I've got to say, compared to some photos I've seen on my Facebook feed, these are nothing, many people lost an eye or had concussions when the police aimed the gas canisters directly to their heads at close range (I really don't want to share these, they're gruesome).

The now-famous "woman in red being tear gassed" (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/06/03...) photo, taken by a Turkish Reuters photo journalist (who later was wounded himself by a gas canister) has been used as a symbol of the brutality of the police. But wait, maybe this was manipulation on the photographer's part (know to happen) and the policeman did it by accident? Yesterday, the followup shots to that photo were released: http://fotogaleri.hurriyet.com.tr/galeridetay.aspx?cid=69735.... Note how the guy is very deliberate in his spraying, angry that this woman had the guts to stand against them.

Lest you think this was just a twisted policeman, let me assure you that the violence is very common. The police has always been violent against protesters in Turkey, irregardless of who's ruling, so this is not a first with AKP. What was interesting, however, was the persistence of people against the onslaught.

If you have a couple of minutes, here's a nicely done video summarizing the Gezi Protests: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=demnc4sQ0VI