That Al Jazeera reporter is in danger of taking a bullet to his head...

[CleanGreenFuture]

Don't those guys celebrating realize that those celebratory bullets that go up must come down?

The AJ guy doesn't even have a helmet on his head.

OOPS! Edited to add link:

http://english.aljazeera.net

[Enrique]

1. and those celebratory bullets cost money

the arms manufacturers must love seeing people waste their product this way. :thumbsup:

[Warpy]

2. Right, they're ill considered, especially when the fighting isn't over yet

However, I understand they've captured quite a few weapons depots in the past couple of days, so perhaps they're flush with ammo an have it to waste.

The reporters on the ground are always in danger in any kind of revolutionary/civil war/war zone. I admire the cojones of any war reporter no matter the agency, even Pox. They're not responsible for the hack and slash job the agency does on their reports.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

3. Why do you thnk a helmet will stop a bullet?

[tkmorris]

4. A bullet descending from being fired straight up into the air

will reach terminal velocity and stop accelerating (after having come to an approximate "stop" at the apex of it's flight). Now, that terminal velocity would vary depending on numerous factors but tests by the US Army have measured the terminal velocity of a .30 caliber bullet at about 300 feet per second. Certainly enough to injure but not enough to kill barring a miraculous impact, and definitely stoppable by any helmet reasonably acquirable.

[AngkorWot]

5. I think the human scalp would stop a bullet fired straight up into the air.

Celebratory gunfire is a common practice across large swaths of the world. Contrary to the beliefs of some, arabs are not a stupid people.

[lonestarnot]

6. Did someone say they were stupid? No.

I read the entire thread and did not see that. You made that up.

[AngkorWot]

7. The OP implied it.

In that the arabs would be stupid enough to shoot guns in the air, under the mistaken belief that they would come down with lethal force.