Yasser Arafat's body to be exhumed as cause of death is sought

RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian Authority announced Saturday that it would exhume the body of Yasser Arafat within days in a bid to determine the cause of his death eight years ago. Many Palestinians believe he was poisoned by Israel.

Arafat, 75, died in a French military hospital near Paris on Nov. 11, 2004, after his health deteriorated suddenly during an Israeli military siege of his Ramallah headquarters.

French hospital reports attributed his death to a massive brain hemorrhage, but gave no details on what caused a related blood condition called disseminated intravascular coagulation, fueling Palestinian suspicion of an Israeli role.

The body will be exhumed Tuesday in Ramallah, Palestinian officials told reporters. Swiss, French and Russian forensic experts will analyze tissue samples to see whether they match July tests by the Swiss Institute for Radiation Physics. Those tests found traces of radioactive polonium on Arafat's toothbrush, fur hat and other belongings he used in his final days.

Journalists will be kept away from the concrete-encased grave in Arafat's former Ramallah compound, which has been obscured by blue industrial sheeting since digging started in mid-November. The body will be immediately reburied at a depth of 12 feet.

Testing will be done in Switzerland, France and Russia, officials said, with the results expected in a few months.

No autopsy was done at the time of Arafat's death, at the request of his wife, Suha. But she later filed a lawsuit, spurring a French investigation. French medical teams ruled out poisoning, and an eight-year Palestinian investigation found no conclusive evidence of foul play.

Many here have already made up their minds.

"Regardless of the results of the tests, whether they will be positive or negative, we are convinced and have all the evidence to prove that Israel has assassinated him," Tawfik Tirawi, head of the Palestinian committee investigating Arafat's death, said at the news conference Saturday in the Ramallah offices of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

But Mahdi Abdul Hadi, an analyst with the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs, said Palestinians were more concerned about the possibility that collaborators helped Israel kill Arafat.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said the Palestinians were free to take all the samples they wanted.

"We have nothing to fear," he said. "All the accusations against Israel are completely ridiculous and not based on the slightest bit of evidence."

Amir Rapaport, publisher and editor of Israel Defense magazine, said it was possible but unlikely that Israel had a role. Although Israel's prime minister at the time, Ariel Sharon, expressed "satisfaction" on learning of Arafat's death, Rapaport said he had been privy to the debate among top Israeli government and military leaders, and this idea wasn't part of the discussion.

Furthermore, he said, the way Arafat died — an initial deterioration, temporary improvement, then a final collapse — bears none of the hallmarks of Israeli assassinations, which tend to be quick and decisive. "It's too complicated," he said.

Conspiracy theories are rife in countries around Israel's periphery, said Boaz Ganor, executive director of Israel's International Institute for Counter-Terrorism.

"The fact that most Palestinians believe Israel was responsible, I'm not surprised," Ganor said. "They probably believe Israel is responsible for global warming as well."

The French team recently has sought to question Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, said Palestinian officials, who requested anonymity, but they were rejected.

"We will not allow any action that would infringe on our sovereignty," Tirawi said, an apparent reference to the French request. Tirawi said reports that Arafat's corpse had been damaged by tons of concrete poured over the grave site at the 2004 burial were false.

mark.magnier@latimes.com

Times staff writer Magnier reported from Jerusalem and special correspondent Abukhater from Ramallah.

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Democrats' new power in Legislature could bring peril too

SACRAMENTO — Having won a coveted two-thirds supermajority in the Legislature for the first time in more than a century, California Democrats now face the temptations of one-party government — and the perils that come with it.

The party's liberal allies are urging legislative leaders to aggressively exercise their newfound powers, allowing them to sidestep Republicans on tax votes and in placing measures on the statewide ballot.

Among the proposals are new levies on oil companies, overturning the state's ban on same-sex marriage and overhauling Proposition 13, the landmark property-tax initiative.

"This is a huge opportunity," said Joshua Pechthalt, president of the California Federation of Teachers. "We shouldn't be timid about our political agenda."

Political experts, however, said that Democrats could risk a backlash if they overreach, particularly on fiscal matters.

Party leaders and Gov. Jerry Brown persuaded Californians to approve billions of dollars in new taxes on the November ballot — the first statewide tax increase since 2004 — by arguing that the new money would put the state's finances back on track.

"When Santa brings you everything you want for Christmas, to start making your wish list for next year on Dec. 26 looks bad," said Thad Kousser, a UC San Diego political scientist.

State Sen. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) tested that theory this month when he floated legislation to place a measure on the 2014 ballot to triple the state's vehicle license fee.

The lawmaker said his proposal, which would have raised money for roads and public transit projects, prompted hundreds of negative comments from constituents — and an admonishment from Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento).

Now chastened, Lieu said Democrats should restrain themselves.

"It's clear to me that we need to demonstrate that we can responsibly work with this revenue and not go right back to the voters and ask for more," he said.

Democratic leaders are emphasizing restraint, with an eye toward maintaining their tenuous supermajorities. Voters will weigh in on the party's new dominance as early as next year, when two state senators leave the Legislature for Congress and Assembly members run for their seats.

How party leaders use their new powers could affect the outcome of those special elections — as well as the future prospects of centrist Democrats who eked out unexpected victories in Republican-rich areas of the Central Valley and Southern California.

When Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles) was asked what he intended to do with his caucus' new power, he responded with one word: Nothing.

Steinberg, his Senate counterpart, has been more forthcoming, suggesting lawmakers pursue changes to the state's tax structure and restore money to social services. He said he also wanted to tweak the initiative process by setting expiration dates for ballot measures and requiring proponents to negotiate with the Legislature to refine their proposals.

"We have a responsibility to move the state forward," Steinberg said. "I promise that we will exercise this new power with strength but also with humility and with reason."

Any pursuit of taxes would set up a showdown with Brown, who has pledged not to raise levies without voter approval. Although Democrats now possess the power to override the governor's vetoes, such moves are extremely rare and risk undermining the leader of their own party.

Liberals, however, sense a mandate in the November election results.

They cited record turnout among Latino, Asian and African American voters, who supported Brown's tax-hike measure, Proposition 30, in large numbers, according to exit poll data. Those voters also said by a 2-1 margin that they believed government should be doing more to solve the nation's problems.

Labor leaders were heartened by voter approval of a separate ballot measure that eliminated a controversial corporate tax break and diverted the money to help balance the budget and pay for a new green-energy program.

They said they wanted lawmakers to reevaluate similar business breaks in hopes of freeing up revenue for infrastructure projects.

Activists also suggested they would pursue another longtime goal: a single-payer healthcare system.

"For the very first time in decades we have an opportunity to reshape California," said Rick Jacobs, chairman of the Courage Campaign, a liberal advocacy group that pushed the governor to focus his November tax measure on the wealthy. "Some of us may want to take more risks than others."

michael.mishak@latimes.com

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L.A.'s revamped teacher evaluation system getting mixed grades

Third-grade teacher Kelly Vallianos wanted to find an engaging way for her students to learn about measuring perimeters. One idea — to have students design a restaurant floor plan — was too difficult, she feared.

But with the help of colleagues, she found a way to tailor that fifth-grade idea to her younger students at Dominguez Elementary School, who excitedly sketched out an imaginary pizzeria.

Vallianos credits the Los Angeles Unified School District's new teacher evaluation system for sparking deeper and more collaborative conversations with administrators, who she said gave her ideas to make the lesson work.

The district's new performance reviews have come under fire by United Teachers Los Angeles, which opposes the controversial element of using student test scores as one factor in measuring teacher effectiveness.

But largely lost in the debate is the fact that the system's centerpiece is a new classroom observation process that, despite some drawbacks, is being praised by many as a better way to help teachers improve.

"It's a more reflective, much more well-rounded process," said Vallianos, who has been teaching for 19 years.

Teachers are ranked on a scale on instruction, lesson plans, classroom environment and dozens of other criteria. A highly effective teacher, for instance, will be able to intellectually engage all students and prompt them to lead their own discussion topics. An ineffective teacher will generate all questions and most answers, involving just a handful of students.

During observations, administrators type notes into their laptops and later rate each of 61 skills. Principals and other administrators conducting the observations must pass a test to ensure they are fairly and accurately scoring instructors. Conferences with teachers before and after the classroom visits are required.

The method is meant to make observations more useful, uniform and objective, using evidence rather than opinions. But it's an elaborate process and has provoked widespread criticism that it takes too long for principals who are already overwhelmed with increasing workloads. And those who can't type well take even longer, administrators say.

"The technology is creating great difficulty and frustration," said Judith Perez, president of the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles. "It feels like an immense amount of pressure on people without alleviating their workload."

Teachers union President Warren Fletcher agrees that a better system is needed; UTLA has designed its own. He said "the jury is still out" on the district's observation process but added that it shares some common elements with the union's proposal.

The new system also includes evidence of student achievement — which could be in the form of test scores — feedback from students and parents, and the teacher's contributions to the school community.

The new observations were tested last year on a voluntary basis with about 450 teachers and 320 administrators; this year, every principal and one volunteer teacher at each of the district's 1,200 schools are expected to be trained.

Officials have not yet announced when the system will be used for every teacher — or when the ratings will begin to count for decisions on layoffs, tenure or pay. But in a video shown at the training sessions, L.A. Supt. John Deasy made the stakes clear.

"We have perhaps no greater responsibility than assuring that every student in this district is taught by an effective teacher in a school led by an effective leader," he said.

Many educators agree that the current evaluation system — known as Stull for the state law that created it — doesn't promote that goal of top-notch teachers for every student. Criticized as a perfunctory checklist of expectations that doesn't help teachers improve, the system awarded 99.3% of L.A. Unified teachers the highest rating in 2009-10 — even though only 45% of district students that year performed at grade level for reading and 56% were proficient in math.

The new system has given teachers like Lisa Thorne a boost. Thorne, a math teacher at Hamilton High School, said the new process is "unwieldy" but far more helpful in homing in on her strengths and weaknesses.

After the self-evaluation part of the process, Thorne chose to focus on improving her work with small groups of students, prompting her to try such techniques as using a three-dimensional pegboard to teach geometry. And she started a new computer-based class to help struggling ninth-graders master algebra. Administrators had seen her use the techniques with older students during a class visit and were impressed enough to give her the green light, she said.

"I would definitely say the new system is an improvement, because it's more specific about what they're looking for," Thorne said. "It helps to get the conversation going with administrators."

Eduardo Solorzano, principal of San Fernando Middle School, agrees. In particular, he said, the focus on careful note-taking has given him specific examples to use in helping teachers improve.

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Dave Roberts brings diversity to the San Diego County supervisors

DEL MAR — In January, when he joins the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, Dave Roberts will be the only Democrat among four Republicans, the first Democrat on the board in more than two decades.

He will also be the first new supervisor in 18 years. And he will be the only one who is not a graduate of San Diego State. He has three degrees from American University in Washington, D.C.

He's also gay and married to a retired Air Force master sergeant. The two are adoptive parents to five former foster children, ages 4 to 17, who call them Daddy Dave and Daddy Wally.

With Roberts' election to a district representing a portion of San Diego and several seaside communities north of the city, diversity has arrived for the Board of Supervisors, long one of the region's most homogenous governing bodies.

"I'm going to bring some unique characteristics," Roberts, 51, said with a laugh during a family outing on the beach here.

Roberts hopes to concentrate on the same issues he focused on while serving on the Solana Beach City Council, where he is currently deputy mayor: regional fire protection, expansion of the San Dieguito River Park and "sensible" growth.

Roberts is a Democrat in the style of Republican-leaning northern San Diego County: fiscally conservative. He worked as a budget analyst for the Department of Defense and as a corporate vice president for the La Jolla-based defense contractor SAIC. He was a Republican until some in the GOP took exception to a gay man working in the Pentagon.

"The Republicans wanted me to be fired," Roberts said. "That's when I changed political parties."

Some of his first experience in government came from working as a staffer to Sen. Lowell Weicker, a Republican from Connecticut. "I learned from working for Sen. Weicker that you can make change if you're in the right place," Roberts said.

In 2009, Democratic party officials encouraged Roberts to seek the party's nomination to face incumbent Brian Bilbray (R-Carlsbad) in the 50th Congressional District.

On the verge of declaring his candidacy, Roberts was alerted by social workers about two children who needed a "forever" home. He decided that the adoption process took precedence over his political career.

Now there are five children in the two-story home in Solana Beach once owned by singer Patti Page: Robert, 17; Alex, 12; Julian, 8; Joe, 5; and Natalee, 4. Three of the children have taken the last name Roberts, and two took his spouse's last name, Oliver.

"We don't like double names," Roberts said.

Roberts and Wally Oliver, 55, have been together for 14 years. They had a commitment ceremony in 1998 and married in July 2008 in the brief period when county clerks in California were allowed to issue same-sex marriage licenses.

The family may soon expand.

"Wally would like a baby," Roberts said. "We're not Jewish, but we believe in the Jewish proverb: 'If you can save one soul, you can save the world.'"

During his race against a Republican opponent, Roberts was endorsed by the retiring incumbent, Pam Slater-Price. He has also begun discussions with Supervisor Dianne Jacob, possibly the most fiscally conservative member of the board.

He also looks forward to working with Supervisor Bill Horn, an ex-Marine who supported Proposition 8, the measure to ban same-sex marriage, and has said he opposes gays in the military. "He says things from time to time that remind me of my father," Roberts said.

For all of their fiscal conservatism, the supervisors have not dabbled much in social issues in a way that might satisfy some elements in the GOP. The board took no position on Proposition 8. Health clinics in gay neighborhoods and AIDS prevention programs are funded without controversy.

Roberts may be different in another respect from his colleagues: He will not be assigning a staff member to send out his Twitter messages. He sends out his own tweets — lots of them, on topics political and personal.

Last week, among many tweets, was one announcing that he has hired his predecessor's chief-of-staff, praising him for his "broad experience, management style and network of contacts."

And the next tweet: "Took the kids out for frozen yogurt at Seaside Yogurt in Del Mar for a treat."

tony.perry@latimes.com

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Lining up even earlier for Black Friday becomes a shop priority

In a tradition that seems to take a bigger slice of Thanksgiving every year, hordes of deal-sniffing shoppers descended on Southland stores Thursday, elbowing their way in search of toys, video games and that time-honored Black Friday symbol: cut-rate television sets. As nightfall came, they huddled in long lines, clutching coupons and hatching shopping strategies.

Rebecca Abbott, 42, of Torrance had it down to a science Thursday night. The accountant said she was out the door of the local Toys R Us store in 20 minutes with a shopping cart full of Christmas gifts for her two daughters. 

Her fourth time shopping on Black Friday, Abbott had spent a few hours in Toys R Us the day before scoping out her plan of attack. The first item on her list: a Rockstar Mickey Mouse doll, normally priced at $59.99 but selling for just $19.99.

"You have to have a strategy for this Black Friday madness," she said as she headed for the door. "First-timers will walk around all day looking at deals," Abbott said. "I got in, grabbed my stuff and got out." Her cart was overflowing with large toys — primarily Barbie and Mickey Mouse items. 

PHOTOS: Black Friday shoppers hunt for deals

At a Wal-Mart in Panorama City, just after 8 p.m., "it was really crazy, but you could still walk," said Marya Huaman, 23, as she left the store with her dad, her two infant sons and three bags full of Fisher-Price toys.

"No, you couldn't," scoffed her father, Edward Huaman. "I didn't see anyone fighting, but they will be soon. This is madness."

Last year, Thanksgiving night was marred by a pepper spray "shopping rage" incident at a Wal-Mart in Porter Ranch that injured at least seven people and forced employees to evacuate part of the store. One person was hospitalized.

Los Angeles Police Cmdr. Andy Smith said Thursday that the night appeared to be running smoothly across Los Angeles. "In general, I think things have gone really well," he said. "It sounds like the stores have taken proper precautions and everyone is aware of the hazards of Black Friday."

After retailers last year moved the opening bell for Black Friday sales to midnight, this year there were even more customers eager to get a jump on the traditional kickoff to the holiday shopping season. Wal-Mart, Sears and Toys R Us began rolling out their door busters at 8 p.m. on Turkey Day, followed by Target at 9 p.m. Macy's, Kohl's and Best Buy were set to open at midnight.

A handful of chains such as Kmart and Old Navy also had daytime hours on Thursday. And online merchants were touting bargains all day and night.

About 147 million shoppers are expected this all-important holiday weekend, with more logging in for online specials by Cyber Monday, according to the National Retail Federation. In all, the trade group estimated that holidays sales will rise 4.1% this year, to $586 billion.

"Though the Black Friday tradition is here to stay, there's no question that it has changed in recent years," NRF Chief Executive Matthew Shay said in a statement.

Many shoppers were perfectly content to queue up. At Best Buy electronic stores across the Southland, people waited for hours — and sometimes days — in tents before the midnight opening.

But many workers were angry about spending Turkey Day away from loved ones.

Frustrated retail employees and families have taken to creating online petitions at Change.org to beg companies not to cut into Thanksgiving dinners. More than 20 online petitions have popped up in recent weeks. Lines grew throughout the afternoon and into the evening as anxious shoppers surveyed the competition in line.

Throughout Southern California there were reports of lines wrapped around stores. In Glendale, more than 750 shoppers were lined up outside the Target at the Galleria.

For shoppers who just couldn't wait until Thursday night — much less Black Friday — some retailers opened their doors all day on Thanksgiving.

The sales weren't quite as glorious as the Black Friday specials that stores promise to roll out later. But they were pretty good nonetheless, shoppers said.

JoAnne Garcia walked into Kmart in Burbank in search of a roasting pan in which to cook her turkey. She walked out 90 minutes later, having shelled out $491, including $329 for an RCA 39-inch LCD flat-panel TV.

"The roasting pan was $14.99," Garcia said, laughing at how much she spent as she rolled her cart to the parking lot.

To the 53-year-old aerospace machinist, shopping on Thanksgiving made perfect sense.

Standing near a store display touting "Freak Out Pricing," Garcia explained her theory about shopping while cooking. "You get up, throw your turkey in the oven, and you come back and it's all done."

walter.hamilton@latimes.com

joseph.serna@latimes.com

Contributing to this report were staff writers Wesley Lowery, Marisa Gerber, Nicole Santa Cruz and Andrew Khouri.

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Survey finds many MTA employees have safety concerns

Hundreds of Metro transit workers — many of whom operate the trains and buses that carry 1.5 million riders daily — say they have concerns about their on-the-job safety.

Of 745 employees who responded to a workplace survey at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a large majority of mechanics, track workers, bus drivers, train operators and others described their workplace as somewhat safe, not very safe or not safe at all.

A significant number of employees, particularly those who operate and repair transit systems, also believe their supervisors are concerned about safety only when there is a serious accident.

Most of the Metro workers who were questioned, however, gave the agency high marks for safety overall. Yet almost half said they have encountered close calls on the job that could have killed or seriously injured someone.

Metro Chief Executive Art Leahy said he was pleased that the survey was "generally positive" and pointed out that many of its recommendations already have been addressed. He noted, for example, that the management of the department that maintains rail systems has been changed, more workers have been hired and trackside safety measures improved.

But Leahy said the study by Sam Schwartz Engineering, a national consulting firm, was not as comprehensive as he would have liked. And he questioned whether the employees who responded to the detailed questionnaire were really representative.

"I take deep offense to anyone who says I don't care about safety," Leahy said. "This is no joke."

Metro operates about 2,000 buses and 87 miles of subway and light-rail lines. It has about 9,000 employees and a $4.5-billion annual budget.

The report, obtained by The Times under the state Public Records Act, is scheduled to be discussed at the authority's December board meeting. It comes at a time when agency leaders have been debating several safety issues.

During the last year, the authority has been dealing with a faulty rail junction on the recently opened Expo light-rail line to the Westside and a surge in accidents on the Blue Line, the light-rail link between Los Angeles and Long Beach.

In the survey, solid majorities of Metro employees said that accidents were thoroughly investigated, education and training programs were effective, management addressed safety-related complaints and changes in safety rules were adequately communicated.

"There is clearly a positive safety culture at Metro," researchers said, adding that such a distinction is enjoyed by only "a handful of transit agencies."

Metro's board of directors ordered the safety study in October 2011, at the request of Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, the current board chairman. The consultants reviewed written safety procedures, interviewed key managers and held group discussions with workers. Questionnaires were sent to 6,000 of Metro's 9,000 employees, of whom 745 responded.

Though the survey was not a scientifically based opinion poll, about 8% of the authority's workforce participated, considered to be a significant sample.

Howard Roberts, the author of the report, said the survey was designed to identify strengths as well as suspected problems that Metro should look into and correct if necessary.

The authority is "working on all the report's recommendations," said Roberts, a veteran transit executive who is now a consultant. "Metro ought to be commended for the survey. Not a lot of people do this. Some agencies don't want to recognize that they might have serious problems."

Roberts cautioned that some of the survey's findings were not always a reflection of the quality of Metro's safety policies. Track workers, train operators and bus drivers, he said, can feel vulnerable in the field and face inherent dangers that are difficult to eliminate, such as crime and accidents caused by the public.

The report found that significant numbers of bus drivers, train operators and those who work on Metro's rail network were more critical of their safety and agency practices than workers who are less connected to the direct operation and maintenance of rail and bus systems.

They said that many close calls or near-misses are never reported to supervisors and that Metro is more interested in disciplining individuals for mishaps or safety violations instead of preventing recurrences.

Many other employees who work on tracks and related equipment said they were seriously concerned about pressure from supervisors to ignore some safety rules and procedures to get assignments done.

Majorities of all workers, however, said that Metro's management takes a "no blame" approach if near-misses are reported and that supervisors maintain an open-door policy and act quickly to correct safety problems.

In other findings, the report states that some bus drivers in group discussions complained that they now have to go faster than usual, turning their lines into "racetrack routes." Deep service cuts, they say, have increased the number of passengers, which makes it harder to stay on schedule because loading and unloading takes more time.

"I'd like to know where they exist," Leahy said, adding that he thought the complaints might have involved scheduling issues on the Orange Line bus rapid transit route in the San Fernando Valley, which have been looked into.

The report further stated that other drivers were concerned that there is not enough law enforcement presence on buses. They complained that Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies are seldom seen or ride only a few blocks before getting off.

Agency officials counter that deputies conducted more than 3,000 boardings from September through the first week of November and took about 900 bus rides of two hours each. Statistics show that deputies checked the fares of more than 100,000 riders and made 130 misdemeanor and felony arrests.

dan.weikel@latimes.com

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Cyber Corps program trains spies for the digital age

TULSA, Okla. — Jim Thavisay is secretly stalking one of his classmates. And one of them is spying on him.

"I have an idea who it is, but I'm not 100% sure yet," said Thavisay, a 25-year-old former casino blackjack dealer.

Stalking is part of the curriculum in the Cyber Corps, an unusual two-year program at the University of Tulsa that teaches students how to spy in cyberspace, the latest frontier in espionage.

Students learn not only how to rifle through trash, sneak a tracking device on cars and plant false information on Facebook. They also are taught to write computer viruses, hack digital networks, crack passwords, plant listening devices and mine data from broken cellphones and flash drives.

It may sound like a Jason Bourne movie, but the little-known program has funneled most of its graduates to the CIA and the Pentagon's National Security Agency, which conducts America's digital spying. Other graduates have taken positions with the FBI, NASA and the Department of Homeland Security.

The need for stronger cyber-defense — and offense — was highlighted when Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta warned in an Oct. 11 speech that a "a cyber-terrorist attack could paralyze the nation," and that America needs experts to tackle the growing threat.

"An aggressor nation or extremist group could gain control of critical switches and derail passenger trains, or trains loaded with lethal chemicals," Panetta said. "They could contaminate the water supply in major cities, or shut down the power grid across large parts of the country."

Panetta said the Pentagon spends more than $3 billion annually for cyber-security. "Our most important investment is in skilled cyber-warriors needed to conduct operations in cyberspace," he said.

That's music to the ears of Sujeet Shenoi, a naturalized citizen from India who founded the cyber program in 1998. He says 85% of the 260 graduates since 2003 have gone to the NSA, which students call "the fraternity," or the CIA, which they call "the sorority."

Shenoi subjects his students to both classroom theory and practical field work. Each student is assigned to a Tulsa police crime lab on campus and uses digital skills to help uncover evidence — most commonly child pornography images — from seized devices. Several students have posed as children online to lure predators. In 2003, students helped solve a triple homicide by cracking an email account linking the perpetrator to his victims.

"I throw them into the deep end," Shenoi said. "And they become fearless."

The Secret Service has also tapped the Cyber Corps. Working from a facility on campus, students help agents remove evidence from damaged cellphones, GPS units and other devices.

"Working alongside U.S. Secret Service agents, Tulsa Cyber Corps students have developed techniques for extracting evidence from burned or shattered cellphones," Hugh Dunleavy, who heads the Secret Service criminal division, said in a written statement. More than 5,000 devices have been examined at the facility, he added.

In 2007, California's secretary of state, Debra Bowen, hired the University of California to test the security of three electronic voting systems used in the state, and Shenoi and several students joined one of the "red" teams assigned to try to hack the voting machines. They succeeded. One of the students, who now works at the NSA, showed that someone could use an off-the-shelf device with Bluetooth connectivity to change all the votes in a given machine, Shenoi said.

"All our results were provided to the companies so they could fix the machines to the extent possible," Shenoi said.

In May, the NSA named Tulsa as one of four national centers of academic excellence in cyber-operations. The others were Northeastern University in Boston, Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., and Dakota State University in Madison, S.D.

"Tulsa students show up to NSA with a lot of highly relevant hands-on experience," said Neal Ziring, a senior NSA official who visited the school recently to consult about the curriculum and to interview students for jobs and internships. "There are very few schools that are like Tulsa in terms of having participation with law enforcement, with industry, with government."

Shenoi's students have ranged in age from 17 to 63. Many are retired from the military, or otherwise starting second careers. They are usually working toward degrees in computer science, engineering, law or business. About two-thirds get a cyber-operations certification on their diplomas, or what Shenoi calls a "cyber-ninja" designation "because they have to be super techie."

To be accepted into the corps, applicants must be U.S. citizens with the ability to obtain a security clearance of "top secret" or higher. But not all of them spend their careers in government.

One former student, Philip McAllister, worked after graduation at the Naval Research Laboratory, which does scientific research and development for the Navy and Marines. He later moved to San Francisco and worked at several startup companies before he joined Instagram, which developed a photo-sharing mobile application, early this year. Facebook purchased Instagram, which had only 13 employees, for $1 billion three months later.

"Sujeet gets incredibly talented people," said Richard "Dickie" George, who retired last year after a three-decade career at the NSA.

Shenoi speaks proudly of students who pushed the boundaries or broke the rules.

One, who now works at the NSA, hacked the school's computer system and created a fake university ID to impersonate his cyber-stalking target, for example. Another spoofed a professor's email account to fool his target into spilling details. As part of a vulnerability study, one student sneaked into a Tulsa water system facility and stole blueprints that a more malign attacker could use to wreak havoc.

A few years ago, Shenoi says, a group of students rummaged through trash bins outside offices on campus and obtained confidential information about football recruits, professors' salaries, and major financial donors.

"We are now banned from Dumpster diving on campus," he said with a smile.

ken.dilanian@latimes.com

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For Sandy survivors, a Thanksgiving they'd never expected

This year, Aiman Youssef is thankful to be alive.

The 42-year-old Staten Island man said he used to have a $300,000 house he could be thankful for, and a car, and two vans full of things he was going to sell on EBay. Then Superstorm Sandy ruined all that and the rest of his neighborhood too, so just being alive is the best he can ask for right now.

"It's survival — that's what it is now," said Youssef, who sleeps in a tent, where it gets cold early in the morning, around 3 or 4 a.m. especially.

But that tent is no ordinary tent; it's a full-blown Sandy relief hub, bustling with supplies and volunteers "like 24-hours-seven here," as Youssef put it in a phone interview. And on Thursday, Youssef's temporary home was just one of the many locations around the Northeast that stayed busy over Thanksgiving nourishing the thousands of Sandy survivors and volunteers whose lingering struggles know no holiday.

"If you come on Staten Island, you come to South Beach, you'll see some things that will twist your stomach a bit," said Farid Kader, 29, a volunteer with Sandy Yellow Team, a relief group that works with Youssef's distribution site and, like many others, spent its Thanksgiving holiday distributing meals around storm-affected areas. "It's starting to take a toll on people. Honestly, until the authorities rebuild things, I don't see myself hanging out with other people."

Kader mentioned the post-storm mold in ruined homes: "A lot of us are getting sick."

On the phone, Matthew Hillyer, a volunteer delivering meals, sounded breathless. "I'm pushing a shopping cart door-to-door," he explained. "After I get done pushing the cart, I'm going to try to hit every house in a 10-block radius."

Hillyer is associated with Occupy Wall Street, which has won plaudits for its storm relief effort, Occupy Sandy. Organizers estimated it served more than 10,000 meals on Thanksgiving.

Another Occupier, Robert Pluma, was also almost too busy to talk. "I'm literally taking my first break in two weeks," Pluma said, politely begging off. "I'm carving a turkey as we speak."

Sandy's billions in storm damage left thousands newly homeless amid a recovery effort that, many residents complain, has stretched the capacity of major aid agencies and federal and local governments. As of Wednesday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency reported that 453,000 disaster survivors had applied for assistance in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island, with $844.4 million in relief aid approved.

That translated into a $19,000 check for Youssef — a help, he said, but not enough for him to rebuild his life.

"He's not the only one I've been hearing this about," Kader said of Youssef. "This whole area has been flooded, and a lot of the people here don't have flood insurance. It's bad."

In New York City, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's office said it planned to distribute more than 26,500 meals to 30 locations where residents had seen Sandy's worst.

"As we continue to recover and rebuild from the devastating impact of Hurricane Sandy, our city will do everything we can to bring some of the comforts and traditions of Thanksgiving to families in our hardest-hit communities," Bloomberg said in a statement, adding that the city would also give out 2,400 turkeys.

In the city's outer boroughs, though, the government's post-storm promises haven't been enough for some residents, who had a somewhat tepid approval of Bloomberg's storm response in a Quinnipiac poll released Tuesday. Advocates for the New York City homeless community said the storm's aftermath had also widened a serious housing problem that had long existed for the city's down-and-out. Displaced residents have found themselves bouncing from shelter to shelter as officials struggle to find a place for them.

"The storm itself brought more transparency about the situation, because there's a lot more homeless people now, there's a lot more displaced people now, and it's all over the media," said Raul Rodriguez, who sits on the civil rights committee of Picture the Homeless, a New York advocacy group. "Before, it was more of a hush-hush situation."

Rodriguez added, "Everything is getting a little bit better, slowly but surely, but everybody's just holding on to their heads."

In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie — whose no-nonsense reaction to the storm recovery has earned him rock-star adulation in the media and in polls — packaged and delivered 500 Thanksgiving dinners on Wednesday to a Lowe's with his wife and children.

"We are all one New Jersey family," the Republican said in a statement. "When one family member is in need, we are all there to help, no matter how great or how small. It's that commitment, resilience and generosity that make Mary Pat and I so proud of our state and our people."

The giving spirit extended beyond the Northeast. In Perry Township, Ohio, Lauri Weinfeld said she was offering a four-bedroom rental house to Sandy survivors for four months, rent-free. When asked why she decided to do it, Weinfeld said, "If I just say it straight up, it just sounds like I'm being sappy and altruistic.

"But if you have something you can share and somebody needs it, you can share it," she said. "I can only imagine how horrible it is to lose your home and all your things and not be sure how it's all going to come back together. I can simplify somebody's life at least a little bit."

She'd just published an email address for those interested — temphouse4sandyvictims@gmail.com — and by Thanksgiving Day, one person had written, she said.

Perhaps in the spirit of the holiday, they'd written only to say thanks.

matt.pearce@latimes.com

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Middle East shifts may weaken Iran's influence with Palestinians

CAIRO — Iran for years has supplied Hamas with weapons as part of its own struggle against Israel, but the conflict in the Gaza Strip reveals a shift in regional dynamics that may diminish Tehran's influence with Palestinian militant groups and strengthen the hand of Egypt.

The longer-range missiles fired by Hamas over the last week — believed to be modifications of Iran's Fajr 5 missiles — startled Israel by landing near Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. A front-page story in Iran's conservative daily, Kayhan, boasted: "The missiles of resistance worked." Tehran would not confirm the weapons' origin, except to say it sent rocket "technology" to Hamas.

Instead, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters: "What is important is that the people of Palestine must be equipped to defend themselves, and it is the responsibility of all countries to defend the rights of the people of Palestine."

But the Gaza fighting erupted during a new era in the Middle East brought about by the rise of Islamist governments, notably in Egypt, that have replaced pro-Western autocrats. The political catharsis has spurred anti-Americanism, which Iran relishes, but it also has upset Tehran's regional designs.

In Syria — which along with the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah has been Iran's proxy opposing Israel — a revolt inspired by the "Arab Spring" could force President Bashar Assad from power and bring in a government less friendly to Tehran. Hamas angered Iran by opposing Tehran's continued support of Assad and siding with the Syrian rebels, who are mostly fellow Sunni Muslims.

Iran's immediate concern in Gaza is keeping Hamas from strengthening its ties to Arab capitals. This may be difficult, as evidenced by the fact that Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, which inspired the founding of Hamas and now is in charge of the Egyptian government, played a key role in brokering the cease-fire announced Wednesday.

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi is likely to press the militant group not to further agitate the region — and Egypt's many domestic problems — with sustained violence against Israel. But Egypt has been criticized for tacitly arming Hamas by not tightening its border with Gaza to stop weapons smugglers from Libya and Sudan.

"The Iranians [had] better understand the paradigm is shifting in the Middle East," said Nabil Fahmy, former Egyptian ambassador to the U.S. and founding dean of the School of Public Affairs at the American University in Cairo. "Hamas needs Cairo tremendously. It really has no other interlocutor to deal with Israel."

But he added that the region is so fluid and unsettled that it is too early to predict winners and losers: "If there are peaceful resolutions, this will lead to a reduced Iranian role. If, on the other hand, you have an increased use of violence," he said, "then ultimately any player that has been supportive of a more aggressive posture will gain ground."

Iran characterized Hamas' rocket fire on Israel as part of an effort to keep the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu off balance. Netanyahu has threatened to attack Iran's nuclear program, and some suggest the airstrikes on Gaza have been a warm-up exercise. Tehran viewed the Gaza conflict as a means to distract Israel and further inflame anti-Jewish sentiment in a region tipping increasingly toward Islamists.

"Hamas' ties with Muslim Brotherhood and Egypt's current government are different from its ties with Iran," said Nader Karimi, a journalist and political analyst in Tehran. "In peace, when diplomacy is needed, Hamas is closer to Egypt at the expense of Iran. But when it's at war with Israel, Hamas' relations with Iran are more important."

Khaled Meshaal, Hamas' political chief, acknowledged as much after the cease-fire was announced Wednesday. "Iran played a role in this achievement as well," he said. "We have differed with Iran on the Syrian issue, but we agree against the oppression and occupation of Zionists."

The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt "let down Hamas in the current war," said Hamid Reza Taraghi, a conservative Iranian analyst who criticized Cairo for not opening Egypt's border with Gaza to supply Hamas with arms. "Hamas now realizes that Iran is the genuine supporter of the Palestinian cause."

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was suspicious of both Hamas and Iran. Mubarak, a close U.S. ally, had no formal ties with Iran for decades. Morsi visited Tehran last summer and indicated a change in tenor, even as he has angered Iran by condemning Assad's mass killings of Syrians.

But Egypt's domestic problems, including economic turmoil, the battle over a new constitution and gas and water shortages, are his steepest challenges. Morsi also is attempting to stem increasing instability in the Sinai Peninsula, where resurgent militant groups, some believed to be aided by Hamas, have killed Egyptian security forces and launched attacks at Israel.

Trouble in the Sinai jeopardizes Egypt's 1979 peace treaty with Israel but plays into Iran's efforts. Analysts suggest that Cairo will work to rein in Hamas, and other rivals of Iran including Sunni Muslim Persian Gulf nations such as Qatar will also be more deeply involved. The emir of Qatar, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, visited Gaza in October and promised $400 million in aid.

Egypt, however, poses the biggest obstacle to Iran's plans in Gaza. Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood regard Cairo as the unquestioned regional mediator between the Palestinians and Israel.

"Egypt has historic, geographic and religious ties with Palestine and Gaza. These ties cannot be bought," said Sadegh Hosseini, an expert on Iranian politics. "Gaza is the backyard of Egypt. In recent years, we have seen that ideologically Hamas is another branch of the Muslim Brotherhood."

jeffrey.fleishman@latimes.com

Times staff writer Fleishman reported from Cairo and special correspondent Mostaghim from Tehran.

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

LAPD plans major presence for Black Friday

Black Friday is a day for burning off those Thanksgiving calories with some intense Christmas shopping. But for the Los Angeles Police Department, it's become a day of surveillance, crowd control and crime-suppression tactics.

Helicopters will buzz above some shopping centers, and below, a cavalry of LAPD officers will patrol on bikes and horses. From store rooftops, officers will scan the crowds below looking for unruly behavior. Electronic signs near stores will warn customers about becoming victims of theft as they navigate the mass of humanity looking for bargains.

The deployments are part of a new strategy by the LAPD to deal with the retail roller derby that comes after Thanksgiving. In addition to stationing officers around shopping centers, the LAPD has been visiting stores across the city this week, talking to managers about the psychology of the frantic shopper.

Officials said the push was prompted by a series of incidents at Black Friday sales, notably one last year at a Porter Ranch Wal-Mart in which two dozen people were injured when a woman unleashed pepper spray during a frantic battle for some discounted video games.

LAPD Cmdr. Andy Smith said he hopes people will behave. But "like Chief [Charlie] Beck says, we are not in the optimism business."

The LAPD would not say exactly how many officers it will deploy Friday, but the number is expected to be considerable. In the Valley division, for example, officials have put together detailed tactical plans for each major shopping center, using mobile command posts and both officers and cadets.

"For some people, shopping is a competitive sport," Smith said. "But it should not be a contact sport."

Even some big retailers — which for years fueled the shopping frenzy with aggressive marketing and deep discounts — are trying to rein in some of the excitement they create this year.

Fernando Reyes, manager of the Wal-Mart in Porter Ranch where the pepper spray incident occurred, said his main goal is to avoid a repeat of the chaos. He has met with the LAPD and plans new crowd-control strategies, including setting up special check-out lines for some sales items.

The store also plans to give out vouchers to shoppers for "door buster" merchandise to avoid people jockeying for the limited supplies. If a customer did not get such a voucher, Reyes said there should be a "reasonable expectation" that they won't get the sales item.

The LAPD has talked to other retailers about creating "time-specific entry passes" that would stagger the number of shoppers who are inside the store at any given time. In a flier the department is handing out to store managers, officials note that "this process has been very successful at many of the major theme parks and can help to ensure organized, safe entry into your business."

The LAPD has also suggested that retailers avoid stacking sales items on pallets "to mitigate crowd aggression."

Despite all the headlines, Black Friday misbehavior is still relatively rare. Police report a scattering of brawls, assaults and various larcenies each year. But it's the headlines that people remember. A few years ago, gunfire erupted in a crowded Palm Desert Toys R Us, killing two people. Four years ago, a Long Island, N.Y., Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death by a crush of customers who toppled large glass doors.

Aimee Drolet Rossi, a consumer psychologist at UCLA's Anderson School of Management, said it should not be surprising that some people act out on Black Friday. Research on rats and monkeys has shown that they become more aggressive when placed in a crowded situation, and Rossi said humans are no different.

"Crowding leads people to behave less altruistically, in part because people's sense of responsibility lags when a lot of other people are around," she said. "People assume that other people will step up to help someone who is in distress."

She also said research shows that people are less likely to make eye contact with people in crowded situations, and this can cause them to make bad decisions.

Retailers bear some of the responsibility for what's happened, she said.

"They set up this environment that encourages this competitive shopping ...." Rossi said. "They offer only 10 TV sets at the ridiculously low price. It's really no surprise people get upset when they don't get one."

This year, some stores are actually opening on Thanksgiving Day, and people are already lined up.

Tony Juarez, a 30-year-old North Hollywood resident, has been camping outside the Porter Ranch Best Buy for a week. It's been an eight-year tradition for Juarez and his friends, who set up a makeshift campsite with portable chairs, blankets and a heater. A few feet away, other campers actually brought tents.

This year, Juarez is hoping to score some cut-priced TVs and laptops. A few years ago, he got a $200 Toshiba laptop and is still crowing about the bargain.

He was at the Best Buy when the pepper spray incident occurred at the Wal-Mart next door. He watched, stunned, as a stampede of shoppers streamed out of the store and scores of police arrived.

This year, he's definitely noticed more police presence at the shopping center, and that has been comforting.

"We are seeing an LAPD car every five minutes. It's definitely safer," he said.

But more police isn't enough for South L.A. resident Lynnette Jordan, who plans to stay away from the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw mall on Friday.

"You are still going to deal with folks basically fighting to get into the door to get the item they so desperately want," Jordan said. "No matter what, some people will act the fool because that's what they do."

andrew.blankstein@latimes.com

hector.becerra@latimes.com

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More