The judgment came after an “admission of guilt” plea following torture and brutal beatings by Sharif’s brother.… Read the rest
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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Kano government sponsors mass marriages 
May 21st, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
They keep women off the street.… Read the rest
Women in Afghanistan tortured for saying ‘no’
May 16th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
87% of Afghan women have experienced abuse.… Read the rest
The lowest difficulty setting
May 16th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It’s Rawls’s veil of ignorance, in a different metaphor.… Read the rest
Jesus pulls seniority rank on Mo
May 16th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
And Mo reads the New Statesman.… Read the rest
Burkina Faso moves to help women accused of witchcraft
May 15th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Women driven from their homes will have access to legal and psycho-social support, as well as financial assistance to re-establish their livelihoods.… Read the rest
“Gove promised Catholic schls cn oppose gay marriage”
May 15th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Sections 406-7 of the Education Act 1996 forbids ‘the promotion of partisan political views in the teaching of any subject in the school’.… Read the rest
Martin Robbins on sexual correctness
May 15th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Sexual correctness is a fundamental failure of journalism, and not just in the moralistic right-wing end of the press.… Read the rest
TV show condones murder for blasphemy
May 14th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A British TV channel that broadcast a talk saying it is acceptable to murder someone who has shown disrespect to Muhammad faces a heavy fine or potential closure by Ofcom.… Read the rest
Afghan women falling off the White House radar
May 14th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Suzanne Nossel of Amnesty International USA said it was “really worrying” that Obama only made a passing reference to women on his trip to Afghanistan last week.… Read the rest
Witchcraft: Man kills mother, sets house on fire
May 14th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A source told PUNCH Metro that 36-year-old Jonathan had been frustrated with his life and had accused his mother of being responsible for his inability to make progress.… Read the rest
Pertussis epidemic in Washington state
May 13th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Washington State has the highest percentage of parents in the nation who voluntarily exempt their children from one or more vaccines.… Read the rest
Another religion as curate’s egg article
May 13th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Parts of it are excellent, therefore we mustn’t reject it.… Read the rest
Men are the real victims of sexism
May 13th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Never mind all those men at the top; look at all those men on the bottom.… Read the rest
Iranian cartoonist sentenced to 25 lashes for drawing MP
May 13th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
His sentence has triggered outcry among Iran’s online community with many calling on cartoonists to draw new caricatures of the MP.… Read the rest
Four Iranian men due to be hanged for sodomy
May 13th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“The judicial denial of same-sex relationships in Iran stems from its relationship to Shari’a law and patriarchy,” says Gorji Marzban of Austrian-based Oriental Queer Organization.… Read the rest
Philip Kitcher on “scientism”
May 12th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Since the conclusions reached in analyses of human behavior will be socially consequential, the evidence for them deserves to be closely scrutinized.… Read the rest
Richard Carrier interviews Susan Haack
May 12th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A must read.… Read the rest
“You slut, how dare you take my wife to the beach”
May 12th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Ismail Belghar slapped his sister-in-law across the face because she and her sister went to the beach.… Read the rest
Indonesia: politician says attacking people is wrong
May 12th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Members of the Indonesian Mujahidin Council, who initiated the attack, have defended their action.… Read the rest
