It can no longer be claimed that the secular majority has acquiesced to the religious minority; there is no secular majority, only a negligible minority.… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Afghan woman killed for giving birth to a girl 
Jan 30th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Some women in Afghanistan are abused if they fail to give birth to boys. This is the latest in a series of high-profile crimes against women in the country.… Read the rest
Fox News “investigates” Rock Beyond Belief
Jan 30th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Quotemine quotemine quotemine. I really appreciate you giving us a call.… Read the rest
Death threats for Dutch satirist’s burqa song
Jan 29th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Johan Vlemmix has stopped performing the song onstage and cancelled the option to order the shirts via his website.… Read the rest
Shafias found guilty
Jan 29th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
All three found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder of Zainab Shafia, 19, Sahar, 17, Geeti, 13, and Rona Amir Mohammad, 52.… Read the rest
Mark Vernon says the materialist world view must go
Jan 29th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Science an act of faith? Science a belief system? But then how else to explain the grip of the mechanistic, physicalist, purposeless cosmology?… Read the rest
University bows to Hindutva student group fatwa on film
Jan 29th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Symbiosis University cancelled screening of documentary on Kashmir after Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad raised objections to its ‘separatist’ nature.… Read the rest
Jessica Ahlquist faces Cranston’s rage
Jan 28th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
New York Times asks, bullyingly, “Does she empathize in any way with members of her community who want the prayer to stay?”… Read the rest
Alain de Botton wants to build atheist “temple”
Jan 28th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
To celebrate a “new atheism” as an antidote to what he describes as Professor Richard Dawkins’s “aggressive” and “destructive” approach to non-belief.… Read the rest
William Dalrymple on last Tuesday afternoon in Jaipur
Jan 28th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“Then they sought out our producer, Sanjoy Roy, and told him that they were prepared to use any amount of violence in order to stop Rushdie’s voice being heard.”… Read the rest
The Pod Delusion with Jesus and Mo at LSE
Jan 27th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
James O’Malley talks to Chris Moos of LSE ASH.… Read the rest
The Muslim Brotherhood
Jan 27th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Maybe they won’t be so bad, people say nervously. Maybe they’ll be only a little bit bad. We hope so.… Read the rest
Kentucky cuts education, funds creationism
Jan 27th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Kentucky Governor is suggesting over $50 million in cuts to education – while preserving $43 million in tax breaks for Answers in Genesis Ark Encounter theme park.… Read the rest
Giant ugly Jesus statue for Primrose Hill
Jan 27th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Something to do with the Olympics and Rio de Janeiro, but the people of North London are not delighted.… Read the rest
New Hampshire Republicans propose bills that prevent…
Jan 26th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
…police from protecting victims of domestic violence. That’s family values.… Read the rest
Audio of LSE SU debate on Islamophobia
Jan 26th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“It’s deeply insulting to ridicule a faith.”… Read the rest
Women stripped and assaulted in Tahrir Square
Jan 26th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
They get grabbed, knocked down, stripped, beaten up, finger-raped – then told not to say anything because “it would hurt the image of the revolution.”… Read the rest
Human rights groups monitor trial of Baltasar Garzón
Jan 26th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
AI, HRW, and IJC have all sent observers amid concerns that Garzón is being targeted because of his innovative use of international human rights laws.… Read the rest
Threats stop even video appearance by Rushdie
Jan 25th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Muslim groups attending the festival threatened violence if Rushdie appeared via video.… Read the rest
Popehat on shut-uppery at LSE
Jan 25th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The LSE Student Union’s statement on the matter is a master class in the mindset of censorious bureaucrats.… Read the rest
