Yossi Schwartz ISL (RCIT section in Israel/Occupied Palestine) 17.09.2026
It is easy for an American president who lives in his own imaginary world to start a war, but how it will end is another matter.
The war in Iran continues and Trump has no way to end it. The Strait of Hormuz is still largely blocked by Iran. The escalation between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis who are blocking the Bab al-Mandab Strait is adding to the shortage of oil – and the huge price of it has sparked protests around the world in recent days. In several countries, demonstrators set fire to cars and burned tires after the price of a barrel of oil rose to more than $100. In Syria, masses took to the streets in the largest protest since the fall of the Assad regime, and protests and strikes were also recorded in Canada, Europe and Asia in the Transportation, Port and Industrial Sectors. In July South Korean public sector workers rallied against wage caps, Indian garbage collectors protested unpaid wages, Bangladeshi garment workers blocked highways over back pay, and a looming strike at BHP’s Port Hedland terminal threatens to cost A$126 million a day. The common thread is a post‑pandemic cost‑of‑living crunch and government austerity. Bank unions in India will launch an indefinite strike in October. These actions aim to implement five-day banking and review the Performance Linked Incentive scheme. The unions are demanding the government honor its commitment to introduce five-day banking.
It is not by chance that the focus of workers’ struggles takes place in the south countries as the industries moved to the southern states. In The Great Robbery of the South Michael Pröbsting analyses the super-exploitation and oppression of the semi-colonial world (often referred to as the “Third World”) by the imperialist powers and monopolies. He shows that the relationship between the small minority of rich capitalist countries and most of the mankind living in the semi-colonial world forms one of the most important elements of the imperialist world system we are living in.[i]
Endnotes:
[i] Michael Pröbsting :The Great Robbery of the South