By Stan Pohmer

The past few years have been pretty tough, almost ugly, for the floral industry, and hopes were pretty high that we’d all catch a break in 2005. A return to “normalcy” (whatever that means anymore) would have been a welcome relief, but it was not to be—2005 brought some of the same challenges plus some new ones.

By Mark Drajem

Workers in Colombia face legal hurdles to organizing unions and are often threatened with violence, according to a U.S. government report that may raise questions about a recent trade agreement with the Andean nation.

``Labor leaders continued to be targets of attacks by illegal armed groups, primarily for political reasons,'' the State Department's annual report on human rights said. ``Union leaders contended that perpetrators of violence against workers

operated with virtual impunity.''

By Mark Drajem

Workers in Colombia face legal hurdles to organizing unions and are often threatened with violence, according to a U.S. government report that may raise questions about a recent trade agreement with the Andean nation.

``Labor leaders continued to be targets of attacks by illegal armed groups, primarily for political reasons,'' the State Department's annual report on human rights said. ``Union leaders contended that perpetrators of violence against workers

operated with virtual impunity.''

By Bruce Dixon

Black History Month 2006 ended on a jarring note. Andrew Young, a former member of Dr. King's inner circle at SCLC, who went on to serve three terms in Congress, a stint as U.N. ambassador and two terms as mayor of Atlanta before cashing out his Freedom Movement chips for a lucrative career as an international "business consultant," decisively spat upon the movement for human rights and economic justice that he spent his early career helping to build.