Tomorrow, January 21, is the second anniversary of Citizens United v. FEC — the disastrous decision by the right-wing majority on the Supreme Court that allows corporations to spend unlimited money to influence elections. As we mark this important date, the movement to amend the U.S. Constitution to get corporate money out of elections is picking up some serious steam.

Tens of thousands of activists across the country have already signed PFAW’s petition calling for an amendment … since November, thousands of Americans attended hundreds of movement-building house parties nationwide — organized by People For the American Way, Public Citizen, Move To Amend and other allies, and joined by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Jim Hightower. And our movement has been featured on TV on both The Dylan Ratigan Show and The Young Turks.

It’s high time YOU got on board!

Please take a moment to add your name to the petition now and help restore Government By the PEOPLE!

TEN bills proposing a constitutional amendment to overturn the Citizens United decision have been introduced in the current Congress — including one by Rep. Ted Deutch to expressly exclude for-profit corporations from the rights given to natural persons by the Constitution, prohibit corporate spending in all elections, and affirm the authority of Congress and the States to regulate corporations and to regulate and set limits on all election contributions and expenditures.

Here’s just a glimpse of the growing national movement!

• In Colorado, the Jamestown Board of Trustees unanimously passed a resolution calling for a constitutional amendment establishing that only human beings, not corporations, are entitled to constitutional rights and that the First Amendment does not protect unlimited political spending as free speech. And voters in Boulder City passed a ballot measure calling for an amendment to the US Constitution that would state that corporations are not people and reject the legal status of money as free speech.
• In California, the city councils of Fort Bragg, Richmond, Marina, Point Arena and Aracata, Oakland and Los Angeles passed resolutions last year supporting an amendment to make sure corporations don’t have the same free speech rights as people in elections.
• Missoula, Montana voters approved a local ballot referendum urging Congress to propose a constitutional amendment that clearly states that corporations are not people and do not have the same rights as citizens by a three to one margin.
• Residents of Monroe, Maine passed a Local Self-Governance Ordinance stating that “no corporation doing business within the Town of Monroe shall be recognized as a ‘natural person’ under the United States or Maine Constitutions or laws of the United States or Maine.”

And the councils of Chapel Hill, NC, Duluth, MN, Pueblo County, CO and New York City just recently passed resolutions supporting a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.

Please add your name to PFAW’s petition to Congress calling for constitutional amendment now!

Generations of Americans have come together to force much-needed change by amending the U.S. Constitution to expand democracy and protect fundamental rights. With the voice of the voter being increasingly drowned out by unlimited corporate spending in elections, the need has arisen again. Now, it’s our generation’s turn.

Please speak out now.

Thank you for standing up against corporate power run amok and for Government By the People — the American Way.

Sincerely,

Michael Keegan, President

(ARA) – Last year’s high grocery prices had many Americans looking for ways to save at the supermarket. The upswing in prices over the past 12 months may have you wondering what will happen this year at your local grocery store.

In partnership with ConAgra Foods, industry expert, and “Supermarket Guru,” Phil Lempert, predicts an interesting year ahead.

“We will continue to see higher prices, but we will also see all the different ways Americans love their food – in supermarkets, on television, at restaurants and now even on their mobile phones,” Lempert says. “We are on the verge of what may be one of the most exciting and game-changing years in the food world.”

Lempert advises consumers to watch for 10 major trends in their supermarkets this year:

1. Higher food prices – Last year’s trend will continue, so consumers will place even more emphasis on ways to save money. In addition to already-popular methods like coupons and frequent shopper cards, you may want to consider using your mobile device to menu plan while you shop. Websites like ConAgra’s ReadySetEat.com give you recipe ideas and can also help you find out which ingredients are on sale in your store.

2. The group experience will grow – Food blogs set a foundation for group experiences, food trucks tweet their locations, and flash food raves assemble underground at midnight. More Americans are choosing to eat and shop together in new ways. Mobile app marketers will offer “social rewards” for groups that shop together – think of it as the virtual version of warehouse clubs.

3. The baby boomer influence will grow – Last year, the first of the 76 million-strong boomer generation turned 65. Their influence on the supermarket will show up this year in increased healthful food options, wider aisles and lower shelves.

4. Increased emphasis on “farm to fork” – More Americans are interested in knowing where the food comes from. In 2012, you’ll see more blogs and social media featuring farmers, as well as advertising and TV programs starring farmers as food experts. Hunt’s tomatoes, for example, are grown in Oakdale, California and harvested at the peak of ripeness then flash-steamed to maintain the natural tomato goodness.

5. The end of the checkout lane – Tech-savvy options are gaining popularity, with consumers enjoying self-checkouts, comparing prices at nearby retailers, and taking advantage of the convenience of cellphone scanners, in-store interactive media devices, QR codes, RFID and mobile coupons.

6. Ethnic on the road – Food trucks are replacing gourmet and specialty stores as the channel to experiment and discover new food experiences – especially when it comes to ethnic foods. More often than not, these ethnic food trucks are operated by natives of the countries from which the actual cuisines being offered originated, and they have the ability and knowledge to share the heritage and romance of the food.

7. It’s a man’s (grocery shopping) world – Dads aren’t just winning the bread; these days, they’re also bringing it home from the grocery store. A Bureau of Labor Statistics study found that 41 percent of men are now preparing food for their families, as compared to half that percentage in 2003. Look for them to do more grocery shopping, too, Lempert predicts.

8. Extreme home cooking – More people will continue to eat at home to save money. Following the lead of extreme couponers, groups of everyday cooks pride themselves on making the most food for the least amount of money.

9. How sweet it isn’t – Reduced sugar products and revised Nutrition Facts panels will be the biggest health claim in 2012. With the negative health effects of sugar and high fructose corn syrup gaining so much attention, look for a continued emphasis on reducing sugar in our diets. Food producers like ConAgra are responding by eliminating high fructose corn syrup from such staples as Peter Pan peanut butter and Hunt’s Ketchup products.

10. Listen to your food – You judge the readiness of some foods (like microwave popcorn or grilled burgers), by the sounds they make. Multisensory perception will be one of the new “food sciences” in 2012, as psychologists and food scientists join forces to design, create and influence the sounds of our foods to convey freshness, taste and even health attributes.

For more information about Phil Lempert’s 2012 predictions, visit SupermarketGuru.com, and for simple meal ideas made in 30 minutes or less, visit ReadySetEat.com.

(ARA) – Smartphones are steadily becoming commonplace devices for everyone from professionals to busy moms. Users of these devices now instinctively turn to their phones for tasks that previously they would only have accomplished on a computer, over the phone or in person. These tasks include surfing the Web, obtaining driving directions, connecting via social media, and even shopping.

In the United States, 87.4 million people own smartphones. And, in 2012, smartphone sales are expected to top sales of personal computers. As smartphones allow people to connect with businesses in new and exciting ways, businesses in turn need to become savvier about going mobile.

For example, a small home health care provider recently utilized smartphones to expand to 400 patients across four major counties  in Utah. Its employees previously struggled to keep up with all the paperwork and regulatory requirements, so the company decided to go completely mobile, equipping its entire staff with Microsoft Windows Phones. This allowed the staff to visit patients and instantly update their condition and treatments.

For small businesses, embracing the smartphone age is becoming crucial for success. Here are some easy ways small businesses can go mobile in 2012:

* Invest in smartphones – Transitioning from a flip phone to a smartphone makes it much easier to run a business on the go. Providing easy access to email, calendar information and the Internet, smartphones increase productivity and can provide peace of mind while out of the office. Today, smartphones are more affordable than in the past, so now is a perfect time to take advantage of their capabilities.

* Consider industry-specific devices – Numerous mobile technologies, from smartphone applications to tablets, have been created with specific industries in mind. For example, rugged tablets that can withstand the elements are available for those in the construction industry and tablets created for the health care industry can be sterilized between patient visits to avoid contamination.

* Make websites mobile-compatible – In an era in which most consumers first go to the Internet to find local service providers, it’s crucial that small businesses have a polished and informative online presence that’s friendly for mobile consumption. Even for business owners who aren’t tech-savvy, starting a website is feasible. A quick Internet search will reveal numerous free or low-cost website templates. You might also choose to work with a Web developer to ensure your business’s website is smartphone-friendly.

* Get social – Popular social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter make it simple to connect with customers in a casual, but also personal, manner and also embrace the mobile population that frequents these sites on smartphones. Consider leveraging one or more of these platforms to further establish your business’s online presence and create positive buzz around new offerings and special deals and promotions.

For more ideas on how to easily boost your business with mobile technology, visit www.microsoftbusinesshub.com.

By Ian Demsky~

Newswise — A technological breakthrough is allowing the University of Michigan Health System to be the first teaching hospital in the U.S. to perform some CT scans using a fraction of the radiation dose required for a conventional CT image.

Over the past decade, U-M scientists have contributed to the research behind the new GE Healthcare technology, known as Veo.

“Reducing patients’ radiation exposure is a high priority for us,” says Ella Kazerooni, M.D., M.S., professor of radiology at the U-M Medical School. “The radiation dose for a standard chest CT is equal to about 70 chest x-rays. In comparison, a chest CT using Veo can use a radiation dose equivalent to just one or two chest x-rays.”

Doses for scans using Veo, however, will vary depending on factors like the size of the patient, the part of the body being scanned, and the diagnostic task, Kazerooni notes.

Veo was installed on one CT scanner at U-M in late 2011 and the Health System plans to offer the technology more widely in the future. Veo is already in use in Europe, Canada and Asia.

CT, or computed tomography, uses X-rays to diagnose and monitor a variety of health conditions such as cancer, complex bone fractures, blood clots and clogged coronary arteries. The use of CT scans has increased in recent years, leading to concerns about increased lifetime radiation exposure, which may raise one’s risk of developing cancer.

To a trained radiologist like Kazerooni, an image made using Veo looks slightly different than a conventional CT image.

“I might describe it as a little waxy looking,” she says. “But the real question isn’t whether the picture is as pretty, but whether we can see the things we need to see and get the critical information from an image using a much lower dose of radiation. And from what we’ve seen so far, the answer is, yes we can.”

Doctors at U-M stress that Veo is just one component of ongoing efforts to minimize radiation exposure for all patients. Other approaches include using non-ionizing radiation methods like ultrasound and MRI whenever possible; employing protocols that tie radiation dose to a patient’s size (smaller patients require less radiation); and carefully selecting and training CT technologists.

“We’re very excited to be adding Veo to the measures we already have in place to ensure that we get the diagnostic images we need to treat our patients using the lowest amount of radiation possible,” says N. Reed Dunnick, Fred Jenner Hodges Professor of Radiology at the U-M Medical School and chair of the Department of Radiology.

Initially, Veo will be available to a limited number of adult patients because the technology is equipped on only one scanner. U-M plans to offer Veo more widely as it upgrades the seven compatible CT systems at the new C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and University Hospital campus.

Most of the CT scanners at the University Hospital campus and satellite clinics already employ low-dose technologies and the Department of Radiology is pursuing ongoing efforts to keep radiation doses for all patients to a minimum.

Veo is not a new type of machine, but a new way of processing data, explains Jeff Fessler, Ph.D., a U-M professor in the departments of Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Radiology and Biomedical Engineering. Using a technique called Model-based Iterative Reconstruction (MBIR), the technology employs sophisticated algorithms to squeeze more information out of the existing X-ray data.

“It uses a less idealized model of the data collected by a CT scanner, so we need less radiation to make a good picture,” says Fessler whose research group has been collaborating with GE on the project for about a decade. “But these more accurate models require more computation.”

A CT scan takes pictures of 64 cross-sections of the body at a time, each less than 1 millimeter thick. A typical scan consists of thousands of these images.
“It’s a staggering amount of data,” he says. “And doctors can‘t just look at the raw data – they need software to process it into a meaningful image.”
While conventional CT images can be processed almost instantaneously, Veo’s advanced number-crunching processes about two scans per hour.
“So, we’re not going to use it on someone in the Emergency Department or our inpatient units who has an medical need to get the results back quickly,” Kazerooni says.

Still, the wait is a lot better than a few years ago, when it would take days to process such massive amounts of data.

“The algorithms are still slower than we want them to be, but we’re already working on developing a next generation that will be faster and make it easier for them to be used more widely,” Fessler notes.

In 2010, Fessler, Kazerooni and their colleagues at U-M were awarded a $1.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to work with collaborators from GE Global Research to develop MBIR methods for improving lung CT imaging.

“By developing this next generation technology alongside world class research universities like the University of Michigan, we’re able to help physicians deliver remarkably clear images at unprecedented low dose levels for their patients,” says Steve Gray, vice president and general manager of CT and Advantage Workstation for GE Healthcare.
Resources:
U-M Radiology and Imaging
http://www.uofmhealth.org/medical-services/radiology+and+imaging
U-M Electrical and Computer Engineering
http://www.eecs.umich.edu/ece/
More information about Veo from GE
http://newsroom.gehealthcare.com/articles/profound-image-clarity-at-ultra-low-dose/