Despite the best efforts of conservative forces, people all over Africa are starting to question the practice.… Read the rest
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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Long-dead Cardinal Cures Spinal Injury 
Nov 9th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
US deacon says he was cured of a crippling spinal condition after praying to John Henry Newman.… Read the rest
Life in Pakistan
Nov 9th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Terrorists are following us everywhere: in mosques, shopping centres, hotels, restaurants and even educational institutions.’… Read the rest
American-style Creationism in Turkey
Nov 9th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The ‘proofs’ that evolution is wrong came directly from US proponents of Christian creationism and ID.… Read the rest
Steven Poole on Sen’s ‘The Idea of Justice’
Nov 9th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Sen is exquisitely civilised in his disagreements with other thinkers, even while he is elegantly trashing whole schools of economic and social thought.’… Read the rest
Railing at MPs While the City Gets Away With It
Nov 8th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
If Labour ministers took on the City, they would hear raging voters calling them as bad as the bankers.… Read the rest
New Zealand Self-made ‘Bishop’ as Daddy
Nov 8th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
He’s the ‘spiritual father’ and all the male members of the church are his ‘spiritual sons.’… Read the rest
When Religion is the Opposite of an Opiate
Nov 8th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Islamism actively seeks to create a group identity and a sense of grievance, and often succeeds.… Read the rest
The Right to Access to Quackery
Nov 8th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It’s a mistake to try to regulate ‘alternative’ medicine as if it were real medicine.… Read the rest
Plymouth University Axes Steiner Course
Nov 8th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The educational wing of the UK Anthroposophy movement will be deeply hurt.… Read the rest
Sholto Byrnes Says What Atheists Think
Nov 8th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Gets it wrong.… Read the rest
Three Books on Honour Killing Reviewed
Nov 7th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Jacqueline Rose is worried about ‘giving the West a monopoly on the forward march of history.’… Read the rest
Peter Tatchell Protests Accusations of Censorship
Nov 7th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Academics are supposed to adhere to the highest standards of facts, truth and of evidence-based claims.… Read the rest
Socialist Unity Struggles with Itself
Nov 7th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Marx. Voltaire. Racism. Islamophobia. The LGBT community. Oh what oh what shall we do.… Read the rest
Normblog on Žižek on Terror
Nov 7th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Fighting and terror are not the same thing; in conflating the two Žižek discounts a century of moral and legal progress.… Read the rest
Magdalene Victims to Sue for Mistreatment
Nov 7th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A group are to sue the Irish state, the Catholic Church or both for the decades of mistreatment.… Read the rest
Are You Offended? You Are Offended, Right?
Nov 7th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
You must be offended. That was offensive. I would be offended if I were you. Why aren’t you offended?… Read the rest
Science Advisors Call for Autonomy
Nov 6th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Ministers should be denied the power to fire advisers who publicly disagree with official policy.… Read the rest
Putting God Out of the Ethics Business
Nov 6th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
When we act ethically, our reasons are usually nothing transcendental, just respect and compassion for others.… Read the rest
Russell Blackford and Udo Schuklenk at CisF
Nov 6th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
In a different world, the merits or otherwise of religious teachings might be discussed more dispassionately.… Read the rest
