Blair and Kelly block plan in response, others in cabinet are angry.… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Secular State Needed to Protect Women’s Rights 
Oct 20th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The veil turns women into things.… Read the rest
Jeff Weintraub on Salah Choudhury
Oct 20th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
He deserves solidarity and support from those of us who can say what we want without taking risks.… Read the rest
Atheist Books Top Best-seller Lists
Oct 20th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Publishers Weekly said the business has seen ‘a striking number of impassioned critiques of religion.’… Read the rest
Protests at ‘Faith’ Schools Quota
Oct 19th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Catholics and Jews irritated about quotas or ‘faith’ schools or both.… Read the rest
Niqab for a Day
Oct 19th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Hard to breathe, hot, can’t eat or drink, feels like oppressing and isolating oneself. Good fun.… Read the rest
Asylum from Female Genital Mutilation
Oct 19th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Law Lords ruled female members of tribes where FGM is common are a group fearing persecution.… Read the rest
Pinker on Lakoff: Angels and Demons
Oct 19th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Lakoff ‘divides the world into blocs of angels and devils, based on his own fantasies of what the devil believes.’… Read the rest
Terry Eagleton Wandering
Oct 19th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Like Zelig or Forrest Gump, Eagleton seems to have been there at all the crucial moments.… Read the rest
Bruce Ackerman and Todd Gitlin Defend Liberals
Oct 19th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Against nonsense on stilts from pundits on the right and Tony Judt on the left.… Read the rest
‘Faith’ Schools Must Cross Religious Barriers
Oct 18th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
By being secular schools? No, by having quotas for ‘other faiths’.… Read the rest
Interview with Stephen Law
Oct 18th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
We need citizens raised to think and question.… Read the rest
Turkish Archaeologist Faces Trial
Oct 18th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Wrote scientific article about hijab; prosecutor charged her with ‘inciting hatred based on religious differences.’… Read the rest
Darwin’s Complete Works to Go Online
Oct 18th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Cambridge makes the whole shooting match available for free.… Read the rest
Darwin Online Will be Launched October 19
Oct 18th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Never before has so much Darwin material been brought together in one place and made available free of charge.… Read the rest
Iran Bans Fast Internet Service
Oct 18th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Iran filters more websites than any other country apart from China. … Read the rest
Older Students Still Required to ‘Worship’
Oct 18th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘The Government’s refusal is an abuse of Human Rights,’ says Keith Porteous Wood.… Read the rest
Nadia Jamal on Veils, Faces, and Different Rules
Oct 18th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
If the beach is good enough for men, it should be good enough for women too.… Read the rest
Hamid Dabashi Accuses Azar Nafisi
Oct 17th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘To me there is no difference between Lynndie England and Azar Nafisi,’ he told Z-net.… Read the rest
