Hold up folks, the Olympics don’t start until the weekend after next… Breast Cancer Ireland supporters Megan Hurley, Caoimhe Dunne, James Bulter, Nicola Hurley and Kate Tighe  get into the spirit at the launch of this year’s Great Pink Run at the Point Village. (Image by Jason Clarke Photography.)

THINGS WE LEARNED:

#SICK LEAVE: The government has welcomed proposals from the Labour Court to halve the sick leave allowances of public sector workers. Workers will now be entitled to seven days’ uncertified sick leave over two years and not one year, while from 2014 they’ll only get full pay for three months instead of the six they’re currently allowed.

#HSE: Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore has suggested he wasn’t too thrilled to learn of Cathal Magee’s departure from the HSE through the media instead of through the formal channels. RTÉ says Gilmore told reports it was ‘regrettable’ that he had only heard of the departure on the radio. Enda Kenny says he only heard after Tuesday’s cabinet meeting. Magee handed in his notice on Friday.

#AMBULANCE: Staying with the health service, the National Ambulance Service has said this evening that an ambulance service last November – which could not arrive in time to save a teenager’s life after a car accident – had followed all the correct protocols, and sad the survival rate for the injuries the victim sustained is approximately zero. Local groups had blamed the closure of Roscommon Hospital’s emergency ward for her death.

#CHILD BENEFIT: Opposition parties and lobby groups alike have united to resist the IMF’s proposal that child benefit should be means-tested. Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin, charities and interest groups have various reasons for opposing the plan – which the government says is merely a recommendation.

#SYRIA: China and Russia have again vetoed a resolution at the UN Security Council proposing further sanctions against Syria – placing the future of the UN’s supervision mission in doubt. The veto has been condemned by western countries who say they are ‘appalled’ at the stance of Moscow and Beijing in refusing to take action against Bashar Assad’s regime.

THINGS WE LOVED:

• The cuteness of Dublin Zoo’s newborn baby giraffe – which, in turn, remind us of the furious giggles that her elder sibling prompted when she was born. Check out the spindly learning-to-stand legs on this one.
• The philosophy of Soren Kierkegaard, matched up with the everything-else of Kim Kardashian. Presenting, the most inspired Twitter accont we’ve seen in ages: Kim Kierkegaardashian. Sample tweet:
  “Love these Givenchy sunglasses! But they may be dispensed with without losing the highest thing of all.”
• Galway looks… different. Check out the slideshow in this rental ad.
• The take-no-crap attitude of this 71-year-old man, who was enjoying a quiet day in an internet cafe when it was suddenly hit in an armed raid. Samuel Williams responded by… taken out his own (licensed) gun and chasing them back out again.

THINGS WE SHARED:

• Charlie Brooker’s a bit of a legend around the YouTube parts – not least because of his ‘How to do the TV news‘ video – but this five-year-old piece about the magic of TV editing has been doing the rounds again today. Enjoy.
• Heard the one about the Georgia woman who was so annoyed about her police mugshot that she called 911? Tonya Ann Fowler was promptly arrested (again) and charged with the unlawful use of the 911 service. At least she got the chance to pose again…
• So that new Christian Bale film is out today, right?
• Wait for it… Wait for it… wait for iiiit…

(Dusti Romano/Youtube)