And on what to do when people ask probing questions. Don’t miss the comments.… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
“This Paper Should Not Have Been Published” 
Dec 8th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Carl Zimmer reports that scientists see fatal flaws in the NASA study of arsenic-based life.… Read the rest
Clay Shirky on Wikileaks
Dec 8th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Wikileaks shouldn’t be able to operate as a law unto itself anymore than the US should be able to, and vice versa.… Read the rest
The “war on Christmas” gets thinner by the minute
Dec 8th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The American Family Association is furious because Radio Shack, Office Depot and Staples use the word “holiday” in some of their advertising.… Read the rest
A win for the Louisiana Coalition for Science
Dec 7th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Students in Louisiana public schools get to have quality biology textbooks.… Read the rest
Rush Limbaugh asks
Dec 7th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“If people cannot even feed and clothe themselves [because they are too poor], should they be allowed to vote?”… Read the rest
Conference on Apostasy, Sharia and Human Rights
Dec 7th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
London, December 11. Mina Ahadi, Maryam Namazie, Roy Brown, Peter Tatchell, Marieme Helie Lucas, Gita Sahgal, Joan Smith…… Read the rest
Hitchens on Assange
Dec 7th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The moral “other half” of civil disobedience is that you stoically accept the consequences that come with it.… Read the rest
Secularism in Pakistan
Dec 7th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The country is in an uproar over the controversial ‘blasphemy laws’ imposed by military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq in the early 1980s.… Read the rest
California buys execution drug from UK
Dec 7th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
UK last month said it planned to limits exports of the drug, thiopental sodium, because of the UK’s “moral opposition to the death penalty.”… Read the rest
HRW calls on PA to free Walid Hasayin
Dec 7th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Palestinian Intelligence agents arrested Hasayin on suspicion of posting messages on Facebook and blogs that criticized Islam and other religions.… Read the rest
Ratzinger is such a lovely fella
Dec 6th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“The Pope recognises that not all Catholics follow the teachings of the church” so it’s fine that he tells people with AIDS not to use condoms.… Read the rest
Yay billionaires get to be even richer even longer!
Dec 6th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Obama gives it all up.… Read the rest
Date for Rapture has been settled
Dec 6th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It will be May 21, 2011. Plenty of time to pack carefully.… Read the rest
Another biblical museum for Kentucky
Dec 6th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Hey it will create jobs! Jobs in the exciting field of telling people that the bible is a historical document.… Read the rest
German Catholic Church systematically hid abuse
Dec 5th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The available records point to huge gaps in the documentation between 1945 and 2009.… Read the rest
Jesus and Mo and Joe
Dec 5th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Joseph Smith gots magic powers. He says so himself.… Read the rest
Leicester: woman’s family kidnapped her
Dec 5th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
She was living with a man, they disapproved, so they grabbed her. She helped police convict them.… Read the rest
Blackford on Clark on Harris on free will
Dec 5th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Interesting extended discussion.… Read the rest
Andrew Anthony on Bibi Aisha and Afghanistan
Dec 5th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
National liberation always trumps female emancipation…or does it?… Read the rest
