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Zeitgeist
A DVD exposing Christianity, the Banking System and 9/11

Goodbye Santa Claus...

from Science Daily --
Caribou and reindeer numbers worldwide have plunged almost 60% in the last three decades. The dramatic revelation came out of the first ever comprehensive census analysis of this iconic species carried out by biologists at the University of Alberta. The results have been published in the peer reviewed Global Change Biology Journal and co-author PhD student Liv Vors said global warming and industrial development are responsible for driving this dramatic decline in species numbers around the world. Reindeer cannot physiologically tolerate high summer temperatures," he said. "They have almost no sweat glands and keep their insulation, a heavy pelt, in the summer. You would expect them to have trouble in high temperatures. Summer in those conditions would be the worst time for them because they have to eat a great deal to make up for the scarcity of winter food.
Increase

Dogs Don't Only Find Marijuana, They eat It!

from AOL News --
A dog that ran off from its owner in Seattle's Seward Park found a marijuana stash and ate some and got high. Owner Jen Nestor Waddell told KING-TV the 11-year-old black Lab mix named Jack was "just stoned" after they returned home from the park. The dog's eyes glossed over and he had trouble walking. The vet said Jack had swallowed a large amount of dried, harvested marijuana. After some medication to induce vomiting and a night of rest Jack was back to normal. Waddell told police about the drugs and joked they could borrow Jack to find them if they paid the $1,500 vet bill.

Local VIRATO LIVE! Guests Arrested

from courierpress.com --
The maker of the Liberty Dollar is faced with the loss of his liberty. Earlier this week, federal officials arrested Bernard von Nothaus and two others, alleging that they have distributed Liberty Dollars coins meant to resemble U.S. currency.

Von NotHaus, 65, and the other defendants were indicted in the District Court for the Western District of North Carolina on a number of charges involving conspiracy and fraud. Von NotHaus was arrested Thursday morning in Florida, after he turned himself over to the U.S. Marshalls. The other defendants, Sarah Jane Bledsoe, 42, and Rachelle L. Moseley, 34, were both arrested Wednesday. A fourth defendant, William Kevin Innes, 53, of Asheville, N.C., was arrested Tuesday. A detention hearing has been scheduled for him on Monday.

The defendants also stand accused of mail fraud, while von NotHaus and Innes face two additional counts related to fraud and distributing coins meant to be used as current money.

Von NotHaus denied that he had broken any laws. He said the allegations are meant to deflect attention from a real problem: the dollar’s decline in purchasing power.

“Their currency is losing value and our currency is gaining in value,” von NotHaus said. “And they don’t like that.”

Edward Ryan, acting U.S. Attorney of the Western District of North Carolina, said, “These coins are not government-produced coinage, yet purchasers were led to believe by those who made and sold them that they should be spent like U.S. Federal Reserve Notes.”

Von NotHaus, who calls himself the monetary architect of the Liberty Dollar, said his coins are not counterfeits. For one, the design on Liberty Dollars is different from anything on U.S. currency. And the Liberty Dollar is larger than the silver dollar.

Most importantly, von NotHaus said, the Liberty Dollar is made out of materials that hold their value: silver and gold. Recognizing that, a number of merchants have elected to accept the Liberty Dollar in return for goods or services, he said.

Von NotHaus didn’t know how many businesses were now using his “private voluntary currency.” A list of them was seized during a federal raid on the Liberty Dollar’s properties, conducted in November 2007.

“It’s like a club,” von NotHaus said. “You can join the club and use the currency or you don’t have to. There is nothing compulsory here.”

There hasn’t been a cease-and-desist order issued to prohibit the production of Liberty Dollars, von NotHaus said. He speculated that federal officials have avoided taking that step because they lack the legal grounds. Innes has been a guest on VIRATO LIVE! Numerous times, and so has von NotHaus.

Robots Getting to Know You?

From Health Day News --
European researchers say they have developed a robot that anticipates a human's needs. The robots, built by members of the European Commission's Joint-Action Science and Technology project, were programmed to help a person put together a complicated toy. Because the robot knows the toy-building process, it observes the person's actions, such as what part the person is holding, and deduces what it can do to help, such as locating the proper tool needed for assembly. "The robots observe behavior, map it against the task and quickly learn to anticipate [partner actions] or spot errors when the partner does not follow the correct or expected procedure," one of the researchers, Wolfram Erlhagen of the University of Minho in Portugal, said in a news release from the commission.

This development could lead to robots that act more like human companions -- making decisions by anticipating or questioning actions rather than just mimicking or repeating pre-programmed instructions.

The scientists relied on previous research that found people have "mirror neurons" in the brain that try to understand an activity when observing someone doing it. During this process, the brain actually records what another person is doing so it can repeat it or find a complementary action.

"Our tests were to see whether the human and robot could coordinate their work," Erlhagen said. "Would the robot know what to do next without being told?"

The scientists programmed the robots to deal with possible mistakes by asking their human partners to clarify their intentions if their actions might have multiple conclusions. For example, if a particular toy piece could be used in several ways, the robot would ask what the partner planned to construct.

"Our robot has a neural architecture that mimics the resonance processing that our human studies showed take place during joint actions," Erlhagen said. "The link between the human psychology, experimentation and the robotics is very close."

If you read or hear of some interesting news for us, let us know. Call 828-254-6620, or go to our website, viratolive.com and contact us.