The following is an excerpt from OpinionJournal’s “Best of the Web” at WSJ written by the editor, James Taranto.
Oldest Man Who Ever Lived
“Dogs Have Been Man’s Best Friend ‘for 40,000 Years’ “–headline, Daily Telegraph (London), May 21
Other Than That, the Story Was Accurate
“An earlier version of this article misstated Palmyra’s relationship to ancient cultures. It was, in the first and second centuries, a crossroads for Greek, Roman and Persian culture, but not Islamic culture.”–New York Times, May 20
What Would We Do Without Experts?
“Should You Sit or Stand at Work? Both May Kill You, Experts Say”–headline, FoxNews, May 21
There’s More Than One Way to Skin a Cat
“Rendered from smoked, fried hog skin, pork rinds have suffered a dismal image over the years, never quite garnering the following of other, arguably more respectable junk foods, like pretzels or potato chips,” the New York Times reported in 1989 from Westminster, Ohio:
But with President [George H.W.] Bush’s stated fondness for the rinds, the status of the snack has risen considerably. Since the Presidential campaign, when it became widely known that Mr. Bush liked pork rinds, sales have been booming, and here, in rural northwest Ohio, employees at the Rudolph Foods Company have had to work overtime to keep up with demand.
Foreign Policy’s Justine Drennan reported yesterday:
A member of a pro-Islamic State forum has chipped in a rather out-of-the-box idea for jihad: turn Americans off of salty snacks by associating them with beheadings – a scheme that he says will destroy the U.S. economy.
The idea’s faith in classical conditioning would make Pavlov proud – or possibly horrified. According to the SITE Intelligence Group, the plan, posted on the pro-Islamic State al-Minbar Jihadi Media forum last month, urges jihadists to distribute videos of themselves watching beheadings and other gruesome footage while sitting near bags of chips made by American food companies.
“Emotionally and psychologically, this will leave a bad impression on the American audience,” reads the post, translated by SITE. The post’s author, one Ayyam Fath Baghdad, adds that after seeing this footage, “the person will throw up when he recalls the scenes of slaughter with the chips…!!!”
The first President Bush looks wiser every day.
For more “Best of the Web” click here and look for the “Best of the Web Today” link in the middle column below “Today’s Columnists.”
