Italian Earthquake Researchers Sentenced To Six Years In Prison!!!

Nature News just announced via tweet that the Italian Seismologists on trial for manslaughter have been sentenced to six years in prison.

They were on trial after 309 people died in an April 6, 2009 magnitude 6.3 earthquake in the town of L'Aquila, Italy.

Even though earthquake prediction isn't possible, previous studies had found that about half of bigger quakes in Italy were preceded by swarms of smaller earthquakes. That sounds like a good indicator, but the truth is that there are many more of these small swarms than big earthquakes, and only 2 percent of small swarms preceded bigger quakes.

The scientists were on trial for failing to make the local government and citizenry fully aware of the possibility of a large quake during a March 31 meeting in L'Aquila. During that meeting one of the researchers, Enzo Boschi, called a large earthquake "unlikely," but warned that the possibility could not be excluded.

Department of Civil Protection official Bernardo De Bernardinis took that info and told the town that there was "no danger," of a possible larger earthquake.


Read more: [link to www.businessinsider.com]

Horrible! They would have been sentenced if the opposite were true too~ i.e., if they had warned and then no earthquake.

WOW! That is fucking crazy!

this is so sad and stupid!

Italy is just above third world standards. They have the same kind of superstitions and stupidity as any third world shit-hole.

big corruption in courts!

That is so stupid, it must have been born out of a baboon asshole, you cannot predict earthquakes, no chance when and how big and what depth, effin idiots responsible for sentencing them need to be submerged into the Marianna Trench with a Fiat Punto chained to their feet.

This was just on Sky. That's bloody terrible. 20 odd years ago a BBC weatherman, Michael Fish, famously laughed off reports of a hurricane - turned out to be the worst in the UK for years. Lucky he wasn't Italian!

This judge needs to loose his job. Hell, forget that, he should be thrown into jail for being a menace to society.

i am fucking FUMING about this!

even IF they'd accurately predicted the roundabout time of it, say +- 1 week, what would people have done? Stayed out in the open all the time?

no, they wouldn't have! they'd have thought fuck all was gonna happen, and would have gone into buildings anyway!

this is FUCKING RIDICULOUS, and you Itie bastards need to go sorting the corrupt cunts out like Berlusconi, not severely punishing hard working scientists for FUCK ALL!

for FUCK'S SAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

shit happens! people die in earthquakes. That's HOW IT IS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Italy should be ashamed of themselves after this!

fucking ridiculous!

What a load of shit this is unreal... How the hell can they do something so stupid like this...

THIS!

i just heard it in the car on the way home.

i went fucking ape shit. i hope no-one saw me.

honestly, i was screaming at the radio.

FLASH!!!

Unexpectedly, Italian earthquake research collage students switching their majors to Art History!

if they have ANY sense whatsoever, they'd get the fuck OUT of the shithole altogether

So, what happens if they predict one and get it wrong.

A whole village would have displaced people during the evacuation.

And if no EQ...Then what?

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

it's the equivalent of throwing a wench into a pond to see if she's a witch or not. if she sinks, she's innocent, if she floats, she's a witch and burnt at the stake.

good ole mediaeval Italy!

Pathetic, how can one predict an earthquake if he isnt on GLP?

there's a point.

Eat, RUN!

why isn't this AMAZING story pinned?

how pathetic are we all getting when innocent people can be jailed for doing NOTHING, by one of THE most corrupt systems on the planet, the Italians, and we just brush it off, as if it's nothing?

we should ALL be shouting and screaming about this!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is getting SOO twisted in here...... let me get first something straight.

In this EQ 309 people HAVE ACTUALLY DIED and there HAS BEEN NEGLIGENCE on human side.... this just as facts to get me started, let me make my point:

This ruling has been made by a SINGLE judge.
IMHO it is completely wrong.

BUT

... do not underestimate the follwing:

The EQ happened on April 5th, 2009..... a few days prior, on March 30th, 2009 to be exact, the "Major Risk Committe" (Commissione Grandi Rischi) which is a branch of the Italian FEMA (Protezione Civile) ALLEGEDLY minimized the situation and re-ensured the population (later affected by the EQ) that NOTHING was going to happen and to return home and to stay there.

Just for the sake for setting the major fact straight.

It does not change anything that the ruling can be regarded as ridiculous at the least, when "scientist" ALWAYS DENY that EQs can be predicted (although in Italy we can the University in Trieste working closely with the International Centre for Theoretical Physiscs ICTP) and recently some papers have INDICATED they indeed can give some good indication/information out about RISK SITUATION for AT THE VERY LEAST give the population a heads-up and be prepared.

Now the above ruling does completely TWIST the entire situation... go figure WHICH SCIENTIST will now risk his career or even endeavour studies in this field if he might go to jail.... OK, it is NOTHING LIKE A SURGEON but anyhow.

As always.... Italy confirms its no. 1 spot as BANANA REPUBLIC... what a shame.

BTW, then the govt wonders WHY all the young graduates from the Universities LEAVE ITALY to go work in other countries... just go figure, WHO would REALLY come to Italy to work???

SICK

Italians are ignorant people.

OH, WAAAIT-

not all... ignorant people everywere!