Brian: I believe you said on the NBC News on Fri, 9/22/06 that the US was great to allow the UN members free speech. I must take issue with that. The UN is covered by diplomatic immunity, and they can say what they wish. The news organizations can cover it (and that is what they did -- with the protections of the US Constitution's Freedom of Press) -- but the US Constitution did not give them Freedom of Speech. They had it by virtue of being diplomats at a diplomatic gathering.
And, by the way, calling President Bush the devil, while extreme, is clearly comic for some people (atheists, Bush haters). If you don't believe in the devil, why then Chavez was -- to them-- using a metaphor. Clearly Chavez was making a point. But, let me also say, if we resent Chavez's comments, I guess that explains how people could be upset about what the Pope may say about Mohammed. We are all pretty touchy about our "heroes" (to use an approximate phrase).

Brain, I agree completely with your thoughtful interview with the president of Iran. Even though we may not agree with his take on the world, it is VERY important we at least hear what he has to say in order to possibly understand his thinking and the rationale that got him there. Same goes for Hugo Chavez; he's vocal and outspoken to be sure, but again we need to comprehend his unconventional strategies...to do otherwise is to stick our head in the sand only to get our posterior shot off. Many might say America is alone in the world...or can go it alone...to those individuals I say get your head out of your (well just guess).

Brian, Did I just heare you correctly on tonight's news when you said "we allow leaders to come into this country and speak at the United Nations" this comment was directed at the leaders of Iran and Venezula who delivered a scathing attack on the president of this country. Your words are typical of the uninformed American. The United Nations do not belong to the United States and giving the american public that kind misinformation only adds to the contempt the rest of the world feel about us.

Brian - I taught high school for over 25 years. One of the most valuable things I learned, during that time, was that I could completely turn around a problem student by talking, one-on-one, with him/her in the hallway. I grew to recognize the invaluable benefits of communicating with someone, eyeball to eyeball. Thank goodness you sat down and talked, face to face, with Iranian President Ahmadinejad. As I watched your interview, I was so proud of you for communicating with a complex leader, and I was so disappointed in our president for refusing to do so.

Another blogger commented:

"We shouldn't be lulled into complacency by these falling gas prices. Anything, anywhere could launch them into the stratosphere again."

Like the elections? Of course...

wow. peter del rio... check your basic algebra knowledge before you make fun of Brian WIlliams.

Uh, Peter from NY? The square of a negative real number is a positive. (-6)^2 = 36, just as (6)^2 = 36.

Is the St. Louis area the only place in the country where the price of gasoline per gallon has gone up? Earlier this week it went up about $0.20/gallon.

Brian, Just take a moment of your time to really look at our Honorable President. The concern on his face for our country and people is there. Could you imagine what he really knows about our security? Please, no matter if we like it or not we are at war. Thanks! God Please Bless America!

If we are truly a country that stands by "Freedom of Speech" then how dare we crucify ANY Person who uses that platform. They have a right to express their views whether (we) as a nation agree or disagree with their comments. We have a history of chastising and condemning ANYONE who makes statements that we dissagree with. Also, our nations leaders, and the press in the U.S. seem only to take "specific" comments made by Chavez, (not to mention others, like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) and use Those comments to paint these individuals as anti-american, and/or pro-war. This attitude we have is what divides us, not only from the rest of the world, but even between ourselves. If Any intelligent person listens to everything these men say they would see that these men are NOT anti-american, but rather, they are anti-Bush admin., and anti-U.S. policy. This is totally different than to say they are against the American People. Our government is "absolutely" arrogant to assume that our beliefs, and our western ideologies have to be adopted in any other nation before we will agree to consider them as friends and/or allies. We as a country state that we stand behind diversity, and yet if these other countries views differ from those we agree with they are immediately and absolutely ostricized by our government. Hypocrisy runs amuck within our government, and especially within the republican party. Why do we continue to choose to make enemies throughout the world, instead of proving ourselves as true world leaders through peaceful means. There are two sides to every story! Unfortunately we have always in the past, and continue today, to "hear" but never "listen" to any other point of view. I say, "shame on Us, NOT shame on them!" What we are doing right now is creating a division between US and any other nation that supplies oil to our country. This is anything BUT the correct path to take with these other world leaders!

speaking of those gas prices. They went up on fear factor even though the shortage never appeared so the gas companies made bucu bucks in profit!!!! I dont think that is fair since we were paying for gas they already had in storage that they paid a low price for.

Anyway, as far as the UN goes, it has become a waste of an organization:

1. It is not "united"
2. It is at the will and whim of the Security Councils 5 permanent members.
3. It lacks any leverage or power.

The UN should be disbanded.

I think you guys did a good job letting these guys talk to us. We has a people need to understand what these guys are thinking and why they believe in the stuff they believe in. Thanks for interviewing them.

"Nationalism" is not "Patriotism"

The belief that our armies cannot be beaten and that we can do no wrong is a dangerous path to tread in a world so chockfull of AAMD (Arsenals of Absolute Mass Destruction). It was NATIONALISM that led to the last great war: WWII. It is NOT patriotism. Patriotism is simply a pride in ones nation. A wish to do good and achieve. It has an air of “confidence” and a hope for what tomorrow will bring. Nationalism wishes to impose its beliefs on others bar no effort and no amount of killing or torture…

The Bush administration was and is decidedly guilty of manipulating our post 9/11 patriotism into an overwhelming degree of US “nationalism” - where all we wanted to do was INVADE - INVADE - INVADE at the slightest wave of their hand. Terrorism, in this sense, became like a wonderful ‘invisible enemy’ which allowed them to ‘allege’ mysterious connections to any government it wanted to attack!

They’ve used the “politics of terror” (the threat of constant attack - Mushroom clouds over every city) to instill the necessary fear and politely labeled anyone who disagreed with them a terrorist.
Whatever happened to our funding and support of Saddam or Bin Ladin several decades ago? How easily we forget how we once called such people allies and freedom fighters when it served our purposes.

Did the "liberals" in Germany ask such questions BEFORE 1939? Apparently not enough...

If we citizens are not informed, then our decisions are based on emotion and assumption--two very unreliable standards. Airing the interview with Iran's leader is the right thing to do. NBC took advantage of a very rare (perhaps single) opportunity to show the American people who this guy is first hand. Deciding whether he's credible, sincere, or a complete nut case should be MY decision. It's not up to the media or even President Bush to decide for me. Brian's questions could have been more concise, but Ahmadinejad's answers were quite telling. This interview will prove historical. Those who object to its being aired are offended by Ahmadinejad, but they should review the principles upon which our nation is founded.

Brian, just a word about the continuing drop in gasoline prices.The summer is the time for driving and summer vacations, the winter is the time for flying to vacation and staying home and staying warm.I think a follow up story on the price of natural gas , heating oil, and jet fuel would reveal that the heart of gold of the oil companies is really gold plate.

Brian- Thank you for doing that interview. It's strange that an actual leader of a country would speak in an articulate fashion!

Chimp in charge should speak with him if he is so tough as he says. Be a leader, show courage, actually be a diplomat for once.

If the Pope made negative remarks about jews -- he would be crucified immediately by US media including CNN and prosecuted as Antsemitism. But his remarks about Islam is freedom of speech and rewarded as tolerance.
Mel Gibson was drunk, the Pope was sober.
Should we remind the Papa of the Crusades, WW I, WW II, Holocaust, Northern Ireland, Vietnam, all in the name of christianity !!!!
Indeed the Pope has reformed -- No more wars -- Only young boys.

The difference between understanding and knowing can make all the difference. The most obvious example was your story on the relevance of the SAT’s. During the segment you quickly flashed a sample algebra question, x squared minus 36 equals zero. While watching, I quickly yelled 6, not noticing the wrong sample answers until Brian Williams stated, “By the way we all know the answer was A, negative 6. OK I was told.” Luckily for Brian, he does what he is told because the right answer was positive 6 none of the above.

The story did point out that either the relevance of the SAT is lessening because of errors in the test or that your producers did better on their verbal SAT scores than their math. Either way it supports the premise that knowing is always better than understanding, like knowing that the reason oil was down over a dollar a barrel today and down over two dollars yesterday had to do with a hedge fund unwinding a $3 billion loss in energy. That story was in today’s papers and online. While we are on the subject of finance, when you report the Dow Jones and the NASDAQ, please state their performance in percentages not dollar amounts. When reporting dollar amounts it is like comparing apples and oranges, when reported in percentages you normalize the data so you can have an accurate comparison of different priced markets.

Let me end with commending you all in reporting the world class struggle at the United Nations in a non-biased fashion. In a Democracy, free speech and a healthy debate of an unpopular viewpoint is always welcomed over the propaganda of a totalitarian state. And for this reason, I will continue to watch the NBC News nightly with the hopes that the little details are not overlooked.

Brian, You're doing a fabulous job---keep up the good work. There are many of us who still believe in listening to another's viewpoint. That way, a healthy and spirited dialogue follows. I want to have all of it presented to me---then I'll make up my own mind!

I am wondering, with winter coming soon, what is the price of home heating oil? Are they falling with the gas prices?

Nice group here this evening! Some good comments; all well written. That's what makes the dailynightly so special!

Two comments this evening and I'll try to keep it short.

1. The Shiites and the Sunnis have been enemies for more than one thousand years. Rumsfeld says we should all remember our history. Seems to me if the Bush administration was so keen on going into Iraq, they would have had a plan on how to tackle that little fact. Instead, our country's military find themselves wearing an even greater bulls eye on their backs.

2. Something has changed in how the price of oil is determined. At least it seems that way to me. The supply factor has, as far as I'm concerned, nothing to do with it. It's all one big video game where the players are simply dealing with futures. Each day when the price rises, it's explained by the "experts". Then when it goes down, an equally unreasonable reason is offered. All we really need to do is wait until oil is at a reasonable price and then lock "their" keyboards and mice in a closet, preventing them from messing the price of oil!

Dear Brian, I think you are doing an excellent job of delivering the news in the time you are given. I am surprised at all the criticism that you have been getting lately. I think your interviews with the President of the United States and Iran were some of the best interviews I've watched in a long time.
There are two sides to every story and you cover both accurately. You get to the heart of the matter and I think you are a man with a lot of heart. That much was proven with your coverage of Hurricane Katrina. I thank you and will continue to watch every night!

To all those who don't wish Brian to air the views of those with opposing views other than the administration's, I disagree.

One reason why I love the internet is access to other sources of information other than what I can read in the local paper, view on the evening news, listen to on NPR and read in national news magazines.

No matter how well the information is presented there is bias on part of the network and the writers. Some of it is propaganda while other parts of it is poorly written without giving all the facts and details.

You wouldn't want to go into surgery with the doctor telling you he is the best in his chosen field? That's why they have informed consent; all the good AND the bad points of surgery are given before you have surgery.

News should be the same way. All the details given but due to time constraints only the highlights are presented.

Not everyone takes the time to investigate the stories from various angles and points of view like the Daily Nightly fans do every day. By giving the views of Chavez and others opposed to the spread of U.S. style democracy gives the casual news viewers a truely fair and balanced report.

The President of Iran was looking for a dialog with our country. It is best to use the carrot before the stick. This administration does not seem to understand this. This man is an intellectual, and whether we agree with his thinking or not it is arragent not to talk to him or his Government.

No doubt Iran and other areas of the world are in the cross hairs of our military. What have we got to fear? Or is it a fear that we are out of step with the rest of the world? We can talk now-or we can talk later. But we will talk!

Brian, great get on the Iranian president. Getting him and Chavez over here in front of the US public was a genius move by Rove. Bush sounded positively Churchill like compared to these two street urchins. Bush's ratings should go up substantially now once the public sees what these folks are up to. Plus the fact that the Democratic Left are strong supporters of these two will not be lost on the public. The Kos, Moveon's, Soros's, Democratic Underground, Indymedia and HuffPo will be seen as who they really are.

The dems should be apoplectic as they will be tied to these fools with a chain.

Excellent job. Tell Karl hello.