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Inevitably links go out of date.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.


A skeptic does the Dr Phil show *

Jun 2nd, 2012 | Filed by

The show gives the appearance of a serious look at a question, “Do psychic powers really exist?”, but it isn’t one.… Read the rest



Rick Warren was only joking *

Jun 1st, 2012 | Filed by

When he tweeted “If they’re cute, it’s flirting. If they’re ugly, it’s harassment.” Amen.… Read the rest



Woman sentenced to death by stoning in Sudan *

Jun 1st, 2012 | Filed by

Intisar Sharif Abdalla is being held near Khartoum, shackled in prison with her baby son.… Read the rest



Dolan authorized payments to rapist priests *

May 31st, 2012 | Filed by

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of NY authorized payments of up to $20k to sexually abusive priests as an incentive to leave priesthood when he was archbish of Milwaukee.… Read the rest



Tarek Fatah and Irshad Manji talk about multiculturalism *

May 31st, 2012 | Filed by

The two authors discuss culture and racism, what values Western society has allowed for modern society, and the practice of democracy.… Read the rest



160 girls poisoned at Afghan school *

May 30th, 2012 | Filed by

Last week, more than 120 girls and three teachers were admitted to a hospital after a similar suspected poisoning.… Read the rest



Witch-hunts: The darkness that won’t go away *

May 30th, 2012 | Filed by

Children who are accused of being witches by their families are often chased out of their homes. These abandoned children can fall prey to child trafficking and abuse.… Read the rest



The angel Jibril speaks *

May 30th, 2012 | Filed by

And Jesus doesn’t get to choose what’s for dinner.… Read the rest



Sentenced to death for singing and dancing at a wedding *

May 30th, 2012 | Filed by

“The local clerics issued a decree to kill all four women and two men shown in  the video,” district police officer Abdul Majeed Afridi said.… Read the rest



World Health Assembly discusses child marriage *

May 30th, 2012 | Filed by

The WHO finds that complications in pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death in girls aged 15-19 in the developing world.… Read the rest



Egypt: women’s rights are shrinking day by day *

May 30th, 2012 | Filed by

Men shout at hijabless women, “Just you wait, those who will cover you up and make you stay at home are coming, and then there will no more of this lewdness.”… Read the rest



Opponents of this crop trial are blind to the food crisis *

May 29th, 2012 | Filed by

Preventing experiments such as this, where there is clearly a public benefit if it works, will do nothing to solve the coming food crisis of the 21st century.… Read the rest



US states that ban atheists from holding public office *

May 29th, 2012 | Filed by

Arkansas, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas. “No religious test…other than a declaration of belief in the existence of God”!… Read the rest



Italy: bishops ‘not obliged’ to report sexual abuse to police *

May 29th, 2012 | Filed by

The Italian Bishop’s Conference (CIE) has issued guidelines on child protection  that inform its bishops that they are ‘not obliged to report illicit facts’ of  child abuse to the police.… Read the rest



Morocco: more than 30,000 children employed as servants *

May 29th, 2012 | Filed by

The “little maids” are for the most part “badly paid and submitted to physical and economic violence.”… Read the rest



Woman convicted in faith-healing death of son *

May 29th, 2012 | Filed by

In relying on prayer to heal her diabetic son, Grady, a member of the Church of the  Firstborn, told police, “I didn’t want to be weak in my faith and disappoint God.”… Read the rest



David Gorski on “Miracle Mineral Solution” and autism *

May 28th, 2012 | Filed by

It’s bleach. People give it to children with autism. Bleach.Read the rest



Catcalls, whistles, groping: sexual harassment in London *

May 27th, 2012 | Filed by

Nearly half of young women in London were sexually harassed in public last year, with many forced to endure unwanted male attention on buses and trains, a new study shows.… Read the rest



Mali Tuareg and Islamist rebels agree on Islamist state *

May 27th, 2012 | Filed by

The Islamist group Ansar Dine, which has ties to al-Qaeda, has already begun to impose Sharia in towns such as Timbuktu.… Read the rest



Vatican publishes rules for apparitions of Mary *

May 27th, 2012 | Filed by

Because there are totally rules about it.… Read the rest