Dancers from the Rosas de Ouro samba school perform during a carnival parade in Sao Paulo, Brazil, early Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013. The Carnival season culminates on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013, with street revelry and the pageantry of the Rex and Zulu parades. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

HERE ARE THE things we learned, loved and shared today.

THINGS WE LEARNED

#PROTESTS: Large crowds turned out in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Sligo today, after The Irish Congress of Trade Unions coordinated ‘Not Our Debt’ protests in six counties across the country to protest the nationalisation of banking debts (pics).

#BLUE FLU: Gardaí across the country have this week been voting for industrial action in informal meetings across the country, Garda Representative Association (GRA) President John Parker has revealed to TheJournal.ie. Earlier this week, Cork City Gardaí voted unanimously to pass a motioncalling for industrial action over proposed pay cuts, choosing a ‘blue flu’ - calling in sick en masse – as the preferred action. Parker confirmed today that several other meetings have taken place this week and said that “what happened at the Cork meeting has consistently happened” at the others.

#ADRIAN DONOHOE: Detectives from the PSNI’s Serious Crime Branch who are assisting Gardaí with the investigation into the murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe two weeks ago have made an appeal today about the movements of a dark coloured Volkswagen Passat - believed to have been used by his killers.The 41-year-old garda was shot by a gang during a robbery at Lordship Credit Unit, Dundalk, in January.

#HORSEMEAT: Findus UK said today it was taking legal advice after early results from its internal investigation “strongly suggest” that the presence of horsemeat in its frozen beef lasagne meals was “not accidental”. Meanwhile, the French Ministry for Agriculture is launching an investigation into how the mislabelled meat was sold, saying it believe the matter constituted “criminal fraud”.

#ARREST: Two men have been arrested in relation to a road collision in Derry yesterday, in which a 27-year-old female PSNI officer was killed. The car which collided with the officer’s vehicle was believe to have been stolen. Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan today expressed his condolences to the family and colleagues of the officer.

THINGS WE LOVED

• There was nothing like a bit of Ricki Lake on Channel 4 for a hungover day of bunking off college in the early noughties. Unfortunately for the next generation of layabouts (and fortunately for the future of humanity) her show has been cancelled… but that doesn’t mean we can’t look back on the ridiculous revelations/fights/ultimatums in all their low-def glory.
• The bra turns 100 this year – here are some of the awkward, impractical, unusual and ill-advised varieties of nethergarment women have squeezed themselves into over the past century.
• Do you have an ironic moustache? Do you talk  a lot – A LOT – about your bicycle? You might be suffering from HIPSTER. Luckily, there’s a cure…

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THINGS WE SHARED

• Monika Pon, the model of 1950s kitsch classic painting Chinese Girl by Vladimir Tretchikoff, tells The Guardian that being the subject of the world-famous artwork has brought her neither fame nor fortune.
• Want to improve your marriage? Write about your next fight, says Eli J Finkel…