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The 9 at 9 Nine things you should know this morning…

EVERY DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things we think you really ought to know with your morning cup of coffee.

1. #VATICAN: Victims’ groups have dismissed the Vatican’s long-awaited response to the Cloyne report as “pure spin”. Campaigner Andrew Madden told the Irish Examiner the Holy See’s statement was a “very legalistic, technical” attempt to escape responsibility for covering up clerical child abuse. His words come after Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore both rejected elements of the Vatican statement.

2. #WELFARE: The upcoming Budget will include cuts in welfare spending, Eamon Gilmore has told the Irish Times – despite pledging earlier in the year that there would be no such reductions. Gilmore told the paper his earlier commitment had been “misinterpreted”, as he was simply repeating the contents of the programme for government.

3. #RACE FOR THE ÁRAS: A campaign to have Independent Senator David Norris re-enter the presidential race will step up a gear this week, with members of We Want Norris hitting streets in Irish cities to gather public signatures on a petition. The campaign’s website has already collected 6,500 names. Senator Norris was forced to withdraw from the race when it emerged he had appealed for clemency for his former partner, who was convicted of the statutory rape of a 15-year-old boy.

4. #SCHOOLS: Education minister Ruairí Quinn has urged parents to stand for election to school boards to combat the “historical legacy” of dominance by the Catholic Church. However, he insisted to the Irish Daily Mail that his call, which comes before 22,000 school board positions are voted on next month, was not an attempt at “subversive takeover” of the school system.

5. #WATERFORD: A 39-year-old woman found fatally injured by the side of a road in Waterford may jumped from a moving car – with post mortem results showing she could have sustained the injuries by hitting the road at speed, the Irish Times reports. A 29-year-old man who was being held in connection with the death on Saturday night has been released, according to RTÉ.

6. #COLLEGES: Irish universities have fallen in the influential QS world rankings. Trinity dropped 13 places to 65th in the world, with UCD down 20 at 134 and NUI Galway falling more than 60 places to 298th. However, UCC bucked the trend – climbing to 181 and becoming Ireland’s first “five-star” university.

7. #RED LIGHTS: Drivers in Dublin will soon have to contend with Ireland’s first traffic light enforcement camera – designed to catch and fine motorists who run red lights, Cian Ginty reports in the Irish Independent. The camera will be tried out on two junctions where roads cross the Luas tracks after a number of collisions between cars and trams.

8. #LIBYA: Rebels have surrounded the town of Bani Walid, one of Muammar Gaddafi loyalists’ last remaining strongholds in Libya, and are poised to launch an assault after talks broke down last night. David Smith reports for the Guardian that there is a growing humanitarian crisis in the blockaded town, which is suffering water shortages and has had no electricity for a week. A rebel spokesperson has suggested that Gaddafi’s sons Saif and Saadi could among trapped loyalist forces.

9. #FAKE TWEETS: Two people in Mexico are facing 30-year jail sentences on terrorism charges after tweeting that gunmen were abducting children from schools in Veracruz state. The tweets – which were false – sparked widespread panic, causing 26 car accidents and leading some parents to abandon cars in the middle of the road in the rush to rescue their kids, local police told the Associated Press.

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6 Comments
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    Mute Brent Weaver
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    Oct 18th 2016, 1:59 PM

    And when they are coming to Ireland? I’m asking for, er…..a friend.

    244
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    Mute windbag
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    Oct 18th 2016, 2:10 PM

    The bears on the left look a lot Happier ….

    137
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    Mute Nicola Keenan
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    Oct 18th 2016, 3:51 PM

    There used to be 10 bears on the left but the others got the munchies

    49
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    Mute Charlie Wrex
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    Oct 18th 2016, 2:58 PM

    Visited a pot shop in Cortez Colorado. It was great to go in, have a chat with the assistant and select a nice mellow blend. Went home bbq, a few beers and blazed up a bowl. Be great to be able to enjoy it responsibly here too. It should be this easy. Dealers lose, customers get top quality, tax gets paid on it.

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    Mute Ciaran ooney
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    Oct 18th 2016, 4:28 PM

    But that makes too much sense

    45
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    Mute Poole Hyde
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    Oct 18th 2016, 4:39 PM

    That’s really the way to go. Was in Portugal last year but the problem was that you’re still at the mercy of street dealers, well at least until you make some local friends. That and it’s mainly hash which cuts the lungs out of me. It’s great hash but not my thing.

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    Mute molly coddled
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    Oct 18th 2016, 8:20 PM

    We scored some seriously good grass this year in Portugal Poole, like you I hate hash and only use green. We got twice the amount for the same money we would have paid in Ireland, you just have to be very careful who you deal with – avoiding street dealers. Made some great cookies and discovered strawberry frubes the absolute munchie food, sadly not available here :(

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    Mute Robbie Farquharson
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    Oct 18th 2016, 10:34 PM

    Have you got a link to those strawberry frubes. As a munchies aficionado, I’m intrigued :)

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    Mute molly coddled
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    Oct 18th 2016, 11:58 PM

    Sorry they are called frubis not frubes :( made by a Portuguese company called Nutry. They are supposed to be available on Amazon but always out of stock. https://www.google.ie/search?q=nutry+frubis&prmd=ismvn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwib3aGguOXPAhXFIsAKHWkIDN0Q_AUIBygB&biw=800&bih=1280#imgrc=voQNybSslgCQ4M%3A

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    Mute Jackson Bollovks
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    Oct 19th 2016, 9:24 AM

    Weeds not addictive.. says every stoner, sure it’s not

    4
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    Mute William Clay
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    Oct 18th 2016, 1:59 PM

    I remember in the local video store, the film Flesh Gordon was on the shelf beside Flash Gordon. Caused a bit of embarrassment.

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    Mute Neal not Neil
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    Oct 18th 2016, 2:04 PM

    You’d have been mortified if you came home with “Flash Gordon” by mistake.

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    Mute Ted Logan
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    Oct 18th 2016, 2:55 PM

    I just spent the afternoon eating Pot noodle after Pot noodle and I feel nothing except a trip to the bathroom coming on.

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    Mute The Viking
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    Oct 18th 2016, 4:30 PM

    Well now is the season if you want to get up early and stroll the fields to go mushroom picking. Bit of extra flavour for those Pot noodles. Just dont go reading Wheres Wally books after.

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    Mute JJ
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    Oct 18th 2016, 2:51 PM

    I love a pot tart now :)

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    Mute Fiona Fitzgerald
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    Oct 18th 2016, 5:01 PM

    Won’t somebody think of the sugar tax?!

    13
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    Mute JJ O Riordan
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    Oct 18th 2016, 2:04 PM

    Someone give some to Trump, do he might calm down.

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    Mute Lukey
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    Oct 18th 2016, 2:10 PM

    cannabis candy kills

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    Mute OU812
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    Oct 18th 2016, 2:28 PM

    Ermmmm… I’m gonna go with no it doesn’t. If accid nylon consumed (as can happen in this case), then it’ll cause some anxiety and upset as you wouldn’t understand what’s going on, however there’s not one single case of an overdose death from cannabis or marijuana anywhere in the world ever.

    Have you seen the amount that’d have to be consumed in order to kill? It’s approximately 3.3 lbs per pound of body weight.

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    Mute Colm Ó Liatháin
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    Oct 18th 2016, 9:41 PM

    Cannabis should not be sold in the form of children’s sweets no matter how harmless it may or may not be.

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    Mute Trisec Training
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    Oct 19th 2016, 8:06 AM

    Gimme gammy gummies!

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