POOPY FLAG-STANDS BAFFLE POLICE SBS.com.au |14.1.2005
A yearlong search to find who is responsible for sticking small American flags into piles of dog droppings in public parks in Germany has so far been fruitless.
"This has been going on for about a year now, and there must be 2,000 to 3,000 piles of excrement that have been thusly adorned during that time," said Josef Oettl, parks administrator in Bayreuth, southern Germany.
The sporadic series of incidents was originally thought to be a protest against the US-led invasion of Iraq. When it continued it was thought to be a protest against President George W Bush's campaign for re-election.
Bayreuth police say they are completely baffled. "We have sent out extra patrols to try to catch whoever is doing this in the act," said police spokesman Reiner Kuechler. But he offered no suggestions as to what the offender would be charged with if caught. Legal experts said there was no law against using faeces as a flag stand and the federal constitution was vague on the issue.