Can ‘reasonable people’ disagree about what constitutes torture?… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Toronto Conference on Sharia Law [pdf] 
Jul 17th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Irshad Manji, Homa Arjomand on globalization of political Islam.… Read the rest
Describing Jihadist Terrorism as Reactive is Wrong
Jul 16th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Islamism is a real ideology; it is fatuous and counterproductive to claim otherwise. … Read the rest
Sex, Violence and Philosophy [audio]
Jul 16th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Three would-be hipsters discuss.… Read the rest
Scott McLemee on Microcosmographia Academica
Jul 16th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
After almost a century, it remains as sharp as ever: parts might have been written last week.… Read the rest
How Real Estate Went Pro, Then Academic
Jul 16th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Sellers see what they are doing as a kind of applied social science.… Read the rest
Unite Against Terror
Jul 16th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
We stand in solidarity with all these strangers, hand holding hand, from London to Netanya to Baghdad: communities united against terror.… Read the rest
Why Blame the Terrorists?
Jul 16th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Why not blame the Enlightenment instead?… Read the rest
Appeasement Won’t Change Minds
Jul 16th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
How much is the world prepared to tolerate before intervening against murderous regimes?… Read the rest
Shocking Outcome in Afghanistan
Jul 16th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Woman dares to run for office.… Read the rest
Ian Buruma on Bad Arguments for Blame Bushblair
Jul 16th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Suicide bombers recognise no state outside imaginary community of pure faith.… Read the rest
Blair Speech: What the Battle is About
Jul 16th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Not just terrorist methods but their views. Not just barbaric acts, but barbaric ideas.… Read the rest
Not Islamophobia but Paranoia
Jul 15th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
David Goodhart on the rhetoric of grievance.… Read the rest
Sassy? Rocking the Boat? Is This a Game?
Jul 15th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
London was punished because ‘the pond that divides Britain and America is a shallow one.’… Read the rest
Prayer ‘No Aid to Heart Patients’
Jul 15th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
There’s a surprise…… Read the rest
The Ancient Quest for Emotional Integrity
Jul 15th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Kierkegaard and the place of emotion in philosophy.… Read the rest
Simone de Beauvoir the Bono of Post-WW II Paris
Jul 15th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
She and Sartre-Geldof acted as triggers of public and political conscience.… Read the rest
Hitchens on Srebrenica
Jul 14th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
What must it be like to die like that, gutted like a sheep in full view of the ‘international community’?… Read the rest
Kenan Malik: Different Drugs for Different Races?
Jul 14th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
NEJM says race is biologically meaningless, some doctors disagree.… Read the rest
Whither Multiculturalism?
Jul 14th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It’s meant to bring people together, but critics say it drives them apart. … Read the rest
