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.
Israeli official: Swine Flu Name Offensive
Apr 27, ’09
11:17 AM
Comments
34 Comments so far. Leave a comment below.Hey Mother-f–ker, if you don’t want to be offended….. stick your head beack into your asshole!
Sorry for the spelling error. (BACK) But this has nothing to do with your fu-cking religion. Christopher HITCHENS is CORRECT! “RELIGION POISONS EVERYTHING!” And, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS HAS NO PLACE HERE! TRY JOINING THE REST OF THE HUMAN RACE!!!! And BY the way, I’m of Jewish origins….. and you’re the only thing here that OFFENDS ME! I wipe my ass with your f–king OLD TESTAMENT!
That’s the mature way to handle it, Nietszche.
Because it is important that your flu be kosher/halal? We are considering viruses to be food items, now? Possibly they are unaware that this strain is presumed to have mutated from one that originally afflicted pigs?
Dear Su, First let me apologize for some of my language, I didn’t mean to offend you, or any of the other fine readers of this EXCELLENT Blog, which I read every day. BUT, I’m sick and tired of these religious A-holes sticking their backwards minds into every subject, where their backwards views aren’t welcome, or necessary. Is it any surprise that Americans are dropping out of religion at an astonishing pace…..? I don’t think so. In the 21st Century people are finally waking up to the fact that 2,000 or 3,000 year old religions fashioned by “BRONZE AGE” cave dwellers are no longer appropriate. ROBERT GREEN INGERSOLL,a GENIUS in my opinion, was WAY AHEAD of his time in making fun of those who subscribe to the rubish of religion. I’ve always wanted to have someone to look up to…. That man would be INGERSOLL
Nietzsche – dude NO APOLOGY necessary! My feelings EXACTLY – okay well, maybe not exactly – I did mentally say “Jeee-sus KeeeRIST” when I read that one, but you get my meaning.
Having worked in an office full of Orthodox Jews, I have a low tolerance for the hypocrisy that goes on with the ultra-religious (like they could leave early on Fridays, but I couldn’t!).
You just sit there saying over and over “get OVER yourself!” with these self-righteous people.
Ingersoll? Never heard of him. You’d think there’d at least be a blog out there that would reference him or something.
How about calling it “Jew Flu”. That way it would be neither offensive to Muslims, Christians or Mexicans.
I’m not religious at all, or I wouldn’t read this blog; I oppose religion entirely. Maybe you could explain your opinion, however, rather than ranting it. Just a thought
I come for the rants but stay for the Ingersoll.
Kosher flu? Halal flu?
awwwwww, ranting is FUN! I practice it whenever possible. Ask all the people who avoid me…
Oh,FERFUCKSAKE.
Can we have a week go by without the “I’m offended by….” brigade?
Might it not be the least bit offensive to Mexicans to call it the Mexican flu? I guess ‘offensiveness’ is fine with this particular Israeli guy, as long as it’s not directed at this particular Israeli guy.
[ed. deleted. I see what you meant but I'm just not comfortable with that direction.]
@Justin
“Might it not be the least bit offensive to Mexicans to call it the Mexican flu?”
That was my first thought!
Has anybody taken the vegetarians into consideration? Maybe the name of Swine flu offends them as much as it does Muslims and Jews. I guess that means we need to find a different name for chicken pox. Oh, and small pox might be offensive to “Little People”
Just call it “The other white Flu”
Please, think of the Mexicans!
I’m going with “Jew Flu” too. It just has a nice ring to it.
@chris.
i understand. sorry man.
We get a bad enough time from these intolerant religious ranters. But hey, as a pig, I welcome any religion that proclaims me to be inedible. (though everybody knows jews just loooooooove bacon. And moslems too, if they’d just come out of the closet and admit it).
Anyway, I’ll have to stop, as I’ve got a bit of a headache, and I’m not feeling too good, agh, a bit feverish really, and shivering, oink oink AAAACH! Sorry, I just coughed all over your blog, sorry, I’ll just go lie down in my sty… Might not be in to work for a few days…. AAAACH! sorry, did that get you? sorry AAAAACH!…
from WikiPedia:
Let’s call it the Pig Shit Flu…
Dear Su…..But, Ranting is sooooooooo much fun! And by the way, I’ve been a STRONG ATHEIST for more than thirty years, I’m 64 now, and this trip towards enlightenment started, when at age 16 they wouldn’t let me into temple to pray at the High-Holy holidays… because my parents hadn’t paid their dues to the temple. It was then that I started to realize that it wasn’t about some mysterious “INVISIBLE GUY” up in the sky, but about the money. I literally HATE all the hypocritical religious mother-f–kers out there, no matter what religion they profess to practice. They’re all f–king liars, only interested in pushing their own beliefs on everyone else, and having their own agendas. I’d like to start killing them off if it wasn’t against the law. ATHEISM…. IS THE ONLY LOGICAL WAY TO THINK! THERE ARE NO G-ds. There are JUST THE CRUTCHES THAT MAN HAS CREATED FOR HIMSELF, to avoid taking responsibilty for himself, and because thousands of years ago there was no science to help explain the unknown. BY the way…. Didn’t my friend Nietzsche ask the question….. ” Is Man one of g-d’s mistakes…. or is g-d one of man’s? The answer is obvious. And another thing…. I believe that humans are the lowest form of life on this planet, not the highest! We’re the only animal that works to destroy its’ own Planet. I welcome all comments, and will be back here later to do some more reading. Happily free of any religious entanglements, and laughing at those who are still trapped…. by their upbringing.
Dear Cornjob……….. funny! When I discovered Ingersoll many years ago, I thought I had arrived in “heaven”! Someone who thought like me, but expressed it much more eloguently. My computer is filled with his writings.
Both Judaism and Islam consider pigs unclean and forbid the eating of pork products.
Pig = unclean
Pig germs = unclean/bad
Swine Flue = ZOMG the sniffly bacon is offensive to me!
Right?
Yeah- I don’t follow.
To gorckat, Hi… and let me tell you that even though I have nothing against eating Bacon, and have done so hundreds of times in my life, I think I’ll eliminate it from my diet for a long time because of the current Swine Flu scare. I might even skip Baby Back Ribs for a while which I also love and actually had for lunch one day just last week! OY VEY! But not because mine or any other religion forbids it. I guess I’ll just have to stick with fornication for a while…
Hey Nietzsche! If you are so anti-religious why do you continue to observe this, pious, Jewish convention: ‘g-d’? Why not just do what Bion did, and write: ‘o’?
To JIM BUCK, Hey Jim thanks, first of all, for even having the intelligence to read Cynical-C. I come here every day to speak to the still mentally trapped by religion, and gloat about their those who are trapped by their up-bringing. (RELIGIOUS INDOCTRINATION) that begins with most people as soon as they able to understand…. As RICHARD DAWKINS HAS SAID, and I totally agree, “RELIGIOUS INDOCTRINATION of children amounts to nothing less than “CHILD-ABUSE”. I reject any and all of the religious teachings of my parents…. and all the crap they tried to instill in me in Hebrew School as a child. YES JIM BUCK, I was born of Jewish parents, and was even Bar Mitzvahed….and until the current SWINE FLU problem never had a problem eating Bacon or Ham, or BABY BACK RIBS! I rejected all the unbelievable crap from the bible more than 40 years ago as being totally unrealistic, and I realized a long time ago that ALL religions are just another method of MIND CONTROL!!! AND, who is Bion? I will never stifle my opinions, because I believe my views are spreading, and I want to help ATHEISM become the accepted view-point on this Country. RELIGION IS DAMAGING TO HUMAN BEINGS!!!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilfred_Bion
Nietzsche said:
“THERE ARE NO G-ds.”
How do you know this?
Admit it…. the only g-d in this country is money.
Dylan said:
‘There are no kings inside the gates of Eden.’
How do I know this?
A: I have it on record.
I guess that since we can’t call it swine flu because pork is offensive to Jews and muslims, this israeli idiot feels all swine (i’m sorry I meant even-toed ungulates)don’t really exist.
Ratification is likely late today for the foremost event of to human person transference of swine flu in Britain. It is believed to be a friend of Lain and Dawn Askham, who were the inaugural affirmed victims in the United Kingdom and they contacted subsequently after their homecoming from honeymoon in Mexico. Initially the man was cleared but later his symptoms kept going he was re examined and was found to be suffering from Type A flu. Tests are still ongoing but are likely to confirm swine flu. This instantly takes the total number of swine flu sufferers in Britain to 8 -that’s 6 in England 2 in Scotland but as yet no dyings.