Monday, April 27, 2009

Swine

From a Yahoo! News story: "JERUSALEM – 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." If this suggestion is not dumb I don't know what is. Is mad cow disease to be renamed because Hindus consider cows to be sacred and they might be offended by the term? The swine flu is so named because it is carried by pigs. Stay away from pigs. And stay away from mad cows. Please. Anyway, I don't think Mrs Clinton cares one way or the other.