Whatever position he held, Obama could clearly see and dispassionately articulate the other side.
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Inevitably links go out of date.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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Pakistan: Taliban Sends Threats
Every woman not wearing hijab would get acid in the face.
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Danish Muslim Groups Appeal to Supreme Court
Claim Muslims were slandered by cartoons. Will appeal to European HR Court next. Then Cosmic Court.
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Ban on Sale of Cats and Dogs in Riyadh
‘Will we wake tomorrow to the news that young men are no longer allowed to drive?’
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No Escorting of Cats in Public in Riyadh
Religious cops began enforcing a ban on the sale and escorting of cats and dogs in public places.
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The Papacy: Authority and Obedience
Not one woman was represented among the American Cardinals who greeted him, Paul Kurtz notes.
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David Littman on Human Rights and Sharia
We must insist that “jihad” is jihad, “sharia” is sharia, a “slave” is a slave, “genocide” is genocide.
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The Dumbing Down of Science
The Franklin Institute seems as scared of learning as it does of science.
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Clergy Group Fails Free Speech 101
‘Attacking the most sacred elements of a religion is not free speech anymore than would be perjury in a court.’
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Terry Sanderson: Faith is not the Answer
There are ways to be philanthropic that don’t involve taking orders from priests
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AC Grayling on the Ambitions of Religion
Believers are tireless and persistent in their efforts to recapture the world for dogma.
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Nesrine Malik on Why Muslim Women Stay
The pull of the eternal deep-rooted institution is omnipresent – be it religion, nationality, race or class.
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187 Executions in Iran So Far This Year
Amnesty International is appalled by the mass execution of 29 men in Evin Prison on 27 July.
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Birmingham Council Bans Atheist Websites
System blocks sites to do with witchcraft, Satanism, occult practices, atheistic views, voodoo rituals.
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Pharmacists ‘Attest’ When Personhood Begins
Catholic News Agency seems to think life and personhood are the same thing.
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Clerics in Philippines Fight Contraception
Archbishop said bill would undermine the dignity of marriage and that contraceptives harm women.
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A.I. on China and Universal Ethical Principles
The Chinese authorities have broken their promise to improve the country’s human rights situation.
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Islam on Campus: Opinion Survey [pdf]
32% of Muslim students polled said killing in the name of religion was ever justified.
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New Humanist Newsletter
Trevor Griffiths on Tom Paine, Kenan Malik on culture, Mark Juergensmeyer on religious violence.
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NUS President Criticizes YouGov Poll
‘Just another report by a biased, right-wing think-tank…wilful misrepresentation of the views of Muslim students.’
