John M. Simpson is an American consumer rights advocate and former journalist. Since 2005, he has worked for Consumer Watchdog, a nonpartisan nonprofit public interest group, as the lead researcher on Inside Google, the group's effort to educate the public about Google's dominance over the internet and the need for greater online privacy.
Bob Klein's advocacy group has just apologized for its sharp personal attack on Sen. Sheila Kuehl because she supports ...
Jul 12, 2008Robert Klein, who is chairman of California's $6 billion stem cell agency, must resign in the wake of an inappropriate personal attack…
Jul 11, 2008Due to soaring oil prices, everyday consumer items including plastic bags, shampoo, and diapers cost more. Many American consumers winced when gas…
Jul 8, 2008Employees at the California's stem cell agency face a salary freeze for the rest of the year, "in solidarity with the state."…
Jun 30, 2008The pharmaceutical industry flooded Congress with money in 2007 in a record $168 million lobbying effort, according to a Center for Public…
Jun 25, 2008David Jensen, has been beating up on the California stem cell agency on his blog, The California Stem Cell...
Jun 24, 2008California's stem cell oversight committee takes up the agency's 2008-2009 $13.04 million budget at its ...
Jun 24, 2008The state stem cell agency is refining the policies that govern the way $3 billion in grants are administered. One proposed change…
Jun 11, 2008Call it Big Pharma U. It's the commonplace practice of drug companies and medical device manufacturers to flood medical schools with millions…
Jun 3, 2008Do you want to know what California's stem cell agency is doing with California taxpayers' $6 billion? Here's one way...
Jun 3, 2008Dr. Alan Trounson, the California stem cell institute's president, wants to revise the agency's strategic plan. The effort is needed, but Trounson…
Jun 2, 2008Despite difficulty mustering a quorum the stem agency's Governance Subcommittee Wednesday approved a 66 percent increase in a contract with its outside…
May 29, 2008When the California stem cell agency was in start-up mode, the staff had a difficult time making key documents available before oversight…
May 27, 2008The following Op-Ed Commentary by Consumer Watchdog's John M. Simpson, was published in the San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday, May 15, 2008:…
May 15, 2008The stem cell agency's Biotech Loan Task Force approved a draft loan policy at its meeting last week and sent it on…
May 13, 2008"All Californians are paying for Prop 71," said Dr. Claire Pomeroy, "so all should benefit from it." Dr. Pomeroy is the Dean…
May 9, 2008
One of the the problems with the California stem cell agency's board is that it is fraught with conflicts of interest. It…
May 8, 2008I stumbled across a delightful article in The New York Times this morning: "Citing Ethics, Some Doctors Are Rejecting Industry Pay."
Apr 15, 2008