BASTIAT -- Neighbors in the classy simulator Bastiat were shocked Saturday morning when the new Kirby Avatar Emporium, which sells avatars and accessories for the fluffy pink Kirby character from Nintendo, was suddenly wearing a swastika and had been defaced with graffiti that read "Kirby Hates our Troops."

The Kirby Avatar Emporium is preparing for its grand opening.

Near the emporium, an intern for a U.S. senator in Washington D.C. had built a political consulting office for the senator's SL presence.

The property's owner, Intlibber Brautigan walked by the shop Saturday morning and stood in shock as he witnessed the graffiti and a portrait of Hitler. Brautigan and neighbor Madelena Rossini, who also saw the defacing, filed an abuse report and Harry Linden arrived at the scene to remove the offensive Hitler portrait, Brautigan told SLNN.

A campaign manager for the senator, who asked SLNN not to associate the "intolerant acts" with the senator or his campaign, offered an explanation about how the graffiti got there.

"When the incident took place, the intern was en route to the senator's national office in Washington, and had a house guest. He had no intentions of sharing any account details. However, from what I've analyzed, his house guest utilized his account to explore Second Life, as it were," the source continued. "Like most people starting out in SL, the staffer left a sticky note with his account information near his computer."

Brautigan said the staffer had expressed concern earlier about the proximity of the Kirby Avatar Emporium. One of the emporium's suppliers, Spencer Mougin ,described it as "a giant Kirby shop to buy all of your cell-shaded Kirby needs. They've got accessories, hats, colors, bodies, etc." However, Mougin said he found the incident humorous. "All publicity is good publicity."
 
The campaign manager responded, "In the past, the staffer and I discussed the Kirby establishment, and whether or not it would affect his location. While we both agreed it was trivial, it wouldn't surprise me if there were notes about Kirby on or around his computer. "

The campaign manager said the incident would not hurt the senator's campaign. "As the staffer was not in charge of his avatar whilst the intolerant acts were committed, I see little reason for him to start anew with a new avatar. However, the password has been changed, as has the e-mail the staffer used to create the account."

The intern told SLNN, "It wasn't until I received an email from Linden Lab that I knew this even happened."

Linden Lab has continually warned people never to share their password or account information.

Brautigan remains annoyed. "One has to wonder in this age of Homeland Security, that a congressional staffer, who may have highly sensitive information on his PC, leaves his password on a post-it on his desk."