bush in d matrix with shoes

Shell game: How the turtle got its home

PARIS (AFP) – A stunningly intact 220-million-year-old fossil found in southwestern China appears to have settled a long-simmering debate over reptile evolution: how did turtles get their shell?
In a study to be published Thursday, scientists report on the discovery of a missing-link species -- Odontochelys semitestacea, for "toothed, half-shell turtle" -- whose outer shell emerged directly from the ribs and backbone and not from the skin, as some have argued.
The find also suggests that turtles originated in water rather than on land, and pushes back the group's first known appearance on Earth by some 10 million years.
Since the era of dinosaurs, which roamed the planet until 65 million years ago, turtles have looked pretty much the way they do today.
They sport an armour-like upper shell, known as a carapace, connected to a softer lower part, called a plastron.

More than 1,000 species discovered in Mekong: WWF

BANGKOK (AFP) – Scientists have discovered more than 1,000 species in Southeast Asia's Greater Mekong region in the past decade, including a spider as big as a dinner plate, the World Wildlife Fund said Monday.
A rat thought to have become extinct 11 million years ago and a cyanide-laced, shocking pink millipede were among creatures found in what the group called a "biological treasure trove".
The species were all found in the rainforests and wetlands along the Mekong River, which flows through Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the southern Chinese province of Yunnan.
"It doesn't get any better than this," Stuart Chapman, director of WWF's Greater Mekong Programme, was quoted as saying in a statement by the group.
"We thought discoveries of this scale were confined to the history books."
The WWF report, "First Contact in the Greater Mekong", said that "between 1997 and 2007, at least 1,068 have been officially described by science as being newly discovered species."
These included the world's largest huntsman spider, with a leg span of 30 centimetres (11.8 inches), and the "startlingly" coloured "dragon millipede", which produces the deadly compound cyanide.

Iraqi journalist throws shoes at Bush in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A man identified as an Iraqi journalist threw shoes at -- but missed -- President Bush during a news conference Sunday evening in Baghdad, where Bush was making a farewell visit.
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Bush ducked, and the shoes, flung one at a time, sailed past his head during the news conference with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in his palace in the heavily fortified Green Zone.

The shoe-thrower -- identified as Muntadhar al-Zaidi, an Iraqi journalist with Egypt-based al-Baghdadia television network -- could be heard yelling in Arabic: "This is a farewell ... you dog!"

While pinned on the ground by security personnel, he screamed: "You killed the Iraqis!"

Al-Zaidi was dragged away. While al-Zaidi was still screaming in another room, Bush said: "That was a size 10 shoe he threw at me, you may want to know." Video Watch Bush duck the shoes »

Hurling shoes at someone, or sitting so that the bottom of a shoe faces another person, is considered an insult among Muslims.

'Godzilla' Fossils Reveal Real-Life Sea Monster

Fossils from a real-life sea monstera massive crocodile-like specieshave been unearthed in Patagonia, Argentina. The animal likely measured 13 feet (4 meters) long from nose to tail.

The researchers who made the discovery say the marine reptile, nicknamed Godzilla, lived about 135 million years ago. They describe their find in the November 11, 2005, issue of the journal Science.

Details about the ancient predator will also appear in the December 2005 issue of National Geographic magazine. The article will feature exclusive images, like this illustration, of what the reptile might have looked like.

mumbai terror attacks

I don’t think there’s any one in the world who does not know what happened in Mumai the other day . Here’s my 2 cents now first of all understand who this is coming from , I am western muslim in my 20's i have Indian blood some way along the line in my family tree . But None of this comes into in to play here . No one knows who carried out the attacks yet but the working assumption is that some extreme muslim group did it .

There are extremist groups in every religion and country like the IRA .......... ok i going to stop making this stupid argument . the question U have to ask your self is who the f*** are the f*** retards and how the f**** do they think killing massive amounts on innocent ppl are helping there cause ???? someone plz explain this one to me , any one i am waiting ........... anyone don't U all jump up at once . I am not condoning anything india has done in the past like in Kashmir or Gurat but WTF , who told U that u could kill massive amount of ppl . Why , ?????? i want to say kill them all here but i know well the truth is because i am muslim i properly be lumped in with these mother f***s . We are not all the same . We are not all alike . I remember reading fatwa from some of the scholars like Shyke Bim Baz ( the grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia ) warning Usmana bin laden about what he was calling too and warning the muslims not to avoid following this part and many muslims left him and he was even expelled fron the kingdom . And this was looong b4 911 . U have to see the importance of taking a stance like this and how evil it is to leave it oppose it .
They have used their innovated opinions , those stupid things ppl put into the religion that are not from it . Is this the way U treat non-muslims ? NO that is a shameful shameful thing . As I had to ex[laim tp this guy who had now accepted islam and he was a criminal from the ghetto . I had to stop and explain to him why robbing and kidnapping ppl is wrong ( yea the dude had this look on his face like I was the first person in his life who was telling him this ) . That when U wrong a non muslims like this rob them beat them murder them …… on the day of Judgment Allah will Judge U according to what U did . When U kill little children what would u tell Allah ? Think some of the best of All muslims ppl like the first leaders of the Muslim empire were once none muslim ppl like Abu bak , Uthman , Umir and Ali , did the prophet try to kill their children while they were non muslim ???? or burn down their houses ? NO he simply called them to islam and Allah opened their hearts and islam entered it . So this becomes what we have to do this is the sunnah , just like the beard or a hajib . What are U thinking killing innocent ppl eh ??? what ? how is this suppose to help U . Man U have brought shame upon muslims everywhere , may Allah change our hearts from this and show up these evil leaders who send the young ones to their death while they stay @ home and cause nothing but sorrow and destruction for your quest in glory

Sorry for my language but man
Mumbai was just so F***ed up

Terrorist attack in Mumbai

I don’t think there’s any one in the world who does not know what happened in Mumai the other day . Here’s my 2 cents now first of all understand who this is coming from , I am western muslim in my 20's i have Indian blood some way along the line in my family tree . But None of this comes into in to play here . No one knows who carried out the attacks yet but the working assumption is that some extreme muslim group did it .

There are extremist groups in every religion and country like the IRA .......... ok i going to stop making this stupid argument . the question U have to ask your self is who the f*** are the f*** retards and how the f**** do they think killing massive amounts on innocent ppl are helping there cause ???? someone plz explain this one to me , any one i am waiting ........... anyone don't U all jump up at once . I am not condoning anything india has done in the past like in Kashmir or Gurat but WTF , who told U that u could kill massive amount of ppl . Why , ?????? i want to say kill them all here but i know well the truth is because i am muslim i properly be lumped in with these mother f***s . We are not all the same . We are not all alike . I remember reading fatwa from some of the scholars like Shyke Bim Baz ( the grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia ) warning Usmana bin laden about what he was calling too and warning the muslims not to avoid following this part and many muslims left him and he was even expelled fron the kingdom . And this was looong b4 911 . U have to see the importance of taking a stance like this and how evil it is to leave it oppose it .

They have used their innovated opinions , those stupid things ppl put into the religion that are not from it . Is this the way U treat non-muslims ? NO that is a shameful shameful thing . As I had to ex[laim tp this guy who had now accepted islam and he was a criminal from the ghetto . I had to stop and explain to him why robbing and kidnapping ppl is wrong ( yea the dude had this look on his face like I was the first person in his life who was telling him this ) . That when U wrong a non muslims like this rob them beat them murder them …… on the day of Judgment Allah will Judge U according to what U did . When U kill little children what would u tell Allah ? Think some of the best of All muslims ppl like the first leaders of the Muslim empire were once none muslim ppl like Abu bak , Uthman , Umir and Ali , did the prophet try to kill their children while they were non muslim ???? or burn down their houses ? NO he simply called them to islam and Allah opened their hearts and islam entered it . So this becomes what we have to do this is the sunnah , just like the beard or a hajib . What are U thinking killing innocent ppl eh ??? what ? how is this suppose to help U . Man U have brought shame upon muslims everywhere , may Allah change our hearts from this and show up these evil leaders who send the young ones to their death while they stay @ home and cause nothing but sorrow and destruction for your quest in glory

Sorry for my language but man
Mumbai was just so F***ed up

ADHEIM

Computer Majic

A program is a spell cast over a computer, turning input into error messages.

—Anonymous

The truth about RAM

" RAM : Rarely Adequate Memory, because the more memory a computer has, the faster it can produce error messages."

-Anonymous

3d mars pic

U need a 3D lassws to view it buts its way kool its pic from mars taken by the mars rover

thanksgiving 4 obama from busg

Obama and the US

Official confirms Indian navy sunk wrong ship

Pirate hunters hit wrong ship
Nov. 25: A ship thought to be owned by pirates and blown up by the Indian Navy turned out to be a Thai-owned ship that had been hijacked by pirates. NBC's Brian Williams reports.


KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - A suspected pirate vessel that was destroyed by the Indian navy last week near Somalia was actually a Thai fishing trawler that had been hijacked by pirates, a maritime official said Wednesday.

Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur, said one Thai crew member died when the Indian frigate INS Tabar fired on the boat in the Gulf of Aden on Nov. 18.

Fourteen others are missing and a Cambodian sailor was rescued four days later by passing fishermen, he said. The IMB received a report on the apparent mistake late Tuesday from Bangkok-based Sirichai Fisheries, which owned the Ekawat Nava5 vessel, he said.

September 11 divorce

SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN

Who are the players at the G20 summit?

 
Financial Post, with files from Reuters
Published: Friday, November 14, 2008

Argentina                Brazil           Mexico                Australia
China                         India           Canada                France  
Italy                           Germany    Indonesia           Japan
Mexico                      Russia          Saudi Arabia    United States
United Kingdom   Turkey         South Korea      South Africa

Argentina is one of three Latin American countries, along with Brazil and Mexico, to be taking part in the first G20 leaders summit. The struggling nation, which last month announced it was buying out the country's private pension system, is a strong supporter of the need for emerging economies to play a greater role in a solution to the current financial turmoil.

Interests To continue to have its voice heard in international affairs.

Who is attending Cristian Fernandez de Kirchner, President.

Australia hopes to use this weekend's summit to fight protectionist trade measures proposed by some countries, including the United States, in response to the global economic crisis. It plans to push a global free-trade pact, despite the failed Doha talks in Geneva earlier this year. Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said governments would also need to act together to improve financial regulation and stimulate economic growth.

Interests Expand trade ties and promote a global free-trade agreement.

Who is attending Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister.


Brazil, along with China and India, is a critical growth engine for the slowing developed economies. The emerging market is aiming for a stronger G20 so it can play a greater role in the global decision-making process. The country has proposed that the G20 meets biannually, instead of once a year, before the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank. Brazil has also called for the expansion of the G7 to include large emerging market economies -- such as itself.

Interests To emerge a more dominant force in global negotiations.

Who is attending Lula da Silva, President


Canada has been using its success at withstanding the financial crisis to promote its "boring' fiscal policy as a global model. A member of the G7, Canada has supported involving emerging markets in a solution to the global crisis. But with its banks relatively sound, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has telegraphed that Canada places the duty of keeping its own house in order a priority before conforming to global coordinated efforts.

Interests Expand ties with the emerging markets while withstanding Europe's push towards a global financial regulator.

Who is attending Stephen Harper, Prime Minister


The size of China and the nation's rapid rise up the economic ranks has developed countries leaning on it for growth. The country has amassed almost US$2-trillion in foreign exchange reserves and its banks largely avoided becoming entangled in the subprime mortgage mess. As a result, China is the key swing state in determining the outcome of the G20 meeting, said John Kirton, director of the G20 Research Group at the University of Toronto.

Interests China believes the best contribution it could make to the stressed global economy is to focus efforts domestically.

Who is attending Wen Jiabaom, Premier


The European Union has a revolving seat at the G20 and is represented by the current chair of the European Union, which is France. However, Spain will temporarily fill the EU's seat this weekend. France, Italy and Germany, though part of the EU, have their own seats at the table. Under France's guidance, the EU has been pushing for greater regulation of global financial markets. But positions within the union are mixed. Members from Central and Eastern Europe have been reluctant to bow to further regulation.

Interests An internationally coordinated response to the financial crisis.Who is attending Jose Manual Barroso, President


France is expected to push for quick decisions in Washington as well as follow-up meetings. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been the most active in promoting "supranational" regulation or supervision for financial markets, hedge funds, private equity, mortgage lenders and sovereign wealth funds. He hopes the summit will kickstart a solution to the financial meltdown. It is also believed France will push for another G20 meeting soon after Barack Obama takes office on Jan. 20.

Interests Increasing the powers of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to act as a global regulator.

Who is attending Nicholas Sarkozy, President


Germany, while not as hard-lined as its French ally, has been pushing for an overhaul of the global financial system. Despite its involvement at the G20 summit, it believes the key decisions on market reform will come out of the G8 summit in Italy in July. Like it's European neighbour, Germany advocates global market transparency and supervision. It supports an early warning system for the market, as well as the creation of measures to prevent investors from seeking short-term profits.

Interests For the IMF to play a greater supervisory role for the global financial system.

Who is attending Angela Merkel, Chancellor


India has been looking to play a greater role in world affairs and considers itself a spokesperson for the developing world. It has called for reforms to the G7/G8, as well as the United Nations Security Council, in order to get a seat at the negotiating table. "Our voice on how to manage this crisis in a way that does not jeopardize our development priorities needs to be heard in international councils," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said last month.

Interests India seeks assurance against Western protectionism but still wants to be able to keep protections in place for its farmers.

Who is attending Manmohan Singh Prime Minister


Indonesia plans to use this weekend's summit to propose a global expenditure fund to ease the impact of the financial crisis on developing nations. The country has also taken a stance against trade protectionist measures and recently made a joint statement with Australia expressing its support for a global free-trade pact. The country strongly supports the inclusion of the emerging market in a solution to the crisis.

Interests To press the case for wealthier nations to aid emerging market economies hurt by the global slowdown.

Who is attending Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President


Italy has been calling for tougher regulation of hedge funds and has even suggested they be banned altogether. The country, which has proposed an extension of the G8 to G14, also believes the global foreign-exchange system should be replaced with one that gives more prominence to the euro. It advocates a greater regulatory role for the IMF and has trumpeted a rollback of free-market philosophy. Italy has had one of the most sluggish economies in Europe.

Interests The creation of strict global financial market regulation.

Who is attending Silivio Berlusconi, Prime Minister


Japan, which is already a member of the G7, is likely to use the G20 summit to gain clout for bailing out struggling emerging markets. Prime Minister Taro Aso is expected to announce that his government is willing to offer US$106-billion worth of foreign reserves to the IMF if the Washington-based lender needs extra funds to help emerging markets. Japan has been buying assets in the struggling U.S. banking sector.

Interests Withstand Europe's push for a global regulator and expand its influence with emerging markets.

Who is attending Taro Aso, Prime Minister


Mexico will push for G20 members to formulate more transparent financial market regulations and a review of the current system to prevent the recurrence of a wide-spread financial crisis. Mexican President Felipe Calderon has said he envisions a global financial system with shared responsibilities. The country has strongly voiced its opinion that the emerging market economies be included in future G7 summits.

Interests To play a role in a coordinated response to the financial crisis.

Who is attending Felipe Calderon, President


Russia has been a strong critic of the U.S. and its role in the current financial crisis. It plans to use the G20 summit to reduce Washington's influence. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has urged a radical reform of the world's political and economical system. Russia has also criticized the IMF for making lending decisions based on "political grounds". The country believes the G8, of which it is a member, should be extended to include more countries.

Interests Increase its world influence while eroding that of the U.S.

Who is attending Dmitry Medvedev, President


Saudi Arabia is the only Middle Eastern country included in the G20. The oil-rich state has become an important source of potential funds to alleviate the credit-squeeze in global markets. The country not only has resources and wealth, but is a key player in regional security, making it an important ally.

Interests Saudi Arabia is likely to use its position as the world's biggest oil exporter to seek U.S. protection against Iran's growing regional power and nuclear ambitions.

Who is attending King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz


South Africa is the only African nation to be represented at the G20 summit, a decision that has angered the African Development Bank. The banks say African countries are suffering from the financial crisis and are under-represented in talks about a market recovery plan. South Africa's economy appears headed for recession. The country has expressed concern about the "misalignment" of power in global talks.

Interests To strengthen the voice of emerging market economies in international negotiations.

Who is attending Kgalema Motlanthe, President


South Korea is expected to hold emergency talks with Japan and China on the sidelines of the G20 summit. It is believed the countries will discuss an increase in currency swap lines to help South Korea stimulate its currency. The won has been battered amid wild swings in currency markets. The Bank of Korea has also set up a domestic bond fund to help exporters unable to access U.S. dollars.

Interests To bolster the won and participate in a global plan to ease the financial market crisis.

Who is attending Lee Myung-bak, President


Turkey has been hard hit by the financial crisis and many speculate the country will need to borrow from the IMF, a lender of last resort. While Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country can avoid such a measure, business leaders have voiced their support for an IMF loan.

Interests To avoid an IMF loan and reduce the impact of the financial crisis on its economy.

Who is attending Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister


The United Kingdom plans to use the G20 to promote globally coordinated policies in response to the financial crisis. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said "very special measures" were needed, including coordinated interest rate cuts, fiscal stimulus and the recapitalization of banks. The U.K. is also expected to push the need for global free-trade talks.

Interests Formulate an urgent response to the financial crisis, and push co-ordinated monetary policies.

Who is attending Gordon Brown, Prime Minister


United States This weekend's summit is the U.S.'s attempt to regain economic leadership. John Kirton of the G20 Research Group, said the summit recognizes the U.S. can no longer lead the global economy on its own or with the G7 member countries. Marc Chandler, head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York, said the outgoing Bush administration will be in no position to negotiate.

Interests To strengthen its leadership and co-ordinate a market rescue.

Who is attending George W. Bush, President

Women 'try to set fire to porn shop' in sweden

Two young women tried to set fire to a pornographic video shop in Malmö on Thursday night, police have said.The women, 23 and 26, were arrested at 12:45 am near the shop on Bergsgatan in the city."They were outside the shop, and set fire to a phone book. They also tried to set fire to an antenna cable that led into the video store," said police spokesman Lars-Håkan Lindholm to The Local.As well as housing the porn shop, the block housed a number of apartments.

Police were called to the scene by someone who saw what the young women were doing. It is not yet clear whether the women's action was a political statement or whether they had another motive."They are going to be questioned. There's nothing yet to indicate a motive. They had been drinking vodka however, and they were pretty drunk," said Lindholm.
The women are suspected of attempted arson, but police say their attempt was a long way from being successful.

"It was pretty clumsily done," said Lindholm.

Toxin from Spiderman

Strengths and abilities

Toxin possesses the "unique" special abilities of his two symbiote predecessors; He can stick to walls, can change his identity to that of a completely different person and also has unlimited webbing. His suit is red from the abdomen up and blue from the abdomen down. Toxin can also blend in with its surroundings and become undetectably camouflaged, an ability he gained from his grandfather, and he can form solid weapons from his limbs, an ability first seen in his father. Toxin also seems to have some sort of quick-healing ability like his predecessors, as his wounds from his first battle with Razor Fist healed remarkably quickly. Unlike the others, Toxin can track anyone, not just other symbiotes or symbiote hosts, as long as he has something to begin from, within the entire city of New York and possibly further.

Unlike the other symbiotes, Toxin does not try to take over the mind of his human host. Instead, the symbiote actually thinks and voices its opinions to the human host (as evidenced in Toxin's Cut to the Chase storyline). The symbiote usually speaks when the host is in his "human form", and acts very immature and childlike because of its nascent existence, once refusing to aid Pat in battle until he apologized for an earlier argument. In addition, he seems to have a stronger resistance to sonics and intense heat compared to Carnage, though this does not mean that Toxin is more resistant to violent urges: it can get carried away with violence and fighting crime, even if it's a petty crime. When he's not angry or fighting, Toxin is slim and smooth-lined, although still well muscled, closely resembling Carnage or Spider-Man in his symbiote costume. When he becomes upset or aggressive, he grows into his much bigger and stronger form (like Venom), with vicious fangs and long curving claws.

MacBook Pro

You can find a cheaper laptop, but not a better one. Every Apple MacBook Pro is carved from a single block of aluminum, making it strong and light (4.5 lb.; 2 kg). A revolutionary pair of graphic chips lets you play Call of Duty 2 until your five-hour battery dies. 
Price:$1,999
More info: apple.com/macbookpro

Dell Inspiron Mini 9

By JEREMY CAPLAN, LEV GROSSMAN, ANITA HAMILTON AND JOSH QUITTNER

Small enough to fit in a pocketbook, this 2.3-lb. (1 kg) ultraportable comes in two flavors: Windows XP ($399-$449) or, for maximum open-source coolness, Ubuntu Linux ($349). You can stick your camera's SD card right into its media reader, and the bright 8.9-in. (23 cm) screen will show off your family photos (or YouTube faves). Tiny as it is, you don't have to scroll around to see full Web pages as you would on a phone, though the compact keyboard does take a little getting used to.
More info: Dell Inspiron Mini 9

The Tesla Roadster

Electric cars were always environmentally friendly, quiet, clean — but definitely not sexy. The Tesla Roadster has changed all that. A battery-powered sports car that sells for $100,000 and has a top speed of 125 m.p.h. (200 km/h), the Roadster has excited the clean-tech crowd since it was announced in 2003. Celebrities like George Clooney joined a long waiting list for the Roadster; magazines like Wired drooled over it. After years of setbacks and shake-ups, the first Tesla Roadsters were delivered to customers this year. Reviews have been ecstatic, but Tesla Motors has been hit hard by the financial crisis. Plans to develop an affordable electric sedan have been put on hold, and Tesla is laying off employees. But even if the Roadster turns out to be a one-hit wonder, it's been a hell of an (electric) ride.

american cars

Ruling concerning ridiculing a woman who wears the proper hijaab and covers her face

Question: What is the ruling concerning one who ridicules those who wear the proper hijaab and cover their faces and hands?

Response: Whoever ridicules a Muslim woman or man for sticking to and applying the teachings of Islaam is a disbeliever. This is regardless of whether it is concerning woman's hijaab or any other matter of the Sharee'ah. This is based on the following narration from ibn 'Umar: At a gathering during the Battle of Tabuk, one man said, "I have not seen anyone like our Qur.aanic readers who is more desirous of food, more lying in speech and more cowardly when meeting the enemy." A man said, "You have lied and you are a liar. I shall definitely tell the Messenger of Allaah (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) about that." That news was conveyed to the Messenger of Allaah and the Qur.aan was revealed. 'Abdullaah ibn 'Umar added, "I saw the man holding on to the bag of the camel of the Messenger of Allaah and the dust was striking him while he was saying, 'O Messenger of Allaah, we were just joking and playing. The Messenger of Allaah (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) was simply saying the verse of the Qur.aan]:

{Was it Allaah, and His Signs and His Messenger you were mocking? Make no excuse, you have disbelieved after you had believed. If We pardon some of you, We will punish others among you because they were sinners}, [Soorah at-Towbah, Aayahs 65-66].

So ridiculing believers has been equated with ridiculing Allaah, His Signs and His Messenger.
And with Allaah lies all success and may Allaah send prayers and salutations upon our Prophet (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) and his family and his companions.

The Permanent Committee for Islaamic Research and Verdicts
Fataawa al-Mar.ah

...
Published: 6 February 2000

flood in trinidad

Florida boy's suicide live on web

WTF the world comming to

A teenager in the US state of Florida has committed suicide in front of a live internet audience.

Abraham Biggs, 19, from Pembroke Pines, near Miami, killed himself hours after announcing his intention to do so on his blog.

His family have condemned the website viewers and operators for failing to save him. Local police have launched an investigation.

Authorities say Abraham Biggs took an overdose of anti-depressive drugs.

He posted messages online telling people he was going to kill himself and then started streaming live pictures from his home.

They got hits, they got viewers, nothing happened for hours Rosalind Biggs

Reports say that some of viewers who logged in to watch began to encourage the teenager to commit suicide, others tried to dissuade him.

After several hours, when he had not moved some viewers finally notified the site's moderator, who then called the police.

The boy's sister said: "They got hits, they got viewers, nothing happened for hours."

It is unclear how many people watched the suicide unfold. Some reports suggest that some viewers thought it was a hoax.

The last transmission from the webcam is of a police officer bursting into Abraham Biggs's room, when he discovers his body and then he places his hand over the camera.

The footage has since been taken down and his father is now calling for more regulation of chatrooms.

---

Was enough done to prevent the death of Abraham Biggs? Should online communities be at all responsible for their members? What should be done to stop suicide online? Tell us your thoughts by filling in the form below.

Google unveils customised search

By Maggie Shiels Technology reporter, BBC News, Silicon Valley

Users have to be logged in to their Google account to use SearchWiki

Google has unveiled a tool that will allow users to customise and refine their search queries.

The company's SearchWiki lets users re-order, remove or add specific web search results.

This means the next time they perform the same search, the personalised version will pop up.

"I would call this revolutionary. It's a huge step, not a baby step in the world of search," Google's product manager, Cedric Dupont, told the BBC.

"This is part of an obvious movement of the web to become more participatory, so Google search is adapting to this movement," he said.

"The SearchWiki is about giving users more control over their search results and increasing user happiness," Mr Dupont added.

But industry watchers predict one huge problem with the effort.

"Most people are not going to engage with it and think about where the results should be - if it's above this one or below that one," said Greg Sterling, an editor with SearchEngineLand.com.

"This is really for a motivated or elite core of user who really wants to participate in the process."

"Social search"

As well as ranking results, SearchWiki allows users who have logged in to their Google account to write comments which will have a dialogue balloon next to the result when they return for any further searches.

These will also be public so that others using SearchWiki can view them and get feedback on a website.

It is hoped "people powered" tools like SearchWiki will benefit overall search

Mr Dupont stressed that SearchWiki would not affect the way websites were ranked by Google.

At the bottom of the page, there will be a link to take users to a page showing what search results others have re-ranked, deleted or added.

Mr Sterling said that if Google managed to get a great number of people re-ranking results, it could improve the overall search experience.

"Lots of people have tried so-called 'social search', combining algorithmic search with human editorial input, because the perception is that humans have the ability to craft a better result in any given situation because they can make distinctions machines can't," he said.

"So this could be quite dramatic if they get a lot of people participating because it could improve the algorithms of the process and serve up better search results."

Matthew Humphries of geek.com would like to see the tool available to the public at large and not just to account holders. He said that even among SearchWiki users, search would be improved.

"You always see posts on forums for different subjects asking for the best resources to help with X. With SearchWiki the responses won't be a bunch of links, they will be a single link to an annotated Google search page," he added.