Glen Brammell Journal

One little known fact is that the country of China exports nearly 97% of the world’s rare earth minerals. The minerals are used in the making of many important products such as windmills, lasers, and a variety of military weapons. The problem is that our country is at their mercy if they decided to cut production or raise their prices.

The good news is that we have these minerals here at home. The bad thing is that many of them are on public land. Some mining companies want to start mining these minerals so that we can have our own supply. I think it’s a good idea to start mining and reduce our reliance on China.

Ever since the last election that swept in a number of republicans, there have been changes in the wind. Many republican leaders have been going after public service unions in order to balance their budgets. They are asking for cuts or even trying to banish the unions altogether. This has led to massive demonstrations in some states such as Wisconsin.

The plans to cut benefits and wages of workers are still going forward, but there is growing resistance to the plans. The unions are banning together and spending a lot of cash to advertise their predicament. The battle is certain rage on for many years as the budgets are getting out of control.

It seems that the country of Switzerland has a very high suicide rate. The problem is that many Swiss people carry guns on a regular basis. The army allows people to bring their weapons home even after they are done with their military service. This has been a point of contention for some.

A measure that would have placed restrictions on guns failed to pass. It would have required that the guns be kept in armories instead of at home. Meanwhile, suicide rates continue to remain high. It seems that the Swiss love their guns and want to keep them.

The country of Egypt has been through a lot lately. Demonstrations in the streets have finally paid off. The Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has decided to resign and a new government will be formed. The resignation comes after weeks of protest in the streets of Cairo.

The only problem now is who will take over the power vacuum. The Egyptians have been semi-friendly with the Israelis and there is some doubt as to whether this will continue. For now, the Egyptian people are happy that change will come to their homeland.

Law and order is a very important part of our lives. The ability for Americans to walk down the street in relative safety is what makes our country so great. I respect our court system and believe that it works for the most part. There are also those who work the streets taking care of our citizens every day. The problem is that there are occasions when those we trust the most turn on us. I recently heard of one example of this behavior.

It’s hard to know the truth when you are not actually involved, but there are times when you must question the authorities. I know there are many cases of police harassment out there. Some people believe that the city of Orlando police are guilty of that. The story is that they tried to ruin a young mans life by harassing him after a traffic stop.

Despite the hard work of many law enforcement officials, police harassment happens a lot more than one may think. I know that no-one would actually condone it, but police harassment can happen even in the best of police departments. It only takes a few bad eggs to make it happen. I think we should all keep this in mind on a daily basis.