Privacy

For $10,000, you get…

April 16, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Sacramento Bee (California)</p> <p>What is wrong with this picture? Plenty, if you think that public stewards of taxpayer money should keep at arm's length from those seeking that money. By agreeing to participate in the fundraiser, Hall, Klein and Penhoet have flunked this test. "It smacks of selling access and influence to well-heeled donors," said John Simpson of the watchdog group, the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.</p>

Stem Cell Institute Awards 1st Grants;

April 11, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Roughly $12.1 million from private sources will jump-start research as the organization's ability to issue bonds is determined in court.</h3><p class="source">The Los Angeles Times</p> <p>John M. Simpson of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, which has pressed for transparency in the grant-making process, said "everybody's glad that they're doing some funding." But he called on the institute to release the names of 10 institutions who were denied grants, to ensure that not only applicants with representation on the oversight board are receiving funding.</p>

Stem-cell institute issues first grants;

April 11, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>FUNDING HAS BEEN HELD UP BY LAWSUITS</h3><p class="source">The San Jose Mercury News</p> <p>One consumer advocate raised questions about the fundraiser. John Simpson of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights said letting drug companies or stem-cell companies buy tickets at the event could create a potential conflict of interest if they later apply for the institute's stem-cell research grants. "If these things are going for $10,000 a pop, it would be kind of interesting to see who is putting up the $10,000 and why they are doing it,'' he said.</p>

Stem-cell grants ought to hinge on public benefits

April 10, 2006  ·  John M. Simpson

<p class="source">The San Jose Mercury News</p> <p>Companies like Genentech act like committed socialists when it comes to taxpayers and the government bearing the risk of drug development. But they are greedy capitalists when it's time to parcel out the profits. </p>

Stem-cell grants ought to hinge on public benefits

April 10, 2006  ·  John M. Simpson

<p class="source">The San Jose Mercury News</p> <p>Companies like Genentech act like committed socialists when it comes to taxpayers and the government bearing the risk of drug development. But they are greedy capitalists when it's time to parcel out the profits.</p>

Philanthropic groups to loan Calif. stem cell agency $14 million

April 5, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Associated Press</p> <p>John Simpson of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights said that even though it appears that "there are safeguards in place to ensure that purchasers of the notes don't hold undue sway over the stem cell institute," he criticized the agency for the "secretive" way it went about the process. "A completely open, transparent process would better serve everyone," Simpson said. "I truly wish they'd see that."</p>

WARF says it’s ready for a legal challenge on stem cells

April 3, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Wisconsin Technology Newtork</p> <p>In a March 22 letter to WARF, John Simpson, the stem cell project director for the Santa Monica-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, noted that WARF has not demanded license fees from non-profit institutions, and discoveries resulting from taxpayer-funded research should not be considered a commercial activity.</p>

Taxpayers must benefit from stem-cell research

March 27, 2006  ·  John M. Simpson

<!-- excerpt --><p>Certainly drug firms are entitled to fair profits; they just aren't entitled to charge exorbitant rates for their products when taxpayers directly funded the research that made a drug possible in the first place. </p>

Robotics Expert: Self-Driving Cars ‘Absolutely Not’ Ready For Deployment

March 21, 2006  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Urmson explained that <a href="http://bollywoodpopat.com/2016/02/06/alphabet-plans-to-test-wireless-charging-on-its-self.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Google</a> is working closely with Foxx's team and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about regulation of these vehicles.</p>

Dump the donors

March 20, 2006  ·  Jamie Court

<p class="source">The Los Angeles Times</p> <p>Tonight, Arnold Schwarzenegger is to return to the Beverly Hilton for the first time since his contrite apology to voters after the defeat of every single one of his ballot measures in last year's special election. The governor will probably be anything but contrite as he panders to donors who will pony up as much as $100,000 each to fund his reelection campaign.</p>

Dump the donors

March 20, 2006  ·  Jamie Court

<p class="source">The Los Angeles Times</p> <p>Tonight, Arnold Schwarzenegger is to return to the Beverly Hilton for the first time since his contrite apology to voters after the defeat of every single one of his ballot measures in last year's special election. The governor will probably be anything but contrite as he panders to donors who will pony up as much as $100,000 each to fund his reelection campaign.</p>

Big-Bucks Fund-Raiser Draws Governor’s Backers to Beverly Hills

March 20, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">City News Service</p> <p>"When he ran for office, he said that he was going to make fundamental changes to the system and yet he is perpetuating the system in an even more exacerbated manner by the amount of fund raising he is doing," Jill Furillo, the Southern California director of the California Nurses Association, told KCAL9.</p>