Here’s a rather harsh and unusual punishment for a Missouri man who paid a teenage to destroy a world war II monument, Rex Barstow has agreed to be banished from the town. The 57 year old from Clark paid a 14 year kid to knock over the General Omar Bradley monument and then spray paint the fire department shed. It seems the town is rather happy with the outcome and will be glad to see the back of him.

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Anyone want a 14 tonne statue of a dead Russian dictator, it’s going cheap? A bronze statue of Vladimir Lenin in the main square of Voronezh near Moscow has proven too expensive to maintain so they want it sold. Yes OK, there are is a catch. You have to leave it somewhere in a public place, preferably where it still stands, so people can still visit him and leave flowers.So basically all they really  want someone to pay for it’s upkeep. Well, there goes my plans of having a talking piece in my garden.So if anyone has a spare 1.5 million roubles lying around give the City a buzz.

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OK people here’s the thing, climbing up a statue, especially a Lenin statue, can prove deadly. A 21 year old from Belarus has died after he attempted to climb the 7m Vladimir Lenin statue only to have it crumble and fall on him. Bummer. He was attempting to hang from Lenin’s outstretched arm when the upper part disintegrated. The town of Uvaravichy plans to repair the crumbled structure.

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Lenin lets one rip!

OK sorry for laughing but who blew the butt off Lenin? Come on, one of you did? The statue of Communist leader Vladimir Lenin now has a 100cm gaping hole in his arse. Not funny people. The statue was erected next to the Finland Station in St Petersburg and now look at him. Not only does he have a rather unattractive  exit wound in his bottom there is also some damage to his left leg and hip. How embarrassing, who is going to take communism seriously now? Oh and for goodness sakes the nearby light fixtures were damaged too! No word on who the culprits are.

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Oh bless, the people of Saddam Hussein’s hometown, Tikrit, have erected a new monument, this time in honor of the Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi , the man who shoe threw at George W during a news conference last year. Hmm, the 2m fiberglass and copper shoe which doubles as a big pot plant holder has a plastic shrub in it (nice!). The inscription reads “Muntazer: fasting until the sword breaks its fast with blood; silent until our mouths speak the truth.” The one and a half tonne monument was created by artist Laith al-Amiri and is entitled “statue of glory and generosity”. I am not sure whether the shoe is the glory and the plastic plant is the generosity or the other way around?

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Its bad enough I get shat on everyday

For goodness sakes people. Eight Muslims from the hard lines Islamic group Ulama Anjumane Al Baiyeniat (who?) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, have been arrested for damaging a group of six white stork sculptures.The men all armed with shovels and hammers began whacking the 41ft (12.5m) tall structures after an attempt to pull them down with ropes failed. Hmm, they meant business. Ah, it seems this group has a jihad against statues in general because they are seen as a form of idol worship (hmm, better not tell Paula Abdul, she’ll cry!). The eight have been charged with creating chaos and attacking security officials.The sculptor Mrinal Haque has stated the statues which were erected in 1989 had nothing to do with Islam (well they do now!).

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Tasmanian Toxic Big Penguin

Holy public art Batman, the 3m tall Big Penguin in the Tasmanian town of Penguin could be toxic and whats more it could have made thousands of people sick. Hmm, if tests on the big old cement seabird prove positive, then it will have to be put down. Seems a cement worker raised the alarm after he had fears about people’s safety from the leaking asbestos particles. The Big Penguin has been around since 1975 with hundreds of thousands of people standing next to it for a photo or a curious inspection without knowing they could be snorting deadly particles. And what if their worst fears are realized? Penguin’s Mayor Mike Downie says “I would think we would be lynched from the nearest tree if council decided, that if it was a danger to the public, not to replace it.” Hmm, I think there will be a lynching regardless, if asbestos is found!

UPDATE: Yay, Big Penguin is safe! Go give him a hug…

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Knitted bunny from space

A giant knitted pink rabbit, which for the sake of this blog I shall call public art, can be spotted from space via Google Earth. Hmm, I wonder what our extra terrestrial buddies will think of us now? The knitted bunny was created by the Viennese art collective Gelatin in Italy’s Piedmont region. The pink rabbit was created for people to climb, sleep or walk on. Far too many people with far too much time on their hands, me thinks!

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Stop looking, the bronze hog which went missing at the beginning of October from the Gardens at Razorback Road (University of Arkansas) has been found. Two people feared the worst when they came across “a big lump wrapped in plastic” near the Randal Tyson Track Center. They immediately rang police who on arriving slowly removed the plastic to discover the hog underneath. From all reports the porker is back safe and sound on campus. Police suspect the incident was a prank!

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Two men (not kids!) have been arrested over the deliberate damage of two fiberglass goat statues in Hendersonville. The goats were part of the downtown art collection called “Kidding Around Downtown,” . The two goats injured were Groovy goat (who had his head knocked right off) and Mountain Goat (who lost an ear). They are yet to locate the ear. This isn’t Mountain Goat’s first time in the news, he was nicked along with “Connie-Mara” in July by two kids  who were later charged. Prior to the goats, the town had a five year run with decorative fiberglass bears. The decorative goats  eventually get auctioned off for charity, which makes this so sad because who wants a goat with no head or ear?

Name and shame them right here. The culprits for the latest attack on the fiberglass goats are Daniel Joseph Markel, 27, of Flat Rock, and Craig Owen Hensley, 29, of Hendersonville.They have both been charged with damage to personal property. One for the Billy goats gruff!

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