If he doesn’t want elected officials doing things people didn’t vote for, can we assume he’ll be giving up his seat in the House of Lords?
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Inevitably links go out of date.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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Boston archdiocese cancels “All Are Welcome” mass
Because, of course, all are not welcome. Amen.
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Afghanistan’s women can make a difference
The concern of most of the women in this country is that if the coalition pulls out, the gains women have made will be wrenched away.
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Kids who spot bullshit, and adults who get upset
If every school taught the basics – randomised trials, blinding, cohort studies, systematic reviews – it would teach some of the most important ideas in science.
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Existential angst about the bigger picture
At every step, there is room for fun results to get through, and for unwelcome results to fall off the radar.
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Pakistan: rangers kill a man on camera
“What we are seeing is visual records of the culture of impunity in the Pakistani law enforcement agencies,” said a researcher for Human Rights Watch.
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Gay Girl in Damascus blog a hoax?
The photos are all of someone else; some of the details don’t add up; nobody seems to know her.
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Quebec measles outbreak worsens
Quebec’s director of public health is urging people to get vaccinated. Duh.
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Johann Hari on Philip Mountbatten at 90
Monarchists feel the need to claim that the Windsors are somehow more worthy than the rest of us.
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Italy: self-portrait of a homophobic politician
“I’ll attend the Gay Pride parade when it’s a civil demonstration and no longer an exuse to jeer at the Holy Father and prance around in fancy costumes.”
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M F Husain yearned to return to India
After he moved abroad, right-wing groups continued to vandalize exhibitions that displayed his work.
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The myth about Dawkins is just that: a myth
The popular meme of Dawkins The Bigot is the creation of the Christian Creationist Right, who loathe him for the power of his advocacy.
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A C Grayling talks to Shiv Malik
“A highly educated population is a really great aspiration. Of course you can only do it if you fund it properly.”
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Katha Pollitt talks to Wajeha al-Huwaider
Muslim feminists “tend to forget that none of the monotheistic religions treat men and women equally, and there’s a limit to what scholarship can do to change that.”
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Use of Viagra for war-rape would be a horrific first
“Now we are getting some information that Gaddafi himself decided [to authorise the rapes] and this is new.”
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ICC says Gadhafi authorized rape as a weapon
Chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo has now said he may present an additional charge of mass rape.
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M F Husain was painting until 2 weeks ago
His exhibitions were often attacked by reactionary Hindu groups.
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Maqbool Fida Husain dies in exile at 95
He lived by the motto that the confines of religion, caste, creed and color should never restrain a painter.
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Poll on Magdalene inquiry
Do we have a responsibility to find out what really happened through a full inquiry and criminal prosecutions?
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Minister for Justice to act soon on Magdalene report
The UN report called for a statutory inquiry, a “prompt, independent and thorough investigation” into allegations of abuse against the women.