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Statue Honoring Sen. Ben Nelson Still a Go in HometownMcCook, Nebraska Posted: 8:53 PM Dec 23, 2009 Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson's hometown is going ahead with plans to erect a statue in his honor despite vocal opposition to the Democrat's support of health care reform.

Non-governemnt organization called Friends of Obama initiated the statue of young Barack Obama in Obama’s former neighborhood in Indonesia, Jakarta.

Non-governemnt organization called Friends of Obama initiated the statue of young Barack Obama in Obama’s former neighborhood in Indonesia, Jakarta.

BEIJING (AP) - The Chinese have learned English from his speeches and celebrated the way he rolls up his sleeves. Now President Barack Obama is finally coming, and he's being greeted with "Oba Mao" T-shirts and a statue of him that bursts into flames. Sunday's arrival of a U.S. president admired for his charisma is already a source of profit and brief fame for some Chinese. Strangest is the burning Obama, tucked away in a Beijing warehouse. Artist Liu Bolin hopes Obama can take time from his visit to drop by. "He's so hot right now, so I wanted to...

Former President Bill ClintonBill Clinton attends an unveiling of a statue of himself.

The 11-foot statue, dedicated to the US president to thank him for launching a Nato bombing campaign to halt the killing of ethnic Albanians by Serbian troops in 1999, sits on a boulevard also named for Mr Clinton. "I am profoundly grateful that I had a chance to be a part of ending the horrible things that were happening to you 10 years ago, giving you a chance to build a better future for yourself," Mr Clinton told the crowd. "I never expected ... anywhere someone will make such a big statue of me," he said after the statue was...

PRISTINA, Kosovo – Thousands of ethnic Albanians braved low temperatures and a cold wind in Kosovo's capital Pristina to welcome former President Bill Clinton on Sunday as he attended the unveiling of an 11-foot (3.5-meter) statue of himself on a key boulevard that also bears his name. Clinton is celebrated as a hero by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority for launching NATO's bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in 1999 that stopped the brutal Serb forces' crackdown on independence-seeking ethnic Albanians. This is his first visit to Kosovo since it declared independence from Serbia last year. Many waved American, Albanian and Kosovo flags...

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton is applauded after being awarded an honorary degree in law from McGill University Friday, Oct. 16, 2009 in Montreal. Workers install a monument to former U.S. President Bill Clinton on Bill Clinton Boulevard in Pristina, Kosovo October 12, 2009. The government of Kosovo said that Clinton's statue will be unveiled next month, with the former president expected to attend the ceremony. Picture taken October 12, 2009. Former President Bill Clinton, right, makes remarks as filmmaker Steven Spielberg, and Linda E. Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Constitution Center look on during the...

The Calgary Zoo said it has no plans to remove a dancing elephant statue after a complaint from a Christian group that it's an inappropriate religious icon. A private donor gave the statue, modeled after the Hindu god Ganesh, to the zoo in 2006 to stand in front of the Asian elephant exhibit. As CBC News first reported, Concerned Christians Canada sent a letter raising its concerns that the statue was "selective religious partiality" to the zoo on Thursday. "A lot of people are saying we're being intolerant. I don't consider asking that the zoo look at this from a...

SARASOTA - The city that guards its bayfront against ugly bridges and homeless boaters made way for a gigantic smooching sailor on Tuesday night. Related Links: Sarasota resident Jack Curran, center, salutes those who give him a round of applause at a public hearing on whether to accept his donation to keep the "Unconditional Surrender" statue. STAFF PHOTO / E. SKYLAR LITHERLAND After a spicy two-hour public hearing, commissioners voted 3-2 to accept a World War II veteran's donation of the 26-foot-tall "Unconditional Surrender" statue. Much of the controversy was over one of the strings that the donor, Sarasota resident...

Vandals have cut off and stolen the head of the infant Jesus from a marble statue at a parish in Wauwatosa. Local police said that such vandalism is typical in the Milwaukee suburb of 45,000, and the parish estimates that repairs will cost $12,000.

French anti-war campaigners have desecrated a statue of Winston Churchill in central Paris on the anniversary of the city's liberation from Nazi rule. The night time attack saw the bronze hands of the £250,000 statue daubed in red paint. The initials RH were also daubed on the statue, perhaps a reference to Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler's deputy, who flew to Britain at the height of the Second World War to allegedly try and make peace. Instead, Churchill had him thrown in prison in 1941, and the war continued for a further four years. After the war, Hess was tried at...

Lenin statue collapses, kills man in Belarus MINSK, Belarus — A massive statue of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin collapsed on a man who was hanging from it Monday, killing him on the spot, authorities said. The 21-year-old man was drunk when he climbed onto the five-meter (16-foot)-high plaster monument and hung from its arm, the Emergency Situations ministry said. It then broke into pieces and he was crushed. The statue in the southeastern Belarus town of Uvarovichi was built in 1939. "The monument's heavy head tumbled on him," said Nataliya Bolbas, a principal at a school in Uvarovichi facing the...

HOMEL, Belarus -- A 21-year-old man from the southeastern Belarusian town of Uvaravichy in Belarus was killed when a piece of a statue to Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin fell on him as he tried to climb it, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports. Early this morning, the unnamed man climbed atop the seven-meter monument and tried to hang from Lenin's famous outstretched arm.

Was Michael Jackson secretly trying to be "The Pharaoh of Pop?" An ancient Egyptian bust on display at the Field Museum in Chicago has been the focus of interest since the star's death as visitors double-take at the eerie similarities between the 3,000-year-old statue and the singer. The limestone statue - which depicts an unidentified woman - went on display at the museum in 1988 and was carved during the New Kingdom Period, dating from between 1550 BC to 1050 BC. Like Jackson's surgically-altered face, the carving has a distinct, upturned nose and rounded eyes. And like Jackson - if...

Members of a prominent Chicago-based sorority are suing to oust their national president -- former Chicago Housing Authority comptroller Barbara McKinzie -- saying she misappropriated funds and commissioned a $900,000 wax figure of herself. She also is accused of taking nearly $400,000 for personal expenses and arranging for a $4,000 monthly stipend to be paid to herself after she leaves office.

US First Lady Michelle Obama walks past a statue during her visit to the Capitoline museum on July 8, 2009 in Rome. The visit, attended by several First Ladies was organized on the sidelines of a G8 summit in L'Aquila.

The Statue of Liberty's crown is open again for the first time since the Sept. 11 attacks. That's symbolic. It was reopened on the Fourth of July, very symbolic. The decision was announced in May on the "Today" show -- hugely symbolic -- by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. "The economic times we're going through really call for hope and optimism," he said, and "nothing symbolizes" those things like the Statue of Liberty. Icons are handy that way. They're instantly recognizable. But the meaning of this one has gotten muddled over the years. So, to mark this occasion, I'd like to...

Mount Rushmore National Memorial's famous stone carvings of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt are about to receive a sculpted visitor: a massive bust of Barack Obama. According to Black Hills Today, the statue is made of steel and concrete, tops 20 feet tall and weighs roughly 12 tons. Crafted by artist David Adickes of Houston, Texas, the Obama bust left Adickes' sculpture center earlier this month, shipped in two pieces on the back of a truck , making its way along a 10-state, 40-city tour. The statue has been spotted in St. Louis, took a rest in Chicago's...

MT. LEBANON, Pa. -- A Virgin Mary statue in a Mount Lebanon church has been knocked over and broken by vandals who also used orange paint to write "666" on the statue's forehead. Police are searching for those who vandalized the grotto in St. Bernard Church Saturday morning, police said. The Rev. David Bonnar said it was "a really horrific act."

Reagan Statue Unveiling in D.C.: Watch Live

A state in eastern Mexico is to erect a statue to a small boy suspected as being the first patient of swine flu here, to be modeled on the famous Manneken Pis statue of a child urinating in Brussels. Five-year-old Edgar Hernandez appeared in media across the world after the health ministry in April confirmed that he had contracted, and overcome, the A(H1N1) virus at the start of the epidemic's outbreak here. Hernandez's role in putting his poor village of La Gloria on the map merited recognition in the shape of a small statue -- resembling the famous Belgian landmark...

LONDON – Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan is being honored with a statue in central London. Westminster City Council says it has changed the usual rules to allow the memorial to be erected outside the current U.S. embassy in downtown London. Normally, the council only permits statues in honor of people who have been dead for more than 10 years. Reagan died in 2004. But it says it has approved a request by the Reagan Memorial Fund Trust to recognize the former president's contribution to world politics.

The former US Ambassador apparently thought it a good idea. His replacement might not be so keen. An interior designer from Chelsea who is a leading light in the Thatcherite Conservative Way Forward group has won approval for a statue of the great American conservative Ronald Reagan to be erected outside the US Embassy in London. The project was given the nod last night by Westminster City Council's planning sub-committee in a break with its policy of allowing memorials only to people who have been dead for at least ten years. The former US president died in 2004 at the...

The Statue of Liberty's crown, with its exhilarating view of New York's skyscrapers, bridges and seaport, is reopening on Independence Day. Safety and security issues have been addressed and 50,000 people, 10 at a time, will get to visit the 265-foot-high crown in the next two years. Interior Department officials said they had not yet determined how to choose who climbs to the top. Spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff said a lottery is one possibility. Salazar "wants the tickets to be distributed not based on your connections but in a fair and equitable way," she said.

NEW YORK – Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says the crown of the Statue of Liberty will reopen July 4. Salazar, speaking from inside the statue's crown, made the announcement Friday morning on NBC's "Today." The statue was closed to the public after 9/11 because of security concerns. The base, pedestal and lower observation deck have since been reopened.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A resolution urging the creation of statues to be built on the Tennessee Capitol grounds of the state's two Nobel Peace Prize winners, Al Gore and Cordell Hull, is on its way to a full Senate vote.

Why did Barack Obama Choose the places he did in Germany and the Colorado to give his speeches? Watch the video and come to your own conclusion. When you get to the website, there will be a screen with the days of the week mon-fri below it. Just below that, there is a link titled "Bonus webcast Click Here". Click on that link and watch that video. If you so desire, you can also click the days of the week to watch additional videos, but first, click on the link titled "Bonus Webcast Click Here". LINK

Ronald Reagan became president at a time of recession: the early 1980s when the nation faced double-digit unemployment and a dire economic outlook. So it is only fitting that he return to Washington now, lawmakers said Wednesday as they passed a resolution giving California approval to put a Reagan sculpture in the National Statuary Hall Collection inside the Capitol building. Each state is allowed two statues in the hall. "Just as we find ourselves today struggling with hardship and conflict, Reagan was also confronted with a troubled economy and uncertain times," said Inland Rep. Ken Calvert, who has championed the...

Virgin Mary Statue Beheaded at Santa Monica Church April 14, 2009 SANTA MONICA -- Police in Santa Monica are investigating the beheading of a statue of the Virgin Mary at a church there on Easter Sunday. The vandalism happened shortly before Easter services commenced at St. Monica Catholic Church. A priest at the church found the 55-year-old marble statue headless around 5:45 a.m. The head was laying on the ground just a few feet away. The statue stands in front of the church, on the corner of Seventh Street and California Avenue. The top of the statue was covered with...

CALIFORNIA AVE. — Santa Monica Police are investigating an alleged hate crime after officials with St. Monica Catholic Church discovered a statue of the Virgin Mary beheaded shortly before Easter services commenced. A priest found the 55-year-old marble statue, which stands on the corner of Seventh Street and California Avenue, decapitated around 5:45 a.m. on Sunday, spotting the head on the ground just a few feet away. The top of the statue was covered with a white plastic bag before service began. “Even though it was a sad event, it didn’t take away from the joy of Easter and celebrating...

SR. AGNES SASAGAWA The Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Sr. Agnes Sasagawa of Akita, Japan The extraordinary events began on June 12, 1973, when Sr. Agnes saw brilliant mysterious rays emanate suddenly from the tabernacle. The same thing happened on each of the two days that followed.On June 28, 1973, a cross-shaped wound appeared on the inside left hand of Sr. Agnes. It bled profusely and caused her much pain. On July 6, Sr. Agnes heard a voice coming from the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the chapel where she was praying. The statue was...

The last statue of General Franco in Spain is to be withdrawn almost 34 years after the death of the dictator. The regional government of Melilla, one of Spain's North African enclaves along with Ceuta, said the bronze statue of General Franco would be removed "within the period of 15 days". The move means no more commemorative figures will stand in public streets to the man who ruled Spain between the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939 and his death in November, 1975. Daniel Conesa, spokesman for the Melilla regional government, said the statue, which shows Franco standing,...

Last night, the Office or Mission and Ministry sent out a campus-wide email alerting the student body that an unknown suspect had vandalized the statue of Mary that stands on Copley Lawn by painting its face black. From the looks of the email, (”we do not know the motivation of the person or persons who painted the face, nor whether they are members of the University community or not”), nothing seems to be known about the perpetrator. According to the email, the incident happened “late last week” and the Department of Public Safety is investigating. The OMM also said they...

Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond (right), commanding general of 4th Infantry Division and Multi-National Division – Baghdad, artist Laith Fattah al-Turk (center), a renowned local artist, and Dr. Muayad Muslin Hamid al-Jaburri (left), an Iraqi cardiologist and humanitarian, unveil a gold eagle-head statue in front of division headquarters on Camp Liberty, Feb. 5. Photo by Sgt. DaleAnne Maxwell, Multi-National Division – Baghdad. CAMP LIBERTY — A new symbol of freedom and appreciation now greets Soldiers and visitors to the headquarters of Multi-National Division – Baghdad, after an unveiling ceremony in front of division headquarters here, Feb. 5. Dr. Muayad Muslin Hamid...

CNBC – Madoff Scandal Latest * Bernie Madoff's Personal Assets Play Video Video: Bernie Madoff's Personal Assets ABC News This undated photo provided by the Town of Palm Beach Police Department shows a AP – This undated photo provided by the Town of Palm Beach Police Department shows a $10,000 copper sculpture … PALM BEACH, Fla. – Thieves calling themselves "The Educators" have returned a statue stolen from disgraced investment guru Bernie Madoff. And they hope he's learned his lesson. The Palm Beach Post reports that the $10,000 copper sculpture turned up Wednesday near the country club Madoff (MAY'-dawf) belonged...

BERNIE MADOFF A RIPOFF 'VICTIM' By JAMES FANELLI and ANGELA MONTEFINISE December 28, 2008 -- How does it feel, Bernie? Swindler extraordinaire Bernard Madoff got a taste of his own medicine last weekend when a burglar stole a $10,000 statue from his posh, $9.4 million Palm Beach estate, according to a police report. The theft occurred sometime between 3 p.m. on Dec. 19 and 11:30 a.m. last Sunday, a week after Madoff confessed to ripping off $50 billion from investors in a decades-long Ponzi scheme. The five-foot, copper artwork overlooked the Madoffs' inground pool, and portrays two young lifeguards sitting...

A memorial to a murderous socialist thug in the heart of the heart of capitalism: The base of the sculpture is inscribed with a Che quote that my ignorance of Spanish prohibited me from deciphering. But I’m pretty sure it wasn’t an apology for committing acts of terror and helping to derail a country for nearly half a century.I’ve never understood the left’s fascination with Che. I mean sure, he’s a socialist and that ostensibly means he’s a member of the people’s revolution or whatever euphemism the extremist proponents of government-run everything use for themselves. But the reality of Che...

LISTEN TO OUR CALLS TO THE KENYAN EMBASSY ABOUT BARACK OBAMA! LISTEN TO OUR CALLS TO THE KENYAN EMBASSY ABOUT BARACK OBAMA! We recently called the Kenyan Embassy and learned some pretty interesting things about our President elect, Barack Obama…

Archaeologists have discovered a 19-metre (62-foot) Buddha statue along with scores of other historical relics in central Afghanistan near the ruins of giant statues destroyed by the Islamist Taliban seven years ago. The team was searching for a giant sleeping Buddha believed to have been seen by a Chinese pilgrim centuries ago when it came upon the relics in the central province of Bamiyan, an official said on Monday. "In total, 89 relics such as coins, ceramics and a 19 meters statue have been unearthed," Mohammad Zia Afshar, adviser in the information and culture ministry, told Reuters. He said the...

[translated from Polish]The assembly of a gigantic monument of Christ the King has just begun on the outskirts of Swiebodzin, Poland. Situated on the small hill several miles east of the German-Polish border, the statue is erected not only as a fruit of faith of the local people but also as a towering symbol of welcome to Catholic Poland, perfectly seen from both A-2 Highway and S3 Fastway. Almost 100-foot-tall statue of Christ the King will be 4 feet higher than a famous statue of Christ the Redeemer, which is overlooking Rio de Janeiro. Designed by a priest Sylvester Zawadzki...

Parts of a giant, exquisitely carved marble sculpture depicting the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius have been found at an archaeological site in Turkey... at the ancient city of Sagalassos. So far the statue's head, right arm and lower legs have been discovered... The partial statue was unearthed in the largest room at Sagalassos's Roman baths. The cross-shaped room measures 1,250 sq m (13,500 sq ft), is covered in mosaics and was probably used as a frigidarium -- a room with a cold pool which Romans could sink into after a hot bath. It was partially destroyed in an earthquake between...

The head is 0.76 m in height (2.5 feet). It has large, almond-shaped eyes (only the tear ducts are rendered, not the iris or pupils as became usual during the reign of Hadrian) and fleshy thick lips. Its hair is parted in the middle of the front and taken in wavy strains below and around the ears toward the back. The rendering of the hair was done with only sparing sparing use of the drill, a feature characteristic for portraits of empresses in this, the Antonine, dynasty, in sharp contrast with the beards and curly hairs of their husbands. On...

...The decision comes with no guarantee of where or whether the statue might be displayed or how it is interpreted.

There is a statue in Hanoi where McCain was shot down. I am amazed this exists: taken from http://www.everywheremag.com/places/4940/ The inscription apparently says " on October 26, 1967, John McCain was shot down here. Thirty-one other U.S. aircraft were also downed on this day, according to the inscription. " very strange. I guess they want tourism.

With his dashing chiselled features, swept back hair and perky bouffant the resemblance is unmistakable. But incredibly this carving of Elvis Presley was created around 1800 years before the King of Rock and Roll first warbled his first note. The amazing likeness has come to light as part of a sale of ancient antiques by the auction house Bonhams.

On Friday, just outside of Dallas/Ft Worth International Airport, the first national memorial to 9/11 heroes was dedicated. Shirley Hall, who is a Flight Attendant and the Vice President of the 9/11 Flight Crew Memorial Foundation, explained the memorial sculpture's symbolism during the memorial's July 4, 2008, dedication ceremony: As volunteers on this project, we have each spent time describing this statue in our attempts to raise funds to turn Valerie’s dream into a reality. From Bryce Cameron Liston’s original interpretation to the final magnificent piece of art you see here today, each of us has shared our ideas on...

World’s Largest Reagan Statue To Be UnveiledJune 25, 2008 After four years and several setbacks, the world’s largest Ronald Reagan statue will be unveiled in Covington, Louisiana, this Friday. The statue was not Covington’s idea. “We had nothing to do with it,� said city council president Trey Blackall. A local oil tycoon, however, was interested in building a big Reagan tribute, and Covington volunteered itself as the site. “It’s a weird little story,� Trey conceded, “but when somebody offers something like this, you gladly accept it.�The big bronze Gipper, created by local sculptor Patrick Miller, stands nearly 15 feet tall...

CHARLESTON, Ore. — It turns out the fate of Charlie the Tuna of Charleston, Ore., was sorry indeed. The 8-foot Monterey cypress sculpture that used to greet visitors to the coastal fishing town was filleted by two young men who stole it as a prank and then, panicked they would be found out, took chain saws to it. Not that Charlie would have lasted much longer anyway, the town learned, what with the way bugs and rot had hollowed out his innards. The statue stood beside the South Slough Bridge into Charleston until Mark Santos and Marvin Terry Jr. swiped...

In this undated image released by France's Culture Ministry Tuesday May 13, 2008, a life size marble bust of Julius Cesar is seen. The bust, probably dated 46 BC, was discovered last year after underwater searches in the Rhone River near Arles, southern France. (AP Photo/Culture Ministry, C. Chary) Divers trained in archaeology discovered a marble bust of an aging Caesar in the Rhone River that France's Culture Ministry said Tuesday could be the oldest known. The life-sized bust showing the Roman ruler with wrinkles and hollows in his face is tentatively dated to 46 B.C. Divers uncovered the...