“Our freedom is very restricted. I can’t move without permission, I can’t travel without permission, I can’t rent a flat without permission.”… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Best and worst places to be a mother 
May 6th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Norway, Australia, Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand, Finland, Belgium, Netherlands, France the best. The US is at # 31.… Read the rest
The ten worst places to be a mother
May 6th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Afghanistan, Niger, Guinea-Bissau, Yemen, Chad, DRCongo, Eritrea, Mali, Sudan, Central African Republic.… Read the rest
John Yoo tells Obama what’s what
May 6th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“Mr. Obama would rather kill al Qaeda leaders—whether by drones or special ops teams—than wade through the difficult questions raised by their detention.”… Read the rest
John Yoo says torture got bin Laden
May 6th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
He was right, Bush was right, torture was right, Obama owes them big time for all their rightness.… Read the rest
Greg Laden does a meta-post on meta-atheism
May 6th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The established religio-normative culture routinely tells atheists to quiet down in order to end the argument and let things get back to what the culture thinks is normal.… Read the rest
David Barash asks: does god hate amputees?
May 6th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
If masturbation is the epitome of safe sex, beatification and canonization represent its theological equivalent.… Read the rest
Michael Weiss on the suicide of Siamak Pourzand
May 6th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Secular and cosmopolitan to the core, Pourzand had no time for the guardianship of the sadists and made a point of saying so.… Read the rest
Salil Tripathi on Rabindranath Tagore
May 6th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Tagore’s “nation” had no boundaries. Cultures changed a bit and became different along the flow of a river, but the borders didn’t have guards.… Read the rest
Man kills stepdaughter for not honoring Islam
May 5th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
She had stopped wearing hijab and was becoming more “Westernized” blah blah blah.… Read the rest
Praise for Rep Pete Stark’s Reason Day declaration
May 5th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The National Day of Reason has been celebrated since 2003 as an alternative to the congressionally mandated National Day of Prayer.… Read the rest
Palin tells Obama “no pussy-footing around”
May 5th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Yes really.… Read the rest
Andrew Potter on the treatment of Michael Ignatieff
May 5th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
His torment by Tory cynics and liars testifies to the suspicion Canadians have of leaders with a modicum of intelligence, accomplishment, and worldliness.… Read the rest
Vicar accuses model of sacrilege
May 5th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
In the ITV programme “Ghosthunting With…”, Katie Price visited a church in Great Tew and tried to use a Ouija board to contact spirits. Vicar not pleased.… Read the rest
Contaminated “holy water” from Mecca sold in UK
May 5th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Zam Zam water is taken from a well in Mecca and is considered sacred to Muslims, but samples from the source suggested it held dangerous chemicals.… Read the rest
Scott McLemee reviews “Atlas Shrugged”
May 4th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
In Atlas Shrugged, the greedy proletariat ruthlessly exploits the capitalists. The oppressed capitalists go on strike, then create a utopia run by John Galt.… Read the rest
David Colquhoun on the A to Z of the wellbeing industry
May 4th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Wellbeing is big business. And if it is no more than a branch of the multibillion dollar positive thinking industry, save your money and get on with your life.… Read the rest
Precognition experiment replicated, no evidence found
May 4th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
But the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology rejected the paper.… Read the rest
Christopher Lane says uncertainty is good
May 4th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
But, oddly, addresses his argument to atheists rather than theists.… Read the rest
Shmuley Boteach on what atheists can’t say
May 4th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
They can’t tell a soldier, “Your friend is in a better place.” Shmuley neglects to mention why that is.… Read the rest
