The facts about 'flu - real flu that is, not flu as a pseudonym for a cold,v food poisoning, whatever, are here:-

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/flu.html

nb: - it peaks in February and the average annual death rate from flu in the US is over 25,000

See also the UK Health Protection ...

This BBC World Service proramme discussed why women live longer than men (in every country except Afgahnistan and Jordan). It quotes data showing that castrated men live longer, data from Korea about court eunuchs and historic US data from state institutions

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0123663

....confesses to be a lazy bugger and buys the tinned (US: 'canned') version at M&S. But Spotted Dick IS excellent...

Following my previous note, here, just for reference, are all the compounds of εὐνοῦχος in the standard classical Greek dictionary (LSJ: Liddell & Scott). (Note how the concept is used for dates without pits and melons without seeds, but goodness knows

what the emasculating lettuce is.) The word ...

εὐνοῦχος , ὁ, (εὐνή, ἔχω)

A. castrated person, eunuch, employed to take charge of the women and act as chamberlain (whence the name, ὁ τὴν εὐνὴν ἔχων), Hdt.3.130, al., Ar.Ach. 117, X.Cyr.7.5.60, etc.

2. of animals, Philostr.Her.1.3, Sch.Par.A.R.1.585.

3. of dates, without stones, Arist.Fr.267 ...

Castration did/does remove sexual desire and that would stop one from committing sexual sins according to the Bible. Multiple passages tell Christians not to commit sexual sin:

Galatians 5:19 - "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;"

Ephesians 5:3 ...

Congratulations - and what a way to celebrate the Jubilee!

When I used to drive up and down the I-5, idly observing the irrigation of the Central Valley and thinking about the water politics of California, I would sometimes try and calculate in my head how many cubic meters of water there are in an "acre-foot" (one of the odder non-metric measurement units ...

Congratulations!!!

Yes..

The author gives a good picture of the Berlin milieu...