Anti-gay hatred is free speech, but anti-homophobia is hate crime against religion.… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Zoe Williams on the HPV Vaccine
Sep 6th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonAs vaccine for cervical cancer becomes available in the UK, conservative opinion mobilises.… Read the rest
Pharmacists and Plan B
Sep 6th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘If a person’s purpose is to kill a fertilized egg, then I disagree with that.’… Read the rest
Left Should Forget Diversity, Heed Inequality
Sep 5th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonCritics say left can do both; Walter Benn Michaels says it hasn’t happened.… Read the rest
Newsflash: Fay Weldon is Silly
Sep 5th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonHer new book beats up on nasty materialists and ‘Darwinians’; she has Found God.… Read the rest
More on Bruce Hood
Sep 5th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonSays difference between valuing sentimental objects and believing in magic is only one of degree.… Read the rest
Frederic Jameson on Slavoj Žižek
Sep 5th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘Theory has no vested interests inasmuch as it never lays claim to an absolute system.’… Read the rest
Jesus Camp, the Movie
Sep 5th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonEvangelical asks audience to ‘raise hands in prayer’ towards a life-size photo of Bush.… Read the rest
Image of Virgin Mary Appears on Turtle Underside
Sep 5th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonOr not.… Read the rest
Ignatieff Frontrunner for Liberal Party Leadership
Sep 4th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘Many Liberals are now hoping the writer and academic will be the next Trudeau.’… Read the rest
Psychologist Says Humans Hardwired for Religion
Sep 4th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonBut seems to equate religious belief with sentiment, which is dubious.… Read the rest
Honour Killings OK
Sep 4th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia Benson10% of young British Asians thinks ‘honour killings’ can be justified, according to BBC poll.… Read the rest
Vaccine Stops 75% of Cervical Cancer Deaths
Sep 4th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonGardasil was found to be effective on more strains of HPV than first thought. … Read the rest
Nick Cohen on Why Language Matters
Sep 4th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘The Left can’t talk in a way that convinces outsiders that it is honest.’… Read the rest
Scott McLemee Says Adios to Deadwood
Sep 3rd, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThe characters delivered intricate arias of Victorian syntax and repetitive obscenity.… Read the rest
Witches Have to Pay Tax
Sep 3rd, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘If they sell something, whether it’s a potion or a curse, they need to pay tax.’… Read the rest
MPs Worry About Rising Hatred of British Jews
Sep 3rd, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonAccuse some left activists and Muslim extremists of using criticism of Israel as ‘pretext’ for anti-semitism.… Read the rest
What John Adams Scribbled in his Books
Sep 3rd, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘What he most dislikes is breezy confidence; the pieties of both left and right set him off.’… Read the rest
Richard Wolin on Foucault’s Change of Mind
Sep 3rd, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonLater Foucault was a human-rights activist, contrary to his canonization as the progenitor of identity politics.… Read the rest
Lila Abu-Lughod on ‘Western’ Feminism
Sep 2nd, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonImages of veiled women make it hard to think about the Muslim world without thinking about women.… Read the rest