Talk:Magic Alex

Libel

libels are supposed to be omitted, aren't they? the referenced NYTimes' article writes:

"Editors' Note: March 4, 2010 ... the article did not accuse Mr. Mardas of engaging in fraudulent dealings or criminality, either then or at any subsequent time. "

Nothing about "are contesting the allegations and will report the result" Or am i not reading well? (It is Athens, but not Mardas, is this not allowed?) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.249.61.130 (talk) 09:34, 11 May 2012 (UTC)

This says, he was allowed to go further and appeal. --andreasegde (talk) 17:10, 16 June 2012 (UTC)

Negative Theme in Article?

We can appreciate that a Summary is meant to be a simplified and shortened version of the full text, but begs the question does the content of the summary also need to suffer from 'Over-Simplification' too? The oversimplification used here has painted the Magic Alex character in a somewhat negative light. i.e. "The bullet proof cars were not 'bullet proof'. " One might speculate that that armouring would had been adequate enough against attackers, so long as they were not using fresh armed forces rounds and knew exactly where to aim for.

My Point? Why are we latching on to so many negative aspects and then summarising them? In fact the whole article seems to had become negative. Can we give the man a break and get a more balanced view ? Don't forget English is not Mr. Mardas' first language, so the lack of being able to express himself fully over the years must had had some effect on being able to have his side of the story heard.82.11.121.200 (talk) 16:35, 16 June 2012 (UTC)

This is an encyclopedia article, and not a forum. Everything in the article is referenced, which means the information was derived from books or media articles. The Independent newspaper once apologised to Mr. Mardas, which was duly noted and reported in this article. Mr. Mardas could easily give an interview to a Greek journalist who has some knowledge of English, which would then be put into this article. If it's reported, it goes in here. If not, it doesn't. Sorry, but that's it.--andreasegde (talk) 17:08, 16 June 2012 (UTC)

Then why does the summary of the article not accurately reflect the text below it? Mr. Mardas has gone on record denying a large part of the article's content, but this was not mentioned in the summary. In the present edit, one has to read all the way to the end to find an obscure entry. Surely, to make the article an accurate encyclopedia entry, one needs to ensure that a: the content accurately reflects new information & references and b: any summaries are updated with this new information. 82.11.121.200 (talk) 21:08, 16 June 2012 (UTC)

Additional... Here's an excerpt from a statement made to the Press by Mr. Mardas that was published on March 4, 2010: "... I was approached by the Bundeskriminalamat in Germany to supply armouring to manufacturers of German cars. This business was also extremely successful. I mention in passing that the Ministry of Defence published a video which has been shot at the military establishment in Bisley. This showed one of our cars being shot at with approximately 25 different varieties of weaponry. We had guests from all around the world and the car withstood the whole barrage of these attacks..." The tone of the Wikipedia article implies that everything that Mr. Mardas was involved had either fell apart, didn't work or divorced because of him!!! 82.11.121.200 (talk) 22:25, 16 June 2012 (UTC)

1: The above statement was indeed a press statement, but detailing Mr. Mardas' own claims that his companies were "successful". I could claim that I'm the Queen of Sheba, but until a third party confirms that, I'll just have to be me. 2: The lede has been cleaned, but don't think anything without a proper reference will get in.--andreasegde (talk) 16:15, 17 June 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for your recent additions to create balance. Good point that Mardas's claims should be confirmed by a third party. Regarding the NY Times, note that the publication didn't publicly explain that he's not a charlatan. You can read their statement at the bottom of the article.[1] TimidGuy (talk) 10:51, 19 June 2012 (UTC)

True, the NYT editor's update in the article linked above was definitely not an apology, but an explanation that the NYTs' hands were not dirty, but others were. I'll put in a brief quoted statement from the 2010 update in the NYT article.--andreasegde (talk) 16:45, 19 June 2012 (UTC)

Excellent. Thanks! TimidGuy (talk) 17:13, 19 June 2012 (UTC)

The "The Independent" article says "For some reason (possibly jealousy)." But then this article blankly states "Mardas was jealous about the control the Maharishi had over Lennon." This does not seem neutral at all; it goes beyond even what "The Independent" was willing to speculate. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.142.242.83 (talk) 16:18, 24 March 2013 (UTC)

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Article title

I do not understand why this article is titled under the man's nickname, rather than the name by which he was generally known, Alexis Mardas. (I realize that omits his given first name, but that can be handled in the lede as it is now.) He did not change his name to "Magic Alex", at least there is no mention in the article of him doing so. My recollection of my (considerable) past reading about the Beatles is that he is generally referred to as Alexis Mardas, with a mention of him being called "Magic Alex" and often a bit of ridicule regarding that nickname. It is not like Vincent Furnier or Gordon Sumner where the stage-name/nickname has completely submerged the person's original name. This article should be titled Alexis Mardas. But I am not going to make a formal move request unless I have some indication that it will get some support. Neutron (talk) 22:41, 16 January 2017 (UTC)

I imagine that Beatles fans would argue that Magic Alex is the WP:COMMONNAME for this person, but I'm not so sure that this will be a compelling argument for non-Beatles fans. I would support changing the page name to Alexis Mardas, so long as "Magic Alex" was established as a re-direct. NewYorkActuary (talk) 18:12, 19 January 2017 (UTC)

I would agree that "Magic Alex" is the one that meets COMMONNAME. He wouldn't be here at all except for the Beatles connection. Andy Dingley (talk) 20:25, 19 January 2017 (UTC)

Could anyone please explain why his other name, John (the English form of his Greek name, Yanni), was removed from the article? His 2010 article to the New York Times mentions him as John Alexis Mardas. I am going to restore that. WikiPro1981X (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 05:57, 6 March 2017 (UTC)

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Engineer

Was he actually an engineer? It doesn't sound so.--Jack Upland (talk) 00:10, 15 January 2022 (UTC)

"he found employment as a television repairman"

must've had some chops.... but the lack of background, education & so on makes me question the suitability of "engineer" in the opening para.

duncanrmi (talk) 17:06, 13 June 2024 (UTC)

In fact, the quote "I'm a rock gardener, and now I'm doing electronics. Maybe next year, I make films or poems. I have no formal training in any of these, but this is irrelevant" suggests the exact opposite. Unless there's evidence that he had an actual engineering degree, this needs to be changed, but into what? "Inventor"? Jah77 (talk) 18:02, 14 September 2024 (UTC)