Forums

Do we have Thai government spies in the forum?

You've been around on this board for over 20 years and must be perfectly well aware of events surrounding Thaksin and his wife's corruption. If you can tell me where to find Thai media from 2001 on the internet, I will happily provide sources.

Lawyer said driver should have picked up the chocolates but judge was unimpressed: https://www.reuters.com/article/world/thailand-jails-thaksin-lawyers-in-snack-box-case-idUSBKK260867/

Wasn't Oral Roberts one of the first who preached - quoting parts of the Bible if I am not mistaken - that God wanted everyone to be rich? He made that ridiculous appeal about requiring cash to save his life when his faith-healing medical centre ran short of funds. He raised almost twice as much as he sought. Funny, though, the medical centre went bust two years later. Surely the most ridiculous were Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. They were another of the God wants you to be rich brigade. They even opened a Christian-type of Disneyland. They called their ministry PTL (Praise The Lord!) and persuaded a massive amount of gullible viewers to make montly pledges to become PTL partners. Where the money went I cannot recall but they lived a fabulous lifestyle - private jet, 2 Rolls Royces, several homes etc. Then Tammy Faye had a breakdown and when high on drugs she pranced around naked. Jim was discovered to have had sex outside his marriage and paid off one of the girls with ministry money. What the elders - if there was anyone other than the Bakkers looking after the massive amounts of cash - did not know was that the Ministry was essentially broke. Jim was said to  be secretly gay. He also had a breakdown but was sentenced to serve 8 years in jail. He got probation after 5. Even then, he started a new ministry advocating the end of the world and sellling end of the world products. That anyone actually believed these con men always confused me! But as a postscript, this sort of get rich evangelism was not confined to the USA. There was a huge scandal in Singapore in 2015 that enveloped the mega-City 'prosperity' Harvest Church with around 30,000 members and its 'pastor' Kong Hee. In an attempt to boost his wife's singing career and gain souls for Christ, the pastor effectively stole US$34 million of Church funds, housed her for a few years in a $28,000 a month Hollywood mansion, financed at considerable cost a recording with David Foster which totally bombed - well, no need to comment futher. But in this case Kong Hee's church did have elders and most had agreed with the plan to spread Christianity through his wife's singing. (To spread Christianity in the USA? How could anyone have been so utterly gullible as to believe that?) End result of the scandal: Kong Hee and five others were jailed for up to 3 years. But the madness did not end. Who took over as pastor of the church? The dud singing wife 'sensation' who had converted no one in the USA to Christianity!

I left Pattaya on 19th June and there were plenty of young men in Jomtien who are eager to meet customers. Boyztown is somewhat quiet.