A group of rabbis and mystics circled Israel in a plane, praying and blowing horns to ward off H1N1.
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Inevitably links go out of date.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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Kenan Malik Asks: Are All Muslims the Same?
Malik explores how perceptions of Islam have been shaped by the media.
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Myers on Mooney/Kirshenbaum
Is this a plea for Dawkins to stop writing books of any kind, or to convert to some conventional piety?
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Jerry Coyne on Mooney and Kirshenbaum
We’ve been making nice with religion for decades, and America remains as ‘unscientific’ as ever.
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Dilemma in Iran: How to Execute a Virgin?
Guards rape them the night before they are executed so that they will spend eternity in hell.
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Christian ‘Clinic’ Promises to Cure Cancer
Faith-healing clinic in Christchurch NZ offers to cure cancer and broken bones through prayer.
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Poor God is on the Skids
Defenders of the faith insist that the authors of ‘aggressive secularism’ focus maliciously on the bad parts.
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Simon Singh Applies for Further Appeal
The case has prompted a campaign for defamation law to be kept out of scientific disputes.
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A Toothless Argument
Loonies still oppose fluoridation of water, so teeth continue to decay. Ice cream, Mandrake? Children’s ice cream?
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Asma Jahangir Urges Repeal of Blasphemy Laws
NGOs cited the Gojra incident: the local administration allowed organised groups to kill Christians.
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American Psychological Association Submits
APA says ‘religious faith and psychology do not have to be seen as being opposed to each other.’
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Sarah Palin’s Way With the Truth
Says ‘Obama’s “death panel”’ will decide whether her ‘baby with Down Syndrome’ is ‘worthy of health care.’
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Where is the Muslim Anger Over Darfur?
Some commentators in Muslim-majority countries are questioning their leaders’ support for Bashir.
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Dan Jones Replies to Karen Armstrong
If you take out the doctrine, aren’t you left with rational secular discourse?
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George Scialabba Seminar at Crooked Timber
One has to be impressed with Scialabba’s uncanny ability to inhabit the books and writers he reviews.