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Happy Monday. We hope everyone had a restful weekend spent with friends, family and loved ones…because now it’s time to get back to work. As always, we try to compile the actionable stories that will make you smarter, more productive and better looking. This week, we are showcasing a mixture of Intelligence Community, political and industry news that includes coverage of Dick Cheney’s comments on the CIA probe, Tom Ridge’s new book, Intellipedia and India’s problems on the lunar front. So, refill your coffee and scroll down.

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Welcome to the ever-famous, ever-popular Friday’s Food for Thought post on got geoint? We live in a world populated with people who have the most amazing — and some say mind blowing — talents. And, many scientists believe that all humans will eventually evolve into having these traits. How does this impact us and our community? Think about it. These talents could be used by the Intelligence Community to help further protect our nation. For example, there is a woman whose sense of sight and sound are blended and she actually sees colors as a result. Wouldn’t a person with these talents be an asset to the NSA? Pretty cool, huh? Read more below.

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Following is an exclusive USGIF member podcast with Dr. Shawana Johnson, President of Global Marketing Insights. Dr. Johnson is joined by Robert Tetrault of USDA FAS, and both discuss, in detail, their collaborative efforts and what they will be showcasing at GEOINT 2009 are doing for USDA FAS.

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It has been a busy summer for the Google Earth Enterprise (GEE) team — thanks for giving us the chance to tell you a bit about what we’ve been working on. There have been some interesting product updates to speak of and some cool customer uses for GEE this summer — especially in the government sector.

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This could certainly be good news for those of us developing top secret technologies and solutions for the Defense Department. Wired’s “Danger Room” blog recently ran a story about how the DoD will spend $35.8 billion on secret technologies in 2010, according to a new report from the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. The funding is split between research and weapons purchases. Eighty percent of the funding goes to the Air Force. It is also noted that “black” spending accounts for nearly half of the Air Force’s purchases, and secret Air Force spending previously produced the SR-71 recon plane, the F-117 stealth fighter and the B-2 stealth bomber. Read more here.

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Our friends at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s (NGA) Public Affairs office produced this most excellent video called “A Great Day at NGA.” We feel that this video does an excellent job of explaining NGA’s mission in a way that is, frankly, pretty cool. Scroll down and check out for your selves.

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Federal Computer Week just came out with a story regarding the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and how it is soliciting information from companies to help the agency upgrade its geospatial data. According to a request for information, the NGA is interested in a consistently produced, global geospatial dataset to be used to produce a kind of chart called a NAVPLAN. An NGA spokeswoman explained to FCW that NAVPLAN charts are small-scale charts used for planning flight missions. So, according to an RFI posted on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site, the NGA is interested in data at the scale of 1:500,000 or smaller and with specific features. Read more here.

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Yesterday, the CIA declassified slew of documents that detailed the questionable treatment by the CIA of terrorist suspects. In an effort to defend the agency, CIA Director Leon Panetta sent an e-mail to the agency’s workforce saying it is his “primary interest—when it comes to a program that no longer exists—is to stand up for those officers who did what their country asked and who followed the legal guidance they were given.” He also added that “That is the president’s position, too,” he added.

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Following is an exclusive podcast with Mark M. Lowenthal, President & CEO, The Intelligence & Security Academy. Mark discusses with us the upcoming GEOINT 101 course, which is a one-day course providing an introduction to the fundamentals of the geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) community, core GEOINT technologies and operations, and the role of GEOINT in national security affairs supporting decision makers and operations. The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation developed this course and offers it in partnership with The Intelligence and Security Academy. This is the only GEOINT 101 course certified by USGIF, and a discount is available for USGIF Members. So, don’t miss out on this one-of-a-kind educational opportunity! First class convenes Sept 29 and click here to register.

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Welcome to the Monday Morning News Kick Off post, exclusively on got geoint? As many of you may have noticed, our FFT post’s theme was all about going back to school. So, many of you — those with children — may have been dealing with the “first day of school challenges” on the home front this weekend. Well, fret no more. You are probably now in your office, ready to jump start the the work week. And, what better way to do that than to read our Monday Morning News Kick Off post. Today, we have lots of news to share – from the CIA under scrutiny and an industry report that states that the geospatial industry is down 1 percent. Scroll down for more actionable news you can use.

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