Posted on 05/17/2010 10:25:17 AM PDT by Mikey_1962
A computer worker told yesterday of his horror after a Thai anti-government supporter was shot through his head in front of him. James West, 33, originally from Seattle and a software analyst for Microsoft, said the 'red shirt' protester was targeted after pointing a laser pen at an army position during continued trouble in Bangkok. Mr West said: 'The man was two yards in front of me and took out a laser pointer and started beaming it at the soldiers. I thought it was a crazy thing to do, then he was hit. I felt debris, bits of him hitting me. He went down straight away. There was a bullet exit wound at the back of his head.'
Security forces are poised to move on Thai anti-government demonstrators after 24 hours of clashes turned the centre of Bangkok into a bloody battlefield.
At least 16 people have been killed and 160 injures in a series of running battles in the Thai capital that saw troops fire live rounds as well as tear gas and rubber bullets.
The protesters, who have staged a mainly peaceful protest for the past two months, countered with petrol bombs and home-made rockets. The army says its troop are not shooting to kill, but protesters during a lull in clashes today crawled along sidewalks to slowly drag away corpses of three people. They claimed an army sniper had shot them all in the head. Sporadic clashes resumed in several parts of the city this morning, and explosions once again echoed through streets emptied of shoppers and tourists, as plumes of black smoke rose amid skyscrapers and hotels.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
“James West, 33, originally from Seattle and a software analyst for Microsoft...” was lucky the projectile that killed the protester didn’t enter his noggin too.
OK... I gotta admit, I haven’t been following this red-shirt bidness in Thailand. I’m not even clear on who the players are. Anybody got a run-down on the game so far?
I said that they could be blinded. I was being facetious about the "harmlessness" of trying to blind someone.
As I understand it, the “red shirts” are comprised of farmers, students and the working class; however, there numbers aren’t all that big in any of these groups. I believe they are protesting government corruption and economic policies. They are holding the nation hostage as tourism, the nation’s top income earner, dries up and creates more economic hardship.
Or providing targeting data for a 2000 pound laser guided bomb. Close air support makes up for a multitude of sins.
The lasers used to guide munitions are invisible to the naked eye and to most night vision goggles. If he had been shining one of those at the soldiers they would have never known it.
The lasers used as targeting aids on small arms however look exactly like your standard laser pointer.
This guy was a darwin contestant for sure.
Only if you can line them up and get two for the price of one (bullet).
Study the facts before you and many others on F/R make such ludicrous comments involving what is happening here in Thailand. The Red Shirts/UDD ARE NOT COMMUNISTS although a few do have a very large lacking of common sense as in this case.
Read the article for a little background on some of the organizers...
http://theglobalrealm.com/2010/05/15/thai-power-grows-from-the-barrel-of-a-gun/
And there are other blogs and writers that say just the opposite. I live here. I know both PAD and UDD people. Too much disinformation and fog in Thai politics to even being to see anything clearly here. The word Communist is thrown around way to lightly in referring to what is happening here at this time. I do not know a single UDD person personally that is in the least bit Socialist OR Communist. Media poisoning and personal attitudes? Just look at how the Tea Party or any other group who oppose Bammy and the Liberal Progressives are being portrayed in the States and you can see first had the smear tactics used.
Small clue there were Socialists, Royalists, Elitests and Communists ideals put forth in the Making of the US Constitution at that time and what came out of it? A Republic.
Well, having spent a fair amount of time myself in Thailand in the 80’s, I know how muddied things are. However, I also know what forces drive these sorts of events. The average person supporting the UDD is not a communist, but many of those organizing are. Lenin called those getting killed “useful idiots”. Quite apt description. You draw your own conclusion, and I will draw mine.
“Small clue there were Socialists, Royalists, Elitests and Communists ideals put forth in the Making of the US Constitution at that time and what came out of it? A Republic.” Big clue: Your understanding of the Constitutional Convention is laughable.
And yours sir are as uninformed as your beliefs that the UDD are a communist. I think at this time I will follow my deceased mothers advice that only a fool argues with a idiot and bid my farewell to this board. Gooodbye F/R!
Well, my Mother told me that I should not wrestle with a pig, because you both get dirty and the pig likes it. You started our discussion by informing myself and others that we had no clue what we were talking about. I provided DOCUMENTED evidence of my position that there were commies behind the troubles in Thailand. According to what objective standard does that make me an idiot?
You seem like a sincere and intelligent guy, although somewhat thin-skinned. I encourage you to reconsider your departure from this haven of sanity, retract your feeble opus and continue to be a Freeper.
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