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The article discusses the measures and indicators used to describe the distribution of income in the U.S. Topics covered include the complexities of income measurement, the important considerations when interpreting income statistics and the use of Gini index as a measure of income dispersion. Also mentioned is the gap in income between households at the top of the distribution and those in the middle and bottom of the distribution.

The article discusses the measurement of income as part of an empirical analysis of the income distribution. Topics covered include the impact of the level of income analysis on the indicators used in characterizing the income distribution, the comparison of Census-defined income measures and the key areas considered in defining income such as accounting for capital gains and losses.

A table is presented that identifies data and statistics from government, industry and information technology (IT) security firms on the current state of cybersecurity threats in the U.S. and internationally.

The article discusses China's economic and environmental context as of July 2011. It notes that China's annual growth rate averaged 10% from 1980-2009, tripling its economy to become the world's second largest behind the U.S., with 3.2 trillion U.S. dollars in foreign exchange reserves by June 2011. It also reports that China's 200 million of its 1.3 billion people continue to live in poverty. A comparative table is provided on selected economic, energy and GHG statistics for China and the U.S.

The article examines the discrepancies between official trade statistics released by the U.S. and China. U.S. data show that China has posted a bilateral trade surplus of 273.1 billion dollars in 2010 while China data indicate that its trade surplus with the U.S. for the year was only 181.9 billion dollars. It explores trade data from the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System or Harmonized System (HS), a system used by both countries. Technical and non-technical explanations of the difference in trade data are given, one is intermediation.

This report presents a profile of the membership of the 110th Congress. Statistical information is included on selected characteristics of Members, including data on party affiliation, average age and length of service, occupation, religious affiliation, female and minority Members, foreign-born Members, and military service. Currently, in the House of Representatives, there are 240 Democrats (including four Delegates) and 200 Republicans (including the Resident Commissioner). The Senate has 49 Democrats; two Independents, who have aligned themselves with the Democrats; and 49 Republicans. The average age of Members of both houses at the convening of the 110th Congress was 57 years; of Representatives, 55.93 years; and of Senators, 61.73 years. The overwhelming majority of Members have a college education. The dominant professions of Members are public service/politics, business, and law. Protestants collectively constitute the majority religious affiliation of Members. Roman Catholics account for the largest single religious denomination, and numerous other affiliations are represented. The average length of service in the House at the beginning of the Congress was about 10 years (5.07 terms); in the Senate, 12.82 years (slightly over two terms). A record number of 90 women serve in the 110th Congress: 74 in the House, 16 in the Senate. There are 42 black or African American Members in the House, including two Delegates, and one black Senator, the same as the record number in the 109th Congress. There are 30 Hispanic or Latino Members serving: 26 in the House, including the Resident Commissioner, and three in the Senate. Eight Members (five Representatives, one Delegate, and two Senators) are Asian or Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander. There is one American Indian (Native American), who serves in the House. This report will be revised at the commencement of the 111th Congress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents several estimates by governmental and nongovernmental organizations on the civilian fatalities in Iraq during the Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). The report entitled "Iraq: Summary of U.S. Casualties" by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) suggests a definite number of military and civilian casualties during the OIF. It adds that statistics for both civilian and military casualties come through alternative sources.

The article discusses the importance of income data to a meaningful income distribution analysis in the U.S. Topics covered include the main sources of annual data used in studying income distribution, the collection by the Census Bureau of income data from a random sample of households and the advantage of using the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data on pre-tax, pre-transfer taxable income.