McCops
On March 21, the Detroit Police Department opened "community work stations" inside 30 of the city's McDonald's fast food joints. A Detroit PD spokesperson described the arrangement as "a partnership of sorts" and said that cops will be encouraged to eat McDonald's food. A similar arrangement is operating in Washington, and other cities may follow the example.
Laser weapons
The US government has pursued the development of at least 10 different tactical laser weapons that have the potential of blinding individuals, Human Rights Watch reported on March 20. The existence of most of these programs is not known to the US public or Congress.
Kurds' supporters arrested in France
In early March, French police arrested eight Turkish citizens on suspicion that they are Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) members. They are accused of running businesses to provide financial support to the PKK and recruiting people to join the PKK's struggle in Kurdistan. Twenty people are in custody in France for allegedly donating money to the PKK. France has banned several Kurdish associations for being "front organisations of the PKK".
Racism in US law enforcement
Human Rights Watch on March 20 released a report which reveals the racism that African-American people face at the hand of the law in the United States. The report notes: "On any given day, one in three young black American males is either in prison or jail, on probation or parole. Drug laws and enforcement policies are among the most important causes of this national crisis ... urban black Americans have borne the brunt of the 'War on Drugs'. They have been arrested, prosecuted, convicted, and imprisoned at increasing rates since the early 1980s, and grossly out of proportion to their numbers in the general population or among drug users."
Human rights abuses on border
US Border Patrol agents are committing serious human rights violations, including shootings, rapes and beatings, while enjoying virtual impunity for their actions, Human Rights Watch charged on March 20. "In our third investigative report in as many years, we cite continuing violations despite assurances received from the Immigration and Naturalization Service that the agency would address one of the worst police abuse problems in the country".
Korean unions in presidential election
The militant Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, which led South Korea's massive general strike in December and earlier this year, announced it will run its own or a union-friendly candidate in the December election for a new president.
The KCTU will launch a planning group in May which aims to develop a national force of some 10,000 cadres to promote active participation of trade unions in the election. The campaign will complement the KCTU's plan to mobilise workers to fight against repressive labour laws.
Japanese nuclear workers live in fear
Thirty-seven workers who inhaled radioactive dust during the March 11 explosion at the Mura nuclear reprocessing plant in Tokai, Japan, were sent by their bosses to see a psychiatrist when seeking compensation for ill health.
Employer Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation, which is state owned, claimed that the explosion — among the most serious of its kind ever known — exposed the workers to radiation no more than that from X-ray tests. The workers are not convinced. The psychiatrist found the workers in sound mental shape and confirmed they could all return to work.