What is truly disturbing about this book’s huge commercial success is that it attests to the prevalence of unreason among vast numbers of Americans.… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Official fired because two women did not wear niqab 
Mar 30th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“Women do not appear in public without wearing a burka and niqab in an Islamic country like Afghanistan,” one official said.… Read the rest
Top priority for Afghanistan
Mar 30th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The war? Poverty? Schools, roads, hospitals? Ravening Islamists? Corruption? Incompetence? Of course not. It’s naked female heads.… Read the rest
Documentation in McGuire case
Mar 30th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“The more the Jesuits learned about McGuire’s problems, the harder they worked to cover them up.”… Read the rest
Suit says Jesuits ignored warnings about priest
Mar 30th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Lots of warnings, over a period of four decades.… Read the rest
It’s not just “neocons” who criticize arrests at Oda TV
Mar 30th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The police raid of the news website, a fierce critic of the ruling Justice and Development Party further fueled debate on freedom of the press in Turkey.… Read the rest
Turkish journalist defends Turkish press freedom
Mar 30th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Last year, the same journalist faced jail for criticising the courts.… Read the rest
Why should new atheists engage in interfaith service?
Mar 30th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Why indeed.… Read the rest
“Why feminists are less religious”
Mar 29th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Don’t worry; they’re more spiritual, so it’s ok.… Read the rest
Thai women resort to home abortions
Mar 29th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A Thai government crackdown on illegal abortion clinics has seen women turn to drugs bought over the internet.… Read the rest
Libyan woman who claimed rape is being sued
Mar 29th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“The boys she accused are bringing a case against her because it’s a very grave offense to accuse someone of a sexual crime,” said a government spokesman.… Read the rest
Muslim Brotherhood has a great new idea
Mar 29th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Women-only buses. Brilliant!… Read the rest
Roberto De Mattei responds to his critics
Mar 29th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“The attacks on me are a typical example of the relativistic dictatorship denounced by Benedict XVI.” Srsly.… Read the rest
Bruce Everett on masculine self-pity in cartoonists
Mar 29th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
You’ll know nanotechnology has matured as a field when it finally creates the violin small enough to play an appropriate lament.… Read the rest
Demo against Europe’s last dictator
Mar 29th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Index on Censorship organized the march against Lukashenko and for freedom of expression in Belarus.… Read the rest
Hitchens files again
Mar 28th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It is morally unthinkable that Qaddafi should emerge from this episode with even a rag of authority to call his own, and it is morally feeble not to say so out loud.… Read the rest
Who are the Libyan rebels?
Mar 28th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“We want democracy, good schools, a free media, an end to corruption, a private sector, and a parliament to get rid of whoever, whenever, we want.”… Read the rest
What Egypt can learn from Palestine
Mar 28th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Democracy properly understood means constitutional guarantees that are not easily nullified by a ruling party and safeguards on the rights of minorities and women.… Read the rest
LSE hired Nir Rosen after NYU forced him to resign
Mar 28th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
One LSE source said: “It’s an unbelievable appointment.” Rosen has now resigned from LSE.… Read the rest
The world as it should be
Mar 27th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Men in front, doing all the talking; women in back, wearing black tents, silent.… Read the rest
