The Book of THoTH Newsletter Issue 137

[ReverendChaos]

Newsletter for the week of February 23rd to March 1st

Hello to everyone! To all of our new subscribers out there, welcome
to the book of THoTH Newsletter and to our Book of THoTH Google
group. Thanks for taking the time to subscribe and thanks for joining
our group. We're glad that you've joined our mailing list and hope
that you enjoy what we have to offer in its pages.

As of this newsletter, we have had 15 new members to join us this
week at BoT. To those who've joined, we say thanks for taking the
time to be a part of the greatest paranormal site on the web! Due to
this new addition of members, we now stand at 7,698 members strong. A
huge thanks to each and everyone of you for helping to make this site
what it has become! We couldn't do it without you.


This Week at BoT:
The GoldStar has once again been passed along. Cruiser, our last
holder of the GoldStar, had decided to give the shining honor to
Crystalsage. Crystalsage has taken this award for "all of her
contributions and for dealing w/an ongoing tense situation w/the
bushfires near family/friends and home". Congratulations,
Crystalsage! Keep it polished and wear it well.

In the LabCoat news, Silversurfer correctly answered NightLighter's
question last week of "how many artificial blue food colors are there
& what are they composed of?"

The correct answer was, "There are 2 - Blue No. 1 is called "brilliant
blue" and, as is typical of modern dyes, was originally derived from
coal tar, although most manufacturers now make it from an oil base.
Blue No. 2, or "indigotine," on the other hand, is a synthetic version
of the plant-based indigo that has a long history as a textile dye."
Congratulations, Silversurfer!

Silversurfer then posted the question of, "What is the name of the
instrument that measures wind speed, what year was the first
mechanical one invented, and who invented it?"

Cato9tails was correct with his answer of "Anemometer" which was
invented by the Italian architect Leon Battista Alberti in 1450. Way
to go, Cat!

A new questions hasn't been posted yet, but if you want to take a stab
at wearing the BoT LabCoat, then take a peep in "BoT LabCoat Quiz Part
VIII" in the Science section of our forums.
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/ftopic-19452-60.html


This Week on the Front Page:
"Theological Mechanics" is a front page contribution from Imhotepsol
this week. Imhotepsol's article is a very interesting one that
addresses some questions he's been asked about his beliefs, as well as
taking a look at the various building blocks of others' beliefs. To
read more and to absorb an enlightening point of view, be sure to
catch "Theological Mechanics" while it's on the front page.
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/article1834.html


This Week in the Forums:
"Clear UFO sighting near Corinth Greece, multiple witnesses!" is
Phoenix's thread that tells about a February 3rd sighting near
Corinth, Greece. To read more about this sighting and to join in on
the discussion about it, see the thread in the UFO section.
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/ftopict-19743.html

An older thread of Silversurfer's has been revived with some new
information. "Red Rain" In India Contains Alien Microbes?" is about a
2001 red rainfall in India where the suspect is thought to be microbes
from a comet. To find out more about this unusual incident, don't
miss Silversurfer's thread in the Aliens/Extraterrestrial section.
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/ftopict-6701.html

"Chakras & sound" is a thread by eclypse that asks a few questions
regarding the use of sound vibrations and chakras. If you have some
views or opinions on this that you'd like to contribute, please see
eclypse's thread in the ESP & PSI section.
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/ftopict-19377.html

Lonecat has a topic in the Science/Ask the Scientist section about the
Higgs or "God" particle. The race to find it is looking slim in
Europe since an accident with the Large Hadron Collider last
September. To read more about the God particle and the search for it,
see "Race for 'God particle' heats up".
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/ftopict-19628.html

MediaMonkey's thread in the Nature & Environment section talks about
the subject of saving the world's sharks. What will happen if they
die off? It may impact things more than we think. To find out more
about this, and for information on a related documentary, be sure to
see "It's time to act. If the sharks die, then we may die also".
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/ftopict-19666.html


Random Site Feature of the Week:
If you haven't recently checked out our Cool Websites page, please do
so. This is a page with a listing of some of what we think are the
best of the best websites out there that pertain to many of the
subjects that we cover here at BoT. There's fantastic links in there
on everything from UFOs to Cryptozoology. So when you've got some
time to spare and are ready to do some heavy duty web browsing, head
on over to our Cool Websites page and check out some of the links that
our members have recommended.
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/BoT_links.htm


Strange Fact of the Week:
A Hindu temple that is dedicated to the goddess Karni Mata in
Deshnoke, India, houses more than 20,000 rats.


Trivia Question of the Week:
What mysterious object was said to have caused the daughter of an
archeologist to have strange and highly detailed dreams about Central
American Indians?


Answer to Last Weeks Trivia Question:
In the Spanish Pyrenees, what happens to the bees of a beekeeper when
the beekeeper dies?

When a beekeeper dies in the Spanish Pyrenees, each of his bees are
splashed with a drop of black ink.


This Week in History:
March 1, 1692: Salem Witch Hunt began

March 1, 1872: Yellowstone became the world's first National Park.

March 2, 1836: Texas declared its independence from Mexico.

March 2, 1933: King Kong, starring Fay Wray, premiered in New York
City.

March 3, 1875: Georges Bizet's opera Carmen debuted in Paris, to cool
audience reception and panned by critics.

March 3, 1918: Germany, Austria, and Russia signed the Treaty of
Brest-Litovsk.

March 4, 1789: The Constitution of the United States went into
effect.

March 4, 1861: Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as president of the
United States.

March 5, 1770: The Boston Massacre, a pre-Revolutionary incident that
grew out of anger towards British troops, occurred. Five anti-British
rioters were killed.

March 5, 1946: Winston Churchill delivered his famous Iron curtain
speech, "From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an
Iron Curtain has descended across the continent."

March 6, 1836: The Alamo fell to Mexican forces.

March 6, 1997: Queen Elizabeth II launched the first royal website.

March 7, 1876: Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for the
telephone.

March 7, 1936: Adolf Hitler broke the Treaty of Versailles and the
Locarno Pact when he ordered troops to march into the Rhineland.


This Week's Birthdays:
Ralph Ellison (March 1, 1914) - Originally a jazz musician, Ellison
was a scholar and writer who's most known for his novel, "Invisible
Man", that addresses many of the social issues facing black Americans
during his time and won the National Book Award in 1953. He also
authored "Shadow and Act", a collection of political, social, and
critical essays, and "Going to the Territory".

Dr. Seuss (March 2, 1904) - Born Theodor Seuss Geisel, Dr. Seuss was
an American writer and cartoonist who was most known for his
children's books. He published over 60 children's books, which were
often characterized by imaginative characters, rhyme, and frequent use
of trisyllabic meter. He also worked as an illustrator for
advertising camp0aigns, most notably for Flit and Standard Oil, and as
a political cartoonist for PM, a New York City magazine. During World
War II, he worked in an animation department of the U.S. Army, where
he wrote "Design for Death", a film that later won the 1947 Academy
Award for Documentary Feature.

Alexander Bell (March 3, 1847) - Born in Scotland and eventually
winding up in the U.S., Bell was a scientist and inventor most known
for his development and patenting of the telephone. Aside from his
work in telecommunications, he was also responsible for many advances
in aviation and hydrofoil technology

Henry the Navigator (March 4, 1394) - Also known as Henrique, Duke of
Viseu, he was a prince of the Portuguese House of Aviz and was an
important figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire. After
his father conquered Ceuta, the Muslim port on the North African
coast, he became aware of the possibilities of the Saharan trade
routes. He is probably best known for charting the coast of
Mauretania.

Charles Goodnight (March 5, 1836) - Charles Goodnight was a cattle
rancher in the American West. Sometimes known as the "father of the
Texas Panhandle", Goodnight was a cowboy, served with the local
militia fighting against raiding Comanches, and was a member of the
Texas Rangers. After the Civil War, he returned to Texas to take part
in "making the gather", a state-wide round-up of cattle that had
roamed free during the war. He later established what would be known
as the Goodnight-Loving Trail which drove cattle as far north as
Wyoming, and was the inventor of the first chuckwagon.

Michelangelo Buonarroti (March 6, 1475) - Born Michelangelo di
Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni and commonly known as simply Michelangelo,
he was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and engineer.
His output in so many artistic fields, along with his correspondence
and sketches, make him one of the best-documented artist of the 16th
century. Along with his best known sculptures, the "Pieta" and the
"David", he's also credited with having some of the most influential
frescos in the history of Western art: the scenes from Genesis on the
ceiling and "The Last Judgement" on the alter wall of Rome's Sistine
Chapel.

Luther Burbank (March 7, 1849) - Luther Burbank was an American
botanist, horticulturist, and a pioneer in agricultural science. He
developed more than 800 strains and varieties of plants over his
career, which include various fruits, flowers, grasses, vegetables,
and grains. Of the ones that he developed, the most popular are the
Shasta daisy, the Santa Rosa plum, the Freestone peach, and the
Burbank potato.

We only have one BoT member who is having a birthday this week. That
member is Justonious who celebrates their birthday on March 3rd.
Happy Birthday, Justonious! May you have a fabulous day and a
fantastic year ahead of you.


Tech Tip of the Week:
If you're using Windows Vista and have an application running at
startup that you don't want there, Vista has a handy tool that will
help you out. To get to this tool, you can open up Windows Defender
directly, or you can open Control Panel and type in "startup" in the
search box. If you opened up Windows Defender directly, click on
"Tools" and then "Software Explorer". If you found Windows Defender
by searching in the Control Panel, click on "Stop a program from
running at startup"

Once you're at the Software Explorer, you'll see a list of programs
that are running at your computer's startup. Clicking on one will
bring up a list of details pertaining to that program. To disable one
that you don't want running at startup, simply click on it and then
click "Disable". If you're sure that don't want the program running
at startup any time in the future, you can also click on "Remove".

Before you start disabling programs though, just make sure that what
you are about to disable isn't needed at Startup. Some of the
programs listed are necessary and disabling or removing them may
affect how some of your programs run.


Unsolved Question of the Week:
Official reports of it first surfaced in the U.S. states of
Pennsylvania and Kansas in the early 1960s. By the mid 70s, it was
reported in 15 other states. By 1975 the FBI and ATF was called in to
investigate it due to public concern. By 1979 there had been an
estimated 8,000 cases of it, causing $1,000,000 in losses. In 2002, it
had apparently spread to Argentina. In case you haven't figured it out
yet, we're talking about cattle mutilations.

Cattle mutilation is the killing and mutilation of cattle under
unusual or anomalous circumstances. Cattle aren't the only animals
affected either, as sheep and horses have occasionally been mutilated
under similar circumstances, as have the rare human. Since the first
reports of it rolled in, causes have been attributed to everything
from natural decomposition to predators, pranks, cults, and even
extraterrestrials and government agencies. These mutilations have been
the subject of two federal investigations and has been called "one of
the greatest outrages in the history of western cattle industry" by
Colorado Governor Richard Lamm.

What exactly is cattle mutilation? Even though the precise nature of
it varies from case to case, a typical mutilation can involve various
combinations of, or all of the following: Precise incisions that
appear to have been made by either a surgical instrument or laser,
lack of blood either in the animal or in the area surrounding the
animal, the removal of soft organs from the lower body such as sex
organs and gastrointestinal organs, missing tongues, missing eyes and
udders, the removal of the anus, the removal of one ear, missing hide
and flesh from the lower jaw, no signs of predation (the lack of
teethmarks, torn flesh, or animal footprints around the carcass), and
the lack of scavengers (including even flies and other insects).

Other unusual aspects of these mutilations that have been noted by
ranchers include strange restlessness of the surviving animals,
unusual odors that are described as being medicinal or surgical in
nature, and strange marks or "post holes" on the ground around the
mutilated animal. Another odd characteristic has been the relatively
short period of time that the mutilation takes place. A 2002 National
Institute for Discovery Science report documented a case in Utah where
two ranchers tagged a specific calf. After tagging this calf, they
continued tagging others in the same pasture. The ranchers were never
over 300 yards from the first calf, yet less than an hour later it was
discovered completely eviscerated. Most of it's muscle and all of it's
internal organs were missing. There was no blood, no entrails, and no
noticeable disturbance at the scene. Independent investigators
uncovered marks on the animal's body that were consistent with a large
machete-type blade and small, delicate scissors.

Have laboratory tests been performed on these animals as part of
investigations? Of course. These reports have shown unusually high or
low levels of various vitamins and minerals in tissue samples. They
have also shown the presence of chemicals that are not normally found
in animals. Not all of the mutilated animals display these levels of
chemicals or vitamins/minerals though, and the ones that do often have
different anomalies from one another. Due to the lack of time between
death and necropsy, and the lack of history or veterinary records for
some of these animals, investigators have many times found it
impossible to make any connections between the presence of such
anomalies and the animals' death.

Aside from unusual chemical levels, other abnormalities have been
recorded as well. In a 1978 mutilation case in Dulce, New Mexico that
was documented by both New Mexico police and the FBI, "both the liver
and the heart were white and mushy. Both organs had the texture and
consistency of peanut butter". The animal's heart, along with bone and
muscle samples, were sent to the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory for
study. Samples of the liver were sent to two separate private
laboratories. Los Alamos found the presence of naturally occurring
clostridium bacteria in the heart, but could not reach any conclusions
due to the possibility that the bacteria was the result of postmortem
contamination. Strangely enough, they did not investigate the heart's
unusual color or texture. The liver samples however were found to be
completely devoid of copper and contained four times the normal level
of zinc, phosphorus, and potassium. An explanation for these high
levels could not be found. When blood samples taken at the scene were
tested, they were "light pink in color" and "did not clot after
several days". For a while, it was suggested that a burst of radiation
had been used to kill the cow, blowing apart it's red blood cells
while doing so. This was later discarded after reports from Los Alamos
confirmed the presence of anti-coagulants in samples taken from other
mutilated cows in the area.

Now that we know roughly what is being done and what is in and/or
missing from these animals, we have to wonder what is doing this.
According to a 297 page report which cost approximately $45,000 and
headed by FBI agent Kenneth Rommel in 1979, natural predation was the
predominant cause. Within the same report however, it was stated that
some of the anomalies could not be accounted for by conventional
means. Although an alleged cause was established, the FBI was unable
to identify any individuals that could have been responsible for the
mutilations.

These federal investigations were both preceded and followed by state
level investigations that were conducted by officials in New Mexico.
These investigations reported that some animals had been tranquilized
and treated with an anti-coagulant prior to their mutilation. It also
stated that "surgical" techniques performed during the mutilations had
become "more professional" over time.

Some scientists, veterinarians, and ranchers have attributed these
mutilations to natural causes. The cause of death range from natural
deaths and lightning strikes to carnivorous predators. The strange
mutilated bodies and missing organs are attributed to small scavengers
and burrowing parasites. The contraction of tissue by dehydration is
said to give the appearance of missing lips. The missing eyes and
other soft organs are attributed to carrion feeding animals such as
vultures who enter body openings to retrieve eyes and other soft
organs. As for the absence of blood, that is explained either by it
pooling in the lowest part of the body or insects feeding off of any
that has drained out on the ground. What about the surgical incisions?
These are explained by tears in the skin caused by bloating. But not
all believe this. Many ranchers have disputed the natural causes on
the grounds that these mutilated animals fall well outside of the
normal categories of death and natural predation. One has to ask
though, if this is the result of natural death and predation, how are
cases like the the one in Utah explained? How does a calf die, bloat,
and get eaten by carrion feeders within an hour's time? More
importantly, how are the high mineral levels, the medicinal smells,
and the anti-coagulants explained?

Some think they have the explanation for cases that are hard to
explain by natural death and predation, and this explanation is
deviant activity. Deviant behavior and attacks on animals is a
recognized problem in some places. We hear about horrible cases of
this on the news all too often involving pets and other animals. But
like with the flaws in the predation theories, what deviant carries
anti-coagulants with them? The same can be said for the excuse of
cults, which was attributed to some mutilation cases in the mid 70s
during a rise in the concern of cult issues. This theory was brought
to light due to some mutilations occurring during certain moon phases,
the missing blood, and missing unborn cattle from their mutilated
mothers. All of these are possible actions that could be due to cult
rituals. However, after the ATF was called in 1975, they were unable
to find sufficient evidence of cult involvement.

Aside from conventional explanations, there are also many
unconventional ones. One of these theories involves government and/or
military experimentation and is rationalized by the reported
mutilations that occurred within close proximity to former U.S.
nuclear test sites. This theory is based on a number of witness
accounts that reported military type helicopters before the mutilation
was discovered. In addition to these sightings, there were also
reportedly a number of helicopter type marks left in the soil. An FAA
investigator in Alabama even witnessed an unmarked helicopter during
an investigation concerning cattle mutilations where witnesses claimed
to have seen helicopters. This particular helicopter was traced to the
Maxwell Air Force Base in Southern Alabama. Why would the government
mutilate cattle? To test them of course. It's theorized that they are
tested to determine the level of radioactive material that had
accumulated in their soft tissue. Then what about the cattle that are
mutilated outside of the suspected contaminated areas? They are said
to be either control subjects, subjects used to draw attention away
from the ones in contaminated areas, or once again, the result of
natural death/predation or the afore mentioned criminal activity.

Other government related theories involve the possibility that the
cattle are used as guinea-pigs during the development of various
energy and biological weapons, laser surgical techniques, and other
advanced technologies. In his article "Dead Cows I've Known",
mutilation researcher Charles T. Oliphant suspects that the
mutilations are the result of 'black op' research into emerging cattle
diseases. Part of his hypothesis comes from the fact that human
pharmaceuticals have been found in mutilated cattle. He also points to
a case where plain clothes military officers entered a research
facility in Virginia in unmarked vehicles to secretly retrieve and
destroy animals that were contaminated with some type of highly
infectious disease. There's also the 1976 case of two Utah police
officers who claimed to have encountered men in an unmarked Army
helicopter at a small community airport in Cache County. Various
witnesses said that after this encounter, mutilations in the region
ceased for about five years. The sighting by the two police officers
came after local ranchers organized armed patrols to watch out for
unmarked aircraft that many believed were associated with the cattle
deaths. One has to wonder though, with the technology and
transportation available to them, wouldn't it be easier and more
convenient for any government or military establishment to sedate and
take a cow back to the lab rather than perform a complicated
dissection out in the field?

One last hypothesis involves the possibility of extraterrestrials
gathering material for purposes unknown. These theories are based on
the belief that such clean dissections in such a short span of time
without being seen or leaving evidence could not be performed by any
earthly being. According to the FBI's investigation, UFOs or some type
of unusual aircraft were frequently seen before or after the discovery
of mutilated cattle. Could these be alien craft? Or could it be some
form of unknown military craft? Reason for aliens dissecting cattle
range from them using the cattle for experiments to determine if
extraterrestrials can adapt to Earth's environment, to using the
cattle to develop food based biological weapons against the people of
Earth.

Whatever the reason and cause for cattle mutilations, the fact remains
that it's a very real phenomena. Though exactly who or what is doing
it, and why, still remains a mystery. Until one of these mutilations
is actually witnessed while in progress, or until someone confesses to
such, these cases of strange and disturbing animal deaths will
continue to be placed in that file marked "unsolved".


Quote of the Week:
"Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it
every six months."
- Oscar Wilde


That concludes this week's edition of the BoT newsletter. We hope
that you've enjoyed it, found it a nice change in your inbox, and are
looking forward to receiving the next one. As always, we should have
lots more waiting in store for you.

Until next time, keep your eyes to the skies and the door to your mind
unlocked. You never know who might drop by for a visit.