The NSS thinks that schools should be secular places and that religion should play no part in them.… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Literary Prize Blocks Random House 
Sep 1st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Random House has exhibited cowardly self-censorship so Langum Charitable Trust won’t consider its titles.… Read the rest
Pakistan Post Blasts Balochistan Senator
Sep 1st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Defending barbarism in the name of tribal ‘justice’ is a crime in itself.… Read the rest
Balochistan Govt Twists Facts About Murders
Sep 1st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Seen as a bid to save the perpetrator, said to be the younger brother of a PPP cabinet minister.… Read the rest
Obama Answers Science Debate Questions
Sep 1st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The other fella hasn’t answered.… Read the rest
Regent’s Park Mosque Preacher Says ‘Kill Them’
Aug 31st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Adulterers, converts, gays, women who ‘make themselves like a man’ – kill them all.… Read the rest
Pakistan: Senator Defends Murder of 5 Women
Aug 31st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Baloch Senator Israr Ullah Zehri said ‘these are our norms which should not be highlighted negatively’.… Read the rest
Baluch Tribal Traditions ‘Help Stop Obscenity’
Aug 31st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Zehri told MPs to stop making such a fuss. ‘Only those who indulge in immoral acts should be afraid.’… Read the rest
What Does Humanism Mean?
Aug 31st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Nigel Warburton asks Andrew Copson. One thing it’s not is some sort of quasi-religion.… Read the rest
Women Imams Preach Killing of Gays, ‘Apostates’
Aug 31st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘He is Muslim and he gets out of Islam. What are we going to do? We kill him, kill, kill.’… Read the rest
‘Religious Beliefs’ Outweigh Medical Hygiene
Aug 31st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Radiographer told to bare forearms or lose job. She believes her ‘diversity human rights’ were violated.… Read the rest
Inside Orissa’s Communal Caldron
Aug 31st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The underlying cause is the battle between Hindus and Christian converts over reservations.… Read the rest
Secularists Are Not the Anti-Christ
Aug 31st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Cardinal Brady is demanding the right to control the way of life of every citizen in every European country.… Read the rest
Why Self-flagellation Matters
Aug 30th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Those adults who engage in self-flagellation do so with a consciousness of the ceremonial nature of the act.… Read the rest
Like Everything Else, It’s About ‘Choice’
Aug 30th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
If parents have the right to believe what they like, their children have the right learn that some things are wrong.… Read the rest
Giordano Bruno
Aug 30th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Once he mounted the pyre, a crucifix was held up to his face; he turned away angrily.… Read the rest
Carl Elliott in Defense of the Beta Blocker
Aug 30th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Especially good performance enhancers when the performance involves an anxiety-producing public setting. … Read the rest
Stephen Law’s Book Club Starts
Aug 29th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Even if religious leaders do have expertise on ethical issues, that doesn’t entail we should defer to them.… Read the rest
Grayling on Religion and Self-inflicted Pain
Aug 29th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Christianity and Hinduism can offer examples that make zanjir self-flagellation look like a haircut. … Read the rest
No Eating at Council Meetings During Ramadan
Aug 29th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘No one religion should be accorded more status or influence than others,’ says Lib-Dem councillor.… Read the rest
