While comedy speaking truth to power is funny, the powerful laughing at the weak is not.… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Anti-Wahhabist Journalist Killed in Dagestan 
Sep 4th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Alishayev was an editor at an Islamic tv station who made a documentary countering Wahhabism.… Read the rest
Carlin Romano on Bernard-Henri Lévy
Sep 4th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It’s that openness to being shaken in his beliefs that makes Lévy more appealing than many of his detractors.… Read the rest
Racism and Sexism or Neoliberalism?
Sep 4th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It is exploitation, not discrimination, that is the primary producer of inequality today. … Read the rest
Our Brains Do Not Intuitively Grasp Probabilities
Sep 4th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Thanks to confirmation bias, we remember the coincidences and forget the vast sea of meaningless data.… Read the rest
Joke Obscenity Filters
Sep 4th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Assassination’ becomes ‘buttbuttination,’ ‘passenger’ is ‘pbuttenger,’ and ‘passerby’ is ‘pbutterby.’… Read the rest
Egyptian Women Describe Sexual Harassment
Sep 3rd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘I get harassed 100 times a day. I tried everything to stop it but it doesn’t stop.’… Read the rest
Emergence of ‘Morality Police’ in Yemen
Sep 3rd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A setback for women, already battling 70% illiteracy and one of the biggest gender gaps on earth.… Read the rest
Iran Sentences Women’s Rights Activists
Sep 3rd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Six months in prison for writing feminist articles on a website.… Read the rest
Contentious Polygamy Law in Iran
Sep 3rd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The proposed Family Support Bill would allow a man to marry a second wife without the permission of the first. … Read the rest
Harper Collins Australia Apologizes for Offending
Sep 3rd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Book teaches girls to play didgeridoo; some ‘indigenous leaders’ say this is taboo.… Read the rest
Julian Baggini on Philosophy and the Art of Living
Sep 2nd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Self-help promises more than it delivers. For philosophy to do better, it cannot afford to make the same mistake. … Read the rest
Royal Berkshire Hospital on Bare Arms Policy
Sep 2nd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Trust Chaplain and Imam agree that the policy is an acceptable professional requirement.… Read the rest
Telegraph on Women Buried Alive in Balochistan
Sep 2nd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
No one has been arrested; human rights groups accuse local authorities of trying to cover up the murders.… Read the rest
Pakistan: Murdered Women Exhumed
Sep 2nd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Only two found. Police have arrested six people, including some relatives of the women. … Read the rest
‘Abstinence Only’ and its Discontents
Sep 2nd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The US has one of the worst annual rates of teenage pregnancies in the developed world. … Read the rest
Treat Domestic Workers Fairly This Ramadan
Sep 2nd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
HRW: employers of domestic workers in the ME and NA should consider the rights of domestic workers.… Read the rest
Woman in Niqab Encounters Hostility
Sep 1st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘People never say things to your face,’ she complains. Irony alarm explodes.… Read the rest
Heresy Corner on ‘Respecting’ the Niqab
Sep 1st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Noor Aza Othman of the Women for Justice Support Group Project, Malaysia, posted a comment – which was deleted.… Read the rest
Political Islam, Sharia Law and Civil Society
Sep 1st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain presents its first international conference October 10.… Read the rest
