Your German Correspondent

Congratulations

2011-01-03T23:47:00.000+02:00

Congratulations to all winners and runners up of WUDC 2011!

Special shout out to Lazar, Ehmann, & Saliba.

We need a drink now ...

WUDC 2011 Results - Open Break

2011-01-03T23:43:00.000+02:00

Winning Team:
Monash A

WUDC 2011 Results - ESL

2011-01-03T23:40:00.001+02:00

Winning Team:
Haifa A

WUDC 2011 Results - EFL

2011-01-03T23:36:00.001+02:00

Winning Team:
Tokyo B

WUDC 2011 Results - Speakers

2011-01-03T23:30:00.001+02:00

Disclaimer on spelling of names ...

Comedy:
U China, Wu Wu ?

Public Speaking:
1) Christelle Thomson, Jamaica
2) Jack Gamble, Cambrdige
3) Danny Blackman, Cornell

Masters:
Scotland (Alex Just & Eusebius McKaiser)

Best Speakers

EFL

5) Unisa Adi..., Ghadjamadra A
4) Ilianta?, Ghadjamadra A
3) Visa Adriani?, Indonesia A
2) Simon Belak, Ljubljana C
1) Andreas Lazar, Stuttgart A

Congrats!

ESL

5) Patrick Ehmann, Berlin A
4) Michael Saliba , Stuttgart A
3) Rob Honig, Leiden B
2) Ljubljana A, Maja Simova
1) Filip Dubranovic, Ljubljana A

Open Break

10) Stephanie Bell, Oxford C
9) Brent Kettles, Hart House A
8) Neve?, TCD Hist B
7) Patrick Halliwell, Sydney B
6) Doug Chochran, Cambridge A
4) Ben Woolgar, Oxford A
4) Bronwyn Cole, Syndey A
3) Fiona Prowse, Monash A
2) Tim Mooney, Sydney A
1) Victor Finkel, Monash A

Two Best Volunteers:
Grant? & Onhe?

Congratulations to all!

WUDC 2011 Results Announcement Impending

2011-01-03T23:07:00.001+02:00

Starting now ...

WUDC 2011: Open Break Grand Final Finished

2011-01-03T20:46:00.000+02:00

The Grand Final just closed out.
Tracking commentary is on Twitter.

All teams good, will be a hard decision. I thought CO were a little late on extension, OO internally contradictory on one point and OG anticipated sth on sovereignty that wasn't contested. So much for the bads.

If you ask me, CG has a very good chance - they certainly gave two consistently excellent speeches.

Now off to the dinner & awards venue ...

WUDC 2011: Open Break Grand Final Motion

2011-01-03T19:07:00.000+02:00

TH would invade Zimbabwe

WUDC 2011: Open Break Final - Draw and Judges

2011-01-03T19:06:00.001+02:00

OG: Monash A
OO: Oxford A
CG: Sydney A
CO: LSE A

Judges:
Logan, Anat Gelber, Vivek, Mary Nugent, Phil Barker, Adam Goldstein, Isabelle Loewe, Tate, Michael?

Congrats to Isa on that achievement!
So some German participation in a Final after all ...

WUDC 2011: ESL Final Underway

2011-01-03T18:49:00.000+02:00

We're on whip speeches now.
Organizers didn't call us back in, so I missed half the PM speech. The model seems to revolve around size of parties - this was briefly ciriticized, but hasn't influenced the debate much.

General trend seems to be that principles were debated at the top of the table and bottom is focusing on implementation-related extensions with ties to principle. The latter has worked surprisingly well in many cases at this Worlds. Seems like debateland is moving back closer to reality ;)

I am leaning somewhat towards opp, but the speeches in opening were of different strength, and closing might be focusing a little much on the idea that if the problem that OG presented exists, this is the fault of "broken democracy" in the first place. Strong performance from CG as well, so this will be a suspenseful one until tonight ...

WUDC 2011: ESL Final

2011-01-03T17:53:00.001+02:00

Motion:
THBT courts should break up consistently dominant political parties

Draw:
OG: Haifa A
OO: Ljubljana A
CG: UCTI A
CO: Leiden B

EFL Final Underway

2011-01-03T16:38:00.000+02:00

PM prosposed to give double the votes (in any election, I guess) to those in the bottom 20% income bracket in Western Liberal Democracies.

I had immense trouble with listening comprehension with Tokyo B, but thought that also in terms of their labels they were quite confusing. Zagreb launched quite the attack, but may have been a little lighthearted on the analysis. Speaking from experience, you also need to beat the analysis cow to death in OO in a Worlds final ... ;)
Second half is looking much better to my mind - both structurally and analytically.

Won't be able to make a call, though, so be sure to check on results tonight ...

Thought of the Moment

2011-01-03T15:32:00.000+02:00

Military barracks are an interesting place to host a Final.

EFL Grand Final Motion

2011-01-03T15:31:00.000+02:00

TH would give more votes to the poor.

EFL Final Draw

2011-01-03T15:09:00.000+02:00

Judges:
Tim Jeffries, Yoni Cohen, Will Jones, TJ, Steve Johnson, Kimera (not exhaustive)

OG: Tokyo B
OO: Zagreb A
CG: Venezuela A
CO: Belgrade A

Tbc, they need to speak more slowly ...

WUDC 2011: Open Break Final

2011-01-03T15:05:00.000+02:00

Teams advancing to the Final:

LSE A
Monash A

Oxford A
Sydney A

WUDC 2011: Semi-Final Motion

2011-01-03T13:17:00.002+02:00

Just to catch up on this - the motion for the Open Break Semi Final was:

TH opposes organized religion

Buses to the Finals venue depart ~14:00 local; then it's 12 hours of Finals, Awards, and hopefully food and drink.

Time to get the tux back out ...

WUDC 2011: Open Semis; EFL & ESL Break to Finals

2011-01-02T23:06:00.002+02:00

Open Semis

Monash A
LSE A

Sydney A
Sydney B

Oxford A
Cambridge A

Sydney D
Yale C

EFL

Zagreb A
Venezuela B (tbc)

Belgrade B
Tokyo B

ESL

UCTI A
Haifa A

Ljubljana A
Leiden B

Missing ze Germanz ...

WUDC 2011: EFL & ESL Semifinal Draws

2011-01-02T16:49:00.001+02:00

EFL Semifinals

Dikti A - OG
Venezuela B - OO
Zagreb A - CG
Venezuela A - CO

J: Chris, Masako, Mike Aguilera, Sam Block, Daniel Kaliski, Lucinda, Tom Williamson

Indonesia B - OG
Belgrade B - OO
Gadjahmada B - CG
Tokyo B - CO

J: Duncan Campbell, Aji abu, Kimera, Jens Fischer, Tuna, Daniel Warents, Matthew Butler Adams

Motion:
TH supports a one state solution for the Israeli - Palestinian conflict

ESL Semifinals

UTMara B - OG
Haifa A - OO
Lahore A - CG
UCTI A - CO

J: Will Jones, Phil Barker, Steve Nolan,
TJ, Simone van Elk, Andrew McMillan, Logan

Stuttgart A - OG
Leiden B - OO
Ljubljana A - CG
Ljubljana C - CO

J: Nick Long, Isa Loewe, Josh Martin, Ciaran Lawlor, Ely Zosa, Michael Hsiao, Latif

Motion:
TH would prefer that the children of racial minorities be adopted by parents of that race

WUDC 2011: Open Quarters & ESL Semis Break

2011-01-02T15:05:00.000+02:00

Open Quarters:

Monash A
Kings Inn A

Sydney A
NUS A

Cambridge A
Monash B

McGill A
Oxford C

Sydney D
Yale C

Oxford A
UNSW A

Sydney B
Melbourne A

LSE A
Cambridge B

ESL Semis:

Lahore A
Haifa A

Ljubljana A
Ljubljana C

Leiden B
Stuttgart A

UCTI A
UTMara B

Quartes Set-up:

Monash A - OO
King's Inn A - OG
Cambridge B - CG
LSE A - CO

J: Anat Gelber, Steve Johnson, Joanna Connoly, Kim Ahyoung, Alex Just

Sydney A - OO
NUS A - CG
Sydney B - OG
Melbourne A - CO

J: Erin Fitzgerald, Richard Lau, Chanelle, Tate, Vivek

Monash B - OG
Cambridge A - CO
Oxford A - CG
UNSW A - OO

J: Julia Baine, John Worgan, Michel Baine

Oxford C - OG
McGill A - CG
Sydney D - OO
Yale C - CO

J: Nita Rao, Tim, Steven Boyle, Deirdre, Adam Goldstein

Open Quarters Motion:
THBT courts should not enforce wills that discriminate on the basis of race

ESL Semis & EFL Semis draws at 16:00.

WUDC 2011: Octofinals & ESL Quarterfinals

2011-01-02T12:56:00.003+02:00

Octos:

TH would buy countries votes in international organisations

ESL Quarters:

THBT domestic courts should try foreign nationals who commit war crimes abroad

Colm has created a graphical representation of both Open and ESL elimination rounds progression.

Self-Organization

2011-01-02T02:23:00.002+02:00

I just returned from the Yakka Punch party. It was privately organized by some of the ZA contingent. It was the first Worlds style proper social. It also reminded me of one of the signs I'd seen around UofB recently.

Good night!

Breaking News: WUDC 2013 goes to Berlin

2011-01-01T16:15:00.001+02:00

Worlds Council just voted on the Zagreb vs. Berlin Bids for Worlds 2013:

Berlin - 87
Zagreb - 9

This is fantastic!

Break Announcement

2011-01-01T01:50:00.002+02:00

Here it is - they may be short on beer, but we have G&Ts and cigars.

Judges

Adam Goldstein
Athica?
?
Alex Just
Anat Gelber
Andrew McMillan
Ben Jasper
Chanelle Carr
Chris Bisset
Ciaran Lawlor
Daniel Galisky
Daniel Warents
David Stephens
David Watson
Deirdre Milner
Duncan Campell
Ellie?
Eoin Kilkenny
Erin Fitzgerald
Eusebius McKaiser
Gavin Illsley
?Paris
Isabelle Loewe
Jens Fischer
?Jolenne
Joe Roussos
Jonathan Pierce
Josh Harding
Julia Bain
Kim Ay Jung
?
Latif
Leela Koenig
Lewis Iwu
Richard Lizius
Lucinda David
Luke Daniel McGreevy
Marie Nugent
Masako Suzuki
Mattew Butler Evans
Michael Aguilera
Micheal Bear
Michael S?
Matt Dwyer
Nick Long
Nita?
Phil Barker
Phil Williams
Rich ?
Richard Läu
?
Sam Block
Scott Ralston
Shawn Briscoe
Simone v Elk
?
Steve Johnson
Stephen Nolan
?
Tate
TJ
Tim Jeffries
?
Tom Williamson
Toshiaki ?
Tuna
Will Jones
Yoni Cohen
Zheng Bo
Zikho Pali
Logan

EFL

1 13pt Zagreb A
2 13 Belgrade B
3 12 Tokio B
4 12 Venezuela B
5 12 Venezuela A
6 Ghadja...
7 Indonesia B
8 Tenjin B?

ESL

1 16 IIUM B
2 15 Ljubiljana A
3 15 Stuttgart A
4 15 UCTI A
5 15 UTMara B
6 Leiden B
7 14 UNAC A
8 13 Lahore
9 14 Berlin B
10 14 Indonesia A (EFL)
11 14 IIUM C
12 14 Gutenberg A
13 14 Koc A
14 13 Berlin A
15 13 Ljubljana C
16 13 Haifa A

Open Break

1 24 Monash A
2 22 Sydney A
3 21 Cambridge A
4 21 Oxford C
5 21 TCD Hist B
6 20 Oxford A
7 20 Hart House A
8 20 Cambridge B
9 20 Durham A
10 20 Monash C
11 20 Oxford D
12 20 Sydney D
13 19 Sydney C
14 19 Monash B
15 19 NUS A
16 19 Alaska A
17 19 King's Inn A
18 19 ANU A
19 19 UCD Law A
20 19 Yale A
21 19 ANU B
22 19 Alaska B
23 18 Sydney B
24 18 LSE A
25 18 Oxford B
26 18 Melbourne A
27 18 UNSW A
28 18 Yale C
29 18 McGill A
30 18 Vermont B
31 18 Cambridge C
32 18 TCD Hist A

Masters

Ireland
USA
Scotland
England B

What a night.
Congratulations to all!

Party now ...

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T01:50:00.001+02:00

At 25 deg C and a light breeze, this is a more than happy start!

Greetings to the Homeland and all others!

Words from Round 9

2010-12-31T23:13:00.000+02:00

"And then all sheep were dead."

WUDC 2011: Round 9

2010-12-31T21:03:00.000+02:00

"THBT social movements should use the courts rather than the legislature to advance social change"

The Round had been delayed to 20:30 on account of earlier fun and considerations around dinner (the canteen staff's departure times, to be exact). Now that debaters have been fed, it's time to sort this out ...
We are in high spirits that there will be a New Year's party afterwards. It may even include a Break announcement.

Round 8 Delayed

2010-12-31T15:46:00.003+02:00

Start of Round 8 has been postponed to 15:10 local time, on account of what the CA team called a "monumental cock-up".
Apparently, not everybody had been provided with lunch ... "not everybody" including all vegetarians.

WUDC 2011: Round 8

2010-12-31T15:46:00.001+02:00

"THBT the Southern African Development Community (SADC) should pursue political union"

Finally. Will see what teams do with this ...
To be fair, though, the expectation management this morning regarding Round 8 was excellent.
Round 9 will be at 19:00 local.

Words from Round 7

2010-12-31T12:15:00.002+02:00

"Don't go and get yourself an underwear bomber" ...

I'm pondering.

WUDC Results After Round 6

2010-12-31T11:52:00.002+02:00

Damn internet connectivity; others were faster ... ;)

Specifically, Colm has posted a copy of the Tab after Round 6. Achte Minute have already done an analysis on what this means for VDCH Land (that is kind of Great Germany, but phrasing it as such might land me an equity complaint ;P).

For all else, you'll need to wait for the break announcement tonight (as well as the full tab), seeing as we've been instructed to "give no more oral today".

WUDC 2011: Round 7

2010-12-31T09:45:00.001+02:00

"TH would require individuals to reveal their actual identity when communicating on the internet"

From now on, Rounds are closed adjudication. Nothing better to keep the tension up ...

WUDC 2011: 30 Dec

2010-12-31T01:23:00.002+02:00

It's been a fun night once again, and it's high time for bed.

Indeed, promises to ensure relative sobriety of others (who still need to speak) have been made within the German delegation.

Speaking of sobriety, that was clearly out of order on account of judge status.

The Phillipino/Botswana Brand Night was clearly good to us: A gin&tonic, a cigar, and a BW cultural performance ... Jens referred to my state as "mellow". Let's see whether we can upgrade to "inebriated" tomorrow.

Key observations until then:

There were no drinks from Manila - Dino de Leon tells me that we need to come get those ourselves at Manila Worlds next year ... this gets me thinking (about flights)
I associate some products with very specific places in my mind. Heineken has so far had an association to a beachfront bar somewhere close to the Olympic harbor in Barcelona. It is now attached to the University of Botswana campus
Conclusion after two nights of socials (beyond the ice breaker): Things over here always end up in song and dance

WUDC 2011: Round 6

2010-12-30T18:44:00.001+02:00

"TH would deny teacher's unions the right to strike"

Before this, more beer in the sun. - Did I mention that I love Africa ...
Debaters had their traditional Debate Day 2 Crisis today (How are we doing?, How could the judges in the previous round be so ignorant?, What are perspectives?), but everone I talked to was doing impressively well ... so I suppose the bin must be filled by "the others", whoever they are.

After this is dinner and Manila/Bots Brand Night. I'm curious as to the specialties they'll be serving ... :)
Before, there will be a German Caucus meeting - jawohl!

Good News

2010-12-30T16:38:00.003+02:00

The tournament is currently running ~30-45 mins behind schedule, which - given the rather liberal timing of 2 hrs per Round - is a pretty fantastic achievement by all involved.

Favorite Quotes of the Day:

"There will now be toilet paper in all restrooms."

"We are talking to the administrator about opening the pool. Any certified lifeguards, please come forward."

I need to go check whether Bastian Laubner and Marcus Ewald have already followed that call ...

WUDC 2011: Round 5

2010-12-30T14:15:00.001+02:00

"TH would prioritize asylum seekers who have engaged in armed struggle against oppressive regimes"

Lunchtime was spent in pursuit of BW cash (me; successful). Jens knows more about the Equity Forum.

Thought of the Round

2010-12-30T12:19:00.001+02:00

Only because you perform barefoot, this does not make you Shakira.

WUDC 2011: Round 4

2010-12-30T09:58:00.000+02:00

"THBT independent central banks should set limits on government spending"

Last night was "Recreation/Talent Night". Never thought I'd get to see Jamaican song, Jewish rap, and Botswanan dance in one evening ... good fun!
(Free drinks were curiously absent, though.)

WUDC 2011: Round 3

2010-12-29T19:10:00.000+02:00

"THBT governments should NOT provide benefits on the basis of marital status"

Time inbetween Rounds was spent with beer in the sun and on an (unsuccessful) search for a working ATM on campus.
Jens meanwhile hosted the EU Caucus in preparation of Council.

The Public Speaking session is postponed to 21:15 tonight.

Looking forward to food and drinks after this ...

WUDC 2011: Round 2

2010-12-29T15:28:00.001+02:00

"THBT all countries should have the right to possess nuclear weapons"

Interesting ...

Getting to food was a challenge at lunch - note to self: Don't offer individual feedback immediately subsequent to Rounds ;)
Shout out to my judging partner Finn from MAD, who footed the bill for the ice cream, thanks to which I survived ...

Round 3 is currently forecast to be announced at 18:15 local time.

WUDC 2011: Round 1

2010-12-29T10:52:00.000+02:00

"THBT national sporting teams should reflect the diversity of the national population"

There's been a bit of a delay this morning, largely on account of the fact that everone needed to check in and that the latest reg updates did not make it to the tab. VLookup, anyone?

Check-in of speakers and judges before Rounds happens by manual database entry - when you're checked in, the system tells you that it cannot find you ... this has been a bit confusing when people checked in their partners or delegations.

Apparently, ESL/EFL also need to re-register ...

Feels a little like at the BW border ;)

Let's go ...

WUDC 2011: 28 Dec Wrap-Up

2010-12-29T00:53:00.004+02:00

It's shortly past midnight, and I'm back in my room ... that kind of puts the party to shame just a little bit ;) (Details below)

Today's Excitement:

Things started with the Debater/Judges Briefing and Administrative Announcements ... a little late this morning. So did I.
The briefings were good, highlighting a holistic approach to judging and the notion that there are always judgement calls without much "automaticity" ... something that needs to be said especially at Worlds.
Lunch was had
Pre-Council took ~3.5 instead of 1.5 hrs, but according to Jens they managed to address already many things which would otherwise have needed to be discussed on 01 Jan - this includes the Bid Presentations for WUDC 2013 from Zagreb and Berlin. I have taken sides - I suppose Jens, too, has a private opinion but refrains from voicing that on account of his EUDC Council Presidency. We shall therefore keep the discussion out of here from our end until the voting has been completed ...
A first round of the Masters Competition was held on the motion, "THW buy local" - I'm not sure on participants, etc., but we'll update latest on the Final
The Welcome Dinner was held at night, incl. a welcome by the BW Education Minister

Awesomeness:

+ The weather is still divine ... those who complain really need to get a grip
+ The helpers/runners/volunteers are still amazingly friendly
+ There is beer on sale at the cafeteria (Note to self: Remember to get local currency tomorrow)
+ Speaking of which, the food is pretty good and plentiful
+ Up until now I rarely ever imagined that one day I'd be standing in the bathroom of a BW student dorm, with the only challenge at hand being to fix my bow-tie to socially acceptable standards

Potential for Awesomeness:

- Apparently there were some visa issues, incl. nights spent at the ZA/BW border crossing ... Manos and Tuna have more
- I like the food - but sometimes getting access is a little tricky ... the crew needs to catch up on crowd management techniques
- Speaking of food, while I'll leave the ranting about special dietary needs to this gentlemen ... Halal were practically made Vegetarian, which not all appreciate
- There is a case for a Lean Operations project to be sold here ... or something like that. Examples: Way too many entertainment items before all food on the dinner (guys, seriously, between main and dessert is the time), a buffet dinner (crowd management ... see above), and a conversation that included the statements, "we have run out of wine", "we are not sure as to other drinks", and "there were two departments kind of clashing over drinks responsibility, each thinking the other would organize"
- They need to open the swimming pool

While there is a certain degree of what hopefully is turning into a steep learning curve, I'm still on holiday. In Africa. With beer.

Other People's Thoughts:

Steve had the best tweets today
Colm has it all on where the streaming of some debates will be happening tomorrow, and what the CA Team announced as "official results" of the Adjudication Test (Jens and I both differed on some counts ... clearly not a simple call)

Bring it on, 29 Dec!

WUDC 2011: Opening Ceremony and Dinner Impending

2010-12-28T19:02:00.003+02:00

There you go: As much as they were advertised, the free condoms from my dorm are already gone. Looking forward to the Social ...

Oh, the day. Not so much stress, really (though Jens might beg to differ on account of Pre-Council), just a lot of time spent in the sun, drinking beer, and a little time spent indoors listening to good briefings. More later, I need to put on a tux, after all ...

Vacation Time

2010-12-28T13:52:00.003+02:00

This is my annual leave. I was really happy to get out of the office for a while.

From Mike's photo of WUDC reg it appears, though, that my employer is following me around ... ;)

A Message From My Cell Phone Provider

2010-12-28T13:39:00.003+02:00

Sehr geehrter Herr Maedler,

leider bekommen wir keine detaillierten Informationen über Netzausbau bzw. Netzstörungen in Afrika.
Allerdings ist bekannt, daß Südafrika bezüglich Netzausbau führend auf diesem Kontinent ist. Alle anderen Länder verfügen nicht über einen vergleichbaren Ausbaustand. Dies gilt auch für Botswana,

mit freundlichen Grüßen,

In essence, this is T-Mobile telling me that they have no idea what's going on with their roaming partners (or lack thereof?) in Africa. Lovely.

Thanks, OrgComm, for thinking of SIM cards for the participants (the only challenge is that everyone receives a welcome bag ... persistence has shown to be key here)! Will now try to get this working for international communication and data ...

WUDC 2011: Welcome to Botswana

2010-12-28T02:57:00.007+02:00

Cosmic Girl brought Jens and Isa. A considerably less exciting-sounding Frankfurt am Main brought me (but hey, it was an A380, and I was in the only row in the whole of Eco with the middle seat unoccupied ;)

What they had in common: Reasonably on-time, reasonably chaos-free delivery of debaters and judges from -8°C and 25cm of powder into +25°C and sunshine.

First observations from a drive from Jo'burg to Gaborone:

+ Africa seems a wonderful place

+ The people here are immensely friendly

+ 25°C, sun. Summer. Putting the winter coats into suitcases until Jan 15

+/- Anyone in for an adventure is advised to take a border-crossing from ZA into BW by road. The bureaucracy. The facilities. Oh, wait, maybe this whole EU citizenship thing makes for a somewhat spoiled existence ...

- It's either easy to get a little lost in Gaborone, or Google need to do better homework

First impressions from Botswana Worlds (can't compete with Tuna's comprehensive analysis, anyway, but still):

+ Large, sprawling, well-protected campus

+ Did I mention the weather?

+ The immense friendliness of all the tournament staff we've met so far (and yes, both Jens and I have managed to keep them well entertained my locking ourselves out of our rooms ... still don't really understand the "replace actual lock by tournament-provided Chinese padlock" logic)

+ There was beer. On arrival

- No towels ... seriously

- As much as I romanticize my student life, but shared bathrooms ;P

- Break day remains a mystery, at least according to official schedule. I'm pretty sure, though, it will happen

So will sleep for me now.

See you all tomorrow!

WUDC 2011: Keeping Tabs

2010-12-28T02:34:00.003+02:00

That is probably already a bad pun.

In any case, here is a work-in-progress version of how we think Worlds can come to you:

Blogs

We will dump all relevant and maybe-only-relevant-to-some thoughts and infos on Worlds here (the RSS feed, specifically, is here) in as timely a fashion as possible
A beautified version of our reporting, as well as possibly of that of some others, will be available at Achte Minute
There are obviously countless others having fun over here, first non-exhaustive listings of whom are here and here

Twitter

I might tweet the occasional thought
It would be a good idea for you to follow Achte Minute anyway
There is again a fair chance that others might also have thoughts on this

Shameless Self-Adulation

2010-12-28T02:29:00.002+02:00

We have been busy lately, especially with trying to find new cups to facilitate our drinking habits ...

It is, however, good to be back. Botswana Worlds, we are much looking forward!

ESL Semis

2009-08-04T15:34:00.002+02:00

SF 1
Tel Aviv A
Haifa A
Ljubljana A
Groningen A

SF 2
Leiden A
Galatasaray C
Tel Aviv B
Leiden C

Motion and positions will be announced at around 4:20.

Open Break Semis

2009-08-04T15:30:00.003+02:00

SF 1:
OG Oxford B
OO Tel Aviv A
CG UCD L&H A
CO Oxford A

SF 2:
OG Nottingham B
OO Oxford E
CG Cambridge B
CO Oxford C

on the motion:

This House believes that desecration of religious sites is a legitimate tactic of warfare.

QF ESL Motion

2009-08-04T12:49:00.001+02:00

THW allow the Police to physically discipline children below the age of criminal responsibility.

QF Open break

2009-08-04T12:46:00.002+02:00

I promise to update this information later; Open break QF were held before the QF ESL, on the motion (vaguely) that

THW allow political parties to designate certain pre-election claims as binding, and whose breach would prompt re-elections.

From what I've heard, none of the debates was great.

Main Break

2009-08-04T01:20:00.002+02:00

1 Oxford A (20)
2 Oxford C (18)
3 Oxford E (17)
4 UCD L&H A (16)
5 Nottingham A (16)
6 Durham B (16)
7 Cambridge B (15)
8 Oxford B (15)
9 UCC Phil A (15)
10 Cambridge E (15)
11 Cambridge D (15)
12 Tel Aviv A (15)
13 UCD L&H B (15)
14 Nottingham B (15)
15 St. Andrews A (15)
16 UCD Law A (15)

Well done, Tel Aviv A!

ESL Break

2009-08-04T01:17:00.004+02:00

1 Tel Aviv A
2 Leiden A
3 Tel Aviv B
4 Berlin A
5 Ljubljana B
6 Erasmus A
7 SSE Riga A
8 Haifa A
9 IDC Herzliya A
10 Galatasaray A
11 Leiden C
12 Groningen A
13 Bilkent A
14 Tilbury House Cologne B
15 Haifa C
16 Ljubljana A

Israel is back!

Judge break

2009-08-04T01:09:00.005+02:00

The judging pool this year was incredibly deep.

The judges breaking are:

Adriaan Andringa
Alex Ward
Alex Worsnip
Anat Gelber
Andrew Fitch
Andrew Tuffin
Anne Valkering
Ashleigh Lamming
Assen Kochev
Bob Nimmo
Bryn Gough
Can Okar
Craig Doherty
Dani Quinn
Daniel Warents
Deidre Milner
Derek Lande
Ewan MacDonald
Fleur Praal
Fred Cowell
Gavin Illsley
Giles Robertson
Gregg O'Neill
Isabelle Loewe
James Dray
James Prior
Jens Fischer
Julia Lawlor
Kirsty Russell
Leela Koenig
Lewis Iwu
Mhairi Murdoch
Nick Long
Oisin Collins
Roger Cotes
Rosie Unwin
Ross McGuire
Sam Block
Sayeqa Islam
Seun Inaynuwira
Simone Van Elk
Spela Krancj
Tarit Mukherjee
Uve Poom
Victor Chernov
Will Jones
Willard Foxton
Yauheni Akulich

Break announcement to follow

2009-08-04T01:07:00.003+02:00

The Irish are still singing, but other than that we are all getting ready for the break announcement - less tension than usual with only one closed round.

There has been a lot of discussion specifically about the last two motions (custody hearings and placebos), though, so we are interested in how teams fared.

Motion R7 EUDC 2009

2009-08-03T18:48:00.002+02:00

This House would allow doctors to actively lie to their patients in order to create or augment a placebo effect.

Comments?

Sorry apology, but good news just before the last prelim

2009-08-03T18:33:00.002+02:00

... I have managed to get access to the network at the Newcastle Union! It's just before round 7 now, so just a few quick updates:

The motions for the previous rounds were:

R4: THB the gay rights movement should oppose gay marriages.
R5: THB western liberal countries have a moral duty to spread democracy across the world using force where necessary.
R6: THB custody hearings should not take a child's biological parentage into account.

The top team right now is Oxford A (JLM and Sheng-Wu) on 17, because they lost to Oxford C (Neill and Max) in R6. One of the Cambridge teams is on 15, but even in the top room the fourth team might not yet be secure.

In fact, the whole competition seems to be incredibly tight, with after R5 ALL ROOMS BUT one still live.

The top ESL teams is probably SSE Riga A, on 11 after R5, and there are strong contestants from Israel (Yoni and Uri did well), Netherlands (Leiden A on 11 after R6, Leiden B on 9, Leiden C on 8) and Germany (Berlin A on 10).

A few other results as we are going into R7:

Galatasaray A 11
Koc A 10
Bilkent A 10
Haifa A 12
Tel Aviv A 11
Orient A 13
Tel Aviv B 13
Haifa B (?) 10

I'll keep on collecting...

Yourgermancorrespondent @ Newcastle Euros 2009 - the first day

2009-08-02T20:08:00.001+02:00

The first day of Newcastle Euros has passed already, but the network coverage is a bit sketchy. This post is written from a mobile phone in the nice trent house bar...
I will update you later with more details, but essentially this has happened: newcastle euros is great, it has a very gritty, studenty feeling to it. Organisation is very friendly, but because of registration problems, the first round started with a significant delay. As a result, there will in total only be 7 and not 8 rounds, as it had been planned. As the result of an interesting procedure (more on this later), 6 rounds will be open adjudication.
The motions so far:
R1: thw allow the police to use entrapment.
R2: thw use the education system to instill moral norms in children beyond mere obedience to the law.
R3: thw grant citizenship to illegal immigrants who report on work-place exploitation.
There will be more stories and motion analysis later. But comments are as ever encouraged!

"Se Germans" are back

2009-01-31T11:00:00.002+02:00

Hello everyone,

After recovering from Worlds on the ski slopes, I'll be blogging the Jacobs Open 2009 over at "Achte Minute".

Cheers,
Henrik

Congratulations to all

2009-01-03T21:29:00.001+02:00

Our most sincere congratulations to all winners, top speakers, and finalists on their achievements!

Well done!

We're off to the Ball now ... Drinks await.

Winners Grand Final

2009-01-03T21:25:00.002+02:00

Oxford A

After votes on all teams, three teams, and two final votes, resulting in 4-3-2 and 5-4 split decisions respectively.

Can Okar told us that one judge had originally voted for 1P, but after the discussion the split was 4 for 2P, 3 for 1O and 2 for 2O; the latter two then changed to 1O to have them win.

Winners ESL

2009-01-03T21:21:00.001+02:00

BBU A

WUDC 2009 Results - Teams upcoming

2009-01-03T21:20:00.003+02:00

Derek just thanked the organizers, led by Art; the DCA Panel; Bob Nimmo, the tabmaster; Danny P McCarthy, the Assistant Chief Adjudicator; and the participants.

Winners EFL

2009-01-03T21:20:00.001+02:00

Vilnius A

WUDC 2009 Results - Speakers

2009-01-03T21:15:00.003+02:00

Please excuse/correct typos!

EFL Speakers

5 Elena Zhukova
4 Laura Horvath
3 Lea Tafra
2 Yevgenia Golubova
1 Aiste Dumbryte

ESL Speakers

5 Adam Hildebrandt (yay!)
4 Yoni Cohen
3 Sela Nevo
2 Simone van Elk
1 Leela Koenig

Best speakers of the competition

10 Harish Natarajan (Cambridge C)
8 James Dray (Oxford A)
8 John Leader Maynard (Oxford C)
7 Sheng Wu Li (Oxford B)
5 Julia Featherston (Sydney A)
5 Steve Hind (Sydney B)
3 Fiona Prowse (Monash A)
3 Amit Golder (Monash A)
2 Tim Mooney (Sydney A)
1 Naomi Oreb (Sydney B)

Public Vote on the Motion

2009-01-03T20:45:00.001+02:00

The motion failed; the Nays have it.

First Winners Announced

2009-01-03T20:41:00.001+02:00

Comedy Competition:
Willard Foxton

Masters Team:
Ireland - Ross McGuire and Gregg O'Neill

Masters Individual:
Barry Glynn
(Honorable Mentions to Willard Foxton, Doug Cochran, Derek Doyle)

Public Speaking:
Patrick Bateman

Congratulations to all!

Entertainment ensues

2009-01-03T19:31:00.001+02:00

There is now an entertainment program, currently featuring a traditional Irish a cappella band, which gives us and especially my thumbs a chance to relax a little ...

First Ideas on the Grand Final

2009-01-03T19:22:00.003+02:00

A quick survey of first ideas suggests that people think that Oxford C, Harvard A, or Oxford A could very possibly have won.

I personally have my hopes still set on Oxford A, who have presented an amazing case beyond eloquence.

Art is currently doing thank yous, which are clearly all very well deserved.

First Ideas on the Grand Final

2009-01-03T19:22:00.001+02:00

A quick survey of first ideas suggests that people think that Oxford C, Harvard A, or Oxford A could very possibly have won.

I personally have my hopes still set on Oxford A, who have presented an amazing case beyond eloquence.

Art is currently doing thank yous, which are clearly all very well deserved.

2. CO Speech

2009-01-03T19:06:00.001+02:00

- Reliance on unknown potentiality of life extreme interpretation

- Status of fetus
- Plausible that mother's individ rights override other
- Everytime I miss an opportunity to have sex and create life, I commit murder under their definition ...
- Life might be, but does not have to be, cf we could all go to hell if we don't go to church, the state still does not force us

- Phil can justify abortion prior to mother, but impact does not justify excl from moral decision making

- Save the life imperative is relative ... Sometimes other people's rights override

2. CG Speech

2009-01-03T18:56:00.001+02:00

- What is a fetus
- Moral debate ... must have max moral protection
- Other kinds of people also have full rights, eg life support
- Prospect of dev differs life vs not life anymore

- Women's rights
- Being a mother is not moral equiv to being murdered
- Consent to sex extends to full range of possibilities

- Role of state
- State to step in
# missed a bit
- No equiv tradeoff to killing fetus shown by gov

1. CO Speech

2009-01-03T18:46:00.001+02:00

- Arbitrary line:
agency answered difficult but not arbitrary
not total scientific consensus does not mean having to adhere to one of the extremes

- Viability ... Self direction not possible until certain stage, further often giving the family the right to switch off life support, eg when born in coma

- Potentiality is not enough ... crazy world bc pot starts earlier down the line

- Role of state
- Should the state force those believing otherwise to forego what is individual moral judgment
- Quality of life consideration

1. CG Speech

2009-01-03T18:41:00.001+02:00

- Who gets to decide?
- Existence of third party makes this different
- Existing society wide presumption to favor life over convenience
- Full moral consideration necessary given that Opp conceded that baby is alive
- Silence of third party is not consent

- Women's rights
- Mother's don't get to kill baby, cf switching off life support and will/consent
- Parents take rights from child ... also don't allow retribution
- Rights of mother even in case of right to have fun stops at right of baby

Fantastic rebuttal to Will and James.

2. OO Speech

2009-01-03T18:31:00.001+02:00

- Women who have sex consent to motherhood? ... Insane
- Why is phys harm the only harm conceded by gov
- Control over body effectively with state ... as sort of baby factory
- Rebuilding the idea of mental harms through pregnancy

- Still masses of unwanted pregnancies ... woman with coat hanger, cf 60s in GB ... support is with doctors
- Summary rant to wrap it up

Excellent, Oxford A!

2. OG Speech

2009-01-03T18:26:00.001+02:00

Assume that Opp is happy to have abortion whenever

- Nature of sex implies consequences ... ceded autonomy
- Makes people more aware ... Condoms with 99.9% safety
- Full life can still be had despite pregnancy

PoI James reiterating self concept

- disenfranchisement by gov bc poor people are driven into abortion bc of missing support services
- Disenfranchisement of men ... Should have a say in that decision # same thing other way around?

1. OO Speech

2009-01-03T18:15:00.001+02:00

- Odd that OG concede to taking life in sit of self defence
- Backstreet w coat hanger vs doctor
- Still justified when saving life of another

- Scenarios where this could still be justified,
eg Siamese twins: self defence against attacker on part of mother
Zombies attacking in the back street

-> when woman feels that there is a danger posed by the fetus, can act in self defence

- when woman at fault: can still be pregnant when all forms of contraception fails

Wow, what an argument ...

1. OG Speech

2009-01-03T18:10:00.001+02:00

- Value of life
- Fundamental ground for all rights
- Stage drawn arbitrary
- Active decision to end life ... akin to murder ... diff to contraception

PoI from Will on rape

- Phys and mental trauma
- Women seeking abortion little able to comprehend
- Phys damages from procedure as phys harm
- Knowledge to have taken life as mental harm

- Pregnancy point is at sex w/o contraception understood

Final Judges

2009-01-03T18:00:00.003+02:00

Derek Lande
Erin O'Brien
Ivan Ah Sam
Rory Gillis
Sam Block
Julia Bowes
Sayeq Islam
Can Okar
Jason Rodgers

Pairings and Motion

2009-01-03T18:00:00.001+02:00

1G Monash B
1O Oxford A
2G Harvard A
2O Oxford C

TH would ban abortion in all stages of pregnancy.

Finals Ceremony Has Started

2009-01-03T17:55:00.001+02:00

The UCC Philosophical and Law Societies have commenced their joint session that is the Grand Final of the 29th World Universities Debating Championships.
The Recording Officer is currently reporting on the past few days ...

A word on the ESL final motion

2009-01-03T15:47:00.002+02:00

I really think this was a rather poor motion, specifically for a final. I don't quite understand why it was set, and I have heard many similar comments. This is probably one of the reasons why people want an ESL-DCA, just to prevent this kind of motions for finals. Sorry Derek and all the others, but the question really is: "But WHY"?

Analysis ESL Final

2009-01-03T15:08:00.001+02:00

Jens and I both think that serious cases could be made for OG and CG, while our hopes are with Hertie. I've also heard a case for CO.

If this comes down to role fulfilment, setting up the debate and arguments in the face of adversity, the prop really should have it.

Many people from the audience left inbetween speeches, which wasn't exactly motivating to speakers. Somebody talk to Derek about that motion ...

ESL Final 2. CO Speech

2009-01-03T14:52:00.003+02:00

Salar:

On football and economics ...

- Fans should decide what a fav club is
- People support all sorts of things
- Doesn't harm nat competition ... # not sure whether this is not new

- Football club as entertainment companies in free market, eg through specialization exp/imp ... # relatively analysis free to my taste
- Taking away opportunities

Over and out until the Final ...

Semifinal Results

2009-01-03T14:52:00.001+02:00

Oxford C
Harvard A
Oxford A
Monash B

ESL Final 2. CG Speech

2009-01-03T14:42:00.001+02:00

Nico:

Off to a round of really detailed examples that I don't get ...

- Getting best players on market ... Football clubs have other duty, social, comm based ... # but why is that?
- Protectionism other than in trade ... Here the show comes from national competition
- On resources and dev ... England does not have good goalkeepers due to misdev

I would've liked sth sharper in terms of analysis, but there certainly were quite a few bright spots in this ...

ESL Final 1. CO Speech

2009-01-03T14:32:00.001+02:00

Rutger:

It all comes down to economics ...

Indicates a ton of rebuttal and substantive

- I support teams bc they are cool ...
- Sports about sportsmanship, not outgroup dynamics due to identification
- On dev ... # nothing new
- On national teams ... # that rebuttal does not support opp

- Premier league good entertainment companies, therefore so popular ... should give them all business opportunities
- Cf music, on nat regulation in markets

The substantive sounded promising, but was far too short ...

ESL Final 1. CG Speech

2009-01-03T14:27:00.001+02:00

Nicoletta:

- Football vs economics ... Diminishing returns impact differently, other factors at play
- Benefit to teams with players ... Must connect with team ... Otherwise devotion only to big money
- LT sustainability ... # we've had that one before

Let's see ...

ESL Final 2. OO Speech

2009-01-03T14:22:00.001+02:00

Simone:

- If players are good, they might as well play anywhere
- Why do we want more fans ... Not explained ... # ah, well ...
- Bad domestic clubs not necessarily improve
- Player dev still takes place ... They must come from somewhere

- Dev of players occurs due to RoI considerations
- Clubs are regionally based and vested ... Fan base not nec national
- Club management is also consideration ... cf decline of Ajax

Still not sure as to the focus on pos matter in OO ...

ESL Final 2.OG Speech

2009-01-03T14:11:00.001+02:00

Alena - Bremen power, yay:

- Rebuilding the identification argument
- Believe in local talent, just needs development ... higher chances here
- Fair competition among smaller clubs, all clubs

- Sponsoring and prestige
- Spirit to the team
- Functioning of global markets ... Focus on prestige players hampers dev of others due to fin reasons

Decent contribution ...

ESL Final 1. OO Speech

2009-01-03T14:01:00.001+02:00

Leela:

- Boring
- Unappealing to fans
- Gov money not involved

Rebuttal:
- Domestic talent not that good
- Development in place ... But is an improvement lever
- Identification is with good teams, not home teams
- And look at all those cute poor kids from Sth America rising to the top

- Public proud of own club when they see stars from abroad wanting to come
- Good sponsorship does good to teams

V good rebuttal in my opinion ...

ESL Final 1. OG Speech

2009-01-03T13:56:00.001+02:00

And off we go ... I'm posting from my mobile, so please excuse concision and typos. I really should have got my E71 before Christmas ...

Adam:
- Good football is many people's interest, but in crisis - historical sentiment
- Leaving out development
- 75% of domestic players in Champions League domestic

- Fans lack identification with clubs ... Clubs just buy according to pocket
- Cultural element in fanhood
- Plan will help develop domestic talent, due to shift in focus ... Kids will benefit also
- Beneficial impact on national teams

I think we're off to a good start ...

ESL Final

2009-01-03T13:25:00.001+02:00

Pairings:

1G Hertie School of Governance A
1O Leiden A
2G BBU A
2O Bonaparte B

Motion:

TH would implement quotas for domestic players in national football leagues.

"But why?" is an overheard comment.

My best wishes to Hertie ... may Adam's illness not stand in their way!

ESL Final To Commence Shortly

2009-01-03T13:24:00.001+02:00

Worlds participants are quickly moving on to another venue to watch the ESL Final ... and we're excited!

Just now, I got to sit in one of the semis ... kudos to Will Jones already for a summary that was just mental ... in a very good way :-)

Motions

2009-01-03T11:37:00.001+02:00

EFL Final:
TH would prohibit all private healthcare.

Semifinals:
TH believes governments should subsidize private home ownership.

Semifinal/EFL Final Pairings

2009-01-03T11:36:00.001+02:00

Good morning everyone,

We're near perfectly on time for a day like this and Derek is conducting the draws for the immediately upcoming debates.

Semifinals:

1G Oxford B
1O Monash B
2G Manchester A
2O Oxford A

1G Vic Wellington A
1O Harvard A
2G Oxford C
2O UQ A

EFL Final:

1G Zagreb A
1O Vilnius A
2G Bucharest A
2O Zagreb B

Judges for Final Day

2009-01-03T04:20:00.001+02:00

Semifinals:
Anna Garsia
Bob Nimmo
Can Okar
Christopher Bishop
Danny P McCarthy
Erin O'Brien
Ian Lising
Ivan Ah Sam
Jason Rodgers
Julia Bowes
Neil Harvey-Smith
Rosy Gillis
Sam Block
Sharmila Parmanand

EFL Final:
Ciaran Lawlor
Daniel Warents
Doug Cochran
Jenni Harrison
Kirsty Russel
Lewis Iwu
Samir Deger-Sen
Steve Johnson
Tiernan Fitzgibbon

ESL Final:
Christopher Croke
Colm Flynn
Daniel Warents
Derek Lande
Elizabeth Ames
Gavin Illsley
Iqbal Hafiedz
Sayeqa Islam
Tim Jeffrie

Turns out, Irish night did not feature complimentary hot whisky ... but the bar at the Clarion was more than helpful.
Strictly bedtime now!

Semis/ESL Finals Announcement

2009-01-02T20:25:00.002+02:00

Semis:

Oxford A
Oxford B
Monash B
Manchester A

Harvard A
Vic Wellington A
UQ A
Oxford C

ESL Final:

Leiden A
Bonaparte B
BBU A
Hertie School of Governance A (yeah!)

Main Semis and ESL Final Break Coming Up Shortly

2009-01-02T20:07:00.001+02:00

Derek just announced that there is only one panel still deliberating , which should be done in about 15 mins ... We curiously await the publication of the break to rounds tomorrow morning.
I do, however, feel for all who will have to deal with the thought of speaking tomorrow starting tonight already - maybe the announcement should be done tomorrow ... Then again, that would deprive some of their sorrow drinks tonight (hot whisky, finally?) and all others probably can't sleep tonight, anyway.