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... But then there’s a lot about labour that nobody puts in so many words. Nobody ever told me that after the birth, I would feel as shaken as if I’d been in a car crash. That was how I felt for about two days after my oldest son was born, 32 years ago. I now see it as my fatherly, comradely duty to pass on that kind of information, sparing no gory detail, to young men about to see service in that war zone for the first time. Nobody else — certainly not those fluffy prenatal classes — will...

Tonight, HBO-HD (HBO 1) shows Rome Episodes 6, 7, 8 in a run up to the new episode "Utica". Episode 6: Egeria Synopsis With Caesar chasing Pompey in Greece, Mark Antony is in Rome pushing through laws on his behalf - insisting that the few remaining senators agree to anoint the general "co-Consul," free more slaves and create more jobs for the populace. The senior senator protests, arguing that such efforts would be too expensive. "Only to those few rich men that own all the land," Antony replies, "and they will have the consolation of doing something eminently patriotic." Niobe...

The Emperor Has No Clothes By: Brian Tracy John Kerry is neither a “war hero” nor a “patriot.” It is about time that someone pointed out that “the emperor has no clothes” and that Americans are being presented with a false choice. If you read the newspapers long enough, a series of facts emerge that appear undeniable and irrefutable. But no one seems to want to “connect the dots” for fear of offending the powers that be in the national media, such as CBS. Here is what we know. First of all, Kerry did not “volunteer” for service in Vietnam....

LONDON (Reuters) - A woman in Mexico gave birth to a healthy baby boy after performing a Caesarian section on herself with a kitchen knife, doctors said Tuesday. The unidentified 40-year-old woman, who lived in a rural area without electricity, running water or sanitation and was an eight-hour drive from the nearest hospital, performed the operation when she could not deliver the baby naturally. She had lost a previous baby due to labor complications. "She took three small glasses of hard liquor and, using a kitchen knife, sliced her abdomen in three attempts ... and delivered a male infant that...

Whether a pregnant woman has the right to refuse surgery to save the child she is carrying has become the subject of America's latest culture war. Banners and badges have been banned from the courtroom where Melissa Ann Rowland, whose case is being championed by women's activists and civil liberties campaigners, is to stand trial. The judge believes the passions sparked by the case of the 28-year-old, charged with murder after allegedly refusing a Caesarean that doctors say was needed to save her twins, would jeopardise her right to a fair trial if allowed to spill over into the courtroom....