Libyan rebels inside the mansion of Muammar Gadhafi’s daughter, Aisha Gadhafi.
The mermaid sofa is made of pure gold and its face was made to resemble Aisha.
While in power Muammar Gadhafi often stated that he and his family lived modest lives.
A Gadhafi loyalist being held captive by a rebel with an RPG to the back of his neck.
Tripoli, Libya - August 25, 2011
This day in history:
While the King of Libya was in Turkey, a bloodless coup quickly deposed him and brought to power Muammar Gadhafi. He would soon consolidate power and restrict the rights of Libyans in order to stay on top for years to come.
After ruling over Libya as a dictator for more than four decades, he lost control over the country during Arab Spring as Libyans rebelled against his oppressive regime.
His whereabouts are currently unknown and he has lost international recognition as the leader of Libya.
September 1, 1969 - 42 years ago today.
For many years the oil industry in Iran was controlled by Britain. However in 1951 it was nationalized with overwhelming support throughout Iran.
To combat these measures US and British forces led a coup against the democratically elected leader of Iran in August of 1953.
They helped install a leader who would support the west: Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran. He also turned out to be an authoritarian dictator.
During his 26 year rule of Iran Britain and the USA would make overwhelming sums of money from Iranian oil.
However the Shah faced a revolution in 1979 amid accusations of being the west’s puppet and allegations of brutal crimes against his own people. He fled into exile.
His replacement was Ayatollah Khomeini. Under Khomeini’s rule, Iran was turned into a theocracy, and became heavily anti-western. Under theocratic rule there has been a lack of civil rights and especially women’s rights. This is still the case today, a little over 30 years later.
August 19, 1953 - 58 years ago today.
Romanian citizens taking to the streets during the Romanian Revolution in order to oust then-dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu.
Bucharest, Romania - December, 1989.
A picture of guerrillas from the group FARC, seen by most countries as a terrorist organization which operates in Colombia.
They describe themselves as a Marxist-Leninist group of revolutionaries who struggle for the working class and are against what they see as US-led imperialism in Colombia, stemming from the USA’s help in the war on drugs in Colombia.
FARC has been known to kidnap people and is funded in large part from drug trafficking.
In recent years the government of Colombia has put increasing pressure on FARC. Nevertheless the group is still prevalent and controls large parts of the Colombian jungle.
Ernest Hemingway alongside Fidel Castro in Cuba, 1959. Earlier that year Fidel Castro successfully gained control of Cuba.
Hemingway was a resident of Cuba for many years but moved to Idaho soon after.
Pancho Villa on his horse at the Battle of Ojinaga after his forces successfully routed Salvador Mercado’s troops.
Ojinaga, Mexico - 1913.
