Two pictures for the people of lybia

[Noir]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Rifle_cartridge_comparison.jpg

The bullet on the far left is the .50 BMG the bullets are being used by the military to murder Lybian citizens.

Now I know nothing about guns or bullets, but that looks crazy, and a tweet quoting a Lybian doc says it all, they're being torn in two =|

http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lgzqveHbgB1qad73go1_500.png

[NightTrain]

People have been getting shot by .50 cal for a great many years now.

And, yes, it does impressive damage.

[Noir]

People have been getting shot by .50 cal for a great many years now.

And, yes, it does impressive damage.

True, Though I've also heard unconfirmed reports that anti aircraft weapons are being targeted at civilians.
The generals have lost their minds in panic =/

[CSM]

.50 cal can and is often used as anti-aircraft ammo.

[Noir]

Cheers CSM I didn't know that. Good lord though mounted AA weapons against unarmed civvies =/

[CSM]

Yep, not good for unarmed civilians. Not to appear callous but such weapons (and others even more powerful) have been used agianst unarmed civilians in the past in various countries. Given that, you have to wonder about the wisdom of legislating the disarmament of the common citizen.

[Gaffer]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Rifle_cartridge_comparison.jpg

The bullet on the far left is the .50 BMG the bullets are being used by the military to murder Lybian citizens.

Now I know nothing about guns or bullets, but that looks crazy, and a tweet quoting a Lybian doc says it all, they're being torn in two =|

http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lgzqveHbgB1qad73go1_500.png

50 cal weapons have been used since WW2. They were designed for use against aircraft and armored vehicles, but could also be used against personnel. Lot's of stopping power. True anti-aircraft batteries fire explosive rounds which detonate at a specific altitude.

The bullets shown in the picture are all equally deadly. The only difference is the size of the exit wound.

[Nukeman]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Rifle_cartridge_comparison.jpg

Find it funny they used a US dollar for size reference!?!?

The only one of those bullets you can even get for a dollar is the one all the way on the right!!

[Kathianne]

Find it funny they used a US dollar for size reference!?!?

The only one of those bullets you can even get for a dollar is the one all the way on the right!!

I'm more cynical, I thought nothing about costs, just that USA is the cause of all mayhem in the world.

[Little-Acorn]

Nearly all the U.S. fighter planes (and bombers) had that leftmost .50BMG as their principal ammunition. The letters stood for Browning Machine Gun, after the man who developed the gun (and maybe the ammo, I'm not sure). Most of the fighters had at least six of those machine guns (some had eight) firing forward, using that round.

One of the reasons the planes were good fighters, was that that ammo would tear an enemy plane to pieces with just a short burst - which was often all you had time for in combat.

But fighters weren't used only to shoot at other airborne aircraft. Coming back from a mission (often escorting bombers to a target and back), many planes still had lots of ammo left. So they would descend to rooftop height over enemy or enemy-occupied territory, and shoot those same rounds at anything that looked military. Buildings, trucks, convoys, ships... or concentrations of enemy troops. I wouldn't want to be their targets.

[Noir]

Yep, not good for unarmed civilians. Not to appear callous but such weapons (and others even more powerful) have been used agianst unarmed civilians in the past in various countries. Given that, you have to wonder about the wisdom of legislating the disarmament of the common citizen.

True but then, even if the citizens had guns it would be no match to a 50 Cal (though obv much better than nothing)
it's like George carlin said when talking about flame throwers (not an exact quote but something like) 'we have flame throwers, well I say 'we'...the army have flame throwers...I'd say we're pretty fucked if we have to go up against the army, wouldn't you?'

[Noir]

I'm more cynical, I thought nothing about costs, just that USA is the cause of all mayhem in the world.

Different minds work in different ways I guess, I just assumed the girl who took the pic was an American, lol.

[CSM]

True but then, even if the citizens had guns it would be no match to a 50 Cal (though obv much better than nothing)
it's like George carlin said when talking about flame throwers (not an exact quote but something like) 'we have flame throwers, well I say 'we'...the army have flame throwers...I'd say we're pretty fucked if we have to go up against the army, wouldn't you?'

The trick is to engage the enmey where his superior firepower isn't. Obviously, trying to do that with a ceremonial dagger is quite a bit different than trying to do that armed with modern civilian small arms and even more different is armed with automatic military grade weapons. Societies that ensure their population is disarmed can make the .50 cal seem like the ultimate weapon but it isn't.