Osama bin Laden is not a lost sheep. He is a wolf, and the sheep have no obligation to pray for the wolf.… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Lawyer calls bishops’ report “hogwash” 
May 19th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Hogs protest they wouldn’t dream of washing in that thing.… Read the rest
Bishops’ report on abuse blames the 60s
May 19th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Not our fault! Blame divorce – blame premarital sex – blame deviance and permissiveness and everything but us.… Read the rest
Eric MacDonald on Plantinga on The God Delusion
May 19th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It is only since atheism hit the best seller lists that atheism itself has become almost a mainstream phenomenon.… Read the rest
Philosophy Bites: a window on the big questions
May 19th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Edmunds and Warburton are trying to make philosophy not light but accessible, and they use one of the oldest modes of philosophical exploration: the dialogue.… Read the rest
Planets without stars
May 18th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Some of the newfound objects may orbit a star at such a distance that their host star is not apparent, but researchers think most of them are indeed free-floating.… Read the rest
Jerry Coyne on David Brooks and group selection
May 18th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Brooks misrepresents the views of biologists; there really isn’t much momentum in the evolution community behind the idea of “group selection.”… Read the rest
Michael Weiss on BHL, DSK and Polanski
May 18th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It’s so impressive when celebrity male intellectuals close ranks against women who allege rape.… Read the rest
Laila Lalami on BHL on DSK
May 18th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It would be nice to know how a philosopher who has claimed to defend the rights of Muslim women can side with the alleged rapist rather than his alleged (Muslim) victim.… Read the rest
Two Interesting Men unite to defend DSK
May 18th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
On the grounds that the privilege all three enjoy makes the crime inconceivable on its face.… Read the rest
Isabelle Germain notes DSK is not the victim
May 18th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The French media talk as if it were a jokey matter of seduction and DSK’s private life. Rape is neither private nor seduction.… Read the rest
Maid in DSK case feels alone in the world
May 18th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
She is from Guinea; she had no idea who DSK was; she feels threatened and afraid.… Read the rest
Bernard-Henri Lévy defends Dominique Strauss-Kahn
May 18th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The chambermaid will just have to look after herself.… Read the rest
Nick Cohen on rape and the French elite
May 18th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Bernard-Henri Lévy cannot be for women’s rights in Tehran and Riyadh but against them in New York and Paris.… Read the rest
Mooney snatches victory from jaws of defeat
May 17th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Does Mooney not realize that everything we believe is physically coded in the brain, and that every time we form a new memory, that also causes physical changes in the brain?… Read the rest
Fawzia Koofi at the Ottawa Writers’ Festival
May 17th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Koofi is the first female deputy speaker of the Lower House in her country and a well-known advocate for democracy and human rights.… Read the rest
Vatican letter advises bishops on combating abuse
May 17th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Church critics remain unimpressed by new Vatican directives, with US victim lobby Snap commenting: “decisive action is precisely what the Vatican refuses to take.”… Read the rest
The Freedom Rides
May 17th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
They split the movement – some said they would backfire, they would set the movement back, they were a provocation.… Read the rest
5 year jail sentence for behaviour that is offensive?
May 17th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Scotland wants to end sectarian football threats and abuse, but could be overdoing it a tad.… Read the rest
UK: Calls to criminalise forced marriages
May 17th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Government’s forced marriage unit handles around 300 cases a year, while research for ministers suggests the true figure is between 5,000 and 8,000.… Read the rest
