He punched and throttled her and called her a slag; her mother called her a prostitute; she was dating a Hindu boy.
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Inevitably links go out of date.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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Humans are forgetting how to walk
They stare at objects in their hands instead of the ground and surrounding objects, so they fall down or collide with people/cars/walls.
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The report [pdf]
Some Catholic hospitals delay treatment for women having miscarriages until there is no fetal heartbeat.
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NWLC reports on religious restrictions at hospitals
The Center’s findings apply to any institution or individual delaying or denying treatment based on religious beliefs rather than medical considerations.
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Catholic takeover of hospitals causes problems
Catholic official says there is no problem at all, cites “respect for each and every life in our care.”
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NY Times: the Vatican is bullshitting
Rome officials insist that the letter from Rome is outdated, misinterpreted, and superseded by tougher church rules. It’s not.
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Baroness Warsi to talk crap
Will say stupid things about “Islamophobia” in a future speech.
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Russian cleric to women: it’s your fault
If she wears a miniskirt and gets drunk and seeks contact with people “and is then surprised when that contact ends in rape she is wrong.”
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RTÉ Would You Believe on the Vatican letter
“Bishops should be fathers to their priests, not policemen.”
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Ben Goldacre talking very fast at Nerdstock
How the nocebo works and why it’s so interesting.
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Vatican says the letter is misunderstood
It was actually a coded recipe for eggplant Parmigiana.
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Alabama: new governor separates sheep from goats
“Anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I’m telling you, you’re not my brother and you’re not my sister.”
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Russell Blackford reviews The Moral Landscape
Unfortunately, Harris sees it as necessary to defend a naïve metaethical position.
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The debut of Sans [Swedish]
A magazine that highlights philosophy, reason, and critical thinking, from Fri Tanke. Includes an interview with me.
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Bishop: “a mandate to conceal the crimes of a priest
A 1997 Vatican directive rejected a recommendation by the Irish church that priests who abused children should be reported to the civil authorities.
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Vatican told Irish bishops not to report abuse
1997 letter found. Smoking gun. “The letter undermines persistent Vatican claims” – to put it mildly.
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Joseph Hoffmann on Jesus legends on tv
The obliging scholars know better, but they perform on cue.
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Review of Habermas, An Intellectual Biography
Much of what Habermas has written as a philosopher first took shape in the rough-and-tumble context of post-war West German ideological and legal debate.
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Johann Hari interviews Kenneth Tong
He says that being a sociopath is a good thing – it “can make you highly successful in business, and I am going to make a fortune with my Size Zero pill.”
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Steven Novella on CBC Marketplace on homeopathy
Marketplace took the consumer protection angle, so there was no need for nonsensical “balance.” The pills have no active ingredient. Period.