By Richard Lister
BBC News, Washington

Rarely have so many members of Congress talked for so long, with such restraint, before so many TV cameras, to so little obvious effect.

After more than seven hours of back and forth in the refined surroundings of Blair House, Republicans and Democrats went their separate ways – each side convinced that they were still right.

No-one had really expected anything else.

President Obama had hoped Congress would sign off on health reform last summer, but the issue goes to the heart of the ideological differences between the two parties, and even between liberal and moderate Democrats.

Politicians on the left want more government involvement to ensure that healthcare is available to all. Those on the right say keep the government and the lawyers out, and let the market decide.

Public opinion goes back and forth.

Reading all the various polls available, you get the clear picture that Americans are generally happy with the healthcare they have but most would be unhappy if no reform was passed this year.

They don’t much like the bill Congressional Democrats are pushing – its too expensive and too complicated – but they like its component parts and they trust the president and his party more than Republicans to solve the problem.

In the face of such ambivalence about healthcare reform, there is plenty of room for politicians of every stripe to try to control the debate.

Whatever the outcome of this political process, it will fuel campaigning for the mid-term elections in November.

Republicans will use it as evidence that Democrats are ready to tax and spend America into an unpayable debt, while failing to give patients better coverage.

Democrats will portray Republicans as “the party of No”, unwilling to take tough choices to give a healthcare safety net to millions of uninsured Americans and tackle a looming budget crisis.

So alongside the millions of uninsured Americans there are hundreds of politicians who have an important stake in whether – or what – healthcare reform gets to the president’s desk.

Quite apart from the fact that he thinks it is the right thing to do, healthcare reform would help Barack Obama shore up his presidency too.

Besides his efforts to re-vitalise the economy, reforming healthcare is the central plank of his domestic agenda and he badly needs something to show for the sizeable majorities he has had in the House and Senate for the past year.

Sceptical public

“Spending Trillions To Limit Unemployment” is not the kind of slogan he would like to spend the summer on the stump with ahead of mid-term elections later in the year.

Far better to be able to tout the most far-reaching healthcare reform in generations, and have time to persuade a sceptical public about what he sees as its finer points.

There was much head-shaking about whether this healthcare event would simply turn out to be so much political theatre.

But politics often requires a bit of theatre just to keep us all engaged, particularly in the face of the national exhaustion with healthcare reform.

So, not much of substance was changed today, but certainly the scene was set for the battle to come.

It is set to be an ugly brawl which entrenches political division in Washington, but we can’t say we weren’t warned about it.

In our occasional series, Siobhan Freegard, co-founder of the parents’ networking website Netmums, tells of five of the most important things she has learned in her life.

Biography

Name: Siobhan Freegard

Occupation: Co-founder of Netmums.com

Lives: London

Born: In Bristol, 1967

Family life: Married to Paul, who works in the aviation industry. They have three children, aged 13, 10 and seven.

Education: High school and the Irish school leaving certificate, “then A-levels through evening classes after moving to London”.

Unusual fact: Didn’t think email would catch on

1. There is no such thing as a perfect mother

Becoming a mum is completely wonderful, but at the same time it is absolutely terrifying when you realise you are now responsible for a real live, tiny human being. It feels as if nothing less than perfect will do – and we try to prove to our baby as well as our families, friends and ourselves that we are up to the job. We feel pressure to have a happy baby, a lovely home, a good relationship, to look nice, cook well, be sociable and be a perfect mum.

It is no wonder so many new mums (myself included) become lost and depressed when they can’t keep up with this stereotypical image of being “the perfect mother”.

I have learnt the hard way that babies don’t need perfect mums – they need “good enough” mums. Children need mums that recognise that they need to look after themselves too in order to be capable of looking after everyone else.

2. It’s ok to show weakness

I used to feel that I was only likable if I was happy and in control. When I was feeling overwhelmed by life (kids, work, whatever), I’d plaster a smile on my face and tell the world I was “fine”. (I’ve since learned that, in counsellor-speak, “F.I.N.E.” means fed-up, insecure, neurotic, and emotional).

Ultimately however, if you wear an emotional mask, you can become a bit of a “Stepford Wife” and other people instinctively sense that you aren’t being true about yourself. Opening yourself up to people does mean taking a bit of a risk but it usually pays off. I have made my strongest friendships through sharing difficult times, as well as good times.

3. People value the way you value yourself

This is relevant in all areas of your life and I have to remember it regularly – when dealing with employers, bank managers, clients and also when dealing with friends, husbands and children. It’s about believing in yourself and putting a high (although of course not over-inflated) value on yourself. It’s amazingly effective in any negotiations and even helps your children to respect you more, because they see that you respect yourself.

4. Never judge people until you have walked a mile in their shoes

I have always been a capable, confident, happy person. If I heard about someone being depressed, I’d look at their lives and think “What on earth have they got to be depressed about They just need to pull themselves together”. Then, after my first child, I had a bout of post-natal depression, complete with regular panic attacks.

Now, whatever the issue, I try to realise that until we have experienced someone’s individual circumstances, we cannot make judgments on them. I try to sympathise and empathise with people, and think “there but for the grace of God go I”.

5. Sometimes, the “sensible” decision isn’t the right one. It can be ok to follow your heart.

When I had my first child I had a successful career as a marketing director and went back to work full-time within three months. But to my surprise (and shock) I yearned to be a stay at home mum. Friends, family and my husband talked me out of it as I had always loved my job: I earned a great salary and they all said I “just wasn’t the type” to be a stay at home mum.

After two miserable years I put my foot down and left my job ,which included some serious downsizing. I was blissfully happy from my first day at home. I now have three children and Netmums and none of that would have happened if I’d done the sensible thing.

Siobhan Freegard’s book, How to be a Happy Mum, was published in 2009.

Union leaders have warned of industrial action after reports the BBC is planning to close two national radio stations and scale back its website.

The broadcasting union Bectu and the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) accused the BBC of bowing to pressure from politicians and commercial rivals.

According to the reports, BBC Asian Network and 6 Music will be axed as part of the cost-cutting proposals.

The corporation said details of the strategy review had yet to be agreed.

Leaders of Bectu and the NUJ said they met a BBC director on Friday and were told the reports in the Times newspaper were “largely correct”.

They expect to meet the BBC’s director general Mark Thompson next week.

‘Political climate’

In addition to the reported closure of BBC Asian Network and 6 Music, the BBC is to reduce the number of its web pages by half and cut online staff by a quarter.

The moves, according to the Times, are part of a strategic review which places quality ahead of quantity. Imported shows are also set to be cut.

“We will do everything that’s required, including taking industrial action, if necessary, to defend jobs at the BBC“

Jeremy Dear,NUJ

‘Leaked’ review – at a glance

The proposals would reportedly yield savings of £600m, which could be redirected to higher quality programming.

Some commentators have said the BBC’s plans were an appeasement to an anticipated Conservative government that believes the BBC should be cut down to size.

Gerry Morrissey, Bectu’s general secretary, said the union would be opposing the closures and claimed the BBC was “being bounced by its competitors and by the political climate ahead of the upcoming general election”.

NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear said the union would “fight the cuts with all its might”.

“If true, these cuts will result not just in the loss of hundreds of jobs, but the loss of valuable, quality output aimed at young people and the Asian communities,” he said.

“We will do everything that’s required, including taking industrial action, if necessary, to defend jobs at the BBC.”

The BBC said speculation was premature and the proposals would be presented to the BBC Trust in the near future. If approved, they are then expected to be put out for public consultation.

Despite the lack of confirmation over 6 Music’s fate, some of its high-profile presenters have spoken out against the leaked proposals.

On her Twitter feed on Friday morning, Lauren Laverne wrote “Boo, boo and thrice boo. That is all. SAD FACE” and later promised to select “lots of angry music” for her late morning show.

And Phill Jupitus, who was the first breakfast show host on the station, writes in Saturday’s Guardian: “Cutting 6 Music is an act of cultural vandalism, and an affront to the memory of John Peel.

Microsoft have shown off the full version of the long-awaited follow up to the first person shooter, Halo 3, ahead of its launch on Tuesday.

The Halo series is one of the most popular video games of all time, selling millions of units worldwide.

Set prior to events in the last game, Halo 3: ODST allows gamers to take control of an elite human soldier fighting hordes of alien invaders.

Halo 3: ODST will be in the shops on global release 22 September.

Initially developed as a add-on to fill the gap between the big instalments of the game, it snowballed into a stand-alone game in its own right.

Piers Harding-Rolls – senior analyst with Screen Digest – told BBC News that the title was “very big” for publisher Microsoft and that previous versions had done “fantastically well”.

“We expect it to sell well and the chart track data – which looks at what gamers intend to purchase – has Halo 3: ODST pretty high up,” he said.

“The last version – Halo 3 – sold more than eight million copies worldwide, although it is difficult to say whether it will be as big as the last one,” he added.

Set in the near distant future, Halo 3: ODST – which stands for Orbital Drop Shock Troopers – sees the human race engaged in a life-or-death struggle with a coalition of alien races called The Covenant.

Speaking to BBC News, Alex Cutting, associate producer with Microsoft Games Studios, said players would notice a big difference from previous Halo titles.

“There is no Master Chief (the main character in previous Halo games), instead players are going to be more ordinary,” he said.

There are a number of gameplay changes reflecting the fact players are now regular troopers, rather than the turbocharged super-soldier Master Chief.

“This means they are going to take damage if they fall off buildings and aren’t nearly as fast as Master Chief”, said Mr Cutting.

Jon Hicks, editor of the UK’s Official Xbox Magazine, told BBC News that the lack of Master Chief would not be a problem.

“There might be those who miss [him], but I’m expecting they’ll be in the minority.

“Everything else is pure Halo – the weapons, the vehicles, the setting – and it’s engineered into the existing world and storyline in a way that even the biggest fans will fully appreciate,” he said.

Health check

Probably the most significant change is how characters health is affected by events in the game.

While Master Chief regenerated health, providing he was not being shot at, the ODST squaddies have a limited supply, which can be topped up from only a few health packs scattered across the map.

Bungie – the developers behind the Halo series – have intentionally made the combat location – an African city called New Mombasa – a dark environment, so they have added a visor system that has night vision and identifies enemy troopers with a red outline.

As in previous versions, fallen enemy soldiers can be looted for weapons and ammo. It also sees the return of the of the silenced pistol that made it’s debut in the first Halo.

“The pistol is quite a throwback to the Halo 1 pistol, of which people were really big fans,” said Mr Cutting.

The game is not just played through the eyes of a single ODST soldier. There are various items scattered throughout the game that belonged to fellow troopers.

Picking up the item will trigger a flashback, putting you in the combat boots of the lost teammate and allowing you to replay the events that lead up to the item being dropped.

“You find out what your team has been up to during the time you were unconscious after your crash landing on New Mombassa,” said Mr Cutting.

Multiplayer

The developers have also added a new mode to multiplayer called Firefight.

Entirely corporative, the game sees up to four players defending themselves from successive waves of alien attackers, with each group being progressively harder than the last.

“You have to constantly adjust your strategy and work as a team, otherwise you wont last long,” said Mr Cutting.

“As a cooperative game, its basically a score game and your team is trying to get the highest score possible.

Teams’ scores are logged on a tournament ladder on the Bungie website.

Mr Hicks said the new Firefight feature gave the game a new dimension, compared to previous titles.

“Fighting off endless waves of enemies has been around since Space Invaders and given some excellent updates in Gears of War 2 and Call of Duty: World at War, but this adds a much brighter and more varied element to Halo.

“You really feel like you’re facing a genuine threat, rather than a simple onrushing horde.”