Webdiary - Founded and Inspired by Margo Kingston

On this day 57 years ago the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Just as the Rule of Law, as contrary to arbitrary rule, is the basis for the idea of equity and freedom in a community, in my mind international standards of Law are the basis for the possibility of world peace. Exceptionalism in international Law undermines World Peace. This is why the pursuit of international standards for all humans was such a profound historical development, inspired by the tens of millions of dead in World War II. God did not write this declaration, and it was not written on a mountain. But I do believe it is the highest aspiration of the human spirit yet articulated. And I do believe it is worth us having a read of today, to consider why it was written by our grandfather's political leaders, and why we should not discard it now. Here is a transcript in full. Hamish Alcorn.

Update 10.50pm: with permission Andrew's 5pm Update was added to this post.

After having to endure the government’s use of very sharp guillotines in the Senate to prevent scrutiny of hugely significant legislative changes in the areas of welfare, industrial relations and civil liberties, I sat through the absurdity of government Senator’s filibustering* on non-controversial legislation while they waited to discover whether or not the government can reach agreement on the University student services legislation (usually known as the VSU Bill). Senator Andrew Bartlett.

"What has happened since the beginning of the Development Round at Doha in November 2001 has been a huge disappointment for me. As chief economist of the World Bank, I reviewed the Uruguay Round of 1994 and concluded that both its agenda and outcomes discriminated against developing countries. In March 1999, I went to the headquarters of the World Trade Organization in Geneva to call for a development round to redress these imbalances. For a moment, I thought my call had been heeded." Joseph E Stigliz