₦airaland Forum

We can think of a lot of things that might send someone to jail, but guessing wrong about an earthquake has never been one of them. Six scientists in Italy were probably thinking the same thing until today, when a judge put them in prison for six years.

Back in the spring of 2009, a series of tremors rocked the Italian town of L'Aquila, sparking concerns that a full-blown earthquake could be on the way. To address the concerns, government officials met with a group of earth scientists to discuss the likelihood of a quake hitting the town.

The meeting took place on March 31, 2009. Scientist Enzo Boschi said at the time that a major quake was "unlikely," but also reportedly acknowledged that it was still possible. Following the meeting, Bernardo De Bernardinis, an official with the Department of Civil Protection, publicly said there was "no danger" of a major quake.

On April 6, a magnitude 6.3 quake struck the town, collapsing weak medieval buildings and killing 309 people.

In September 2011 Boschi, De Bernardinis and five of their colleagues were put on trial for their alleged involvement in the L'Aquila deaths, sparking international outrage in the scientific community.

"Our ability to predict earthquake hazards is, frankly, lousy," Seth Stein, a professor of Earth sciences at Northwestern University in Illinois, told LiveScience last year. "Criminalizing something would only make sense if we really knew how to do this and someone did it wrong."

Despite the outcry, the trial continued, and on Monday Judge Marco Billi found the six scientists and De Bernardinis guilty of multiple manslaughter. They were sentenced to six years each, sparking more public outrage.

"I hope the Italians realize how backwards they are in this L'Aquila trial and its verdict," said Erik Klemetti, an assistant professor of geosciences at Denison University in Ohio. Klemetti also said the verdict sets a "terrible precedent."

So remember, if you're a scientist and you decide to speak publicly about a possible natural disaster, the Italians might want to throw you in jail for it later.

Egba girl: iPad Mini.

eazyd: Apple unveiled an Ipad mini today--where the heck do you get your gist from

Egba girl: He meant to say mini not 4. forgive him. lol

thelastPope: For your mind! Lol

thelastPope: I wasn't expecting an endorsement! Lol

thelastPope: Most of you support Obama simply because he is black. If you take away your black tinted glasses, it is clear he is a disaster. He is just a sleeky talker! Lol

davades: And what's meaning of Mazacar ?

thelastPope: Ghadafi is not an achievement. Its a mistake by America and its already showing!

Bimfo: Lets go Lads(MATA, HAZARD, OSCAR......... #Mazacar)

Goldieluks:
That is why it is a reference in the first place. There's nothing pedestrian about it.

Goldieluks: I hope he doesn't win, because excellent presidency is not measured by "talking" but by "actions". George Bush was a splendid speaker, but still he wasn't able to fish out the world most dreadful terrorist ( Usama Bin Laden) but Obama was able to solve that mystery during his tenure, and that of Gadaffi's.

Four years is not enough to change the American system for 'good'. Let's cut Obama some slack by adding another four years to his rulership. Hopefully there would be a change.

ogugua88: It was Ohio in 2004 though lol.

shymexx: What's Obama's approval ratings right now?

How many present governors have a better approval rating?

shymexx: I know why you feel that way...

However, he used to be a governor there and he achieved a lot as a governor..

nitlad: Romney is a foreign policy disaster... His error-strewn European Tour comes to mind... Sucker doesn't even know Ed Miliband (Leader of the Opposition in the U.K.) by name. Obama would make mince-meat of him this time around.

CFCfan: I also hope that the indiscriminate use of drones by the Obama administration would be brought up.

semid4lyfe: You mean Obama vs McCain? Mba o. . .that was not similar to this at all.

If Obama wins by a landslide, [size=2pt]I'll resign as a NL moderator. You can go ahead and quote this for posterity [/size]

I foresee a very close election, something akin to Bush vs Gore in 2000 with Romney winning the popular vote for sure and "maybe" Obama shading it in the Electoral College.

This election has got me pretty worried. I wasn't even this worried when I was contesting for Sports Sec. back in school

shymexx: You're a dyckhead!!

Can't you see that I quoted the definition in italics??

Ooop, I forgot you've got dyslexia...

shymexx: Where did I blame the 'almighty' white people on this thread? My line of argument was about not judging African Americans for woes because they live in a racist system that has systematically destroyed them - and it's going to take time before they get back on their feet... I did't blame white people for anything. but rather, explained the difficult situation AAs are in today - from their point-of-view...


And do you even know what black consciousness is?

This is what black consciousness means:

"Black Consciousness is in essence the realization by the black man of the need to rally together with his brothers around the cause of their oppression - the blackness of their skin - and to operate as a group in order to rid themselves of the shackles that bind them to perpetual servitude. It seeks to demonstrate the lie that black is an aberration from the "normal" which is white. It is a manifestation of a new realization that by seeking to run away from themselves and to emulate the white man, black are insulting the intelligence of whoever created them black. Black Consciousness, therefore takes cognizance of the deliberateness of the God's plan in creating black people black

It seeks to infuse the black community with a new-found pride in themselves, their efforts, their value systems, their culture, their religion and their outlook to life. The interrelationship between the consciousness of the self and the emancipatory programme is of a paramount importance. Blacks no longer seek to reform the system because so doing implies acceptance of the major points around which the system revolves. Blacks are out to completely transform the system and to make of it what they wish. Such a major undertaking can only be realized in an atmosphere where people are convinced of the truth inherent in their stand. Liberation therefore is of paramount importance in the concept of Black Consciousness, for we cannot be conscious of ourselves and yet remain in bondage. We want to attain the envisioned self which is a free self."

Read and understand/overstand that!

shymexx: You're waiting for me to be the saviour, no?

So, who's the coward now? At least I've saved myself and people around me from slave-mentality and I try to educate people about black consciousness - what have you done?? You go about writing in pseudo-ebonics and you want me to take you seriously, no?? Like WTF?

I'm doing fine!

shymexx: Huh?? You can't even read, nor write in English, yet you think I'm frustrated lol...

Your post don't even deserve a reply, you're too re.tarded for that...

Be honest, are you dyslexic??

shymexx: STFU! No one is blaming white people, we're just talking about policies that are holding black people down, and how we've been psychologically destroyed...

The argument is about how it's going to take time for black people to get back up, and not looking at the scheme of things from a simplistic point-of-view...