The BMJ is not afraid to raise this question — raise it even to the status of a boldface headline. The raising occurs in BMJ‘s June 10, 2006 issue. Nor is the BMJ is afraid to publish its June 10 issue on June 9 (the date on which this blog posting — what you are reading right now — was written).
Fearlessness is a hallmark of the journal. Several years ago it was unafraid to discard either 18 or 21 of the letters in its name. The earlier name was — depending on which authority measures the letter-count according to what standard — either British Medical Journal or The British Medical Journal.