Monthly Archives: June 2016

A New Face in the Snakepit (8)

VIII. When he turned fifty, in 1928, Stalin was the supreme, incontestable leader of the Soviet Union, and a man who despised himself. From his lofty position, he remembered the lives he had taken, the people he had to betray … Continue reading

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Taxista en Singapur

El otro día estoy camino de vuelta a mi urbanización Melville Park, en el este de Singapur, junto al aeropuerto, maja pero baratita para los estándares locales. Cuando entramos en la urbanización, el taxista se pone a charlar: me explica … Continue reading

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An artist is just a bad propagandist (2)

In one of my first posts I argued that many artists are just inept propagandists: they have an idea they want to defend or promote, they do it poorly and muddle the message; then, art emerges in the process, like … Continue reading

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Borges y los aliados

En una entrada reciente, hablé del libro póstumo de Bioy Casares, “Borges”, con las entradas de su diario en las que aparece su célebre amigo. Aquí hay otra de mis favoritas, ésta respecto a las discusiones que hubo en la … Continue reading

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A New Face in the Snakepit (7)

VII. After Lenin died in January 1924, Stalin allied himself with his old acquaintances Kamenev and Zinoviev, to form a Party center that would stand between the opposing left (Trotsky) and right (Bukharin) wings, which clashed on a wide range … Continue reading

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