update

Sam and Adam took a 2nd in the last round so they're now on a mere +5.


:::Jealous:::

The non-tab geeky worlds post

Well, the dorms are lovely and the campus makes Koc look bad (Koc being lovely but this being something else!). It is an officially dry campus, but a decent amount of free alcohol is being provided.

The two main issues are food (improving) and timings.

Day one was massively behind. Having been at breakfast at about 7:30-08:00, they ran the tab nearly two hours behind schedule.

Today has run more on time (in the end, less than an hour off) but there was a lot of waiting around. One of the benefits of being on a capmus should be the ability to go back to the dorm for a couple of hours or go on the internet. The problem is that they tell a time and so people go and are then left to wait for ages. This morning was less their fault, they were waiting for teams to arrive.

To be honest, when it comes to late teams I have only a limited amount of sympathy. When it comes to late teams on a campus, I have none. If you say you'll run at 9:30, you do a campuswide announcement at 9:15 over the PA system that you will run in 15 minutes and if people aren't there, it's their problem.

Their tone today suggests tomorrow will be much stricter.

Food at lunch for the first two days was sparse and inedible. Luckily, the cafes etc are stupidly cehap so not really a problem. Today it was apparently much better. Dinner tonight was wonderful, for the first time they served Thai food rather than western food and it's a much better idea. Thai food tastes nice, tends to suit a range of tastes and frankly, they should be good at it!

In terms of alcohol, there is a lot of beer (they're sponsored by singha!) and, more importantly in my view, non-beer alternatives. Ok, they're E-number alco-pops, but they taste fine :). Swiftly spreading rumours of a dry break night were categorically scotched this afternoon, though rumours that they are going to run out of bottle water are increasing.

The 7/11 down the road is fulfilling the role played by the alcohol hut down the hill at Koc. Long may it last!

A more fun rumour is that the final prize isn't just supported/sponsored by the King, but may be presented by him. I'll be at the airport by then, unfortunately so will have to find out like everyone else!

Ok, off to sleep now as tomorrow looks to be hard work and then Worlds Council the next day. Joy of joys.

LIZ
xx

Results R1-6

For reference: ULU is JLM and Paddy, Middle A is Fred and Ali, Middle B is Myself and James and Inner are Nye and Rob.

Sam and Adam (Cam A) were on 15 at the end of round 5 (ie: straight firsts), I don't know the result for round six yet.


Day 1 was rubbish for Middle B as we had two really rubbish calls. In the first room James was extending, feedback was 'good new points, new examples and nwe analysis but you didn't adequately flag it as an extension, therefore you came 3rd'. Some what annoying, but at least the judge was competant on the rest of the feedback.

In round 2 we also took the third in a decision so horrendous we complained to the CAs and were given competant judges for round 3 (1st).


Round 1 motion was THW allow the use of torture. We were second op.
Round 2 motion was THBT Taiwan should declare independance now. We were first prop.
Round 3 motion was TTHW not allow local government pay for the relocation of homeless people. We were first op.

R3 went slightly crazy as 1p were from Korea and talking about homeless as in 'mass migration with people with handcarts' whereas the rest of us were talking about the man with his dog outside the railway station. Oh well!


Day 2 has gone a lot better, but we're just not had any 'lucky' calls. We took a 1st and two seconds but on each of the seconds missed out by only one speaker mark. Little frustrating! The judging hasn't been crazy though, just unlucky.

motions for today have been

R4: THW allow defendants to have government lawyers only (2nd Prop, took the 2nd but we'd been put in a bit of a corner by 1p)
R5: THW only provide EU aid to countries which persued environmentally friendly policies (Second prop, came first)
R6: THW put more restrictions on foreign political donations than domestics ones (defined as in the US). We were first op and took a second.

In terms of other teams:
ULU are on a solid 15
Middle A (I believe) are on 13
Middle B are on 12
Inner Temple are now, unfortunately, out of the break having just taken a 4th and a 3rd in the last two rounds.

It's speculated that straights (18) may not be enough to break. I'm more inclined to the 'top 4-5 on 18 will berak' view. If Sam and Adam continue to meteor up, this'll be more likely.

We're idly speculating the chance of Sam and Adam get 27 but then not getting through the octos. Ahem. :)

This is a terribly geeky post, information about the tournament as a whole will be posted next.

LIZ
xx

Thailand

Well, just arrived in Thailand yesterday after a fairly long, but good, flight. I do recommend Swiss for future travel!

It's fairly hot here (35C) but not horrific and all the dorms (more like hotels!) have AC. The campus is beautiful- even makes Koc look normal.

All the adjudication briefing stuff seems normal.

We're definitely not debating Indian nukes, drugs in sport of circumcism as they were all used in the judges briefing.

More to follow.

Anorexia: Not caused by thin models

Scientists investigating anorexia and other similar eating disorders have said that they may not be caused or triggered by pictures of thin models or an aspiration to look that way, but rather by an inherited tendency in the brain to respond to pleasure and reward in a particular way.

Here.

Birmingham IV

This weekend was the Birmingham IV. The MDU sent 4 teams and 3 judges (who were wonderful for responding to an emergency call for judges!). The tab has not yet been released so I don't know how everyone did exactly, will update when I have more information!

What I do know:

Manchester BM (Dan B and Chellsie) did excellently in breaking to the semis.
Manchester FP (Kenny and Ciaran) managed to get into the top room for round three.

The motions were:
Round 1: THW ban music which glorifies violence
Round 2: THW co-operate with Hamas
Round 3: THW nationalise Northern Rock
Round 4: THW halt expansion of the EU
Round 5: THBT parents who have had a child taken into care should be stopped from having any more children
Semi: THW support the police's right to strike (in the UK)
Final: THBT juries should have to give reasons for their verdicts

The IV was won by Galway (second op) after a two hour adjudication. Apparently, on the first call virtually all the judges had different calls on 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th so they instantly knew it was going to take a while!

The final was held in the Barber institute which is an art gallery on the Birmingham campus. I've got to say, I'm a fan of having finals in nice places, I think it marks them out which is nice. The 'three course meal' was less good this year. Last year they'd hired a big room on the university and got caterers in. This year it was in a local student bar where everyone had to eat in two sittings. Hmmm. Perhaps they'll return to staff house next year.


More to follow when the tab is out.

Urbanisation in the 21st Century and its future impact

Recently, the percentage of the world's population living in cities just passed the 50% mark.

How does this impact on our lives and is the increasing proportion of people living in cities likely to be positive or negative in the future?

I'd offer my own answer, but freakonomics blog has already asked several thinkers on this point and they've given a vast array of opinions. Some think negative of the trend, I'm more inclined to sympathise with the most positive point of view put forward by Glaeser.

Wednesday research

I am glad that Ben Morrow is starting Wednesday research sessions and look forward to seeing the results of them.

With his permission, I hope to post the findings on this blog....

Religion as a moral compass

Firstly, sorry about the lack of posts. No excuse except not finding anything especially interesting to comment on.

Last Thursday's debate was on religion, more specifically, TTH condemns parents who enforce their religion on their children.

Given the teaching speech at the beginning of the evening, I'm not surprised that the 'religion is good as it provides a moral compass' argument came up.

When I had initially sat down with Dan and planned that point, the point was as superficial as 'the ten commandments are generally a pretty good way to live ones life'. The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that the merit in the argument is not the superficial one, but the deeper one.

All societies condemn murder, theft, adultary etc. whether they are Christian, Hindu, Animist or Atheist. They might quibble over what the words mean, but the core thought is there. Religion, in my mind, doesn't impact on these big morals particularly. Where it does have more value in the moral sphere is on deeper issues. Concepts like forgiveness or retaliation are given a particular slant by religions. For example, Christianity is pretty explicit on the issue of turning the other cheek whereas Islam allows ideas of justice being a form of personal retribution to influence shari'a law. Equally, the idea of judgement for religious mis-deeds. Modern interpretations of Christianity (which I think are the better ones) would generally condemn societal punishment for religious transgressions, instead, allowing God to be the arbiter. To use Islam, again, the punishment is explicitly allowed and encouraged.

The role of religion as a moral compass, therefore, is more vital when looking at subtle issues such as forgiveness than looking at 'easy' issues such as 'thou shallt not kill'.

£1 train tickets London <--> Manchester

You can go London<-->Manchester for £1 by train by booking here.

You can book up to about 2 months in advance. The £1 tickets tend to go earlier. If you book the week before, tickets will be about £3-£9. £9 seems to be the highest price.

These tickets are only available on the London/Manchester route.

Feedback form

Thursday Feedback Form

1. On a scale of 1-10, where 1 is ‘rubbish, would rather have watched paint dry’, 5 is ‘average/it made no difference really’ and 10 is ‘it changed my life’ how would you rank:
1. The ‘teaching’ at the beginning of each Thursday ______
2. The handouts/other written resources ________
3. The motions each Thursday ________
4. The judging each Thursday ________
5. Thursdays as a whole _______
6. Comments about the above

2. How much do you understand from training? 1-10 where 1 is ‘it’s unintelligible’ and 10 is ‘it’s crystal clear’. _________
3. Concerning the information given both orally and in the handout on Thursday is there: Too much information, the right amount of information or far too little information? (Please underline the one which applies)
4. What are the things you have enjoy most on Thursdays?

5. What are the things you have enjoy least on Thursdays?

6. On a scale of 1-10, are Thursdays fun? 1= dreadfully dull, 10= funner than a fox in fishnets on a Friday? __________
7. Do you have any suggestions for next term? Things you would like to see more of/less of, areas of knowledge not yet covered/not covered in sufficient detail, aspects of the rule of debating that you are confused about….

8. How adequate has the information about IVs been?
1. Have you been easily able to find which IVs are on? (y/n)________
2. Have you been easily able to say you are interested? (y/n) ________
3. Has there been adequate information about IVs? (y/n) ________
4. In your opinion, has team selection been done fairly? (y/n) ________

i. If not, how could this be improved?

Any other comments?

9. (Optional): How long have you been debating? __________

IV interest next semester

January and February IVs are now available on the website.

In order to avoid disappointment, please make sure you are aware of the relevant closing dates.

Free Beer

We've had 4 cans of Carlsberg and a bottle of Kroenenberg in the house for a few months now. Neither of us are beer drinkers. First person to reply to this post using the comment thing-y below who will be at debating this Thursday gets them.

Much Love,

LIZ

Aussie and NZ debating knowledge

Ok, so when New Zealanders and Australians are expected to know about schools in Northern Ireland for debates, I'm not surprised that they have significantly more knowledge than we all do!

Glad Victoria won though, saw them at Oxford and Cambridge and they were good speakers and lovely people :)

Lancaster IV 2007 Speaker Tab

Rank	Speaker name	Team Name	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Total
1=	Rachel Francis	Durham A	78	77	81	78	314
1=	Stephanie Shepherd	Newcastle Untoward Events	76	76	77	85	314
3=	Tom Jackson	Nottingham Men in Tights	80	74	81	77	312
3=	James Torrance	Nottingham Men in Tights	78	74	82	78	312
5	Luke Wells	Durham B	75	78	76	82	311
6=	Tabitha Willmer	Durham B	77	77	77	79	310
6=	Antonia Henbest	Newcastle Untoward Events	76	74	78	82	310
8	Fletch Williams	Durham A	79	74	76	79	308
9	Tom Silverton	Manchester TM	72	77	77	81	307
10=	Sherraz Qureshi	SOAS A	76	77	73	79	305
10=	James Gillespie	Durham C	75	73	77	80	305
12=	Chris Woods	Boring York A	77	78	72	75	302
12=	Phil Alexander	Durham C	76	73	77	76	302
14	Sam Dobin	Cambridge	76	74	77	73	300
15	Ashleigh Lamming	Cambridge	78	79	73	69	299
16=	Usama Rehman	Manchester RU	74	71	79	74	298
16=	Klairi Liis	Manchester DK	74	72	77	75	298
18=	Jordan Anderson	SOAS A	71	74	74	77	296
18=	Rachel Crook	Warwick His and Hers	76	70	72	78	296
20	Kyalo Burt-Fulcher	Warwick His and Hers	77	74	68	76	295
21=	Ruby Newton	Manchester RU	76	71	78	69	294
21=	Rajim Chowdury	Sheffield A	75	74	73	72	294
21=	Viv	Swing C	73	74	72	75	294
21=	Tim Lees	Nottingham Shottingham	78	71	76	69	294
25	Michael Joslin	Manchester TM	66	75	75	76	292
26	Andy Hunter	Boring York A	74	74	69	73	290
27	Sam Morrow	Manchester BS	70	75	72	72	289
28=	Sam Eccleston	Manchester SR	75	65	76	72	288
28=	Deborah Joseph	Manchester DK	72	69	71	76	288
30=	Rob Bentall	Manchester SR	75	67	75	70	287
30=	Ben Morrow	Manchester BS	75	73	69	70	287
32	Anthony Wieczorek	Durham D	74	67	73	72	286
33=	Jessica Moore	Warwick Tips the Velvet	72	70	72	70	284
33=	Dom	Swing A	66	76	69	73	284
33=	Luke	Swing C	65	73	72	74	284
33=	Ciaran Prendeville	Manchester SC	69	75	65	75	284
33=	Weijie soh	Boring York C	73	71	70	70	284
33=	Patrick Keating	Boring York C	71	72	71	70	284
39	Maya Kessler	Nottingham Shottingham	75	68	71	69	283
40=	Laura Knightly	Sheffield A	68	71	72	69	280
40=	Gayan Samarasinghe	Monsters Inc.	69	73	68	70	280
40=	Sissy Wamaitha	Manchester SC	69	73	65	73	280
43=	Michael Dallaway	Newcastle Rainbow	73	68	69	69	279
43=	Aris Catsambas	Boring York B	69	70	69	71	279
43=	Caroline Howard	Warwick Tips the Velvet	75	65	65	74	279
43=	Ruthie Jacobs	Manchester MR	72	69	70	68	279
47	Belinda Carr	Newcastle Skittles	72	66	69	70	277
48=	Maria	Swing B	66	74	69	67	276
48=	Oliver Lewis	Newcastle Rainbow	74	69	65	68	276
48=	Robert Haynes	Strathclyde	69	69	67	71	276
48=	Venita Nordon	Boring York B	67	69	69	71	276
52	Alex Cavell	SOAS charasmatic un troopers	72	72	66	65	275
53=	Stephen Jamieson	Newcastle Skittles	70	65	69	70	274
53=	Ben	Swing A	67	72	63	72	274
53=	Marc Dunwell	Manchester MR	71	67	69	67	274
56=	Charlotte	Swing B	66	73	69	65	273
56=	Sophie Burt	Durham E	72	69	66	66	273
58=	Simon Smith	Warwick His and His	74	67	62	69	272
58=	Anneka Sirs	Durham E	72	66	70	64	272
60	Richard Mead	Warwick His and His	73	67	61	70	271
61=	Maddie Fry	SOAS charasmatic un troopers	66	74	64	66	270
61=	Rob Harris	Strathclyde	67	67	66	70	270
63	Will Day	Durham D	67	64	63	72	266
64	Adam Raysor	Monsters Inc.	68	61	67	67	263

Lancaster IV 2007 Team Tab

Rank	Team Name	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Total team Points	Total Speaker Points
1	Newcastle Untoward Events	2	3	2	3	10	624
2	Durham A	3	3	3	1	10	622
3	Durham B	3	3	2	2	10	621
4	SOAS A	1	3	2	3	9	601
5	Manchester DK	3	1	3	2	9	586
6	Nottingham Men in Tights	3	2	3	0	8	624
7	Manchester TM	0	3	2	3	8	599
8	Manchester BS	2	3	0	3	8	576
9	Durham C	2	2	1	2	7	607
10	Manchester RU	2	1	3	1	7	592
11	Warwick His and Hers	3	1	0	3	7	591
12	Nottingham Shottingham	2	0	3	2	7	577
13	Warwick Tips the Velvet	1	1	2	3	7	563
14	Cambridge	3	2	1	0	6	599
15	Boring York A	1	3	1	1	6	592
16	Swing C	2	2	0	2	6	578
17	Manchester SR	3	0	1	2	6	575
18	Boring York C	2	1	3	0	6	568
19	Manchester SC	0	3	0	3	6	564
20	Manchester MR	2	0	2	1	5	553
21	Durham D	1	0	1	3	5	552
22	Newcastle Skittles	1	0	3	1	5	551
23	Durham E	1	2	2	0	5	545
24	Swing A	0	2	0	2	4	558
25=	Newcastle Rainbow	3	0	1	0	4	555
25=	Boring York B	0	2	1	1	4	555
27	Swing B	0	1	3	0	4	549
28	Strathclyde	0	1	2	1	4	546
29	Sheffield A	1	2	0	0	3	574
30	Monsters Inc.	1	1	0	1	3	543
31	Warwick His and His	0	0	0	2	2	543
32	SOAS charasmatic un troopers	0	0	1	0	1	545

Lancaster IV 2007

Lancaster, this weekend, was fun - though with the MDU dominating the judging panel, any issues of judge clashes had to simply be ignored! Apparently, a couple of universities were disgruntled that they were being judged by Manchester judges so often. Had they complained directly to me, I would have explained in a non-sweet manner that if they have a problem with judging, the solution is to fix it next year and bring their own judges!

The motions were:

R1: THW issue indeterminate sentences to repeat offenders of petty crime.
R2: (The paraphrased version), THW send fat kids to fat camp
R3: THBT the West should withdraw all military funding to Pakistan unless Pakistan holds free, fair and constitutional elections
R4: (Analysis debate) THBT Britain's former colonies in Africa would be better off today had they remained under British rule.
Final: THBT all imports into the EU should be fair trade (TM).

There were info slides for rounds 1, 3 and 4.

Manchester teams did well, overall. Unfortunately, MDU teams didn't manage to break, but one team missed out only on speaker points and at least three others were in break rooms.