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Episode 3 is expected to see a ratings bump with the first appearance of Jesus, played by the Portuguese actor Diogo Morgado. Though Morgado does not look like a Middle Eastern Semite, the producers have the age right. Morgado is 33, the age of Jesus at his death. The History Channel's third episode of the Bible takes huge leaps through history. It moves from the Babylonian captivity to the baptism of Jesus. It is dramatic and entertaining, but as with episodes 1 and 2, it lacks historical grounding and fails to present the cultural complexities of Abraham's Horite descendants, especially...

The 19-year-old star stepped out in West Hollywood Tuesday to reveal her latest tattoo, a quote from a 1910 speech from President Theodore Roosevelt on her left forearm. “So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat,” the tattoo reads, according to Us Weekly. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/miley-cyrus-flashes-midriff-shows-new-arm-tattoo-theodore-roosevelt-quote-article-1.1112179#ixzz20MLaAOva

Early this morning is when I am blogging this very special blog entry on this Memorial Day 2012. On this Memorial Day 2012, had the opportunity to both watch and listen to country and western singer Billy Ray Cyrus‘s song about this day, “Some Gave All.” This song sums up in full why the United States of America on this and each and every Memorial Day as one year passes to another it gives this holiday its full meaning. The man in the song, Sandy Kane, who became the teacher and teaches the lesson of not only being thankful for...

"Miley Cyrus has gotten a tattoo on her ring finger for marriage equality. She has also taken to twitter to tell her fans about it. We congratulate her on taking REAL action for marriage equality. Too many people 'personally support' marriage equality but are doing nothing for it. That's just a shame. If you support marriage equality and do nothing about it, nothing will happen."

Country crooner Billy Ray Cyrus blames Disney's "Hannah Montana" for his daughter Miley Cyrus' issues, angrily saying "the damn show destroyed my family," the New York Post reported Tuesday. Blaming publicists and Miley's handlers, Cyrus gives an anguished interview in GQ's March issue, where he adds he wishes "Hannah Montana" never happened. "I hate to say it, but yes, I do. I'd take it back in a second," said Cyrus, who is divorcing Miley's mother, Tish. Reflecting on Miley's controversial moments -- including seductive photos on the internet, pole-dancing at the Teen Choice Awards, and posing for Vanity Fair draped...

With her eighteenth birthday one week away, it seems that, more than ever, Miley Cyrus can’t be tamed even when her sexualized new image is causing her popularity and her profits from sales to drop. Her new video, “Who Owns My Heart,” features Miley writhing in bed with no pants, with brief flashes of her black underwear, and her provocatively dancing with both genders. This video recently caused the traditional group Parents Television Council, who coincidentally has her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, on their advisory board, to release a statement expressing their disappointment. This is not the first time that...

British Museum curator has identified cuneiform text inscribed on horse bones Two fossilised horse bones with cuneiform inscriptions have been found in China, carved with extracts from the Cyrus Cylinder. They were initially dismissed as fakes because of the improbability of ancient Persian texts turning up in Beijing. But following new research, British Museum (BM) specialist Irving Finkel is now convinced of their authenticity. This discovery looks set to transform our knowledge about what is arguably the most important surviving cuneiform text, written in the world’s earliest script. Dating from 539BC, the Cyrus Cylinder was ceremonially buried in the walls...

If you can handle the weird, incestuous atmosphere that lingers throughout, “Cyrus” is a must-see summer comedy that doesn’t fit the broad summer comedy mold by any means. The Duplasses have transitioned well into the big leagues and have done so, it seems, on what made them such a delight to begin with.

Miley Cyrus is not that innocent. Taking a cue from fellow ex-Disney star Britney Spears, the "Hannah Montana" star simulated a girl-on-girl kiss with a female backup dancer during her Thursday night performance on "Britain's Got Talent." Unlike Spears, however, who famously lip locked with Madonna at the 2003 MTV Awards, Miley stopped short of actually kissing the dancer - the two only thrust their lips toward one another.

Miley Cyrus's nine-year-old sister is set to raise eyebrows again with news she is launching a clothing line for children. Noah, who is not even high school age yet, is teaming up with best friend Emily Grace Reaves, eight, and Ooh! La, La! Couture designers for the project. The two youngsters will release the 'trendy, sweet, yet edgy' designs in time for Valentine's Day. However, parents may raise an eyebrow or two at the grown-up nature of the slightly risqué designs. But whatever spin is put on it, some will see the venture as a little perverse. Back in October,...

Tehran will cease cooperation with the British Museum in London until it loans the Cyrus the Great Cylinder to the National Museum of Iran. The clay cylinder is inscribed in Babylonian cuneiform with an account by Cyrus II, king of Persia (559-530 BC). The Cyrus Cylinder is described as the world's first charter of human rights. ....... Iranian officials called on the British Museum to loan the country's ancient cylinder,..... said Hamid Baqaei “If the British Museum continues to make excuses for not loaning the artifact to the National Museum, we will, unfortunately, cease any cooperation with them, including archaeological...

In a remarkably disturbing display of what happens when Hollywood is in control of a child, the once-sweet Miley Cyrus, in shorts that would make Madonna blush, did a pole dance on the Teen Choice Awards. Miley, the Hanna Montana star, is just 16-years-old.

Jamie Foxx launched a crude attack on teen sensation Miley Cyrus on his Sirius satellite radio show, saying: "Make a sex tape and grow up!"

Iran is planning on submerging the tomb of King Cyrus (Coresh), the Persian King known for authorizing the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Holy Temple. According to a report by Omedia, an Iranian organization is demanding that the International Criminal Court take action against those responsible. The Iranian ayatollahs are planning on destroying the tomb as part of a general campaign to sever the Persian people from their non-Islamic heritage; Cyrus was thought to be a Zoroastrian and was one of the first rulers to enforce a policy of religious tolerance on his huge kingdom. Journalist...

PASARGADAE, Iran -- For the people protesting against it, a new dam near these sun-drenched ruins may be more than an environmental upheaval: In it they see an affront to the country's pre-Islamic identity. For 2,500 years, the tomb of Cyrus the Great has stood on the plain at Pasargadae, in southern Iran, a simple but dignified monument to a king revered as the founder of the mighty Persian empire. But some fear the dam and reservoir pose a threat to the ancient structure. They say the project may increase humidity in the arid area near the city of Shiraz,...

I am neither an activist, politician or partisan, nor an ideologue of any stripe. What I am is a writer who takes his job very seriously, as do most of my colleagues: Also, one who recently took on the most distressing and important story it will ever fall to me to tell. I considered it a privilege when asked to write the script for "The Path to 9/11." I felt duty-bound from the outset to focus on a single goal--to represent our recent pre-9/11 history as the evidence revealed it to be. The American people deserve to know that history:...

With the launching of Chinese style cultural revolution by the president of Iran and following the clashes between professionals and government officials over the protection of Isfahan’s historic sites, news reports indicate that similar quarrels are heating up now in Kermanshah province over its historic sites. By recalling the events that took place in Isfahan, archeology experts argue that planning the underground metro system in Kermanshah on the regions that are registered as national historic sites is not an accidental event. It is completely planned and derives from the perspective that views all focus on pre-Islamic events in the region...

Under tremendous pressure, mullahs agree to renovate tomb of "Cyrus the Great" May 29, 2006 Thanks to Iranian arab-parast, tomb of founder of Iran Zamin covered with dust but tomb of their beloved cowered arab imam whom ran away to Iran for dear life, covered with gold Under tremendous pressure by Iranian People, mullahs agree to renovate tomb of "Cyrus the Great". A team of experts have recently began renovating the tomb of Cyrus the Great at the ancient site of Pasargad in southern province of Fars. Several megaliths of the tomb have been stolen over time and the renovation...

A Rush to Excavate Ancient Iranian Sites NAZILA FATHI November 27, 2005 TEHRAN, Nov. 26 - Archaeologists from around the world have been rushing to excavate scores of newly identified ancient sites in southern Iran before the area is flooded by a new dam. Iran has been planning for a decade to build the Sivand Dam in Fars Province, between the ruins of the ancient Persian cities of Persepolis and Pasargadae. But the Iranian Cultural Heritage Organization knew little about the broader region until three years ago, when archaeologists identified 129 potentially important sites in the region that will be...

The Bible is full of praise for Persia (today's much-maligned Iran) and for its rulers. In the Book of Ezra, God speaks through the proclamations of Cyrus, the king of Persia, who declares, "The Lord God of Heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem." Cyrus acceded to this divine command, and thus was the Second Temple in Jerusalem built. In other parts of the Old Testament, there is ringing praise of Cyrus as God's "anointed" and the "chosen" ruler, who freed Jews from their Babylonian...

How the life Herodotus lived affected his history writing is a subject of dispute among many experts The question of how social conditions affecting Herodotus’s personal life affected his writing history may raise many disputes among historians. “The state where Herodotus was born in was under Persian Empire at that time; it was governed by Lygdamis, who put to death the poet Panyasis, a relative of Herodotus, for opposition and riots against Persia. Following this event, Herodotus had to leave his native city and went to Samos Island in Athena, and ever since he inhabited in Greek lands. But since...

LONDON (Reuters) - Iran, at loggerheads with the West over its nuclear ambitions, has put tension to one side and lent a treasure trove of artefacts from Ancient Persia to a new exhibition at the British Museum. Organisers were concerned the exhibition may not happen at all after hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected the Islamic state's president in June. "We certainly were worried for a time that we wouldn't receive any objects," said curator John Curtis. "But happily that wasn't the case, and everybody decided to go ahead with the exhibition." "Forgotten Empire: the world of Ancient Persia," which opens...

SIGN HERE PLEASE The Mullahs of Iran are about to destroy the ancient persian monuments in south of Iran by submerging them. Please sign the petition to help save the history of Persia. Please forward the link to your friends & relatives and those who are interested for more signatures! Your help is appreciated...

The Islamic regime is to submerge part of Iran's past in a shameful historical cleansing, in order to avoid facing more nationalistic problems with future generations. The construction of a very controversial dam project is near completion and soon, the tomb of "Cyrus the Great" and "Persepolis" would be submerged under water. Cyrus the Great (580-529 BC) (known as Kourosh in Persian; Kouros in Greek; Kores in Hebrew) was the first Achaemenian Emperor and founder of Iran, who issued a decree on his aims and policies, later hailed as his charter of the rights of nations. Inscribed on a clay...

LOS ANGELES - Cyrus Kar's family says his passion for the documentary film he was working on about an ancient Persian ruler led to his being locked up in a military jail outside Baghdad in May. Kar was arrested after Iraqi security forces allegedly seized several dozen washing machine timers — components frequently used in terrorist bombs — in the taxi in which he was traveling. Kar says the timers were owned by the driver. Now, relatives of the 44-year-old Iranian-American and U.S. Navy veteran have sued the government to gain his freedom. They contend Kar's detention tramples on his...

I am Kurash [ "Cyrus" ], King of the World, Great King, Legitimate King, King of Babilani, King of Kiengir and Akkade, King of the four rims of the earth, Son of Kanbujiya, Great King, King of Hakhamanish, Grandson of Kurash, Great king, King of Hakhamanish, descendant of Chishpish, Great king, King of Hakhamanish, of a family which always exercised kingship; whose rule Bel and Nebo love, whom they want as king to please their hearts. When I entered Babilani as a friend and when I established the seat of the government in the palace of the ruler under jubilation...

One of the truly astounding prophecies of the Bible is found in the last verse of Isaiah 44, together with chapter 45:1ff, (an unfortunate chapter break). It has to do with Cyrus, king of Persia. According to the historian Herodotus (i.46), Cyrus was the son of Cambyses I. He came to the Persian throne in 559 B.C. Nine years later he conquered the Medes, thus unifying the kingdoms of the Medes and the Persians. Cyrus is mentioned some 23 times in the literature of the Old Testament. Isaiah refers to Cyrus as Jehovah’s “shepherd,” the Lord’s “anointed,” who was providentially...

"This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness." -Dalai Lama By Farhad Mafie November 16, 2003 Hold on to Your Hat! Some days the Persian Gulf is referred to as the Arabian Gulf. Some days Rumi?the great Iranian poet and philosopher?is referred to as a poet from Afghanistan or a poet from Turkey. Some days Sina or Avicenna, Râzi, Farabi, Birouni?the great Iranian scientists?are referred to as Arab scientists. Some days Iranian arts are referred to as Islamic arts...

One of the truly astounding prophecies of the Bible is found in the last verse of Isaiah 44, together with chapter 45:1ff, (an unfortunate chapter break). It has to do with Cyrus, king of Persia. According to the historian Herodotus (i.46), Cyrus was the son of Cambyses I. He came to the Persian throne in 559 B.C. Nine years later he conquered the Medes, thus unifying the kingdoms of the Medes and the Persians. Cyrus is mentioned some 23 times in the literature of the Old Testament. Isaiah refers to Cyrus as Jehovah’s “shepherd,” the Lord’s “anointed,” who was providentially...

The British Museum is to lend Iran one of its most famous antiquities, which is regarded as the first charter of human rights, 30 years after its loan to the Shah triggered a fierce diplomatic row. The inscriptions on the clay drum known as the Cyrus Cylinder detail the conquest of the Babylon of Belshazzar and Nebuchadnezzar by the 6th-century BC Persian king, Cyrus the Great. It was the Iraq/Iran war of the time. The victory made Cyrus the leader of the first world empire, stretching from Egypt to China. Cyrus proved a model ruler. He describes on the cylinder...

Cyrus the Great Cylinder, The First Charter of Human Rights By 546 BCE, Cyrus had defeated Croesus, the Lydian king of fabled wealth, and had secured control of the Aegean coast of Asia Minor, Armenia, and the Greek colonies along the Levant. Moving east, he took Parthia (land of the Arsacids, not to be confused with Parsa, which was to the southwest), Chorasmis, and Bactria. He besieged and captured Babylon in 539 and released the Jews who had been held captive there, thus earning his immortalization in the Book of Isaiah. When he died in 529, Cyrus's kingdom extended as...

Archeologists have discovered quarries mined for stones used in constructing and decorating Persepolis, the splendid capital city of the Achaemenid Empire (550-330 B.C.). Working on the Parse and Pasargadae Project, experts found out stones used in Persepolis had been quarried from some mines located in the Marvdasht plateau. “Over the past year, we have discovered 11 mines in the highland area, all pointing to the fact that they had been the main source for different kinds of stones used in Achaemenids’ palaces,” said Hamid Amanollahi, head of the research team in Marvdasht. He added the archeologists are going to continue...

The mausoleum of Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire, would be buttressed and renovated following its recent inscription on UNESCO’s prestigious World Heritage List. The mausoleum is part of the Pasargadae historical site, added as Iran’s sixth entry on the list during the 28th Session of the World heritage Committee in China. It is one of the outstanding examples of the first phase of royal Achaemenid art and architecture and an exceptional testimony of Persian Civilization. Dating back to 2,500 years ago, the burial chamber is surrounded by royal gardens and has been a sacred place ever since,...

Artefact 90920 is wending its way from the British Museum to Tehran, where it has fired debate between those who see it as a national icon and others who say it represents all that is worst about Iran's pre-Islamic past. The controversial relic is an unassuming 23-centimetre-long (9-inch) cylinder of baked clay covered in densely packed lines of Babylonian cuneiform script. It is generally agreed to be the world's first human rights charter -- but Islamic conservatives [hardliners] say it is redolent of paganism and a monarchy ousted in the 1979 revolution. The British Museum's keeper of Near Eastern...

KISH ISLAND, Iran (AP) -- It started small -- a few babies named after the pre-Islamic heroes Darius or Cyrus, a bit more government money for preserving ancient sites, advertisers using the image of the ruins of Persepolis to sell salad dressing and motorbikes. Now comes modern Iran's most audacious salute yet to a Persian past that Islamic fundamentalists would rather forget. It's a $125 million hotel built in the style of Persepolis, all graceful columns, statues of winged bulls with human faces and bas reliefs showing envoys bearing gifts for ancient Achaemenian kings -- decorations that violate Islam's ban...

An action adventure with a cast of thousands about the Persian emperor Cyrus is set to become the most expensive British film ever made. Oscar-nominated director Alex Jovey, who has only made one previous feature, hopes to start shooting the $80m (£49m) epic in December. It is the first film about the shepherd boy who founded an empire that stretched from the Mediterranean to India. Jovey, 32, said he wanted to create spectacular battle scenes reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers but with the sweep of Lawrence of Arabia "and the kind of authenticity you can...