‘Westerners in their countries lead a valueless life, we want them to lead a spiritual life in India.’
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Inevitably links go out of date.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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Taliban Bans Women From Shopping Centers
‘However, women can visit bazaars if a male member of family accompanies them.’
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Robert Darnton: Google and the Future of Books
The 18th century imagined the Republic of Letters as a realm with no police and no boundaries.
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US Rep Opposes UN ‘Defamation’ Ban
Congressman Trent Franks urged ambassadors to reject the resolution on ‘defamation’ of religion.
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Reporters Without Borders Outraged About Ban
‘The Council has just dealt a severe blow to the freedom of expression it is supposed to defend.’
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Archbish of Cant Demands More Xianity on BBC
‘As a public service broadcaster, the BBC has a duty to provide religious programmes.’ Eh?
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Atheists Debaptize, Churches Grow Gloomy
The 26 Lords Spiritual could now have their position undermined as the number of people being debaptised grows.
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Mary Honeyball on Blair’s Aggressive Christianity
Faith is and should remain a personal eccentricity, not something to be forced on others in any way whatsoever.
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Taliban Tells NGOs to Leave Swat
‘NGO is another name for vulgarity and obscenity. They want to take away the veil from our women.’
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Taliban Blocks Polio Vaccination in Swat
Taliban militants have obstructed officials from vaccinating over 300,000 children, saying vacs are an anti-Muslim plot.
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Hitchens on the Surrender of Swat
We know what happens to countries where vicious fantasists govern illiterates with the help of only one book.
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Sharia in Swat
Clerics with no knowledge of how to run a court have taken away what human rights protection the State once offered.
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Women Told to Commit ‘Honor’ Suicide
Women are told they have ‘dishonored’ the family, then locked in a room with rat poison.
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Killer Text Messages
Rumours of deadly SMS messages are symptoms of a worrying rise of superstition in Egypt.
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Texas Freedom Network: Science Takes a Hit
The word ‘weaknesses’ is out but there are still plenty of potential footholds for creationist attacks.
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Lancet: the Pope is Distorting Science
Pope’s recent comments on condoms were wildly inaccurate and could have devastating consequences.
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Russell Blackford on ‘Defamation of Religion’
The resolution is in broad enough terms to condemn almost any criticism of religious beliefs or activities.
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Texas Board of Ed Rejects Anti-evolution Rule
Board narrowly rejected bid to require that ‘weaknesses’ in ToE be taught in Texas science classes.
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Religion and Science, Again
NOMA simply grants religion a privileged place as an equal to science, when it deserves no such prestige.
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Must We Always Cater to the Faithful?
The truth is that faith is not compatible with science or reason; why not just say so?