Lots of politicians talk about a sinister homosexual agenda. Bachmann seems genuinely to believe in one.… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Indictments over Italian quake cause a furor 
Jun 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Discussion of the Italian indictments was “intense” during meetings this week at the Southern California Earthquake Center, said its director.… Read the rest
Archbishop Timothy Dolan on gay marriage
Jun 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“We believers worry that we will be coerced to violate our deepest beliefs to accommodate the newest state decree.”… Read the rest
Maryam Namazie speech at Dublin Atheist Conference
Jun 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“Islam matters to us today because we are living under an Islamic Inquisition, and not because it is becoming more ‘popular,’ as its proponents like to argue.”… Read the rest
Bill aims to curb sharia courts in Britain
Jun 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A parliamentary Bill would stop UK sharia courts claiming that they have legal jurisdiction over criminal or family law.… Read the rest
US opposed minimum wage rise in Haiti
Jun 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
US embassy in Haiti worked closely with factory owners to aggressively block a paltry minimum wage rise for assembly zone workers.… Read the rest
Guatemala: victims of US syphilis study
Jun 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The US infected orphan children and others with syphilis in the 1940s, to test penicillin.… Read the rest
Afghanistan worst place in the world for women
Jun 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Then DR Congo, Pakistan, India and Somalia, survey by Thomson Reuters Foundation finds.… Read the rest
Kampala school closes over “witchcraft”
Jun 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Pupils of Nakasongola Junior Academy were sent home indefinitely after what the school called ‘escalated incidences of evil spirit attacks.’… Read the rest
Brum Skeptic in Pub podcast with J and M author
Jun 14th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“It’s a very badly-drawn religious satire…”… Read the rest
The science of seeing what you want to see
Jun 14th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The weapons we need to defend scientific objectivity are themselves social practices, Kenan Malik points out.… Read the rest
Christian Institute calls BBC one-sided
Jun 14th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Yes really.… Read the rest
Critics accuse Pratchett documentary of “bias”
Jun 14th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Care Not Killing campaigners and bishops line up to find bias in others.… Read the rest
Nick Clarke on Terry Pratchett and assisted suicide
Jun 14th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Those who would declare, on religious grounds, that life is not ours to take under any circumstances have a lot of work to do.… Read the rest
Terry Pratchett on assisted suicide documentary
Jun 14th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“Do you still believe you were right to show it?” They do.… Read the rest
Gay Girl in Damascus hoaxer is named
Jun 13th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
He’s Tom MacMaster, a married, 40-year-old American grad student at Edinburgh University.… Read the rest
Australia: Christian Brothers tortured children
Jun 13th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Life at Bindoon, run by the Christian Brothers, was a catalogue of cruelty, where beatings and sexual assaults were daily events.… Read the rest
Religious orders say they will co-operate with inquiry
Jun 13th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Sisters of Mercy, Charity, and Good Shepherd will co-operate with future inquiries into horrible cruelty. You do the irony.… Read the rest
Cleaner removes ‘face of Jesus’ from Wiltshire church
Jun 12th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Cleaner removes a blob of dripped wax, at least.… Read the rest
Nick Cohen on M F Husain and censorship
Jun 12th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
India’s founders included in the Indian penal code the crime of “insulting religion” because they believed that censorship could promote national unity.… Read the rest
