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Update They will be going in through my stomach to remove my damaged disk. They will be inserting a metal cage to take its place. Then after I am closed, they will scrub down the entire operating room again and disinfect it. Then they are going to flip my on my stomach and cut my back open and insert screws, bone fragments and cement to fuse my spine where the disk is being removed. I have a really ugly brace to wear after surgery whenever I am out of bed walking around. The surgery will take 6-7 hours long, and...

Nothing In Common By Abdullah Al Araby Islam, in the West, is fighting its battle of acceptance and legitimacy. Muslim activists are working fervently trying to improve Islam's image. Their goal is to create an environment in which Islam can be easily propagated. Their tool is as old as Islam itself, but they have just rediscovered it. This tool is telling Christians that Islam and Christianity have a lot in common. They cite Islam's belief in the Bible, God, Jesus, Mary, the prophets, the day of judgment and Paradise.This tactic is not new to Islam. Fourteen centuries ago, Mohammed,...

KIBBUTZ NAHAL OZ – The Syrian government has deployed security forces to protect overall Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal and has advised him to restrict all public activities for the time being, Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip told WorldNetDaily today. Meshaal is believed to have called for the operation Sunday in which Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups carried out a well-orchestrated raid on an Israeli military station and kidnapped an Israeli soldier. In response, Israel has deployed thousands of ground troops at the Gaza border and has threatened a major incursion *Snip* Meshaal has for years enjoyed the protection...

IN THE GULF OF MEXICO — Navy divers detonated explosives Wednesday aboard the USS Oriskany, sending the retired aircraft carrier on a 212-foot plunge to bottom of the Gulf of Mexico to create the world's largest intentional reef. Hundreds of Korean and Vietnam War veterans on charter boats watched as the carrier slowly sank about 24 miles off Pensacola Beach. The 888-foot-long ship, known as the "Mighty O," was commissioned in 1950 and was home to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., when he served in Vietnam. It was also among the ships used by President John F. Kennedy as a show...

I found this to be of astounding importance, so I wanted to ask my Catholic friends here at FR about it. In his new book Jerusalem Countdown John Hagee writes on page #162: -=-=- Jesus told Peter: "You are Peter [the Greek word here for Peter is Petros, which means a piece of rock or something as small as a pebble for a boy's slingshot], and on this rock [Jesus says pointing to Himself] I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). The Greek word for rock when Jesus was speaking...

Admin Moderator Who among you would like the job? Consider everything else you have to do in your life and add the responsibility of having to police the odd comments here.

Here's to ya', buddy.

EDMONTON (CP) - A woman who admitted to concealing her pregnancy and later placing her newborn baby in a garbage bag was spared further jail time Thursday. A Court of Queen's Bench justice sentenced 23-year-old Nicole Anderwald to 90 days for causing the baby's death by neglecting to get help after giving birth and another 40 days for disposing of the infant. But because she had already spent 3 1/2 months in custody, Justice Terrance Clackson decided to let Anderwald go free. She will be on two years probation. "While this is about loss of life, this is not about...

Starting Lineup: Chicago WSox at Houston Chicago WSox   Houston Pos Player HR RBI AVG   Pos Player HR RBI AVG LF Podsednik, Scott 1 4 .286   2B Biggio, Craig 0 4 .326 2B Iguchi, Tadahito 1 4 .207   CF Taveras, Willy 0 0 .357 RF Dye, Jermaine 0 3 .241   LF Berkman, Lance 2 8 .314 1B Konerko, Paul 4 11 .273   3B Ensberg, Morgan 0 9 .256 C Pierzynski, AJ 3 6 .259   1B Lamb, Mike 2 3 .273 CF Rowand, Aaron 0 3 .250   RF Lane, Jason 2 6 .237...

Starting Lineup: Houston at St. Louis Houston   St. Louis Pos Player HR RBI AVG   Pos Player HR RBI AVG 2B Biggio, Craig 0 3 .316   SS Eckstein, David 1 6 .300 CF Taveras, Willy 0 0 .333   CF Edmonds, Jim 1 1 .296 1B Berkman, Lance 2 8 .355   1B Pujols, Albert 2 8 .429 3B Ensberg, Morgan 0 8 .257   RF Walker, Larry 0 1 .083 RF Lane, Jason 1 5 .235   LF Sanders, Reggie 2 12 .259 LF Burke, Chris 2 4 .368   2B Grudzielanek, Mark 0 2 .188...

Starting Lineup: St. Louis at Houston St. Louis   Houston Pos Player HR RBI AVG   Pos Player HR RBI AVG SS Eckstein, David 1 6 .292   2B Biggio, Craig 0 2 .323 CF Edmonds, Jim 1 1 .286   CF Burke, Chris 2 4 .500 1B Pujols, Albert 1 4 .450   LF Berkman, Lance 1 5 .346 RF Walker, Larry 0 1 .056   3B Ensberg, Morgan 0 7 .214 LF Sanders, Reggie 2 12 .333   1B Lamb, Mike 2 3 .429 3B Mabry, John 0 1 .500   RF Lane, Jason 0 4 .179...

"After two years of investigating and multiple grand juries, Travis County's Democrat, District Attorney Ronnie Earle, finally found 12 gullible, liberal Austinites to believe the garbage he has been spewing about our Congressman. Just as Earle attacked Sen. Hutchison in the early 1990's, he has now turned his attacks on Congr-essman DeLay," says Eric Thode, chairman of the Fort Bend County Republican Party. Thode was reacting to last week's indictment of U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay of Sugar Land, who stepped down as House Majority Leader. The Republican Party of Fort Bend County stands behind Congressman DeLay 100 percent and the...

The Houston Astros clinched the NL wild card on the final day of the regular season - just like they did last year. Roy Oswalt became the first pitcher since 2001-02 with consecutive 20-win seasons, throwing six innings and driving in a run in a 6-4 victory today over the Chicago Cubs. The Astros, who completed a remarkable comeback from a miserable start of the season back into the playoffs. The Astros, 15-30 after a loss to the Cubs on May 24, became the first team since the 1914 Boston Braves to make the playoffs after being as many as...

The combination of rolling power outages and record heat is causing problems today for communities still recovering from Rita’s wrath. North and east of Houston, Entergy is continuing rolling blackouts that began Monday for 142,000 customers in hopes of forestalling a larger, uncontrolled blackout in the badly damaged system. The rolling outages were originally supposed to last about an hour. But because so many people are cranking up their air conditioners to battle unusually hot weather, the power grid is becoming overloaded and outages are lasting longer, said Mike Rodgers, an Entergy spokesman. "Our system has been crippled," he said....

About 485,000 customers in Southeast Texas still have no electricity today, and Entergy began rolling blackouts north of Houston because of heavy demand on its damaged system. Of the 700,000 CenterPoint Energy customers who lost electricity, mostly in the Houston area, all but 180,000 had power restored by midday, said Leticia Lowe, company spokeswoman. She said all are expected to be back on line by Friday. Entergy, which serves the parts of East Texas that bore the brunt of the hurricane, had about 255,000 customers without power in Texas this morning, compared with 270, 000 right after the storm hit,...

It's the place where Houston children got their summer thrills, teenagers got their first jobs and college students saw their favorite bands. Now after 37 years, the landmark Six Flags AstroWorld theme park will close at the end of this season, the victim of rising land values that overshadow its worth as an entertainment venue. "While attendance has gone down, the value of the land has gone up substantially," said Jim Dannhauser, chief financial officer of Oklahoma City-based Six Flags. Owner of 30 amusement parks, Six Flags has more than $2 billion in debt. Former Houston Mayor Roy Hofheinz opened...

PENSACOLA, Fla. — Two Navy helicopter pilots were praised but then reminded of the importance of supply missions after delivering their cargo and then rescuing 110 hurricane victims in New Orleans instead of immediately returning to base, the military said today. One of the pilots was temporarily assigned to a kennel, but that was not punishment, said Patrick Nichols, a civilian public affairs officer at Pensacola Naval Air Station. "They were not reprimanded," Nichols said. "They were counseled." Lt. Matt Udkow and Lt. David Shand returned to the base from their mission Aug. 30, a day after Hurricane Katrina made...

Islamic extremists boasted of how they would never be thrown out of Britain yesterday as a promised crackdown by the Government turned into a shambles. The hardliners taunted Home Secretary Charles Clarke after he promised action 'within days' to start deporting dozens of foreign preachers of hate living in the UK. Headed by asylum seeker Yasser Al-Siri, who is suspected of involvement in a series of terrorist incidents, they gloated that lawyers would halt any attempt at their removal. The Egyptian, who fled to London more than a decade ago and is wanted in the U.S., said: 'I am...

HUNTSVILLE - A Friendswood man who was 19 when he was arrested for fatally stabbing and beating a woman at her home, then robbing her and taking her car nearly 11 years ago was executed Tuesday. Robert Alan Shields, 30, was the 12th prisoner executed in Texas this year. A Galveston County jury condemned him for the killing of Paula Stiner, 27, who had been repeatedly stabbed with a knife from her own kitchen and beaten with a hammer when she was found by her husband as he returned home from work Sept. 21, 1994. The couple had lived at...

TOKYO — Japan's Cabinet decided today to dissolve the lower house of Parliament, paving the way for snap elections, national broadcaster NHK reported. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi called an emergency meeting of the Cabinet earlier in the day following the defeat of postal reform legislation in the upper house of Parliament. Koizumi had threatened to call a snap election if members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party defected to the opposition camp to vote against the proposal.