[SPECIAL REPORT] A Bicycle, an Infection, and a Lie

“Land of Song!” said the warrior bard,
“Tho’ all the world betrays thee,
One sword, at least, thy rights shall guard,
One faithful harp shall praise thee!”
— “The Minstrel Boy” by Thomas Moore

The last two weeks have seen a surprising sequence of events surrounding the Iran nuclear weapons talks. It all started on the night of Friday, May 29 when John Kerry arrived in Geneva for an all-day talk scheduled for the following day, Saturday, May 30. The talks did not go well. A senior administration official described them as “intense,” which is diplomatic-speak for “nasty.” There had been plans to continue the next day, but the Iranians mysteriously hightailed it out of Dodge City that night.

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. As he had a free morning on Sunday, Kerry decided to go biking in the French Alps. He’s an experienced cyclist and had brought his bicycle along. And so he set off, riding his orange trail bike, which matched the orange of his helmet. His cycling suit was an elegant black, except for some white markings and a blue band around the bottom of the shorts he wore over his tights. And his bright yellow arm-warmers provided just the right pop of color.

Alas, man proposes and God disposes. Shortly after he set out, we’re told that he hit a curb and fell off his bicycle, breaking his right femur. How that happened isn’t clear. The press wasn’t notified of the accident for some 90 minutes. Local officials said that he was “traveling at a slow speed, on flat ground.” There is a 40 second video where you can see your Secretary of State maneuver his bike, weaving through the other cyclists who were riding with him. They look like bodyguards, and for some reason they keep getting in his way. Riding with guys like this, no wonder he took a fall. You can see it here, but it doesn’t actually show Kerry hit the curb and fall.

Did Kerry’s elegant outfit get mussed up? We’ll never know. For the camera cuts away and we’re taken on what seems to be a ride backwards in time to where Kerry has not yet gotten on to his bicycle. The scene is surreal. There are lots of cars and security personnel aimlessly milling about and then, on the left side of the frame, Kerry can be seen walking out from behind some tall bushes, holding what might be a white folder in his left hand and his cell phone to his ear with his right. He turns and stares directly into the camera, in case we’ve not noticed him. We are perhaps meant to understand that our Secretary of State is not just a pretty face and a fashion plate. He is always working hard on our behalf. Right up until the moment he gets onto his bicycle he will be attending to his duties.

Kerry is flown back to Geneva where he spends the night in a hospital. On the following day, June 1, he is flown to Boston and taken to Massachusetts General Hospital where he apparently undergoes a four-hour surgery under a regional anesthetic. By Tuesday, his doctor says that he’s been fixed. He can walk and is starting physio.

The world breathes a collective sigh of relief, because now the nuke talks can go on. Kerry will continue to hold our side. Only no one hears from him for 10 days. “Ten days later, why no pictures of John Kerry?” asks the Washington Examiner.

Via: American Spectator

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Iran: White House Lying About Details of Nuke Deal

Iranian officials say that the White House is misleading the public about the details of an interim nuclear agreement reached over the weekend in Geneva.

Iran and Western nations including the United States came to an agreement on the framework for an interim deal late Saturday night in Geneva. The deal has yet to be implemented

The White House released a multi-page fact sheet containing details of the draft agreement shortly after the deal was announced.

However, Iranian foreign ministry official on Tuesday rejected the White House’s version of the deal as “invalid” and accused Washington of releasing a factually inaccurate primer that misleads the American public.

“What has been released by the website of the White House as a fact sheet is a one-sided interpretation of the agreed text in Geneva and some of the explanations and words in the sheet contradict the text of the Joint Plan of Action, and this fact sheet has unfortunately been translated and released in the name of the Geneva agreement by certain media, which is not true,” Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham told the Iranian press on Tuesday.

Afkham and officials said that the White House has “modified” key details of the deal and released their own version of the agreement in the fact sheet.

Via: WFB

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Sunday Show Round Up - Kerry defends deal with Iran that eases sanctions

Secretary of State John Kerry took to the airwaves to defend the Iran-P5+1 diplomatic deal that was reached in Geneva early Sunday morning.

“This negotiation is not the art of fantasy or the art of the ideal, it’s the art of the possible, which is verifiable and clear in its capacity to be able to make Israel and the region safer,” Kerry said on ABC’s “This Week.”

“The fact is that Iran’s ability to break out will expand under this program. Therefore, Israel will be safer, the region will be safer, Iran’s 20 percent uranium will be destroyed, therefore they are safer. Iran’s 3.5 percent uranium stock will be frozen at its current level and the centrifuges will not be able to be installed in places that could otherwise be installed and advance the program.”

Despite Kerry’s assurances, many lawmakers and foreign leaders have already expressed frustration and concern at the deal.

A key issue for critics, such as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), concerns the dismantling of centrifuges. Last night Graham tweeted, “Unless the agreement requires dismantling of the Iranian centrifuges, we really haven’t gained anything.”

Rep. Mike Rogers (R., Mich.) echoed that worry this morning during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” arguing, that Iran had been given “a permission slip to continue enrichment.”

“That’s the one thing the whole world was trying to stop them from doing. … We made this mistake in Pakistan. We made this mistake in North Korea. History is a great judge here and a great teacher, why would you make the same mistake to a nation that will proliferate a nuclear arms race in the Middle East if they are successful at getting a nuclear weapon,” Rogers said.

Via: WFB

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Iran nuclear deal fuels anger, jitters in Mideast

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's prime minister harshly condemned the international community's nuclear deal with Iran on Sunday while Western allies in the Persian Gulf were conspicuously quiet, reflecting the jitters felt throughout the Middle East over Iran's acceptance on the global stage.

Elsewhere, many welcomed the agreement as an important first step toward curbing Iran's suspect nuclear program.

Israel and Gulf countries led by Saudi Arabia have formed an unlikely alliance in their opposition to Sunday's deal, joined together by shared concerns about a nuclear-armed Iran.

While most Gulf countries remained silent in the first hours after the deal was reached in Geneva, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasted little time in criticizing it, calling it a "historic mistake" and saying he was not bound by the agreement.

Speaking to his Cabinet, Netanyahu said the world had become a "more dangerous place" as a result of the deal. He reiterated a long-standing threat to use military action against Iran if needed, declaring that Israel "has the right and the duty to defend itself by itself."

Via: Town Hall

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Ben Stein: Obama Making 'Annihilation' of Jews Possible

Commentator Ben Stein said on Thursday that President Barack Obama's "deeply naïve" premise that Iran would suddenly end its nuclear activities in exchange for an easing of sanctions that have crippled its economy for five years would make the "annihilation" of Jews possible.

"Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terror," Stein said in The American Spectator.  "The Iranians in the recent past have pledged to destroy the Jewish people in the Middle East.

"Some of their leaders have boasted that if Iran gets nuclear weapons, Iran will have 'a holocaust in an afternoon' by rocketing a few nuclear weapons into Israel," Stein added. "Naturally, the Israelis are desperately worried."

A round of talks between Iran and world powers in Geneva fell short of an expected deal on Sunday after French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius objected, saying the terms of a preliminary agreement were too easy on Tehran.

The deal would not have required Iran, for instance, to close any of its 18,000 uranium centrifuges or its heavy water reactor in Arak, which would serve as a source of plutonium when it starts operations in about two years.
Stein, who also is a commentator for Newsmax Magazine, said the Geneva negotiations resulted from "peace feelers" sent across the world by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who was elected in June.

"If the western powers will greatly ease the sanctions, Iran, so they promise, will freeze its nuclear program where it stands now — some months from having a working bomb," Stein said, referring to world leaders who are encouraging an agreement.

Secretary of State John Kerry is representing the U.S. in the negotiations.

"The problem is," Stein continued, "that Iran has made many promises about stopping the nuclear program. It has not kept any of them. It has not signed the non-proliferation treaty. It has not allowed inspectors in its most secret plants. It has raced on towards nuclear weapons that could in a half-hour or less cause another holocaust.

Via: Newsmax

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Oil prices may plunge if Iran gets a nuclear deal

Oil futures bounced off an earlier four-month low on Friday, but analysts told CNBC that prices could plunge if an agreement on Iran's nuclear program is made this weekend.

Secretary of State John Kerry unexpectedly joined the ongoing negotiations in Geneva, sparking speculation that a preliminary deal could be reached soon. Iranian oil exports have been decimated by sanctions placed against the country's energy sector by the United States and Europe in response to its nuclear ambitions.

"I want to emphasize there is not an agreement at this point in time," Kerry told reporters in Geneva. "There are still some very important issues on the table that are unresolved. It is important for those to be properly, thoroughly addressed."

(Read more: Kerry: Iran nuclear talks face 'important gaps')

Fabrice Coffrini | AFP | Getty Images

Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Geneva on Friday.

However, energy analysts said that Kerry's participation—along with British Foreign Secretary William Hague, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle—is a positive sign. The dignitaries are all expected to meet with Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Friday.

"This news reinforces our existing expectation for an 'agreement in principle' or 'preliminary deal' or 'first step,'" analyst Kevin Book of ClearView Energy Partners said in a note to clients. "We reiterate our bearish bias for Brent crude.

Via: CNBC

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[VIDEO] Netanyahu: 'This Is a Bad Deal--a Very, Very Bad Deal'

A very unusual statement from the Israel prime minister on the eve of a possible nuclear detail between the U.S. and Iran:

"I met Secretary Kerry right before he leaves to Geneva," said Netanyhau. "I reminded him that he said that no deal is better than a bad deal. That the deal that is being discussed in Geneva right now is a bad deal. It’s a very bad deal. Iran is not required to take apart even one centrifuge. But the international community is relieving sanctions on Iran for the first time after many years. Iran gets everything that it wanted at this stage and it pays nothing. And this is when Iran is under severe pressure. I urge Secretary Kerry not to rush to sign, to wait, to reconsider, to get a good deal. But this is a bad deal--a very, very bad deal. It’s the deal of a century for Iran; it’s a very dangerous and bad deal for peace and the international community."

Via: Weekly Standard

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