After the serious earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, a website popped up that blamed the event on gays and lesbians, prostitution, and baby seal clubbing, a website that has been rightfully denounced by the media and gay and lesbian groups.

But I’m suspicious. There are a couple of things that make me doubt; one is that the site is a little too free in flaunting photos of naked people from gay events in New Zealand, which is not typical of conservative religious sites. Another problem is the excess — it is clearly trying to be sensationalist. And yet there is no one, no church taking credit for the site, which is very peculiar.

This isn’t a site representative of much of anything. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s either the work of an obsessive religious zealot — an individual, not a group — or of someone intentionally trying to discredit religion with an over-the-top fake. Either way, whoever made that crazy site needs some pity.

I’m in Minneapolis right now to give a talk at 2 at the Roseville library. My fellow Minnesotans all know we’re being hit with a big snow storm — the weather service is howling about blizzards and whiteouts. I’m beginning to suspect I’m not going to make it home today.

I have a Human Physiology class scheduled for 8am tomorrow morning. I’m hoping one or two of my students will see this message in a bottle and pass the word: I will be trying to get home today, but I’m not going to be stupid, and will give up rather than bulling on through hazardous conditions. If I do make it home, I will put a big message here saying COME TO CLASS MONDAY MORNING! Check before you go to bed tonight and if I’m stranded somewhere and don’t confirm my arrival…sleep in tomorrow.

I know you’ll all be hoping for my safe and timely travel.

Talking all day. Tired. Talking more tomorrow: Atheist Talk radio with Minnesota Atheists at 9am Central time. Also giving another talk at 2pm. Then driving home in a snowstorm. Yay Minnesota.

I’ve tried to catch the news on broadcast and cable TV, off and on, lately, and it always ends up being far more off than on, despite certain dramatic events going on in the world. American news is dead, it seems. What I’ve done instead is tune in to Al Jazeera on the internet, which is doing a phenomenally good job of covering Egypt.

To my cable company: you’d make me very happy if you had an option to switch Al Jazeera English for the awful Fox News you offer now. And as long as you’re doing that, can we switch out CNN for the BBC?

At least they’re going in the right direction: Taco Bell is being sued because their meat is mostly non-meat.

The “seasoned ground beef” contains less than 35 percent beef – the other 65 percent of the meat-like mixture is: water, isolated oat product, salt, chili pepper, onion powder, tomato powder, oats (wheat), soy lecithin, sugar, spices, maltodextrin, soybean oil (anti-dusting agent), garlic powder, autolyzed yeast extract, citric acid, caramel color, cocoa powder (processed with alkali), silicon dioxide (anti-caking agent), natural flavors, yeast, modified corn starch, natural smoke flavor, salt, sodium phosphate, less than 2% of beef broth, potassium phosphate and potassium lactate.

The only thing I find objectionable about that is the 35% beef — if they could get that down to 0% I might be tempted to try their food someday.

And doesn’t this just show, since people were happily eating that stuff before, that vegetarian foods aren’t necessarily objectionable?

Alright already, enough with the claims that Jared Loughner was a lefty because he read Marx. Does his voting record mean anything?

My eyes are getting a little old. Does it say “SOCIALIST” for political affiliation?

Of course, this does not imply that all Republicans are deranged assassins, or that Loughner’s primary affiliation wasn’t “MENTALLY ILL”.

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This is fake? Other evidence says he was registered as an Independent.

I’m a little mystified about why anyone would forge a record like this, though. This kind of crap all gets caught out in the end.

It’s about time someone updated that Charlie Brown treacle.

His father, John Dawkins, has died at the age of 95. He led an interesting life!

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There’s a better link here, with pictures.

The Guardian is running a series on the Heroes and Villains of 2010, and Richard Dawkins writes up Christopher Hitchens. As a hero, of course.