A law against blasphemy is an obligation to live your life according to the religious beliefs of others.… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Mediawatchwatch on Kerkar, Threats, Ganesh 
Aug 20th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘They told me that they will chop off my fingers for indulging in such acts.’ Or Ganesh might sit on him.… Read the rest
Kerkar Going Ahead With Exhibition
Aug 19th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Radical groups do not have the power of attorney over Lord Ganesh,’ Kerkar told reporters.… Read the rest
Joan Smith on Shameful Gender Segregation
Aug 19th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Gender segregation is rooted in religious ideas about purity and the need to curb sexual expression.… Read the rest
Atheism Helping or Hurting Science Literacy?
Aug 19th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Accommodationists create conflict because they realize their ideal world can’t co-exist with dissenting views.… Read the rest
Indian Artist Receives Threats Over Hindu Images
Aug 19th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Subodh Kerkar says threats started when Sanatan Sanstha told Hindus to call him and ‘express their anguish.’… Read the rest
Police Bow to Pressure, Tell Kerkar to Stop
Aug 19th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Police told Goan artist Subodh Kerkar to desist ‘activities which may insult religious feelings or religious beliefs.’… Read the rest
Lord Patel Demands Apology from Fitzpatrick
Aug 18th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Calls him ‘cowardly’ for saying sex segregation is ‘intolerant.’ Fitzpatrick says nothing cowardly about it.… Read the rest
Focus on Human Rights in Afghanistan
Aug 18th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The importance of human rights to the international effort in Afghanistan has been lost.… Read the rest
Hitchens on Yale UP and the Motoons
Aug 18th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Now we have to say that the mayhem we fear is also our fault, if not indeed our direct responsibility. … Read the rest
Rod Dreher on ‘Fundamentalist Atheism’
Aug 18th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘The True Unbelievers prove that you don’t have to be religious to be a fundamentalist.’… Read the rest
The Aquatic Ape and Pseudoscience
Aug 18th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
What distinguishes science from pseudoscience is social.… Read the rest
Guatemala’s Femicide Crisis
Aug 18th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The pattern of violence includes sexual assault and physical torture before the women are killed.… Read the rest
Violence Against Women in Guatemala
Aug 18th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Read more.… Read the rest
Human Rights Watch: Gay Men Targeted in Iraq
Aug 17th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Mahdi Army spokesmen have promoted fears about the ‘third sex’ and the ‘feminization’ of Iraq men.… Read the rest
Grayling on Opposing Mindsets
Aug 17th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
On one side are those who inquire; on
the other are those who espouse a belief system which pre-packages all the answers.… Read the rest
Women Blocked From Voting in Afghanistan
Aug 17th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Polling stations are sex-segregated and there aren’t enough women to staff them, so tough luck.… Read the rest
The Future of Iranian Feminism
Aug 17th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The women’s movement has built an independent structure that the regime has not been able to crack.… Read the rest
Not Chicken Soup for the Soul
Aug 17th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Researchers in positive psychology fight its image as a New Agey self-help movement.… Read the rest
Alan Sokal, Science and Politics
Aug 16th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Sokal views science and religion as fundamentally epistemologically incompatible.… Read the rest
