Leon Trotsky

For my friends, a few photos from a recent day in Seattle with my son. Here’s our iconic Space Needle with some native wildflowers in bloom.

Lovely views from the top of the Needle of Elliot Bay and downtown. Only an hour before this there was a tempest. We had taken the Monorail to Westlake Center, with the plan to walk through the Pike Place Market and down to Ivar’s on the waterfront for lunch (they make the best fish and chips), but the clouds were dark and moving fast so we stayed put and ended up having a really wonderful lunch, with a view, at The Athenian Inn. The oysters were delicious!

Here are some photos from the Pacific Science Center exhibit “SPY: The Secret World of Espionage”, which was the main attraction for myself and my son. This photo is of a cipher machine, for sending and decoding secret messages, like the one that was taken from the Albertina crash site in Ndola.

Here is the identification card of Allen Dulles, who was C.I.A. Director from 1953 until November 29, 1961.

Marlene Dietrich sings for the OSS!

The original Drone – spy pigeons! The camera and harness is just unbelievable.

There was so much to see at this exhibit, but the best part was getting up close to the pickaxe that was used to killed Leon Trostky – it must be seen in person to be appreciated. That is not Trotsky’s skull, by the way.

I am just beginning to learn about the first UN Secretary-General, Trygve Lie, who resigned from his office on November 10, 1952, after seven years of service.
On April 7, 1953, Trygve Lie stepped down and Swedish diplomat Dag Hammarskjold was elected UN Secretary-General. The transcript of the General Assembly that day is most interesting, if only to see how different the view of Soviets are from the rest of the assembly in their response to the resignation of Mr. Lie.
In 1950, the UN General Assembly voted to extend Lie’s term for another 3 years, but the Soviet Union refused to recognize Lie as Secretary-General because of his support of the UN intervention in Korea in 1950 (The Soviets didn’t get along with Hammarskjold either, and wanted to have “troika” at the UN, rather than just the one Secretary-General, because they believed Hammarskjold was a puppet of the US).
Trygve Lie also lost his support from the United States, after Senator Joseph McCarthy accused him of appointing staff “disloyal” to the US. Perhaps McCarthy didn’t like that Lie once gave Leon Trotsky permission to settle in Norway after he was exiled from the Soviet Union. In any case, Joe McCarthy was insane, and he was the one disloyal to the US – he didn’t care who he destroyed for his own political gain.
And on that note, here is a scan of Vladimir Fabry’s appointment to the UN in 1946, signed by Trygve Lie.
(click photo to enlarge)

Vlado

In Memory of Vladimir Fabry – Slovak Political Refugee and United Nations Lawyer – Who Died September 17-18, 1961, with Dag Hammarskjöld.

Tag Archives: Leon Trotsky

A Day in the City

Letter of Appointment to the UN, 1946