The first taste of their own rhetorical medicine reduces the godly to frothing rage.… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Islamist Group Offers to Behead Women 
Jun 4th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Swords of Truth ‘will cut throats, from vein to vein, if needed to protect the spirit and morals of this nation.’… Read the rest
Female Newsreaders Protest Threat
Jun 4th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Shameless women claim ability to dress themselves without help.… Read the rest
Not Bob Jones University but Oxford
Jun 4th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
College head thinks 95% of us will burn in hell; deputy believes it’s wrong for women to teach men.… Read the rest
Why the Boycott is Stupid
Jun 2nd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The academy is the arena for debate; the sharper that is, the more likely that truth is what will emerge.… Read the rest
Iran Promoting Temporary ‘Marriages’
Jun 2nd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
There are already tens of thousands of children from temporary marriages whose fathers deny them.… Read the rest
What Senator Brownback ‘Thinks’ on Evolution
Jun 2nd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Faith seeks to purify reason so that we might be able to see more clearly, not less.’… Read the rest
Mark Perakh Reviews Stephen Barr
Jun 2nd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Good physics, bad arguments that science is ‘the friend of faith.’… Read the rest
Nigel Warburton Interviews Michael Clark
Jun 2nd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
What a paradox is and why philosophers should be interested in them.… Read the rest
Abortion is a Wedge Issue
Jun 1st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Part of a wider attempt to roll back the values of secularism and impose religious views on everyone.… Read the rest
Female Flight Attendants Told to Be Thin
Jun 1st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Otherwise the plane might fall down, you see.… Read the rest
Chris Hedges Explains ‘Authentic’ Religion
Jun 1st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Religious faith has no quarrel with science. It seeks a spiritual truth, not a scientific or historical fact.’… Read the rest
Collins Has It, Hitchens Doesn’t
Jun 1st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
An intrinsic feeling for religion.… Read the rest
Iran’s Intelligence Ministry Threatens Academics
May 31st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
They will be suspected of spying if they interact with foreign institutions or attend international conferences.… Read the rest
Catholic Cardinal Threatens Pro-abortion MPs
May 31st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Cardinal has been frustrated by ‘the marginalisation of Christian values in public affairs.’… Read the rest
Iran Accuses ‘Persepolis’ of ‘Islamophobia’
May 31st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Well it would, wouldn’t it.… Read the rest
Can Philosophy Save the Middle East?
May 31st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Does philosophy provide a language through which people can communicate even if they do not accept each other’s religious commitments?… Read the rest
Jon Wiener Interviews Sari Nusseibeh
May 31st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Very often in life the implementation of one right conflicts with the ability to implement another.’… Read the rest
Martha Nussbaum: Against Academic Boycotts
May 31st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Indifference to the lives and health of women has never been seriously considered as a reason for any boycott.… Read the rest
Lecturers’ Union Backs Boycott of Israel
May 31st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Delegates at conference of new University and College Union voted three to two to recommend boycotts.… Read the rest
