Society's ChildS


Eye 1

Riot police attack protesters in Taksim Square

The Turkish riot police have attacked anti-government protesters in Istanbul's flashpoint Taksim Square, shortly after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered the demonstrators to evacuate the area.

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Turkish riot police use a water cannon and tear gas to disperse protesters at Istanbul’s Gezi Park on June 15, 2013
The forces stormed the protest camp in Gezi Park on Saturday, firing tear gas and using water cannons to disperse thousands of protesters defying the prime minister's order to leave.

They trampled tents, pulled down banners, and broke down barricades in the park. Afterwards, a city cleaning crew, backed by bulldozers, moved into the green patch and cleared the site.

Police pursued protestors as they ran in all directions including to a nearby hotel. Several protesters have been detained from the area or in house-to-house searches.

Several people also were wounded, some of them allegedly by rubber bullets.

Question

Massive fire near downtown Indianapolis forces evacuations, explosions reported

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A fire engulfed a sprawling mixed-use building near downtown Indianapolis filled with tires and wooden pallets Saturday, producing a towering pillar of black smoke that prompted the evacuation of a five-block area surrounding the structure, authorities said.

Capt. Rita Burris of the Indianapolis Fire Department said about 100 firefighters from six departments were battling the fire that was consuming the two-story brick building about one mile southwest of the city's downtown.

The building was rocked by numerous explosions that Burris said are believed to have been small propane tanks exploding from the heat of the fire.

She said the building houses tire- and pallet-recycling businesses, a bicycle shop and storage facilities, but none were believed to have been open when the fire was reported Saturday afternoon.

The blaze produced such a large plume of black smoke that firefighters ordered the evacuation of a five-block area around the building due to the health threat posed by the smoke, Burris said.

Arrow Down

Kickstarter almost enabled a $120,000 fraud, and it's not the first

Kobe Beef Jerky
© KickstarterThe Kickstarter campaign for Kobe Red beef jerky was yanked just minutes before thousands of backers lost their money.
Kickstarter just narrowly averted what would have been the biggest definitive fraud in the crowdfunding site's history. It shut down the Kobe Red project, which promised to deliver mouthwatering beef jerky made from Japanese cows fed on 100% organic feed and treated to beer and massages (we're not making this up) - just an hour before scammers would have successfully made off with $120,309 from the project's 3,239 backers.

Rather than vetting projects on its own, Kickstarter relies on its own users to report suspicious campaigns. Kobe Red was flagged by, among others, a group of filmmakers who are working on a documentary about Kickstarter.

Bad Guys

Bulgarians protest over media magnate as new head of 'FBI' security service

Sofia protest
© Sofia Photo Agency The protest in Sofia Saturday evening was held once again in front of the Council of Ministers and gathered some 8000 people.
Thousands of people rallied on Friday to protest against the appointment of a media magnate as Bulgaria's new security chief in a show of discontent after disputed elections.

Chanting "Mafia" and "resign", about 10,000 people rallied in a main square in front of government headquarters in the capital Sofia. Smaller protests were held in other cities.

Protesters expressed anger at parliament's appointment of Delyan Peevski to the security post, which political analysts have described as another example of Bulgaria subjecting state institutions to private interests.

Legislators from the ruling Socialists and the allied ethnic Turkish MRF party endorsed Peevski, also an MRF deputy, for the security chief post by a simple majority without debate.

They acted hours after legal changes stripping the president of his power to appoint heads of secret services took effect.

Family

Marchers in Belfast, Northern Ireland, protest against G8 policies ahead of summit

G8 protest
© BBCThe lunchtime protest rally in central Belfast passed off peacefully
There was a major security presence for an anti-G8 protest in Belfast.

The rally was organised by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ahead of next week's G8 summit in County Fermanagh.

The ICTU said one billion people were living in "extreme poverty" around the world, due to Western capitalism and the policies of the G8 leaders.

The rally passed off peacefully and no arrested were made. The Police Service of Northern Ireland said protesters started to disperse at 14:00 BST.

The anti-capitalist demonstration was staged ahead of the two-day global summit, which will see the leaders of some of the world's most powerful countries gather at the Lough Erne resort for talks.

Stormtrooper

Violence erupts in São Paulo, Brazil at transportation-fare inflation protest

Sao Paulo protest
© EPAMilitary policemen on Thursday tried to disperse students protesting against the rise in ticket prices of public transportation in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The latest in a string of protests against transportation-fare increases turned violent on Thursday, as tensions grow over unemployment and rising inflation in Brazil.

Thousands of protesters gathered in the late afternoon at the Municipal Theater in central São Paulo and marched through the city center. Just after 7 p.m., police began firing tear gas into the crowd, sending protesters running. People screamed "Fascist police!" and threw stones at the police as smoke filled the air.

The demonstration was the fourth since last week in response to a nearly 7% increase in public transport fares in the city to 3.20 reais, or about $1.50. It was also met with the most force so far by police - by the end of the demonstration late Thursday night, after officers in riot gear pursued and shot at groups of protesters all around the city center, dozens of people had been detained. Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo reported that seven of its reporters were hit, with rubber bullets, including two who were shot in the face.

Earlier in the day, a strike by suburban rail workers had caused confusion in São Paulo, forcing hundreds of thousands of commuters to switch to emergency bus services or use their cars.

Stock Down

"We're in a death spiral": Detroit to default on $2.5B debt to avoid bankruptcy, emergency manager says

Kevyn Orr
© APJune 14, 2013: Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr speaks with reporters after a meeting with creditors in Romulus, Mich.
Detroit said Friday it would stop making payments on about $2.5 billion in unsecured debt and ask creditors to take about 10 cents on the dollar of what the city owes them in a move to avoid what bankruptcy experts have said would be the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr spent two hours with about 180 bond insurers, pension trustees, union representatives and other creditors outlining his plan for the city's financial future, which includes a moratorium on some principal and interest payments, Reuters reported.

Under his proposal, underfunded pension claims likely would get less than the 10 cents on the dollar.

An assessment of the plan's progress will come in the next 30 days or so.

Stormtrooper

US hysteria - cops mistake art for bomb, blow it up at festival

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© Iowa City PoliceRussell Jaffe created this piece of art, which authorities found in an empty newspaper vending machine (as shown) at the Iowa City Summer of the Arts Festival. Believing it suspicious, a bomb team was called in to detonate it
Russell Jaffe is an artist and poet who makes "found sculptures" from discarded video game systems and "smashed-up" electronics.

One of his pieces -- a broken and spray-painted television with a "blood-stained antenna" -- was purchased at an art show, then left in an empty newspaper vending machine that locals say is a "leave something take something" art box.

According to The Iowa City Police Department, private security personnel working at the festival noticed the object and notified authorities who in turn contacted the Johnson County Metro Bomb Team.

Police said the bomb team "followed protocol" in examining the "unknown electronic suspicious package." They then detonated the package with a controlled robot water cannon.

"Having my art and poetry eviscerated by a bomb-destroying robot is the thing I realized I never knew I always wanted," Jaffe said in an announcement on his Facebook page.


Bizarro Earth

Zama City spill: Wastewater leak the largest in recent history

 Zama City toxic wastewater spill,
© GettyThe Zama City toxic wastewater spill, at over 9.5 million litres, is the biggest of its kind in North America in recent history.
The wastewater spill near Zama City, Alberta, at 9.5 million litres, is North America's biggest in recent history.

The spill, first spotted June 1, has leaked oil, water and other chemicals out of Apache's wastewater pipeline, and is the third major spill in the area, The Globe and Mail reports.

The leak happened less than 100 kilometres from the Northwest Territories border, and 20 kilometres from Zama City, and has affected more than 42 hectares - about the size of 52 CFL fields.

The spill is Alberta's tenth largest "produced water" spill since 1975, Global News reported.

In that time, Apache has been responsible for 949 spills - 517 of which have been produced water spills.

Bad Guys

Insanity! Helicopter snipers frighten Texan neighbors just for fun and adventure

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Helicopter Sniper Adventure in rural Texas offers gun hobbyists a real-world video game experience, including the chance to shoot at targets while hanging from a helicopter.

Though the customers might be pleased with the adventure, neighbors in the rural Texas town are less than pleased and are growing increasingly worried about stray bullets from overly enthusiastic adventure-goers shooting into their homes.

"The first time they were hovering right over our two acres, shooting at whatever," Denton County, North Texas resident, Michael Lauer, told WFAA. Lauer is one of many homeowners in the area concerned about the dangers the local business poses.

"You really didn't know - were they shooting at me?" Lauer said. "You just know, someday, one of them is going to hit the house or do something."

Helicopter Sniper Adventure offers customers the chance to ride in a helicopter over land and water, all the while shooting at various targets and trying to earn as many points as possible for positive hits. The adventure costs $795 per person, and each participant is given 500 rounds to shoot along the course.