Cheat Sheet - Has Iran Tricked Obama?

February 17, 2014 DOUBLE TALK 1. Has Iran Tricked Obama? 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. Read it at The Daily Beast Partisans 2. Mt. Rushmore Fight Club 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. Read it at The Daily Beast FINALLY 3. UN Slams N. Korea's Abuse, Torture 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. Read it at Reuters SKYFAIL 4. Co-Pilot Highjacks Own Plane 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. Read it at BBC TOO MUCH? 5. Bode Miller Pressed On Dead Family 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." Read it at The New York Times 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. 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. How to Start 'The Tonight Show' by Tom Shales The Best 'True Detective' Episode Yet by Andrew Romano The Rise of Superhero Therapy by Alex Suskind

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