The only utopianism worth anything is that of the suffering, the kindly, the saintly.
Category: Latest News
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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
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Mukhtaran Bibi Kidnapped and Silenced
Gang-rape victim arrested to prevent trip to US.
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Mukhtaran Bibi on ‘Exit Control List’
Human rights activists accuse government of trying to avoid bad publicity.
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Victim Locked Up While Rapists Walk Free
‘This tactic of silencing the awkward truth is nothing new.’
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Foucault and the Ayatollah
Foucault’s search for an alternative that was absolutely other to liberal democracy.
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Women Protest Sex Discrimination in Iran
Tired of promises of improved status that are forgotten after election.
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Iranian Women Defy Police Whips
Women have voting rights but suffer discrimination in legal matters.
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Dilettante Sociology Instead of Drawing I
Art education has gone all theory and identity and no skill.
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Arguing Over Austen
Anti-Jacobin, feminist, pro-slave trade, anti-romantic?
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Enraged at Mary Warnock
‘…born and bred to bully people, in Jane Austen’s immortal words, into peace and prosperity.’
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A Goldfish, Mistaking Repetition for Novelty
Ignorance denies people the chance to enjoy some good stuff – as it always has.
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Gordon Wood Reviews Gary Nash
Strawmen and misinterpretations in Nash’s history from below.
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On the Asymmetry of Creation and Appreciation
Lilacs, biographies, Scarlatti: can we appreciate them enough?
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Subtle, Elegant, Witty, Erudite Review
Not a hint of overkill or intemperate rage anywhere. Impressive.
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Lisa Appignanesi on Simone de Beauvoir
The Bogart and Bacall of existentialism?
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Katha Pollitt on Brooklyn Prof Godless Shocker
Brooklyn College is a public, secular institution, not a Bible college.
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Blake Morrison Reviews John Carey
He ‘takes the side of the little man against the big shots.’ Hmmm.
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Julian Baggini Interviews John Carey
The arts can make our lives richer but can’t make us better people.
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The ‘Dutch-Muslim Culture War’
Tensions between feminists and male lefties who…don’t get it.
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Polly Toynbee on Religious Hatred Bill
Enlightenment values under growing threat from collective softening of the brain.