United States

Authored by Gail Tverberg via Our Finite World blog,

Vladimir Putin: The Most Powerful Person In The World

Paul Craig Roberts

When the Treasury reported its monthly receipts and outlays data for the month of May at 2pm today, it was more of the same: far more spending than receipts, resulting in a 68.4% surge in the US budget deficit compared to a year ago. Specifically, outlays of $329 billion soared 19% compared to a year ago, offset by a modest 7% increase in receipts, resulting in a $88.4 billion deficit in May, more than the $87 consensus estimate, and well above the $52.5 billion a year earlier. The reason: government spending in areas such as Medicaid and defense rose at a far faster pace than revenue.

Both the New York Times and Washington Post confirm that the U.S. used white phosphorous in densely populated Iraq and Syria.

Why does this matter?

The use of white phosphorus is a war crime under international treaties and domestic U.S. laws. For example, the Battle Book, published by the U.S. Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, contains the following sentence:

It is against the law of land warfare to employ WP [i.e. white phosphorous] against personnel targets.

The Trump administration has asked Beijing to impose what would be the first round of sanctions against nearly 10 Chinese companies and individuals that trade with North Korea, part of a strategy to starve, and ultimately shut down, Kim's nuclear program, the WSJ reports.