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The twin towers of the World Trade Center burn behind the Empire State Building in New York. AP/Press Association Images

DECLASSIFIED: CIA intelligence official describes spending 9/11 with the US President

A fascinating account of 9/11 with the US President.

“HE PUT DOWN the newspaper and said, “Anything of interest this morning?”

Those were the actions of US President George W Bush on the morning of 11 September 2001, before any news of disturbances on domestic flights emerged.

Fascinating details about the morning – and the subsequent events – have been released through a declassified article that appeared in the CIA’s in-house intelligence journal.

Michael Morell was eight months in his assignment with the President on 11 September 2001. As part of his role, the CIA analyst was tasked with briefing the president on the agency’s information and analysis every day.

“Twenty-one years into my career as an analyst, I was doing a job that few would ever have,” he wrote. “And I was having the time of my life.”

Here’s what he says about that fateful morning, before the world changed.

“A little after 8am, Chief of Staff Card opened the door, said ‘good morning’, and motioned us in. We found the president seated at a table with a cup of coffee and a newspaper. He seemed surrounded by plates of fruit and pastries.

“When he saw us, he asked if we had enjoyed our night on the beach. I reminded him that my schedule did not allow for late evenings out, adding that I heard some waves but had not actually seen any. He said, ‘Michael, you need to get a new job.’

He put down the newspaper and said, ‘Anything of interest this morning?’

“On arguably the most important day in President Bush’s tenure, his intelligence briefing was uneventful.”

The briefing ended at 8.25am – four minutes after the transponder on American Flight 11 stopped transmitting its identification friend.

As planned, the president’s motorcade then made its way to Booker Elementary school in a working-class neighbourhood in Sarasota. During the drive, the first plane slammed into the north side of the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

ATTACKS COLLAPSE AP / Press Association Images AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

The journal entry continues:

“Within minutes of Flight 11′s impact, just as we were pulling up to the school, Fleischer’s cell phone rang. He listened for a few seconds and flipped his phone off. He turned to me and asked, ‘Michael, do you know anything about a plane hitting the World Trade Center?’

I said ‘no’ but I told him I would make some calls. As the motorcade came to a stop, I said, ‘Ari, I sure hope this is an accident and not terrorism.’

Morell’s assumption at that point was that the incident was an accident – a small plane losing its way in a storm or fog, with a death toll of two or three people.

One call later, his “mental image of what happened started to unravel” because the CIA Operations centre had told him the aircraft in question was a large commercial jet.

…a few minutes later…a second plane had hit the World Trade Center. There was now no question: this was not an accident but a deliberate act of terrorism.

In the classroom next door, the White House chief made his way to the president who was speaking with a number of second graders. That picture, of him saying “America is under attack”, has been widely seen over the past 13 years.

SEPT. 11 ANNIVERSARY Chief of Staff Andy Card whispers into the ear of the President to give him word of the plane crashes into the World Trade Center AP / Press Association Images AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

Morell details how he soon became worried about the President’s safety – afterall, the trip to the Sarasota school had been publicly documented for days.

Soon, the entourage had to make their way to Air Force One, and even the most secure aircraft in the world had managed to ramp up its protection with more agents with rifles and bomb-sniffing dogs.

“The plane was eerily quiet in those first few moments after the take-off,” wrote Morell. “Most of the people on board were still in shock and were anxious about what still might happen. The president was in his office with a small number of close aides. From there, he ordered the nation’s military to a high state of alert.”

Surprisingly, there was a lot of ‘sitting around’ for Morell that day. Later, as he talked to a congressman on the president’s plane, he mused:

I told him I would bet every dollar I had that Usama Bin Laden’s al-Qa’ida organisation was responsible.

That quote ended up in newspapers the next day, but before that the president asked him for more of his personal thoughts on the matter.

“I said the culprit was almost certainly a nonstate actor, adding that I had no doubt that the trail would lead to the doorstep of Bin Laden and al-Qa-ida.”

Before long, there would be evidence linking three of the hijackers to the terrorist group, but Morell was not the first to tell the Commander in Chief the definitive update, something he regrets.

“He didn’t say a word, but his look told me he had been let down,” he wrote as he recalled the moment.

During the next briefing while in the Offutt bunker, Building 7 of the World Trade Center collapsed – the “last destruction resulting from the attacks nine hours earlier”.

Bush decided – against Secret Service advice – to return to Washington DC.

TERROR ATTACKS President Bush watches television as he talks on the phone with New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Gov. George Pataki aboard Air Force One AP / Press Association Images AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

“It was early evening as we approached Andrews Air Force Base. Everyone on board was tired. It had been a very long day. The lights inside Air Force One had been turned off.

“Some of those in the staff section had their eyes closed; others were flipping, seemingly mindlessly, through newspapers or magazines. The president’s military aide was standing in the aisle, looking out the window.

“He pointed out the window and told me to look. The view was surreal. One hundred yards off the tip of Air Force One’s wing was an F-15. The military aide whispered, ‘There is one off the other wing as well; they’re from the DC Air National Guard.’ The fighter was so close we could see the pilot’s facial features.”

On seeing the Pentagon, with smoke rising from the northeast section, Morell said the tears welled up in his eyes.

But he did not cry until he was out of Air Force One and back in his own car, making his way home to his wife and three children.

“On the way to our bedroom, I went into each of my three children’s rooms. They were asleep, surrounded by stuffed animals. They looked as they did any other night, peaceful and content.”

Morell adds that in the weeks that followed 9/11 that his workload increased and his days lengthened.

It meant getting to work three hours earlier, sifting through more information and making more sacrifices – but ones that “pale in comparison to those of our intelligence officers and military personnel in Afghanistan and other places overseas”.

The declassified articles were released on Thursday as part of a lawsuit settlement with a former employee. They can be explored here.

Read the document in full here>

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98 Comments
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    Mute ObsidianShine
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    Feb 16th 2020, 6:06 PM

    It’s the Fine Gael way!

    391
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    Mute Brian Madden
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    Feb 16th 2020, 6:26 PM

    @ObsidianShine: they waste money. That’s their way

    209
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    Mute Brianto
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    Feb 17th 2020, 12:03 AM

    @ObsidianShine: the things I couldn’t do with 70 million…

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    Mute Mathas308
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    Feb 17th 2020, 2:17 AM

    @ObsidianShine: your right it’s their way and Finna fail . The drug companies are a legalized mafia.

    20
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    Mute Jimmy Farrell
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    Feb 16th 2020, 6:16 PM

    God the government just can’t help themselves when it comes to spending money!

    268
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    Mute Daimhín De Naois
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    Feb 16th 2020, 8:39 PM

    @Jimmy Farrell: seems that way, doesnt it? You’d imagine knowing the reason behind this would be of great interest. They’re not stupid, they are however cunning individuals and spending large amounts in something quietly, as important as this, without any chance of useful worth for the country’s citizens, is of some benefit to somebody, somewhere. As usual, when its tax money, not any of us.

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    Mute Noely Kelly
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    Feb 16th 2020, 10:02 PM

    @Daimhín De Naois: not tax…it’s all about insurance down the road…

    18
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    Mute Eddie O'Neill
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    Feb 16th 2020, 7:16 PM

    Who signed off on this, was it debated, what was health minister and finance ministers statement?
    What does the private company give back to the state in return for the €75m and what does the state then do with it?
    What does GDPR Office think of this, did they sign off on it?
    What’s to stop this company copying the data and sending it to HQ in China?
    And what if no 400,000 volunteers want to give DNA samples, is the project over and E75m gone then, also will they pay the donor for the sample?

    196
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    Mute Charles McCarthy
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    Feb 16th 2020, 9:58 PM

    @Eddie O’Neill: And in other news today we have a slight front of low pressure from the east of the count,…………………………

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    Mute Dave Hammond
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    Feb 18th 2020, 11:26 AM

    @Eddie O’Neill: there are a lot of questions that need to be clarified around this issue for sure…….I do wonder about how accurate the author is about the GDPR implications though – the claim that they can move the data to outside the EU and so GDPR protections are gone is just not the case….that’s not how the protection standards work -

    GDPR does apply outside Europe
    The whole point of the GDPR is to protect data belonging to EU citizens and residents. The law, therefore, applies to organizations that handle such data whether they are EU-based organizations or not, known as “extra-territorial effect.”

    I think the author is mistaken or just plain wrong using GDPR to make her case. There are plenty of real concerns about this subject but I don’t think it is helpful to be stoking more confusion and spreading misguided information about data protections .

    2
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    Mute Tony O'Regan
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    Feb 16th 2020, 6:09 PM

    “they will have to use public research money to access this data; this means the Irish taxpayer will be paying twice.” That’s the FG way, also sounds like a legal clusterf**k.

    343
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    Mute Colette Kearns
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    Feb 16th 2020, 6:19 PM

    So what exactly are we getting for this 70 million! It would make you sick the way our government run this country!

    271
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    Mute Gerard Heery
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    Feb 16th 2020, 6:27 PM

    Unbelievable wasters at this stage

    148
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    Mute Darren
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    Feb 16th 2020, 6:34 PM

    Government can’t sequence waiting lists never mind the human genome

    108
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    Mute Matthew O'Kane
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    Feb 16th 2020, 6:27 PM

    You would be surprised how interested health insurance companies are in your genetics they even give discounts on family tree research its good business to know who has a genetic leening to heart attacks and all kind of genetic illnesses that run in the family that info iz gold dust

    97
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    Mute Mirabelle Stonegate
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    Feb 16th 2020, 7:54 PM

    @Matthew O’Kane: the great thing about health insurance in Ireland, is that they can’t increase the cost of your cover based on medical issues, addictions, smoking, or anything like that.

    13
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    Mute Noely Kelly
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    Feb 16th 2020, 11:17 PM

    @Mirabelle Stonegate: not the truth at all I have been uninsurable since I was 35, as CF should dome in…18 years with no insurance, ma mam took out a “loaded insurance policy”…. as in it had to be paid every 3 months with an extra cost, in case I popped my clogs…my policy matured when I was 35 and Royal Liver said they wouldn’t give me another policy as the stats weren’t in my favour…things might be different now, but that’s the way I and my mam had to handle it… it’s not worth insuring people with an illness as they won’t make their money back…
    Thank this day I am uninsurable.

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    Mute Noely Kelly
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    Feb 16th 2020, 11:22 PM

    @Noely Kelly: to this day I’m uninsurable* and the only policy I ever got, had a surcharge of 33% per year compared to other kids when I was growing up, there is always a load on an insurance policy if your numbers don’t stack up against the average, let no one tell you different

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    Mute Mirabelle Stonegate
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    Feb 17th 2020, 10:01 AM

    @Noely Kelly: royal liver parent an irish health insurer. The only health insurance companies in ireland are vhi, laya, and irish life health.

    Yes, if you are over 35 when you first take out a policy, or take one out after being without for more than 13 weeks, there is an extra loading. This was set in place by the government, and insurers worked hard to ensure the public had every chance to avoid it (the day before this loading came into play, I worked 9am to midnight, taking calls to set up new health insurance policies). This loading is to prompt people to take out insurance younger, rather than to punish for chronic illnesses. I’m 32, with a family history that basically says I should be dead by now. I cant be charged more than someone with zero issues in their family history.

    I worked 6 years in health insurance. I have a degree in it. What you are in about has nothing to do with health insurance. At least, not in ireland. You might be on about life insurance, which is a totally different kettle of fish.

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    Mute Paul Jude Redmond
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    Feb 16th 2020, 7:54 PM

    Further proof if any was needed that successive Irish governments simply cannot manage any project regardless of size. From the children’s hospital to Dail printers, it’s just one screw up after another. This is a fine piece of journalism from the journal. Ie. Credit where it’s due.

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    Mute delmatey
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    Feb 16th 2020, 7:03 PM

    70 million would build 280 houses if construction costs were 250k per house.The mind boggles as to where priorities lie.

    91
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    Mute Daniel Kelly
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    Feb 17th 2020, 12:03 AM

    @delmatey: They probably want to know our (Male/Female) estimated life expectancy so that the pension age can starts after it?

    24
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    Mute Nomad
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    Feb 16th 2020, 6:08 PM

    There’ll be a few gingers in China soon

    86
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    Mute Patrick Condon
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    Feb 16th 2020, 10:35 PM

    This data can be severely misused,this data will be sold to insurance companies etc..The government has no right to give such personal data to a Chinese company without individuals consent.

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    Mute Jimmy Cully
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    Feb 16th 2020, 7:37 PM

    It’s probably half for the company and half for their pensions

    38
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    Mute Phil Quinlan
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    Feb 16th 2020, 6:04 PM

    If it leads to miracle cures, I’m all for it…

    26
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    Mute Lydia McLoughlin
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    Feb 16th 2020, 6:36 PM

    @Phil Quinlan: you’ll only hear about it if it does and then it’ll be such an expensive cure it’ll be out of reach of many.. If it doesn’t work it will be buried!

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    Mute Jensen Bhroin
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    Feb 16th 2020, 6:40 PM

    @Phil Quinlan: if it was freely accessible to Irish researchers you would have more people being able to work on it. It was a short sighted decision that leaves the data in the possession of a private company. Since the State funded it it should have done so in a way that allowed the data be used for our benefit most effectively

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    Mute Teresa Ryan
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    Feb 17th 2020, 7:34 AM

    @Phil Quinlan: Why, we all die in the end? Medicine doesn’t really cure anything, only innocolate against certain illnesses.

    1
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    Mute Sean Salmon
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    Feb 17th 2020, 12:05 PM

    @Lydia McLoughlin: 20 years ago we were promised cures for all genetic diseases within 10 years at the most. Needless to say we are still waiting for the first cure. I’d be looking elsewhere for the motive behind this massive funding I doubt that ultimately it will have anything to do with health

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    Mute Noely Kelly
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    Feb 16th 2020, 9:45 PM

    I’m a man, 53 years of age, a CF fighter since birth, I volunteered to be a guinea pig for the new CF drugs a few years back, and was one of the people who helped get Ivacaftor ( Kalydeco ) over the line for other CF’s and myself, it has totally changed my life, I did it for free 6 weeks, 3 times a week with no hesitation, sort of like paying it forward to the people who did the same years ago to keep me going. it wasn’t about money, it was about responsibility to the next generation of CF’s… I’ll be fcuking pissed if I was ever to find out that my Dna was given to a private harvester.. That’s just wrong.

    42
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    Mute Noely Kelly
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    Feb 16th 2020, 9:49 PM

    @Noely Kelly: we are all numbers in this country, not people anymore… private foreign companies, harvesting our DNA, shouldn’t be allowed happen…it’s not right, what is yours, is yours.. unless you choose to share if by signing a form/ contract saying you agree, ..

    38
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    Mute TheDublinGirly
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    Feb 16th 2020, 6:25 PM

    Eh – did anyone see the ‘please contribute to our cause’ clickbait. Suspicious?

    26
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    Mute jamesdecay
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    Feb 16th 2020, 6:32 PM

    @TheDublinGirly: no

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    Mute Pauline Fedigan
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    Feb 16th 2020, 8:36 PM

    DOING WHAT THEY DO BEST

    16
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    Mute Hello DAVE!
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    Feb 16th 2020, 7:12 PM

    Tis to create more pixieheads.

    15
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    Mute MOD
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    Feb 16th 2020, 9:58 PM

    Imagine creating a bug that targets certain genomes!!!

    16
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    Mute Michael O' Carroll
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    Feb 16th 2020, 10:43 PM

    How does this compare with the Icelandic project which was done a few years ago? Will participants get any feedback? Will TCD, RCSI and the universities be able to tap into the results? This should be debated more. – MOC

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    Mute Pat Redmond
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    Feb 17th 2020, 8:51 AM

    Do not buy those family DNA home kits to find out about your family tree! The data is harvested in the same way. They are regularly bought as Christmas or birthday presents by unsuspecting families.

    13
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    Mute Moorooka Mick
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    Feb 17th 2020, 3:37 AM

    To protect their mates in the Insurance Business

    12
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    Mute Dnom
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    Feb 16th 2020, 9:40 PM

    This is the work of the civil service. Hard to fathom this. Why at least not use a British firm where there might be some gnome mixing

    12
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    Mute Mary Ward
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    Feb 17th 2020, 4:41 AM

    The govt has failed us. The Govt owe u or me no duty at Al the givt is a count to dail it the dail who has failed failed when td voted to give power to min to use the funds. Our funds.

    9
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    Mute Shirley Moran Breslin
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    Feb 17th 2020, 2:56 AM

    Would it not answer them better to address our problems sitting on their doorstep such as the health system and housing crisis. What about all the sick people in the here and now. People who have to go abroad for treatment with no support of any type from here. Yet they’ll give 70 million to some lab in China…. China

    FG & China – If the cost was quadruple they’d still hand it over.
    Hello… CHINA!! F¤¥<$N

    CHINA!!! Whereùý uh 66e majority of vaccines come from

    11
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    Mute Mary Ward
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    Feb 17th 2020, 4:46 AM

    Sorry up to voter now to go to your own td who voted to pass legislation giving min the key to funds and who refused to exercise mandat they were elected to dail. On 9 year ago to send b lenihan deal back to Brussels req min not dail min lay bill before dail and we do not elect a taoiseach td do. As u are seeing

    5
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    Mute Anthony Clark
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    Feb 17th 2020, 2:17 PM

    Some proper details can be found in link below (no details in above article) – the investment was probably due to them promising 600 jobs in South Dublin.

    https://www.irishtimes.com/business/health-pharma/dna-collection-company-genomics-medicine-ireland-reports-37-7m-loss-1.4148219

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    Mute aqua5boy
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    Apr 26th 2020, 1:44 PM

    and the final insult? Having sequenced your DNA, they will refuse to give you a copy of what is YOUR OWN DATA. The public need to be urgently educated on the risks outlined here, before consenting to take part – contact your TD.

    1
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