United Farm Workers urges unemployed Americans to sign up for backbreaking jobs at low pay in dangerous conditions.… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Ron Rosenbaum is back from the Templeton gig 
Jun 28th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
And he has ever such a good idea about how to be not one of those pesky atheists but something much nicer.… Read the rest
Vatican fighting US criminal investigation
Jun 28th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Equates itself to the “United States President, Vice President, Secretary of Defense and ambassador.”… Read the rest
Widdecombe to be next UK ambassador to Vatican
Jun 28th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Coalition wants ” to stress a commitment to the Catholic Church.” Why?… Read the rest
Russell Blackford on the uses and abuses of anonymity
Jun 28th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
If you use it to defame real, identifiable people who do not possess vast political power but do have real reputations, then be careful you’re not abusing the privilege.… Read the rest
Investigation of a complicated but clumsy fraud
Jun 28th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Noisy public deception gets taken apart over a period of nine days.… Read the rest
Sock puppet blog flames out
Jun 28th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
An anonymous blog that spent most of its time misrepresenting four bloggers and writing fake comments has suddenly shut down.… Read the rest
Pope demands impunity for self and colleagues
Jun 27th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Is enraged at Belgium; Vatican calls Belgian law enforcement worse than “the old communist regimes.”… Read the rest
We’re bad at making rational decisions about risk
Jun 27th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Should government decisions about risk reflect our irrational foibles or the rational calculations of sober risk assessment? … Read the rest
Emily Dickinson was an extraordinarily powerful woman
Jun 27th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
An artist who was intimidated by nothing—the opposite of a fear-driven recluse or a lovelorn spinster.… Read the rest
Nick Cohen on a startling rebirth of big money
Jun 27th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Conspicuous consumption thrives while the humble are punished for a recession brought on by the mighty.… Read the rest
Russell Blackford on “extremism” and dogmatism
Jun 27th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
One’s position on a spectrum says nothing about how dogmatic one is.… Read the rest
Atheist bashing at the Evolution meetings
Jun 26th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A 2 hours symposium was devoted to accommodationism; someone from AAAS said atheists are extremists.… Read the rest
No, rape is not “cultural”
Jun 26th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The European aid worker who dismissed the violence as “cultural” implied that Congolese women should expect to be raped.… Read the rest
Crispian Jago: Skeptic Park with Evan Harris
Jun 26th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Ben, Dickie and Simon ask questions.… Read the rest
David Colquhoun on herbal medicine
Jun 26th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It need not be mystical nonsense, but it usually is.… Read the rest
Study finds fetus can’t feel pain before 24 weeks
Jun 26th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Nerve connections in the brain are not sufficiently formed to register pain.… Read the rest
Sholto Byrnes: Rethinking Islamism IV
Jun 26th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It’s much much much nicer than you think. Really.… Read the rest
Interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Jun 26th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“The people who believe themselves to be on the left, and who defend the agents of Islam in the name of tolerance and culture, are being right-wing.”… Read the rest
Reporter has opinions, resigns
Jun 26th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Is it possible to report accurately despite opinions?… Read the rest
