this is going to be a short one. it doesn't concern the olympics (although the fencing incident in the semifinals between south-korean shin a-lam and german britta heidemann could be brought to attention), but rather a peculiar tale from a corner of the free world where normal things don't happen very often.
oregon, u.s.a.we've all heard of those perplexing laws that are still valid in various states, most of them concerning sexual manifestations. here's one that has nothing to do with intercourse, yet made a man go through the mill more than once.
gary harrington, from eagle point, oregon, faces 30 days of prison time and over $1,500 in fines for collecting rain water and snow runoff on his own property. the conviction is drawn on the account of a 1925 law stating that all water sources on the territory of oregon that are tributary to, springs for or even the very big butte creek (pun intended) are submitted to the water commission, therefore owned by the state. this includes rain, snow, some rivers and creeks, one of which also passes through mr. harrington's private property. also, one would need a special permit from the authorities to use or store said water, and, while mr. harrington had three valid ones, they have all been denied.
the entire trial is being played in a vividly absurd key, with mr. harrington actually backing up his water savings with the idea of imminent seasonal wildfires, not to mention all sorts of advice being thrown into the debate, like bringing the state to court for possessing water sources that are to be found on one's property, without paying for it.
however, this story continues to draw more and more attention, and an official debate concerning a reality check on some old and/or obsolete laws is to be expected.
until then, here's a rather humorous opinion, depicting the absurdity of this entire affair.
