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Inevitably links go out of date.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.


Global Malala Day to call for girls’ education *

Mar 8th, 2013 | Filed by

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, now a United Nations envoy for education, said the event would take place on Malala’s 16th birthday on 12 July.… Read the rest



Leo Igwe on humanist funerals in Nigeria *

Mar 8th, 2013 | Filed by

For humanists, a funeral ceremony is not a rite of passage for the deceased. A funeral is a celebration of a life lived, a life which has ended.… Read the rest



Katha Pollitt on PBS documentary “Makers” *

Mar 7th, 2013 | Filed by

There are plenty of ads and articles and talk show clips to remind us of how trivialized women were, and how exhilarating were what seem today like very modest steps.… Read the rest



Gaza marathon canceled because women not allowed to run *

Mar 5th, 2013 | Filed by

The UN Relief and Works Agency said it had taken the decision after “discussions with the authorities in Gaza who have insisted that no women should participate.”… Read the rest



Father tortures daughter, age 6, as a “witch” *

Mar 5th, 2013 | Filed by

She was beaten by her father and locked up in a room with her hands, mouth and face bound for four days.… Read the rest



Examples of ‘nasty pushback’ against some atheist/skeptic feminists *

Mar 3rd, 2013 | Filed by

Michael Nugent documents the slyme pit’s way of talking about enemy women and asks a probing question.… Read the rest



Cardinal says oops, sorry *

Mar 3rd, 2013 | Filed by

He admitted his sexual conduct had “fallen beneath the standards expected of me” and asked forgiveness from those he had “offended.”… Read the rest



EllenBeth Wachs on life as an atheist activist *

Mar 3rd, 2013 | Filed by

“Two years ago today, I opened my front door to see a SWAT team standing there.”… Read the rest



A feminist film critic defends the Onion’s tweet *

Mar 2nd, 2013 | Filed by

“It seemed completely obvious to me that the butt of the joke here is people who say such things about women.”… Read the rest



Dhaka: 5 arrested in murder of blogger Ahmed Rajib Haidar *

Mar 2nd, 2013 | Filed by

All 5 are students at North South University and all confessed to involvement, police say.… Read the rest



Anti-gay Muslim cleric’s Reading university talk cancelled *

Feb 28th, 2013 | Filed by

Adam Goodkin, of the Atheist Humanist Secularist Society at the university, which had planned to protest, said: “We’re firm believers in freedom of expression and free speech.”… Read the rest



189 cases of measles reported in South Wales *

Feb 28th, 2013 | Filed by

“Measles is an illness that can kill, or leave patients with permanent complications including severe brain damage, and the only protection is two doses of the MMR vaccination.”… Read the rest



Nick Cohen on Labour’s scuttling of libel reform *

Feb 24th, 2013 | Filed by

Labour is prepared to destroy the hopes of all those who want to use the freedom of the web to argue and publish without fear of disproportionate punishment.… Read the rest



Irish PM apologizes for “national shame” of Magdalene Laundries *

Feb 19th, 2013 | Filed by

Enda Kenny apologized on Tuesday for the “national shame” of forcing thousands of women to work without pay at the Catholic Church’s notorious Magdalene Laundries.… Read the rest



Taoiseach apologizes to survivors of Magdalene laundries *

Feb 19th, 2013 | Filed by

Now it’s time to grant them compensation.… Read the rest



Waleed Al-Husseini organizing Council of Ex-Muslims of France *

Feb 14th, 2013 | Filed by

The Palestinian blogger and atheist is now in Paris, and is organising a Council of Ex-Muslims of France with the help of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain.… Read the rest



Online gaming: women targeted for harassment 3x as much as men *

Feb 14th, 2013 | Filed by

While the conclusions are unsurprising to anyone who plays games online, the study provides evidence that women get disproportionate amount of verbal abuse.… Read the rest



Senate renews Violence Against Women Act *

Feb 12th, 2013 | Filed by

The Senate voted 78-22 to reauthorize the 20 year old act that has shielded millions of women from abuse and helped reduce national rates of domestic violence.… Read the rest



The battle to keep women in Tahrir Square *

Feb 12th, 2013 | Filed by

Rights activists believe the state may be behind the organised and coordinated attacks which are aimed at silencing women and excluding them from public spaces.… Read the rest



CNN on branding children as witches *

Feb 8th, 2013 | Filed by

The reporter talks to Debbie Ariyo about the sources of witch-hunts against children.… Read the rest