Older Population

The Census Bureau has released today, Monday, July 20, 2009 a study entitled, An Aging World: 2008. Commissioned by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Aging, the study contains detailed international information about life expectancy; health; disability; gender balance; marital status; living arrangements; education and literacy; labor force participation and retirement; and pensions.

Statistics that might be surprising include the current rate of growth of older people in developing countries is more than double that in developed nations. Also, the so-called "oldest old" or those 80 and above are the fastest growing portion of the total population in many countries. For more details about the report, see NIH News.

Moon Walk

The last few weeks t.v. stations have constantly played images of Michael Jackson moonwalking, but today's moonwalking image is a 40 year old video of Neil Armstrong taking the first steps on the surface of the moon and uttering the now famous, "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind." Walking across the surface of the moon along with fellow Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin while astronaut Michael Collins manned the space module, Armstrong likened the scenery to the American dessert.

YouTube has made available videos of both the moon landing and Armstrong's speech. NASA has a link to the news conference of President Obama with Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins at 2:30 p.m. today. Also available through NASA is the text of President Kennedy's May 25, 1961 speech proposing to put a human on the Moon by the end of the decade and his Sept. 12, 1961 address at Rice University with his oft-quoted words "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too."

Given this Rice and Houston connection, SpaceFest is commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing with a four day (July 17-20, 2009) celebration at Houston's downtown park, Discovery Green. Entertainment includes music, space films, historical exhibits, and activities for kids.

For more information about Rice University's extensive involvement in space initiatives, see the Rice News story "We choose to go to the moon."

Security and Stability in Afghanistan

The Department of Defense has released its latest version (June 2009) of Progress toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan. The report states the "core goal for the United States in Afghanistan and Pakistan is to disrupt, dismantle, and eventually defeat al-Qaida and its extremist allies, their support structures, and their safe havens in Pakistan, and to prevent their return to either country."

In order to achieve the core goal, the report lists the following objectives:

• Disrupting terrorist networks in Afghanistan and especially Pakistan to degrade any ability they have to plan and launch international terrorist attacks.
  
• Promoting a more capable, accountable, and effective government in Afghanistan that serves the Afghan people and can eventually function, especially regarding internal security, with limited international support.
  
• Developing increasingly self-reliant Afghan security forces that can lead the counterinsurgency and counterterrorism fight with reduced U.S. assistance.
  
• Assisting efforts to enhance civilian control and stable constitutional government in Pakistan and a vibrant economy that provides opportunity for the people of Pakistan.
  
• Involving the international community to actively assist in addressing these objectives for Afghanistan and Pakistan, with an important leadership role for the UN.

The 76 page report includes an executive summary, acronyms, statistics and tables, and discussion about strategies to meet the objectives.

Track Environmental Exposures & Chronic Health Conditions

According to a July 7, 2009 press release the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has launched the online Environmental Public Health Tracking Network which enables users to track environmental exposures and chronic health conditions. According to Michael McGeehin, Ph.D., director of the Division of Environmental Hazard and Health Effects of CDC's National Center for Environmental Health, "The Tracking Network is the foundation we need to make better environmental health decisions and help prevent chronic illnesses, such as asthma, cancer, and heart disease."

This program has already proven beneficial for the Utah Department of Health which received a call from a person concerned about incidents of cancer in his neighborhood. Instead of taking a year to complete a study, in less than a day the tracking program was able to determine the likelihood of cancer in his area was no greater than in the state as a whole.

In addition to the press release and site, A YouTube video is available with more details about the program.

2010 Census

To lay the groundwork for the 2010 Census, census workers are already canvassing addresses in 151 local census offices. They plan to finish by mid July. Census workers will carry an official Census Bureau badge and will never ask for bank or social security information. Workers also take an oath not to reveal respondents' answer even to official government agencies such as the FBI, the IRS, the CIA, Welfare, or Immigration.

The 2010 Census kicks off in January 2010 in remote Alaskan villages. In late March most Americans will receive their census forms by mail or in person. An advance letter will inform people that the census is about to begin. Census forms will be available by request in five languages other than English: Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Russian.

It is important for everyone to complete census forms since data collected from the census are used to decide how many Congressional seats a state gets as well as what community services and how much federal funding local, state, and tribal governments will receive.

For those interested in a job with the census, peak recruitment begins in the fall of 2009 with most hiring occurring in the spring of 2010. For more information and for a link to a practice test for potential census workers, access the 2010 Census Job site.

Cyberspace Policy Review

According to a May 29, 2009 White House press release, President Obama's requested report on cybersecurity is now available. Entitled Cyberspace Policy Review: Assuring a Trusted and Resilient Information and Communications Infrastructure, the report contains the following five main chapters:

1. Leading from the Top
2. Building Capacity for a Digital Nation
3. Sharing Responsibility for Cybersecurity
4. Creating Effective Information Sharing and Incident Response
5. Encouraging Innovation

Intelligence Community Overview

In an introduction to Consumer's Guide to Intelligence released May 28, 2009, David Shedd, Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Policy, Plans, and Requirements, states that "... it is important for consumers to understand the mission, background, opportunities, and challenges facing the IC (Intelligence Community)." The report begins by explaining what the Intelligence Community is and what it can and cannot do. It discusses sources and levels of intelligence; planning and direction; collection; processing; analysis and production; and dissemination. The report also details what role consumers can play in the intelligence process.

To read other publications by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, access their Reports and Publications page.