Italian seismologists convicted of multiple manslaughter.

[arildno]

Yes. And a secular one at that.

I expected more from Italian culture. The home of Galileo and Copernicus. A lot more.

Borek will hunt you on that comment..
The only Pole of marginal world historical significance (apart from J.S.), and you call him..Italian??
Dear me, you have it coming..

 

[turbo]

I wonder if there is a side-effect in play? Basically, every weather forecaster in the region is claiming that Sandy could combine with a winter storm and duplicate or surpass the "Perfect Storm". Why? We have fall storms about every year. There is no reason to hype this one.

 

[lisab]

Borek will hunt you on that comment..
The only Pole of marginal world historical significance (apart from J.S.), and you call him..Italian??
Dear me, you have it coming..

 

[zonde]

But still it wasn't "if an earthquake hits, don't worry". It was "there doesn't seem to be another quake coming, don't worry". Stupid yes, but when an unexpected quake DOES happen, you don't ignore it. Which is what some people said they did. Like that lawyer that said normally they would run outside if a quake hit, but since they were told that a quake wasn't likely, when the quake struck, they decided to stay inside. WHAT? They didn't say to ignore earthquakes!

Maybe a bit more information from nature
New twists in Italian seismology trial:

After the meeting, Bernardo De Bernardinis, deputy head of the Department of Civil Protection, said to the press: “The scientific community tells me there is no danger because there is an ongoing discharge of energy,” a statement that most seismologists consider to be scientifically incorrect.

and

Guido Bertolaso, former head of the Department of Civil Protection and De Bernardinis’s direct superior, had not been indicted and was originally expected to appear as a witness. But a few weeks ago a wiretap revealed that he had apparently set up the meeting to convey a reassuring message, regardless of the scientists’ opinion. He also seemed to be the source of the “discharge of energy” statement. He thus found himself under investigation and, at the beginning of the hearing, he was officially notified that he too may soon be formally indicted for manslaughter.

http://blogs.nature.com/news/2012/01/wiretap-revelation-could-aid-italian-seismologists-defence.html:

On 20 January the Italian newspaper La Repubblica revealed a taped telephone conversation between Guido Bertolaso, then head of the Civil Protection, and Daniela Stati, an officer of the L’Aquila Provincial Administration, recorded the day before the meeting. Bertolaso can be heard saying, of the seismologists now on trial: “I will send them there mostly as a media move. They are the best experts in Italy, and they will say that it is better to have a hundred shocks at 4 Richter than silence, because a hundred shocks release energy, so that there will never be the big one.”

So even if he didn't said the words (the last words in bold) population got the message.

This of course doesn't explain why the judge gave the same years for scientists. Maybe because they agreed to such a "media move"? Or there is something more. Who knows. There should be more information when the text of full motivation will be available.

 

[epenguin]

And today Berlusconi has been sentenced to a bit less time, for fraud. There is rather little chance of any of these doing time as it will be dragged out endlessly by appeals. But it is pretty stressful for the innocent. The not quite so innocent are more inured to it.

Also today there has been a quake (not same region). Just one person reported dead, from shock.

Maiani, till recently head of the National Research Council, previously head of CERN, some of you may have heard of him, resigned from the Committee of Major Risks. Italy has several major risks. One is landslides. Another is earthquakes. A third is magistrature and judiciary.

 

[Antiphon]

Borek will hunt you on that comment..
The only Pole of marginal world historical significance (apart from J.S.), and you call him..Italian??
Dear me, you have it coming..

I didn't know Galileo was a Pole. Maybe I'm wrong about Italians then. Although I did grow up in a town that was 80% Italian. Much of what I know was learned there.

 

[Andre]

...Italian culture. The home of Galileo and Copernicus.

I didn't know Galileo was a Pole. Maybe I'm wrong about Italians then. Although I did grow up in a town that was 80% Italian. Much of what I know was learned there.

You are jesting, aren't you? I hope Borek recovers eventually.

Really maybe check out a little bit of history.

Galileo italian

Copernicus Polish

 

[arildno]

I didn't know Galileo was a Pole.

He wasn't. Hence, poland isn't a very important country.

 

[Borek]

He wasn't. Hence, poland isn't a very important country.

Apparently you think you have too many old churches left.

 

[arildno]

Apparently you think you have too many old churches left.

Nice one!

 

[BobG]

This of course doesn't explain why the judge gave the same years for scientists. Maybe because they agreed to such a "media move"? Or there is something more. Who knows. There should be more information when the text of full motivation will be available.

Actually, they didn't agree. For the most part, they were unwitting dupes dragged to the conference so they could stand near the government officials making statements. Their only purpose was to lend credibility to the government officials by their proximity.

But, I guess by their silence, they did make the government officials' statements more believable.