Israeli official: Swine flu name offensive (wants "Mexican Flu")

[Coventina]

Source: Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — The outbreak of swine flu should be renamed "Mexican" influenza in deference to Muslim and Jewish sensitivities over pork, said an Israeli health official Monday.

Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman said the reference to pigs is offensive to both religions and "we should call this Mexican flu and not swine flu," he told a news conference at a hospital in central Israel.

Both Judaism and Islam consider pigs unclean and forbid the eating of pork products.

Scientists are unsure where the new swine flu virus originally emerged, though it was identifed first in the United States. They say there is nothing about the virus that makes it "Mexican" and worry such a label would be stigmatizing.



Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ieHZRubAS3lyjn2GBiCPkXkHrXwwD97QROAG0

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Because this is the issue we should be arguing right now!

:crazy:

[Lance_Boyle]

1. If your religious 'sensibilities' are offended by a descriptive disease name,

you might just be too fucking godtarded to live.

[msanthrope]

6. "Godtarded." My new favorite word, must work into conversation

today.....

[saigon68]

34. La Grippe Porcine

http://www.romandie.com/ats/news/090427115515.6xvrvrc2.asp

[saigon68]

35. delete

[RoseMead]

25. Amen. n/t

[marshall]

26. They ought to team up with PETA on this

Although I'm sure LULAC would fight them on it.

[11 Bravo]

2. Let's just call it the Republican flu. Since, they fought to remove funds for disease control ...

from the budget, if this fucker spirals out of control, I say that they own it.

[Ian David]

12. I had the same thought. n/t

[Doctor Cynic]

55. You're back to Square One, since it's still Swine Flu.

[Justyce]

3. I don't think the people dying of this shit care WHAT you call it...

What a waste of outrage & reporting...

[dalaigh lllama]

4. That makes no sense whatsoever

unless calling it "Swine Flu" would severely cut into this guy's flu products consumption.

[Lasher]

5. Then that would be an insult to Mexicans everywhere!

Let's see, what could we name it so nobody would bitch about it? I know, name it after me. I wouldn't complain. Sheesh.

[Adelante]

15. Anyone on earth can insult Mexicans, it seems

No problemo! I wonder how Mexican Jews and Muslims would take this. At some point, there won't be a word left in language that won't insult somebody, somewhere, though. PC has gone around the damned bend.

[No Elephants]

41. This is not about pc. It's about a moran who cannot tell the difference between

saying pork, which is NOT forbidden by any religion, and eating pork. If you served him pork chops for lunch, that would be un pc. This, however, is simply his incredible stupidity.

[stubtoe]

27. Really! What if the reverse happened and Mexico wanted to call it the "Israeli Flu"??

That'd go over like a box of rocks. Which is about as dumb as the guy who suggested this is.

[gratuitous]

37. Hey, let's be sensitive to our Israeli friends

Call it the "Jew Flu," and that way even more people can work themselves up into ersatz high dudgeon. But at least it will rhyme.

[buczak]

7. Swine Flu..

It's called Swine Flu because the virus has Swine DNA it in. It doesn't have Mexican DNA in it, what ever that means.

I think they need a basic lesson in how the Flu virus works. It's a messy virus and just grabs what ever dna it can find. (Swine, Bird, etc)

[msanthrope]

8. Can you explain that more? How does it do this? n/t

[enlightenment]

22. It also has other DNA in it, too - but that's not really the point.

When these things spread, they get labeled with names that have little or nothing to do with their genetic make-up (or where they seem to originate, for that matter).

Asian Flu
London Flu
Spanish Flu
Hong Kong Flu

It's silly, but it happens.

[Gator_Matt]

9. I guess they don't like "piggy banks" either NT

...

[snooper2]

10. ROFL

:rofl: :spray: :rofl: :spray: :rofl: :spray: :rofl: :spray:

:rofl: :spray: :rofl: :spray: :rofl: :spray: :rofl: :spray:

:rofl: :spray: :rofl: :spray: :rofl: :spray: :rofl: :spray:

:rofl: :spray: :rofl: :spray: :rofl: :spray: :rofl: :spray:

:rofl: :spray: :rofl: :spray: :rofl: :spray: :rofl: :spray:

:rofl: :spray: :rofl: :spray: :rofl: :spray: :rofl: :spray:

:rofl: :spray: :rofl: :spray: :rofl: :spray: :rofl: :spray:

[LeftishBrit]

11. ??? It's not an honour to have a 'flu named after you!

I would have thought that calling it 'swine flu' would reinforce associations between pigs and uncleanness rather than the reverse.

If they call it Mexican flu, I expect Mexican officials will protest.

Personally I don't care if they call it the LeftishBrit(realname) Flu, so long as they can stop it in its tracks and we don't all get it!

[rucky]

16. The Great LeftishBrit Flu outbreak of 2009.

History awaits!

[Ian David]

13. Does this mean that Jews and Muslims will eat Mexicans? n/t

[Adelante]

17. Only Mexican Jews and Muslims would be caught dead eating a Mexican

:D

[No Elephants]

40. Good one!

[Meshuga]

50. That was the first thing that popped in my mind

The complaint makes no sense.

[rucky]

14. You can't make this stuff up.

:rofl:

[dipsydoodle]

18. Beat me to it.

:rofl:

[ixion]

19. which is even more offensive

thanks for playing, though.

[tomm2thumbs]

20. I think we should have a naming contest - I vote for 'The Great Flu'

Since we avoided a Great Depression, let's give the flu something to brag about

[Lasher]

23. The Inoffensive Flu

It might kill you but at least you won't be offended by it.

[stubtoe]

29. LOL!

Good one Lasher :rofl:

[alcibiades_mystery]

33. ROFL

:thumbsup:

[rucky]

52. Boogie-Woogie Flu

sometimes accompanied by the Rockin' Pneumonia.

[Why Syzygy]

53. I'm offended.

My cat is named Boogie.

[TechBear_Seattle]

21. Worthy of the Onion. Sadly, however.... n/t

[EFerrari]

36. The Israeli government should get a Duzy for this!

[ima_sinnic]

24. sheesh, now I can't use the words pork, bacon, ham, pig, swine, porcine without "offending" someone?

but offending Mexicans is okay?
why would the "scientists" they mention in the article waste time giving this dumbass idea even a passing thought?

godtarded indeed. that is a good word.

[benld74]

28. ASSHATTERITIS How about that name Yakov?

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

30. Sorry, but there just ain't no kosher flu around to take its place.

Reminds me of the story I read once about the woman who was upset at the publication of pictures of Jupiter's Great Red Spot because it reminded her of a vagina. (Yep, it really happened.)

Some folks simply need to get over themselves... :shrug:

I wonder how the Mexicans feel about this?

[DinahMoeHum]

31. Litzman: Go Eat A Ham Sandwich.

Sheesh, what a putz.

:crazy::eyes::crazy:

[alcibiades_mystery]

32. Oh Jesus...

Ooops. My bad.

:rofl:

[annabanana]

38. I thought this was The Onion!

Better to implicate Mexicans than Swine?. . Afraid to give people the impression that Isrealis that contract it weren't keeping kosher?

stupid

[JayMusgrove]

39. How about North American Flu?

Since the outbreak so far is from that area of the world.

If we can name one after Hong Kong, place of origin seems reasonable for this one.

But geeze, what's in a name?

[No Elephants]

42. No, you don't cater to a moran or let the inmates run the asylum..

[Vidar]

43. They're not required to eat the flu. The word itself is not unclean. A sanctimonious idiot.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

44. oy vey. nt

[jberryhill]

45. Is It Kosher To Eat Mexicans?

Who knew.

[Meshuga]

51. I was wondring the same. n/t

[Why Syzygy]

46. So, I'm guessing they don't want any vaccine for "swine"

but a "Mexican" flu vaccine would be acceptable.

[charlie]

47. Have a Freedom Fry and shut up, Yakov n/t

[ZombieHorde]

48. Are they offended by Devil's Food Cake? nt

[BadgerKid]

49. Religion. like alcohol. should be used in moderation.

[TechBear_Seattle]

62. And, like alcohol, one is better off without any at all n/t

[Meshuga]

54. For fuck sake! n/t

[jberryhill]

56. True Story

Saudi Arabia has an amazing force of black magic-marker wielding censors who do things like black out the word "pig" on packages of Guinea Pig Food. You can sometimes find "Guinea XXXXX Food" on the shelves of stores there.

[Tesha]

57. The Religiously Insane are, by definition, insane.

And they're just as insane when renaming flus as when
censoring Guinea Pigs.

True story: If you buy a Nokia phone with any Arabic
language present on the phone, you will find that
the city of "Jerusalem" is in the country of "Jerusalem"
and that the country of "Israel" doesn't exist.

Both sides are assholes living in a god-sodden fantasyland.

Tesha

[Dorian Gray]

58. Huh?

Because they can't say the word?

Huh?

[Meshuga]

59. I know, it makes no sense

I'm guessing that "Cheeseburger Virus" is also out of the question. :crazy: You know, can't mix meat and dairy? I wonder what the dietary laws have anything to do with saying the word of the animal.

[moggie]

61. You said "swine"!

So did Litzman!

All right, no one is to stone anyone until I blow this whistle. Even... and I want to make this absolutely clear... even if they do say "Swine Flu".

[ecstatic]

60. Unbelievable and selfish nt