Refusal to understand Hitler meant what he said was thought to be a mark of political sophistication.
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Inevitably links go out of date.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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Why Self-censorship is Dangerous and Misguided
It represents a huge victory for anyone who thinks terror is a legitimate means of political response.
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Taliban Commander says Amajan was ‘Executed’
Most marriages in Afghanistan are forced; most forced marriages are of girls under 16.
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Women’s Rights not a Priority in Afghanistan
Sam Zarifi of Human Rights Watch: ‘A lot of small rights which women gained are now being wiped out.’
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Hundreds of Women Gathered to Mourn Amajan
‘There is no security for anyone now in Kandahar,’ one woman said, sobbing through her veil.
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EPA Rejects Scientific Advice on Particulates
Scientists say particulates are among the deadliest contaminants people are exposed to.
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Rumors Still Impeding Polio Vaccination
Myths largely responsible for spread of polio into many countries where it was once stamped out.
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Mehdi Kia on Movements from Below in Iran
Workers, women, students demand basic rights from Ahmadinejad – and get bloody beatings for it.
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Afghan Women’s Rights Official Murdered
Her requests for secure official transport and bodyguards were not granted by the government.
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UN Deplores Murder of Safia Annajan
Appalled at murder of leading woman official working for gender equality in Kandahar.
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Tasneem Khalil on Homophobia in South Asia
Section 377 of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan penal codes criminalizes love and sex between same-sex adults.
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Civil War in Iraqi Province of Diyala
Sunni insurgents have largely taken control; local leaders believe they will establish a ‘Taliban republic.’
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Fundamentalism and Devoutness Much the Same
Way to change minds is to unpick blind obedience to a faith by replacing it with interrogative reason.
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Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan
If you are freedom-loving and anti-fundamentalist, you are with RAWA. Support and help us.
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Jesus and Mo on Pontifical Rationality
Misunderstood guy was ragging on secularism, not Islam. Whew.
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The Super-rich and Competitive Compassion
‘A lot of poverty is caused by war.’ And a lot of war is caused by religion, so where does Deepak Chopra fit?
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Michael Frayn on a World Spun from Stories
He sneaks into the territory of physicists, linguists or psychologists to rustle prime intellectual steers.
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Why Aren’t Academics Intellectuals?
Why periodicals written for non-specialists matter.
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More Extracts from The God Delusion
Religious dogma still serves to abuse basic human rights such as those of women and gay people.
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Chet Raymo on Knowing You Don’t Know
Wisdom is willingness to say ‘I don’t know.’ Why is there something rather than nothing? ‘I don’t know.’