Utah Independent
UtahIndependent.com Saturday 28th January 2012 Volume 10/0407
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"Listen, there are people that are coming down the pilot ladder of the prow. You go up that pilot ladder, get on that ship and tell me how many people are still on board. And what they need. Is that clear? You need to tell me if there are children, women or people in need of assistance. And tell me the exact number of each of these categories. Is that clear? Listen Schettino, that you saved yourself from the sea, but I am going to... I'm going to make sure you get in trouble. ...I am going to make you pay for this. Go on board."
Captain Gregorio De Falco
Captain De Falco of the Livorno Port Authority demanding the captain of the stricken cruise ship Costa Concordia to return on board where hundreds of passengers were still trapped.

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$£€ United States, Dollar Euro Canada, Dollar United Kingdom, Pound Japan, Yen
United States, Dollar - 0.704 0.958 0.620 78.98
Euro 1.418 - 1.360 0.879 112.0
Canada, Dollar 1.042 0.735 - 0.646 82.37
United Kingdom, Pound 1.612 1.136 1.545 - 127.3
Japan, Yen 0.012 0.008 0.012 0.007 -

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bullet More Utah News corner
Columbine principal talked to Utah bomb suspect
Student charged in bomb plot while tensions rise at Roy High School
Service jobs projected to grow as manufacturing employment continues to decline
$1.5B City Creek Center on schedule for March 22 opening

bullet Space corner
India celebrates Basant Panchami
Doc completes voyage to the most isolated base on Earth
Chinese youths hire dates to please parents
Chinese men rent girlfriends to please parents
Chinese youth hire dates to please parents

bullet Salt Lake City corner
Utah adoption bill aims to give unwed fathers more protections
Man died on bus, but Utah family wasn't notified for nearly a month
Utah Jazz fall in Big D while big names sit
Proposed changes to Utah liquor laws drawing many voices

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DeChristopher lacks grounds to appeal, government says
Activist Tim DeChristopher bid $1.7 million in 2008 for energy leases he didn't intend to pay for. ...

2 Utah teens arrested in school bombing plot
Roy, Utah -- An 18-year-old was charged with possession of a weapon of mass destruction Friday after he and another teenager planned to bomb a Utah high school, authorities said. Dallin Morgan and...
Utah students arrested in bomb plot
In this police booking photo released by Weber County Sheriff's Dept. showing Dallin Morgan, 18, a high school student who was arrested with another student on Wednesday Jan. 25,2012 on ...
More breaking stories
Syrian security forces fire on protesters, 37 killedSyrian security forces fire on protesters, 37 killed
AMMAN - Security forces killed 37 people in Syria on Friday, activists and residents claimed, as the UN Security Council prepared to discuss Damascus later in the day ahead of a possible vote next...

Car bomb blast in Baghdad takes toll of 28 livesCar bomb blast in Baghdad takes toll of 28 lives
BAGHDAD - In the deadliest attack in nearly two weeks at least 28 people were killed and around 50 injured Friday in a car bomb blast in Zafraniyah district of east Baghdad near a funeral procession...
Annual US, South Korea war games from Feb 27Annual US, South Korea war games from Feb 27
SEOUL - The United States and South Korea are to hold annual military exercises on the Korean peninsula soon, the first since the recent change of leadership in North Korea.

There had been...
More international stories
U.S. stocks drop as GDP fails to meet expectationsU.S. stocks drop as GDP fails to meet expectations
U.S. stocks dropped on Friday, and the dollar dived, as the fourth quarter GDP figure for the U.S. failed to meet expectations.

Disappointing earnings reports also punctured leading stocks Juniper...

Credit rating of five EU nations cut by FitchCredit rating of five EU nations cut by Fitch
NEW YORK - Fitch Ratings Friday downgraded the sovereign credit ratings of five euro currency countries - Italy, Spain, Slovenia, Belgium and Cyprus, contending they lack financing flexibility in the...
Founder of French firm that made faulty breast implants chargedFounder of French firm that made faulty breast implants charged
PARIS - The founder of a French company at the centre of a global health scare over faulty breast implants was Friday charged with "involuntary injury", his lawyers said.

Jean-Claude Mas, 72, head...
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bullet Romney's Religion Could be Factor in US Presidential Race corner

In U.S. presidential politics, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has a narrow lead over Georgia businessman Herman Cain in the latest CNN-ORC public opinion poll. Most experts consider Romney the frontrunner for the Republican Party's presidential nomination next year. But in recent weeks, Romney has been on the defensive about his religion and the issue came into focus during the latest Republican candidates' debate in Las Vegas. Romney is a member of the Mormon Church, which generally follows Christian precepts, but adheres to its own founder and holy book separate from the Christian Bible.



The intersection of politics and religion in the 2012 race for the White House came into sharp focus because of comments from an evangelical Christian pastor, Robert Jeffress, who supports Texas Governor Rick Perry for president.

Jeffress opposes Mitt Romney because of his membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormon Church.

"In my estimation, Mormonism is a cult," said Jeffress. "And it would give credence to a cult to have a Mormon candidate."

Mormons generally follow Christian precepts, but adhere to their own church founder, Joseph Smith, and a holy book, the Book of Mormon, which is separate from the Christian Bible.

Jeffress says Mormons are moral people, but are not part of mainstream Christianity - a view many Mormons dispute.

The religious issue was raised during the Republican debate in Las Vegas this week, when Rick Perry was asked about Jeffress's comments.

"That individual expressed an opinion," said Perry. "I didn't agree with it, Mitt, and I said so. But the fact is Americans understand faith and what they have lost faith in is the current resident of the White House [President Barack Obama]."

Mitt Romney said that using any kind of religious test for political candidates is wrong.

"That idea that we should choose people based upon their religion for public office is what I find to be most troubling because the founders of this country went to great lengths, and even put it in the Constitution, that we would not choose people to represent us in government based upon their religion," noted Romney.

Public opinion surveys show that most Americans are tolerant of different religious views, unless they are seen as extreme.

That was backed up by a recent sampling of opinion in Los Angeles. However, Romney might be hurt by the reluctance of some Christian voters to support him, says Daniel Cox with the Public Religion Research Institute here in Washington.

"Evangelicals are a vital part of the Republican primary constituency," said Cox. "They are about one in four voters overall and they make up a significant portion of the Republican primary electorate, particularly in places like Iowa and South Carolina and Florida."

But Cox says there is a way for Romney to overcome some of those doubts.

"If Romney can convince voters, particularly Evangelical voters in the Republican primaries, that he shares their political values, there is a good chance that the religious values may not be as important," Cox explained.

If he wins the Republican nomination and defeats President Barack Obama next year, Romney would become the country's first Mormon president.


bullet Utah Independent corner
Every minute of every day our news editors canvass the issues, and stories making the news to provide our readers with a broad and in-depth coverage of what's happening in the world.

Our first priority is the state. We specialise in Utah news. From Salt Lake City to West Valley City, we're on the lookout day and night to keep track of issues making the news. We also strive to keep abreast of national news.

Breaking stories out of the continental United States usually break first on the Utah Independent. Neighbouring states and key cities too often feature on our news pages.

We also provide a whole lot of other content you'd expect from any newspaper including international sports coverage and local Utah weather forecasts.

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    bullet Movie Review corner

    bullet Science corner
    Send Newt Gingrich to moon, says John McCain
    Ex-ISRO scientists slam government, support Nair on Antrix-Devas deal
    Bahamas' underwater caves could give clues about life beyond Earth
    Uruguayan football manager o"scar Taborez named UN Champion for Sport

    bullet Travel corner
    Costa Concordia owner offers $14,460 as compensation to each survivor
    Italy cruise ship survivors to get compensation
    Azarenka cruises past Sharapova to claim Open
    Azarenka cruises to Aussie title

    bullet News Survey corner
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    bullet Hotel Review corner
    Comfort Hotel Portrush
    Comfort Hotel Portrush

    I arrived into Portrush, after a journey from Belfast to Londonderry on the M2 Motorway. Having seen Londonderry I was...


    bullet National corner
    America to reduce military by 100,000
    G20 web economy projected to double by 2016
    Most of Americans want to give whole of Congress the boot: Poll