To be considered for this exciting opportunity fill out the application form here and email your resume to danielle@mahalo.com.

Earning the Brown Belt isn’t as easy, however, as simply acquiring 8,000 points. The profile of every member to reach this plateau will be reviewed by several members of the Mahalo staff. The staff will analyze the user’s behavior and judge whether the quality of their questions and answers are high enough to warrant the Brown Belt. This method will eliminate the possibility of someone gaming the system to appear to be a respected member of the Mahalo community. If you want to be a Brown or Black Belt, you must be helpful. That is, after all, the Mahalo mission.

Our Top 10 users are now all purple belts, earning at least 2,000 points within Mahalo Answers. Congratulations to you all!

Left or Right?
Whatever your political beliefs, Mahalo Answers remains a place where you can pose questions on the modern social landscape and receive thoughtful, non-biased answers. Ann Coulter’s appearance on The View this week encouraged some healthy debate on the controversial author’s opinions. Despite Coulter’s infamous reputation for inspiring ad hominem attacks among both her fans and foes, the Mahalo Answers discussion remained respectful and fact-based.

This question also exemplifies the benefit of being able to embed media within Mahalo questions. Even a user unfamiliar with the segment can click ‘play’ and be a part of the discussion within minutes.

Expanding Categories
As our community grows, the questions are becoming more specific and targeted. To further foster individual communities within Mahalo Answers, we’re continually expanding our categories to include more focused subjects. To see the sub-sections in every category, simply click on the blue arrows next to your selected category, and the more specific sections will appear below.

The categories will be continually refined in the coming weeks. E-mail feedback@mahalo.com with comments, or make a suggestion in the “Suggestions” category on Answers. As always, keep your questions and answers coming!

And of course, like all passionate communities, the Answers users spend a lot of time thinking about themselves:

How long do you think it will take to get to purple belt?
What will be done to improve the answers on Mahalo?
Would you join or participate in a Mahalo Answers bulletin board?
Are you going to be on Mahalo Answers on Christmas day?

Purple Belts
The most hardcore Answers fanatics have already made it to the coveted “Purple Belt” level. (Hey, it only requires 2000 points!) This elite squad, which includes Mahalo CEO Jason Calacanis, have already earned between $40 and $150 Mahalo Dollars, and can be seen applying their expertise on a great variety of subjects, all over the site.

The reigning “Queen” of Answers, Darcy Logan, tends to participate in at least 20 questions each day. She’s our only user so far to have been awarded more than 100 “Best Answers,” an enormous number that surpasses the runner-up, Calacanis, by 20! Close at Darcy’s heels is Carriep, one of Mahalo’s remote guides, who has answered a staggering 278 questions thus far, receiving Best Answer for 70 of them. Since becoming a Purple Belt, she’s opined on the chances of finding true love on a reality show, the relative cruelty of putting booties on a cat, and podcasts that feature readings of short stories.

With 2135 points and $52 Mahalo Dollars received thus far, Bugsy is another Mahalo power user. He encourages other users to ask him personal questions for only $1, a steal for the attention of someone who has demonstrated expertise in film/entertainment, technology and mathematics, all in the past few days.

ConnectedGeek, a major Mahalo fan since the company’s early days, holds both a purple belt and the record for most questions asked on Mahalo Answers (182!). He’s curious about all sorts of things, from entrepreneurship, to astronomy, to, well, Mahalo Answers.

Undoubtedly, we’ll be seeing a lot more Purple Belts in the next few days. Several more power users are hovering at the 1800-2000 point mark already. It’s only a matter of time.

Controversial Discussions
As the Mahalo Answers community grows, we’ll have the opportunity to approach questions of considerable moral weight. In just the first two weeks of our existence, we’ve managed questions regarding with violence, controversial politics, drug use and abuse, and racism. Our goal is to treat all of our users with respect, but to manage any inappropriate discussion promptly.

Several questions concerning marijuana cropped up since mid-December, with users asking how to grow it or if it is safe to use marijuana while breastfeeding. Some users felt these questions should be immediately removed from the site as they refer to potentially illegal acts, while others saw no harm in encouraging the debate. As a community, we decided to keep questions intact that ask about how to grow marijuana as well as other topics discussing its possible health benefits. These questions do not refer to illegality and can be discussed in a clinical, respectful way. If a question was posted asking to buy or offering to distribute marijuana, however, this would constitute a violation of our Terms of Service, and would be removed. The most important thing to remember, however, is that posing a question on Mahalo Answers is not a substitute for seeking out professional medical advice through a licensed physician.

Our current Answers “Queen” Darcy Logan stirred up some controversy of her own when she asked what Mahalo should do in the event that someone suggests suicide through a Mahalo question. The community was immediately torn on this subject, with some users arguing that Mahalo is not the forum for such a discussion and that the question should immediately be removed. Others argued that removing the question could be potentially detrimental to the mental state of someone seeking help. Though we have been fortunate to avoid such dramatic circumstances, we are keenly aware that situations such as this may arise during the lifetime of our community. Our current strategy would be to remove the question and immediately contact the user with information referring him or her to a hotline or other service where they can get the help they need. Though we value the input of our knowledgeable community, we are simply not qualified to approach any physical or mental health issues.

Thanks to all of you who have been active users in the early weeks of Mahalo Answers. Our community will only be as strong as the dedicated members involved, so give yourselves a big pat on the back for making our launch and progress so successful. Keep those questions coming!

The first reported incidents were of explosions at the Oberoi Hotel and at the five-star Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. As the story progressed, reports began to emerge of hostage situations and terrorists repeatedly setting off explosions and throwing grenades out of the hotel windows.

Several Mumbai citizens caught in the midst of these incidents began to report what they saw through their mobile phones, most notably using the social networking service Twitter. User Puneet tweeted all the latest developments through his twitter microblog.

As the night progressed, more details emerged. The authorities now say that 85 people are confirmed dead and approximately 200 more were injured. The targets were apparently American and British diplomats and tourists, as the attacks occurred strategically in areas frequented by foreigners, though many witnesses say that the attackers fired their AK-47s at anyone in sight. A previously unknown group calling itself Deccan Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attacks, though news organizations suggested that this may be a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba, a group that many nations have listed as a terrorist organization.

A number of decorated Indian anti-terror and police officers were killed in this attack, including Vijay Salaskar, Hemant Karkare and Ashok Kamte.

For continuing coverage and new developments of this tragic story, see Mahalo’s Mumbai Terror Attack category. We will be updating these pages consistently in the days and weeks to come and will continue to present the most accurate and trustworthy information available.

Mahalo’s homepage is known for featuring the latest breaking news. Now, you get the headlines and a snapshot of the related search results page ready at a glance in a tabbed interface that is updated throughout the day.

If you’re more interested in the fun, techie side of things, we’re all over it in our Featured section, where we present the latest Internet memes, video games and the most recent episodes of our popular Mahalo Daily video podcast.

Last but certainly not least: Our new Liveblog brings you bite-sized news, tech, show business and just plain fun and wacky stuff very nearly as it happens with updates every few minutes around the clock. During big breaking news stories, we’ll have video commentary from Mahalo Guides in our video channel. You can also join us in the chat any time to discuss the day’s events.

Though a CNN/Opinion Research poll shows Biden as the winner by a small margin, there were few fireworks during the debate and neither candidate landed a decisive blow. The poll also showed that Palin performed better than expected, especially in light of her recent fumbles in the press. Palin went as far as to say that Couric “annoyed” her with her quizzy questions.

Remains of adventurer Steve Fossett were finally found on October 2, 2008, amongst his plain’s wreckage in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. DNA tests are pending, but Fossett is thought to be dead. He first went missing in September 2007.

The House of Representatives approved (263-171) the $700 billion bailout bill today, after initially rejecting the bill on September 29. The bill gives the Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson free reign to purchase flailing financial institutions, in what is being dubbed the biggest act of governmental intervention on record. According to an article on SFGate.com, the bill was repackaged to include billions in earmarks and tax breaks for home-town interests in the Senate, two examples being: $2 million for wooden arrow manufacturers in Oregon, and the extension of a tax break worth $478 million for Hollywood filmmakers who shoot in the U.S.

In somewhat lighter news, a user with the handle “johntw” purported a hoax through CNN’S iReport system that Steve Jobs (CEO of Apple) had a heart attack. This caused Apple’s stock to temporarily plummet, falling below $100 per share. Apple’s stock has recovered, and Steve Jobs is fine.

Need some games to dig into over the weekend? Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, the action-adventure title that lets you violently wield the force, has broken sales records and defied reviews (check out our full game guide). Or, if you would like to be terrified, Silent Hill: Homecoming, the fifth title in the chilling Silent Hill series, was released this past week (game guide is pending).

Although adventurer Steve Fossett was declared dead in February 2008, following a September 2007 Nevada desert plane crash, his body was never found, and rumors of his faking his own death continue to this day. Now the plot thickens–a hiker in California has allegedly found three IDs with Fossett’s name, as well as $1,000 cash. Police are investigating the documents’ validity.

The debate between vice-presidential candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin is hotly anticipated for tomorrow, and Gwen Ifill won’t let her broken ankle keep her from moderating.

Could Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo be engaged? The two were reportedly seen ring-shopping in Dallas.

Attention Phish fans: reunion shows will be held on March 6, 7, and 8, 2009, and tickets are now available!

As both candidates face tough questions in the month before the election, Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin seems to be under the most heat, with the fourth part of her interview with Katie Couric airing today. In one of the more tense moments of the interview, Couric asks Palin which news sources she would read before being selected as the running mate; Palin generalized, but did not list any specific sources. Her debate against Joe Biden, Barack Obama’s Democratic running mate, is Thursday night in St. Louis, Missouri.

In lighter news, Charlie Ebersol, son of NBC Sports producer Dick Ebersol, is dating tennis star Maria Sharapova. Ready to rock, country style? Kevin Costner’s debut album will be released on November 11. His band’s name is Modern West.

The U.S. Attorney firing scandal is back in the news after an internal Justice Department report was released and a special prosecutor, Nora Dannehy, was named to investigate the possibility of filing criminal charges.

The rocket Falcon 1, funded by SpaceX, reached orbit on September 28.

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, starts today at sunset.

In celebrity news, Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds married in Vancouver, Canada, over the weekend, and Heather Locklear was arrested for drunk driving in Montecito, California.

Read more at Mahalo.com!

John McCain did decide to go on with tonight’s debate. However, the Wall Street Journal decided to go one step further: several hours before the debate, the publication’s online site displayed a McCain ad that stated “McCain Wins Debate!”

If the Wall Street Journal has a crystal ball, it would perhaps have been better served to check out where the U.S. economy was heading. Lawmakers were planning to work through the weekend to finalize the mortgage bailout plan.

Sadly, Ted Kennedy will not be in Washington. Kennedy was hospitalized after a “minor seizure” that resulted from a change in medication.

In lighter news, Sacha Baron Cohen, the comedian who channels Ali G and Borat, was arrested after his character Bruno interrupted a Milan fashion show for a scene for his upcoming film. Bruno isn’t yet in theaters, but this weekend you can see Nights in Rodanthe or Eagle Eye. Visit our movie reviews to see if either is worth the price of admission!