Leading scientists cite persistent problems in science education generally… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Poetry is Itself a Way of Happening 
Nov 21st, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
George Szirtes on the need to love and distrust language.… Read the rest
Christopher Hart on Grayling on Descartes
Nov 21st, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Descartes one of the more appealing philosophers: so human, quarrelsome and frequently bone idle.… Read the rest
Which Asian Values?
Nov 21st, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Are civil rights and rights to material well-being in tension? What would Confucius say?… Read the rest
The Word ‘Community’ Trips off Many Tongues
Nov 20th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It is the wholly artificial creation of a single entity by those who live outside it.… Read the rest
Judge Sentenced for Refusing to Work Under Crucifix
Nov 20th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Says religious symbols have no place in court of law, cites constitutional provisions on human rights.… Read the rest
Cover the ‘Pudendal’ Nature of Women
Nov 20th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Which may be everything except one eye.… Read the rest
Corporate Sponsors Afraid to Back Darwin Exhibition
Nov 20th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Creationists keep gaining influence in US.… Read the rest
‘Identity’ is Crowd-thought
Nov 20th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Philip Pullman, Monica Ali, Philip Hensher and Salman Rushdie on religion, identity, communalism.… Read the rest
Muslim Girls in France Get it From Both Directions
Nov 19th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Racism, unemployment and deprivation, and harassment and violence in their own communities.… Read the rest
Blair Seeks to Appease ‘the Muslim Community’
Nov 19th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
By using phrase ‘the community’ three times in two short sentences.… Read the rest
‘Deacon Joe’ Molested Nearly Every Boy
Nov 19th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Catholic missionary in Alaska village ruined many lives. Church disavows responsibility.… Read the rest
Austria Considers Putting Irving on Trial
Nov 19th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Irving sued Deborah Lipstadt in 2000 for calling him a Holocaust denier in 1994 book. … Read the rest
How Irving Fought and Lost
Nov 19th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Judge in trial called him a falsifier of history.… Read the rest
Richard Evans Report a Key Element in Irving Trial
Nov 19th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Distorted and mistranslated documents, discredited testimony, falsified historical statistics. … Read the rest
Pinochet Says God Will Forgive the Mass Murder
Nov 18th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Everything that I did, all that I carried out, all the problems I had, I dedicate to God.’ How touching.… Read the rest
What bin Laden Wants the US to Do
Nov 18th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Convert to Islam, ditch constitution, abolish banks, jail homosexuals, sign Kyoto treaty. How touching.… Read the rest
Steven Pinker on General Science Education
Nov 18th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
General education in science should stimulate a worldview grounded in our best understanding of reality.… Read the rest
Todd Gitlin on the Authority of Anti-authority
Nov 18th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Within any movement against improper authority there evolves an idea of proper authority… Read the rest
Thucydides for the Common Reader
Nov 18th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Thucydides belongs on list of things to be sure to read before dying.… Read the rest
