Call to annul the regulations was defeated by 199 votes to 68.… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Right to Discriminate Not Upheld 
Jan 9th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Some religious groups have said the laws will force them to promote gay sex.… Read the rest
Moroccan Journalists Prosecuted for Jokes
Jan 8th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Government says attacking religion is one of the most serious offences a journalist can commit. … Read the rest
Howard Gardner on Peter Kramer on Freud
Jan 8th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘No reader of Kramer alone would appreciate the extent to which Freud airs doubts.’ Hmm.… Read the rest
Alain de Botton on Philosophy for Adolescents
Jan 8th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘The book ends with the reassuring news that philosophy can change your life for the better.’… Read the rest
Getting it all Wrong
Jan 8th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
By tutting at culture of conformity while conforming all the same.… Read the rest
‘Desperate Crossing’ Gets Things Wrong
Jan 8th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Instead of discussion and analysis of evidence, we see its mangling to conform with modern sentiment.’… Read the rest
Hubble Telescope Data on Dark Matter
Jan 7th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Suggest an invisible scaffold around which the ordinary matter of stars and galaxies has formed.… Read the rest
Squeamishness Can Increase Suffering
Jan 7th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A C Grayling notes we sometimes spare our own feelings at the expense of someone else’s.… Read the rest
Carlin Romano on ‘Books’ About Ann Coulter
Jan 7th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
They have to be better if they want to make a dent.… Read the rest
Martha Nussbaum on Public Philosophy
Jan 7th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
US a difficult place for public philosophy because the media are so sensationalistic and anti-intellectual.… Read the rest
Utopian Dreams Ultimately Maddeningly Vague
Jan 7th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Tobias Jones fails to interrogate the doctrinal element of religion.… Read the rest
Kahneman and Renshon on Why Hawks Win
Jan 7th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
People have deep decision-making biases, and almost all favor conflict rather than concession.… Read the rest
It Was Postmodernist Irony You Know
Jan 6th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Who is codding whom?… Read the rest
Umran Javed’s Exciting Past
Jan 6th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Defending free speech since 2003.… Read the rest
Joan Bakewell Chats with Haleh Afshar
Jan 6th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Islamophobia says you treat women so badly, a hideous cliché; do you get much Islamophobia now?… Read the rest
Soundbites Okay, Cartoons not Okay
Jan 6th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Muslim activists’ said demonstrators were merely expressing anger, not literally calling for murder.… Read the rest
Ashcroft Fuzzy on Constitution
Jan 6th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Former Attorney General urges legislators to pray; scary people agree on revealed truth.… Read the rest
Tobias Jones Faces the End
Jan 6th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Secular fundamentalists’ want the eradication of all believers from the face of the earth.… Read the rest
Wendy Doniger: Many Masks, Many Selves
Jan 5th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Individuals are often driven to self-impersonation through the pressure of public expectations.… Read the rest
