It’s good to speak truth to power, but that requires truth.… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Archaeology, Middle East Studies, Tenure 
Jan 1st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
El-Haj case among several involving Middle East scholars that have set off debates on academic freedom.… Read the rest
Norman Levitt on Steve Fuller’s ID Book
Jan 1st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘A truly miserable piece of work, crammed with errors scientific, historical, and even theological.’… Read the rest
Sue Blackmore on Believing in ‘Revealed Truth’
Jan 1st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
You have to believe certain things because other people tell you that God told someone else they were true.… Read the rest
Tariq Ali Deplores a Feudal Charade
Dec 31st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The PPP is being treated as a family heirloom, a property to be disposed of at the will of its leader.… Read the rest
Tariq Ali on the Bhutto Assassination
Dec 31st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
What has happened is a tragedy for a country on a road to more disasters. … Read the rest
Jemima Khan on Benazir Bhutto
Dec 31st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The first democratically elected female leader of a Muslim country never even tried to repeal the Hudood Ordinances.… Read the rest
The Arranged Marriage of Bhutto and Musharraf
Dec 31st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The experience of her father’s trial and death radicalised and politicised his daughter. … Read the rest
Hitchens on Belief in Belief
Dec 31st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Faith’ is at its most dangerous not when it is insincere and hypocritical and corrupt but when it is genuine.… Read the rest
Moni Mohsin on Pakistan Without Benazir
Dec 30th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Alone among the leadership of Pakistan, she understood the grave threat from religious extremists. … Read the rest
Aziz Huq Says Bhutto Was No Mandela, But
Dec 30th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Without democracy, there is scant chance the religious leaders who have backed the Taliban can be won over. … Read the rest
So Much For Higher Education
Dec 30th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Texas higher ed panel recommends letting Institute for Creation Research offer degrees in science education.… Read the rest
Hitchens on Why Bhutto’s Murder is a Disaster
Dec 30th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
She was pro-Taliban and pro-nukes as PM, but had changed her mind about the Taliban.… Read the rest
‘Box to Box’: Vote and You’re Dead
Dec 30th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Islamist opposition to democracy is based on the claim that allowing humans to legislate is a form of sherk.… Read the rest
Political Violence is the Bane of South Asia
Dec 30th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Militants and fanatics of all dogmas and grievances have assassinated leaders since independence.… Read the rest
Anthony Gottlieb Reviews Antony Flew
Dec 29th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Or rather a book purporting to be by Flew.… Read the rest
Where Did the Laws of Nature Come From?
Dec 29th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Cosmology meets philosophy.… Read the rest
McGinn Did Not Like Honderich’s Book
Dec 29th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
But was his tone wrong? Philosophers and others discuss.… Read the rest
Grand Opening of London Center for Inquiry
Dec 29th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Paul Kurtz, Joseph Hoffmann, Julian Baggini, Stephen Law, Nigel Warburton, Polly Toynbee, Ibn Warraq, etc.… Read the rest
The Most Potent Voice for Liberalism and Change
Dec 29th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Bhutto’s assassination a defining act of the politics of murder – a phenomenon that we see from Lebanon to Iraq to Pakistan.… Read the rest
