Ballantine hoped academic blurb would show the novel wasn’t just fluffy romance. Oh well.… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Shahed Amanullah Speaks Up for Free Speech 
Aug 8th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
No one has the right not to be offended, nor to live without the uncomfortable opinions of others.… Read the rest
Grayling on Religion and Oppression of Women
Aug 8th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Tradition and religion make shackles of iron, and the shackles are mainly worn by women.… Read the rest
Philip Anderson Reviews Alan Sokal
Aug 8th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
When attacked, fans of pseudoscience defend themselves by referring to postmodernist philosophers.… Read the rest
Austin Statesman on Denise Spellberg
Aug 7th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Shahed Amanullah partly shares Spellberg’s concerns but opposes the idea of not publishing the book.… Read the rest
Alberta HRCC Rejects Motoons Complaint
Aug 7th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Human rights and citizenship commission’s Gundara wrote the cartoons are very bad but not gratuitous.… Read the rest
Calvinists Block Sunday Ferry Service
Aug 7th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Not content to stay off ferries themselves, they must force everyone else to stay home too.… Read the rest
Ezra Levant on Needing Permission to Publish
Aug 7th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Edmonton Council of Muslim Communities hijacked a secular government agency to prosecute ‘blasphemy.’… Read the rest
Musharraf Faces Impeachment Bid
Aug 7th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Sharif and Zardari promise to restore judges sacked by Musharraf if impeachment succeeds.… Read the rest
Necla Kelek on Tariq Ramadan
Aug 6th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Ramadan’s initiative against forced marriage is an attempt to contain and advise Muslim girls in an Islamic manner.… Read the rest
All Devout Muslims, All Face Same Dilemma
Aug 6th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Whether to earn money working for haram Westerners and get an education, or be pure and uneducated.… Read the rest
Dawkins Evangelical Atheist
Aug 6th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Also celebrity fundamentalist atheist. Yak yak.… Read the rest
Geert Wilders on The Choice [audio]
Aug 6th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
From a heavily guarded studio.… Read the rest
Random House Cancels Aisha Novel
Aug 6th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Academic tells friend ‘the novel “made fun of Muslims and their history,” asks him to warn Muslims.… Read the rest
Southall Black Sisters Won Its Challenge
Aug 5th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Secular spaces are literally being squeezed out of minority communities.’… Read the rest
More on ‘Defamation of Religion’
Aug 5th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
With the kind of global blasphemy laws in this resolution, anybody could sue for hurt feelings. … Read the rest
Iran Suspends Execution by Stoning
Aug 5th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The stones used must be big enough to cause pain, but not to kill immediately. … Read the rest
Rosie Bell on the LRB and Verso’s List
Aug 5th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Voice of Hezbollah; The Statements of Osama Bin Laden; The Holocaust Industry.… Read the rest
Using the UN to Stifle Free Speech
Aug 5th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
OIC aims to empower governments around the world to punish anyone who ‘defames’ Islam.… Read the rest
Secularism and Equality
Aug 4th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Special exemptions for religion are the opposite of equality before the law.… Read the rest
