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22. februar 2003
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...and if you fail..
If you are like me and struggle with the postmodern jargon of the academic master race, just be thankful we are living in the computer age. Just visit this page and get your own free, unique postmodernist article, automatically generated. Refresh a few times and see for yourself.
10:25:17 PM 
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How to write postmodern
Sociologist Stephen Katz explains how to write postmodern. Instead of writing
We should listen to the views of people outside of Western society in order to learn about the cultural biases that affect us
which he describes as "honest but dull," you should learn to write proper postmodern sentences like
We should listen to the intertextual, multivocalities of postcolonial others outside of Western culture in order to learn about the phallogocentric biases that mediate our identities
I wished it was a joke, but actually many in the social sciences and humanities do write like that. And it's not merely for rhetorical effect. Many students reading the obscure texts of postmodernists think there is something wrong with them; that they are just not clever enough to get it. It is true that sometimes texts are difficult to read because the subject is deep and complex. With postmodernists, that is not the case.
As Sokal demonstrated quite some years ago, postmodernists write obscure because if what they wanted to write was put down in clear terms, people would see it was nonsense.
I found the Katz article through metafilter.
10:16:12 PM
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An explanation for alien abduction stories
"The researchers tie such abduction stories to a phenomenon they call "dreaming with your eyes wide open." The episodes occur just as people awaken from a dream. Dreams include full-body paralysis, a nice adaptation that prevents people from jumping out of bed to escape their demons, or otherwise making moves in a dream that could injure them in reality. The sleeper awakens from a dream before the paralysis goes away, and experiences hallucinations like seeing flashing lights and some kinds of living things lurking around the bed. Sleep paralysis is common and no more indicative of mental illness than a hiccup, the researchers point out. But when the hallucination and paralysis occur together, many people find the combination frightening, and they attempt to find a meaning in it." (Harvard Gazette)
9:50:03 PM
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Threw slipper at judge
A man appearing in a court in India attacked Judge Bhagwan Sharda with a pair of slippers. The first slipper thrown reportedly missed, while the second hit the judge in the face. The man now has assault added to whatever he was charged for. Somewhat worrying trend here, as media reports its the third time in recent months that a judge has been assaulted with slippers.
In this case, the term 'contempt of court' can probably be interpreted literally.
9:00:37 PM
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Last chance saloon
US President George Bush is willing to give a "last chance", not to Iraq, but to the UN Security Council.
8:51:31 PM
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American ground troops committed to the Philippines
Quite without the fuss, in the shadow of the expected showdown in Iraq, the US is committing 1700 troops to fight the Islamist guerilla in the Philippines. The enemy is the Abu Sayyaf, a ruthless extremist Islamist guerilla which has been fighting the government forces for years.
US operations started last year when a comparable number of soliders were deployed as advisors. Now the US commits its own ground troops to fight alongside the government forces. The administration has not explained the operation to Congress or to the people, and the operation has no clearly defined goals, and neither has it a time-limit.
Can you spell quagmire? Sure you can.
4:09:38 PM
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Inspectors call US intelligence 'garbage'
An anonymous arms inspector called the intelligence they have received from US intelligence agencies "garbage," or, according to some sources, "another cruder word." After complaining for a long time about no US intelligence (no pun intended: bite your tongues), when it finally arrived, it sent arms inspectors on wild goose chases all over Iraq. Nothing of what they were supposed to find was there. Arms inspectors have now concluded that either US intelligence about Iraq is all garbage, or they have just decided to not give them the good stuff.
2:21:42 PM
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Microsoft will improve privacy in Office
Microsoft is planning to give the next version of Office, version 11/2003, new features that improve privacy. Emails and documents will have built-in rights management, determining who can read, edit and forward them. Documents can even be given a limited lifespan.
While helping to improve privacy and security for businesses and individuals alike, some are concerned that this software will make life harder for corporate whisleblowers.
12:41:47 PM
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Blix demands Iraqi missiles be destroyed
Hans Blix has ordered the Iraqi government to completely destroy the Al Samoud-2 missile system, in what can be construed to be a key test of Iraqi compliance. In testing, the missiles exceeded the range limit imposed by post-Gulf war sanctions. The destruction must begin by March 1.
If the Iraqis do not comply, this can lead to the US-lead coalition getting the negative report they want to justify military action. On the other hand, if Iraq should comply, it will give France and the other countries opposing war an argument supporting that the inspections programme works.
9:10:52 AM
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Rhode Island night club fire claimed 95 lives
The band "Great White" and the club are disputing whether the band was permitted to use pyrotechnics on stage.
2:51:50 AM
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© Copyright 2003 Jan Haugland.
Last update: 01.03.2003; 00:15:19.
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