of luxemburg said greece will have to leave the eurozone if it fails to meet its obligations but greece is hardly alone in these problems today we have news that portugal's economy has entered a double dip recession so do you think this is just another sign of a north south divide among european economies yeah and what i think is going to happen to these small countries will direct you to your project don't it is going to cause the logs to first of course deal with the greece situation in this council really a lot. in ireland also but even in a moment. to be yes maybe it's early and it's going to cost too much so i appreciate you serious trouble and hence the of course that leaders will say that it's the move high and that it's what they have to say to reassure us that there are no question about the euro project but you can. see insights into the need so in circles there's real money both so how long to keep the so.

greece had had to survive a huge street anger to agree on this bailout package and there are political tensions within the parliament there over the conditions laid down by the e.u. so why do you think it's so committed to staying in the euro zone and suffering all the slings and arrows. well that's always a problem in. europe isn't it was a big gap between the governors those who govern and the people and listen to the actual over europe. europe is really a project of those who go often and count make sure that the connection with the people is sort of far off. the greeks however and as has to be clearly understood the greeks the people want to stay in europe why because they distrust those who govern that is a big gap between doesn't a great deal of distrust and they hope that europe sort of talk some sense into their country but i wonder how long they are willing to do this interventions in

europe in to impose a snow on them and when this sort of revenge is also turning against europe so i i feel that every day the situation is getting more hopeless and something has to happen and finally briefly who do you think has the better side an argument then the people or the government. well the people are not always very rational i mean they have to do it and they have to change their habits they cannot go on like this and they are just defending of course rights that they have earned over the years but i think there are also something right about them it is especially people who are weak who are suffering very much and the government cannot take care of it does and i think also it's right that they receive this inquisition of these kind of harsh new and liberal. intervention and that doesn't give them much space to breathe and that's what they witness on the streets in their own businesses so yeah

it is certain i think it is good to use to listen to these people i try to and i learn a lot from them right economist ario claimer from arise miss universe and rotterdam thanks for your perspective. later today we'll bring you a unique take on europe's debt crisis in the kaiser report here's a quick look. here some images from athens is that from two thousand and nine two thousand and ten two thousand and eleven or two thousand and twelve can you tell the tear gas by any other year is still a sweet greeks approved tombstone austerity deal with troika so we see over and over there's a great deal there is not a great deal there's a great deal there's not a great deal you. on again off again there is a deal now there is not german we're crazy we're trying to milk you dry and steal the elegant marbles but the u.k. already stole them.

as international pressure is mounting on iran russia's military has assessed the probability of a western strike against the islamic republic as being high concerns of pending military action grew after israel blamed tehran for two bomb attacks on its diplomatic staff on monday and today's blasts in bangkok are peter all over has more. the chief of staff of the russian armed forces said on tuesday that he thinks a plan for a western attack on iran could be in place by the summer of this year and he's basing that statement on the fact that since the arab spring started a year ago russia has been monitoring the area of the wider middle east very closely enough to looking at the findings from that monitoring this is what he's come up with now and this comes just a day after two israeli diplomats were targeted with car bombs in the capitals of georgia and india now the bomb in georgia was able to be defused however in india

that car bomb exploded very very close to the residence of the prime minister of india and injured several people now israel was very very quick to point the finger of blame for those attacks at teheran despite terror experts looking at the findings and coming up with saying all that's pretty much no evidence that it was behind those attacks this is all really part of the ongoing blame game between tel of the terror on the iranians claim that the israelis have been behind a two year campaign of assassinations on their nuclear scientists well on tuesday in bangkok what we've seen is a rainy unmanned taken into custody by police after an explosion two explosions in bangkok injured several people there now it's really media very very quick to point the finger of terror towards that iranian man who's being detained there so this is

all part of as i say a blame game that's ongoing between tell of eve and terror on creating elegans up next world leaders business news stay with us. oh welcome to business here in r.t. thanks for joining me also the world's largest diamond mine put myself forty percent stake in an i.p.o. the flotation of the state owned company may take place in the second half of this year demand for diamonds has been picking up in asia and the united states i was his main competitor did beers reported a twenty seven percent increase in earnings for two thousand and eleven the russian company itself is expected to show a similar growth in sales you evolved from the most bank says that the stock will be a unique opportunity to invest directly into the diamond distance. from the company in north korea to attract money from the market but probably the i.p.o. for old also is

a question of. trade and in russia overall the size of the ring is going to be a good. one billion dollars it will give floor comparable to other russian metals and mining stocks are usually after a public offering companies are becoming more transparent more would say friendly to the public or all and to investors. well in terms of business and business development something that will change. let's have a look at the markets now exchange rates for us the euro is trading lower against both the dollar and the do the ruble better after being down and early asian trading due to waiting downgrades by moody's the move by the rating agency also weighs on the ruble which is seeing moderate losses against the u.s. . european markets pulled back in a choppy session and closed in the red bank's minors and drug makers were weighing on the mood investors were cautious ahead of the eurozone finance ministers meeting

on wednesday to prove a second fail out for greece. here in russia markets close mixed with the markets pointing up and the r.t.s. heading in the red. check out the index for us otherwise that. is around one point two percent of the company plans to invest twenty nine billion dollars in field development in the caspian sea by two thousand and twenty five need to be banked reversed earlier law says and that point four percent and truck maker come out with among the main gainers are rumors made a deal with dime there maxime sashing call from or else it wraps up the day for us . the metal sector is all performing you know sunshiny four banks are doing very well selected the world. continues to do nicely. you know the sentiment in the market. you know trained the grid to appreciate more volumes on low volumes williams. will probably continue and that's the business

but you can find most stories on our website r.t. dot com slash business thanks for watching. you're.

resistance is not of politics but a culture. is couldn't speak against us should suffer on its own. cultures of resistance on the march in. any match once lived is planned. to burn for ever more eternal fire is on think about the possible future.

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thirty pm in moscow these are your r.t. headlines russia's foreign minister says the libyan scenario of foreign intervention or risk being repeated in syria as the case is built against the assad regime to justify external military action. russia's military predicts the west might decide on a strike against iran before summer as clouds gather over tiran following israel's accusations that the islamic state was behind monday's attacks on diplomatic personnel. a fresh wave of downgrade sweeps the struggling euro zone six nations get their debt ratings cut all while greece faces further bailout hurdles from the

e.u. despite its latest harsh austerity plan. capital of the capital account with lauren lyster coming up stay with us. good afternoon and welcome to capital account i'm lauren lyster here in washington d.c. here are your headlines for monday february thirteenth. probably seen images like this by now athens on fire this city literally burning as politicians within parliament voted to pass a top austerity measures to meet the demands of the e.u. and i.m.f. their international lenders this story is about so much more than just austerity and riots though it's wealth extraction amid economic collapse at work we're going to break down exactly how that works and while we're on debt let's talk about how the u.s. is dealing with it or not dealing with it u.s.

president barack obama released his two thousand and thirteen budget today well it will be analyzed touted and attacked why should you care or really why should you not care we'll tell you and as more economists come out saying the federal reserve is making a big mistake if it sticks to keeping interest rates near zero for the next three years we'll look at how the that even got here it's evolution from passive to central planner buyer of junk war enabler and fire fighter of the economic fires it creates itself will speak to g. edward griffin who's been opposing the fed since the sixty's let's get to today's capital account.

ok before we really get into the meat today i just want to touch on this because obama today unveiled his two thousand and thirteen budget he gave a speech at a community college in northern virginia there is to tout it to manage expectations take a listen we can restore an economy where everybody gets a fair shot everybody does their fair share everybody plays by the same set of rules from washington to wall street to main street. right so the new budget is a solution to america's rising inequality to wall street and corporate welfare and big business is advantage over the small entrepreneur i'd be let's see where the budget goes from here well as one book points out in the washington post like the two thousand and twelve budget it has no chance of being adopted by congress the big ideas in it are d o a in the house dead on arrival

ok well obviously obama knows this let's listen more. the last thing we need is for washington to stand in the live america's carbon. ok here we go again and get ready for this game song and dance we've seen in washington already so many times before already look at this house budget committee chairman paul ryan blasted the white house's three point eight trillion dollar budget requests for failing to reduce the deficits or rein in spending on entitlement programs the president obama's fiscal two thousand and thirteen proposal he says is a recipe for a debt crisis and fails to cut the deficit in half during his first term a promise he made three years ago ok so we are not psychic but we've seen this before we'll see it again the wrangling the twenty four seven coverage of the wrangling the new goshi aiding and compromising that never happens so we will talk

about the budget when there is something to talk about and there's actually something that can be passed and get out of washington alive but we wanted to make sure to give you that reality check about the future of this budget as obama's touting it today for now let's talk about something very alive and active in the economy as it stands the federal reserve it does what it wants when it wants that happens whether it gets approval or not it doesn't need approval you don't need approval when you're independent the fed is that it expects to keep short term interest rates near zero until late two thousand and fourteen now we're not fans of this we've talked about it many times on this show now more economists thirty three out of forty nine polled by the wall street journal are criticizing the fed's guidance saying raising rates then three years from now would be too late now our guest has been opposing the federal reserve since far longer than we have and

certainly then when it's become brought into the popular conversation he has been opposing it since the late one nine hundred sixty s. at least calling it a banking cartel and an instrument of war. then he is filmmaker and author. of many books one of them that you see there the creature from jekyll island a second look at the federal reserve and so he's going to really break it all down for us in a way that we maybe have a before because he's got really great contacts so thank you so much for being on the show first of all thank you for inviting me absolutely so you know opposition to the fed has really gotten a lot more attention in the last few years with of course it's been a platform of ron paul's so it's gotten more attention he's a republican presidential hopeful in a congressman but you have been opposing it since the one nine hundred sixty s. when the fed was seemingly a more conservative institution and before other people were really talking about it so why were you so i guess ahead of the curve. well i think it's because

i recognize the federal reserve for what it is instead of what it pretends to be all of the items that you mentioned just a moment ago involving criticism of the fed none of those people were challenging the the right of the fed to set interest rates or anything like that they're only disagree you meant is that they're not doing it right the the implication there is if they were doing it it would be better i recognize from the very beginning that the federal reserve system shouldn't i don't even think it should exist because you see it's not a government agency it's a private banking cartel and people don't realize that it's a cartel no different than a bank i mean than an oil cartel or a peanut cartel or sugar cartel it happens to be a banking cartel and when a cartel exists it has only one function and that is to promote the best interests of the members of the cartel so when the federal reserve system says it's going to push interest rates towards zero the idea is that they're trying to stimulate the

economy for you folks and for me but that's nonsense because everything the fed does has only one purpose and that's to help the banks and once people understand that basic principle then they get off of this trick about well the interest rate should be a little higher a little lower or you know that kind of thing i don't think anybody should be setting interest rates i personally believe that the best way for interest rates to be determined is by the free market by the free interchange of those who have money to lend and those who have who want to borrow the money but when you give politicians or bankers the authority to sit there and manipulate the interest rates on loans regardless of what people are willing to pay for them and that is a tremendous lever of power they're literally creating money if they lower interest rates that stimulates people to borrow and they don't realize when you go to the bank and you borrow twenty thousand dollars the bank doesn't have that to lend. they create it out of nothing and lend it to you and charge interest on it just say

so by lowering interest rates that means more people will borrow that puts more money into creation and into the economy and we've got this ugly thing called inflation so what we're really dealing with here is that i personally think that the federal reserve is a mechanism that is in the way of recovery in fact it's the mechanism that caused the problem in the first place so let's break down some of these things because first you're calling it a private cartel now some people say oh that that is a public and to kill him because it's foreign by the government some people say this is a private institution because look at how it's structured it's a corporate structure you think it's a private cartel but i think you've also said that at the public private partnership so can you kind of break down how you come to this conclusion well yes it is really a it's a hybrid isn't it it has some of the characteristics of a government agency because as the the police power behind it what they basically did when they created the fed back in one nine hundred thirteen they said they actually drafted a cartel agreement between the big banks and then they took this cartel agreement

to washington got a bigger racer and took the words off the top of the paper that says cartel agreement and they wrote in the words federal reserve act and so it was passed into law and now it has the force of the police and forcing every provision of the cartel agreement so we think it's a government agency because if you violate the rules of the banks you go to prison so it seems like it's government agency but it's really not it's a it's a private institution like any cartel it's made up of the largest banks in america and it but it's not really a purely private institution either because if it were it does issue stock of course the banks all hold some stock in it but if that was real genuine stock like in any other corporation they'd be able to sell it wouldn't they if you if you own something you can sell it but the member banks are not allowed to sell their stock they don't have voting rights they can't select who's their chairman they can put people on the board of directors so it's the appearance of be. being a private corporation is so in essence we're dealing with

a hybrid it's nothing more but a legal framework that makes the operation of a banking cartel so powerful because it's backed by the force of the government and i want to get into another thing you said which is that the federal reserve is there to support the bank that the federal reserve is doing the bidding of the bank then supporting the banking sector oh did i get you wrong go ahead and clarify no i would say that they are the banks the federal reserve are the banks if that's what they are that's a cartel you say ok it's like opec it's like opec what is opec well it's the oil producing countries when the fed then has the ability to issue money and to affect interest rates that interest rates all of these things and yet when i've suggested or when people have suggested that it is acting to support the banks that i've argued with people about that some people would be calling you know conspiratorial for suggesting that it's not obviously the fed's official mandate though how do we know that and and how does that work exactly did you know lloyd blankfein pick up

the phone and tell bernanke you did jump and he says how high. well bernanke doesn't really set the policies remember he's working for the banks isn't me is the chairman of the federal reserve and the federal reserve is a cartel back over that track again and so bernanke he doesn't really determine these policies before he announces something he's on the phone talking to his employers the banks say and how do you may know that is for the banks of the banks and so forth just follow the money that's the old adage isn't that if you want to know what's going on follow the money so you take all of these so-called bailouts that have been going on starting in big big time since two thousand and eight billions and billions and now we find out trillions of dollars being created out of nothing by the federal reserve and pumped into the economy where does it go go to the banks doesn't it and some of it of course goes to the big corporations like general motors and. to countries mexico and so forth but what is unique

about those corporations in those countries it's always the same thing they owe money to the banks and they can't pay and that's why we send money to those corporations and to the countries so they can continue those interest payments to the bank all of this money if you follow it comes back to the banks and if you can't figure that out i'm you know it's pretty simple and so you know it's interesting because economists on on both sides of the political spectrum whether they support the bad some do but they still say that despite that the fed has been corrupted. it hasn't been very successful at its mandate is this because it's at the mandates are really its mandate that's right what is the mandate of a cartel. it's to promote the interests of the members of the cartel but we're taught in school i was taught in school that the mandate of the federal reserve was to stabilize the economy stabilize the purchasing power of the dollar you know and

to to make america a better place you know that's the mandate that we were told well if you give the federal reserve a report card on how well it did in and meeting this mandate they get failing marks all the way up and down the line they haven't done any of those things we've had the period of greatest inflation and economic booms and busts and we've had chaos in the market so it's failed but if you recognize it's true mandate it's true purpose is to benefit the banks and if necessary plunder the american people to bail out the banks and make sure that they have made plenty of profits now if that's what you recognize is its goal now it gets aids on his report card all the way up and down the line yeah maybe if they were more more forthcoming about it they wouldn't be under such scrutiny now because as you said they delivered on that on that agenda or have delivered a sarah have i want to talk you more about a creature of jekyll island and where there's always hats but we got to go to break quickly so we will be back in just a moment with viagra griffin he's author and filmmaker. and still ahead

greece's parliament attempts to as wish the risk of default while outside athens girls will break down where last night's vote fits into greece's political history and what lessons you all should be taking from it but first your closing market numbers. science technology innovation all the moves developments around russia we've got the future covered.

welcome back before the break we were talking about some of the criticisms of the fed today but let's talk about how we got here i want to bring kiev were griffin filmmaker and author of the creature from jekyll island a second look at the federal reserve bank and to tell us about that jekyll island meeting now he also has the web site reality zone dot com i should mention so your book is creature of jekyll island and when you go back to these meetings that jekyll island a handful of bankers and policymakers obviously

a very seminal moment in your view why was this so important to central banking in the united states well it would because it was brought into being at a secret meeting and the reason that the the bill was drafted on jekyll island is an amazing story in itself in fact when i first started to research this i couldn't hardly believe what i was finding the fact that challenged it i didn't i didn't believe it and here we have something as important as a federal reserve act the creation of a national bank and setting of monetary policy for the nation and it wasn't drafted in washington d.c. it was drafted on a private island off the coast of georgia called jekyll island and not only that but the conditions under which that meeting took place were were very secret i can tell you that very few wars of history have been plotted under conditions of greater secrecy than that there were six men that were told to arrive separately at the new jersey railroad station in november of one thousand.