What if their astology prediction was wrong?

This really is quite crazy:

Defying assertions that earthquakes cannot be predicted, an Italian court convicted seven scientists of manslaughter Monday for failing to adequately warn residents before a temblor struck central Italy in 2009 and killed more than 300 people.

The court in L’Aquila also sentenced the defendants to six years each in prison. All are members of the national Great Risks Commission, and several are prominent scientists or experts on geological disasters.

and this is the natural consequence:

Four top Italian disaster specialists quit their posts Tuesday, saying the manslaughter convictions of former colleagues for failing to adequately warn of a deadly 2009 earthquake mean they cannot effectively perform their duties.

Why exactly would any scientist give any prediction for the Italian government if they can be prosecuted if they’re wrong?

Italy from space

So, here’s Italy from space(Credit: NASA):

Earth, Italy, and a poem

I’ve been remiss these past few weeks, but I now return with a poem and some pictures.

The first is a picture of the southern region of Italy as taken from the Space Station(both pictures are by NASA, click on the image to see it full-size):

The second is a picture of the Earth showing how much is snow covered (this was last November–snow covered regions are in white, with partially covered regions in blue). It’s interesting to learn that 40% of Earth’s land is snow covered at the peak of the northern winter.

And here’s a poem:

The lamp shade has got to go
It clutters my thoughts
I wish I could get it off
And let myself be clear.