Welcome to our archive of news stories relevant to the project of fighting fashionable nonsense. The stories are drawn from the electronic pages of the world’s media. On this page, you’ll find links to those stories that have been featured on Butterflies and Wheels during the current year. At the bottom of the page, you’ll find links to separate archives of stories from previous years.

We’re always pleased to hear about news stories that you think should be featured on Butterflies and Wheels. Just send an email here, if you want to point one out to us.

A note about links

Inevitably links go out of date. We suggest, therefore, that you make hard-copies of the stories that particularly interest you.


Expert in Postmodern Theory Helps Out *

Apr 21st, 2006 | Filed by

Simply a theory that suggests there is more than one way of looking at the world. Ah.… Read the rest



Australian Creationist Begins Tour of Britain *

Apr 21st, 2006 | Filed by

Will give a series of talks over three days at anonymous Lancashire secondary school. … Read the rest



Peter Wilby on ‘Faith’ Schools *

Apr 21st, 2006 | Filed by

Parents want them because they have better discipline.… Read the rest



Sean Wilentz on Bush’s Historical Standing *

Apr 21st, 2006 | Filed by

Unswerving adherence to a simplistic ideology that abjures deviation from dogma as heresy.… Read the rest



Geoffrey Wheatcroft: Blair is Worse Than Bush *

Apr 21st, 2006 | Filed by

The harder Blair’s arguments are looked at, the more curious they seem.… Read the rest



Top Sydney School’s Boring Approach to Shxpr *

Apr 21st, 2006 | Filed by

You can read Othello in two of three ways: ‘Marxist, feminist, race’. Zzzzz.… Read the rest



A Second-rate Utilitarian but a First-Rate Liberal *

Apr 20th, 2006 | Filed by

Mill quoted Bentham’s opinion that pushpin was as good as poetry – as evidence of his short-sightedness. … Read the rest



Torture Doesn’t Work *

Apr 20th, 2006 | Filed by

Military common sense has been abandoned in favour of the brutal, politically driven shortcut.… Read the rest



Iran Cracks Down on Women’s Clothing *

Apr 20th, 2006 | Filed by

Taxi drivers will be responsible for passengers dressed ‘inappropriately’.… Read the rest



Muslim Students Complain of Fundamentalism *

Apr 20th, 2006 | Filed by

Students training to be imams at London college cite doctrines which describe nonMuslims as ‘filth’.… Read the rest



Spiegel Samples Some Friday Prayers *

Apr 20th, 2006 | Filed by

‘If a woman, even a Muslim woman, is naked and you have no way of covering her up, it is legitimate to kill her.’… Read the rest



NUT Rejects Vote Against ‘Faith’ Schools *

Apr 19th, 2006 | Filed by

Proposals in government bill could give ‘faith groups’ a much bigger role in running of schools. … Read the rest



We Underestimate Our Bias, Overestimate Theirs *

Apr 19th, 2006 | Filed by

Brain cannot see itself fooling itself, so the only way to avoid bias is to avoid situations that produce it. … Read the rest



Anthony Seldon on Teaching Happiness *

Apr 19th, 2006 | Filed by

Draws on Epicurus, Seneca, Kant, Mill.… Read the rest



Hepatitis B May Play a Role in ‘Missing Women’ *

Apr 19th, 2006 | Filed by

Virus could account for 75% of China’s missing women, less than 20% of India’s.… Read the rest



On Some Criticisms of the Euston Manifesto *

Apr 19th, 2006 | Filed by

Ha ha, wrong station, hee hee, they met at a pub, nyah nyah, Nick Cohen and Francis Wheen.… Read the rest



Adam Smith Would be New Labour, says Brown *

Apr 19th, 2006 | Filed by

‘The Chancellor has long attempted to claim the giant of the Scottish Enlightenment for Labour.’… Read the rest



Academics on TV *

Apr 18th, 2006 | Filed by

They risk the Carl Sagan effect, but they can make knowledge more widely available.… Read the rest



Dwight Macdonald *

Apr 18th, 2006 | Filed by

A singular, wised-up, cant-free voice that is pure intelligence at play.… Read the rest



Gordon Wood on Why History Matters *

Apr 18th, 2006 | Filed by

A society whose best students have a thin understanding of its past is a society in trouble.… Read the rest