'Deeply Complicit': US Has Sent Israel Over 50,000 Tons of Weaponry in 11 Months

By Jake Johnson 

On average, the Biden administration has sent Israel "a weapons shipment every 12 hours" since October, noted the IMEU Policy Project.

The Israeli government announced Monday that it has received over 50,000 tons of military equipment—including armored vehicles and munitions—from the United States during its assault on the Gaza Strip, where most of the population is now displaced and at growing risk of starvation.

The IMEU Policy Project, an affiliate of the Institute for Middle East Understanding, noted that according to the Israeli government's figures, the Biden administration has on average sent the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) "a weapons shipment every 12 hours, for nearly 11 months"—arms "that are used to kill Palestinian civilians."

The Israeli Defense Ministry said in a statement that the U.S. "equipment procured and transported includes armored vehicles, munitions, ammunition, personal protection gear, and medical equipment, which are crucial for sustaining the IDF's operational capabilities during the ongoing war."

Josh Ruebner, policy director at the IMEU Policy Project, wrote that the new shipment numbers underscore that "the U.S. is deeply complicit in Israel's genocide."

"Weapons to Israel violate U.S. laws and policies that are supposed to prevent atrocities," Ruebner added.

Throughout its nearly 11-month assault on Gaza, Israel's military has repeatedly used U.S.-made weaponry to target family homes, crowded markets, and camps of displaced people, prompting global calls for an arms embargo against the country.

In the face of what Amnesty International has called "damning evidence of war crimes," the Biden administration has continued to approve weapons transfers to Israel, including a recent $20 billion sale of F-15 fighter jets and tens of thousands of mortar shells.

"More extraordinary than the price tag of these arms deals is that the White House made them public," Stephen Semler, co-founder of the Security Policy Reform Institute, wrote Monday. "Prior to last week's announcements, it had disclosed just two arms sales to Israel. By March, the Biden administration had already greenlit more than 100 separate weapons deals for Israel."

According to a new Amnesty report, Israeli forces on May 26 used "two U.S.-made GBU-39 guided bombs" in a pair of deadly airstrikes on a makeshift camp for displaced people in Rafah. The strikes killed at least 36 people, including six children.

This article originally appeared in Common Dreams on August 27th, 2024

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Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry bans teaching of critical race theory in schools

By Piper Hutchinson 

CRT is an advanced academic concept traditionally taught in graduate-level courses

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry issued an executive order Tuesday prohibiting the teaching of critical race theory in Louisiana K-12 public schools. 

Critical race theory (CRT) is an advanced academic concept that holds that race is socially constructed, and it examines how legal structures are used to oppress people of color. Most classes that take the theory into consideration are in graduate programs at the university level. There is no evidence these courses are being taught to children and teenagers. 

'Thanks to Citizens United': 50 Megadonors Have Put Over $1.5 Billion Into 2024 Election

By Edward Carver

The top 50 contributors "skew Republican" but the list includes donors to both major parties, an analysis from The Washington Post showed.

Just 50 donors have contributed more than $1.5 billion in total to the 2024 federal elections, The Washington Post reported Monday, based on an analysis of Federal Election Commission data.

State lawmakers dig into violent conditions in Georgia prisons, Fulton jail

By Stanley Dunlap

Georgia’s state prisons and Fulton County’s jail took center stage Friday before legislative committees tasked with making recommendations on how to deal with troubles arising from overcrowded and outdated detention facilities.

The Georgia Senate’s Department of Corrections Facilities Study Committee held its first hearing this month when it heard from the state’s top agency officials about the challenges of running a large prison system where severe understaffing, deteriorating buildings, smuggling of contraband have led to more violence among inmates, correctional officers and other prison staff.

State corrections officials told lawmakers at the Friday hearing the agency needs to upgrade aging prisons with more one-bed cells to resolve a typical underlying cause of violent attacks between inmates. 

They also discussed the need to eliminate a complex system of drones that deliver cell phones and other illegal contraband to inmates and stop the spread of violent street gangs across the state that have a presence in Georgia prisons.

Tennessee governor calls CoreCivic ‘important partner’ amid DOJ investigation

By Sam Stockard

Gov. Lee shows no signs of dumping CoreCivic, which runs four state prisons for $233 million a year

As the Department of Justice starts a civil rights investigation into a privately-run state prison in Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee contends steps have been taken to improve operations at the facility operated by what he calls an “important partner.”

Lee said the state reduced the number of inmates at Trousdale Turner Correctional Center and increased pay for the state’s correctional officers. 

The inmate population was cut to 2,068 over the last year from 2,480 in October 2023, according to the Department of Correction.

US credit card debt continues to rise as housing and other costs remain high for the lowest earners

 By Casey Quinlan 

Americans are racking up credit card debt as they struggle to keep up with the cost of living, and experts say those who earn the least are the hardest hit.

Total credit card balances rose 5.8% from a year ago, to $1.14 trillion, according to a recent New York Fed report. Equifax credit files through June show that credit card delinquency is still rising but that delinquency on consumer finance loans and retail cards fell and auto loan delinquency was flat.

People use credit cards for all kinds of purchases, and despite the stereotype of consumers getting themselves into too much credit card debt so that they could buy a few extra flashy clothes or vacations, many of them are for necessities.

So what does it mean for the economy that the average rate for people with a credit card balance was 22.76% in May, that there is an expansion of financial tech products like “buy now, pay later,” and that many Americans find themselves unable to pay off that debt? It depends on your role in the economy, financial experts and economists say.

Juvenile justice reform commission could start meeting next month

By William J. Ford

Advocates said they hope a commission created to assess Maryland’s juvenile justice system can begin meeting as early as next month, even though just four of the 28 members of the panel are in place so far.

House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County) has appointed two House Judiciary Committee members, Dels. J. Sandy Bartlett (D-Anne Arundel) and N. Scott Phillips (D-Baltimore County), to the commission. Two other members, the secretaries of Human Services and Juvenile Services, are named in the law that created the panel.

Report: Ohio school-to-prison pipeline bolstered by ‘exclusionary discipline,’ absenteeism

 By Susan Tebben

“Student disconnection” spurred on by mental health factors, disproportionate discipline and a lack of in-school supports plays its part in driving Ohio’s absenteeism rate, according to a new report from an Ohio think tank.

That absenteeism, and the contributing factors of it, can create “an entry point in the school-to-prison pipeline,” according to Policy Matters Ohio, who released a new study on the issue this month.

U.S. Department of Justice opens investigation into CoreCivic Trousdale County prison

 By J. Holly McCall and Sam Stockard

The U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into private prison company CoreCivic and Trousdale Turner Correctional Center, which it manages, over alleged civil rights violations.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke announced the move Tuesday morning, citing a record of assaults, murders and understaffing at the facility since it opened in 2016.

“People are incarcerated at Trousdale Turner as punishment for their crimes, but in our legal system, punishment does not and cannot include violence and sexual abuse,” said Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

‘Hope is making a comeback’: The Obamas make the case for Kamala Harris

 By Jacob Fischler

CHICAGO — As he did in his first speech to a Democratic National Convention 20 years ago, former President Barack Obama emphasized the connections binding Americans together and called for a more positive national atmosphere on the second night of this year’s convention Tuesday, while rallying Democrats to campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris.