we must prepare the food from the movie american dollar. monetary good to have you around the world. well forty golden years have gone by since nixon the end of the last run it's of the gold standard with the dollar in decline and gold basically golden and calls for sound money resoundingly is it even possible to get the standard back. money. no. and one of the biggest fans of the gold standard fell just short of a victory in ames straw poll this past weekend so what's next for ron paul and the ideas he represents. i would welcome the opportunity of having anyone assassinate

fidel castro and any leader who is suppressing oppressing the people so what powerful cuban americans in congress and powerful anti castro lobbies behind them is there any hope for americans who want to snuff out sanctions against cuba. good evening it's monday august fifteenth i'm lauren lyster here in washington d.c. and you're watching r.t. now as we see u.s. policymakers trying to figure out just how to respond to the economic turmoil we've seen in the past few weeks if you have been living under a rock we saw the markets shoot down shoot back up and we saw the u.s. its credit rating downgraded for the first time by standard and poor's and now as policymakers figure out what to do with all of this we can look back on history for a powerful lesson on what can go wrong and it still being felt today forty years ago to this day president nixon been. inflation the staggering war costs are

causing an increase in money printing and a decrease in the value of the dollar and you also face joblessness now he was fifteen months away from reelection that is just about how much brock obama has to go to and he give the gave the country the nixon shock he ended the last remnants of the gold standard has made it so that dollars couldn't be converted to gold and he rationalized it for the american people this way. in recent weeks the speculators have been waging an all out war on the american dollar. the strength of the nation's currency is based on the strength of the nation's economy and the american economy is by far the strongest in the world. accordingly i have directed the secretary of the treasury to get the necessary to defend the dollar against the speculators he said it was to defend the dollar but critics argue it was one of the most important decisions and modern economic history for another reason that it

cost the long term economy substantially see what's happened to the value of the dollar since then look at that the that dollar line going straight down the dollars purchasing power has declined by ninety eight percent and you can see what's happened in the meantime to that red line is the amount of money and supply the money supply has increased printing money is what some would call that now let's look at what has happened to gold oh that price has gone right up it's right now we saw it last week at records of more than eight hundred we did today at around seventeen forty six last time i checked remember it was just thirty five dollars an ounce back under the bretton woods standard during that when that was the peg joining us now from l.a. studio to talk about what that means someone who i think it's fair to say has benefited from that trend in gold significantly is gold mine c.e.o. scott carter thanks so much for being here. now they're having me laurin absolutely

so next then he said this is decision to unpeg the dollar from gold once and for all the not allow people to convert their dollars for gold but this was about making the dollar the pillar of financial stability around the world was it or did it set the stage is for boom and bust cycles that have alternately allowed you to make a lot of money off of gold well i think you had it at the top of the hour we haven't been very successful at making gold or you scuse me the dollar stable right now the dollar is lost as you said ninety percent of its value so if our objective was to make the dollar stable for the world we did not achieve that and as a result what you're seeing because of the boom bust cycle inflation the devaluing the currency you're seeing a move back to the gold standard even though it's not official you see gold increasing in value you see individuals sovereign nations and central banks purchasing gold as a way to hedge against the dollar so do you think that returning to sound money is

the solution to some of the problems facing to you last and the globe i think greece returning to. money policy that is based on economic growth and not on paying debts is absolutely sound right now we have forty one cents of borrowing for every dollar we're spending but if we continue on that path we're just going to print more money so do you advocate to return to some kind of a gold standard or some kind of a situation where money is backed by something. i think many people advocate the idea of having some sort of control over the printing of money based on g.d.p. growth or economic growth you hear that from bob zoellick at the world bank he's asking for that china has brought it up russia has brought it up some sort of basket of currencies whether includes gold only or not is to be debated but i think with the clamoring is to say that with the dollar as the world's reserve currency there has to be some sort of consistency to its value day to day it can't be worth

less tomorrow than it is today otherwise but the means of which we measure goods and services is subject to the whims of the federal reserve of the u.s. and i think the world is is skeptical of that and that's why you have this voice in this concern but am i hearing you right it sounds like in all of that what you're not saying is return to the gold standard is not a possibility why i think it would be impractical as many people would say to go exclusively to a gold standard i really don't have a position on the gold standard because i think the markets are driving us to that that's why you see gold up five hundred percent over the last decade basically what it's doing is putting every fiar currency in the world including the euro by the way and the yen and others want to gold standard by by measuring if you will the devaluation of these currencies so whether we have a gold standard or not if governments don't figure out how to spend or live within their means you're going to continue to see gold take the lion's share of the

increase or the appreciation and you're going to see currencies like the dollar decline in value ok and you mentioned gold that ratio than we've seen it topped eight hundred in the last week some people calling it their truth date hey then how do you know that gold is in a bubble as some are suggesting. well when you look at both of those you have to ask the question is the widely held in the answer is no less than one percent of portfolios have gold when i am reminded of the housing bubble everybody owned a home the tech bubble my aunt edna had google stock best should have been a signal that we were in a bubble today when you talk to people very few people own gold second gold hasn't hit a place of just as high which would be about twenty five hundred dollars an ounce and third the conditions that i'm a go go up which are high sovereign debt issues a declining economy and a declining dollar are all still prevalent today in our in to spade it could be

they're going forward those conditions make it worthwhile to say that gold really doesn't show any of the signs of being in a bubble yet if you had your way you know i can't help but bring up i do see you on t.v. a lot not just on the shelf but on commercials where you and courage people can buy gold and you own gold and say that that's the best place for them in a t.v. putting their money so if you're encouraging every average person to own gold to buy gold to put their faith in it aren't you kind of going to contribute to maybe profit to making it into a bubble. well what we encourage is diversification this is an asset class nobody should bet the ranch on any asset including gold we suggest five to twenty percent maximum of a portfolio but when you look at what value gold and other commodities bring to the table which is a safe haven component but also some protection against inflation or a devaluing currency that is a component of why goal should be in a portfolio in many respects mourn it's had

a renaissance goal that used to be two and a half to five percent of portfolios as i previously said today is less than one percent so it is under penetrated based on historical so all we suggest is that reconsider having gold in your portfolio because of the conditions we're faced with today and going forward and lower conditions is what we've been talking about a devaluation of the dollar but yet we've seen treasuries remain a safe haven despite the fact that the united states got downgraded so is that still something that should be you know considered safe by the world. absolutely i think when you look at the three components of safe haven cash is obviously a safe haven you're not making much money on cash treasuries there's a negative real interest rate you're not making much money but it's still perceived as a safe haven the world economically is not inside on solid ground right now we see it in europe we see it in other countries china has five six percent inflation as stated the u.s. has no growth so the movement a safe haven whether it's treasuries whether it's cash or whether it's gold or

silver is a common strategy for investors to do for the long term but it shouldn't be speculative you should have a long term view when you're considering precious metals like gold and silver this is not something that you can jump in and out of in the long term view on the dollar the long term view on our economy and is not boding well for our economy but yet is providing support for assets like gold ok i'm almost out of time but just yes or no because we have seen gold hit these record high do you think that is a reflection at back elation i do not i think that the underpinnings are very strong and you see the major banks j.p. morgan barclays goldman all coming out with twelve month targets of gold between two thousand and twenty five hundred dollars that's a strong endorsement that this is going to continue to run in my view and less than legendary bond traders have that could go exponential at a certain point after seven hundred fifty five believe that was going to be a cop carter thank you so much for being here. now one member of congress who has

really pushed this issue is ron paul listen to him pressing federal reserve chairman ben bernanke on the issue of gold and it's money. do you need to lose money. no not money even if i should money for six thousand years somebody reversed that and eliminated that economic law. and burning he said no it sure is and paul said some people still believe it is now he's of course running for the republican nomination for president he was in iowa this weekend for the straw poll michele bachmann when he came in a close second just one hundred fifty or so votes behind so what does it matter and what's next for ron paul we'll get to that i spoke to a guest earlier but christine for that was in iowa and she gives us the background on why this small state just three million people not diverse mostly white why it matters so much to all these g.o.p. contenders. it is the place where six stalks of corn blanket the landscape

simultaneously standing from out and swaying. were city centers resemble a different time. and those who live here say they are the true and bottoms of main street in america eat her refuse to believe that we've. ever had a limb people are generally very welcoming and ok. they're very practical people. it turns out that they're also very colorful beat up firsthand look at all the candidates they came to our city they come to our area we get to sit and meetings with them ask questions find out what their real real hard al use are we to be very very important to the iowa caucuses is among the first soft in the presidential primary but for republicans the initial hurdle is

always the iowa straw poll your critics say its popularity contest needs county fair but don't let this carnival like atmosphere for you what is happening right now man and very significantly it can determine who states. cameras a campaign carries on is a prime example of small town politics big time conference. call mom of her lived here for two years and i see a lot i never felt more energy and interest in politics than living here actually going to get one before and i will attack the fall of retail politics not here you'll be able to talk to the candidates i think there's good good for iowa for sure. that the ship machine is going to expand how crazy is that but out of fifty states i was. ranks thirtieth at a mere three million people. already we know more than ninety one percent of those

who do live here are right on their own feet and it's economy is primarily agricultural. look at the foot of water through and it's nevertheless spent considerable time and money. to the party. organ. and should be taken seriously i'm behalf of over six hundred thousand i will republicans as for this year the winner of the two thousand and eleven i was struck will is congresswoman michele bachmann in second place by just one hundred fifty two votes congressman ron paul in one thousand nine hundred nine. and well he is the only one that's gone on to win the presidency so far iowa voters treat voting as a duty the people of iowa are pretty good at seeing through what's sometimes

a little glitter a little bit shiny and they find the substance and the basics that are basically here in the candidates being from the midwest a lot of times people so serious with what's really the best about america and i think that we both people take it seriously. but for those on the outside it can also be a perplexing reality that in a land where corn is king it's people are in some ways viewed as kingmakers in ames iowa christine for south r.t. well from what someone's considered french to what now people are saying is the fast lane g.o.p. dark horse ron paul came in a close second at the iowa straw poll as christine for the mentioned and we didn't see a way in as many thought what happened so does that matter that he didn't win and what's next for paul and the bold ideas he represents earlier asked lew rockwell he's a ron paul supporter and chairman of the ludwig von mises institute. well he came from you know as you noted very close very very close and what i find interesting

and in fact is a testament to the importance of what i would argue is victory in iraq is the fact that there's been a total media blackout or you know after that when they announced that michele bachmann had won there was no mention of who came in there were two and the whole media i guess the memo went out but she was on all the sunday talk shows ron paul wasn't even mentioned when i watched the other political talk shows this morning ron paul's not even mention and various people have written articles about why it's appropriate it shouldn't be mentioned because he's not a militarist because he doesn't want endless wars and of course because he's against the whole bank or wall street ripoff system the federal reserve and company and i think i want to ask you about because he's gotten such a strong he's he's really a new kid to support from get a kid followers over that message that you just mentioned which is resonating with people stop getting involved in all these wars bring our troops home the country cannot afford it we're broke from that money back here and this is really propelled

him just to see so much success in a way that many people want thought was impossible are these ideas going to change the political establishment that you just noted didn't even make it into the sunday talk shows we're going to look a little issues me the political establishment is going to have to be torn down they're not going to be changed they're going to have to be replaced and i think ron paul can do that absent you know absolutely americans in fact one of the things he find so interesting and me too is that college kids are so optimistic about his message you might think it's a pessimistic message that we have to return to reality but finally kids see somebody has got an idea of what to do not we don't just have to sink down and down into a sinkhole it is possible to fix ourselves up it is possible to change it is possible to have a prosperous economy no american thinks their children and grandchildren are going to be better off we all. and they're going to be worse off economically ron paul

shows us the way out of the others though if he doesn't get the nomination those who will have to fork out him. i think probably nobody because you know they're not going to be for obama of course and they're not going to be for one of these militarist banks their candidates would it be rick perry would it be romney i don't know who might take ron's place but the people all say ron paul can't win they're just whistling past the graveyard he can win is people's hearts and minds change and you know what he is changing people's hearts and minds everybody in this country knows we're in serious trouble we need a radical change and ron paul who is a very compassionate guy a man of peace a man of unbelievable economic knowledge unlike you know the rest of the people in the government actually can show us the path out so even if he were not to win the nomination he's changing the american people he's changing and educating them and so i think it gives us hope for the future ok and real quickly if ron paul does not

get the nomination and if he retires from congress as he as it has announced that he well if he doesn't get the nomination will this movement that you're talking about and its progression of society still continue i would argue will be even better because ron paul will be in the polls in politics and which has its problems to our pick they'll be involved in educated educational work he's always been the great education or the cold reagan the great communicator that's ron paul so he'll do this through his books through his speeches through his brother his newsletters and writings on the deal the anyone who can carry the torch politically i don't see anybody right now but you know somebody make bob when the american people demand it then all the politicians will be going along just like they all want to long for this idea of auditing the fed thought every republican in congress back that even though a couple years later they all would have said well that's a kooky idea we love a bad that's a great people and. lou rockwell chairman of the ludwig von neeson institute now

former cuban president fidel castro just celebrated his eighty fifth birthday happy birthday but more than a half century later the economic embargo the u.s. put in place designed to bring him down continues to hurt average cubans since severing relations with the island in one thousand nine hundred sixty two the u.s. continues its total trade embargo americans are still among the only tourists in the world who can't travel to cuba so why despite poll after poll showing that americans baber and in the embargo is cold war cuba policy is still in place well enter the anti castro lobby and kalen ford shows us what they have to do with it. cuba ninety miles from america's shores and for fifty two years a world apart following the cuban revolution in one nine hundred fifty nine the u.s. imposed an embargo on all trade and investment in travel to tempt to bring down the communist government official castro. some of the cubans who fled the island for

the u.s. push to keep this agenda alive and so the n.c.i. castro lobby was born they give a lot of money you know u.s. elections are in fact privately financed so they've been able to figure out how to play the games even though they're a small percentage of the population they play very big in a key swing state polls consistently show that two thirds of americans favor ending the embargo in normalizing relations with cuba and some in congress agree it's about time we talk to cuba it's to stop fighting these wars in about thirty or forty years old and say castro groups have given more than one point seven million dollars in donations to federal candidates from two thousand and four to two thousand and ten more than half a million dollars in two thousand and ten alone to both republicans and democrats ensuring us cuba policy remains virtually unchanged. offense with military equipment and that it will enhance the effectiveness of the embargo the unanimous. so you still keep the embargo. fewer than one percent of americans are of cuban

origin and the jury emigrated before the end of the cold war like frank tells own you yourself are cuban and came here when you were sixteen have you ever been back i usually say that never left doesn't work has been partly funded by a grant from the national endowment for democracy and where your or you think thing we gather in disseminating information about you to opinion makers on the station way around the world financed by congress congress appropriates tens of millions of dollars for purposes of overthrowing the. cuban government. a lot of that is supposed to be going to move the dissidents in cuba but it never gets there unlike the rest of the spanish population in the u.s. fifty eight percent of cubans are u.s. citizens cubans who arrive step foot beaches in south florida are on their way to citizenship haitians who arrive and set foot on the beaches of miami are on their

way to a detention center in deportation cuban americans are also a force to be reckoned with in congress we definitely are the most over represented community in congress with two senators and four representatives we say stuff. including the chairman of the house foreign affairs committee ileana rustler and i welcome the opportunity of having anyone assassinate fidel castro and any leader who is suppressing oppressing the people they have powerful political action committees behind them like the u.s. cuba democracy pac the number one campaign donor in two thousand and six with more than five hundred thousand dollars our community is very focused and it's very concentrated in florida in jersey therefore we really have to make an effort to get out there and create the relationships a lot socially and agenda that has been known to change many politicians minds including president barack obama. you know obama changed his mind while campaigning

before the cuban american national foundation. for the majority of americans favor ending the sanctions against cuba even protesting in the streets i think. you have yet to match the strength of the anti castro lobby given ford r.t. washington d.c. . and i next guest has come head to head with the cuba lobby and perhaps jose pedicure is an attorney to represent the venezuelan government seeking the extradition of the we suppose. a cuban born man whose story really depends on whose side you ask thank you for being with us. here again our what's been your personal experience so i had to have a cuban lobby in this country has it played a role and your work well in the case of posada release surance played a role in the cuban american lobby in miami is very strong the were able through the resources to mount a highly sophisticated defense in the federal case against every use for lying and

because of its political clout it was able to get first the bush administration and later the obama administration not to go ahead and extradite so far he is the extradition requests are still pending with the government and they've paid no mind and really just are people who may not know give us a tiny bit of background on a story that really says wanted him in as well over seventy three counts of first degree murder for blowing up a passenger plane back in one nine hundred seventy six where all the people aboard the point pairs but he's also the man who masterminded a campaign of terror against cuba that resulted in the bonds of hotels restaurants and other tourist spots in cuba in the late one nine hundred ninety s. in a number of other things through through the ages is your summer been law of love america and yet this happened in one nine hundred seventy six why is the cuban lobby still so strong and still so invested in these issues like this extradition

posada realist to to them is a hero to the extreme right wing cubans is a hero and it's unfortunate because you you can't you know you can you can understand why somebody may be opposed to a particular form of government put the really is no justification for blowing up people on airplanes and setting bonds in hotels and restaurants but the extreme right wing in miami which first immigrated in the early one nine hundred sixty s. let's go all the way back to the about piece the crimes in cuba to be. they don't really represent the cubans in miami particularly the one sort of emigrated lately but they are the ones who control the media they're the ones who have money they're the ones who organize themselves into one of the first with american lobbying organizations which was the cuban american national foundation you say this is an example of obviously you have

a vested interest you're representing an israel in this case but it in your opinion is this an example of foreign policy to the highest bidder it's something that i guess i spoke to last week said he thinks as is the case in the united states in part it's they're responsible for funding a lot of the anti cuba work that goes on in this town but you know somebody once said that in this town of washington cuba bashing is a lot like ordering pizza it's cheap and everybody loves you for it it's a great point you know in the g.o.p. debate ron paul said you know and the sanctions against cuba and the embargo and our reporter that was there said that raised a lot of eyebrows and people were so taken aback at such an extreme idea i mean it's been decades what the hell castro just celebrated eighty fifth birthday he's fine you know his country is not why are these still in place if any why are people still so involved in that. perspective towards these and are unions is not a single thing that worked here in part it's a lecture on cuba has become

a local issue in the sense that it plays a pivotal role as your piece noted in the election because of the state of florida and the representation in miami in part it's money and how well organized they are to give money to certain candidates. in part it's inertia in this country you know that for fifty years more than fifty years the united states has been not only blockading to god but i think we see in a rejean change to cuba it's very hard to get away from a policy like that as we see with afghanistan i mean the the reason. i suppose when in fact ensign supposedly was a good bit luck will belong has been gotten but the united states is not out of afghanistan it's very difficult to get the us foreign policy machinery to move and it's been moving against cuba for more than fifty years but difficult for her because one of the arguments of afghanistan and iraq is that there's a lot of the military industrial complex that's been built up around that

a lot of buttons contractors and people that contract mercenaries that sort of thing you don't see it on cuba so going and carried easier well you do you see the cuba lobby spends a lot of money to affect a certain kind of cuba policy but they also make a lot of money there is an industry in being anti castro and cuba in miami more than twenty one million dollars per year are earmarked for regina change in cuba and as one of your guests said in your piece hardly any of that amount goes to cuba it stays in miami and it funds organisations and projects and it's been that way forever they make money by spending money to be and think human it's a cuban exile industrial it's the cuban exile industrial complex thanks for going to their prospective that was lawyer jose. and that's it from work for now for more on the stories we cover go to r.t. dot com fly.