Justice Lynn Smith Smith ruled the law against assisted suicide denies physically disabled people the same rights as able-bodied people who can take their own lives.
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Inevitably links go out of date.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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Nevers, France: parents sentenced for FGM
The mother got 18 months in prison, the father two years, for the genital mutilation of their four daughters. [story in French]
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UK: Helen Duncan was convicted as a witch in 1944
She was tried by jury at the Old Bailey and found guilty of contravening section 4 of the Witchcraft Act of 1735.
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Polygamy in Islam: the women victims of multiple marriage
“You’re supposed to keep your mouth shut and you’re supposed to just carry on. It is impregnated into our culture.”
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It’s Sunday so Boko Haram set off bombs in Nigeria
A local Red Cross worker told the Associated Press that at least 12 people had been killed and 80 injured in the attacks.
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Y U dispute shoddy science?
The Heritage Foundation is baffled by criticism of its flawed “same-sex parenting” study.
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Udo Schuklenk on the tortured logic of anti-cartoon laws
The trouble with religious freedom is that it is all too frequently misunderstood as the unrestricted freedom of the religious to run roughshod over everyone else.
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No filthy secularism for Cork city council
Cork’s city councillors voted overwhelmingly against the move to scrap a prayer at the start of their meeting, after a heated debate.
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Jesus and Mo sing a song
The nod is not forthcoming.
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Abuse report given today to bishops; SNAP responds
We’re appalled that sex crimes are still being called “boundary violations” and when committed by foreign-born priests they are being explained away as “cultural differences.”
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C of E objects to gov’t proposals to legalise gay marriage
The church warned that it could be forced out of its traditional role of conducting weddings on behalf of the state.
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Ayman al-Zawahiri’s wife has advice for Muslim women
“I advise you to raise your children in the cult of jihad and martyrdom and to instil in them a love for religion and death.”
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Laurie Penny on internet trolls and misogynists
Now anyone with a public platform can expect to face constant harassment, especially anyone who is a woman or a member of an ethnic minority.
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Chiropractic may damage arteries along the spine
“Chiropractic manipulation of the cervical spine can produce dissections of the cranial and cervical segments of the vertebral and carotid arteries.”
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No appeal of Christian Science faith healing ruling
Christian scientist parents can refuse to get medical treatment for their children in Washington state, but other religions cannot.
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Mob attacks women at Cairo anti-sex assault rally
The attackers pushed several women against a metal railing, shoving their hands down their clothes and trying to grab their bags.
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Death on Buddhist yoga retreat in Arizona
The retreat was designed to allow participants to employ yoga and deep meditation to try to answer some of life’s most profound questions. Yeah no that’s not going to work.
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BBC promotes quack charity “Yes to Life”
The charity “helps people with cancer choose integrated treatments.”
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Neil Denny visits the Creation Museum
It promotes the idea that not only is everything stated in Genesis chapters 1-11 true, but it can be proved … with science.
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Cognition and science
We never fully unlearn our mistaken intuitions about the world. We just learn to ignore them.