The New York Times will end up mute:

Bill Keller of the Times, on the use of the word "torture":

“When using a word amounts to taking sides in a political dispute, our general practice is to [not use that word and, instead] supply the readers with the information to decide for themselves”

Virtually every word takes a side on an issue (nouns, verbs, adjectives). Even what most of us consider "reality" has dissenters.

Will we see the New York Times change their name to New-Amsterdam-but-stolen-by-the-British Times?

Putting that aside, how about Israel? Most folks would say it's a legitimate state, but there are a few who dispute that. Could using the name of a state be a problem? Yes, look at Macedonia:

It became a member of the United Nations in 1993, but as a result of a dispute with Greece over its name, it was admitted under the provisional reference of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, sometimes abbreviated as FYROM.

Best to write nothing, that way no one will be offended.


posted by Quiddity at 7/03/2010 11:10:00 PM