I just recently did a Visa run in Laos.  Here is a picture of the line at the Laos consulate on a Monday at 10am.   Soon, I'm going to bring a new article about the my entire trip to Vientiane, the capital of Laos.

When Your Stepping Stone Becomes an Island...

I'm going to discuss a subject today that I know will hit a nerve to some and strike a chord with others.   To make my point I'm going to recount a very old memory from when I was a teenager.   I'm not sure why I held on to this memory such a long time, but I have and it came bubbling up a few weeks ago when Stickman posted his Teaching is But a Stepping Stone article.  At first, I thought --- WTH?   Stickman is once again talking about Teaching as just a temporary "gig".   How many times has he dished out this topic?   More than once that's for sure....

Anyhow, thoughts of an old movie that I watched many years ago came back to me.  It was an early movie for color so I watched it as a re-run sometime in the late 70's or early 80's.   I believe it was a Sinbad type movie.  It could have been "Sails the Seven Seas" or one of his other adventures.   I'm referring to the movie that star real people and had very limited animation of the monsters depicted throughout the plot.  Sinbad is of course an Arabian hero who for the sake of excitement and adventure and promise of treasure and perhaps the love of a girl, sailed aboard a wooden ship in uncharted and dangerous waters.  He and his men were faced with challenges at every turn.   On one island, a multiple headed serpent, on another vexed by demons, etc.  I think you have seen these types of movies - several have been made.

However, I remember one very specific challenge that I want to recount that beset Sinbad and his crew .....  On one sunny day, they were cruising near an uncharted island.  Through their looking-glass, Sinbad spied 2 very young beautiful and sexy girls on a coastline and what appeared to be a small palace over-looking a bluff.   Others took turns fighting amongst themselves for a glimpse at the fair maidens.  Of course immediately Sinbad is questioning what he saw because these were dangerous and unknown waters and the whole crew was on a dangerous mission.   This sighting to him was peculiar and warranted an investigation.   With some exciting in seeing these very beautiful girls, the crew turned the vessel toward the shore and worked their way into the coast as quickly as they could.   At the coastline come into normal view, the girls made their way inland, as if to avoid Sinbad and the approaching ship.   Upon landing, Sinbad chose a landing party and tells the crew not to leave the ship and that he would be back shortly with word as to what the landing party had found.   The climb up the cliff face was difficult and arduous and tricky.   He is not even sure if those girls took this path but the group presses on and finally reaches the summit.   There they find a small but very beautiful palace.   And alas - there are the girls.... not just two of them, but several dozen.   Each one more beautiful and more sexy than the next.    But there are no men at this place and no is work being done.   Food is abundant and layout out on tables for the taking.  The men begin to freely gorge themselves.  The food is fine, there is nothing wrong with it.  The ladies invite the men to relax and lay down on what look like royal couches and the woman begin to hand feed the men grapes and other fresh fruit.   They flirt with each other and make pleasantries with one another.   Again, remember the women are extremely attractive and are scantily clad.   The men, Sinbad included are taken back by this oasis of beauty and relaxation in the middle of their harrowing journey.   Sinbad is questioning to himself, "Is this too good to be real"?  Most of the other men, didn't give a damn.  They were in heaven and completely absorbed and oblivious to any danger, because clearly -- there just wasn't any danger....

Then, the unexpected... one of the sailors from the ship, weary and looking distraught scurrying over from the buff and said "Sinbad are you ok?".   and Sinbad charged him saying that he was not to leave the ship.   Just then, the sailor said with a frightful voice, "But you've been gone for 3 weeks and we were beginning to worry.".....   then Sinbad suddenly understanding the danger, turned to his crew lounging about and command them to return to the ship -- but they weren't listening to well.  They didn't want to leave.  They were inebriated with pleasures, and filled with brim with satisfactions.... there were pleasantly mesmerized with the good company and beautiful maidens.

Sinbad managed to snap a few of his crew out of their fixations but some had to be left behind because there just wasn't any time to rouse them from their entrancement.   And those who were left behind were lost to time, never again to be united with their wife, family or home town they knew.

This story is not too unlike what we see happening in the farang population here in Thailand.   If you follow characters in Thailand local to you or you follow the characters who post blogs on the Internet who reside in the Kingdon, you see much the same theme.   A fair number of these people are locked into an existence of wine and women and time seems to pass very quickly.... and these farang tend to fall behind with their contemporaries back in their home counties.   In a few years, some of these Xpats make it back out of Thailand and they get back on track....but then again, another larger portion of Xpats don't make it out at all.... they stay and gorge themselves on self fulfilling pleasures and indulge themselves until they degenerate to a state of weakness and sometime pathetic behaviors.    We see some of them just become complainers..... others loose their sense of normalcy to the point where they act like spoiled children.   These lost Xpats are trapped by their economics, by their need to indulge in hedonism, and in some cases they grow a fondness for illegal drug usage.   

I have to tell you for myself, I would feel some pain having to leave here and go home to the US.  I'm treated in many ways like a celebrity -- I certainly would not to go back to the US and be treated like a worker-bee at some else's company.   I have female company that I can call on and they cater to my needs.   On any day I walk into stores here and do not think twice about having enough money to buy the things that I want.    I sleep when I want to, exercise when I want to, and do damn near everything when a where I want to.   I feel very much like a King here in a number of ways and interestingly enough -- my time does go by very fast here.  Perhaps back home; unhappiness slows the clock down?

In my case, I'm venturing deeper into my discipline of engineering.   I own my business and we make the things that I dream up.  I'm my own Willa Wonka.   I set the course for my company and steer the ship.  It's an increadible adventure that I can't afford to produce back home.  I'm not rich enough there.    So, concerning my future, I don't feel I'm loosing ground.  I can go back to the US and pick up where I left off or perhaps advance it in some ways.  Although now that I have had some level of independent success, I would not want to go back to work for someone else.

Other farangs here however, are loosing ground and saying they are "going to do this" and "going to do that", but never make it.  Or, their goals are small and consist of running a small mom and pop store, etc.   A few run a small restaurant for awhile (rather their wife's are running it).  Others are just flat out snared in the sanook of easy living and pacified by the flesh trade.

Let's look at the famous Stickman.   He is an English teacher who is unhappy teaching English.   He writes about this fact semi-frequently.  He likes the work permit he gets for doing it, but if he had his choices, he would immediately leave that profession just focus on the web site and the naughty night life.    He has even written about the desire for moving home.   Well, if he make so damn much money from teaching (as he claims), why doesn't he get his ass moving and take it home?   Because aside from all the bitching he does, he doesn't really want to go home.   He just says he does.  He is stuck here.   It's changed him.  (if you have been a reader of his for a long time, then you have been following along and you know what I'm describing)....

Oh, sure, he talks he writes about being highly skilled Thai speaking and writing teacher...   He claims he in good with the big boss "wink wink".  He has privilege.   He is this and he is that.... yada yada yada, but the bottom line, (reading between his lines), he is stuck.   He is unhappy.   He is putting forward his best face and trying to convince you that he is an authority on English teaching and no one has anything on him.....  And in all this he is trying to convince you of, is basically a lie.  It's buffalo shit.   It's a face that he hold up so you'll respect his image and his word and spend money with his sponsors, so Stickman can afford yet another bottle of Red wine.   All things being equal, his stepping stone is an island and it's an island that he doesn't want to get off -- no, rather it's an island that he doesn't have the balls to get off of.    If these previous statements aren't true - then Stickman is just a pathological liar.

He won't open up and tell you all these with honesty because he sells TEFL services from his web site.   He won't discourage you from entering the teaching profession because frankly, he would be admitting how much of an ass he is for staying in it himself and he makes a few bucks from promoting the "Suckers who want to be a English teacher industry".  

Hell, he has even changed the history on his whole story.    If you read his earlier accounts of the weekly columns from several years ago, you'll find that he came here originally to fuck (sorry slipped there) sleep with the girls and he turned to English teaching just so he could stay and continue on with his night time endeavors.   I personally relate -- I like the naught night life on occasion.   I understand his desire to keep his foot (and perhaps some other appendage) in that industry.    So what you read about him coming to Thailand prepared to primary teach English upon his arrival -- that is all... (as the Brits would say) rubbish. 

Sadly, he doesn't even respect other teachers either.   In his articles he suggests that all teachers are moonlighting and doing things outside their work permits.   Basically what he is saying here is that all these educators are criminals.  Oh yes -- that is exactly what the law says.   It's a criminal violation of the law.   It's punishable.   We are not talking about tutoring extra students -- that may be tolerated in the eyes of the law.  We are talking about is engaging in larger scale activities to generate moneys that specifically circumvent Thai laws.  

Here is a quote from Stickman's own web site:  "In early 2007 there was a heavy handed crackdown by Immigration authorities on some language schools and I would urge all teachers to make sure you have a work permit. You could get in big trouble if you are not legal. Some people were sent to prison for working without a work permit!"

If you are working outside your work permit -- you are essentially working without a permit.   And you may be subject to arrest and charged with a crime.

For Stickman and his band of co-perpetrators, I'm thinking of words like conspiracy and racketeering (does Stickman know these words in Thai? -- I wonder...hum...).   These are serious infractions (as I have been studying Thai law lately).   So now -- Stickman is saying -- come on in and be a teacher, chase a little skirt, and enjoy a side-line enterprise so you can cheat the system all the while maintaining a valid work permit.   Surely there must be real teachers out there who take offense at Stickman's flippant attitude towards his outlook on the Teaching profession?    I have been saying for quite some time, these public declarations of abuse of the Thai law is going to come back and bite farangs.  We will all suffer in some capacity with guys like Paul Owen publicly taking the lead and encouraging farangs into breaking the rules and making it look oh so sexy.

Stickman previously professed that he was very much out of the Bar Girl / Private Investigation business.  You can he confession (lie) in an article at http://twofatfarangs.com/archives/category/interviews/page/2/  when you get to that page search for the work "investigation".  

The truth is he never stopped doing that work.   He only lied about it because, well, you the reader, are not respected by Stickman and he chooses only to tell you what he wants you to know...... He is quite skilled at manipulation.

Here is a fun email that I received this week:

We'll come back to the main topic down at the wrap up.... but on to other interesting news...

And now... At last...

Clayton Wilder Wade Defamation of Character Law Suit Update

Yes, how do you like that middle name?   Does this surprise anyone who knows the infamous Wade?  Wilder -- yea I would say the name fits.   The transitive form of the verb sure looks applicable. 

His middle name has been a previously un-published part of his background.   Now, you may be thinking to yourself -- "Is it ok to make personal information like this public?".   That is a good question.   My answer is that Clayton himself puts himself up for public consumption.  He encourages all forms of positive publications when it comes to his real estate business.   He buys space to publish his name and he endorses those who are willing to say nice things about him. 

Here is a 2 page spread (that I'm sure was purchased by Wade) in this Absolute Phuket.com Magazine.   He wrote in third person to give it enhanced credibility for "Mr Wade".

If Wade has a public persona and he and others influence it publicly -- then I can make comment about it publicly as well.   If he is doing things that draw attention to himself -- then I feel it's fair game to respond with a counter opinion.  I can tell you for a fact that Wade speaks about me in secret to his buddy Marc Holt, and through Holt, Wade lays comment about me on the Internet.   Up to now, Holt and Wade (and Stickman for that matter) and just are not willing to stand up take ownership of their comments about me publicly (I think they realize that I would up-stage them in every turn). 

Anyhow his middle name has been a previously un-published part of his identity.   I assume he is just reluctant to encourage others to do background checks on him in the US...

When Wade launched a law suit against me for defamation of character (for Internet publishing) and this week when we both attended our second hearing date, I asked the judge to look at his passport because I had never had proof of who he was.  I am entitled to know who is suing me.   But, I also needed to look at his passport to be sure I had his real name.    The court, as expected, granted me that examination.

First, let me get you caught up on the law suit from day one....

Pre-Trial Hearing # 1

I'm going to be a bit limited on what I can tell you because I'm not allowed to divulge official case testimony.   This rule is designed to protect the accused (me) from having my name smeared in public.   Personally, I have nothing to hide and I would really enjoy telling you everything.  Thai law allows the public to sit in on the hearings and trials, so if you were here in person, nothing would be hidden, still, I can not just lay it all out to you here -- because Clayton would have a reason to whine and bitch about it in court.

Pre-trail hearing (the first one) occurred on January 12th.   Clayton was there with his lawyer (man in his 50's?) and a female interpreter.   Clayton was looking fairly good.   Fresh hair cut, nice clean and pressed white shirt, wire rim glasses and neck tie.   He was a pretty as a poster.  He even looked a bit slimmed down from when I had seen him last in 2001.  He knows how to play the part -- until he makes the decision to open his mouth.

I showed up with an interpreter who is a long term friend and respected member of the community.   We both were plainly dressed; shorter sleeved button down shirts.  I was in a decent pair of jean and my roper boots.    Hind sight, I should have worn long sleeves because those courtroom can be extremely cold with over-sized air conditioning units.

I came without an attorney.   I just wasn't sure how much I would be able to handle my own case.  In the states, I would have some freedom to handle it myself which I am not afraid to do.   I also wasn't even sure if Clayton would travel all of 500km up here to show up either.   Hiring a lawyer requires an outlay of cash and I wanted to be sure Clayton was going to follow up before I plunked down the money.    As luck would have it -- Clayton showed.  I was mildly surprised, and personally, happy that he did so.  It's not often the fly travels such a great distance to meet the spider.  

Again, without delving too deeply into the official recorded case, let me give you a few highlights that will present the right flavor of what occurred in those 2 to 3 hours.

At the beginning, it was explained to me that without a lawyer that I would not be allow to speak during that hearing.  however, I was allowed to approach the bench and have a limited amount of discussion with the judge about the underlying issues in the case that involved case law.   This of course did not address the merits of the case directly.  And immediately my first though was to call into question the jurisdiction of this particular case.   I reasoned with the judge that this web site was not publish here in Thailand, but it was registered and publish in the US.   The judge was had that day was a middle aged woman.  She seemed like a very decent person.  I liked her impartial attitude about the case.  She held a negative view to my suggestion of improper jurisdiction.   She just didn't agree with it.   She also suggested that I take this case and the charge of defamation of character very seriously.  

Clayton is belching out little comment from the visitor's bench.   I don't think these comments were on the record.... I have to laugh because at one point he said "Keith has naked pictures of men on his web site".   It took me a few seconds to figure out what he was talking about.   He was referring to the link that is on there from a Marc Holt photo where my face is superimposed on two men having sex.  Here is that photo that he spoke of.  Under my breathe I said across the room to him, "She <the judge> is not allowed to look at that web site".

Clayton also complained out loud about his business and belched out about how his wife was president of the Real Estate Brokers Association.  That was before he was even able to take the stand.   OH, that Clayton, he has a mouth on him and likes to talk.

Clayton was sworn in and allow to present his reasons for the court to allow this defamation of character case.  It was at this point that he needed to convey to the judge that there was reason to believe that a crime has been committed and by whom.   The judge at first was confused.   Clayton didn't really have a scripted opening statement set up and he was floundering at getting his point across.   But, after some regrouping, the judge accepted his complaint and adjudicated it as worth pursuing.

After some continued preparation, I was lead to make a plea.   Of course I professed that I was not guilty of breaking any Thai laws.

During a side bar where the judge and Clayton's team were in discussion, Clayton was still in the witness chair.  Now, imagine the courtroom.  It was small.  It might have been 40 feet deep and 35 feet wide.   Small by most any standard.  The witness chair is right in the center of the room.   Judges bench is up front.  No jury box.  Benches for visitors are 8 feet directly behind the central witness chair.  To the left is the plaintiff's table and to the right the defendant's table.  I was sitting at the defendant's table, my interpreter was off on the other side of the room in a side bar with the others, and Clayton is still in the witness chair.   He might have been 7 feet from me.... and he looks over at me and leans in my direction and he says in a soft voice, "You know you're fucked, you're really fucked."   I just stared back at him.  He is smiling and enjoying the moment.   He has this "I just banged your sister" look on his face. It's evident that he is quite pleased with his hobby of criminal litigation.   (no one but myself heard Clayton, so it was off "the record".)    Still, I enjoyed his confidence.

The meeting ended at 5pm.  Just prior, the judge handed over her tape of the days activities (the judge dictates into a stenography machine and then that is transcribed onto a computer and printed.   Each participant in the court's activities must sign that paper report written in Thai.

Once that signing is complete, the parties are allowed to leave.  I assume Clayton and party returned home that next morning as Pattaya is a full day's drive from here.

I have to laugh... Clayton's lawyer looked over at me a few times during that court session and smiled nicely at me.   I must say he wasn't very intimidating.   That might be just Thai style, but I would have discouraged his friendliness if I were Wade.  I almost got the feeling that he admired me for challenging his client but that is probably just my imagination.

Called to the Court for Bonding

About a week after the initial hearing.  I was called back to the court room with just newly hired lawyer and my interpreter.    This meeting was about bonding.   By law, a person accused of a crime where some evidence exist, must apply a bond to the court as to ensure that the person will show up in court and face the charges.

The requirement for the bond was pretty much automatic if the case is valid and moving forward.  There are bond recommendation level written into law.  In my case the bond was set at 60,000 baht which I believe the lowest bond assessment for this level of crime.   A bond must be paid in cash or it can be levied against property.

I made arrangement for bond and had a meeting with the judge.  The judge expressed a desire to encourage me to relent and back down and reconcile with and appease Mr. Wade.

She explained to me that I would have to bear out two burdens in this case.  First, I would have to prove that what I published was true, and second, I would have to show that publishing those facts were beneficial to the public.

I asked her -- how would she being a female Thai, be able to put herself in the mindset of the male farang population to properly determine if that what I publish was to their benefit?    I don't think she was allowed to answer that question.  And there were a number of questions that she was not allowed to answer.   And I respected that and council for the plaintiff and Mr. Wade as not present at this bond hearing.

Near the end of that meeting, as she encourage me again to make amends with Wade, I pointed over to the table where Wade had been sitting a week earlier, and I took a deep breathe and I said with great conviction; I will not back down to Clayton.  I described him as a very shameful excuse for a business man.  I told her he had swindled me personally.   I professed that he has many enemies from his other sour business dealings that I would stand my ground and  face risking incarceration to bring that evidence to light.  (what I wrote here is of course paraphrased as I can't recall exactly what I say when I go into pseudo-super-hero mode).   When my discourse was complete, I looked right back at her, and watched her suppress a smile.  She accepted my statement.  That was about the end of the meeting.  We adjourned and shortly after, the bond as posted.

I have to say that talking to this judge was kind of interesting.  She almost spoke enough English to be complete.  I was following her along and filling the blanks when it came to the legal jargon in English.   She would lead into a sentence, and come to a slowing point, fumbling for the right word and would say "argue", and she'd smile, shake her head, repeat the word and finish that thought and continue again, slow the pace, and I would chime in with "arraignment", head shake/smile and perhaps the next word was "disposition", and we went along like that.   So she had studied all the English terms albeit and a bit foggy for her because she obviously didn't use them often.  And she was just trying to make sure I understood what was going to be happening.   I think she was concerned for me.   I think she was felt that I was in danger of being jailed.   This woman was not local to the area and I had no previous knowledge of her.  Thailand evidently rotates their judges (at least here they do).    This judge, whoever she was, has now been transferred to another province and I will likely never see her again.   I will say I thought very well of her.  People like her make me feel very optimistic about the judicial system here in Thailand.   A strong society needs a fair and strong judicial system and I approve of what I have seen so far.   I would say the court process at this point is looking pretty fair.

Pre-Trial Hearing # 2  (May 12)

This is the most recent day at the court house.  This was Monday the 12th.  This day was suppose to be a real trail date, but there is a monkey wrench thrown in Wade's case.

Seems my lawyer a few weeks back contacted the ICT down in Bangkok.  ICT stands for the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology.    These are the people who blocked U-Tube last year.  This organization is the authority in the area of the Internet and the laws governing it.  The ICT has judged my web site as being out of the jurisdiction of Thailand.  This has been one of my arguments all along.  In my view, it's a logic decision based on exactly where the web site is posted -- in the United States.   NotStickmanBangkok.com is registered in the US at GoDaddy.com.   The administrative and contact information is listed here at my address in Thailand, and the site itself is hosted at WebHostForLife.com.   They are a US based enterprise.    I don't know what the ICT reasoning was exactly, but for myself, I judge that slander/defamation of character isn't even possible until what you have written is made public.   And in this case, its not made public until a computer in the US posts it.    So, I'm going to assume that ICT is thinking along these same lines.

Anyhow, Monday's hearing became more of an administrative hearing because we were told that the local judge is going seek out an opinion from a superior court on how to administer the law.   My attorney is under the impression that this is the first case of slander against a person in Thailand based on information published on a web site (which is not entirely surprising to me because previous no one had ever heard of a case like this one).

Monday's hearing required that I plead the charges again.  First I was asked if I owned the NotStickmanBangkok.com site.  I said that I did.  And again when asked about the charges, I said "Not guilty".  The new judge, a man, called out to both of us asking us to settle the case early.   He called for willing cooperation because he warning us that this case was going to last a long time.   Clayton and his party said nothing.    I uttered something to the affect that I'm not changing my plea.  After a few moments, that case was set to be continued at a later date.  I believe they would refer to this as a continuance in the US.  

Clayton was not very chatty at this hearing.   I am more entertained when he is opening his mouth and looking stupid.  Evidently he feels more comfortable blurting out comments when a female judge is sitting on the bench.   On this day he kept pretty quiet generally.

At this hearing, near the end of our time in front of the judge, my lawyer approached the bench and requested that we look at Clayton's passport to ensure that we knew who we were dealing with.   Clayton and I were called up to the bench and he handed over his passport for a look.  That was done.  We essentially had his correct name.   I don't think Clayton particularly was happy with my asking for his full name.  As my Grandfather Summers use to say, "Give him a TS slip".

Shortly afterward, both Clayton and his entourage and my attorney and I filed out and convened in a neighboring office to make a schedule for the next court date.   That next date was required to be in either July or August.  That was to give the local justices some time to confer with the other courts.   The scheduling of the next date was of little concern to me as my schedule is completely flexible.  So, we chose a date of Clayton's liking and signed the paperwork to agree to that date and as we began to file out of the room, when I blurted out... "Oh, and Clayton, we have a couple of law suits for you".   I continued, "If figured we were having so much fun with this one that why not do some more?"

Clayton responded with something that sounded like, "Oh Great, well whatever."   They continued to walk out of the office, I didn't follow them.  I went back to my office and I just expected that my lawyer would continue on and handle the rest.   And handle the rest she did.  About an hour of being back at the office, a courier stopped in for me to sign two documents that obviously were related to the two suits.  I signed both of them.

A little later in that day, my interpreter came back to office and describes to me that Clayton became rather upset with his lawyer.  I was told that he spoke to his lawyer something to the effect "Why is this happening?".  After several meetings my interpreter and my lawyer, I gather that Clayton didn't understand why we serving him with two suits when he had only served me with one.   I was told that Clayton was quite agitated.   Somewhere in the process, his lawyer turned to my lawyer and interrogated her about her age and experience.   He asked her, "how dare you counter sue with your limited experience as a lawyer" (I am paraphrasing this of course).

My lawyer is a fairly good looking girl.    She is 30 years old, somewhat tall by Thai standards.  I think she has a subtle Chinese look about her eyes; pleasant to look in general.  I think she possesses the right balance between looks and business.  Better, yet, she has a little fire inside and she appears to be enjoying herself with this case.   There are times that I direct her in doing something that needs done, and there are other times she ventures out and does the job on her own inspiration.   She elected to contact ICT and get the scoop on the jurisdiction issue surrounding this case.  She traveled to Bangkok to cinch this deal and get a statement sealed and sent to the courts.     She took it upon herself the research Clayton's business and she investigated mine as well.    In her words she said, "You look more legal than Clayton does".

Getting back to Clayton's lawyer.  He said to my lawyer, "Why are you investigating Clayton's business, the suit was only for defamation of character."    I don't know how she answered him.  I do know how I would answer that.   During the first pre-trial hearing (when I was without a lawyer), Clayton was very verbal.   He laid it on pretty heavy and on the stand is made the claim this his business was being hurt by my web site publishing and that all his customers from around the world had seen this article.   Now, my take on this is that Clayton has opened the door to have his business examined to prove that he in fact has been hurt.....   Now -- just a couple of sentences back I told you that she checked out his business.   What do you think she found?    I'm not going to divulge the details but we looked right at his balances sheets and profit/loss statements.   What I will tell you that she on her own, based on the evidence, came up with the idea that Clayton has started this law suit to eventually line his pockets with my money.   That was her conclusion.    So, what do you think his business looks like on paper?     She described to me in fairly specific terms that if you sue someone claiming loss of income, you better have some income to show the courts that you had a loss or could possibly have a loss.  Opps... did Clayton make mistake in his case?

We are still working on finding his work permit.   It's wasn't filed electronically in the national data base... Mine is!  See, there is another angle in the case.   In the US, if you are suing someone and claiming damage to a business, you must be doing business legitimately.  You can't be a criminal and suing someone for losses.   It's called not having "clean hands".   I don't' know if the Thai system has a name for this concept.    Our goal is to thoroughly examine Clayton's operation to see he is in fact operating outside the law and to what extent.   Those elements will help deflate his arguments and bolster my own.

I did mention briefly that we counter sued him.   Let me tell you a little but about those 2 suits.   The first was just a counter-suit against Clayton that says if Clayton does not prevail in his suit against me that we are asking for the courts to grant us relief for money spent in defending against the case.   For us to win attorney's fees and courts costs, we are going to have to show substantially that Clayton presented a loosing case  and that he used very poor judgment in starting it.   If we can successfully show that Clayton just didn't do his homework, then the judge should award us a judgment for my attorney's fees and other reasonable related expenses.

The second case, is a criminal case against Clayton saying that he knowingly offered up false testimony against me with the purpose of having me incarcerated under the charge of defamation of character.  I think this second case has some very serious teeth.   On the scale of Thai law, the punishment for false testimony is twice as serious than for defamation of character.   I will not even speculate how this is all going to come out.   I don't think the court is going to want to put anyone in jail, personally.   But, I think we have some issues that are ugly and need to be taken seriously.  I do think that Clayton is going to be at a loss to explain his obviously false statement against me.    Also, Clayton is clearly involved with an industry that is off-limits to foreigners.  He has never been, nor will ever be allowed to call himself a real estate agent or broker.    Yet, he presents himself as this type of entity all the time on the Internet.   Will that perturb the judge? 

And then there are the 5 other law suits that Clayton had previously launched down in the Pattaya area.   Clayton has sued on at least 5 other occasions for real estate commissions.    Let me tell you how that works in some cases for Clayton.  I'm going to very loosely describe what I have been told by others on what happens with Clayton.  You're going to find this interesting....

A couple might come to Clayton's office.  They meet the people, they talk about their interest in real estate, they sign up with Clayton's company and promise to pay him a commission if they buy.    However, at some point in the future  by some series of event, they decide they don't like Clayton.   Clayton makes them feel uncomfortable for some reason.  They break ties with him.   Husband and wife consumer move off and meet with other brokers / sellers and make a deal and buy.   Clayton sniffs out that transaction and become infuriated and calls broker / seller and screams profanities and then sues.   Clayton was originally responsible for his own deal going sour but he blames everyone else and blows his stack in protest and tries to intimidate others into paying him money for the sale he didn't rightfully create.

I have had a few people email me with background and information on Clayton.  I would not be totally shocked if another law suit was served to Clayton in the coming weeks.   It is also possible that these others may come forward with depositions and testimony on Clayton Wade's character in my case.

I can assure you that I am not alone in my distain for Clayton Wade.   And I will be so bold as to warn potential real estate customers in Pattaya - Clayton most likely has mental problems and should be avoided.   DO NOT sign any paper with his company Premiere International or Premier Homes without those papers being examined by a lawyer first.   Keep in mind that Clayton has and will sue you for real state commissions even if it was he who ruined your relationship with him.   Also, Clayton thinks nothing of verbally assaulting people in the worst way.

I think this Wade subject is getting old now.   Let put a wrap on it for this week with the summation: Clayton Wade = Total Flaming Idiot.
 

I have a Fans at the Court House...

My lawyer came in for a quick meeting a few couple of weeks back and said people at the court house are reading my web site.  My eye rolled around thinking that they might not take to well to my Virgins the Holy Grail? article.   After all I do write quite a bit about my Pattaya bar girls experiences.    Seems the feedback has been positive.  They seem to approve of the light in which I describe Nakhon Phanom.   I heard nothing back from the subject matter of the nude photography or accounts of sex exploits.  Imagine that.

The Original Crusader...

This is my mother, Jone Robinson.  She grew up Jone Louise Judge in a little town called Pitcairn, PA.   Jone was a defender of the people.   She felt at her best giving to others.

My mother had a very strange favorite saying.   She enjoyed making the point, "You can't bullshit a bull-shitter".  And I always knew what she meant by it.  Nothing got past my mother.   Funny thing though, my mother was never a bull-shitter; she was always telling it like it was.   (Jone was 45 in the picture on the right)

She gave away her whole life keeping too little for herself.   She gave up a opportunity to take an art scholarship.   She dropped out of school, married and had a child.   My parents secretly eloped.  I believe my father bribed a neighboring city official at a marriage office to get the certificate validated because my mother didn't have her parent's permission.  They each returned to their parent's homes until the day came when the surprise was sprung on both families.   My maternal grandparents both cried.  My father's mother cried, and my paternal grandfather said to his son, Congratulations!  Annulment was discussed by parents but not an option because I was on the way.  (doesn't that sound like a possible rural Thailand story).

One of my mother's greatest accomplishment is here in this picture.   She poured so much of herself into this child that it saddens me that she didn't keep more for herself over the years.  She was only 16 years old in this picture.

In the course of normal difficulties of being divorced and raising two kids, my mother began to drink alcohol to deal with problems.   Over a 25 year period it slowly took hold of her and her health declined.  The family knew what was coming for a long time.  We nearly lost her in 1995 when she slipped into a coma from pancreatitis and alcohol detoxification.  She wasn't expected to survive that ordeal.  I had always counted the years from that point as bonus years that were a free gift.

It was only a matter of time before her many ailments would claim her life.  My mother Jone, passed away 3 weeks ago Wednesday April 30th.  She was only 62.   

Twenty two years ago, my mother sent me this birthday card.   And many years later on my fortieth birthday, I called her and reminded her what she had wrote to me.  I turned 40 here in Thailand 5 years ago and I told her that I too was happy now after so many years of searching for myself.

Over the years I frequently considered how differently her life would have been had she done something to strengthen and build herself up early on.  She had a very short 3 year career in the mid 70's as an interior decorator and the reminder of her life as only a mother, a wife and homemaker.  My grandmother, Freda Judge (Jone's mother) is still with us and is 94 this year.  

My Penchant for Alcohol....

As most of you already know, I don't have a penchant for alcohol.  I much prefer fruit juices or coke or Ice tea over having a beer.   I do sometimes like a nice fruity cocktail or perhaps I may choose a beef if I can get a special micro-brewed flavor that is a special treat, but I don't make drinking a hobby.  Having just read what I wrote about my mother, you may be thinking her bout with alcoholism is what soured me to drinking.   And I'm here to tell you, that is not the case at all.

My mother begin to use alcohol as her way of dealing with stress.   It brought a certain relief into her life.   She had always been somewhat weak when it came to worrying about problems.   (part of this is that she never gained enough inner strength to master her life and the challenges that came upon her -- she never had a full education and the confidence that grows from it).

I began exercising on a regular basis early in life and I found that my physical exercise routine gave me a sense of power.  It effectively absorbed stress and relaxed me.   It makes me eat well and sleep good at night.   I'm going use a term that I've heard from others lately.   Exercise makes me feel "smooth".

We have a couple farangs in town here.  I asked one why he smokes cigars and drinks a bottle of wine in a sitting -- he said "because it makes me feel smooth".    Another Frenchmen in town commented in the same way about drinking wine.  (I also think his partaking of good food does the same for him). 

So, for me, exercise is my way of feeling smooth.   Alcohol screws that up for me.   So, it's counter-productive.  And as a bonus, I have less body fat, my circulation is outstanding, my heart rate is low, and I'm rarely sick.   Why would I drink if drinking reduces my health?    Sex doesn't reduce my health.   So, sex stays on the list of "smooth" activities.

Looking at the Numbers...

What is significant here is the number of readers who came by to see if I was still ok on the court date.  I'm sure that half of these people were watching for my demise and the other half were hoping that I would be okay.

I want to thank all those who had chimed in with words of support.  I was even approached by a couple of Americans who wanted to donate to my legal defense fund.    That was very kind of them.   I declined explaining that I had the funds to cover my needs and that I wouldn't want to be subjected to any accusations by taking money from the readership.

Up to this point, I have spent about $1,400 USD on this case.   There may be a need to spend a bit more but the entire case probably won't be more than 2k USD.   We are suing Clayton for these expenses.  These new cases will start out at about 1,000 USD and increase as Clayton decides to fight them.

The Wrap Up...

Stickman is easy to pick on.  Seems like every month he strays further and further from his roots and becomes by virtue of his surroundings, more unethical.   It's a selling out of his soul.  It's an acquiescing behavior that goes "with" the negative nature of man... and he has the nerve to classify the working girls in Bangkok and Pattaya as "prostitutes".  In my opinion it's Stickman who is selling out and prostituting himself in an effort to extract a future on an "Island" that he can't bear to tear himself away from.  He just commented recently about how fast 10 years flew by.  In 10 more where will Stickman be?     I challenge the Great Stickman to boldly make a prediction of where he is going to be in the next several years and then to follow that prediction up with results.   Does Stickman have the nerve to publish his goals?  Does he have the courage to allow his readership to measure his success over the coming years?   Sadly, I doubt it.   Stickman makes it a point to be neutral (notice that?).   It's his way of keeping safe from being wrong.   He doesn't have the back bone to make any bold proclamations.

Will I, the Great Galt, publish a few goal for the coming years?..... Ok, I'll do that.  If it is fair for me to ask this of Stickman then it's fair to step forward myself and put my word on the line as well.  I put myself on the line frequently and I count it all as exercise.  These challenges are just practice for me.   Sometimes I fall short and fail to achieve my goals, but most of the time is reach out and make those goals.   If you don't set out any goals for yourself, you won't push yourself.

I plan to be firmly free of any Islands by late next year.  To do that, I plan to explain my base of operations.  I have a plan to open up a second location in the capital of Laos.  That location will be primarily a sales office for now.  I anticipate being able to bring my LED lighting products to the capital.   That should be an easy goal to manage.    It's will also likely that I will open up a sales office of some sort in Bangkok. 

Next, I plan to start traveling outside the country to attend LED lighting trade shows and take presentations to larger scale customers.  I'd like to take advantage of these sales trips to see the world.   I've never been to Italy or any other part of Europe.   I'd like to see the middle east and places like Dubai.   I'm sure that I'll be headed back to the US for trips to Vegas, etc.   In the following year, 2010 I'd like to have a second manufacturing location in either Laos or Vietnam and commute between locations on a small personal aircraft.  I'm going to split my time between countries.  I'd like to be a mini-jet setter.    To accomplish this, I'll be undertaking some very ambitious projects over the next two years.  I'll be putting my company on the line repeatedly to claw our way ahead in the market place.   Part of our advantage is our low cost of living here.  As long as I am healthy and occasionally in the company of beautiful young ladies, I'm a pretty happy camper and I pinch a lot of pennies.    I also plan to run my company in the most legal way that I can.  I'm in the "people building" business.   I'm in the "imagination" business.   I'm very happy to reinvest the bulk of the profits to see just what my company can do.  I'm almost not concerned about the reaping of profits.   The money is beginning to feel like a very secondary need.

So, there you have it.  Will I succeed?  Will I fail?   Or will Thailand be an Island that I am marooned on?  In many years time will I be drinking daily, visiting with friends in idle chat about sex-capades and reaching my hand up any skirt that happens to walk by?   Will my life be whittled away to a cheap existence of women, wine, and song ad infinitum?  Will I loose my way forgetting my friends and family back home as I waste away publishing drivel on the Internet in some stupid blog trying to swindle moneys from suckers to support my habits?   Somehow, I don't think so.

What about you?   Is Thailand your final destination?  Or is this place just a stepping stone?  Have you really planned out your trip?  Are you sufficiently challenging yourself in ways that bring you a certain satisfaction and inner power?  Or are you winding down like an old grandfather clock and getting narrow vision and getting stuck in one place?

Thanks for stopping by.

John Galt