Since there’s a magic box that can find anyone with just a bit of DNA…… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
The Psychology of Believing News Reports 
Oct 20th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
People are more likely to discount information if they are suspicious of the motives behind its dissemination.… Read the rest
Libel Laws Silence Critics
Oct 20th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Did the Society of Homeopaths engage with these criticisms? No. They sent a threatening legal letter.… Read the rest
Bhutto is Defiant
Oct 19th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘What are the militants saying? They are saying it is not safe for peaceful people to gather together.’… Read the rest
Cold Spring Harbor Lab Suspends Watson
Oct 19th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Now scientists can read all our DNA they can show there is no scientific basis for the concept of race. … Read the rest
Lucky Dube Murdered in Johannesburg
Oct 19th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
One of the great reggae artists and one of the apartheid regime’s most outspoken critics. … Read the rest
Ostracized Women
Oct 19th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Each year, 100,000 women who give birth in poor countries develop obstetric fistula.… Read the rest
Preventing Harm: Empowering Women
Oct 19th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Helping women gain greater power and more options in life is key to improving reproductive health.… Read the rest
Women Die to Give Birth
Oct 19th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Around half a million women in developing countries die annually before, while, or soon after giving birth.… Read the rest
Prayer Will Remain Legal: It Has no Truth Value
Oct 19th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Swedish government has announced plans to clamp down hard on religious education.… Read the rest
Parents Cite Religion to Avoid Vaccination
Oct 18th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Public health officials say it takes only a few unvaccinated people to cause an outbreak risking many lives.… Read the rest
Muslim Secularism and its Allies
Oct 18th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Suggest an Islam without political aspirations and people start defending Qutb and Mawdudi as if their lives depended on it.… Read the rest
Girls Are Treated Differently
Oct 18th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Birmingham leads the way in its handling of forced marriage, honour killings and domestic violence.… Read the rest
TV Documentary on Family Murdered by Father
Oct 18th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Caneze Riaz, 39, was killed along with daughters Sayrah, 16, Sophia, 13, Alicia, 10, and Hannah, 3.… Read the rest
Women Resisting in Iran
Oct 18th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Farahnaz Shiri, the first female bus driver in Tehran, has made her own little society in her bus.… Read the rest
Senegal: Editor Jailed for ‘Insulting the President’
Oct 17th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Senegal’s president has a personal prisoner accused of attacking his apparently sacred status, RSF said.… Read the rest
‘Moussa Kaka Must be Free’
Oct 17th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
African journalists, lawyers, academics try to convince President of Niger to free journalist.… Read the rest
Report on Freedom from Religion Convention
Oct 17th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
At which Hitchens calls for more war.… Read the rest
Martha Nussbaum Reviews The Lucifer Effect
Oct 17th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Zimbardo concludes that situational features explain why people behave abusively to others. … Read the rest
South Africa Losing Aids Fight
Oct 17th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Average infection rate 30%; 400,000 deaths a year; 1.5 million orphans; 1.2 million without treatment.… Read the rest
