WordPress: don't show 404 when no posts exist

[Faya]

Currently there is a bug in WordPress if you have a Posts Page set under: \[quote\] Settings->Reading->A Static Page->Posts Page\[/quote\]If there are posts, than the page (e.g. with a slug called \[code\]news\[/code\]) displays the post, and uses \[code\]index.php\[/code\] from the theme.But, with this configuration, if there are no posts, then it calls the theme's \[code\]404\[/code\] page. This is definitely a bug, and has been submitted (Ticket #10822). It should be letting \[code\]index.php\[/code\] show whatever it wants upon \[code\]!have_posts()\[/code\], but right now the page doesn't seem to be called at all.My question is: is there a workaround for this bug without modifying core wp files? I'd be open to a plugin, theme changes, a custom page template, htaccess changes, etc.