If we’re going to have research at all, then we’re going to have people saying unpopular things.… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Protest Deportation of Pegah Emambakhsh 
Aug 23rd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
UK is violating all the international Conventions deciding to repatriate Pegah Emambakhsh.… Read the rest
Maryam Namazie on the Veil and Violence
Aug 23rd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
In Iran two sisters died because their brother deemed it sinful for the paramedics to touch them. … Read the rest
Ali Eteraz on Harun Yahya and Censorship
Aug 22nd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
What does this say about the promises that Islamist parties make before actually acquiring power?… Read the rest
Panda’s Thumb on the Pivar Lawsuit
Aug 22nd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
According to Pivar, Gould only endorsed evolutionary theory under duress from ‘Darwinian orthodoxy.’… Read the rest
Tim Sandefur on Pivar
Aug 22nd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Calling someone a “crackpot” is simply not actionable as libel, except in rare circumstances.’… Read the rest
Blake Stacey on Pivar
Aug 22nd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
On censorship-by-intimidation.… Read the rest
Review of Chris Mooney’s ‘Storm World’
Aug 22nd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The evidence is on the side of those who think hurricanes are changing along with global warming.… Read the rest
Harun Yahya Blocks all of WordPress in Turkey
Aug 22nd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A thriving citizen-journalist community has been silenced because of the ego of one rich creationist.… Read the rest
Excerpt from Zimbardo’s ‘The Lucifer Effect’
Aug 22nd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
When all members of a group are in a deindividuated state, their mental functioning changes.… Read the rest
Haleh Esfandiari Released on Bail
Aug 21st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Another Iranian-American academic, Kian Tajbakhsh, is thought to remain in prison in Iran. … Read the rest
Religious Donations Fund Islamic ‘Schools’
Aug 21st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Foreign money is fuelling the tide of Islamist violence washing across northern Pakistan. … Read the rest
PZ Myers Sued for Unfavorable Book Review
Aug 21st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Stuart Pivar sues Seed Media Group and PZ for ‘Assault, Libel, and Slander.’… Read the rest
Hurricane Dean and Global Warming
Aug 21st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Chris Mooney on what we can and can’t reliably say about the two. … Read the rest
David Colquhoun on an Age of Endarkenment
Aug 21st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Truth ceased to matter very much, and dogma and irrationality became once more respectable. … Read the rest
Mark Lilla on the Politics of God
Aug 20th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Our problems are those of the 16th century: competing revelations, dogmatic purity, divine duty. … Read the rest
Habermas on Coffee and Coffeehouses
Aug 20th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The coffeehouse provides speech conditions that are foundational for rational political self-determination.… Read the rest
Deborah Lipstadt and Others on Holocaust Denial
Aug 20th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Truth and history are, from both an ideological and strategic perspective, far more powerful weapons than laws.… Read the rest
Stephen Law on the War for Children’s Minds
Aug 20th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
To what extent should schools encourage deference to authority on moral and religious matters?… Read the rest
Denis Dutton on Bad Writing
Aug 20th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The point is not communication; the point is that you are to fall on your knees before such an elevated person.… Read the rest
