HELL, CALL IT THE RICHMOND FLU...WHAT HAVE THEY GOT TO LOSE?

According to a recent CNEWS report, the World Health Organization is taking great pains to avoid stigmatizing any particular countries or locales when naming the threatening--and if the echolalia of the media means anything, the inevitable--epidemic of bird flu. Specifically, WHO feel that it's important to shun such appellations as the Spanish Flu (not to be confused with an aphrodisiac that makes your nose run) or Asian Flu, fearing that it could unfairly taint the image and reputation of those geographical entities, possibly with negative economic consequences. In response to which notion, the thought occurs: Yeah, we've seen how that Typhoid label forced the Catholic Church to pretty much eliminate references to Mary from the liturgy altogether.