ATRL-o-matic

No Cleopatra was not black — here are the facts (...) Cleopatra was not black. As well documented history attests, she was the descendant of a Macedonian Greek general who was a contemporary of Alexander the Great. Her first language was Greek and in contemporary busts and portraits she is depicted clearly as being white. The evidence for Cleopatra’s true heritage is overwhelming – and not, as Pinkett Smith has said in defense of the show, “highly debated.” The actress playing Cleopatra has offered this advice to the show’s many critics: "If you don't like the casting, don't watch the show." It is advice that I, and I suspect countless Egyptians, intend to take. There are many words that could be used to describe the falsehood at the heart of this series, and headlines in newspapers around the world – from the US to Egypt and Greece – have carried several of them, including “historical revisionism,” “cultural appropriation,” and “black-washing.” The protests are not motivated by racism. As the Egyptian lawyer Mahmoud Al-Semary, who has launched a legal bid to have access to Netflix blocked in Egypt, has pointed out, this is outrage provoked by a form of cultural identity theft. (...) One need only look at all the known statues of Cleopatra VII, such as the head of the queen that I and fellow archaeologist Kathleen Martinez found inside the Temple of Taposiris Magna, west of Alexandria, during our search for Cleopatra’s tomb. None of these statues, including the one we found, which was made of alabaster, gives any indication that Cleopatra was black. During our excavation inside the temple, we also found a large number of coins bearing the face and name of Cleopatra. Again, not one of the depictions supports the decision of the producers of the series to portray their queen as black. There is a similar lack of evidence for Cleopatra having been black to be found in a depiction on the facade of the temple at Dendera, which shows her with the goddess Hathor and her child Caesarion, the son of Caesar. (...) The truth as we know it can be found in the many scenes depicted in temples throughout Egyptian history. Here we see the pharaohs smiting the enemies of Egypt and, in front of them, all of the people of the surrounding regions, including Nubia, Libya and Mesopotamia. Luckily for historians and archaeologists, the ancient Egyptian artists were sticklers for detail – examine the faces, and the racial characteristics of each of the figures are clearly shown. This can be seen in one of the great scenes that was found during our excavation and conservation inside the tomb of Ramses II in the Valley of the Kings. It shows the sun god Ra on his boat and, standing in front of him, people of four clearly identifiable races: Egyptians, Africans, Libyans and Asiatics. Cleopatra was not black, and I would welcome the opportunity to teach Pinkett Smith about a woman whose achievements and story were sufficiently dramatic not to require politically motivated embellishment in the retelling of them. When Cleopatra took the throne in 51 BC after the death of her father, Egypt was severely damaged, significantly in debt and experiencing high inflation. The Nile had recently flooded more destructively than usual, political power lay in the hands of Rome and the feelings of anger and rebellion among the Alexandrians toward the pharaoh had reached fever pitch. Cleopatra rose to the occasion, entering the political arena with a strong character, a sharp mind and, it has to be said, feminine charms that she did not hesitate to exploit, as witnessed by her relationships with and manipulation of the Romans Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. Cleopatra had several private tutors who prepared her to rule Egypt, but she also pursued academic interests of her own, such as science and philosophy, and could be said to have been a pioneer in the field of women’s rights. Unlike her forebears, Cleopatra learned the native language of Egypt, as well as Greek and other tongues. Cleopatra, then, was many things, and well deserving of having her story told to modern audiences, but one thing she most definitely was not was black. It is a shame that Netflix has categorized this new series as a docudrama, rather than a pure drama, because no one who knows anything about ancient Egypt can possibly take it seriously. Dr. Zahi Hawass is Honorary Chairman, Antiquities Coalition Advisory Council, Egyptologist and Former Minister of Antiquities of Egypt, a position he served twice. He is also the Director of Excavations at Giza, Saqqara, Bahariya Oasis, and the Valley of the Kings. He has been involved in several important archaeological projects. He led the search for the tomb of Cleopatra and Mark Antony on the premises of a Ptolemaic temple near Alexandria. (Source: Antiquities Coalition) Entire article at: https://www.arabnews.com/node/2290456 The educated drag:

It's their 2nd song and they are out of breath, almost falling over one another, out of sync, out of tune and singing ove a REALLY LOUD backtrack. It's this the festival headliner for real? ROSALÍA, sweetie, I am SO SORRY! Live Link of the concert for the laughs:

This Barcelona Universal fanpage is as corrupt as their club, what to expect To which Shakira responded: Like she lived here for at least a month in the last 20 years !!!!!!! That's why you never mingle with a rat-faced inbred catalan

out 3/31. it will be his first release under Island Records. Dan N**** has created his own label and Chappell is the first artist he will release. this label is a subsidiary of Island.

Enjoy your bans.

Well, let the games begin. Wednesday star Jenna Ortega is blasted as 'entitled and toxic' by Spartacus producer after saying she 'had to put her foot down' with Netflix showrunners for their character choices Steven DeKnight, whose writing credits include Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Daredevil and the Starz series Spartacus, said he thought Ortega's comments were unprofessional. The 20-year-old star of The Addams Family spin-off said she was unhappy with the writers' work. Ortega said that nothing about the character Wednesday 'made sense to her', and she had to step in to correct the 'arc' of the story. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11865371/Wednesday-star-Jenna-Ortega-blasted-entitled-toxic-Spartacus-producer.html Is the beginning of the end coming for Jenna Ortega?

February 14th

Article: https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9397503/lady-gaga-chromatica-sixth-number-1-album-billboard-200?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&__twitter_impression=true Her highest numbers since BTW, in this climate Beat a record too: