Falk wrote foreword to The New Pearl Harbor, which claims 9/11 was likely an inside job.… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Yemen: 8-year-old Girl Seeks Divorce 
Apr 12th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘My father beat me and told me that I must marry this man, and if I did not, I would be raped and no law and no sheikh in this country would help me.’… Read the rest
Raymond Tallis on the Neuroscience Delusion
Apr 11th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Academic literary critics now place the firing of neurons rather than signifiers at the heart of lit crit.… Read the rest
Andrew Anthony Interviews Salman Rushdie
Apr 11th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
There is no getting away from the current relevance of subjects like foreignness, belonging and group loyalty.… Read the rest
Stanley Fish on French Theory in America
Apr 11th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
What was involved was less the rejection of the rationalist tradition than an interrogation of its key components.… Read the rest
Jesus and Mo Fall Out
Apr 11th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Mo called Jesus’s conscience a bullshitter.… Read the rest
Rabbi Flees to Canada, Israel Seeks Extradition
Apr 10th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Has been described as the ‘spiritual mentor’ of a group involved in the systematic abuse of children.… Read the rest
Underage Girls in Texas Sect Forced Into Sex
Apr 10th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Several of the teenage girls have children. Many could not spell their last names or state their birth date.… Read the rest
What Kind of Extremism Does Blair Have in Mind?
Apr 10th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Catholic church’s attitudes to gender equality makes development goals almost impossible. … Read the rest
Oh That Kind of Temple
Apr 10th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The kind that provides a bed where men rape underage girls.… Read the rest
Breaking Open the Temple
Apr 10th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
FLDS lawyers said members were praying in front of the temple as officers dragged them out of the way.… Read the rest
Blair Makes up for Lost Time on the God Front
Apr 9th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘He has converted to Roman Catholicism. This requires much thought and reflection.’ Hmm.… Read the rest
Persecution of Salah Choudhury for ‘Blasphemy’
Apr 9th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Journalist faces sedition, treason and blasphemy charges for confronting jihad and religious hatred. … Read the rest
Avishai Margalit on Sectarianism
Apr 9th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The idea of the sacred describes what is indivisible and hence not subject to compromise. … Read the rest
On Samantha Power on Sergio Vieira de Mello
Apr 9th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Moving from one hellhole to another, he experienced the conflicting claims of power and morality.… Read the rest
Wafa Sultan Forced Into Hiding
Apr 8th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Sultan joins a growing list of public critics of radical Islam facing death threats.… Read the rest
Old Tibet Was no Shangri-la
Apr 8th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
One third of the boys in Tibet were forcibly taken by the monastery. That’s human rights?… Read the rest
Illinois Legislator Tells Atheist ‘Get Out’
Apr 8th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Get out of that seat. You have no right to be here! We believe in something. You believe in destroying!’… Read the rest
Turkey Considers Tiny Change to Article 301
Apr 8th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Proposed amendment would replace denigrating Turkishness with denigrating the Turkish nation.… Read the rest
