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The 9 at 9 The nine stories you need to know as you start your day.

EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine stories you need to know as you start your day.

1. #ROADS: A 17-year-old boy has been killed, and four other teenagers injured, in a single-car accident in Co Roscommon. The car in which the five males were travelling hit a ditch on a road between Frenchpark and Boyle.

2. #BÉAL NA MBLÁTH: Taoiseach Enda Kenny will lead commemorations in Co Cork later today to mark the 90th anniversary of the murder of Michael Collins. Kenny will become the first sitting Taoiseach to address the event in its history. The car in which Collins was travelling when he was assassinated has been restored and will also be present, for the first time since the shooting.

3. #BUDGET 2012: The Sunday Business Post says the next Budget may have to increase PRSI, following a report which suggests the government’s social insurance fund could face a deficit of €2.2 billion by 2016. The Sunday Independent carries comments from Joan Burton, however, with the social protection minister admitting that ‘Middle Ireland’ could not take any more financial pressure.

4. #BANKRUPTCY: Former minister Michael Lowry could be bankrupted – and therefore disqualified from the Dáil – over a dispute with journalist Sam Smyth. The Sunday Times reports that Smyth is seeking €47,500 in legal costs from Lowry, after successfully defending libel claims against him in the High Court – and that Smyth may pursue bankruptcy proceedings as one way of getting the money.

5. #MENTAL HEALTH: Potential reforms to Ireland’s legislation on mental health could see institutionalised patients being given an earlier opportunity to appeal their detention. A review of the Mental Health Act 2001 is currently underway – but lobby groups say bringing forward appeals won’t solve the issue of involuntary detention.

6. #MAURITIUS: Neither the police nor the prime minister of Mauritius have yet made contact with either the Gardaí or the PSNI inviting them to assist in investigations over the death of Michaela McAreavey. The Sunday World reports that no contact has been made, despite pledges from premier Navin Ramgoolam four weeks ago that he would make contact.

7. #WIKILEAKS: Julian Assange is set to make a statement from the Ecuadorian embassy in London later today, making his first public appearance in two months. As a diplomatic standoff between Ecuador and the UK continues, it’s been suggested that Assange may agree to hand himself over for extradition to Sweden if he is given public assurances that he won’t be passed onward to the United States.

8. #ISLAND DISPUTE: Tensions between Japan and China have escalated after around a dozen Japanese nationalists travelled to a group of disputed islands in waters between the countries – prompting protests in cities across China. The islands lie in an important shipping lane and are close to gas reserves. Japan had launched a flotilla close to the islands to commemorate soldiers who died there in World War II.

9. #NOKILYMPICS: London 2012 may have ended but the spirit of physical endurance continues. Reuters tells us today that a Finnish teenager has taken gold in a mobile phone-throwing contest, after hurling an old Nokia phone 101.46 metres – beating entrants from England and India. That’s almost three metres longer than the world record in the javelin.

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24 Comments
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    Mute gingerman
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    Aug 19th 2012, 9:29 AM

    Collins died in 1922. Speculation about what he might of done if he survived in my view is worthless.

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    Mute rodrigo detriano
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    Aug 19th 2012, 9:39 AM

    Joan Burton paving the way to hit the poor again! Middle income workers are at the limit, as far as taking any more hits go, so in her eyes, the only alternative is to take from the poor! The very idea of taking from the wealthy is something that never even enters her mind! Hey and she supposedly represents the working classes! Only in Ireland!!!!

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    Mute Graham Mace
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    Aug 19th 2012, 10:03 AM

    @rodrigo says “only in Ireland”, but the fact is that the worse off in society will always stay that way. It is happening in the UK right now with the Camclegg Coalition (though Clegg is no use, only there for window dressing and to be Cameron’s doormat).
    That doesn’t make it right, the way the mess is being dealt with here. Just saying where Irish politicians get a lot of their crappiest ideas from, by copying the old enemy. Which morally makes them more despicable.

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    Mute Dmc
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    Aug 19th 2012, 9:10 AM

    Good old Edna trying to borrow some of Collin’s greatness today. Collins would have made a better job of our finances and he wouldnt have signed away our rights to OUR oil and gas fields. Shame on Fianna FAIL and shame on FG

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    Mute Pauric Duffy
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    Aug 19th 2012, 10:37 AM

    No. He just signed away part of our country instead

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    Mute Robin Boots
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    Aug 19th 2012, 10:28 AM

    #MENTAL HEALTH

    It is 4 years since I was incarcerated in a Psychiatric Unit. I was on an “anti-depressant”/SSRI which is known to trigger “mania” in some people. Plus something traumatic and stressful had happened to my friend. I had a “manic episode” but was still aware of what was going on. On that day 22.08.08, a wall of family arrived into my house. I instinctively knew what they were up to. I frantically tried to make contact with a solicitor but because it was August, they seemed to be on holiday. I finally made contact with a Mental Health Advocate, probably through Citizen information.

    Shortly after I heard the beep, beep, beep sound of an ambulance reversing into my drive. I had not endangered my own life or those around me. 2 police, a swarm of Psychiatric nurses and ambulance staff arrived into my house. I could not believe what was going on. It was extremely upsetting. I packed some stuff and got in the ambulance in tears.

    When I got to the hospital, I was seen by a Psychiatrist who made me VOLUNTARY (I realise this in hindsight). So the Mental Health Commission was not informed of my detention. I did not have a solicitor appointed and did not have a tribunal after 3 weeks. In fact, if I had murdered someone I would probably have had more rights. I had not harmed anyone.

    I was locked into this backwater hospital for 3 weeks. Would love to name it here! I never got one minute of Psychotherapy as they pushed around their “trolley of potions and poisons” (that’s what I wrote in my diary). The hospital got €20,000 for sending the ambulance to my house (in total) so it was well worth their effort! I would call that a conflict of interest in itself. I eventually “escaped” to a private hospital. But with the help of
    the Mental Health Advocate I would have gone to the private hospital in the first place!

    I lost my job. 4 years on I still have not had a job, even though I am highly qualified and have had good careers before this. I was never told that it was the “anti-depressant” probably triggered this “episode”. I was put on various drugs that were over sedating and very disabling – Zyprexa, Seroquel, Lithium, Lamictal, addictive benzos, sleeping pills etc. I was basically turned into a prescription drug addict. The year after my admission is a blur due to the traumatic way in which I was treated and the drugs that I was on.

    I have since discovered that there are lawsuits against the makers of some of the drugs which can lead to rapid weight gain and diabetes. The Occupational Therapist did help me but apart from that I felt the whole system was a sham and a scam.

    Due to withdrawal, never change of stop medication without consulting a doctor who knows what he is doing. I more or less stopped medication 1 year ago. I went to see Professor Ivor Browne about 6 months ago and that was a turning point for me. Suddenly everything made sense. It was exactly 3.5 years since the day of my incarceration and when I arrived in Dublin I bumped into the Mental health advocate that I was on the phone to on the day I was locked away. That was a strange coincidence. But with the help of that advocate things could have been so much better.

    Ivor is a Psychiatrist who is trained in Psychotherapy and has nearly 60 years experience as a doctor. He is 83 and awesome to watch in action. He is very methodical in his approach. As for modern day Psychiatrists that is another story! After listening to an interview with Dr Michael Corry last night (Rest in Peace) I realised that less than 10% of Consultant Psychiatrists are trained in Psychotherapy. That would explain a lot.

    I’m still a work in progress but I no longer see the medical model or drugs as the solution, even if some medication can help short term. But in the current climate of Big Pharma $$$ they are over prescribed. I believe more in a Psychosocial approach of Psychotherapy and getting the person back to being a productive member of society, as opposed to been disabled by high doses of medication. Some people may feel the need for a certain amount of medication and that is their choice. I do not judge them but if I know of serious risks with a certain drug I will let them know.

    There has to be a better way. Having recently attended a Mental Health Law Reform conference in NUI Galway I realised from listening to people that over legislation will not solve anything. What is needed is a mindset change. But the current Mental Health Act 2001 does not protect the basic human rights of the person and Psychiatrists know how to work around it to maintain their POWER and CONTROL. Psychiatry does not have a Scientific basis yet they are seen as the “experts”. It was proven to be a fake Science nearly 40 years ago, in the Rosenhan experiment.

    There are a few who tell the TRUTH. Professor David Healy and American Peter Breggin are two that spring to mind and I follow their work. Also GP/Psychotherapist/author Dr Terry Lynch.

    From a holistic point of view there are many factors to consider. Including diet, exercise, caffeine, alcohol and stress management. I benefit from Buddhist Mindfulness Meditation. And when it comes to Bipolar disorder, which was triggered 4 years ago by “anti-depressants”/an SSRI, I try not to engage with the “high”. And the symptoms seem to be subsiding. Eventually. But with a different approach, the last 4 years could have been so much better. Hoping that others do not have to go through what I went through. Thanks for reading.

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    Mute Robin Boots
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    Aug 19th 2012, 10:31 AM

    By the way the “2 police” are part of the protocol of “sectioning” someone, even though I was never officially sectioned. As I was made VOLUNTARY when I arrived at the hospital. But Psychiatry have taken the word voluntary and reinvented it for their own purposes.

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    Mute Christina Melia
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    Aug 19th 2012, 11:16 AM

    What a story – gives me shivers just reading it! Best of luck with your recovery and job search Robin.

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    Mute Robin Boots
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    Aug 19th 2012, 11:55 AM

    Thanks to Colm O’Gorman and the people in Amnesty International Ireland for organising the Capacity Law conference and the Mental Health Law Reform conference in the last few months.

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    Mute Eileen Kelly
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    Aug 19th 2012, 1:47 PM

    Your letter is so true of our mental health in this country. I would think we are one of the most backward in the western world,and they wonder why the suicide rate is so high .Robin i hope the future will be good to you

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    Mute Robin Boots
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    Aug 19th 2012, 3:19 PM

    The mental health system isn’t completely backward in Ireland. When I eventually got my transfer to a private hospital in Dublin, I was allowed to go in the garden and the church. I could even go to Heuston if I wanted to. I made some handmade cards and went to lectures there. I was even able to walk to Heuston and get the paper. I was there for one week. But yet again the emphasis was on just drugging me and tranquilizing me, as opposed to giving me any type of proper talk therapy. I was there for 1 week but because I wasn’t warned of the dangers of stopping these expensive medications cold turkey I ended up having severe withdrawal within 2 weeks of been set “free”. The whole system needs a complete overhaul. There is too much of a link with pharmaceutical companies and their perks.

    There is also a place in Cork called Slí Eile ~ which translates to Another Way. “Slí Eile provides housing and support services for people caught up. in the revolving door of the psychiatric system”. We could do with more services like this and for the implementation of “Vision for Change” (2006). http://www.dohc.ie/publications/vision_for_change.html

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    Mute Peter Kelehan
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    Aug 19th 2012, 3:26 PM

    best to you in your journey to better health

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    Mute Kevin Carroll
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    Aug 19th 2012, 10:09 AM

    well done Sam Smyth this is great news.

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    Mute Ryan Allen
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    Aug 19th 2012, 10:15 AM

    €47,000 is around six month’s wages for Lowry. I can’t see him foregoing his seat over such a small amount, relative to his earnings. He’ll pay up rather than lose out his seat on the gravy train.

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    Mute Smiley
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    Aug 19th 2012, 10:29 AM

    Oh dear. Does this mean his casino is off the agenda?

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    Mute Gary Curran Himself
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    Aug 19th 2012, 10:16 AM

    There are huge inequities in a system where the middle income earners pay for the tax breaks of the rich and subsidise people who don’t want to work or wish to work in the black market and claim benefits . If these were eradicated the genuinely less well off would always be cared for . I think slowly the government is trying to address this . If you kill the goose that is laying the golden eggs nobody wins . Our obligation in society is those less well off not by choice but by circumstance

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    Mute Jack McGuire
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    Aug 19th 2012, 11:20 AM

    Michael Collins took the British uniforms and the British guns and turned them on his own people, yes a real hero indeed.

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    Mute Dmc
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    Aug 19th 2012, 11:54 AM

    DeValera sent him over to London making him a scapegoat. DeValera walked out of parliament. DeValera then decided to join parliament after all. Seems like the civil war wouldnt have happened if deValera pulled the finger out and worked with Collins. The nation would have been unified. The Treaty was a stepping stone to achieve greater independence. deValera did a great job to keep us out of world war 2. He was a good man but he had his flaws.To say Collins simply put on a British uniform and turned the gun on Irish people is a sad statement to make. The Treaty was voted and approved.

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    Mute Eileen Kelly
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    Aug 19th 2012, 1:35 PM

    Why are our leaders so interested in the past ,they have learned nothing from it. .Let them get on with what they were elected to do,if they are able which I very much doubt it.

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    Mute Eric Davies
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    Aug 19th 2012, 2:01 PM

    their ‘interest’ in the past is only to deflect the public’s attention away from the balls up’s of the present.

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    Mute Guy Flaneur
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    Aug 19th 2012, 1:00 PM

    From everything I’ve read of available documents, there was very little difference between Collin’s and Dev’s Treaty plans.

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    Mute Anne Mullett
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    Aug 19th 2012, 3:04 PM

    Yes we have moved on … to the E.U. attempt to create a united Europe at our expense. Socially, financially and on the back of a flawed Euro. Trial and error is not a professional policy. We are told of the highly professional Eurocrats, public servants etc. They are all stuck in a 50′s timewarp. It amazes me to hear some of the opinions in this modern age. I’m all for the brotherhood of man In Europe but I don’t think it’s necessary to have fiscal Union, it would only encourage arms sales and war. This is my own personal OPINION.

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    Mute Los Davos
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    Aug 19th 2012, 1:20 PM

    Shouldn’t it read; “Good Morning, Here’s what we think you need to know” ?

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    Mute vv7k7Z3c
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    Aug 19th 2012, 1:35 PM

    Isn’t all news, by its nature, subjective? In that, someone in an editorial position has to choose what they think is newsworthy?

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