It’s Islamism that’s demonizing Islam more than anything else.
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Inevitably links go out of date.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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Bunglawala demands friendlier reporting on Islam
Appearing before the Leveson Inquiry on January 24, he said the amount of negative stories about Muslims in Britain is “demonizing” Islam and fuelling a “false narrative.”
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US Catholic bishops attempt to control legislation
They want to impose their religion on the entire population, and call the refusal to do so a violation of their religious liberty.
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Pope accidentally exorcized two demons
It’s because he’s magic, and the devil knows it.
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Court rules California Prop 8 unconstitutional
The 2-1 decision by a panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found that Proposition 8 violated the U.S. Constitution. The architects of Prop. 8 have vowed to appeal.
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Shrinking secular spaces in the UK
Identity anti-racists such as the Stop the War Coalition have dismissed and continue to dismiss secular activist voices like those of Gita Sahgal or secular organisations such as Just Peace.
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Rebecca Watson on seeing the patriarchy
There may always be something big and obvious about the way the world works, that we may be missing.
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Damian Thompson on the delusions of bishops
Senior churchmen speak of the “spiritual hunger” of the young. That’s wishful thinking.
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Ireland: Fine Gael wrangles over re-opening Vatican embassy
One of the most surreal moments saw TD Peter Mathews brandish a set of rosary beads at the “secularist members of the party”.
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Maryam Namazie’s talk in Stockholm
Video in 5 parts.
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Bullies protest hiring of Ellen DeGeneres
Group calling itself “One Million Moms” accuses JC Penney of “jumping on the pro-gay bandwagon” and rants about “traditional values.”
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Iran accused of intimidating BBC Persian staff
Mark Thompson wrote in his blog that for BBC Persian staff, “interference and harassment from the Iranian authorities has become a challenging fact of life”.
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McLean’s on the Shafia murders
The father on the tape: “They betrayed kindness, they betrayed Islam, they betrayed our religion and creed, they betrayed our tradition, they betrayed everything.”
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Vancouver Sun talks to Pat Churchland
She considers neuroscience more reliable than folk psychology.
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Julian Baggini notes it’s not easy being atheist in the US
In a nation that celebrates freedom of religion like no other, freedom not to be religious at all can be as hard to exercise as the right to swim the Atlantic.
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Subject opinion to coercion: whom will you make your inquisitors?
Members of UCLASH were not reposting the cartoon to reoffend, but to reaffirm that if the freedom to speak means anything, it means the freedom to say things that people do not like.
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Bath Christian group’s ‘God can heal’ adverts banned
Advertising Standards Authority said leaflet that says “Need Healing? God can heal today!” is misleading. Group said it’s just normal Christian belief.
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US: one town’s war on gay teenagers
“LGBTQ students don’t feel safe at school. They’re made to feel ashamed of who they are. They’re bullied. And there’s no one to stand up for them, because teachers are afraid of being fired.”
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Marc Stephens threatens Popehat some more
Out of the blue, Stephens sends Popehat a message saying, “I see you’re obsessed with me.”