RefBan

Referral Banners

Monday, February 17, 2014

Cheat Sheet - Has Iran Tricked Obama?

Cheat Sheet: Morning

February 17, 2014
DOUBLE TALK

On the eve of P5+1 talks with the West, Iran is throwing a lot of mixed signals about their willingness to cooperate. Iran took last week's 35th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution as an opportunity to showcase new ballistic missiles and sent warships to approach U.S. maritime borders for the first time. Is Iran's saber rattling just a necessary appeasement of hardliners or a sign of the country's true intentions? Jamie Dettmer reports.

Partisans

America has a long and illustrious history of hating on its presidents, writes John Avlon. The 89 books criticizing and attacking Obama during his first term may seem heavy handed, but the beloved presidents on Mount Rushmore faced plenty of vitriol. George Washington was accused of "Machiavellian policy," and Thomas Jefferson was called a "self-exalted tyrant." Today's hyper-partisan appeals to ancient anxieties will not look any better in the rearview mirror of history than the unhinged attacks on the Mount Rushmore crew.

FINALLY

A report being released today by the United Nations confirms what many have long suspected about North Korea as an egregious violator of human rights. The investigation by the UN denounces North Korea for committing crimes against humanity, detailing the country's prison camps and torture chambers, which are equipped with water tanks, shackles to hang people upside down, and long needles to drive underneath fingernails. The state also uses starvation to control the masses while simultaneously using a large portion of its fund to import luxury goods, which include cognac, whiskey, and equipment for a 1,000-person theater. In a letter to Kim Jong-un, the investigators recommend that he himself be brought before the International Criminal Court (ICC). However, it is highly unlikely to ever occur considering China's veto power.

SKYFAIL

You thought you only had to worry about terrorists when you flew. The co-pilot of an Ethiopian Airlines plane flying from Addis Ababa to Rome highjacked his own aircraft and forced it to land in Geneva, Switzerland. When his co-pilot got up to use the bathroom, he locked the cockpit and had the plane refuel in Geneva. He then climbed out of the cockpit using a rope and turned himself into police. He was unarmed, and all 202 passengers and crew were safe. In fact, passengers were apparently unaware it had been highjacked.

TOO MUCH?

Sure, NBC loves a good gut-wrenching Olympian backstory, but sometimes, it can take things too far. Many think that was the case with NBC's Christin Cooper's interview with Olympian skier Bode Miller after becoming the oldest medalist in Alpine skiing. Cooper appears to have badgered Miller about his brother who passed away last year to the point that Miller began weeping. NBC chose to air 75 seconds of Miller crying instead of cutting to Matt Lauer, which felt exploitative to some and elicited many #NBCFail tweets. Still, Miller came to Cooper's rescue tweeting "Please be gentle with christin cooper, it was crazy emotional and not at all her fault #heatofthemoment."


NSA DOES DOWN UNDER
Aussies Wiretapped Indonesians
During trade talks on shrimp.
BESTING THE WEST
East Wins NBA All-Star Game
In record-breaking game.
BIG WINNER
'12 Years' Takes Top BAFTA Honors
Chiwetel Ejiofor wins best actor.
BOO-HOO
Zimmerman: Travyon Caused My PTSD
He also claimed he's homeless.
OH, THE IRONY
Snake Kills Snake-Handler Preacher
Jamie Coots refused treatment for snakebite.
Sign Up and Share

Invite Friends Sign Up
GET The Cheat Sheet
A speedy, smart summary of news and must-reads from across the Web. You'll love the featured original stories on politics, entertainment, and more from The Daily Beast's diverse group of contributors.


GET Culture Beast
Weekly cultural recommendations from The Daily Beast.





More from The Daily Beast


Around the Web

Facebook Twitter
Visit The Daily Beast


If you are on a mobile device or cannot view the images in this message, click here to view this email in your Web browser.

To ensure delivery of these emails, please add thedailybeast@e2.thedailybeast.com to your address book.

If you have changed your mind and no longer wish to receive these emails, or think you have received this message in error,
you can safely unsubscribe here.

No comments: