Major weather agencies have already confirmed the onset of a super El Niño in 2026, and scientists worldwide are warning of devastating consequences. Many fear that the phenomenon could change the course of the Earth’s climate system. I have a lot to say about the 2026 super El Niño and the impacts it may cause. But in this article, I’m going to discuss the consequences of another super El Niño—the one from 1877—which many point to as the best historical parallel for what may be coming. That weather event triggered one of the greatest human catastrophes in history. It is estimated that more than 30 million people died as a result of the severe famines that struck Asia, Africa, and parts of Latin America. However, there is one fundamental detail: it was not El Niño that killed those people. What turned a drought into a tragedy of colossal proportions was the emergence and expansion of colonial imperialism, which destroyed peasant economies, subordinated entire peoples to the ...
This is a new feature we are hoping to start doing here at the Northwoods Socialist Collective website ~ do a roundup of labor actions and news for northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. On the plus side of things we want to mention two successful union organizing drives that happened this past month. One is that the workers at Emblem Advantage & Screen Printing in Duluth have unionized with Local 106 of the Painters Union. And the second is that the casual RNs at the Chisholm Health Center have unionized with United Steelworkers Local 9460. Emblem Advantage had previously been an entirely non-union worksite, while the majority of full time workers at Chisholm Health Center had previously been unionized. While we can't put it in the 100% win category yet, the Respiratory Techs at Aspirus/St. Luke's in Duluth have all signed cards to unionize with United Steelworkers Local 9460, however that union election hasn't been held yet. Aspirus is engaging in some stall t...