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Seismologists Tried For Manslaughter Due To Earthquake
from the legal-insanity dept
Capitalist Lion Tamer points us to a story that sounds like it should be in The Onion. However, it appears to be real that some Italian seismologists are being tried for manslaughter due to an earthquake that they failed to predict. The key was that apparently some of the seismologists had suggested that seismic activity in the area wasn't likely to lead to an earthquake... which turned out to be wrong:
At the time of the 31 March 2009 meeting, seismic activity had been going on in the area for more than three months, causing alarm in the population. De Bernardinis summoned the meeting and asked the scientists to assess the risk of a major earthquake and its possible consequences. The meeting was followed by a press conference by De Bernardinis and Barberi, where the two reassured the population that the seismic sequence did not necessarily hint at a major earthquake. De Bernardinis, in particular, appeared on television saying that “the scientific community tells me there is no danger, because there is an ongoing discharge of energy. The situation looks favorable”. A major earthquake did hit on April 6 though, killing 309 people. In the aftermath, many citizens quoted those statements as the reason they did not take precautionary measures, such as fleeing their homes. According to the accusation, many people who would otherwise leave the area decided to stay, and were eventually killed in the collapse of their houses.That seems crazy, but the judge refused to dismiss the case, and it will apparently start this fall. What's next? Will someone sue the weatherman for being wrong?
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The unsaid portion
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cc: Italy Tourism Industry
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This is what the world is coming to
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accessory
/be prepared
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Re:
The United States of America vs. Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt, et.al.
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Can we sue
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Re: Can we sue
And they succeeded!
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People should know better
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Makes perfect sense.
This fits right in with the woman who sued the doggy door company because her son crawled through, fell into the pool, and drowned. Apparently, she failed basic geometry classes (or common sense in general) in failing to realize that objects can fit through holes larger than said objects. There was no "expert" to tell her that perhaps children can fit through large doggy doors!
Seriously, what has become of society? If this were a story about scientists being bribed to lie about the results, that'd be one thing. However, suing them because they happened to be wrong? Do people honestly believe that the knowledge scientists possess is magical and completely faultless?
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Re: Can we sue
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Brain Drain
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Now the next time a scientist is asked to weigh in on the risks of something in Italy, he will exaggerate the threat to an absurd degree to shield himself from liability. Brilliant!
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What this leads to
It's very likely there will be a strong Earthquake somewhere between tomorrow and 2031. As a precautionary measure we recommend that you sleep in tents as far away as possible from buildings or trees.
Better safe than sorry.
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Raleigh Man May Face Charges For 'Practicing Engineering Without A License.
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Re: Re: Can we sue
In the meantime, I would like to sell you a pen which protects from terrorist attacks. Ever since I have owned it, I have not been the victim of a single terrorist attack. Since you're such a smart man, I won't try to cheat you. You can have the pen for no more than $500,000.
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Re: Predictions
> weigh in on the risks of something in Italy,
> he will exaggerate the threat to an absurd degree
Or not weigh in at all. That's how the scientific community should respond to this. They should say, "You want to put us in prison for making a bad prediction? Fine. We won't make any predictions any more at all. You guys are on your own. Figure it out for yourselves from now on and good luck with that."
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I love this!
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Science = Witchcraft
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Re: Science = Witchcraft
I think this will do:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrzMhU_4m-g
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Re:
Who ya gonna sue - congress cridders
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Re:
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"Seismologists Tried For Manslaughter Due To Earthquake"
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Re: Re: Science = Witchcraft
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Re: What this leads to
They give "updated probabilities for earthquakes of magnitude 6.7 or greater in the next 30 years".
More fun is this page on predicting "100% Chance of an Earthquake"...
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The story is rather different ...
From memory, I recall at least one scientist had predicted the earthquake to be not too distant in the future and went public with it after being repeatedly dismissed by the authorities, which stuck to the concept that earthquakes cannot be predicted.
Following the clamour, the government attacked the scientist on all media and discredited him, convincing the masses that there was nothing to fear. I believe the two scientists named above were at the forefront of the campaign. However, it was later exposed that part of the government knew the earthquake was going to happen and geared up to use Protezione Civile to provide aid and reconstruction help (at a price, of course...). No need to name names, we know who controls the Italian media.
Of course there's no easy way to take these people to court, hence (I think) a trial to trace the responsibilities.
For a more detailed description of the events, look for Draquila (in Italian only, AFAIK), a documentary that exposes how businesses and politicians exploited the death of many people.
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Re: This is what the world is coming to
LOL :-)
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Re: Re: Re: Can we sue
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Re: I love this!
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Also plenty of details to tell you (@Daemon_ZOGG) that your assimilation (Italian government/Judicial system) is a non sequitur.
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Re: Science = Witchcraft
... what, doesn’t anybody else listen to DVD commentaries?
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