The sad news of the death of a great and humble man came out overnight: “Sir Nicholas Winton, who organised the rescue of 669 children destined for Nazi concentration camps, has died aged 106. Sir Nicholas, then a stockbroker, arranged for trains to carry Jewish children out of occupied Prague. Via BBC He, like others during the 1930s and World War Two period, took action … Continue reading Sir Nicholas Winton: saviour, people smuggler, hero?
Historian Niall Ferguson, in his Civilization: The West and the Rest, notes that: “For 500 years the West patented six killer applications that set it apart. The first to download them was Japan. Over the last century, one Asian country after another has downloaded these killer apps — competition, modern science, the rule of law and private property rights, modern medicine, the consumer society and … Continue reading Australia and the secret sauce of western civilisation?
A friend invited me along to his citizenship ceremony the other day. He’s terribly excited about becoming an Aussie after living here for a number of years. We went to the newly refurbished Sydney Town Hall and the Lord Mayor, wearing her Lord Mayoral bling, gave a lovely speech. Several hundred people from all over the world gathered to receive and to celebrate receiving Australian … Continue reading Australian citizenship, ceremony and ritual
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