this situation without knowing the names of the offenders.
Mohammed was at first reluctant to mention any names, but when pressed again said “well, you for a start”.
I was distressed by this totally untrue accusation and let the members of the Association know that I had been accused of cheating, and I am grateful for the enormous amount of support I have received over the ensuing period of time.
Marj Miller
President
Scrabble Players Assocation
My Comment:
You would have noticed that the date of the alleged “incident” goes back to 2005. As far as I can remember, this did happen within the context of a “friendly” conversation with MM, when I expressed my concern about what attracted my attention, as a newcomer to the scrabble scene. I was appalled on that day by the mishandling of the bag by both MM and BH. To be fair to BH, this was the only time he mishandled the bag against me. I played him on many later occasions, when he always defeated me fair and square. At the time, MM showed no symptoms of such “distress”, perhaps because she was fully aware of what she did. I continued to express my concern, on several other occasions, in the context of other conversations. I recall that, at one tournament in Geelong I was expressing to MM my desire to ask the TD to emphasise the importance of handling the bag according to the rules of the game, when MM requested me not to do so saying, “Do it for me.” I could not exactly understand what she meant at the time. I am still wondering about what she meant.
My diplomatic relations with MM have not been stable, but never severed. Matter of fact, they continued to steadily improve as MM became more tolerant of my obsession with the need for total honesty in the game, and I tried harder to accept the fact that cheating is part and parcel of some player’s enjoyment, especially in the Recreation Division, where I spent most of my scrabble time.
However, it is unforgivable for MM to come up with such unworthy twisted complaint, after more than three years. The context of her complaint speaks for itself, being trivial and unnecessarily vindictive.
2) Date of Incident: March 22 2008
Account of what happened at the Nationals with Mohammed Hegazi
On the 22nd March 2008 at the National Championships I was drawn to play Mohammed Hegazi in the second game of the Plate Section.
We arrived at the table to commence play and Mohammed started by telling me how to hold the bag and how to draw my tiles, I assured him I knew how to do this, we started to play he then said the last time he played me I held the bag incorrectly and I could see the tiles ( I interpreted this as an accusation of Cheating) at this point I stopped the clock and called for the TD. Barry Harridge came to the table and asked what the problem was. I explained what Mohammed had said. BH asked me to demonstrate how I drew tiles, I held the bag as I always do above the table, averted my eyes and drew my tiles placing each one on my score sheet face down until I had the correct number of tiles, only then did I look at them and place them on my rack. BH advised Mohammed that there was nothing wrong with the way I drew tiles and directed him to proceed with the game. We completed the game in a very uncomfortable atmosphere.
I was humiliated at being asked to demonstrate how I selected tiles by the TD. I was very upset by this whole incident.
I am not a Cheat.
Dorothy Barraclough
My Comment:
The finale of the above complaint is “I am not a cheat”. Even though I do disagree with such profound conclusion, I never accused her of cheating as such. I only expressed reservation about the way she mishandled the bag. She made no effort to demonstrate that the tiles are kept out of sight. Otherwise, I would have had no reason to object. Until recently, DB’s favourite method of handling the bag had been to hold it by the part of the rim facing her opponent. Thus the opening of the bag would be facing her and hidden from the view of the opponent. She would then slowly get the tiles out, examining them while they are hidden from the view of the opponent and dropping back unwanted tiles. I could hear the rattle of dropped tiles, but could do nothing about it.
If you read her complaint above you will find nothing wrong with my demand that she hold the bag according to the rules of the game. The way she described to the TD how she usually drew her tiles is quite different from what she actually did against me, even for the remainder of that particular game.
I remember that in another tournament at the premises of the Nunawading club, I had my name and hers on a relatively short list, which meant that the chance of playing her was high. I went to MM and explicitly said, “If anyone tried to cheat against me, I would concede and abandon the game.” She objected and said that the Committee would not be happy about such stand. MM would certainly have gathered that I was referring to DB, because as soon as she walked away, she had a word with her.
I must admit that I played DB a couple of times after “the Nationals” and she showed an exemplary way of handling the bag. The fact that she lost both games, after a long streak of unfair wins against me, does not detract from the virtue of being honest. At the end of the day, scrabble is only a game. We all win some and lose some, except those young players who made scrabble an essential part of their “raison d’etre”.
3) Date of Incident: May 12 2008
Marj
On 12 May at the XB tournament, I was disturbed to notice a player cheating with tiles in one of the rated games.
John Mina was playing Mohammed Hegazi, and I was seated beside Mohammed. My game had finished so I was watching play on their board, when Mohammed made a move leaving 2 tiles on his rack. JM took a fairly long time to respond, and while he was doing so Mohammed slipped one of his tiles onto his chair, under his leg. That enabled him to go out on the last move.
He won the game, but he was far enough ahead to win anyway, unless JM went out with a bingo.
I was uncomfortable about saying anything at the time, aware of etiquette in not commenting on other competitors’ plays at rated tournaments, but I was distressed to see it, given the frequency with which Mohammed accuses other players of cheating.
Perhaps I should have reported this earlier. I apologise for not doing so.
Kow
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My comment:
This complaint was discussed in full in this post:
http://scrabbledetective.blogspot.com/2008/09/what-happens-when-zionist-kow-play.html
What I may add here is that I sent to Kow a generous offer, for her to withdraw her complaint in exchange for my word not to discuss the matter with any third party. Instead, she forwarded to Marj Miller a copy of my personal email to be tabled for discussion in the enquiry, or maybe she only meant to say to MM, “See what you got me into!”
4} Date of Incident: June 9 2008
Dear Marj
Here is my account of the incident at the Victorian Championship as I remember it.
Early in the game of Mohammed Hegazi vs KT in round 18, Mohammed stated his intention to concede the game and not proceed with it. I came over to see what was going on. I asked Mohammed why he wanted to stop, and he gave no reason, saying he just wanted to concede. When I persisted, he said that in the course of replenishing tiles from her rack, KT had selected too many tiles, returning some further tiles from her rack. I found nothing to suggest that KT had done such a thing. KT did not understand what Mohammed was alleging. The game was stopped. It was treated as an unrated game with a forfeit by Mohammed and an imputed win to KT with a nominal spread of +1. KT was very upset. I warned Mohammed that any further incident would result in disciplinary action.
Mohammed’s baseless allegation in this case is yet another in a string of cases which is upsetting to players and disruptive to the smooth running of tournaments.
Barry Harridge
My Comment:
This incident is one of two important core incidents worthy of detailed investigation and proper assessment.
The incident itself was discussed as a unique cheating method in this post:
http://scrabbledetective.blogspot.com/2008/06/scrabble-common-cheating-methods.html
I stand by my finding, which was based on accurate observation and full analysis after the incident. I never wanted to embarrass KT. I simply cannot continue with a game where I have to unnecessarily put up with cheating. This I do at a price, which is conceding the game. Scrabble rules should include a way of resolving the situation where a player may want to concede, in a manner that does not interfere with the smooth running of tournaments. The lack of a clear rule is behind this unfortunate incident. According to the current Rule 12.3, BH only had the right to allow me to concede without much ado. Forcing me to give a reason for wanting to concede is not part of the current Rule. Therefore, the responsibility for the unfortunate ensuing developments is BH’s. His unintended mishandling of the situation forced me to embarrass KT.
As to BH’s report, it contained the following inaccuracies:
● He did not quite grasp the exact cheating technique I tried to explain. Maybe my explanation was not clear enough.
● His comment, “I found nothing to suggest that KT had done such a thing” is absurd. What did he expect to find in the postmortem?
● The game was recorded as a bye, not a forfeit as mentioned by BH. Recording the game as a bye suggests that at that stage, up to 9 June 2008, nothing was planned against me, by the Shylockian clan as represented by the gang of ten.
● The remark “I warned Mohammed that any further incident would result in disciplinary action.” Is a figment of BH’s imagination. If he ever made such a comment at the time, my verbal response would have been something he would never forget.
● His remark that I made a" baseless allegation" is also absurd. How could he judge? He was not watching the game.
Looking at the incident objectively, any third party can only say, “I don’t know”. When I challenged BH during the enquiry and asked him, “On what grounds are you claiming that I made a baseless allegation?” He stuttered and only said, “KT is a nice person.” I replied, “As an old male, I cannot compete, credibility wise, with a young female capable of shedding tears on demand.” At this stage, I had ten pairs of eyebrows raised at this metaphoric comment. What I meant to say was that BH had two opposing versions of an incident and was not in a position to be able to judge. Being nice and being a cheat are not mutually exclusive. Most people who cheat in a game of poker are nice people.
5) Date of Incident: June 9 2008
Dear Marj
Have thought a bit about this - but really isn’t is possible to do something about Mahommed. At each tournament, seemingly, he upsets a woman so badly that she spends the day and much of the evening as well in tears and shaken. Yesterday again and KJ is such a good natured and helpful person. Please Marj perhaps I’m not wording this as well as it might be, but the man is a menace. You have mentioned a few times that the numbers for the tournaments has dropped could it be the tension that is felt because of his behaviour not to mention Doug has caused this drop.
Tell me to mind my own business if you will - but come to think of it it is my business - it’s my day out too - and to watch people, one at each tournament at least, becoming so upset is very distressing.
My Comment:
Such rambling is not worthy of a comment. I was told during the enquiry that this anonymous complaint was from Stephanie Saunders. I will discuss SS’s attitude in the context of another tabled complaint from her.
So far I have discussed five “incidents”, out of a total of ten. The remaining five will be discussed in another post. There is nothing worthwhile, except one unlucky misunderstood situation, which generated this ridiculous rash of makeshift "incidents". The rest is rather more of the same Shylockian trash, compiled in a hurry.
Episode 4
12/11/2008
6) Date of Incident:
August 17 2008
Dear Madam President,
I was so upset by the rude and unsportsmanlike behaviour of Mohammed Hegazi at the Memorial Tournament last Sunday, that I have decided not to attend any more tournaments in Melbourne, except for the Senior Citizens Challenge in October.
Yours sincerely,
Ruth Fewings
My Comment:
This is the only genuine complaint in this dossier of Shylockian conniving and intrigue. I will discuss it, even though I believe that it might have been so worded on behalf of RF.
I was late for a game against RF. The clock had been started. I sat quietly and started playing. So embarrassed at being late, I was totally disoriented. I made my first move, announced the score and hit the clock. Soon after, I noticed the time of 23 minutes on the clock. Even though I have used clocks in tournaments for many years, that figure struck me as being the time elapsed and not the time remaining. At that stage, I furiously threw my pen on the table, told RF that she won the game and that the tournament director would settle the score. I walked away and decided to help as a volunteer runner for the presumably remaining two minutes. MM, who was the tournament director, approached me and had the situation explained to her. She understood and corrected my misunderstanding. She restarted the clock. Play resumed as if nothing happened. No further incident occurred, as maliciously claimed by a couple of characters who were sitting nearby. Admittedly, both RF and myself were not exactly at ease, as we usually did for all our previous games. RF was very unlucky losing the game after a very promising early stage and subsequent mounting score difference , in her favour. This might have affected her overall judgement of what happened.
I have later emailed RF and explained to several other fellow players that this misunderstood situation was not targeting RF. Any other player in her place would have faced the same unlucky situation. I have even requested two other country players to try to explain this to her.
Furthermore, I made the most sincere and elaborate email apology to RF, when I learnt that she took offence as she thought that she had been targeted for humiliation. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Until then, RF had my full appreciation and respect as a pleasant and fair player.
RF never stopped playing in tournaments, as she claimed she would do. I played her in a subsequent tournament. Unaware of her unfair complaint, I played my normal game against her. Now, I am neither surprised by her attitude nor bothered by the fact that she did not make the effort to rectify her unjustifiably harsh complaint. At this stage, I do understand the subtle hidden motive for her strange attitude.
7) Date of Incident: August 17 2008
To Scrabble Committee
18th August 2008
Dear Committee members,
I wish to complain about the bad behavior of Mohammed Hegazi at yesterdays Memorial Tournament.
Yesterday I witnessed yet another of our members (a most senior one at that) Ruth Fewings be subjected to his awful behavior. Bridget Halge and I were so upset and concerned for RF we had to stop our clock to regain composure for our game.
I personally have been in this position with Mohammed (At the Nationals) and it is very unpleasant to say the least.
Dorothy Barraclough
Membership Officer
(Continued overpage)
7) contd. MY OBSERVATIONS OF WHAT HAPPENED
Mohammed was late for the start of the game, Marj came and started the clock, at this stage I was unaware who Ruth Fewings’s opponent was.
When Mohammed arrived at the table to find his clock had been started he threw something on the table and told RF it was her game and walked off.
Marj came and eventually got them to start play. Mohammed wanted to start Ruth’s clock before she has selected her tiles and she objected causing more distress. Bridget Halge and l were very distressed and upset for RF at being subjected to this behavior, we stopped our Clock for some time to regain our composure. When we recommenced our game the unpleasantness went on, we stopped our Clock again and I informed Marj that Mohammed was still giving RF a hard time. Barry Harridge sat and observed the latter stages of the game between RF and Mohammed, with no further incident I believe.
Barry H sat with RF for quite some time afterwards consoling her, she was just so upset.
My Comment:
Apparently “Incidents” 7 and 8 were cooked in a hurry. There is much colourful imagination here. Such trash is not worth a comment, as it only aims at making a fuss out of nothing.
8) Date of Incident: August 17 2008
Dear Marj,
I’m writing to express my frustration at the joy having been taken out yet again, of my enjoyment of a scrabble tournament when I witnessed Ruth Fewings' distress while she was playing a game against Mohammed Hegazi. It was evident that a confrontation had taken place. My partner and I had to stop the clock so we could compose ourselves before we continued with our game.
The reason I was so badly affected by what happened to Ruth Fewings was that my experiences of playing against Mohammed have been nerve racking and filled with anxiety. I experience his behaviour as hostile and intimidating which results in my inability to play my best. Each time I see his name listed as a participant in a tounament, my heart sinks because I dread the prospect of having to play against him.
I ask that the committee seeks to redress this situation through whatever means that are open to you. Regards, Bridger Halge
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My Comment:
I am astonished that such nonsense was tabled for discussion. It took me much effort to try to distinguish between this Halge character and the proverbial bar of soap. I had to check tournament results to try to assign a face to her name. The ugliness of her accusations prompted my memory. I found out that I only played her three times. On one occasion, she argued the rule that two extra minutes on the clock cost her 20 points. She sarcastically said, “Is this how you win your games?” Nothing else about this strange character comes to mind.
9} Date of Incident: August 10 2008
Hi Marj
As far as I can remember it went like this
Mohammed placed a 7 letter word on the board over the triple score on the right hand border
He announced ‘200’
As he had played this game with me at a previous tournament I said to him ‘come on now you’re not doing this to me again’ and called Carol Johnsen over to adjudicate
What it was was that his time was running out - he was playing for time or some such
My Comment:
This rambling is by SS. She is a problematic cheat whose favourite method of handling the bag had been to put it on the table, claiming that she had problems lifting it above table level. She would drag tiles out of the bag, with the opening facing her, while looking straight into the bag. There had been several confrontations with her, in an attempt to convince her to stop cheating. It did pay dividends in later tournaments, as she made the effort to follow the rules of the game.
On one occasion, I failed to tile track within the span of 10 minutes at the end of a critical game because she tactlessly kept on interrupting me with silly comments with the sole Shylockian aim of distracting me while tracking.
She once refused to play a game against me after Marj Miller told her that she must lift the bag above table level. The game would have been a forfeit for her, if I did not request MM to record it as a bye.
The only one time I declared an exaggerated score against her was for the purpose of saving time via a rule technicality as explained at this link:
http://scrabbledetective.blogspot.com/2008/08/silly-rules-lead-on-to-silly-situations.html
10) Date of Incident/s: August 10 & 17th 2008
To Mohammed Hegazi
c. c.
Stephanie Saunders
Norma Fisher
Marj Miller
Ruth fewings
Dear Mohammed,
I am writing to you, firstly in my capacity as the Mornington Tournament Director, and secondly, as a member of the Victorian committee.
At the Mornington tournament, it was of concern to me that I was called over to a game where you had facetiously declared a score of 200 for a play which clearly did not total that amount. I consider that this ploy was done in an insolent and ill-mannered manner by you to upset your opponent, which it certainly did. I have now observed from your blog that you had deliberately intended to enact this deceptive and time-wasting ploy which is even more distressing to me and, as it was, to your opponent.
I am writing to you now because, at our regular Victorian committee meeting held late last week, it came to my notice that there had already been a warning issued to you by the Tournament Director Barry Harridge with regard to your inappropriate behaviour towards an opponent at the recent Victorian Championships.
Following that also, at the Gwen Chadwick Memorial tournament last Sunday, you managed to upset one of our longest-playing and highly-respected players; which not only distressed her but those who witnessed it happening.
The above is why I now believe it prudent to send this email to the committee and give notice that I will be moving a motion that the committee take out disciplinary action against you for what appears to be your continuing unacceptable behaviour.
Whilst you have general concerns with the rules of the game, which you can address in writing to Trevor Halsall, the Victorian representative on the Rules Committee, you appear to constantly upset innocent opponents at tournaments with unacceptable comments and, as in the case at the Mornington Tournament, ill-mannered tactics.
Your faithfully,
Carol Johnsen
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6:53 PM
My Comment:
This email was the first development of this ploy. In the aftermath, I believe that CJ must have acted under stern instructions from the “Board of Deputies”!
Now, I leave it to the readers of this blog to draw their own conclusions. The next episode will discuss the findings of the “Elders of Scrabble”, according to their own Protocols.
To all those who may think that conspiracy theories are all imaginary, the following symbolic dialogue between a horse and a piglet is quite interesting:
Dear Madam President,
I was so upset by the rude and unsportsmanlike behaviour of Mohammed Hegazi at the Memorial Tournament last Sunday, that I have decided not to attend any more tournaments in Melbourne, except for the Senior Citizens Challenge in October.
Yours sincerely,
Ruth Fewings
My Comment:
This is the only genuine complaint in this dossier of Shylockian conniving and intrigue. I will discuss it, even though I believe that it might have been so worded on behalf of RF.
I was late for a game against RF. The clock had been started. I sat quietly and started playing. So embarrassed at being late, I was totally disoriented. I made my first move, announced the score and hit the clock. Soon after, I noticed the time of 23 minutes on the clock. Even though I have used clocks in tournaments for many years, that figure struck me as being the time elapsed and not the time remaining. At that stage, I furiously threw my pen on the table, told RF that she won the game and that the tournament director would settle the score. I walked away and decided to help as a volunteer runner for the presumably remaining two minutes. MM, who was the tournament director, approached me and had the situation explained to her. She understood and corrected my misunderstanding. She restarted the clock. Play resumed as if nothing happened. No further incident occurred, as maliciously claimed by a couple of characters who were sitting nearby. Admittedly, both RF and myself were not exactly at ease, as we usually did for all our previous games. RF was very unlucky losing the game after a very promising early stage and subsequent mounting score difference , in her favour. This might have affected her overall judgement of what happened.
I have later emailed RF and explained to several other fellow players that this misunderstood situation was not targeting RF. Any other player in her place would have faced the same unlucky situation. I have even requested two other country players to try to explain this to her.
Furthermore, I made the most sincere and elaborate email apology to RF, when I learnt that she took offence as she thought that she had been targeted for humiliation. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Until then, RF had my full appreciation and respect as a pleasant and fair player.
RF never stopped playing in tournaments, as she claimed she would do. I played her in a subsequent tournament. Unaware of her unfair complaint, I played my normal game against her. Now, I am neither surprised by her attitude nor bothered by the fact that she did not make the effort to rectify her unjustifiably harsh complaint. At this stage, I do understand the subtle hidden motive for her strange attitude.
7) Date of Incident: August 17 2008
To Scrabble Committee
18th August 2008
Dear Committee members,
I wish to complain about the bad behavior of Mohammed Hegazi at yesterdays Memorial Tournament.
Yesterday I witnessed yet another of our members (a most senior one at that) Ruth Fewings be subjected to his awful behavior. Bridget Halge and I were so upset and concerned for RF we had to stop our clock to regain composure for our game.
I personally have been in this position with Mohammed (At the Nationals) and it is very unpleasant to say the least.
Dorothy Barraclough
Membership Officer
(Continued overpage)
7) contd. MY OBSERVATIONS OF WHAT HAPPENED
Mohammed was late for the start of the game, Marj came and started the clock, at this stage I was unaware who Ruth Fewings’s opponent was.
When Mohammed arrived at the table to find his clock had been started he threw something on the table and told RF it was her game and walked off.
Marj came and eventually got them to start play. Mohammed wanted to start Ruth’s clock before she has selected her tiles and she objected causing more distress. Bridget Halge and l were very distressed and upset for RF at being subjected to this behavior, we stopped our Clock for some time to regain our composure. When we recommenced our game the unpleasantness went on, we stopped our Clock again and I informed Marj that Mohammed was still giving RF a hard time. Barry Harridge sat and observed the latter stages of the game between RF and Mohammed, with no further incident I believe.
Barry H sat with RF for quite some time afterwards consoling her, she was just so upset.
My Comment:
Apparently “Incidents” 7 and 8 were cooked in a hurry. There is much colourful imagination here. Such trash is not worth a comment, as it only aims at making a fuss out of nothing.
8) Date of Incident: August 17 2008
Dear Marj,
I’m writing to express my frustration at the joy having been taken out yet again, of my enjoyment of a scrabble tournament when I witnessed Ruth Fewings' distress while she was playing a game against Mohammed Hegazi. It was evident that a confrontation had taken place. My partner and I had to stop the clock so we could compose ourselves before we continued with our game.
The reason I was so badly affected by what happened to Ruth Fewings was that my experiences of playing against Mohammed have been nerve racking and filled with anxiety. I experience his behaviour as hostile and intimidating which results in my inability to play my best. Each time I see his name listed as a participant in a tounament, my heart sinks because I dread the prospect of having to play against him.
I ask that the committee seeks to redress this situation through whatever means that are open to you. Regards, Bridger Halge
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My Comment:
I am astonished that such nonsense was tabled for discussion. It took me much effort to try to distinguish between this Halge character and the proverbial bar of soap. I had to check tournament results to try to assign a face to her name. The ugliness of her accusations prompted my memory. I found out that I only played her three times. On one occasion, she argued the rule that two extra minutes on the clock cost her 20 points. She sarcastically said, “Is this how you win your games?” Nothing else about this strange character comes to mind.
9} Date of Incident: August 10 2008
Hi Marj
As far as I can remember it went like this
Mohammed placed a 7 letter word on the board over the triple score on the right hand border
He announced ‘200’
As he had played this game with me at a previous tournament I said to him ‘come on now you’re not doing this to me again’ and called Carol Johnsen over to adjudicate
What it was was that his time was running out - he was playing for time or some such
My Comment:
This rambling is by SS. She is a problematic cheat whose favourite method of handling the bag had been to put it on the table, claiming that she had problems lifting it above table level. She would drag tiles out of the bag, with the opening facing her, while looking straight into the bag. There had been several confrontations with her, in an attempt to convince her to stop cheating. It did pay dividends in later tournaments, as she made the effort to follow the rules of the game.
On one occasion, I failed to tile track within the span of 10 minutes at the end of a critical game because she tactlessly kept on interrupting me with silly comments with the sole Shylockian aim of distracting me while tracking.
She once refused to play a game against me after Marj Miller told her that she must lift the bag above table level. The game would have been a forfeit for her, if I did not request MM to record it as a bye.
The only one time I declared an exaggerated score against her was for the purpose of saving time via a rule technicality as explained at this link:
http://scrabbledetective.blogspot.com/2008/08/silly-rules-lead-on-to-silly-situations.html
10) Date of Incident/s: August 10 & 17th 2008
To Mohammed Hegazi
c. c.
Stephanie Saunders
Norma Fisher
Marj Miller
Ruth fewings
Dear Mohammed,
I am writing to you, firstly in my capacity as the Mornington Tournament Director, and secondly, as a member of the Victorian committee.
At the Mornington tournament, it was of concern to me that I was called over to a game where you had facetiously declared a score of 200 for a play which clearly did not total that amount. I consider that this ploy was done in an insolent and ill-mannered manner by you to upset your opponent, which it certainly did. I have now observed from your blog that you had deliberately intended to enact this deceptive and time-wasting ploy which is even more distressing to me and, as it was, to your opponent.
I am writing to you now because, at our regular Victorian committee meeting held late last week, it came to my notice that there had already been a warning issued to you by the Tournament Director Barry Harridge with regard to your inappropriate behaviour towards an opponent at the recent Victorian Championships.
Following that also, at the Gwen Chadwick Memorial tournament last Sunday, you managed to upset one of our longest-playing and highly-respected players; which not only distressed her but those who witnessed it happening.
The above is why I now believe it prudent to send this email to the committee and give notice that I will be moving a motion that the committee take out disciplinary action against you for what appears to be your continuing unacceptable behaviour.
Whilst you have general concerns with the rules of the game, which you can address in writing to Trevor Halsall, the Victorian representative on the Rules Committee, you appear to constantly upset innocent opponents at tournaments with unacceptable comments and, as in the case at the Mornington Tournament, ill-mannered tactics.
Your faithfully,
Carol Johnsen
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com
Version: 8.0.138/ Virus Database: 270.6.6/1621 – Release Date: 8/19/2008
6:53 PM
My Comment:
This email was the first development of this ploy. In the aftermath, I believe that CJ must have acted under stern instructions from the “Board of Deputies”!
Now, I leave it to the readers of this blog to draw their own conclusions. The next episode will discuss the findings of the “Elders of Scrabble”, according to their own Protocols.
To all those who may think that conspiracy theories are all imaginary, the following symbolic dialogue between a horse and a piglet is quite interesting:
- The farmer feeds you and looks after you because when you grow up, he is gonna eat you.
EPISODE 5
08/12/2008
According to the Protocols of the Elders of
Scrabble, I received the letter below:
SCRABBLE PLAYERS ASSOCIATION
Secretary
September 22nd, 2008
Mr. Mohammed Hegazi
Dear Mr. Hegazi,
Thank you for attending the meeting on Thursday September 18th 2008 at the SC Centre in response to the letter dated Monday September 1st 2008 sent to you by the Committee.
The members of the Committee paid due attention to your responses to the allegations made against you by members, as per the documents attached to the above letter and the two additional documents provided to you at the start of the meeting. Following your departure from the meeting the Committee reviewed these allegations in conjunction with the content of your responses preparatory to reaching a decision on a course of action.
In accordance with Rule 10.4(a) of the Constitution, on behalf of the Committee, this letter is to inform you that, by a unanimous decision at this meeting of Thursday September 18th 2008, the Committee resolved that:
a) you are guilty of conduct unbecoming a member of the Association and prejudicial to the interests of the Association;
and
b) that you shall be suspended from attending or participating in all tournaments for one year commencing Saturday November 1st 2008.
Further, that during the period Saturday November 1st 2008 to Saturday October 31st 2009, inclusive, the Committee reserves the right, on behalf of the members of the Association, to review this decision and the extent to which it shall be applied in the event that further allegations are made against you.
A meeting of the Committee will take place on Thursday October 16th 2008 at the SC Centre at 7.00 pm. In accordance with Rule 10.4 of the Constitution of the Association you are afforded the opportunity to
(i) address the meeting either in person, or appoint a representative to address the meeting on your behalf;
and/or
(ii) give to the Committee before the date of the meeting a written statement seeking the revocation of the above stated resolution.
If, at the meeting of October 16th 2008, the Committee confirms the resolution of Thursday September 18th 2008 you are permitted (as per sub-rule 10.4(e) of the Constitution) to give the Secretary notice not later than 48 hours after that meeting that you wish to appeal to the Association in general meeting against the resolution.
Please direct correspondence via post to the above address.
Yours sincerely,
N F
Secretary
--------------------------------------------------------------
Stay tuned for more Shylockian action in EPISODE 6, but give me some time. I will try to post it as soon as you manage to stop laughing.
SCRABBLE PLAYERS ASSOCIATION
Secretary
September 22nd, 2008
Mr. Mohammed Hegazi
Dear Mr. Hegazi,
Thank you for attending the meeting on Thursday September 18th 2008 at the SC Centre in response to the letter dated Monday September 1st 2008 sent to you by the Committee.
The members of the Committee paid due attention to your responses to the allegations made against you by members, as per the documents attached to the above letter and the two additional documents provided to you at the start of the meeting. Following your departure from the meeting the Committee reviewed these allegations in conjunction with the content of your responses preparatory to reaching a decision on a course of action.
In accordance with Rule 10.4(a) of the Constitution, on behalf of the Committee, this letter is to inform you that, by a unanimous decision at this meeting of Thursday September 18th 2008, the Committee resolved that:
a) you are guilty of conduct unbecoming a member of the Association and prejudicial to the interests of the Association;
and
b) that you shall be suspended from attending or participating in all tournaments for one year commencing Saturday November 1st 2008.
Further, that during the period Saturday November 1st 2008 to Saturday October 31st 2009, inclusive, the Committee reserves the right, on behalf of the members of the Association, to review this decision and the extent to which it shall be applied in the event that further allegations are made against you.
A meeting of the Committee will take place on Thursday October 16th 2008 at the SC Centre at 7.00 pm. In accordance with Rule 10.4 of the Constitution of the Association you are afforded the opportunity to
(i) address the meeting either in person, or appoint a representative to address the meeting on your behalf;
and/or
(ii) give to the Committee before the date of the meeting a written statement seeking the revocation of the above stated resolution.
If, at the meeting of October 16th 2008, the Committee confirms the resolution of Thursday September 18th 2008 you are permitted (as per sub-rule 10.4(e) of the Constitution) to give the Secretary notice not later than 48 hours after that meeting that you wish to appeal to the Association in general meeting against the resolution.
Please direct correspondence via post to the above address.
Yours sincerely,
N F
Secretary
--------------------------------------------------------------
Stay tuned for more Shylockian action in EPISODE 6, but give me some time. I will try to post it as soon as you manage to stop laughing.
EPISODE 6 (FINALE)
19/12/2008
You would have
gathered that I did not respond to the last correspondence and decided to close
the file. At that stage, I thought that Shylockian influence was dominant only
in Victoria,
where I lived, and decided to occasionally participate in tournaments held in
other states.I emailed the ACT and Tasmania requesting a place in their upcoming tournaments. Both welcomed my participation and assured me of a place, upon which I booked flights and suitable rather expensive accommodation, within walking distance from tournament venues.
When my name appeared on the initial list of participants in the ACT tournament, Victorian Shylocks requested their fellow Shylocks to ban me. I soon received two emails from the head Shylocks of the ACT and Tasmania. The ACT was abrupt and direct, banning my participation in clumsy unfriendly language by OR, after their initial warm welcome by TR. Tasmania tried to offer some explanation and asked for time to discuss the matter among their membership. That was followed by a reply from AM to the effect that because I had called “Kow” mad, my presence at his tournament would not be desirable because Kow was a popular ex-member and a champion of his scrabble association. When I told this funny anecdote to a senior member of my club she laughed and said, “Kow being popular? You could have fooled me!”
Since the idea of offering to participate in interstate tournaments proved to be a revealing litmus test to assess the Shylockian influence in scrabble, I thought that I might continue testing. Thus, I circulated this email:
To: Committees of Australian Scrabble Players Associations:
Due to my lack of information about email addresses, I am forwarding this message via at least one committee member of every state.
For whatever reasons, the Committee of the Victorian branch of ASPA has issued a one-year ban on my participation in tournaments held in Victoria. Based on the motives for such ban, I decided not to participate in tournaments held under the auspices of the said Committee during, before or after the period of the imposed ban.
Unaware of the stand on this matter by scrabble associations outside the jurisdiction of the Victorian Committee, I applied to play in two tournaments, in ACT and Tasmania. I was warmly welcomed by the tournament organisers. Accordingly, I made travel and accommodation bookings for which I paid unrefundable fees. Shortly after, the Vic Committee persisted with their persecution and requested ACT and Tas to ban me from participating in their tournaments. ACT was quick to respond and informed me that they do not want me to attend their tournament in any capacity. Tas decided to put the matter for discussion by their Committee. I am still awaiting their expected reply.
In order to make this unique situation clear, I request that the committees of all states inform me of their stand on my participation in their future tournaments. This would save all parties concerned much time and effort in the future.
Thank you.
Mohammed Hegazi
NSW, Qld and SA did not reply. WA sent this uniquely absurd reply that imposed a life ban on my participation in their activities. This is a copy of their email:
The Australian Scrabble Players Association (WA) Incorporated will not accept any entries from you for any tournaments, events or functions within Western Australia that come under the auspices of ASPA (WA) Inc at any time now or in the future.
Glenys Lawrie
That was a bit super-Shylockian, if I may say so myself!
At first, I thought that this peculiar jewess had a poor command of the English language, thus failing to properly express herself, until I stumbled on the minutes of a meeting held by the ASPA (WA). Here is an intact excerpt of it:
MEETING 22nd February, 2009
ASPA (WA) INC MEETING
SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2009
Present: Edie Mueller, Mike Clarke, Aloma Pelham, Anne Stewart, Carol Hudson, Henny Yates, Jenny Coetzee, Maureen Gill, Colleen McCormick, Anne Donnelly, Glenys Lawrie.
Apologies: Graham Bell, Dianne Ward.
Meeting commenced: 2.00 pm.
Membership. There were 154 financial members as at 22 February 2009.
GENERAL BUSINESS
BAN. On 23 October 2008 Mohammed Hegazi, a Victorian player was informed by email that he was banned from playing in WA for all time.
(Quiz: How many non-jewish-sounding names are on the list above? I could spot one, can you find more? Mind you, not all jews have jewish-sounding names.)
The jews of Victoria tried to keep appearances by collating flimsy complaints, suggesting that I made life hard for them. The jews of Western Australia offered no explanation whatsoever, in order to justify their bizarre stand against a person they never met. From a practical angle, I have no intention or desire to play in Western Australia. I only wonder about the clumsiness of those West Australian jews.
On the basis that in general, I "don't sue because I am not a jew", I would rather not pursue this matter any further. Those West Australian jews should remember that their association is part of a larger structure that can be subjected to the rule of common law. There are principled lawyers in Victoria who would be willing to offer their services, free of charge, in similar cases. One is a personal friend. This really puts me in two minds: Should I act as a matter of principle? Should I just ignore those West Australian jews? Time may tell.
This should be the finale of this uninteresting melodrama. To me, it is a clear manifestation of the Shylockian influence in the game of scrabble, which in turn might be symbolic of the Shylockian influence in Australia. If at any stage you would have wondered why we took part in wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan or Iraq, look at the number of Shylocks in government. They control the two parties, mass media, city councils, trade unions and anywhere where there is power or presumed power.
