Journalists cherry pick evidence, then explain risks and benefits in the single most unhelpful way possible.
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Inevitably links go out of date.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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Believers in No Hurry to Meet the Deity
JAMA finds they dawdle more rather than less.
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Islamists Threaten Bangladesh Schools
Principals of several English-language schools told police they had received threats from Islamists.
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Women Staying Home in Swat
Why? Well there was that guy with the dagger in the market, asking who wants to be beheaded first.
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Australia’s Fun Imam Vandalizes Own Mosque
Taj Din al-Hilali, the ‘women are uncovered meat’ guy, kicked his door in then reported vandalism to police.
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Sindh: Illegal Jirgas Declare Women Kari
Jirgas are being held in Sindh despite a ban; they declare women karis for getting higher education.
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Concern Over Proliferation of Fatwas
‘Anybody can say anything to anybody? Kill your own family because they are not “real Muslims”?’
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Juan Cole on Saudi Arabia and Wahhabism
We have them all wrong, he says.
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Normblog on Truth and Postmodernism
Postmodernism opposes not only the absolute truths of mere authority but also the fallibilist truth of rational inquirers.
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Dentist Wants Creationism Taught in Texas
God’s teeth! The dentist is also a Sunday school teacher and chair of the state board of education.
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Nick Cohen’s Day With the Roundrobinocracy
Is all well with the liberal consensus?
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Round Robin to the Observer
Lots of liberals do challenge Islamism, therefore…they all do? Is that the claim?
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Amnesty Int on Deaths in Custody in Iran
The death of a blogger raised renewed fears that prisoners are being denied medical treatment.
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Angola: Evictions Linked to Catholic Church
The Angolan authorities evicted thousands of people from land belonging to the Catholic Church.
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HR Defenders in Middle East and North Africa
Human rights defenders are all too often vilified, persecuted and criminalized for their peaceful activities.
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Salil Tripathi: Pakistan’s Long March to Normality
Securicrats and communal leaders on both sides of the border succeed in keeping the people apart.
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Center for Naturalism Newsletter
Hours of reading.
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Army Rabbis Framed Gaza as Religious War
Rabbis urged troops to reclaim what they said was God-given land and ‘get rid of the gentiles.’
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The Pope’s Claim is Absurd and Irresponsible
The Pope’s statement about condoms is a threat to public health.
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Islamist Governors Tore Apart a School
Two governors campaigned to make the school more Islamic, accused the head of ‘Islamophobia.’