Free Republic

One year after California Air Resources Board Chairwoman Mary Nichols decided to sell off some energy stocks that showed a potential conflict of interest with her role as a state regulator, records show her diverse investment portfolio still contains many energy interests. Nichols also sold stock in a company that stands to profit from new diesel regulations that the ARB is set to adopt this fall, and other companies that have business before the board, according to financial disclosure documents filed with the Fair Political Practices Commission. But FPPC records show that she and her husband, attorney John Duam, sold...

Thus far, California’s landmark law to cut greenhouse gases from its factories and businesses—a law that has given Gov. Schwarzenegger an international image of environmental activist—has been mostly talk and little action. Rules covering perhaps 60 percent of the reductions needed to meet the targets are already in place or soon will be, the result of other laws, covering such things as renewable energy standards, energy efficiency, clean-car rules, low-carbon fuel standards and others. One key component, to cut greenhouse gases from car tailpipes, is stalled pending a federal waiver, although that permission is all but certain after President Bush...

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Saddam Hussein's unruly execution, gunbattles in Iraq and U.S. airstrikes on Somalia are increasing hostility toward America in the Arab world and deepening the Shiite-Sunni divide. The conflicts in Iraq and Somalia are not directly connected, but this week's U.S. strikes in the Horn of Africa country are feeding a fear among Sunni Muslim Arabs that a growing campaign is challenging their historic dominance of the Middle East. In Somalia, the assault is seen as coming from mainly Christian Ethiopia, whose troops swept in to topple the hard-line Islamic Sunni group that had seized control of...

Three months after his initial choice of an industry lobbyist was condemned by environmentalists and rejected by Democratic legislators, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday appointed a respected air-quality scientist to chair the California Air Resources Board. The Republican governor's choice of Democrat Robert F. Sawyer — a UC Berkeley emeritus energy professor who has been active on air-quality issues for decades — is not expected to generate any significant opposition from environmental groups or the Legislature. The appointment of Sawyer, 70, must be confirmed by the state Senate. The job pays $117,818 a year. "I am honored Gov. Schwarzenegger has...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - A Senate committee on Wednesday recommended removing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's appointee to head the state Air Resources Board, an agency that has led the nation in cutting air pollution and reducing automobile emissions. A vote by the full Senate was scheduled for Thursday. The committee, on a party-line vote, cited the polarizing influence of Cindy Tuck as chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board. She has held the job for just six weeks after two decades representing the oil and energy industries. The air board has enacted numerous regulations that have been mimicked by other states and...

SACRAMENTO - Bay Area transit agencies are fighting a proposed state regulation that would force them to use natural gas buses -- a move that could cost $300 million and trigger reductions in service while reaping big bucks for an industry that has contributed heavily to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The requirement, to be considered by air regulators next month, has amplified concern not only about special interest influence but also about the governor's appointment of Cindy Tuck to lead the California Air Resources Board. Tuck is a former energy industry lobbyist who faces a contentious Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday....

Special Dispatch Series - No. 367 April 12, 2002 No.367 Saudi Government-Controlled Daily Praises Passover and Jerusalem Supermarket Suicide Bombers In a recent article for the Saudi government-controlled daily Al-Jazirah, columnist Dr. Khalil Ibrahim Al-Sa'adat applauded the actions of 'Abd Al-Baset 'Oudeh, the Palestinian who detonated himself at a Passover 'Seder' in a Netanya hotel, and Ayat Al-Akhras, who carried out a suicide attack in a Jerusalem supermarket. Following are excerpts from the article:[1]Praising the Passover Bomber "May Allah have mercy upon you, oh 'Abd Al-Baset 'Oudeh, mujaheed and martyr, the quiet hero who infiltrated so elegantly and spoke...