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The 2008 presidential election has made everyone a political pundit, but up until now, election polls have been hard to categorize and break down. Most of the election polls that are on television are fine for most people; they show the general aggregated numbers, and some go a step further and break them down by gender. But those general numbers aren’t enough to satisfy journalists or otherwise inquisitive people. The University of Utah has created software that will make decoding election polls far easier. Want to know how full-time versus part-time students in a college town in the Midwest--or upstate California, for that matter--plan to vote? Simply drag and drop your selected parameters into the radial chart, and data from election polls will readjust accordingly. Want to manipulate information from election polls to see how black women with incomes over $50,000 plan to vote? You can do that too. The drag-and-drop functionality of the software created by the University of Utah ensures the radial chart will repopulate immediately.

Stocks decline and the Dow Jones industrials fall below 10,000 for the first time in 4 years.

The disgraced head of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc told Congress on Monday that U.S. banking regulators knew exactly how Lehman was pricing its distressed assets and about its liquidity in the months before its collapse.

Howard Stern and Beth Ostrosky have already gotten married, but we wish they’d consulted this list of top wedding venues before they’d tied the knot. To be sure, Le Cirque in New York City has been the premier power spot for over twenty years, but… it’s a restaurant. An internationally famous shock jock and a model deserve a bit better in my book. Beth Ostrosky is a vegetarian and an animal activist. Although the menu Beth Ostrosky and Howard Stern chose was animal-friendly, why not up the ante and wed at an eco-friendly hotel in Cambodia? Bride-to-be Beth Ostrosky also wanted the room on her wedding day to be romantic. The decor included a giant tree wrapped in 2,000 weeping willows and a chandelier of 3,000 white orchids. Bringing country landscapes to the city, Beth Ostrosky, is certainly beautiful, but transporting that decor is a considerable fuel expenditure. Why not just head to upstate New York? These 15 wedding venues run from eco-friendly to downright silly. Should Beth Ostrosky and Howard Stern ever renew their vows, let’s hope they consult this list first.

Stocks tanked Monday, with the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq falling to nearly five-year lows as credit markets seized up and European governments' rush to prop up failing financial firms underscored the global reach of the credit crunch.

It's getting McNasty again. ... McCain's course correction reflects a growing case of nerves within his high command as the electoral map has shifted significantly in Obama's favor in the past two weeks. "It's a dangerous road, but we have no choice," a top McCain strategist told the Daily News. "If we keep talking about the economic crisis, we're going to lose."

The 2010 Vancouver Olympics tickets won’t sell near as much as those for the Beijing games this summer much due to the panic surrounding the credit crunch. The financial crisis ravaged Canadian tourism this year, and that include British Columbia, the host province of the winter Olympics. “What has become common is to generate some economic leveraging around the Games,” Ed Mansfield of PricewaterhouseCoopers said. “If the world’s economy is turbulent, there will be far less of those individuals that will be coming. 2010 Vancouver Olympics Tickets went on sale on Friday and were planned to be on sale for the next five weeks. With all the economic hesitation, however, perhaps they’ll have to open that window for longer. 2010 Vancouver Olympics Tickets will be priced between $25 to $1,100. Vancouver hopes to sell 70%, or 1.6 million, of the tickets to the public.

AFP - US presidential hopeful John McCain was prone to mistakes during his time as a Navy pilot, and if today's standards were applied, his career may have ended in a hard landing, according to a report Monday by The Los Angeles Times.

AP - The administration has selected a former Goldman Sachs executive to be the interim head of its $700 billion rescue effort for financial institutions.

Obama Camp: Ayers who?

AP - Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin expanded her attack on Democrat Barack Obama's character Monday to include his relationship with an incendiary former pastor as well as his ties to 1960s-era radical Bill Ayers.

With guests like Jennifer Love Hewitt, Miley Cyrus knows how to throw a Sweet 16 that won’t be forgotten. However, she may have disappointed a lot of Disney fans this weekend as she had the theme park closed to the public to host her private party. Well, unless of course you were Tyra Banks, Jennifer Love Hewitt or Cindy Crawford… or you were a fan willing to pay $250 to get behind Mickey’s gates. Since Miley Cyrus’ birthday isn’t actually until November 23, we’re pretty certain she’ll celebrate a second time, and out of the public eye. Although Miley Cyrus is still underage, this slide offers some great cocktail and drinking ideas so Miley can keep guests like Jennifer Love Hewitt having a great time!

Election officials are reminding Georgia residents that (today) Monday is the last day to register to vote in the general election on Nov. 4.

Wow! Angelina Jolie took to the red carpet Saturday night ,for the first time since giving birth to the twins, and, man, did she look gorgeous! With Brad Pitt by her side, the already-skinny mom was out in NYC for the premiere of her new movie, Changeling. UsMagazine.com asked Angie what her secret was to looking so ridiculous just three months after having Knox and Vivienne, to which she credited her Atelier Versace gown. A good dress!" Angie quipped. "I just run around with my kids, and I’m breastfeeding. I think that does something." The actress also revealed her other four kids are dealing with two new little ones in the house. "They're funny," she said. "They want to help a lot now, but they're still so little, so it's like trying to change a diaper, you have to be careful because they squeeze them so tight." As for their brood of six -- they're not done yet. When reporters asked if Bras & Angie were planning on adopting more kids, Angie didn't hesitate. "We're going to have more kids one way or another," she revealed. More kids?! It just starts to get crazy after a while, don't ya think?

Guess what. That armed robbery of OJ Simpson's that had several witnesses and audio recordings to back it up - turns out he did it. By now you've probably realised that OJ Simpson has been found guilty on all 12 charges of armed robbery and kidnapping, and that he could face anything up to life in jail for it. However, OJ Simpson now plans to appeal the decision from jail, where he's being kept away from other prisoners to protect his own safety. But still, OJ Simpson won't find himself at a loss for anything to do now that he's been found guilty on all charges. He can finally write that book he's always wanted to, for example - the hypothetical If I Didn't Do It, Here's How It Didn't Happen; a breathtaking account of how OJ Simpson was actually doing a spot of Sudoku and thinking about kittens when he was supposed to be holding some men up in a hotel room.

I watched the Palin-Biden Debate with over a thousand Alaskans at the Bear Tooth Theatre in Anchorage. Our collective response was filtered through years of the Palin experience combined with the recent disillusionment courtesy of intense national media scrutiny. The debate hit a nerve when the Darfur Genocide was brought up. Palin said she led the charge to divest the Alaska Permanent Fund of Sudanese investments. The Alaska Permanent Fund was created in 1976 in order to set aside a share of oil revenues to benefit current and future generations. Alaskans have been encouraging the Permanent Fund Corporation's Board to diversify our investments and move to a socially responsible investment model. I, along with many other concerned Alaskans, testified last year at the annual permanent fund board of directors meeting held in Anchorage. Norway's successful Petroleum Fund and it's ethics board were held up as a shining example of how divestment could both be socially responsible and profitable-investment with a conscience. I was told by Mike Burns, Executive Director , that if I wanted the investment charter to include more than just a financial directive, I would need to take it up with the legislature. The genocide in Darfur seemed urgent and evidence enough to stop investing in companies who ignore slaughter to maximize profit. If there was a chance Alaskans could help end far away atrocities by divesting our $36 Billion portfolio from these businesses, we should. My testimony was met with ambivalence; the feeling you get when someone in customer service tells you it's 'not their department.' It occurred to me if the Darfur victims' age were recorded in trimesters instead of years, the ongoing Genocide of Innocents in Africa might get the same attention and support as abortion legislation. I was not surprised by Sarah's debate performance. The press had set the bar so low, she would have been deemed a success if she had only pointed out America's need for more maps, ala Miss South Carolina. Palin had been outfitted with a "Chatty Cathy Doll" box, and needed only to pull the string for the perfect Neocon talking point. I laughed at her "women's rights" comment. I recognized her skill at avoiding the question through my own experience of interviewing her. But her comment about Darfur, taking unearned credit, and knowing how it played to Americans, sent me through the roof. PALIN SAID: "We have a $40 billion investment fund, a savings fund called the Alaska Permanent Fund. When I and others in the legislature found out that we had hundreds of millions of dollars in Sudan, we called for divestment so we wouldn't be doing anything that could be seen as condoning activity in Darfur. That legislation hasn't passed yet but it needs to because all of us as individuals and humanitarians and as elected officials should do all we can to end those atrocities in that side of the world." PALIN LIED. On December 5th, 2007, Alaskans for Darfur screened the film, "The Devil Came on Horseback" at the University of Alaska, Anchorage. There was a postcard campaign that night to encourage the legislature and Governor Palin to divest Alaska's money of blood. The program announcement said, "We will also be there to help attendees write their legislators to ask for divestment of Alaska funds from companies that assist the Sudanese Government in its genocide campaign and to write Governor Palin to ask her to reject Sinopec's bid to build the Alaska Gas Pipeline." I was in attendance, and know Alaskans were taking this to heart. Governor Palin was aware of the divestment legislation as early as December 2007. Save Darfur met with her staff at the Governor's Anchorage Office to discuss Sinopec's role in the Alaska Gas Pipeline and to request her support for targeted divestment from Sudan. It turned out Sinopec did not get the license to build the pipeline, but many felt they should not even be considered given their record in Sudan. Last December 11th, I posted this on my radio show blog: "Ok, Mike Burns has graciously agreed to re-open the public testimony tomorrow (Wednesday) morning at 9am at the Hilton, Dillingham room...So I would love to see as many of us there as possible. It is our chance to ask them to consider an ethical approach to our PFD investments. I'll be there, if you want to call in, try the teleconference line... Thanks, All! Shannyn" Mr. Burns response to me and many others who came before him was one of tied hands. He said there was no directive for the board to divest and be socially responsible, and this was a matter best taken up with the legislature. Five weeks later, on January 18th, Representatives Les Gara-D and Bob Lynn-R co-sponsored House Bill 287 to make such a directive. The same Mr. Burns who had given the directive was opposed to the Darfur Divestment Bill. "A bill before the Legislature would force managers of the Alaska Permanent Fund to dump stocks of companies doing business in Sudan, whose government has been blamed for genocidal killings in Darfur. The measure also would apply to state retirement fund investments. Managers of the state savings accounts say House Bill 287 would complicate their work, raise expenses and have little effect in Darfur. Managing money according to a social or political agenda is a bad bet." Palin Appoints the Board of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation. "Alaska is a young, growing state where we are still making important decisions that will guide development of our economy and infrastructure," Governor Palin said. "The Alaskans I have selected to fill these positions share my faith in the state's future and my commitment to the highest level of integrity in public service." They were all very much aware of the Darfur divestment issues and aware of House Bill 287, and were opposed to it. Sarah Palin's claim that she jumped to stop state investment in Sudan "once she found out" is ludicrous. On February 9, 2008, Governor Sarah Palin's appointed Deputy Commissioner, Treasury Division, Brian Andrews, spoke to the Alaska House State Affairs Committee on bipartisan HB 287, which would require the state to divest from Sudan. He agreed with Mike Burns who said divestment was 'not the right tool.' He stated, "The legislation is well-intended, and the desire to make a difference is noble, but mixing moral and political agendas at the expense of our citizens' financial security is not a good combination." He also said the bill "should be amended...in the Finance Committee" and said that the Department of Revenue was "working with the Department of Law... to actually take certain actions with regard to divestiture that would still be compliant with the state investment laws." The Palin administration OPPOSED divestment. Brian Andrews testified against the bill. After that testimony, Democrat Representative Les Gara called a series of meetings with the Administration encouraging them to drop their opposition to Darfur Divestment. He called on them to support the bill, a complete reversal of their public position. In March, 2008, they successfully killed the House bill by bottling it up in the House State Affairs Committee. Neither Palin, nor her administration did anything to encourage change in the votes of the four Republicans who were against moving the bill out of committee. As late as mid-March 2008, the governor was not on board with the divestment legislation. A member of the Save Darfur Anchorage group received a reply dated March 11, 2008, wherein the Governor again declined on the opportunity to support divestment. The Legislature adjourned Sine Die on April 13. Sarah Palin was called on to divest State Funds from Sudan in 2006 by Congress. She did nothing. Sarah Palin was aware of the press coverage and postcard campaign in 2007. She did nothing. Sarah Palin knew when the Save Darfur Coalition met with her staff in 2007. She did nothing. Sarah Palin found out when House Bill 287 was filed in 2008. She did nothing. So, Governor Sarah Palin, in fact, took no leadership role to fight for Darfur divestment. She dismissed pleas for help. She only changed her position in 2008, a year and a half after first being asked. Republican Bob Lynn, co-sponsor of HB287, authored a press release today stating "Governor Sarah Palin was a strong supporter of HB287 in the Alaska House." He has her support for introducing a similar bill in the new session starting in January. Bob Lynn is not addressing the issue. The debate is about her stating she acting as soon as she knew. She did not. Only late in the session, after her own administration had testified against the bill, when public support for the bill was building, did she say anything different. Too little, too late. Alaska is still invested in known companies who fund the Sudanese and subsequently the Jinjaweed. Many good people in Alaska serve a greater humanity; feeding and housing Sudanese refuges, raising awareness, testifying to the PFD board and legislature. Sarah Palin coat tailing on the hard work of these Alaskans is disingenuous at best. Her taking credit in front of 70 million viewers was indicative of her lust for the White House and revulsion of the truth. In the meantime, innocent people are being murdered, Alaska has not divested, and our hands are covered in blood. Read more: The Devil Came on Horseback, Sudan, Joe Biden, Vice Presidential Debate, Les Gara, Darfur, Sarah Palin, Save Darfur, Jinjuweed, Politics News

Iran's women taxi drivers find an economic opportunity in their society's gender divide

North Korea has spent US$65 million since 2003 to purchase weapons systems from China, Russia and other countries to bolster ...

When Howard Stern divorced his first wife Allison, and became a single, swinging bachelor, it felt like the Stern show lost something; it’s connection to the common fan. Everyone has that single friend. The one that still parties, drinks, and acts like he is still in college. He likes to ...

AP - In Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, where the rule of law sometimes takes a back seat to the rule of God, zealots are on a campaign to stamp out behavior they consider unchaste. They hurl stones at women for such "sins" as wearing a red blouse, and attack stores selling devices that can access the Internet.