The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon offers a powerful critique of colonial rule, while at the same time providing a call for violent and revolutionary struggle against European imperialism. Written in 1961 and in the context of the Algerian War of Independence, Fanon extols the virtues of violence as a means to liberate colonial subjects both politically and physiologically.  Yet while The Wretched of the Earth is often lauded, or condemned as a revolutionary or dangerous treatise, Fanon’s philosophies on violence cannot and should not be viewed in isolation.

In this respect, it is useful to compare Fanon’s writings, and in particular his theories on violence in de-colonial and revolutionary struggles, with those of Mao Zedong, who I argue provided an equally attractive, and at the time more influential, justification of violence. There are remarkable similarities between both authors, in terms of their analysis of the inherent violence in colonial rule, as well an in their perspective of violence as a cleansing or legitimizing force in revolutionary struggles.

The good folks over at The Rug Sellers have put together this great infograph detailing the history of the interior design of the Oval Office.

Enjoy!

Shirley Jane Temple is who people called America’s favorite little darling. It was for good reason too. Shirley Temple was an outstanding little girl while growing up and dealing with family, co-workers, and directors.

She was born on April 23, 1928 and died recently on February 10, 2014 at the ripe, old age of 85. The actress’s early life was full of adventure and success, and it started at a very early age of four in Santa Monte, California.

Shirley Temple’s parents were George and Gertrude Temple. Gertrude was a big help and supporter of her daughter. Every single film that Shirley partook in, her mother would do her daughter’s hair, and each time, Shirley had exactly 56 curls in her hair.

Photography helped to spread the word of Shirley Temple, the picture above is a professional one taken for fame purposes (“Beautiful Women” 3). She won an Oscar at the young age of 6 years in 1937. As a child, her idol was Bill Robinson, which she got a chance to perform with when she was older.

The slogan “Daite khleb – Give us bread!” echoed throughout Petrograd as 90,000 people gathered to strike against the tsar, Nicholas Romanov (“February Revolution”). The demonstration began on March 8^th, 1917 when working class women marched through the capital’s streets angry over food scarcity, overgrown breadlines, and the seemingly indifferent tsar.

They ardently demanded for change – anything to at least put more food on the table. Evolving into a large scale revolution, the insurgency lasted less than a week, but their influence forced Nicholas to abdicate the throne.

The events leading to the February Revolution had left the nation simmering, and Petrograd was the outlet. Nicholas’s rationing of bread infuriated his subjects.

On top of food scarcity, Russia was poorly equipped to fight in the Great War. The tsar’s command over the army was less than stellar, and while he was commanding troops, he left his German-born wife Alexandra in charge of the country. In addition to these problems, Nicholas’s repeated dissolving of the Dumas, a “workers government” with the final say in the tsar’s laws, fueled the Russian peoples’ anger (“Why”).

The populace was suffering, and his subjects were ready to revolt.

Men’s sports have been around since the ancient times, but what about women’s sports like women’s soccer? Although there have been rumors of women playing soccer much earlier, the major rise of women’s soccer started after 1863 when the English Football Association standardized the rules of the game.

This now safer game became very popular for women all over the United Kingdom, and soon after the rule change, it was almost as popular as men’s soccer (“History of”).

In 1920, two women’s soccer teams played each other in front of a massive crowd of 53,000 people in Liverpool, England.

Although that was a major achievement for women’s soccer, it had terrible consequences for the women’s league in the United Kingdom; the English Football Association was threatened by the size of women’s soccer, so they banned women from playing soccer on the same fields as men.

Due to this, women’s soccer declined in the U.K., which caused a decline in nearby places as well. It wasn’t until 1930, when Italy and France created women’s leagues, that women’s soccer started to rise again. Then, after World War II, countries all over Europe started women’s soccer leagues (“Women in”).