Don't Accidentally Bump Our Priceless Ruins

I happened to see the following news item, which might be of interest to all photographers, videographers, and tourists:

A camera crane operator shooting a commercial at the Machu Piccu Inca ruins was sentenced to six years in prison (!) in Peru because his equipment tipped over and chipped a stone sundial. Walter Leonidas Espinoza was found guilty on November 3, 2005 of "destruction and alteration of cultural goods."

So watch out what you touch when you travel. Some enlightnened law enforcement goon in Thirdworldistan might decide that you were negligent or destructive to one of their precious cutural icons. I wonder why they don't care about their stone sundial enough to build a protective cover over it; after all, the wind and rain constantly pound on it, weathering it and wearing it down...

Reminds me of an incident in 1990, when an Air Force squadron buddy of mine, who shall remain nameless except for his tactical callsign ("Hoover"), climbed up on one of the large stone lions in Trafalgar Square in London. He fell off, breaking his wrist. Perhaps he should have sued the city of London for "destruction and alteration of his wrist."