Please read what I wrote. The M79 doesn’t have a pistol grip at all, end of story. The video of the black shirt firing the “M79″ had a pistol grip on the stock. I can’t recall the army designation for the weapon, but it is a flare gun and the M79 HE round is too large to fit in the barrel.

I am commenting purely from a professional soldiers viewpoint. In other words I’m trying to stop the bullshit from both sides.

Rather like the Bangkok Post page 1 this morning; the photos are of a boy with a homemade “bomb” with a samurai sword stuck down the back of his jacket. Not only does the boy nearly blow-up himself, but what good does a sword do against bullets?

If these are the black shirts, then the army hasn’t anything to fear.

“Secondly the video of the M79 is not of an M79. M79s do not have pistol grips on the stock.”

The stock could have been sawn off for easy concealment, assuming the launcher wasn’t a knock off from one of the factories the authorities raided a couple of months ago.

In that case it could have been made to look like anything.

It doesn’t look like a homemade fireworks launcher either, those contraptions are extremely rude by comparison and don’t have any kind of grips.

I don’t know what it was but someone has been shooting “M79″s for months.

Nick Nostitz has seen a guy hiding what Nick called a grenade launcher under his clothes.

“Pol Col Chartchai Worakul, Thung Mahamek police chief, confirmed on Monday, that three M79 grenades were fired at the 14th, 22nd floors and in front of Dusit Thani hotel on Silom road at around midnight on Sunday,

The grenade fell in front of the hotel failed to explode.”

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/178162/dusit-thani-hotel-closed-at-noon

No mention there – or in The Nation’s report – of who was responsible. I guess they’re slipping – and certainly need to stock up on more “second sight.”

(No other explanation will suffice for those maimed and killed by the huge slingshot mistaken for an M79/RPG.)

BTW I was also in ROTC in case somebody asks.

Personally after watching the videos and the start of the so-called firefight I would say it might have been an AD (accidental discharge). I have never found the Thai army (except for special forces) to be well trained and disciplined, which is shown and heard in many videos when the sniper is told by the spotter, “the target is down” yet he continues to shoot at anything he thinks moves.

Strange things happen to soldiers during combat, especially those that have no combat experience. One thing, up until the last few days I have never seen is soldiers intentionally murdering their own unarmed civilians and I am appalled not only by that, but the lies, lies and more lies coming from the Thai government.

As I said earlier, the “dogs of war” have been unleashed and are massacring a civilian population. The Thai army commander told the government this would happen and that was his reason for refusing a “lawful order” and telling the government it was a political conflict.

I hope, after all this is over there will be a day of reckoning at a war crimes tribunal, but this is Thailand, so there won’t be.

As an Australian infantry soldier with tours of Malaya and Vietnam and as an ex-infantry instructor I can assure you all that an RPG does a lot more damage than the photos I’ve seen of the hotel.

Secondly the video of the M79 is not of an M79. M79s do not have pistol grips on the stock.

If you people are going comment, then please keep it to your area of expertise, the situation is bad enough with the “dogs of war” being unleashed without inane comments.

(BD: It’s also not gunfire alone used for the hotel attack. What weaponry you suggest?)

Unlike the rank and file protesters they won’t have a chance to fight another day.

I think Abhisit also doesn’t want to sacrifice his own political career by letting them off scott free.

“But again, that in no way excuses state violence now. The people will be defeated, that is almost certain. We must hope they re-group and find ways of confronting the injustices that will in future circumvent acts that the state can use to again oppress them.”

Blue I agree 100% with your comment, here.

It is just a pity the red leaders don’t seem to understand this. What is preventing them from pulling back. Lose the battle, win the war. Takes longer maybe, but the results could be much better for everyone. I mean ALL Thais all 65 million.

I have always thought (and stated) that Seh Daeng and his violent bent gang was the worse thing that could happen to the reds.

The reds needed to distance themselves as much as possible from any form of violence. All violence always plays into the hands of the oppressor, as we witness now.

Only through nonviolence and nonviolent acts of civil disobedience can the people hope to achieve their aims.

As disgusting as the assassination of Seh Daeng was, in a sense it was for the better. Had there been a major confrontation and a larger scale confrontation resulted there would be even more dead than now.

But again, that in no way excuses state violence now. The people will be defeated, that is almost certain. We must hope they re-group and find ways of confronting the injustices that will in future circumvent acts that the state can use to again oppress them.

Besides videos on the internet clearing showing military men in uniform and the journalist behind them stating they are snipers shooting into the crowds below, there are other “proofs.”

The logical proof is that almost three dozen dead according to official numbers and all but ONE is a civilian.

THE MILITARY HAS SAID SO!!!

I think by now everyone will have either read or heard repeated the military stated they were setting up sniper positions.

And the whole spiel about these are reds killing reds because they are old school style terrorists intent on blaming it on the opposition is a load of crap.

There simply is no polite way of putting it when people are dying in the streets …

PS: I would like to add on a personal note someone from my wife’s family was shot dead during this last week. I cannot of course give the details out of fear (another indicator about what kind of society we live in) but this is “gospel truth.”

And the other gospel truth is this man had absolutely nothing to do with terrorism or violence of any kind. he just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time with his supportive red shirt … while doing his job.

(BD: Nobody denying army using snipers. They’re not denying it. Only reds denying they use also heavier weapons. Even though we know there’s no denying.)