Free Republic

  Prayer RequestJim Robinson is having surgery tomorrow, May 15thSee the posts below for information about this procedure. Jim Update: It has been a frustrating day, I finally have a update for everyone. I called Jim at the hospital. The nurse was in his room and gave him the phone. Sheila took his cell phone to him so I will be able to contact him easier. Also they took his laptop. Due to major pain killers, he was able to sleep in the bed last night and was in bed when I called. He sounded better than he has for...

A national weekly news magazine recently featured a debate between atheist/author Sam Harris and author/pastor Rick Warren ("The Purpose Driven Life"). As part of his debate, Mr. Harris threw down a challenge to prove God's existence by finding a deserving amputee and having 1 billion people pray for God to grow the leg back. In trying to disprove the existence of God, it's unclear why Mr. Harris chooses to focus on amputees growing limbs back rather than looking for a sea to split open or fish and loaves to multiply, and it's equally unclear why Harris specifically asked that it...

WASHINGTON: Researchers in Britain discovered a protein's molecular signal that apparently plays a key role in allowing newts, which are amphibians to re-grow severed limbs, a report in the journal Science says. The finding could provide insights in the field of regenerative medicine relating to mammals and humans, said Anoop Kumar of the University College London (UCL), the report's main author. Biologists have long been intrigued at how newts and other amphibians can re-grow severed limbs, never fully understanding the biological process. The protein called nAG, produced by nerve and skin cells, apparently plays a key role in stimulating blastema...

A Belgian Shepherd dog called Storm has become the world's first pet to be fitted with a prosthetic paw.It is believed to be the first time that such an operation has been carried out and could provide hope for many humans. What makes the false limb special is that the dog's skin can grow into the metal. Storm, who lives in Oxshott, Surrey, had a leg removed when it became infected with an aggressive tumour earlier this year. The operation was carried out by Noel Fitzpatrick, a veterinary surgeon based in Farnham, Surrey, who specialises in repairing the damaged limbs...

Amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius, known as the world's "fastest man on no legs", is understandably nervous ahead of his first race abroad against able-bodied athletes, due to take place in Rome on Friday. But how he races, scientifically speaking, could be far more important than who crosses the finish line first. Scientists working for the world's sports governing body will be analysing Pistorius to see whether his carbon-fibre limbs are giving him an unfair edge that allows him to perform beyond his natural ability. Essentially, they want to know if he's cheating. And their conclusions could make or break Pistorius's...

Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami's hardline foes have expressed outrage over video footage circulating on the Internet which seems to show the former president shaking hands with several women on a recent trip to Italy. According to Islam's Sharia law, it is forbidden for a man to have any physical contact with a woman to whom he is not related. Whether at home or on trips abroad, Iran's officials studiously avoid handshakes with females. Khatami denied that he had shaken hands with any woman on his trip, asserting that the person in the video who appears to be wearing a...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Army News Service, Oct. 23, 2006) – On a remote stretch of road on a sweltering desert evening in August, 2004, Soldiers from the Chillicothe-based A Company, 216th Engineer Battalion, wrapped up a long day's work and prepared to head back to their temporary base of operations near Samarra, Iraq. A fine desert grit dusted everything and everyone. Uniforms were stained white from the salt escaping from their sweat-soaked bodies. The men had spent their day leveling earth berms that flanked a roadway used as a military supply route. The earthen mounds were ideal for hiding the roadside...

Albany-- On July 6th at 9:15AM, the 911 center in Albany got a shocking call. Wendal Nason, Jr. needed an ambulance because he had just severed his right foot with a circular saw - intentionally. His conversation with the 911 dispatcher reveals why he did it. 911: Which foot did you cut? Nason: The right foot. Cut it clean off. 911: Oh, Jesus. How did you do it? Nason: With a Skil saw.

The final item in the Sept. 30, 1944 "Activity Report of Virginia Hall," American intelligence agent, was No. XV: "Were you decorated in the Field?" "No," she had typed, "nor any reason to be." The answer was typical of her matter-of-fact sense of duty. But William J. Donovan, known to a generation of spies as "Wild Bill," begged to differ. On May 12, 1945, Maj. Gen. Donovan, director of the U.S. Office of Strategic Services, informed President Harry Truman that Hall was, for her extraordinary heroism, to receive the Distinguished Service Cross -- second only to the Medal of Honor....

NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq (AP) Doctors with Bravo Surgical Company known as the ''Cheaters of Death'' fight their own quiet battles every day against the horrifying wounds of war. ''These injuries we never see at home,'' said one of the surgeons, Dr. Matthew Camuso of Los Angeles. ''I mostly treated gunshot wounds and stabbing, but these injuries don't compare you just don't have people blown up back home.'' Dr. Michael Mazurek, an orthopedic surgeon and trauma specialist from Philadelphia, said he has seen ''some horrific injuries'' in the 90 days since coming to Iraq. ''The tremendous force of the IED can...

At just a little over 2 feet tall, he's more of a giant than many have ever been or will ever be. Born with a rare disorder called congenital amputation, the young man has only three joints and no elbows or knees. One of his mottos is "It's not what I can do; it's what I will do." For 18 years, he has learned to maximize every ability he has. Likely viewed by many as handicapped, just what abilities could he have? Try these on for size — a 35-16 wrestling record in the state of Georgia and a 3.7...

Muslim politicians in this country say Islamic sharia law is an inextricable part of their identity - but claim it can be practiced within the parameters of Danish democracy Political parties in Parliament are pressuring Muslim members to publicly disavow portions of Islamic sharia law condoning stoning, whipping and the amputation of hands. Most parties have not urged their Muslim members to condemn portions of the traditional Islamic law pertaining to general lifestyle or religious issues such as prayer and fasting. On Monday, Social Democratic immigration spokeswoman Anne-Marie Meldgaard issued an ultimatum to Muslim party members, demanding that they condemn...

All is set for the amputation of the limbs of two men convicted by a Sharia court in Zaria. The convicts are currently being detained at the Zaria Central Prison. The Kaduna State Grand Khadi, Dr Maccido Ibrahim, who announced this at a Ramadan fast-breaking ceremony at the palace of the Emir of Zauzzau, Dr Shehu Idris, said the judgment signalled the effective take-off of the Sharia legal code in Kaduna. He described critics of the Sharia law as ignorant people who are uninformed about the islamic code of jurisprudence. Although the grand khadi neither gave details of the court...

An engineer has had both legs amputated after contracting a so-called 'superbug' after going into hospital to have treatment to an infected foot. Deryk Unger, from Glynneath, went into the now-closed Neath General Hospital to have minor cuts to his feet treated. Mr Unger twice contracted the so-called hospital 'superbug', MRSA, and ultimately had to have both legs amputated below the knee. In its simple form, the bacteria is found in 30% of the population and is usually harmless. They took the big toe off and it still didn't heal, so they had to cut the other leg off Deryk...

ROME (Reuters) - A man found with his left hand almost severed late on New Year's Eve in the Italian city of Turin slipped out of hospital on Saturday before police could find out what happened to him, his doctor said. Police initially said they were investigating the possibility that the young man, who said he was from Algeria, had been the victim of a punishment under Islamic law, which prescribes amputation as a penalty for certain crimes. The man had no papers but identified himself as Faod Salih and said he was 18. He told doctors and police he...