Consciousness has had philosophers hot and bothered ever since Nagel’s bat essay.… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
No, Enron is not an Aberration 
May 26th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Accounting games, excessive CEO pay, huge amounts of corporate corruption remain.… Read the rest
Exhibition Closes After Pressure From Hindu Group
May 26th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Lord Desai tells NH of worrying sectarianism in fundamentalist ‘human rights’ group.… Read the rest
Norm Geras on the Path Out of Denial
May 26th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Idea that Euston Manifesto is pro-war is a result of misreading of the geography of the left.… Read the rest
35th Skeptics’ Circle
May 25th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Hosted by a creationist guest.… Read the rest
Susan Jacoby Says No Thanks to Goddy Politics
May 25th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Framers of the Constitution did not write, as they might have, ‘we the people under God’.… Read the rest
Conflicting Opinion Drives Scientific Advance
May 25th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A further step down a well defined road wins easier acceptance than a deviation from the beaten track. … Read the rest
Happy Birthday J S Mill
May 25th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Missouri town enforces family values via law against unmarried couples with children.… Read the rest
Abuse Plagues Muslim Women in Germany
May 25th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Forced marriages often turn into violent homes. … Read the rest
Dworkin on Cost-benefit Analysis of Human Rights
May 24th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
We insist on these rights even though the majority would be more comfortable if we ignored them.… Read the rest
Petition in Support of Ayaan Hirsi Ali
May 24th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Homa Arjomand, Maryam Namazie, Irshad Manji, Caroline Fourest have signed.… Read the rest
Doctors Criticize Bogus Treatments
May 24th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Letter from 13 doctors seen as challenge to Prince C’s campaign for ‘complementary therapies’.… Read the rest
Ally of Prince C Calls Signers ‘Clinical Barons’
May 24th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Director of Royal Homeopathic hospital said doctors’ attitude amounted to ‘medical apartheid’.… Read the rest
Discourse is Not the Only Reality
May 23rd, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The left went wrong when it devalued knowledge as merely a masked form of power,… Read the rest
Old Norm and Young Nick at Euston
May 23rd, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Success of Euston Manifesto suggests there is a vein of rational progressivism on the left.… Read the rest
Murder Conviction in Birmingham Riot Case
May 23rd, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Members’ of the ‘black community’ fought with ‘members’ of the ‘Asian community’ over a rumour.… Read the rest
Where Does Happiness Come From?
May 23rd, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The gods, fate, genes, a thermostat.… Read the rest
Hitchens on the Harassment of Hirsi Ali
May 23rd, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
One might have expected a more robust defense of her position from the Dutch and the international left.… Read the rest
Everyone Who Sees This Will Be Offended
May 23rd, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
I feel humiliated. I want to humiliate the person who did this to an extent that he never works again.… Read the rest
Can Historians Judge Contemporary Presidents?
May 22nd, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Historians need to wait and see how things turn out before getting too far along in their assessments. … Read the rest
