Earthquakes 2011

[Palehorse]

[Update 8:55 p.m. ET] The U.S. Geological Survey revised its report of Tuesday's earthquake to magnitude 4.0, down from a preliminary magnitude of 4.6. The epicenter was pinpointed 4 miles west-southwest of Hollis Center, Maine, at a shallow depth of 4.2 miles.

Despite the downgrade, the quake was felt as far away as Boston, Massachusetts; Albany, New York, and even Waterbury, Connecticut, according to the USGS.

[Locutus]

Earthquake experts around the world say they are appalled by an Italian court's decision to convict six scientists on manslaughter charges for failing to predict the deadly quake that devastated the city of L'Aquila. They warned the ruling could severely harm future scientific research.

The court in L'Aquila sentenced the scientists and a government official Monday to six years in prison, ruling that they didn't accurately communicate the risk of the earthquake in 2009 that killed more than 300 people.

The trial centered on a meeting a week before the 6.3-magnitude quake struck. At the meeting, the experts determined that it was "unlikely" but not impossible that a major quake would take place, despite concern among the city's residents over recent seismic activity.

Full article from CNN here

[Locutus]

The Italian justice system seems a bit out of kilter.  They're convicting scientists for not predicting earthquakes.  The effects of this ruling on the scientific community in that country could be chilling. 

[The Troll]

The Italian justice system seems a bit out of kilter.  They're convicting scientists for not predicting earthquakes.  The effects of this ruling on the scientific community in that country could be chilling.

  I got the cure for this type of cluster fuck.  All scientists need to get out of any kind of predicting earthquakes.  That would take the possibility of any prosecution out any wrong prediction in Italy.  It sure would make their population safer.     Their justice system is just as stupid as yours.   

[Palehorse]

The Italian justice system seems a bit out of kilter.  They're convicting scientists for not predicting earthquakes.  The effects of this ruling on the scientific community in that country could be chilling.

Indeed, but not at all surprising to me.

My guess is they are trolling for revenue with which to replace that lost in the global economic depression!

[The Troll]

Indeed, but not at all surprising to me.

My guess is they are trolling for revenue with which to replace that lost in the global economic depression!

  That's the same thing our cops do everyday, trolling for revenue.   

[Locutus]

  That's the same thing our cops do everyday, trolling for revenue.   

It doesn't even take cops to do that anymore.  Here in Florida, there are red-light cameras everywhere that do the same thing sans the payroll expense. 

[Y]

I thought I recalled numerous court cases that were forcing the removal of the red light cam systems across the US?

[Palehorse]

I thought I recalled numerous court cases that were forcing the removal of the red light cam systems across the US?

My guess is that they quickly buried that at the bottom of the court dockets. They have them in Munice, Chicago, and several other cities I have visited recently. 

[Y]

Earthquake experts around the world say they are appalled by an Italian court's decision to convict six scientists on manslaughter charges for failing to predict the deadly quake that devastated the city of L'Aquila. They warned the ruling could severely harm future scientific research.

The court in L'Aquila sentenced the scientists and a government official Monday to six years in prison, ruling that they didn't accurately communicate the risk of the earthquake in 2009 that killed more than 300 people.

The trial centered on a meeting a week before the 6.3-magnitude quake struck. At the meeting, the experts determined that it was "unlikely" but not impossible that a major quake would take place, despite concern among the city's residents over recent seismic activity.

Full article from CNN here

That report doesn't give me all the information I'd like to know about the entire issue.

[Locutus]

I thought I recalled numerous court cases that were forcing the removal of the red light cam systems across the US?

Here in Florida, there have been numerous instances where individuals have successfully fought citations generated from the red light cameras, but none here in Florida have led to the actual removal of the red light cameras themselves. 

[Y]

My guess is that they quickly buried that at the bottom of the court dockets. They have them in Munice, Chicago, and several other cities I have visited recently. 

Here in Florida, there have been numerous instances where individuals have successfully fought citations generated from the red light cameras, but none here in Florida have led to the actual removal of the red light cameras themselves. 

I'm going to have to research that.  I think most of the cases had to do with driver identification versus the owner of the car who received the ticket and had to pay the fine.  The other cases had to do with signal and camera timing.

[Locutus]

That report doesn't give me all the information I'd like to know about the entire issue.

The article states that they were convicted because they "didn't adequately communicate risk."  That's bothersome to me because calculating earthquake risk is extremely difficult, especially if one wants to get into the specifics of exactly when one is going to occur.  For example, there is earthquake risk in the Pacific Northwest.  It's not a matter of if; it's a matter of when one is going to strike.  What legal burden (especially criminal liability) should a geologist or vulcanologist have when they don't (and can't) predict with any certainty exactly when an earthquake is going to occur, where its epicenter along a fault line may be, and how many people may be affected as a result?

While I agree that not all of of the details are likely included in that article, the overall concept just doesn't make much sense as presented in the article. 

[Palehorse]

Well the owners of the UZ don't have to worry about that. I've been predicting the burp of the New Madrid Fault line for a couple of years now! 

[Locutus]

Well the owners of the UZ don't have to worry about that. I've been predicting the burp of the New Madrid Fault line for a couple of years now! 

Well since you're into prognostications, how about this baby?