Nicolaides Freed From Thai Prison

[Briggsy]

Who is Heath Dollar?

Does anybody here recall him teaching at Mae Fah Luang University?

Is he a reliable source or is he someone with an axe to grind? Is he a pseudonym or even a fictitious person? Can anybody verify his existence? If he was in Chiang Rai teaching only 3 years ago, someone should have heard of him.

[jackr]

Perhaps it was one of those teachers who grassed him up, or on the note of notoriety, perhaps he brought the offending article up to the authorities himself anonymously.

[mc2]

Who is Heath Dollar?

Does anybody here recall him teaching at Mae Fah Luang University?

Is he a reliable source or is he someone with an axe to grind? Is he a pseudonym or even a fictitious person? Can anybody verify his existence? If he was in Chiang Rai teaching only 3 years ago, someone should have heard of him.

sounds like the name of a 70s porn star

[mc2]

Who is Heath Dollar?

Does anybody here recall him teaching at Mae Fah Luang University?

Is he a reliable source or is he someone with an axe to grind? Is he a pseudonym or even a fictitious person? Can anybody verify his existence? If he was in Chiang Rai teaching only 3 years ago, someone should have heard of him.

actually he sounds like a bit of a backstabbing ass wipe.

misquoting him out of context to make him look bad, presumably to make a few bucks or get some attention.

[Insight]

A response from Harry in SMH -

Author denies it was a stunt

* Louise Schwartzkoff

* February 23, 2009

HARRY NICOLAIDES does not deny he once suggested he could become famous if he went to prison for insulting Thailand's royal family. But he has accused his former colleague, Heath Dollar, of self-promotion for saying he had gone to jail to further his literary ambitions.

"I can't remember making such comments, but I would make comments like that today," he said yesterday. "Notoriety comes to writers who pull stunts, but there is a big difference between making comments over a few drinks and actually carrying it out."

The Australian author arrived home on Saturday after six months in a Thai prison for violating Thailand's lese-majeste law in his novel Verisimilitude.

He admitted he has discussed authorship and publication with his former colleague Dollar.

But he said Dollar's suggestion he had included the offending paragraph as a way to achieve recognition was "preposterous".

"I think what's happened is completely unimaginable. There are so many variables; it's impossible to plan such a thing."

He said he could not recall showing Dollar the manuscript nor receiving advice from him and other colleagues to delete the incriminating paragraph.

"I don't think I ever showed him the manuscript, so how can he say he advised me to remove it?"

Asked why Dollar would invent such a story, Nicolaides speculated the aspiring author was trying to drum up publicity to further his own writing career.

"It's offensive that Heath came out with a statement like that … I've come to recognise that any form of notoriety brings out the best and the worst in people," he said.

Jury is still out in my (ahem) book. Wonder if any more "friends" will speak out?

Edited February 23, 2009 by Insight

[wayfarer108]

"Notoriety comes to writers who pull stunts, but there is a big difference between making comments over a few drinks and actually carrying it out."

But he did carry it out. To the hilt.

[wayfarer108]

misquoting him out of context to make him look bad, presumably to make a few bucks or get some attention.

you're quick to judge Heath Dollar, who merely reported what Nicolaides said. yet presented with the evidence that Harry knew what he was doing, that he was no stranger to hoax and no stranger to hyperbole to get attention--writing about his bargirl girlfriend's '12-year-old charms', child prostitution in Mae Sai and urban myths on Saudi Arabia--you don't conclude the same about Harry. peculiar.

in all the interviews he looked genuine. it was not an act.

have you watched the bbc interview? looked a case of bad acting to me, anything but genuine. but some viewers may be more gullible.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7903267.stm

Edited February 23, 2009 by wayfarer108

[think_too_mut]

Who is Heath Dollar?

Does anybody here recall him teaching at Mae Fah Luang University?

Is he a reliable source or is he someone with an axe to grind? Is he a pseudonym or even a fictitious person? Can anybody verify his existence? If he was in Chiang Rai teaching only 3 years ago, someone should have heard of him.

Your question answered:

"He admitted he has discussed authorship and publication with his former colleague Dollar."

[jdinasia]

Who is Heath Dollar?

Does anybody here recall him teaching at Mae Fah Luang University?

Is he a reliable source or is he someone with an axe to grind? Is he a pseudonym or even a fictitious person? Can anybody verify his existence? If he was in Chiang Rai teaching only 3 years ago, someone should have heard of him.

actually he sounds like a bit of a backstabbing ass wipe.

misquoting him out of context to make him look bad, presumably to make a few bucks or get some attention.

attention getting ....? like bogus claims to a 'phD in Thai cultural studies' ?

[mc2]

attention getting ....? like bogus claims to a 'phD in Thai cultural studies' ?

lol. my stalker is back.

[Mai Krap]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/artic..._oB1nfbYyasGewg

Thai royal insult no publicity stunt, says Australian writer

MELBOURNE (AFP) — The family of an Australian writer jailed then pardoned for insulting the Thai monarchy Monday denied a claim he had sought literary fame by deliberately provoking authorities.

Melbourne's The Age newspaper Monday published allegations by a former colleague of Australian Harry Nicolaides that he had discussed breaking the law of lese majeste, or slandering the monarchy, while writing his novel "Verisimilitude".

"Before the book's publication, in fact, Harry rather cavalierly suggested that going to prison for lese majeste could bring him literary fame," Heath Dollar, who once taught with Nicolaides at the Mae Fah Luang University in northern Thailand, told The Age.

Nicolaides, 41, was jailed for three years after pleading guilty to slandering the Thai royal family but received a royal pardon after spending five months in prison and was released last Friday.

Dollar claimed Nicolaides once showed him the offending passage of his self-published novel. Dollar advised the writer to remove it but his advice was ignored.

"Harry believed it best to create a sensation, a publicity stunt to land an author on the literary map," Dollar told the newspaper.

Nicolaides' brother Forde denied the allegations, saying the novel's manuscript was submitted to Thai authorities before its publication and no officials had indicated it may be offensive.

"He says it's certainly no publicity stunt, he certainly wouldn't have taken any such risk for an offence that carries 15 years jail," Forde Nicolaides told Sky News.

"He has no recollection of speaking to Heath about the book."

He said his brother was catching up on sleep after flying home to an emotional family reunion in Melbourne Saturday and was still "in a state of shock" at his abrupt release from a Thai jail.

"With the benefit of hindsight, he probably has some regrets," he said.

"At the time he wrote the book, he didn't realise it was offensive."

Thailand has some of the strictest laws in the world protecting revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej and his family from insult, but media freedom groups have accused authorities of abusing the law to suppress dissent.

Thai authorities have banned nearly 4,000 websites in recent months for allegedly insulting the monarchy. Police said last week that more than 17 criminal cases of insulting the royal family are currently active.

[wayfarer108]

"At the time he wrote the book, he didn't realise it was offensive."

Someone should send Forde a copy of the press release his brother wrote for his own book:

"It is an uncompromising assault on the patrician values of the monarchy …" "Savage, ruthless and unforgiving, VERISIMILITUDE pulls away the mask of benign congeniality that Thailand has disguised itself with for decades and reveals a people who trade their cultural integrity and personal honour for the baubles of Babylonian America."

How could it not be perceived as offensive, by Thais?

Dollar's appraisal, in the end, appears in fact rather compassionate:

I believe he was ignorant of the implications of carelessly meddling in the political process and the danger of violating the law.

Had he been able to see the future, I believe he would have remained an anonymous striver typing unknown novels in an obscure village rather than an internationally known inmate trying to survive the severe conditions of a Bangkok prison.

Though he is sometimes portrayed as a dissident, Nicolaides would more accurately be described as an opportunist. And if he is a martyr, he is not a champion of free speech but a martyr on the cross of ambition.

He wrote about Thailand as nothing more than a beautiful facade, and has since himself become the embodiment of verisimilitude.

In the end, Nicolaides was simply a literary speculator whose quest for fame and notoriety cost him dearly.

[sriracha john]

I think Harry's old goose is cooked. The jig is up, as they say.

With the revelations coming out, his future book and movie deals are fluttering away in the wind....

Edited February 23, 2009 by sriracha john

[jdinasia]

I think Harry's old goose is cooked. The jig is up, as they say.

With the revelations coming out, his future book and movie deals are fluttering away in the wind....

He could be working on his new semi-autobiography as we speak ... I suggest he calls it "Hubris"

[think_too_mut]

I think Harry's old goose is cooked. The jig is up, as they say.

With the revelations coming out, his future book and movie deals are fluttering away in the wind....

That Dollar man had said nothing while Harry was waiting on release. Fair enough, he would have stayed there all 6 years had Dollar spoke earlier.

Now it's safe to kick up the stink. Wish Harry was yanked back to BKK hilton.

[MyphuketLife]

attention getting ....? like bogus claims to a 'phD in Thai cultural studies' ?

lol. my stalker is back.

He thinks your cute

[PeaceBlondie]

verisimilitude - "The appearance of being real" - I finally looked up that six syllable word, listed in my good modern dictionary as a very formal word.

Harry's book, selling seven or less copies, does not appear 1% as real as the Thai Elite Card membership.

Heath's comment appears to be right on the mark.

I pity Harry for his stupidity., which has the appearance of being real.

[Scott]

Some of the aspiring authors on this thread are very critical of one of their own. I read a few pages of the book--never made it to the offending paragraph--and now can't find it on my computer (I have a feeling that out of fear, I deleted it). I found it interesting to read--but them I am not a critic and that was only a tiny bit of the manuscript.

I'll be a little more positive about Harry than some. Good authors don't often live quiet, simple lives, they often experience things to the fullest and are known for their eccentricities. Harry may not fall into the "good" part of it, but he the rest seems to fit. Along with a bit of unrealistic foolishness.

[Plus]

"It is an uncompromising assault on the patrician values of the monarchy … Savage, ruthless and unforgiving.."

It is anything but.

They've been pushing the book under these false pretenses for a while now, long before Dollar's account of Nicolaides.

Maybe he got jailed unwittingly, but he's been asking for it all alone.

Another sad example of human nature - people going to jail to get a glimpse of fame. Sad, really.

[dominique355]

Having discussed the thai LM law with some thai lawyers I know, there are no geographical limits on LM. Commit LM anywhere in the world and you can be charged for doing in. Whilst LM might have a lot of support in thailand, overseas the very act of charging someone under this law causes a lot of LM just look at the international coverage of this case.

As a result I cannot see how you can file a complaint of LM against someone without committing it yourself. Cannot be too hard to find out who filed the original complaint; anyone out there stupid enough to try this out?

I think thailand are about to learn the lessons Britain learnt with the spycatcher case and the Muslim world with satanic verses, telling people not to read something only encourages them.

We all read that only 7 copies of Harry's book have been sold, but I was unable to find out WHERE these 7 copies have been sold. In Thailand, in Australia ?

Does it matter? It certainly does because I don't and I cannot agree with the Thai lawyers quoted above, that there are no geographical limits on LM. A penal law in a country where the rule of law applies, cannot extend its scope of application to the whole world. To write something offensive about the Thai Royal family in a newspaper in Kansas City for the local readers certainly cannot and does not violate Thai penal law. Any other interpretation of the law is ridiculous and simply not enforceable.

And let's not forget, these paragraphs in the Thai Penal Law dealing with LM also apply to insults against any other head of state. So if an American insults president Obama in USA, does he commit a crime against Thai penal law? Certainly not. This is not only due to lack of enforceability but also to common sense.

The more you read about LM crimes and the more you think about it, the less sense it makes. The quickly release HM from prison is one way of saying to the world that the law and its application do not find everybody's approval.

[sriracha john]

And let's not forget, these paragraphs in the Thai Penal Law dealing with LM also apply to insults against any other head of state.

Source please.

[JetsetBkk]

...Now it's safe to kick up the stink. Wish Harry was yanked back to BKK hilton.

Indeed. Perhaps they can drop him back in the "sewerage tank" which is where he belongs, the little sh!t.

[Briggsy]

What a farce.

The majority of 170 posts seem to say he deserved what he got for writing what he did.

A few of the posts, very few, focus on the completely disproportionate (length of time served, state of Thai prisons, length of time on remand, senseless refusal of bail, anonymous plaintiff, no opportunity to dispute or refute charge, secrecy surrounding issue of arrest warrant, etc.) punishment when compared to the crime.

And no posts, since it would be illegal, focus on what he alluded to.

So many posters totally missing the big picture here. Why on earth do you think he was treated so harshly compared to others who come before the courts?

[jdinasia]

Huh?

Denied bail? It prevented him from skipping out of the country!

Sentence? He served a month after sentencing.

Length of sentence? 3 years .. not 12 like the last farang I remember being convicted of LM

Prison condition? Same for Thais but he probably had enough cash to be in a better situation than most Thais in jail.

Did you bother reading his own description of his book?

edit ---

refute charges? -- he pled GUILTY

Edited February 24, 2009 by jdinasia

[GungaDin]

Huh?

Denied bail? It prevented him from skipping out of the country!

Sentence? He served a month after sentencing.

Length of sentence? 3 years .. not 12 like the last farang I remember being convicted of LM

Prison condition? Same for Thais but he probably had enough cash to be in a better situation than most Thais in jail.

Did you bother reading his own description of his book?

edit ---

refute charges? -- he pled GUILTY

Amazing !

[sriracha john]

Why on earth do you think he was treated so harshly compared to others who come before the courts?

Accordingly, it was due to the fact that his offense occurred in a book format (and books hold a special importance to Thais) and also that that he was well aware of the severity of his offense.

That was what was said at his hearing in regards to the length of his sentencing.

[Plus]

I think he deserved what he got not for writing one lousy paragrapph in a stupid book but for trying to use his arrest to generate publicity. At this point it looks like he set himself up in the first place.

I wouldn't cry about Thai justice system being unfair to someone who WANTS to get in jail himself, and not a homeless Thais but a westerner, who then might write a separate book to describe the "horrors".

[sriracha john]

I think he deserved what he got not for writing one lousy paragrapph in a stupid book but for trying to use his arrest to generate publicity. At this point it looks like he set himself up in the first place.

I wouldn't cry about Thai justice system being unfair to someone who WANTS to get in jail himself, and not a homeless Thais but a westerner, who then might write a separate book to describe the "horrors".

that is apparently already in the works... it will no doubt sell more than 7 copies... with at least a few posters in the thread who have fallen for his scam near the head of the queue.

Edited February 24, 2009 by sriracha john

[mc2]

I dont know exactly why he is writing a book or what he will say, but writing can be theraputic , I would guess this is his main motive at this stage, certainty not money. if he can also make a few dollars from it too, good for him.

[sriracha john]

but writing can be theraputic , I would guess this is his main motive at this stage, certainty not money.

Money and fame was the motivation for the first scam... no reason not to believe the second book won't be the same. But then, maybe "it was just a joke" to him.