Russia-Made Kids Bed Modeled on Launcher That Shot MH17

Furniture-maker doesn't see a problem
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 4, 2016 2:39 PM CDT
Russia-Made Kids Bed Modeled on Launcher That Shot MH17
Maybe just stick to Hummers?   (BBC News/CaroBus, via the Guardian)

A Dutch probe into what and who shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine in July 2014 is now pointing the finger at a surface-to-air missile brought into play by Russia. Which is why, perhaps, some people are outraged that a Russian furniture company has opted to design a children's bed frame resembling a Buk launcher, per the Washington Post. "Is this some kind of joke?" a Russian reporter wrote on his Facebook page, expressing the incredulity that's coming from many other quarters. The bed by CaroBus is actually called "Buk" and sports Russian military insignia and a liftable base that looks like a missile ready to shoot skyward.

The $175 bed, of which fewer than a dozen have sold so far, per the Guardian, was designed as part of the company's "future defenders of the motherland" series. And Anton Koppel, CaroBus' director, scoffs at the outrage surrounding the bed, noting that the company also builds beds shaped like pirate ships, Hummers, and tanks, among others. "Some kids want to be doctors, some want to be bakers, some want to be in the military," he tells the Russian site Fontanka. The company did concede somewhat, changing the name of the bed to the more palatable "Defender," with a message on the site that reads: "We draw your attention to the fact that this is a defensive weapon, not an offensive one. It has been guarding the peace in the skies since 1980." (More Malaysia Airlines MH17 stories.)

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