The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 1

2002:11:03:22:35:38 On The Internet: WWW LATIMES COM OPYRIGHT AGES Designated Areas Higher By Jerry Hirsch Times Staff Writer At the conclusion of a recent annual meeting of Farmer Bros. a major stockholder made what he thought was a perfectly innocuous request: Could he tour the coffee sprawling complex in the industrial section of Torrance? Without looking up from the table, the 86-year-old chairman and chief executive, Roy F. Farmer, killed the idea. he snapped. tours for unhappy As it turns out, more and more Farmer Bros.

shareholders are unhappy these days. not the financial performance of the company, which sells coffee and other staples to restaurants and commercial food service establishments in 29 states, that has people so upset, though its results have faltered some of late. Nor is anyone accusing Roy Farmer, who has made $4.8 million in salary, bonuses and other benefits during the last three years, of mismanaging the business or raiding company coffers for personal gain. Rather, with health declining from prostate cancer and other ailments, critics have become increasingly restless with his autocratic style one that is strangely anachronistic in an age when most corporate boards and executives are scrambling to show how responsive they are to the concerns of outsiders. Shareholders want Farmer Bros.

to add independent directors, provide more financial information, talk to Wall Street analysts and change its bylaws to loosen the grip that Roy Farmer has had on the company for more than half a century. They question whether there is a coherent succession plan for a COLUMN ONE Coffee Chief Stirs Unrest 8 The autocratic style of Farmer longtime chairman has left investors with a bitter aftertaste. a firm without a clear future. See Farmer, Page A12 By Sebastian Rotella Times Staff Writer PARIS As the Bush administration prepares for a possible military attack on Iraq that it describes as the next logical step in its war on terror, some of its strongest front-line allies in that war dispute allegations that the Baghdad regime has significant ties to Al Qaeda. In recent interviews, top investigative magistrates, prosecutors, police and intelligence officials who have been fighting Al Qaeda in Europe said they are concerned about attempts by President Bush and his aides to link Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to Osama bin terror network.

have found no evidence of links between Iraq and Al said Jean-Louis Bruguiere, the French judge who is the dean of the investigators after two decades fighting Islamic and Middle Eastern terrorists. we are working on 50 cases involving Al Qaeda or radical Islamic cells. I think if there were such links, we would have found them. But we have found no serious connections Even in Britain, a loyal U.S. partner in the campaign against Iraq, hard to find anyone in the government making the case that Al Qaeda and the Iraqi regime are close allies.

In fact, European counter-terrorist veterans who are working with American counterparts worry that an attack on Iraq, especially aunilateral U.S. invasion, would worsen the threat of radical Islamic terrorism worldwide and impede their work. war on Iraq will not diminish the terrorist threat. It will probably increase said Baltasar Garzon, best-known investigative magistrate, who is prosecuting Al Qaeda suspects in Madrid as alleged accomplices in the Sept. 11 attacks.

could radicalize the situation in the Middle for the investigations of Sept. 11, doors would close in the Arab world that have helped in the fight against Al Qaeda. And a war would do nothing to bolster the investigation into the attacks in the United The European critics limited to the usual suspects: instinctively anti-American, pro- Arab politicians and pundits whose voices are often the loudest in the Iraq debate here. On the contrary, Bruguiere, Garzon and other investigators have won praise from U.S. officials for their tough tactics and proven Allies Find No Links Between Iraq, Al Qaeda Evidence there, officials in Europe say, adding that an attack on Hussein would worsen the threat of terrorism by Islamic radicals.

See Iraq, Page A5 Associated Press Long Beach Freeway Smashup The southbound lanes are littered with some of the nearly 200 cars and trucks that collided in two pileups Sunday morning. The California Highway Patrol said motorists were driving too fast in dense fog. Dozens were injured, and the freeway was closed for hours in both directions. B1 By Esther Schrader Times Staff Writer WASHINGTON Saudi Arabia will not permit bases on its soil to be used in an attack against Iraq, its northern neighbor, and will not grant flyover rights to U.S. military planes even if the United Nations sanctions an invasion, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al Faisal said Sunday.

The remarks by the prince on CNN were the strongest Saudi rejection to date of any assistance to a possible U.S. attack on Iraq. Although the Pentagon says the U.S. is able to launch such an attack without Saudi assistance, military officials agree that having to do so would constrain the strategic options open to war planners. Currently, more than 5,000 U.S.

troops are based in Saudi Arabia, and the country is bristling with U.S. military equipment and weaponry. Nearly 12 years ago, an American base near Riyadh, the Saudi capital, was a launch pad for the U.S.-led Persian Gulf War, which drove Iraqi troops out of Kuwait after a seven-month occupation. The same base played a critical role in last campaign to drive the Taliban from power in Afghanistan. At the Force commanders orchestrated many of the airstrikes against the Taliban and Al No Aid for a U.S.

Attack, Saudi Says Traditional ally let bases or airspace be used in any move against Iraq, official declares. See Bases, Page A4 By Ronald Brownstein Times Staff Writer NASHVILLE The rhetoric was fiery and the audience enthusiastic at a National Rifle Assn. get-out-the-vote rally here late last week. But the crowd still filled only about half the ballroom in the Opryland convention center. And there was a distinct note of concern in the message from the podium.

gun owners think they can sit this one said Chris Cox, executive director of the Institute of Legislative Affairs. what you to This fall, the NRA is hardly alone in worrying that its supporters lack the motivation to vote. Candidates, the national parties and interest groups across the political spectrum are all struggling to drive voters to the polls in a year when few issues have caught fire. remember a more difficult set of conditions for getting people to vote in any said Kate of the National Abortion and Reproductive RightsAction League. Yet precisely because voter interest is so low this year, the stakes are high for these get-out- the-vote drives.

In an election when relatively few Americans are expected to participate, the efforts that move even relatively small numbers of voters could tip dozens of close races. is a year when the ground game matters more than said Maria Cardona, the ELECTION 2002 Stakes High but Interest Low at Polls See Turnout, Page A16 By Michael Finnegan Times Staff Writer Republican Bill Simon Jr. wrapped up the final weekend of the race Sunday with harsh swipes at Democratic incumbent Gray Davis, using Sen. John McCain to assail the pursuit of campaign money. On the second day of his Gray tour of California, Simon barnstormed in San Diego, Los Angeles and Bakersfield.

With crowds of supporters shouting he blamed his rival for bad schools, the power crisis and the sputtering economy, among other things. But above all, he accused Davis of misusing the office in a relentless hunt for campaign contributions. there anybody here that doubts that Gray signature is for Simon called to100 cheering supporters at an Olvera Street rally in downtown Los Angeles. they shouted back. there anybody that doubts that Gray Davis See Simon, Page A11 Brian Walski Los Angeles Times GOP RALLY: Bill Simon Jr.

heads to the stage at a campaign rally on Olvera Street. Myung J. Chun Los Angeles Times FIRING UP: Gov. Gray Davis concludes a rally in San Diego to chants of more Davis, Simon Make Final Bids On the second day of his Gray tour, Republican challenger accuses governor of misusing office. Populist Party Wins Elections in Turkey The Justice and Development Party, a populist party with Is- lamist roots, easily wins national elections.

A3 Bush Is Said to Favor Ouster of SEC Chairman No decision about Harvey Pitt is expected until after election day. He could still be on the panel. C1 Weather Mostly sunny skies after patchy morning fog and low clouds. L.A. Downtown: B12 On DVD, Snares New Records The film broke records with 7million DVDs and videocassettes sold Friday.

E1 News Summary A2 E11 Dear E13 E18 The A9 B9 The B5 INSIDE 7 6 859 44 00050 Columbia TriStar By Robert Lee Hotz Times Staff Writer ORLANDO, Fla. Scientists have proved what so many have long suspected: The very presence of your solicitous spouse can be a pain. By eavesdropping on electrical activity in the most private precincts of the mind, researchers investigating the effects of chronic pain discovered that a husband or wife can make the ache feel three times worse simply by being in the room. All they had to do to make their spouses feel better, the neural probes revealed, was leave. The new research, made public here Sunday at a meeting of 24,000 neuroscientists, offers the first clear neural evidence that social experiences can directly alter the way the brain responds to the kind of chronic pain experienced by more than 97 millionpeople in the United States.

Chronic pain, the researchers concluded, can become A Comforting Spouse Could Turn Out to Be a Real Pain See Pain, Page A17 By Gregg Jones Times Staff Writer MONTEREY Gov. Gray Davis crisscrossed California on Sunday in the firsthalf of a final campaign sprint aimed at transforming a steady lead in the polls into triumph in election. In a daylong blitz that began at a Sunday morning worship service in Los Angeles and ended with rallies in Monterey and Oakland, the incumbent Democrat touted his record on education, health care, labor issues, gun control and abortion rights. moving the state forward, my Davis said to the cheers of about 200 supporters at arally at the Scottish Rite Center in San Diego. Davis chided his Republican opponent, Bill Simon for having voted only occasionally in recent elections.

Davis challenged his supporters to reject that example. going to vote for four more years of Davis shouted. going to vote for everyone on this stage! going to vote for a Democratic Drawing distinctions between his views and the See Davis, Page A11 In stops around the state, governor urges loyal Democrats to vote, touts his record on health care, education..