Un rappel, d’abord. Le blocus de Gaza imposé aux Palestiniens par Israël avec le soutien des USA et dans le silence de l’UE, dure depuis de longues années, 2005 en fait, entrecoupé d’attaques militaires violentes. Il est hermétique depuis 2007 et la seule sortie au sud, vers l’Égypte, est aussi bouclée à double tour depuis la prise du pouvoir par les militaires égyptiens en 2013. Privés de libre circulation par la…

 One could argue that China's long path to Piraeus, Greece, began on April 27, 1961. It's the day Mao Zedong founded the communist state's first freight company, the China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO). The Great Leap Forward, Mao's plan for industrialization, had proven to be a disaster at the time, leaving millions dead or starving. With Cosco, China had its eyes on overseas markets.   Almost 54 years later, the company is steering toward a major prize in Greece. After lengthy wavering, the Greek government-- comprised of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, his far-left Syriza party and the right-wing populist Independent…

Editor’s note: PULSE is delighted to welcome Grant F. Smith, director of theInstitute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRMEP) and author of many books, including America’s Defense Line, as our new feature contributor. In his first post Grant reveals the emerging details of the secret battles between the Kennedys and the Israel lobby.   The lobby’s accolades for the late Ted Kennedy and his support of Israel mask the generally unknown conflicts fought by the senator’s older brothers.  It is likely that lessons from the fiercest of all battles, fought behind the scenes by President John F. Kennedy alongside his brother and Attorney General Robert—guided…

It’s happening. As expected, dynastic politics is prevailing in campaign 2016. After a tease about as long as Hillary’s, Jeb Bush (aka Jeb!) officially announced his presidential bid last week. Ultimately, the two of them will fight it out for the White House, while the nation’s wealthiest influencers will back their ludicrously expensive gambit. And here’s a hint: Don’t bet on Jeb not to make it through the Republican gauntlet of 12 candidates (so far). After all, the really big money’s behind him. Last December, even though out of public office since 2007, he had captured the support of 73 percent of The Wall…

Reportage en République démocratique du Congo. Le 22 mai 2015, la Mission de l’ONU pour la stabilisation en République ­démocratique du Congo (Monusco) fête son anniversaire en exposant, à l’Institut français de Kinshasa, des photos qui retracent diverses actions sur le terrain (patrouilles, sécurisation, collaboration avec l’armée congolaise, échanges avec la population, hommage aux casques bleus morts…). « Être dans votre pays durant quinze ans, ce n’est pas tellement normal. Il est temps…