You don’t want to be in anyone’s pocket, that’s what it is.… Read the rest
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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Blogs as a Carnival of Ideas 
Oct 5th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Blogs let academics reach a wider public.… Read the rest
So How Should Mass Murder be Stopped?
Oct 5th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘The left didn’t argue then that fascists needed to be “understood” and placated.’… Read the rest
Ever-stupider Questions, Ever-wickeder Answers
Oct 5th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The fanatics look at Bali and see a load of Hindus selling drinks to a load of Christians.… Read the rest
Good News: Darfur Genocide Nearly Over
Oct 5th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Because there’s almost no one left to kill.… Read the rest
Mary Midgley on Not Getting a PhD
Oct 4th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Is it possible to teach and learn philosophy in an atmosphere that is dominated by competition?… Read the rest
Ronald Dworkin on John Roberts
Oct 4th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Unlikely Roberts would often hold that the law is contrary to what a conservative would wish it to be.… Read the rest
Ossification on the Left
Oct 4th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Paltry interpretive frameworks for political fissures from cold war days.… Read the rest
Cooing is a Human Rights Violation
Oct 4th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Babies ‘are little people like you and me’ and don’t want to be bloody stared at ok so piss off!… Read the rest
Arguing Over Whose Victims Can Be Counted
Oct 4th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Historical simplifications have long provided a consensus about the ‘good war.’… Read the rest
Norm Geras and Eve Garrard on Joanna Bourke
Oct 4th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Bourke’s views deploy the very moral opposition she is complaining about.… Read the rest
Christianity Camp
Oct 3rd, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Where students are inoculated against rational thought.… Read the rest
Simon Schama Teases US Self-image
Oct 3rd, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
He has dared to mock America’s claim to have been founded on the idea of freedom. … Read the rest
The Reactionary Left
Oct 3rd, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Left often seem the most conservative voices about everything from science to free speech.… Read the rest
John Carey Reviews Alan Bennett
Oct 3rd, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The modern jargons we invent to keep reality at bay arouse his scorn.… Read the rest
Not of an Age, But for All Time
Oct 2nd, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
And not British, but international. The toast: Will Shakespeare.… Read the rest
Nick Cohen on Luck, the NHS, and Class
Oct 2nd, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘From the BBC to the British Museum, everyone in a position of cultural power is resolutely anti-elitist.’… Read the rest
Pray for Secular Education
Oct 2nd, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Drill in unquestioned acceptance of ‘holy books’ also a problem.… Read the rest
Feng Shui Called Fake Science in China
Oct 2nd, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Nanjing University withdraws plan to co-sponsor training in Feng shui after protests.… Read the rest
Slate on Simon Blackburn on Truth
Oct 2nd, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Stephen Metcalf thinks Blackburn is inventing those postmodernists.… Read the rest
