Page 354 - Birgitte wears a sword. Didn't she say in an earlier book that every time she'd picked up a sword in a previous life, she'd ended up dead?

 

That really pissed me off. RJ would never have Birgitte wear a sword. Ever. Ever. Ever.

More likely a dagger or cudgel or possibly even a short sword or hand axe. But never a sword. Never.

Never ever.

According to the prophecy, Rand will be marked twice to live, and twice to die.  Since getting his hand cut off removed one of the marks, can this indicate that Rand is no longer marked to die?

No - the marking is what matters, not the marks themselves.

unless there is a specific quote reaffirming this, I don't think you can just claim it as fact. I happen to agree with you (too many other predictions of Rand's death) but it is still a good bit of speculation.

One of the things I'm waiting on seeing, why does Rand have to get back in touch with his humanity? She mentions several times that even if he wins the Last Battle, if he doesn't become human again they'll regret it. Why? He wins TG and dies at the same time. Why does it matter how he does it? Why does it matter if he has his humanity?

 

Until she explains this point, I am solidly with Rand and against Cads.

Have you ever heard of this guy named Lews Therin Telamon? Yeahhh..... he kinda saved the world and then killed everyone he loved and pretty much started the Breaking, which took a very high tech advanced society back to the stone age because it was so destructive an event.

That is why Rand needs his sanity/humanity.