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Inevitably links go out of date.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.


Dogmatic Commitment to Instrumentalism *

Aug 29th, 2004 | Filed by

If knowledge is not an intrinsic good, then any ‘knowledge’ will do.… Read the rest



Review of Stalin’s Last Crime: the Doctors’ Plot *

Aug 29th, 2004 | Filed by

A world in which what was rational and desirable was defined by the whims of one man.… Read the rest



Kabbalah and ‘Spirituality for Kids’ *

Aug 29th, 2004 | Filed by

Britney Spears, David Beckham, Naomi Campbell are fans, so who can resist that?… Read the rest



David Cesarani’s Biography of Eichmann *

Aug 28th, 2004 | Filed by

Scrupulously objective; the hatchet-job is reserved for Hannah Arendt.… Read the rest



Eichmann, Everyman as Genocidaire *

Aug 28th, 2004 | Filed by

It seemed the right thing to do at the time.… Read the rest



David Lodge’s Henry James Novel *

Aug 28th, 2004 | Filed by

It’s about writing novels rather than sexual secrets.… Read the rest



Work of Art Thrown in Bin and Badly Damaged *

Aug 27th, 2004 | Filed by

Tragedy at Tate when cleaner throws away bin liner filled with waste paper.… Read the rest



Hey, it’s Popular *

Aug 27th, 2004 | Filed by

‘Music is very important to black people,’ so if it advocates killing gays – er – shut up?… Read the rest



Outrage at Harker on OutRage *

Aug 27th, 2004 | Filed by

Music is important to black people, and not being beaten to death is important to gay people.… Read the rest



Free Speech Shouldn’t Cover Death Threats *

Aug 27th, 2004 | Filed by

Blunkett was right to ban animal rights ‘activist.’… Read the rest



Excluded *

Aug 27th, 2004 | Filed by

Blunkett bans animal rights campaigner Jerry Vlasak.… Read the rest



Common Sense Good, Political Correctness Bad *

Aug 27th, 2004 | Filed by

And the difference is entirely self-evident. Right.… Read the rest



‘A Good Book Should Make You Cry’? *

Aug 26th, 2004 | Filed by

The lachrymose world of the problem novel for children.… Read the rest



Margaret Talbot on Munchausen’s by Proxy *

Aug 26th, 2004 | Filed by

Naming a syndrome can create it, and when is a crime a ‘disorder’?… Read the rest



From Multiculturalism to Where? *

Aug 26th, 2004 | Filed by

The city on a hill where everyone celebrates differences isn’t working out.… Read the rest



Salim Mansur on Selective Outrage *

Aug 25th, 2004 | Filed by

The victims are black and non-Arab; the victimizers are of Arab origin. … Read the rest



Convicted Murderer Flees Extradition *

Aug 25th, 2004 | Filed by

Chooses ‘green of life’ over ‘grey of legal punishment’. For himself, that is.… Read the rest



Outrage! Plan Mobo Protest *

Aug 25th, 2004 | Filed by

Gay rights group to pressure the BBC not to broadcast the music of black artists who promote homophobia.… Read the rest



Interview with Habermas *

Aug 24th, 2004 | Filed by

What separates him from Derrida is the later Heidegger.… Read the rest



Adam and Eve and Steve and Bill and Sal and *

Aug 24th, 2004 | Filed by

What do nature and tradition really say about the meaning of marriage?… Read the rest