711 DEAD PLUS IN CHILE QUAKE-TSUNAMI

JACK VAN IMPE EVEN SAYS OBAMA WITH HIS 32 CZARS WILL FORCE AMERICA TO BECOME A SOCIALIST,MARXIST,COMMUNIST DICTATORSHIP.AND BEING HE IS A MUSLIM AND NOT EVEN A LEGEL AMERICAN CITZEN,BARRY SORTORO AKA BARACK OBAMA WILL TOTALLY AND IS TOTALLY DESTROYING AMERICA WITH HIS MUSLIM SYMPATHIZERS.

OBAMA WATCH CENTRAL-White House to push ACORN pet project Critics warn plan will 'sneak socialism' into U.S., cause major economic loss February 28, 2010
10:19 pm Eastern By Aaron Klein 2010 WorldNetDaily

President Obama-The White House is considering a new policy that would give an advantage in bids for billions in government contracts to companies that pay workers living wages and offer generous benefits. WND has learned the living wage campaign has long been pushed by the radical Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, and was largely initiated on a local level in the 1990s with the help of a socialist party of which evidence suggests Barack Obama was a member.

Critics warn a living wage advantage for more than $500 billion in government contracts could harm small companies, with case studies showing cities that enacted similar policies in the 1990s faced major financial losses. Business groups who oppose the plan say also it would increase government procurement costs. The Associated Press obtained documents outlining the White House plan. The documents reportedly show the government would examine the wages and benefits – such as health insurance, retirement benefits and paid leave – a firm pays its employees as a factor in the process of awarding government contracts. Another factor would be whether a contract bidder is a repeat violator of labor and employment laws. A Labor Department compliance office would compile a score on contract bidders based on the criteria and then determine which companies would get government contracts. Writing about a similar policy that was being considered in Chicago in 2003, Steven Malanga of the City Journal stated the movement sneaks socialism into cities.Malanga notes the living wage movement got its start in mid-1990s Baltimore, when a coalition of left-leaning church leaders, unionists and community activists largely led by ACORN began to push for a social compact that included a hike in the minimum wage to $6.10 – 43 percent above the federal minimum wage at the time – for service workers in hotels and other businesses in the city's redeveloped Inner Harbor, a prime tourist area. Baltimore's then-mayor Kurt Schmoke eventually signed a compromise bill that guaranteed the new $6.10 minimum for workers at any companies contracting with the city. Supporters hailed the increase as a costless victory for low-income workers.

But Baltimore's economy soon crashed, with 58,000 jobs disappearing, even as the rest of Maryland added 120,000 jobs and other cities across the country prospered. The living wage bill was just one expression of a fiercely anti-business climate that helped precipitate Baltimore's economic collapse, wrote Malanga. Another locale that enacted a living wage bill soon to see its economy burn was Milwaukee County in Wisconsin, which passed a law increasing the minimum wage only for city-contracted janitors and security guards to $6.25 an hour. That law was urged on by ACORN and the socialist New Party, which was also instrumental in lobby efforts in Baltimore. The living wage campaign was a main platform of the New Party. The New Party sought to elect members to public office with the aim of moving the Democratic Party far leftward to ultimately form a new political party with a socialist agenda. The New Party, established in 1992, took advantage of what was known as electoral fusion, which enabled candidates to run on two tickets simultaneously, attracting voters from both parties. But the New Party went defunct in 1998, one year after fusion was halted by the Supreme Court. The New Party worked closely with ACORN to promote its candidates. ACORN, convicted in massive, nationwide voter fraud cases, was a point of controversy for Obama during his campaign for president. In August, a former top member of the New Party recounted in a WND e-mail interview Obama's participation with his organization. A subcommittee met with (Obama) to interview him to see if his stand on the living wage and similar reforms was the same as ours, recalled Marxist activist Carl Davidson. We determined that our views on these overlapped, and we could endorse his campaign in the Democratic Party, Davidson said. Davidson was a Chicago member and activist within the New Party. He told WND he handled some of the New Party member databases and attending most of the party's meetings.

Davidson is also a notorious far-left activist and former radical national leader in the anti-Vietnam War movement. He served as national secretary for the infamous Students of a Democratic Society anti-war group, from which the Weather Underground domestic terrorist organization later splintered. Davidson remembers Obama attending a New Party meeting to thank attendees for voting for him. Davidson said that to his knowledge Obama was not a member of the New Party in any practical way – using qualifying language. Becoming a New Party member requires some effort on behalf of the politician. Candidates must be approved by the party's political committee and, once approved, must sign a contract mandating they will have a visible and active relationship with the party. Asked whether Obama signed the New Party contract, Davidson replied there was no need for him to do so.At the end of our session with him, we simply affirmed there was no need to do so, because on all the key points, the stand of his campaign and the New Party reform planks were practically the same, Davidson told WND. Davidson denied the New Party was specifically a socialist party, claiming,The vast majority of active members were low- and middle-income blacks in the inner city fighting for their immediate demands.But the socialist-oriented goals of the New Party were enumerated on its old website. Among the New Party's stated objectives were full employment, a shorter work week and a guaranteed minimum income for all adults; a universal social wage to include such basic benefits as health care, child care, vacation time and lifelong access to education and training; a systematic phase-in of comparable worth and like programs to ensure gender equity.The New Party stated it also sought the democratization of our banking and financial system – including popular election of those charged with public stewardship of our banking system, worker-owner control over their pension assets [and] community-controlled alternative financial institutions.Many of the New Party's founding members were Democratic Socialists of America leaders and members of Committees of Correspondence, a breakaway of the Communist Party USA. Obama attended several DSA events and meetings, including a DSA-sponsored town hall meeting Feb. 25, 1996, entitled Employment and Survival in Urban America. He sought and received an endorsement from the DSA. Asked by WND whether he thinks Obama has socialist leanings, Davidson stated,The truth is that Obama was and is a liberal Democrat and an Alinskyist community organizer – which if you know much about Alinsky, is just militant liberalism.Obama was never a man of the left, either in his views or in being a member of an actual socialist organization,added Davidson.

While running for the Illinois state Senate in 1996 as a Democrat, Obama actively sought and received the endorsement of the New Party, according to confirmed reports during the 2008 presidential campaign. Among New Party members was linguist and radical activist Noam Chomsky.

Obama listed as socialist party member

Obama's campaign in 2008 denied the then–presidential candidate was ever an actual member of the New Party.But the New Zeal blog dug up print copies of the New Party News, the party's official newspaper, which show Obama posing with New Party leaders, listing him as a New Party member and printing quotes from him as a member.
The Party's spring 1996 newspaper boasted: New Party members won three other primaries this Spring in Chicago: Barack Obama (State Senate), Michael Chandler (Democratic Party Committee) and Patricia Martin (Cook County Judiciary).The paper quoted Obama saying,These victories prove that small 'd' democracy can work.The newspaper lists other politicians it endorsed who were not members but specifies Obama as a New Party member. New Ground, the newsletter of Chicago's Democratic Socialists of America, reported in its July/August 1996 edition that Obama attended a New Party membership meeting April 11, 1996, in which he expressed his gratitude for the group's support and encouraged NPers (New Party members) to join in his task forces on voter education and voter registration.With additional research by Brenda J. Elliott.

COMMENTS ON BARRY SOTORO OR AKA BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA.MYSELF I THINK THE NEW WORLD ORDER IS BLACKMAILING OBAMA WITH THIS LEGEL CITIZENSHIP AND BIRTH CERTIFICATE ISSUE TO BRING DOWN AMERICAN AND FORCE THEM INTO THE EUROPEAN UNION LEAD ONE WORLD IMF,BANKER LEAD GOVERNMENT OF TOTAL DICTATORSHIP.TO PUT IT BLUNTLY OBAMA-SOTORO IS JUST A PUPPET OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER.I MIGHT ADD SOTORO-OBAMA IS 50% WHITE,44% ARAB & 6% BLACK.

Resolved Question Who is Barry Sortero?
Barack Obama ,Barry Soetoro ,Barry Obama ,Barack Hussein Obama Jr/2nd
How many names does he have and why? by Starligh... Member since:

-Barry Sotoro is not an American born, he was born in Kenya he is an Indonesian citizen, by adoption!

-Sortero is his step-fathers name, who adopted BO and they lived as a family in Indonesia. He, BO, had to be adopted for only Indonesian citizens are allowed to attend school and he did attend school. He used that name until his trip to Kenya to get to know who his father was.

-He has one name: Barack Obama. Like 50% of Americans, his parents divorced and his mother remarried Mr. Sortero. This isn't rocket science, dear.

-Half of America(50% OF THE LEGITIMATE CITIZENS) would like to know why. The other half seems to be content on just believing his comforting lies.

EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH

GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

EARTHQUAKES

MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

Chilean troops patrol quake-stricken towns By Mario Naranjo – MAR 1,10

CONCEPCION, Chile (Reuters) – Chile's government scrambled on Monday to provide aid to thousands of homeless people in coastal towns devastated by a massive earthquake and tsunamis, as 10,000 troops patrolled to quell looting.The 8.8 magnitude quake on Saturday killed 711 people and the death toll was expected to rise further as harrowing scenes of destruction emerged in isolated towns swamped by giant waves triggered by one of the strongest quakes in a century.Many people were still missing in some communities in the worst-hit central region of Chile, which remained largely cut off by mangled highways and fallen telephone lines.Surging waves ruined houses and smashed cars in fishing villages on the country's long Pacific coast. In the town of Constitucion alone, 350 people were reported to have died and a public gym was turned into a makeshift morgue.The tsunami destroyed almost everything on the seafront (and) the center of the town was completely destroyed. This means lots of people still haven't been accounted for, Constitucion Mayor Hugo Tilleria told state television, surrounded by the twisted wreckage of flattened homes.A curfew went into effect overnight in the Maule region and the heavily damaged town of Concepcion, where hundreds of looters ransacked stores for food and other goods. Looting also broke out in parts of the capital, Santiago.We don't have water or anything. No one has appeared with help and we need more police to keep order. There are many people here who are robbing, said a 78-year-old woman who identified herself as Ana in the badly hit city of Talca, 155 miles south of Santiago.In Concepcion, angry survivors camping along roads took out their frustration on firefighters who were distributing drinking water in thermoses and tea kettles, damaging their vehicles. Police arrested scores of people for looting and violating the curfew.

MARKET IMPACT

Copper prices surged to a five-week high in early trading due to supply worries, jumping 5.6 percent to $7,600 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange before easing to $7,385. Mining stocks rallied on copper's gains.The markets may help clarify the extent of the economic impact on Latin America's most developed country and the world's biggest copper exporter.Damage from the quake could cost up to $30 billion, equivalent to about 15 percent of Chile's gross domestic product, said Eqecat, a firm that helps insurers model catastrophe risks.Chile's biggest copper mines affected by the quake slowly resumed operations, but analysts said limited power supplies could curtail exports and further lift copper prices. Two oil refineries remained closed, buoying the gas oil market.The nation's fourth-largest copper mine, El Teniente, which accounts for more than 7 percent of national output, resumed operations on Sunday. The nearby Andina mine was also due to resume operations, but analysts feared power outages could still affect output.Anglo-American said three of its Chilean mines had resumed operations and Antofagasta's Pelambres mines also resumed production.Chile's peso currency tumbled more than 1 percent in opening trade on concerns over the extent of the impact on what is considered Latin America's best-run economy.Some economists predicted a deep impact on Chile's economy after the quake damaged industrial and agricultural sectors in the worst-hit regions, but said the country's solid fiscal position would help reconstruction efforts.Chile has ample resources abroad to help finance the cost of its rebuilding efforts, a Credit Suisse briefing note said. Alternatively, it should be in a comfortable position to tap external and/or local debt markets.Japan said it was providing an emergency grant of $3 million, as well as sending tents, generators, water cleaners and other emergency gear, while China pledged $1 million. (Additional reporting by Simon Gardner and Alonso Soto in Santiago; Writing by Stuart Grudgings and Helen Popper; Editing by Paul Simao)

Chile troops, police attack post-quake looting By MICHAEL WARREN and EVA VERGARA, Associated Press Writers – MAR 1,10

CONCEPCION, Chile – Security forces said Monday they arrested dozens of people for violating curfew after looters sacked virtually every market in this hard-hit city and Chile's earthquake toll surpassed 700. President Michelle Bachelet promised imminent deliveries of food, water and shelter for thousands living on the streets.
We are confronting an emergency without parallel in Chile's history, Bachelet declared Sunday, a day after the magnitude-8.8 quake — one of the biggest in centuries — killed at least 708 people and destroyed or badly damaged 500,000 homes. Bachelet said a growing number of people were recorded as missing.The governor of the Concepcion region, Jaime Toha, said troops and police arrested 55 people overnight for violating a curfew imposed to halt looting.Some coastal towns just to the north of Concepcion were almost obliterated, first shaken by the quake, then slammed by a tsunami that lifted whole houses and carried them inland and that reduced others to piles of sticks.In Concepcion itself, firefighters were seeking survivors in a toppled apartment building, a day after they had to pause because of tear gas fired at looters who wheeled away everything from microwave ovens to canned milk at a damaged supermarket across the street.Ingenious looters used long tubes of bamboo and plastic to siphon gasoline from underground tanks at a closed gasoline station.Eduardo Aundez, a Spanish professor, watched with disgust as a soldier patiently waited for looters to rummage through a downtown store, then lobbed two tear gas canisters into the rubble to get them out.I feel abandoned by authorities, he said.We believe the government didn't take the necessary measures in time, and now supplies of food and water are going to be much more complicated.Looters even carted off pieces of a copper statue of South American independence fighter Bernardo O'Higgins next to a justice building.Efforts to determine the full scope of destruction were undermined by an endless string of terrifying aftershocks that turned more buildings into rubble — and forced thousands to set up tents in parks and grassy highway medians.If you're inside your house, the furniture moves, said Monica Aviles, pulling a shawl around her shoulders to ward off the cold as she sat next to a fire across the street from her apartment building.

As if to punctuate her fear, an aftershock set off shuddering and groaning sounds for blocks around.That's why we're here, she said.In another part of the city, eight Peruvian families shared a four-story building — the bravest living inside the cracked building, the others in tents out front.We've received help from the neighbors, from passing taxis and from other people who have offered us a coat or something to eat, said Samantha Fernandez, who offered space to boyfriend Jose Luis Jacinto after he fled his room during after the quake.Bachelet signed a decree giving the military control over security in the provinces of Concepcion and Maule and announced a 9 p.m.-6 a.m. curfew for all non-emergency workers.She ordered troops to help deliver food, water and blankets and clear rubble from roads, and she urged power companies to restore service first to hospitals, health clinics and shelters. Field hospitals were planned for hard-hit Concepcion, Talca and Curico.
Bachelet also ordered authorities to quickly identify the dead and return them to their families to ensure the dignified burials that they deserve.Bachelet, who leaves office March 11, said Chile needs field hospitals and temporary bridges, water purification plants and damage assessment experts — as well as rescuers to help relieve exhausted workers. Defense Minister Francisco Vidal acknowledged the navy made a mistake by not immediately activating a tsunami warning after the quake hit before dawn Saturday. Port captains in several coastal towns did, saving what Vidal called hundreds of lives. Thirty minutes passed between the quake and a wave that inundated coastal towns. The quake damaged houses, bridges and highways in Santiago, the capital, though a few flights managed to land at the airport and subway service resumed. Concepcion's airport remained closed to commercial traffic.

Rescuers searched for an estimated 60 people trapped inside a new, 15-story apartment building that toppled onto its side in Concepcion. Firefighters were lowering a rescuer deep into the rubble when tear gas fired at looters across the street forced them to pause their efforts. Police officer Jorge Guerra took names of the missing from tearful relatives and friends. There are people alive. There are several people who are going to be rescued,he said — though the next people pulled from the wreckage were dead. The sound of chain saws, power drills and sledgehammers mixed with the whoosh of a water cannon fired at looters and the shouts of crowds that found new ways into a four-story supermarket each time police retreated. Some looters threw rocks at armored police vehicles outside the Lider market, which is majority-owned by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Across the Bio Bio River in the city of San Pedro, looters cleared out a shopping mall. A video store was set ablaze, two automatic teller machines were broken open, a bank was robbed and a supermarket emptied, its floor littered with mashed plums, scattered dog food and smashed liquor bottles.They looted everything, said police Sgt. Rene Gutierrez, 46. Now we're only here to protect the building — what's left of the building.The quake generated waves that lashed coastal settlements, leaving behind sticks, scraps of metal and masonry houses ripped in two. A beachside carnival in the village of Lloca was swamped in the tsunami. A carousel was twisted on its side and a Ferris wheel rose above the muddy wreckage. Adobe buildings in Talca's town center were flattened. State television showed scenes of devastation in coastal towns and on Robinson Crusoe Island, where it said the tsunami drove almost 2 miles (3 kilometers) into the town of San Juan Bautista. Officials said at least five people were killed there and more were missing.

Bus terminals overflowed with vacationers in Chile's provinces trying to check on their homes. Chile's summer vacation period ends Monday. In Washington, the State Department urged Americans to avoid tourist and other nonessential travel to Chile. U.S. citizens in Chile were asked to contact family and friends in the United States, whether by telephone, Internet or cell-phone text messaging. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton planned to briefly visit Santiago on Tuesday as part of a five-nation Latin America trip. Associated Press writers Carlos Cisternas and Eduardo Gallardo in Santiago contributed to this report.

Japan apologises for major tsunami alert by Kyoko Hasegawa – Mon Mar 1, 4:56 am ET

TOKYO (AFP) – Japanese authorities admitted Monday they may have been over-zealous in issuing their first major tsunami alert in more than 15 years for a wave that ended up causing almost no damage.The agency's tsunami forecasts turned out to be a bit too big. I'd like to apologise for the prolonged alerts, Yasuo Sekita, the Meteorological Agency official in charge of earthquakes and tsunamis, told a news conference.Authorities on Sunday ordered more than half a million people to evacuate seaside areas and predicted that the tsunami sparked by Chile's massive earthquake might top three metres (10 feet) by the time it reached Japan.When other Pacific-Rim nations had sounded the all-clear, Japanese officials were still issuing warnings, as television stations provided non-stop live coverage with their cameras focused on the calm ocean.When the tsunami arrived early on Sunday afternoon, it was just 30 centimetres (one foot) high. Waves up to 1.2 metres high later inundated some port areas, but caused no injuries or major property damage.One disaster prevention expert, Hirotada Hirose, said he feared that warnings by the disaster prevention authorities are losing credibility among the people.Cautious to the end, Japan's Meteorological Agency maintained its last regional tsunami alerts until 10:15 am (0115 GMT) on Monday, after tens of thousands of people had spent the night in evacuation shelters.But many Japanese would say authorities are right to err on the side of caution. Japan is a world leader in disaster preparedness, for good reason.

The island-nation of 128 million people, located at the intersection of several tectonic plates and dotted with active volcanoes, is hit by about 20 percent of the world's most powerful earthquakes.In the last major quake, in Kobe in 1995, about 6,400 people died.Greater Tokyo, with 35 million people, is waiting for The Big One, a monster quake of the scale of the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake that killed more than 140,000 people, many of whom were burnt to death in wooden houses.When news came Sunday of the tsunami from Chile it revived bad memories: in 1960 a 9.5-magnitude earthquake in Chile, the largest on record, sent a tsunami across the Pacific that killed more than 140 people in Japan.Experts were divided on the response to the latest quake, with some stressing that in the tsunami half a century ago the initial seawater surges were deceptively small but followed by far more deadly four-metre waves.Rather than focusing on the height of tsunamis, it's important to realise that tsunamis can be lethal even if they are 50 centimetres high. Most people could not keep their balance if a 50 centimetre tsunami hit, said Satoko Oki, assistant professor at Tokyo University's Earthquake Research Institute.

Ichiro Kawasaki, professor at Koyoto University's Research Centre for Earthquake Prediction, said it is common to issue warnings of double the size of waves predicted, given that a disaster is a matter of life and death.But Hirose, a psychologist and expert on disaster prevention at Tokyo Woman's Christian University, noted that Japan issued its highest-level tsunami warning for the first time since 1993 and kept it live long after a regional alert was lifted by the US-run Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii.The challenge for disaster prevention authorities is to convince people their warnings are serious and to nudge them to evacuate, he said, pointing out that people were fishing and skateboarding along Kobe Bay Sunday.Issuing excessive tsunami warnings is seen as the behaviour of authorities who want to avoid criticism later if any damage occurs.

Some scientists defend tsunami warnings By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writer – Mon Mar 1, 1:03 am ET

HONOLULU – The warning was ominous, its predictions dire: Oceanographers issued a bulletin telling Hawaii and other Pacific islands that a killer wave was heading their way with terrifying force and that urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property.But the devastating tidal surge predicted after Chile's magnitude 8.8-earthquake for areas far from the epicenter never materialized. And by Sunday, authorities had lifted the warning after waves half the predicted size tickled the shores of Hawaii and tourists once again jammed beaches and restaurants.Scientists acknowledged they overstated the threat but many defended their actions, saying they took the proper steps and learned the lessons of the 2004 Indonesian tsunami that killed thousands of people who didn't get enough warning.It's a key point to remember that we cannot under-warn. Failure to warn is not an option for us, said Dai Lin Wang, an oceanographer at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii. We cannot have a situation that we thought was no problem and then it's devastating. That just cannot happen.Hundreds of thousands of people fled shorelines for higher ground Saturday in a panic that circled the Pacific Rim after scientists warned 53 nations and territories that a tsunami had been generated by the massive Chilean quake.It was the largest-scale evacuation in Hawaii in years, if not decades. Emergency sirens blared throughout the day, the Navy moved ships out of Pearl Harbor, and residents hoarded gasoline, food and water in anticipation of a major disaster. Some supermarkets even placed limits on items like Spam because of the panic buying.At least five people were killed by the tsunami on Robinson Crusoe Island off Chile's coast and huge waves devastated the port city of Talcahuano, near hard-hit Concepcion on Chile's mainland.But the threat of monster waves that left Hawaii's sun-drenched beaches empty for hours never appeared — a stark contrast to the tidal surge that killed 230,000 people around the Indian Ocean in 2004 and flattened entire communities.This time, waves of more than 5 feet were reported in Kahului Bay in Maui and in Hilo, on the eastern coast of Hawaii's Big Island, but did little damage. Predictions of wave height in some areas were off by as much as 50 percent.

In Tonga, where up to 50,000 people fled inland hours ahead of the tsunami, the National Disaster Office had reports of a wave up to 6.5 feet hitting a small northern island, with no indications of damage.And in Japan, where authorities ordered 400,000 people out of coastal communities, the biggest wave was a 4-foot surge that hit the northern island of Hokkaido, flooding some piers.A Japanese official offered an apology to those affected after the government had warned that waves of up to 10 feet (three meters) could hit some northern regions.The tsunami estimates of the Meteorological Agency were too large, and so I'd like to apologize to individuals that were evacuated or inconvenienced,Sekita Yasuo, an official at the agency, told reporters Monday.He said the agency compared its estimates to those from abroad and chose the larger of the two, leading to the overzealous forecasts, and that he wanted to improve accuracy in the future.After the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center lifted its warning, some countries kept their own watches in place as a precaution. Early Monday, the Japan Meteorological Agency warned of a possible tsunami about a foot and a half in size along its entire Pacific coast and told people to stay away from the waterfront. That warning was cleared later Monday morning.But scientists offered no apologies for the warnings and defended their work, all while worrying that the false alarm could lead to complacency among coastal residents — a disastrous possibility in the earthquake-prone Pacific Rim.A similar quake in Chile in 1960 created a tsunami that killed about 140 people in Japan. The same surge hit Hawaii and devastated downtown Hilo, on the Big Island, killing 61 residents and wiping out more than 500 homes and businesses.If you give too many warnings and none of them materialize, then you lose your credibility, Wang said.That's something that we have to deal with and we have to improve.Despite some of the panic in Hawaii, public officials called the evacuation perfect and said it was a good test case that proved the system worked.Chaos was at a minimum as people heeded evacuation orders and roads were free of the gridlock that can paralyze a region before a disaster. The smooth response occurred largely because the state had so long to prepare; Hawaii is nearly 7,000 miles from where the quake hit, and it took 15 hours for the tsunami to arrive.I hope everyone learned from this for next time, and there will be a next time,said Gerard Fryer, a geophysicist for the warning center.

The science of predicting tsunamis is difficult, given the vast size of the ocean and the volatile forces at work miles below the surface. Scientists use an earthquake's magnitude and location as the basis for their predictions and then refine it constantly with data from more than 30 deep-water sensors stationed across the Pacific as the shock wave sweeps across the ocean floor. The sensors, located at 15,000 to 20,000 feet beneath the surface, measure the weight of the water and beam it to buoys floating on the surface. Scientists then use the data to calculate the tsunami's wave height in the open ocean as it progresses toward shallower waters.
Coastal inundation models based on topographic mapping add another layer of analysis, helping scientists make assumptions about how the surge will behave in shallower waters and how it might affect shoreline communities. There are all sorts of assumptions that we make in trying to figure out how big the waves are going to be. If we can avoid some of those assumptions, maybe we can do a better job, said Fryer.If this event happened tomorrow, even with this knowledge, we would be forced to do the exact same thing.Those models could be more accurate if scientists had more deep-water sensors and could build coastal inundation models for vast parts of the Pacific Rim where the topography hasn't yet been well-surveyed, Wang said.

Because complete data doesn't exist for every coastal area, scientists must play it safe in their wave predictions, he said. Even for Hawaii, we only have a forecast for less than 10 locations, we don't have inundation models for every coastal point in Hawaii and it's the same story for the U.S. mainland, Wang said.We've got to be a little conservative. One point doesn't tell you that's going to be the maximum everywhere else.In areas where inundation models exist, scientists' predictions were close to accurate, Wang said. Residents and tourists alike in Hawaii said they weren't bothered by the evacuation and supported the scientists' actions — even though the waves never showed up. Eugene Okamoto, 33, said he came to Honolulu from Hilo to visit some tourist attractions with his father and was disappointed the two had to cancel their plans because of the evacuation orders. But Okamoto said his family understands the tsunami threat better than most because some of his relatives lived through the tidal surge in 1960. They remember how the water was sucked down the beach moments before the wave hit. My uncle was on the top floor when all the water washed away and all the kids ran out to grab the fish and before they could get back, the wave came. He was way up top, he saw all his friends get washed away and none of them were found, ever,Okamoto said, as he sat with his father in a hotel lobby. They did the right thing.Associated Press Writer Jaymes Song contributed to this report.

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

Nearly 200K without power after Northeast storm By CLARKE CANFIELD, Associated Press Writer – 8:15AM MAR 1,10

PORTLAND, Maine – Nearly 200,000 homes and businesses were still without power Monday as restoration efforts continued days after a slow-moving storm battered the Northeast with heavy snow, rain and high winds.More than 83,000 utility customers still lacked electricity early Monday in New Hampshire, the hardest-hit state. New York had about 87,000 outages, and Maine had about 16,000.At the peak of the storm, more than a million utility customers throughout the region had lost power.Hundreds of utility crews from as far away as Michigan and Maryland continued removing trees that knocked down power lines and replacing utility poles that snapped during last week's storm.Dozens of shelters provided warmth and food at fire departments, schools and other places.Even after spending three nights at a shelter in New Paltz, N.Y., 28-year-old Keith Crum of Marlboro, N.Y., said he was understanding of the ongoing power outage. He recently moved back to the area from South Carolina, where he worked cutting trees away from power lines.They're trying to do the best they can with the power, he said.You got to take into account there are a lot of lines down.

Bryan Bush lost electricity Thursday, but he used a power generator he owns to turn the lights back on in his home in Kittery, Maine. Neighbors without that option have been stopping in for showers, warmth and cups of coffee.But with three utility poles still down in front of his house and wires crossing his driveway, he wasn't too confident about getting power back anytime soon.I wouldn't expect much before the middle or the end of the week, he said.Deep snow in New York has made it hard for people to get around.A lot of people cannot honestly get out of their house and get to the shelters, said John-Anthony Bruno, executive director of the Ulster County, N.Y., chapter of the American Red Cross.A lot of people are resourceful, she added. If their neighbor has power, they go down the street rather than shelter with us.In southern New York, the weather was linked to a death in Warwick, where a 60-year-old man was found dead after he went outside to shovel snow on Friday, said Walter Koury, the Orange County emergency services commissioner.Governors in New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts visited storm-struck areas Sunday to meet with emergency responders and view storm damage. Officials said it could be several days before power is fully restored in New Hampshire, while Maine's largest utility hoped to restore power to all of its customers by the end of Monday.In New Hampshire, Gov. John Lynch activated 50 National Guard members who went door-to-door in Allenstown on Sunday to check on residents without power.This continues to be a difficult situation for many New Hampshire families and I continue to urge people to put their safety first, Lynch said.The storm dumped more than 2 feet of snow in New York, dropped 8 inches of rain in southern Maine and brought wind gusts of up to 92 mph off the New Hampshire coast. Another storm, this one from the east, was expected to bring more snow and rain into parts of New England on Sunday night into Monday.
Maine stood to get the brunt of the latest front with 3 to 6 inches of snow expected in much of the state, and lesser amounts in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, said Michael Cempa, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Gray, Maine. Associated Press writers Cristian Salazar in New York City; Stephen Singer in Hartford, Conn.; and Glenn Adams in Augusta, Maine, contributed to this report.

Europe storm death toll at 59; France hardest hit By JENNY BARCHFIELD, Associated Press Writer – MAR 1,10

PARIS – Thousands of firefighters and other rescue workers searched house by house Monday along France's devastated Atlantic coast, trying to help those still stranded by a storm that smashed sea walls and killed at least 59 people across western Europe.The storm, called Xynthia, blew into France early Sunday with hurricane-force winds, flooding ports, destroying homes and leaving 1 million households without electricity. It also battered Belgium, Portugal, Spain and parts of Germany and snarled train and air travel throughout the continent.French President Nicolas Sarkozy toured the worst-hit areas Monday, the coastal regions of Vendee and Charente-Maritime, and pledged euro3 million ($4 million) in emergency aid.The French death toll from the storm rose to 48 on Monday, and Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux told France-Info radio it would doubtless increase. The spokesman for France's emergency services, Lt. Col. Patrick Vailli, said nine people were still missing and scores more were wounded.The storm also caused six deaths in Germany — including a 2-year-old boy who drowned after he was blown into a river. Three people were dead in Spain, and Belgium and Portugal had one fatality each.France's railways had major delays and cancellations continued Monday at Frankfurt airport — one of Europe's most important hubs.

Sarkozy flew over flooded areas and met with locals in the coastal town of L'Aiguillon-sur-Mer, where sea walls collapsed, allowing ocean waters to surge to the roofs of some homes. The French president promised to declare a natural disaster area and quickly channel the recovery funds.Local officials say the extensive damage underscores the urgent need to upgrade France's aging sea walls and more strictly enforce coastal building codes.The sea wall that broke dated from (the era) of Napoleon, Philippe de Villiers, a far-right politician who heads the regional government in Vendee, told France-Info. Either we build (new) sea walls, in which case they need to be taller and taller ... or we have to build further inland.In Portugal's Azores islands, a flash flood swept a school bus off a road. The driver and one child are missing on Sao Miguel, one of the archipelago's nine islands.The Azores islands lie 900 miles (1,450 kilometers) west of mainland Portugal in the Atlantic Ocean.

Dozens dead in storm-battered Europe by Christian Gauvry – Mon Mar 1, 5:16 am ET

L'AIGUILLON-SUR-MER, France (AFP) – Rescue teams were out in force on Monday after the fiercest winter storm in years left at least 56 dead in western Europe, with France by far the worst hit.France's Atlantic seaboard was pummelled by the storm dubbed Xynthia, which unleashed gale force winds and torrential rains on Sunday, prompting the government to declare a national emergency.The toll in France rose to 47 dead and at least 30 missing on Monday and more than half a million homes were without power in the deadliest storm to have battered France since 1999, officials said.At least four people died in neighbouring Germany, three in Spain, one in Portugal and one in Belgium.More than 9,000 French firefighters and emergency workers backed by helicopters were deployed on Monday to try to reach stranded residents, mostly in the Vendee and Charente regions of western France.Rescue teams took to boats to reach flooded houses whose residents were reported missing in the town of L'Aiguillon-sur-Mer. Hundreds of families slept overnight in shelters set up in schools and dance halls.

About 30 people were admitted to hospital, regional officials said.President Nicolas Sarkozy was on Monday to visit the storm-battered coast, where eight-metre (26-foot) waves sent residents scurrying onto rooftops and the wind reached speeds of 150 kilometres per hour (93 mph).Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux said the storm was particularly deadly because it hit at night.It's obvious that if this had happened during the day, the death toll would not have been disastrous, because people were taken by surprise during their sleep, Hortefeux said on France Info radio.Resident Fabrice Petit du Bosquet said: I managed with my girlfriend to climb on the roof, through the window because the water was rising fast. It was five o'clock in the morning.We tried to move our stuff up to to the mezzanine but then I decided that we should go on the roof. We had been waiting on the roof for one hour when we spotted our landlord in a boat and he helped us get out.The European Union said it was ready to offer support for the countries affected by the storm and France said it would seek help to pay for recovery operations.French farms and fisheries were hard hit and Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Marie promised compensation from a national disaster relief fund.Some 500,000 homes were still without electricity on Monday morning after the storm caused a black-out in one million households, the ERDF electricity supplier said.Commerce minister Herve Novelli said small businesses would receive 10,000 euros (14,000 dollars) in aid to help them cover the costs of repairs in storm-hit areas.

Air traffic began returning to normal at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport on Sunday evening, a spokesman said, after around a quarter of flights were cancelled during the day.Winds of 175 kilometres per hour were recorded at the tip of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, but Xynthia fell short of the record 200-kph levels of a deadly 1999 storm system which killed 92 people. Shortly after 5:00 pm (1600 GMT) Sunday, state forecaster Meteo France said the storm had passed into Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands, and there were reports of high winds in the Swiss Alps. In Germany police said four people had been killed, most of them by falling trees. In Spain authorities said Sunday that two men died when their car was hit by a falling tree while an 82-year-old woman was killed Saturday when a wall collapsed. Portugal said Saturday that a 10-year-old boy was killed by a falling branch and flood waters continued to rise on Sunday. Its northern cities of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia issued flood warnings as the Douro river threatened to break its banks.A man in his sixties was killed by a falling tree in Belgium, and emergency services were called out repeatedly to deal with fallen power lines.

DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADE BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).

Germany attacks UK over EU diplomatic service
ANDREW RETTMAN Today MON MAR 1,10 @ 09:22 CET

Germany has in a leaked diplomatic note attacked what it sees as the UK's attempt to dominate the EU's emerging External Action Service. The confidential foreign ministry document,Excessive GB participation is evident,the note says. Over-proportionate GB influence on the establishment and staffing is to be avoided.The External Action Service (EAS) is to be headed by the EU's new foreign policy chief, British official Catherine Ashton, in a deal struck by member states last November.Ms Ashton is currently drafting a proposal on the shape of the diplomatic corps with the help of a high-level steering group. The paper is due in April with no decisions made yet on top appointments. But the steering group itself has three British officials on its 13-strong team, compared to just one German.Ms Ashton's private office, or cabinet in Brussels terms, is led by a former UK diplomat, James Morrison.

Meanwhile, another series of Brits is waiting in the wings to take over key elements of the EAS architecture: the EU commission's existing head of foreign delegations, Patrick Child; the chief of the EU Council's military committee, David Leakey; and the head of its intelligence-sharing bureau, William Shapcott.The British roll-call was offset on Friday (26 February) by Ms Ashton's appointment of Denmark's ambassador to the EU, Poul Skytte Christoffersen, as a special advisor on the EAS.
But her relative inexperience and her regular trips to the UK, where she has her family home, have aggravated fears that she is open to manipulation by London.While the over-arching proposal on the diplomatic corps has yet to be submitted to member states, Ms Ashton's team last week began circulating vision papers for the service.
One of the documents, seen by EUobserver, says the EAS will help to make the EU common foreign and security policy a reality on the ground.We need to organise to be heard: if we are able to act in a unified way on the world stage, we can safeguard our interests. If not, others will make decisions for us,it adds.The paper envisages having desks for all countries and regions (regional organisations) in the world, as well as specialised units for human rights, democracy and security and defence.The EAS is also to field its own security service and a strong and substantive media operation including internet-based communications on Twitter and Facebook.

US diplomat soothes EU nerves after summit debacle ANDREW RETTMAN
Today MAR 1,10 @ 09:13 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The US ambassador to the EU has brushed aside speculation that the ascendance of China or confusion arising from the Lisbon Treaty have undermined the special relationship between the two sides.Focusing on the EU's importance in the areas of security and crisis-relief, the ambassador, William E. Kennard, told EUobserver in an interview: Anytime anything dramatic happens in the world ...the world looks to what the US and the EU are going to do.We have with the EU and its member states a shared history and a shared sense of values that we don't have with any other large bloc of people,he said.The US and the EU collectively represent 800 million democratically-elected people, and so when issues arise, whether it's of human rights violations or the need to bring stability to troubled parts of the world, whether it's Afghanistan or Pakistan or the Middle East, the EU is our logical partner.The diplomat underlined President Barack Obama's belief in multilateralism and progress in ties with China and Russia. But he indicated that the level of trust between the EU and US exceeds what it has with the emerging powers. We don't share the same culture, history or values with Russia, he said. It's a different category altogether.Mr Kennard arrived in Brussels in January at an awkward moment. The US at the Copenhagen climate summit in December clinched a last-minute deal on emissions with Brazil, South Africa, India and China, leaving the EU out of the room.In February, the Spanish EU presidency learned via the media that President Obama planned to skip an upcoming summit. A US spokesman at the time said Washington did not know who was in charge in Europe following passage of the Lisbon Treaty. The European Parliament subsequently compounded unease by voting down a transatlantic pact on counter-terrorism, the so-called swift agreement.

The US ambassador laid part of the responsibility for the summit debacle on Spain: We had never committed to a summit and we had never told the Spanish government that we were coming to Madrid in May. I think there may have been an assumption that we were,he said. He also hinted that the meeting was a diplomatic nicety rather than a venue for pressing decisions.All of our political leaders have incredible demands on their time, we have to be careful in deploying their time to make sure there are defined outcomes, Mr Kennard said.

Lisbon needs patience

The ambassador gave robust support to the Lisbon Treaty, however.Zooming in on Lisbon's plan to marry the European Commission's work on development with the bloc's new diplomatic corps and for closer co-operation between commission delegations and member states' embassies, he said: We think it represents an ability for the EU to project itself more effectively on the world stage and that's good for the US.He also backed the idea of greater EU military integration, such as building up rapid-response units: We recognise that our resources are not unlimited and to the extent that the EU has a capability that is complementary to Nato, that is certainly in our interests.The ambassador urged critics of Lisbon to give the transition more time.
One of the hardest things that government institutions are called upon to do is give up power. And Lisbon is fundamentally about shifting the power dynamics within the EU institutions ...It's going to take some patience, he said.I think that it [Swift] was an issue of the parliament on the one hand and the commission and Council on the other trying to establish what the institutional prerogatives will be post-Lisbon, he added.

Neuroses misplaced

In the context of EU angst on whether its new foreign relations chief, Catherine Ashton, or its US envoy, Joao Vale de Almeida, were good choices, Mr Kennard said Washington is no stranger to squabbles over appointments.But he said he was surprised by the Brussels culture of self-deprecation in the context of the EU's achievement on a historical scale.I've been struck since I've been here, how often I hear a lot of self-criticism in the EU, of the EU institutions,the ambassador told this website.The EU is one of the most remarkable institutions in the world when you think what has been created here out of the ashes of World War II, and in such a short space of time: A common market, a common currency and increasingly a common defence capability. It's absolutely remarkable.

More details anticipated on Greek bail-out
ANDREW WILLIS Today MAR 1,10 @ 09:31 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU economy commissioner Olli Rehn is to travel to Greece on Monday (1 March), fueling expectations that further Greek austerity measures in exchange for eurozone financial support could be announced as soon as this week. EU finance ministers are set to take a decision on the need for further Greek action on 16 March, although officials caution the date is too distant.A recent EU mission to Athens concluded the administration's current programme of spending cuts and revenue raising measures were not enough to reassure financial markets. Mr Rehn is set to meet a line-up of senior Greek officials during his visit, including finance minister George Papaconstantinou, economy minister Louka Katseli and labour minister Andreas Loverdos.If more measures are to be taken, they will be announced soon, Mr Katseli told state television over the weekend. Greek news reports suggested a two-percent hike in sales tax, additional benefit cuts for civil servants and possible limits on Christmas and Easter allowances, known in Greece as the 13th wage, roughly amounting to €4 billion, were in the offing. The head of the eurozone finance ministers, Luxembourgish Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, continued the tough rhetoric on Sunday, saying: Greece must step up its efforts to limit its public deficit.Greece won EU backing for its austerity package last month, but since then, officials and analysts have questioned whether the measures will successful knock four percent off the country's current budget deficit of 12.7 percent by the end of 2010, as agreed.

Bail-out preparations

Anticipation of additional Greek austerity measures has also added to speculation that EU governments could shortly announce details of a financial aid package for Greece.Greek media reports on Saturday suggested Berlin was planning to support future Greek bond issues through its state lender, KfW, with further assistance from France's Caisse des Depots. Cited bail-out figures have ranged from €20-30 billion.
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde confirmed that discussions over rescue options were taking place and could involve either private partners, or public partners - or both.I have no doubt that Greece will succeed in refinancing itself through ways that we are exploring at the moment, she told national radio on Sunday.
The timing of any agreement is still under intense negotiation however, with a meeting in Berlin this Friday between Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and German Chancellor Angela Merkel being one possible date.

EU welcomes pragmatic Ukrainian president
ANDREW RETTMAN Today MON MAR 1,10 @ 13:35 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The EU has urged Ukraine's new leader, Viktor Yanukovych, to sort out the country's political and financial mess, while putting talk of EU accession on the back-burner.European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso in Brussels on Monday (1 March) said he was delighted that Mr Yanukovych chose to make the EU capital his first post-election foreign trip, ahead of a visit to Moscow at the end of the week.You are among friends of Ukraine,the commission chief said.He gave a nod to Ukraine's stated ambition to one day join the union: I welcome this pragmatism and realism [as voiced by Mr Yanukovych in their meeting], but it is not realism and pragmatism without some European aspirations,he said. He gave away nothing new in terms of a formal recognition of Ukraine's EU accession perspective or a timetable for a visa-free travel deal, however. The EU's drive to sign an EU-Ukraine Association Agreement and free trade deal in the next year is the union's most far-reaching offer,Mr Barroso said.Regarding the prospects of accession, we have always stated that instead of discussing possible dates ...it is much more important now to focus on reforms that are needed to bring Ukraine closer to Europe and de facto integrated in our economic system.The two sides agreed that if Ukraine meets International Monetary Fund criteria on economic reform, the commission will "unlock" an extra €500 million in financial aid.

For his part, the Ukrainian President said he would press ahead with the EU free trade deal and would respect a March 2009 international agreement to modernise the country's gas sector. Post-election remarks by Mr Yanukovych's aides had indicated that he may take Ukraine into a customs union with Russia and invite Russia's Gazprom to take control of gas pipelines, scuppering the EU trade and gas pacts.But in contrast to his Russia-hostile predecessor, Viktor Yushchenko, who urged the EU to make promises on accession at almost every high-level meeting, Mr Yanukovych instead pledged to rebuild relations with Moscow and sounded lukewarm on enlargement. When the time comes [to talk about accession], we will see. Today we cannot stress the time frame. We can only say that we are ready to solve certain pilot projects, projects in specific areas of our relations, he said.Mr Yanukovych's election victory last month signaled a symbolic reversal of the country's 2004 Orange Revolution, which ousted him from power amid allegations of election fraud. The taciturn former lorry driver, who has served time in prison for crimes including sexual assault, is keen to dispel his reputation as a Kremlin stooge or as a puppet in the hands of Ukraine's oligarchs, such as fellow political party member and the country's richest man, Rinat Akhmetov.His business backers are equally keen for the new leader to press ahead with practical EU-oriented reforms, while leaving talk of geopolitical allegiance to one side, however.Asked by EUobserver on Monday what EU officials should be urging Mr Yanukovych to do to help put the country back on its feet, Yuriy Ryzenkhov, the chief operating officer of Akhemtov energy firm Dtek, said: To bring about political stability, to make reforms - business will do the rest.

EU parliament closes tender for body scanners
VALENTINA POP Today MAR 1,10 @ 07:33 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – The European Parliament on Monday afternoon will close the bidding procedure for its six body scanners, with the winning tender set to be announced on 12 March. The machines, which were acquired in 2005 and never used, are put up for sale at a minimum price of €65,000, roughly half the price they were bought for. Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, the EU legislature's administration quietly decided to acquire these scanners for €725,730, at the recommendation of an external consultant. Last year, the machines became a bit of an embarrassment for the parliament, when MEPs found out about the purchase. Only a few months earlier, they had opposed a bill allowing an EU-wide roll out of body scanners airports, arguing that they offer a virtual strip search. But they were unaware of the existence of those same devices in their own basement. The scanners were subsequently put up for sale at the end of January.
A public viewing mid-February failed to attract scores of potential clients, especially since even for professionals, the devices are outdated technology, Jean-Pascal Rihoux from the Parliament's security service told this website.Now they are using more modern models. This same type is used in Afghanistan for military purposes, and in Pakistan as well, Mr Rihoux said.The closet-like metal boxes use soft x-rays to portray the exact shape and features of one's body, displaying any weapons, metal or plastic items which could be used as explosives.You don't see the details, but you see if it's a man or a woman – and of course there is some very personal data,the official admitted, while adding that there was no way a scanner could be created without showing specific body parts.As for the impact on one's health, Mr Rihoux said the Rapiscan Secure 1000 were using the same x-ray technology deployed for normal medical scans. But those are much stronger, you see through the body. These rays are some 1000 times lower than the medical x-rays. Of course, x-rays are still x-rays, they still have an impact on your body,he explained.On the EU's official tender website, the device is advertised as being the only commercially available system for identifying metal, plastic and ceramic weapons on someone's body. The next step, security officials fear, could be explosive implants underneath the skin which elude the scanners' scrutiny.

Rules for scanners

A second attempt to establish EU-wide rules for the use of such scanners in airports may pass this year in the European Parliament, foiling the foiled attempt to blow up a plane on a transatlantic plane departing from Amsterdam.But privacy-concerned MEPs point to the fact that despite increasingly intrusive security measures, terrorist attempts are made possible by the failure to connect the dots on the side of law enforcement authorities, not by the lack of extra safety precautions.The parliament's scanners, as well as the ones rolled out in British and Dutch airports, are capable of storing and transmitting images, although authorities have given repeated assurances that the images are deleted immediately.The capability for these scanners to store and export data is unnecessary... even if a possible suspect is detected, there is still no argument for picture storage, since the purpose is to identify those to be stopped and manually searched, not to provide evidence, British Liberal MEP Sarah Ludford wrote in an op-ed last month. The senior MEP urged British and EU parliaments to ensure that authorised scanners are physically not capable of storage and transmission of images. This seems the only way to guarantee that the state will not try to further invade our privacy in future, and that images of celebrities, children or others will not find their way onto the internet and TV, she argued.Such concerns were already highlighted last month by reports that the naked image of the Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan was printed and circulated by scanner operators at Heathrow airport. Mr Khan even stated he had autographed some of those prints, claims airport officials fiercely denied.