Book on Amazon.com coming in 2013 (AP)

NEW YORK ? Amazon.com, the country's largest online bookseller, will itself be the subject of a book coming out in 2013.

Bloomberg Businessweek writer Brad Stone has signed with Little, Brown and Company for a work on "the spectacular rise" of Amazon.com. The book will be released in May 2013 and is currently untitled, Little, Brown announced Tuesday.

Stone's book is not authorized by Amazon, but Little, Brown executive editor John Parsley said in a statement that Stone would draw upon his "unprecedented access and 14 years covering tech companies." Parsley says Stone, who's a former technology reporter for The New York Times, will provide a "fly-on-the-wall narrative."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/internet/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111206/ap_on_hi_te/us_books_amazon

rambus rambus pabst blue ribbon pabst blue ribbon mac miller omarion gabby

How To Get Everyone In The Family To Clean Up, From Lucinda Scala Quinn

Lucinda Scala Quinn, host of "Mad Hungry" offers tips and tricks to help you get your family to help with cleaning up after the meal. Does everyone in your family pitch in to help clean up after eating? Join the conversation - post a comment below!

Add Marlo On Facebook:

Follow Marlo on Twitter:

@MarloThomas

Weekly Newsletter
Sign up to receive my email newsletter each week - It will keep you up-to-date on upcoming articles, Mondays with Marlo guests, videos, and more!
Sign up here

'; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/05/how-to-get-everyone-in-th_n_1130493.html

chapter 11 bankruptcy chapter 11 bankruptcy big ten acc challenge 2011 john wayne gacy amr jack del rio fired jack del rio fired

Afghanistan opens bids on gold, copper deposits

The President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, leaves after he delivered his speech at the International Afghanistan Conference in Bonn, Germany Monday Dec. 5, 2011. A decade after the first Afghanistan conference the international community discusses the future of its engagement in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Oliver Berg, Pool)

The President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, leaves after he delivered his speech at the International Afghanistan Conference in Bonn, Germany Monday Dec. 5, 2011. A decade after the first Afghanistan conference the international community discusses the future of its engagement in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Oliver Berg, Pool)

The President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, delivers his speech at the International Afghanistan Conference in Bonn, Germany Monday Dec. 5, 2011. A decade after the first Afghanistan conference the international community discusses the future of its engagement in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Oliver Berg, Pool)

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? Afghanistan opened bids Tuesday on billions of dollars worth of copper and gold deposits in four areas of the country that together are roughly half the size of the Grand Canyon.

Despite ongoing violence, Afghanistan has high hopes that its budding mining industry will generate billions in revenue to help rebuild the nation after 30 years of war. For Afghanistan, a landlocked country with virtually no exports, the minerals are a potential windfall but it will require international investment, a better transportation network and improved security.

Geologists have known for decades about Afghanistan's vast deposits of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and other prized minerals, including rare earth minerals used in cell phones, hybrid car batteries, defense industries and wind turbines.

The U.S. Defense Department put a startling $1 trillion price tag on the vast mineral reserves, but the Afghan minister said other geological assessments and industry reports estimate the nation's mineral wealth at $3 trillion or more.

The Afghan Ministry of Mines invited investors to bid on multiple contracts to unearth copper and gold hidden beneath 846 square miles (2,191 square kilometers) in Badakhshan, Ghazni and Herat provinces and a fourth area that spans both Balkh and Sar-e-Pul provinces. The tender offers were posted on its web site.

Afghan Minister of Mines Wahidullah Shahrani told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from London, where he was speaking at a mining conference, that the value of the deposits was "in the billions." He did not give a more specific estimate.

Afghanistan plans to sell the rights for up to five mines every year until 2014, when most international combat troops are to have left the country, Shahrani said.

Shahrani has been traveling extensively to woo investors to bid on mining contracts. Though the war continues, Shahrani said he was optimistic that investors are interested and that a mine protection force has already started work at several mining sites around the nation.

In late 2007, a $3 billion contract was awarded to China Metallurgical Group Corp. to mine copper at Aynak in Logar province, 21 miles (35 kilometers) southeast of Kabul. The mine is thought to hold one of the world's largest untapped copper reserves.

Mining the copper could create 4,000 to 5,000 Afghan jobs in the next five years and hundreds of millions of dollars a year to the government treasury, according to the ministry. The project also includes construction of two coal-fired electric power plants, a segment of rail and a roadway from the mine to Kabul.

In December 2010, Afghan officials approved a multimillion-dollar contract to mine gold in Dushi district of Baghlan province. It was the first mining project in Afghanistan backed by private investors from the West, who pledged $50 million for the project.

Last month, the Afghan government gave investors from India and Canada permission to mine an estimated 1.8 billion tons of iron ore in Bamiyan province, projects that government officials hope will reap revenue for the nation and jobs for its unemployed.

With rising revenues from mining projects, customs and taxes, the Afghan government predicts it can increase the ratio of revenues to its gross domestic product from 11 percent to 15 percent within four years and to 20 percent by 2025, according to the Ministry of Finance.

Still with the planned withdrawal of most international combat forces and an expected decline in foreign assistance, Afghanistan is facing a fiscal crisis.

At an international conference on Monday in Bonn, Germany, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that Afghanistan would need the financial support of other countries for at least another decade beyond 2014.

Afghanistan estimates it will need outside contributions of roughly $10 billion in 2015 and onward, slightly less than half the country's annual gross national product, mostly because it won't be able to pay for its security forces.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-12-06-AS-Afghan-Minerals/id-892198ae09ce40bc82bf1e8f9401f962

the rum diary trailer the rum diary trailer nor easter nor easter st.louis cardinals st.louis cardinals drag me to hell

Tiny church in NYC awaiting Supreme Court decision (AP)

NEW YORK ? A Christian congregation with just 48 members and not even a storefront is hoping the Supreme Court will overturn a ruling that says holding its Sunday service in a Bronx public school is unconstitutional.

At issue is a New York City Board of Education policy that allows community groups, including religious ones, to use its buildings, but specifically excludes worship services.

A divided federal appeals court upheld the policy in June, reversing a district judge. The Supreme Court is considering whether to review the case and could decide that on Monday. If it grants review, its eventual opinion could be a landmark decision, the church's lawyer says.

Robert Hall, co-pastor of the evangelical Bronx Household of Faith, said last week that his little group never expected to get involved in a big-time court case that has now lasted 17 years.

"I can assure you this wasn't strategic planning on our part," the 68-year-old Minnesota native said. "Basically we just outgrew the place we were meeting," a Christian halfway house for men.

In 1994, church leaders looked at the nearby public school in its University Heights neighborhood, applied for a permit to hold its worship service there, and were denied.

That began a legal wrangle that reached the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals four times as Supreme Court decisions came down and the law evolved.

An early key moment came in 1995 when Hall, who has been with the church for 39 years, heard Alliance Defense Fund staff attorney Jordan Lorence on the radio, discussing barriers to religious rights.

"He called me up and said, `We're facing that issue right here,'" Lorence said.

Enter the ADF, a conservative group that says it champions "the legal defense of religious freedom, the sanctity of life, marriage and the family." It has been on the case since and is bearing the costs. Lorence is the lead attorney.

"We took the case to defend the First Amendment principle of equal access," Lorence said. "This is private religious speech and we're requesting equal access to meet in the buildings the way New York City allows all other community groups to meet."

In 2002, during a time when the city was enjoined from enforcing its policy, the Household of Faith began using Public School 15, and it has been there ever since.

In its most recent ruling, in June, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals noted that the while city policy excludes religious worship from its buildings, it does not exclude "prayer, singing hymns, religious instruction, expression of religious devotion, or the discussion of issues from a religious point of view."

The court found the distinction reasonable, saying that when worship services are held in a school, "The place has, at least for a time, become the church."

The court said the distinction accommodated a 2001 Supreme Court decision allowing a Christian organization to use public school facilities. It also was a reasonable way for the city to avoid violating the Constitution's prohibition on government favoring any religion, the court said.

The Board of Education praised the ruling, saying it was "concerned about having any school in this diverse city identified with one particular religious belief or practice." However, it is allowing the 60 or so congregations that now hold services in schools to continue, pending Supreme Court action.

Lorence said the distinction between religious expression and worship is arbitrary.

"You can have singing and prayer and Bible study, with all the elements of what people traditionally understand a worship service to be, but you can't have a worship service?" he said.

He theorized that a group could hold a worship service and not call it that, "and the school district will need a theologian to figure out whether the group is conducting a worship service or not."

Hall said the Household of Faith's service lasts 90 minutes or more and includes Scripture readings, hymns, communion with grape juice and bread, preaching and "spontaneous prayer" from the congregation.

Lorence said he found "bizarre" the concept that the auditorium at Public School 15 becomes a church if worship is conducted there.

"When a labor union meets there, it doesn't turn into a labor hall," he said. "When Alcoholics Anonymous meets there, it doesn't turn into the Betty Ford Clinic."

But Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said, "When a church sets up shop in a public school in a manner that conveys the appearance that the church is part of, or officially favored by, the school, it seems to run afoul of the separation of church and state."

Lorence predicted the Supreme Court would grant review and reverse the 2nd Circuit. But if not, he said, "It's over for the Bronx Household of Faith" because he can no longer go back to the 2nd Circuit.

"We're at high noon here," he said.

Pastor Hall said the church isn't worried. Though the church office is Hall's home, and some of their meetings are held in backyards, they are raising funds to complete construction of a building across from P.S. 15 that would handle all their needs, including youth ministry and worship services.

"Nobody's getting angry, there's no bad-mouthing the Board of Ed," he said. "We're kind of rolling with the punches and trusting in the Lord that he will work things out according to his good wisdom."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111204/ap_on_re_us/us_church_school_space

ronan ronan diane sawyer clay matthews kenny chesney matt kemp derek fisher

Enjoy Clear Communications and Music While You Ski with Uclear ...

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Uclear makes a series of Bluetooth communication systems that you add to your bike, motorcycle, or snow sports helmets. The HBC120 Snow incorporates a ?lightweight noise-cancelling Bluetooth system with advanced ...

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/12/02/enjoy-clear-communications-and-music-while-you-ski-with-uclear/

sprint chris tucker phoenix jones danielle chiesi walter payton oneiric oneiric

Children increasingly the victims of Syria crackdown, UN report finds (The Christian Science Monitor)

Washington ? Syrian children are increasingly the victims of the Assad regime?s repression of opposition forces, a new UN-backed inquiry reports, but despite growing regional pressure on Syria and an appeal from the UN?s top human rights official, the UN Human Rights Council declined Friday to refer the country to the Security Council.

Instead, the council endorsed a Western- and Arab-backed proposal to name a special investigator of Syria's violence ? a second-best step that avoids the veto that Russia and China would almost certainly impose on any Security Council action on Syria.

November was the deadliest month for children so far in the eight-month-old revolt of opposition forces against President Bashar al-Assad. At least 56 children were killed in the month, bringing the total to 307 verified child deaths among more than 4,000 killed in the conflict overall, according to the independent inquiry commissioned by the United Nations.

IN PICTURES: The censure of Syria

Armed with these and other lengthening tallies of the violence in Syria, and warning of the dangers of a ?full-fledged civil war,? Navi Pillay, the UN high commissioner for human rights, urged the UN Human Rights Council to send the matter to the Security Council in New York.

Ms. Pillay says the Security Council should then call on world powers to refer the mounting allegations of the Syrian regime???s ???crimes against humanity??

Yet despite other signs of growing pressure on Assad ? especially from the region, where both the Arab League and Syria?s neighbor Turkey have decided to slap economic sanctions on the Assad regime ? the 47-member Human Rights Council stopped short of referring Syria to the Security Council.

With any Security Council initiative likely to face insurmountable opposition from permanent members Russia and China, Western powers and Arab countries on the Human Rights Council opted for the less-controversial alternative of naming the special investigator.

A resolution supported by 37 council members deplored Syria?s violence and created a special investigator to look into it, but omitted any mention of the Security Council.

The resolution does call for the "man bodies" of the UN to "urgently" consider Pillay's inquiry into Syria ? wording that some UN observers say clearly refers to the Security Council.

"We would have preferred for [the Human Rights Council] to explicitly refer this to the Security Council, but it is clear that the Security Counicl is one of the "main bodies" of the UN," says Philippe Bolopion, United Nations director for Human Rights Watch in New York. The threat of a Russian and Chinese veto "is not reason to drop the ball and not even try" for Security Council action, he says.

Speaking to Friday?s special Human Rights Council session in Geneva, Ms. Pillay warned that failure to stop Syria?s ?ruthless repression ? can drive the country into a full-fledged civil war.?

Placing the conflict?s toll at well over 4,000 deaths and at least 14,000 people detained, Pillay said the tell-tale signs of civil war were already evident. For example, she said, growing numbers of army defectors are launching increasingly bold attacks against government forces.

Russia and China have highlighted reports of rising attacks by army defectors to argue their case for keeping the international community out of Syria?s internal affairs. Both powers have condemned the regime-led violence, but they also insist that opposition forces are being armed by foreign groups and expatriate anti-Assad organizations focused on deposing the regime.

?The conflict in Syria continues to be fueled by outside forces who are interested in further destabilizing the situation,? Russia?s ambassador to the Human rights Council, Valery Loshchinin, told Friday?s session. ?Armed terrorist and extremist groups are being armed and organized, supplied with weapons and money from abroad.?

IN PICTURES: The censure of Syria

Get daily or weekly updates from CSMonitor.com delivered to your inbox. Sign up today.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/parenting/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20111202/ts_csm/432040

nascar bcs standings 2011 rhodes scholarship rhodes scholarship ufc 139 results adrian peterson lee corso

We can win the AIDS war with drugs and vaccines

If we can bail out the banks, surely we can keep up the pressure on HIV

LAST week, the United Nations released what are probably the most optimistic figures on AIDS since the disease was first identified. New infections have fallen drastically, mainly through the use of drugs that can stop people passing on the virus.

Sensing that HIV is finally on the run, AIDS experts have argued strongly that these preventive programmes should be scaled up as rapidly as possible.

A week can be a long time in the politics of AIDS. On the eve of World AIDS Day, news emerged of savage cutbacks in global programmes to supply the drugs.

At a meeting last week in Ghana, one of the biggest programmes, the UN's Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, warned that donors are retrenching. Overall it has only $11.7 billion of the $20 billion it needs: Italy and Spain have failed to pay up for two years. With no choice but to scale back operations, we may lose our best opportunity yet to turn the tide against HIV.

Against this gloomy backdrop comes some unexpectedly good news that serves as a reminder of what is at stake. One of the big disappointments in the three-decade fight against HIV is that we don't have a reliable vaccine. So far only one, called RV 144, has shown any sign of working.

Now encouraging experiments in mice and monkeys suggest that a non-traditional vaccine may work. The idea is to bypass the immune system by injecting muscles with genes that turn them into factories for pumping out potent antibodies against HIV (see "Muscle-based gene therapy beats HIV".

It will take a year or two before the treatment can be tested in humans and there is no guarantee it will work. Even if it does there will be obstacles, as moral panics over the HPV vaccine and religious scaremongering over polio eradication in parts of Africa have demonstrated.

Still the promise is tantalising. It is conceivable that a combination of drugs and vaccine could eradicate HIV altogether. The task will be a lot easier if we keep up the momentum with the tools already at our disposal. A world that bailed out the banks to the tune of trillions surely cannot let AIDS off the hook for the want of a few paltry billion.

If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

Have your say

Only subscribers may leave comments on this article. Please log in.

Only personal subscribers may leave comments on this article

Subscribe now to comment.

All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.

If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/1a9078ce/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Carticle0Cmg212284120B80A0A0Ewe0Ecan0Ewin0Ethe0Eaids0Ewar0Ewith0Edrugs0Eand0Evaccines0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fonline0Enews/story01.htm

zook john elway john elway eric decker eric decker jr martinez dallas cowboys cheerleaders

World's central banks act to ease market strains (AP)

FRANKFURT, Germany ? Major central banks around the globe took coordinated action Wednesday to ease the strains on the world's financial system, saying they would make it easier for banks to get dollars if they need them. Stock markets and the euro rose sharply on the move.

The U.S. Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of England and the central banks of Canada, Japan and Switzerland were all taking part.

"The purpose of these actions is to ease strains in financial markets and thereby mitigate the effects of such strains on the supply of credit to households and businesses and so help foster economic activity," the central banks said in a joint statement.

The announcement came just hours after China reduced bank reserve levels Wednesday to release money for lending and help shore up slowing growth. It was the first easing of Chinese monetary policy in three years ? and higher growth in China could be crucial for a suffering global economy.

Stocks surged following the news. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped more than 400 points in early trading and was up 392 an hour after the opening bell. Germany's DAX was trading 4.7 percent higher, France's CAC was up 4.1 percent, the euro rose 1.1 percent to $1.3463 and oil was up $1.45 to $101.25.

As Europe's debt crisis has spread, the global financial system is showing signs of entering another credit crunch like the one that followed the 2008 collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers. Banks are afraid to lend to each other, since no one is really sure what institutions are holding how much bad government debt.

Greece, Ireland and Portugal have all been forced to take international bailouts, and Italy, Spain and Belgium are seeing their borrowing costs rise sharply. Banks already had to agree to forgive 50 percent of the value of their Greek debt holdings ? and many fear that other struggling European countries might also demand a so-called "haircut" on bonds.

A ratings downgrade by Standard & Poors for six major U.S. banks on Tuesday added to fears that Europe's woes would hurt the entire financial system. If one or more European governments default, that would unleash a shock to the world's financial system that at the very least would lead to recessions in the United States and Europe, severe losses for banks and a global stranglehold on lending.

The central banks agreed to reduce the cost of temporary dollar loans they offer to banks ? called liquidity swaps ? by a half percentage point. The new, lower rate will be applied to all central bank operations starting Monday.

The cut means that the charge will fall to 50 basis points ? or one-half percentage point ? over an international benchmark, the overnight index swap rate, which is averaging around seven to 10 basis points currently.

Non-U.S. banks need dollars to fund their U.S. operations and to make dollar loans to companies that need the U.S. currency. The dollar is the world's leading currency for central bank reserves and is widely used in international trade.

"Obviously, these moves are designed to increase the flow of dollar liquidity to European banks, which are struggling to attract short-term funding because of questions about their exposure to potential losses on holdings of European sovereign bonds," said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics.

He explained that Wednesday's move does not expose the Fed to propping up ailing European banks.

"The ECB actually makes the loans to these banks, so the Fed is not on the hook for any losses if a European bank failed," Ashworth added.

The announcement also extended the length of time the temporary dollar lines will be available by six months to Feb. 1, 2013. The swap line program had been scheduled to end Aug. 1, 2013.

According to Federal Reserve figures, $2.4 billion in swap lines were being used as of last week. By comparison, at the height of the 2008 financial crisis, $580 billion was provided in temporary swap lines in December of that year.

The central banks are also taking steps to ensure that banks can get ready money in any of their currencies if market conditions warrant by establishing a temporary network of reciprocal swap lines.

Right now there is no need to offer non-domestic credits in currencies other than the dollar, the central banks said, but they "judge it prudent" to get such an arrangement in place ahead of time.

Fears of more financial turmoil in Europe have already left some European banks dependent on central bank loans to fund their daily operations. Other banks are wary of lending to them for fear of not getting paid back. Such constraints on interbank lending can hurt the wider economy by making less money available to lend to businesses.

__

AP Business Writer Marty Crutsinger contributed from Washington, DC.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111130/ap_on_bi_ge/central_banks

nfl power rankings week 13 nfl power rankings week 13 patrice patrice tether new orleans saints lana peters

US lawmakers blast plans for training Iraqi police (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Democrats and Republicans are joining together in harshly criticizing a State Department program for training Iraq's police force.

Lawmakers at House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing Wednesday said it was a waste of money to spend nearly $900 million in the 2012 budget year on Iraqi police training.

They cited an October report from a U.S. government watchdog that said the training program lacked focus, could become a "bottomless pit" for U.S. dollars and may not even be wanted by the Iraqis.

That audit also found that only about 12 percent of the money actually will go to helping the Iraqi police. It said most will pay for security and other items such as living quarters for trainers.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111130/ap_on_go_co/us_iraq_police_training

cliff lee the raven the raven lawrence o donnell fresno state fresno state psa test

Senate backs military custody of terror suspects (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Ignoring a presidential veto threat, the Democratic-controlled Senate moved methodically Thursday to complete a massive defense bill that would deny suspected terrorists, even U.S. citizens seized within the nation's borders, the right to trial and subject them to indefinite detention.

The Senate rejected an effort by Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein to limit a military custody requirement for suspects to those captured outside the United States. The vote was 55-45. Feinstein, D-Calif., said her goal was to ensure "the military won't be roaming our streets looking for suspected terrorists."

The issue divided Democrats with nine senators, many facing re-election next year, breaking with the leadership and administration to vote against the amendment. Republicans held firm, with only Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Mark Kirk of Illinois and Mike Lee of Utah backing Feinstein's effort.

Overall, the deficit-driven bill would authorize $662 billion for military personnel, weapons systems, national security programs in the Energy Department and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. Reflecting a period of austerity and a winding down of decade-old conflicts, the bill is $27 billion less than what President Barack Obama requested and $43 billion less than what Congress gave the Pentagon this year.

The Senate pushed to finish the bill by day's end. Its version must be reconciled with a House-passed measure in the final weeks of the congressional session.

In an escalating fight with the White House, the bill would ramp up the role of the military in handling terror suspects. The bill's language challenges citizens' rights under the Constitution, tests the boundaries of executive and legislative branch authority and sets up a showdown with the Democratic commander in chief.

It reflects the politically charged dispute over whether to treat suspected terrorists as prisoners of war or criminals. The administration insists that the military, law enforcement and intelligence agents need flexibility in prosecuting the war on terror after they've succeeded in killing al-Qaida's Osama bin Laden and Anwar al-Awlaki.

In its veto threat, the White House said it cannot accept any legislation that "challenges or constrains the president's authorities to collect intelligence, incapacitate dangerous terrorists and protect the nation." Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and FBI Director Robert Mueller have opposed the provisions.

Republicans counter that their efforts are necessary to respond to an evolving, post-Sept. 11 threat, and that Obama has failed to produce a consistent policy on handling terror suspects.

The bill would require military custody of a suspect deemed to be a member of al-Qaida or its affiliates and involved in plotting or committing attacks on the United States. American citizens would be exempt. The bill does allow the executive branch to waive the authority based on national security and hold a suspect in civilian custody.

The legislation also would give the government the authority to have the military hold an individual suspected of terrorism indefinitely, without a trial. That provision had no exception for a U.S. citizen.

Feinstein offered another amendment, one that would prohibit the indefinite detention of a U.S. citizen without charges or trial. She has said the last time the government held U.S. citizens indefinitely was when Japanese-Americans were interned in camps during World War II.

Kirk has called the provision unconstitutional, violating the Fourth Amendment and the right of individuals to be secure in their homes from unreasonable searches and seizures.

Countered Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.: "We need the authority to hold those individuals in military custody so we aren't reading them Miranda rights."

Earlier this week, the Senate resoundingly rejected an effort to strip the detainee provisions from the defense bill and instead hold hearings on the issue.

The Senate was expected to overwhelmingly approve crippling sanctions on Iran as fears about Tehran developing a nuclear weapon outweighed concerns about driving up oil prices that would hit economically strapped Americans at the gas pump.

Last week, the administration announced a new set of penalties against Iran, including identifying for the first time Iran's entire banking sector as a "primary money laundering concern." This requires increased monitoring by U.S. banks to ensure that they and their foreign affiliates avoid dealing with Iranian financial institutions.

But lawmakers pressed ahead with even tougher penalties despite reservations by the administration.

Sens. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Kirk offered an amendment that would target foreign financial institutions that do business with the Central Bank of Iran, barring them from opening or maintaining correspondent operations in the United States. It would apply to foreign central banks only for transactions that involve the sale or purchase of petroleum or petroleum products.

The sanctions on petroleum would only apply if the president determines there is a sufficient alternative supply and if the country with jurisdiction over the financial institution has not significantly reduced its purchases of Iranian oil.

Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, David Cohen, a senior Treasury Department official, and Wendy Sherman, an undersecretary of state, warned that the amendment could force up oil prices ? a financial boon for Iran.

"There is absolutely a risk that in fact the price of oil would go up, which would mean that Iran would in fact have more money to fuel its nuclear ambitions, not less," Sherman said. "And our real objective here is to cut off the economic means that Iran has for its nuclear program."

Cohen said the amendment would tell foreign banks and companies "that if they continue to process oil transactions with the Central Bank of Iran their access to the United States can be terminated."

"It is a very, very powerful threat," Cohen warned. "It is a threat for the commercial banks to end their ability to transact in the dollar and their ability really to function as major international financial institutions," and one that could push allies away from contributing to a coordinated effort against Iran.

___

Associated Press writer Bradley Klapper contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111201/ap_on_go_co/us_congress_defense

eric decker eric decker jr martinez dallas cowboys cheerleaders leftover turkey recipes leftover turkey recipes hugo