NABNYC, See the news? Another one of your jihadi pals just got arrested before he could kill people in NYC.

Man Accused of Plot to Blow Up Federal Reserve Bank of New York
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/18/nyregion/arrest-in-plot-to-blow-up-federal-reserve-bank.html

The U.S. is allied with rich powerful oil-rich nations and the despots who control them (i.e. Saudi Arabia) and with Israel. The former makes sense in terms of access to oil; the latter makes no strategic sense. With respect to many other nations, of course, the U.S. is waging war against them to obtain total control and domination so U.S. corporations can steal the resources.

The attacks in Libya are blowback. The U.S. staged a coup in that country, and at least some of the people know it and are reacting.

The U.S. relationship with Israel is nothing more than a criminal enterprise. Congress votes to send billions to Israel; Israel takes a chunk off the top, launders it back into the U.S., and uses it to pay kick-backs and bribes to the same politicians who voted to send the money to Israel in the first place. Israel also uses the money to buy spokespeople (i.e. academics, journalists) to perpetuate the false hysterical claim that Israel is under siege, send money. The politicians in both nations are stealing our money and disguising it as a moral issue.

What should be the relationship of the U.S.? Independent, cordial, with negotiated agreements on a nation by nation basis, to the extent agreements can be reached which will benefit our country. We should not be over there trying to militarily dominate them. We should withdraw and begin to act like a civil law-abiding nation, as opposed to being the world's bully and thug.

My question about those binders full of women that Mitt Romney received : after he hired some of them did they
receive EQUAL pay for EQUAL work????? Mr. Romney never did answer that important question

Romney lied about his recruitment of women: "What actually happened was that in 2002 -- prior to the election, not even knowing yet whether it would be a Republican or Democratic administration -- a bipartisan group of women in Massachusetts formed MassGAP to address the problem of few women in senior leadership positions in state government. There were more than 40 organizations involved with the Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus (also bipartisan) as the lead sponsor.

They did the research and put together the binder full of women qualified for all the different cabinet positions, agency heads, and authorities and commissions. They presented this binder to Governor Romney when he was elected."
http://blog.thephoenix.com/blogs/talkingpolitics/archive/2012/10/16/mind-the-binder.aspx

I'm really glad that Obama for the most part stymied Romney stymied last night. However, he missed a huge opportunity to rebut Mitt Romney's assertion that the top 2% would receive no reduction in federal income tax because under his plan they would still pay 60% of total tax revenues. Someone should have asked 60% of what. Clearly, if tax revenues are cut as they would be under the Romney plan, then 60% of a smaller number constitutes a reduction in taxes regardless of the percentage. The Republicans' insistence on everyone's receiving a tax break would naturally curtail federal revenues, which would give rise to an excuse to "shrink" the government by doing away with everything from Public Broadcasting to the Social Safety Net, etc. etc.

You can see the president of the self proclaimed Islamic Republic of Iran telling the crowds at his Nuermberg style rally of his goal to destroy Israel, coupled with their "peaceful nuclear" program, complete with thousands of centrifuges buried deep underground (why hide a peaceful program?) in this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FckLO8HcNyo

How would the FAKE "anti-war" cult view a speech where a President of a Western country said his goal was to wipe Iran off the page of histroy, off maps?

When Iran threatens to close the Strait of Hormuz it is considered an act of war. But when sanctions threaten to bring down the Iranian economy they are the peaceful, diplomatic option. Let's move passed this idea that economic sanctions are peaceful.

I would like to hear some discussion of the current status of the two-state solution.

Libya -
the film was used to hype up the lybians after it was played on local tv
the US killed one of al queda's leaders the week before
al queda had a plan for attacking the consulate waiting in the wings

- they all happened on 9-11. these things are not mutually exclusive.

Fact: the Obama administration failed to protect our embassy.

Fact: the failure resulted in the death of our ambassador and four Americans.

Fact: the administration lied to us and hid behind a smoke screen of "protests" for two weeks.

Q. What are the U.S. alliances within the region?
A. Very tricky! In this "new world" we're in, we are playing with a lot of hot potatoes! As polarized as US politics is, the mid east is in worse straits! Like Yugoslavia, when the dictator is gone, so are the controls. Then, those once "fractured" clans begin to assert themselves again. Each group thinks that "God is on Our side" - alone! (Similar to some here). That's the situation all over the mid east, and especially with the Israelis & the Palestinians.

Q. How do Romney and Obama differ in their foreign policy style?
A. Romney seems to prefer "big military" interventions & threatening talk. He's said, "... it is our responsibility and the responsibility of the president to use America's great power to shape history, not to lead from behind, leaving our destiny at the mercy of events."
Obama has the better idea - it's called Diplomacy. Diplomacy needs time to take hold. It builds on trust. It shows you respect the other. Diplomacy, along with the right kind of aid may help. But they
are going through a huge change, and it will take time for them to find their own way. [After all, WE aided & abetted their dictators for decades & some we put in power! Now they're gone, and the youth want one thing and the elders fear the loss of ancient traditions.)

I have not heard any discussion of the real thing that is going on with the hate video "The innocence of Muslims": Another campaign dirty trick aimed at defeating a Democratic Presidential candidate who has a big lead in foreign policy issues. It is like the "Swift Boat" tactic that was so effective against John Kerry--denying him his war hero status. In this case Obama's claim to foreign policy success in killing Bin Laden, etc., is being undermined by creating chaos on Obama's watch. The supposed producer of this film Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a Coptic Christian Egyptian immigrant who is on probation for minor financial fraud OBVIOUSLY could not have raised the money to make this video. Last I heard, he was claiming, like the original actors, that he had been tricked about the video. WHO financed this is deadly provocation is now much more important for the USA than even the lives it has cost and the chaos it has unleashed. It is a matter of the attempted subversion of our electoral process. What if a thorough investigation could link it to a Pro-Romney Super PAC, like the one that financed the Swift Boat affair? What would be the implications for the elections?

Brian Lehrer on 30 Issues in 30 days, The Public Health has components in many of the topics you are covering and is never mentioned in the political discourse. The federal government has a fundamental responsibility to protect the Public Health of the entire USA. This should be as important as the responsibility to defend the country. Many agencies are involved; NIH, FDA, EPA, OSHA, Health and Human Services,and others. But the congress seems to focus on cutting the budgets and diluting or blocking laws that would protect the Public Health. Degrading the Public Heath is the cost of doing business in the USA but businesses do not pay the cost.