Aug 5 2025

America’s Golden Dome

Posted originally on Aug 5, 2025 by Martin Armstrong

The United States is preparing to launch the Golden Dome project, a large-scale missile defense system to actively shield the nation against all threats by space, land, and sea. Inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome system and Reagan’s historic Strategic Defense Initiative, the Golden Dome would be the largest missile defense system in American history.

Donald Trump first proposed the idea in January 2025, but plans are underway to complete the project by the end of Trump’s second term. “They want a win to point to in November [2028],” a defense official told CNN. “And DoD [Department of Defense] wants to avoid anything they perceive will slow them down.”

The official called the proposed defense system “technically risky” due to the number of satellites required to achieve success. Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein commented, “I think the real technical challenge will be building of the space-based interceptor. That technology exists, I believe. I believe we have proven every element of the physics, that we can make it work. What we have not proven is, first, can I do it economically, and then second, can I do it at scale? Can I build enough satellites to get after the threat? Can I expand the industrial base fast enough to build those satellites?” The Missile Defense Agency, expected to be called FTI-X for Flight Test Integrated, has plans to begin testing the system in 2028.

The project will cost the United States $175 billon dollars, or at least that is the extremely low figure the White House is stating. The $25 billion down payment was allocated under the Big Beautiful Bill spending package, but the government currently estimates it will take 20 years to pay the bill in its entirety. Some predictions state the costs could spike into the trillions if the project evolves and new technology is required.

Trump was unable to secure a tiny fraction of that amount to build a border wall during his first term, but he may achieve success this time around as the threat is a bipartisan issue—Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. These deemed enemy nations have already stated that the Golden Dome would launch a massive arms race to militarize space.

China expressed concerns back in May 2025. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning stated: “The project will heighten the risk of turning space into a war zone and creating a space arms race, and shake the international security and arms control system… Golden Dome intends to create an unconstrained, global, multi-layer and multi-domain missile defense system, planning the expansion of the U.S. arsenal of means for combat operations in outer space… China is gravely concerned.”

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin released a joint statement in May regarding the project, deeming it
“deeply destabilizing.” “The recently announced large-scale ‘Golden (Iron) Dome for America’ program is also deeply destabilizing… [It] provides for a significant strengthening of the arsenal for conducting combat operations in space.”

Russia believes it has the technology to penetrate any air defense system. “Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated that our strategic systems are equipped so that we can reliably break through any air defense systems, including layered ones,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stated. Russia does not want the American neocons to believe they are invincible.

Russia has secured at least 22,000 civil defense bunkers for their people in the event of a nuclear war—America has none and the people are not mentally prepared for the threat of a nuclear attack. When events do begin to unfold, I would avoid the major cities and all the military targets. In a nuclear war, you first target your opponent’s military assets. Second, you target the economic assets. Third, you seek to wipe out the major population centers.

Russia could simply deploy a dozen EMPs across the US and our industry would totally shut down, our people would die-off like flies and nothing would work. So, Russia, China and North Korea will probably focus most of the nuclear weapons on military targets and let a dozen EMPs destroy our power-grid-dependent people. Golden Dome will provoke furious opposition from Russia and China because it undermines their nuclear deterrent. The risk is that it accelerates an arms race, potentially destabilizing decades of strategic treaties. Yet, the project is essential in a world where hypersonic and nuclear threats are no longer theoretical but immediate. This project reflects a shift toward space as the next battlefield.

Aug 5 2025

The Rare Earth Crisis

Posted originally on Aug 4, 2025 by Martin Armstrong |

QUESTION: If Trump imposes sanctions on China for buying Russian energy, what do you expect China to do?

Rob

ANSWER: The deeper you look, the more it becomes abundantly clear. America’s defence supply chain is built on materials it doesn’t control. Missiles, fighter jets, radar systems, drones — all depend on a steady stream of materials like gallium, germanium, and rare earth magnets, and they come from China. That is why Trump was demanding access to Ukraine. This is not something that is widely discussed. But in an aggressive war, the US cannot produce jets like it did in WWII. They are more sophisticated, so you cannot produce quantities like before, and you need rare earths. NEOCONS are void of long-term strategic planning. They only look at what is in front of their nose.

Aug 5 2025

Jonathan Turley Says, “There’s Still Hope” for Indictments

Posted originally on CTH on August 4, 2025 | Sundance

Speaking soon after Fox News delivered the breaking story of Pam Bondi assigning a prosecutor to start delivering evidence to a grand jury, attorney Jonathan Turley appears with Will Cain to say despite the length of time there is “hope” for criminal accountability. WATCH:

Aug 5 2025

Kremlin: Putin Willing to Meet Zelenskyy

Posted originally on CTH on August 4, 2025 | Sundance

On Sunday President Trump remarked that emissary Steve Witkoff was likely to travel to Russia this week, presumably at the request of Kremlin officials. Earlier President Trump shortened the deadline for Russia to come to the negotiating table from 50 days to 10-12 days. The preferred timeline by President Trump ends this Friday.

(AP) – Vladimir Putin is open to meeting Volodymyr Zelensky for talks following “preparatory work at the expert level,” the Kremlin has announced, according to the state-owned RT television station.

“I would like to remind you that the president himself does not rule out the possibility of holding such a meeting,” Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman said. “But only after the necessary work is done at the expert level and the appropriate distance is overcome.”

He said that the “preparatory work” had not yet been done. Putin has previously rejected several attempts by Zelensky to meet for talks over ending the Ukraine war.

Peskov also did not rule out a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Putin later this week, the state run TASS news agency reported.

[…] Witkoff is expected to land in the Russian capital on Wednesday or Thursday, according to Trump, following his trip to Israel and Gaza.

“They would like to see (Witkoff),” Trump said Sunday of the Russians. “They’ve asked that he meet so we’ll see what happens.”

Peskov said Monday: “We are always glad to see Mr. Witkoff in Moscow. “We consider (talks with Witkoff) important, substantive and very useful.” (more)

Is this a Putin delay strategy?

U.S. trade talks with India collapsed and simultaneously the Modi government refused to distance themselves from Russia.

BRICS+ represented by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa + Egypt and Iran, seem to be standing firm on the nature of their economic bloc, which -I might add- only got stronger when the Biden sanctions against Russia were put into place.

Even President Trump seemed to indicate Sunday the “sanctions threat” doesn’t really hold a lot of influence when it comes to Russia. A secondary sanctions regime against countries that align to purchase Russian energy products could end up backfiring.

Aug 5 2025

DC Area Statistics Reflect Federal Govt Downsizing

Posted originally on CTH on August 4, 2025 | Sundance

President Donald Trump is actually doing something almost all presidents have failed to do, reduce the size and scale of the federal government.

The Washington Post is very concerned about the economic datapoints coming from the DC area. Including: “the Trump administration’s overhaul of the federal workforce, including the elimination of thousands of federal jobs, is being acutely felt in a national capital region.”

WaPo – In May, D.C.’s unemployment rate was 5.9 percent — the highest in more than three years. The number of federal workers turning to unemployment insurance is climbing steadily, with claims rising 64 percent between February and June — from 1,064 to 1,747. That surge is starting to show up in the city’s bottom line: In June alone, D.C. paid out more than $2.5 million in federal civilian jobless benefits, a sharp jump from earlier in the spring.

Maryland saw a similar spike, with payments nearly doubling since April. In Virginia’s Fairfax County, unemployment has reached levels not seen since mid-2021.

LAYOFFS – Layoffs tracked through Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notices are rapidly climbing. The federal WARN Act requires large employers to give advance notice before mass layoffs, offering an early signal of job market stress. So far this year, the D.C. region has recorded more WARN-notice layoffs than in any year outside the pandemic, with nearly 10,000 workers cut as of July — more than the total of the last two years combined. While the data mostly reflects private-sector job losses, it underscores how quickly layoffs are accelerating.

SPENDING – Consumer spending in D.C. is also starting to slip. Washingtonians are cutting back on things like dining out, clothing, and beauty products — and they’re doing so more sharply than people in other big cities. In June, spending at full-service restaurants was down 9 percent compared with the prior year, a steeper drop than in places like Atlanta, Boston and Miami. The same pattern shows up in categories like apparel and entertainment, pointing to a local slowdown even as spending elsewhere holds steadier.

TAX BASE – The D.C. Office of Revenue Analysis is forecasting a rare population dip in 2027 — a 0.2 percent decline — along with shrinking tax collections. In June, the city revised its tax revenue outlook for 2026 from one of growth to decline. The city expects only modest growth in 2027, with property and business taxes still lagging.

HOUSING – Predictably, with uncertainty looming, the real estate picture is starting to shift. “We still have a shortage, meaning there is more demand for housing than supply,” Lee said. “And with that, the prices go up.”

But inventory is climbing, a sign that fewer buyers are competing for homes. At the same time, new apartment construction is tapping the brakes — about 8,000 units went up in the first quarter of 2025, well below the usual 12,000 to 16,000 seen in recent quarters. (more)