Irshad Manji and Salman Rushdie will inaugurate Moral Courage Conversations next Sunday.
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Inevitably links go out of date.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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Irshad Manji Recommends Ijtihad for All Parties
Unity equals uniformity; debate equals division; division equals heresy; thus ijtihad must be suppressed.
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Christian Voice Gives Religion a Bad Name
And by the way religion-bashing is boring, trite, and self-indulgent. Understand?
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Obama Invites Gene Robinson to do the Prayer
Atheists remain uninvited.
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Andrew Anthony on The Satanic Verses
It dramatises the conviction that there is nothing more sacred than the freedom to question what is sacred.
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Ron Aronson on Secularism and Commitment
We don’t have to believe in God to see the world as meaningful and coherent.
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Impregnated via Rape, Girl is Killed by Family
Doctors protected her, father promised not to kill her, she went home, her brother killed her.
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Defender of Vaccinations Gets Death Threats
Reporters should treat the antivaccine lobby like Holocaust deniers, AIDS deniers and Moon landing deniers.
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Pope Wants to Stamp Out False Miracles
Theologians will assess the content of any heavenly messages to see if they contravene Church teachings.
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Dutch FM Shouts at Vatican Envoy
Envoy has been called to a meeting to answer charges the Church opposes gay rights.
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Advertising Standards Authority to Rule on God
Imagine the uproar if it became a legal requirement to insert qualifications in religious statements.
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Bunting Shouts at Liberal Elitist Atheists
Says Obama is a ‘passionate’ Christian, says poor people have prayer books, says atheists are horrid.
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Forced Abortion With No Anaesthetic
Afghan rape victim’s brother cut the fetus out with a razor then stitched the wound with heavy string.
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BBC Edited Interview With Excessive Zeal
BBC edited psychologist’s criticism of religion to say ‘the opposite’ of what she had actually said.
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Living Under Duress in Swat
Taliban have ordered the killing of women seen in market areas; a Bundh Bazaar dancing girl was killed.
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UK Libel Laws, Publishing, Scandal, the Web
Expansive libel laws can silence criticism and block exposure.
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A Retrospective on Bush’s Way With Words
Ten volumes, suitably bound in faux-leather.
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A Study Reports That Ants Attack Cheaters
Worker ants in colonies with a queen are physically attacked by their peers if they try to reproduce.
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British Chiropractic Association Sues Skeptic
By suing, the BCA is drawing far more attention to the criticisms than Singh’s article would have.
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Steve Salerno on What We Don’t Hear About
We hear about what journalists decide to cover, not necessarily what there is.