Thank you, Koc!

Back in Germany, and it has been raining for two days straight. That gives me a chance to reflect for a moment on Euros in Istanbul.

Having been part of the organisation staff for Berlin Euros, I find it hard to find an "objective" view. And despite of the bias, I truly believe that this was probably the best Euros ever.

Of course, the nature of the event was different from holding it in a big city - here, no transfers were required, everything was close by.

The org comm really lived up to their promises: The competition ran on schedule for most of the time. The food was good, especially for the dinners. The nightlife was very diverse, and speaking of culture: I imagine the trip to Istanbul was just great.

And lastly, also the weather played along: With temperatures around 30°C and a steady breeze, competition days were very bearable. Even more so, climatized rooms ensured that concentration could be upheld during the rounds.

As a summary: What a fantastic competition, and thank you to everyone who made this happen.

From this perspective: All the best to Tallinn Euros, we are looking forward to meeting under the northern summer!

PS: There is a little downside though, The mood was slightly gloomy amongst several prospective Euros hosts I talked to. One debater told me: "We would love to host Euros in 2009 or 2010, but we have no idea how we could possibly match this experience".

New EUDC council president

As new EUDC council president, Branka Marusic of Zagreb, Croatia was elected. Congratulations!

Here is her introductory mail:

"Dear debating community,

This is the first (of many) e-mails by your newly elected president.

But to start off I would like to introduce myself. My name is Branka Marusic and for the past 3 years I have coordinated debate in Croatia and for the last year and a half I have been the EUDC Council VP for Central and Eastern Europe. In that period of time I had been dealing with various issues which gave me an insight into the specific situations and difficulties faced by countries when developing their debate programs (such as funding, institution recognition etc.) and answered and helped resolve questions, doubts and qualms. That experience served as an incentive to run for the EUDC Council president. Although it is most certainly challenging to live up to the standards set up by my dear predecessor Mr Lars Duursma, I am most willing - and by the trust you have expressed by electing me to this position also recognized as capable - to take up this task head-on.

In the coming year my wish is to improve cooperation between societies, instıtutions, countries and regions in Europe, as well as to represent the interests of all European regions such as working on setting up the criteria for clearer definitions of eligible institutions and speaker statuses (ENL, ESL, EFL).

And as the last point of this brief introduction, but certainly not the least important one, great many thanks to the organizing committtee of the Koc University and a fantastic Euros, and congrats to Tallinn as the venue of our next meeting.

Till soon,
With love from the gorgeous Istanbul,

Branka Marusic"

Tab

The team tab for EUDC 2007 can be viewed at:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pMWOJaP7GaGyGy5QCN6-rVg

and here is the speaker tab:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pMWOJaP7GaGwAWb3SVY2YEg

have fun!

Euros 2008

The council meeting has finished and the two bids from Tallinn (Estonia) and IDC Herliya (Israel) competed. Tallinn got 14 of 19 votes so they will be hosting Euros next year.

Day 6

This is the last day of the tournament and according to the schedule it will be a free day to discover Istanbul.
Today the council meeting will take place and vote for which country will be the host of the next EUDC.
I also will be posting the full team tab and the speaker tab which are readily delivered everybody as hard copy.
details coming...

ESL Winner

is Tallinn Red.

PS: sorry to forget including this announcement.

and the winner is...

1p Cambridge B

Congratulations...

Top 10 EFL Speakers

1. Sam Block 579
2. Alex Blenkinsopp 578
3. Alex Just 576
4. Samir Deger-Sen 572
5. Derek Lande 571
6. Alex Worsnip 568
Derek Doyle 568
8. Siddharth Khajuria 567
9. Ian Chapman 566
10. Constance Grieve 564

Top 10+1 ESL Speakers

1. Leela Koenig 533
2. Sharon Kroes 531
3. Lars Duursma 529
4. Felix Lamouroux 527
5. Kai Menzel 526
6. Irina Subulica 523
Anna Karolin 523
8. Rosanne Hertzberger 521
9. Anita Acavalos 520
Mollie Gerver 520
Uve Poom 520

Grand Final motion

"This house believes that the state should publish deliberate mistruths during times of war."

Grand Final

1g Cambridge B
1o UCC Law B
2g Cambridge A
2o St. Andrews A

ESL Final Motion

"This house would withdraw the right to veto the accession of new members to EU."

ESL Final

1g Tilbury House White
1o Leiden B
2g HSoG Berlin
2o Tallinn Red

Final judges

The final judges for ESL and the grand final are announced to be as:

ESL final: Anat Gelber, Kate Stegemann, Jess Harvey-Smith, Tony Murphy, Daniel Schut, Kirsty Russell, Uri Zakai, Rhydian Morgan, Alistair Cormack.

Grand final: Can Okar, Will Jones, Anat Gelber, Neill Harvey-Smith, Jamie Furniss, Jenni Harrison, Klaas van Schelven, Eoin Kilkenny, Andrew Fitch

PS: The ESL final will be held at 10 am and the grand final will be at sometime afternoon.

Goodbye and hello

Your German Correspondent will tonight return home on the happy occasion of a family wedding. Since we want to continue informing you, tomorrow the local computer genius Ramazan will pick up from where I left.

I will be putting pictures online from Germany. Also, of course, we will publish the full tab as soon as it is made available.

Thank you to all the people who were reading this stuff in Germany, England, Ireland, USA, Croatia, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Russia, Estonia, Argentina or from whereever else!

Can I add: You really are missing a wonderful competition. As I am writing these lines, the country night is in full swing - under a full moon, with a warm breeze and local specialities like bacclava and turkish coffee, raki and small , delicious, hot salad rolls. People are tasting Croatian palinkovac and Israeli wines, Scottish whisky and even Austrian 60% Strohrum. All in all: Awesome.

Oh, and did I mention the belly dancer?

Main break to final

The teams in the Grand Final tomorrow will be

Cambridge A
Cambridge B
UCC Law B
St. Andrews A


Congratulations!

ESL break to final

The teams in the ESL-final are

Tallinn Red
Tilbury House White
HSoG Berlin
Leiden B


Congratulations so far, guys!

Main break SF motion

"This House would grant the state the exclusive right to make decisions on behalf of the mentally ill."

Main break SF

SF 1:
1g UCC Phil B
1o Oxford B
2g Cambridge A
2o UCC Law B

SF 2:
1g UCC Phil C
1o Cambridge B
2g UCD L&H B
2o St. Andrews A


PS: I took down a wrong note earlier: UCC Phil A went out in the Quarterfinal, teams B and C are still in. Apologies and everything.

ESL SF motion

"This House believes that the state should not fund any fertility treatments."

ESL SF

SF 1:
1g Ljubljana Law A
1o Tallinn Red
2g Tilbury House White
2o Tartu B

SF 2:
1g TAU B
1o Bonaparte A
2g Leiden B
2o HSoG Berlin

Main break SF

Yes, it happened: Oxford A is out...

1. QF
1p Oxford A
1o KCL A
2p UCC Phil B
2o Cambridge A

going through: UCC Phil B, Cambridge A

2. QF
1p UCD L&H A
1o Oxford C
2p UCD L&H B
2o Cambridge B

going through: Cambridge B, UCD L&H B

3. QF
1p St. Andrews A
1o UCC Phil C
2p Oxford D
2o UCC Phil A

going through: St. Andrews A, UCC Phil C

4 QF
1p Durham B
1o Oxford B
2p UCC Law B
2o UCC Law A

going through: Oxford B, UCC Law B

ESL break to SF

1. QF
1G Tartu B
1O Erasmus C
2G IDC A
2O Tilbury House White

going through: Tartu B, Tilbury House White

2. QF
1G Tel Aviv B
1O HSoG Berlin
2G Erasmus A
2O Hebrew A

going through: Tel Aviv B, HSoG Berlin

3. QF
1G Bonaparte A
1O Leiden A
2G Comenius 1
2O Leiden B

going through: Bonaparte A, Leiden B

4. QF
1G Tilbury House Blue
1O Ljubljana Law A
2G Tilbury House Red
2O Tallinn Red

going through: Ljubljana Law A, Tallinn Red

QF main break motion

"This House would forcibly settle the Roma."

QF main break

1. QF

1p Oxford A
1o KCL A
2p UCC Phil B
2o Cambridge A

Judges: Isabelle Loewe, Eoin Kilkenny, Jenni Harrison, Mert Onen, Uri Zakai

2. QF

1p UCD L&H A
1o Oxford C
2p UCD L&H B
2o Cambridge B

Judges: Andrew Fitch, Neil Harvey-Smith, Özlem Unal, Tony Murphy, Victor Chernov

3. QF

1p St. Andrews A
1o UCC Phil C
2p Oxford D
2o UCC Phil A

Judges: Daniel Schut, Can Okar, Kate Stegemann, Rhydian Morgan, Shane Cranley

4. QF

1p Durham B
1o Oxford B
2p UCC Law B
2o UCC Law A

Judges: Jessica Harvey-Smith, Jason Vit, Klaas van Schelven, Ruvi Ziegler, Will Jones

ESL QF motion

"This House would distribute development aid through religious organizations rather than the state."

Comment by spectators: "Tough".

Main break

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


No ESL team made the main break.

ESL QF

1. QF

1G Tartu B
1O Erasmus C
2G IDC A
2O Tilbury House White

Judges: Ciaran Lawlor, Alanna Landers, Domagoj Baric, Luka Keller, Manolis Polychronides

2. QF

1G Tel Aviv B
1O HSoG Berlin
2G Erasmus A
2O Hebrew A

Judges: Debbie Newman, Ewan McDonald, Eyal Oron, Rose Grogan, Simone van Elk

3. QF

1G Bonaparte A
1O Leiden A
2G Comenius 1
2O Leiden B

Judges: Jens Fischer, Anat Gelber, Alistair Cormack, Danny Gleeson, Kirsty Russell

4. QF

1G Tilbury House Blue
1O Ljubljana Law A
2G Tilbury House Red
2O Tallinn Red

Judges: Jamie Furniss, Alex Ward, Alex Wright, Deirdre Milner, Luke Harris

(Some judges were changed afterwards announcement.)

The ESL break

1. Tilbury House White (14)
2. Erasmus A (13)
3. Leiden A (13)
4. Tilbury House Blue (13)
5. Tallin Red (13)
6. Leiden B (13)
7. Tel Aviv B (13)
8. Tartu B (13)
9. Erasmus C (13)
10. HSoG Berlin (12)
11. Bonaparte A (12)
12. Ljubljana Law A (12)
13. Tilbury House Red (12)
(14. Haifa A (12) - didn't break because one of them missed a round.)
15. Comenius 1 (12)
16. Hebrew A (11)
17. IDC A (11)

R7 motion

"This House would prosecute parents who take their children to another legal jurisdiction in order to carry out an act which is illegal in their home country."

Tough one, right? Well, it's round 7.

Top room R7

Nice one:

1g Oxford C
1o Oxford A
2g Cambridge C
2o Cambridge B

Chair: Neill Harvey-Smith

Oxford A...

... are Alex Just and Alex Worsnip.

R6 motion

"This House would introduce a time limit on bringing prosecutions for genocide."

Top room R6

Cambridge B
KCL A
Oxford A
UCD L&H A

Other results later

I'll try to get some more information on the ranking after R5. The next two rounds are closed adjudication. Also, the break will be announced on a boat trip across the Bosphorus around midnight.

Top room results

Oxford A is now on 5 wins. KCL A took a 2nd, Tilbury House Blue a 3rd, and Durham B lost the debate.

Top room R5

The top room in this round is
KCL A
Oxford A
Durham B
Tilbury House Blue.

Tilbury House Blue is on 10 points for sure.

R5 motion

"This House would require prescription for the 'morning-after-pill'"

Day 3

It's a beautiful morning here in Turkey: Clear blue sky, and a very slight breeze to ensure agreeable temperatures. A perfect opportunity to enter the catacombes of Koc University to cram with 150 judges into a relatively small room and wait for round 5 to be started.

Some people complained about Nausea, and they insist they haven't been drinking. Let's hope this is not going to spread around; booze-indicated nausea seems to be preferable...

EFL vs ESL - no longer

It really seems that the old ESL-EFL division is slowly diluting a little. EFL judges point out that EFL teams speak to fast for ESL teams, and EFL teams approach ESL judges for feedback on their performance. This seemed fairly unthinkably only a couple of years ago...

Also, the Turks and the English tonight performed a serious sing-off, but this in the end was still won by the English.

Some news on teams

Sorry for this incomplete information, but:

To the best of my knowledge, the only team on straigth 1st's so far is Oxford A with 12 points. I haven't heard of any team on 11 points. Derek and Jimmy are on 10 points, as well as many other teams.

The bulk of teams is on 6 or 7 points however, so we will most likely see a very close break. With the new QF-break for ESL-teams, they are all excited about the possibilities. Even teams on today around 3 points even get a realistic chance of advancing to QF.

Pre-Council

Pre-Council approved to hold Quarter finals for ESL for the first time in the history of the competition (hazaa!).

In this year's EUDC, approximately 110 ESL teams are taking part, easily passing the threshold of 80 teams set by Worlds Council for holding Quarterfinals.

This also means that around 60 EFL (or is it ENL now?) teams take part in the competition.

Lars Duursma expertly led through the very brief pre-council meeting: The ESL-status of teams was ratified without objections, the two competing bids circulated their materials. Many delegates were still undecided on whom to vote for - again we'll keep you informed.

R4 wrap up

People unsurprisingly expected this motion to happen, so many teams were very happy. In general, people are fairly content with everything: The organisation not only is excellent, but also on time, four rounds were completed, and dinner was great.

Now we are looking forward to a relaxed night with less Euro techno than yesterday.

ESL successes

After round 4, at least three ESL teams are on 10 points: Lars and Sharon (Erasmus), Leela and Rose (Leiden) and Kai and Felix (Tilbury House). Go on, guys!

R4 motion

"This House believes that Turkey should invade Northern Iraq to fight Kurdish terrorist organisations."

CA on analysis debates

Can Okar just said on round 4: "It was a test. I think we discarded it."

R3 wrap up

Generally, debates in this round apparently were very messy. It seems that people couldn't cope with the term "analysis debate", but also with the strong economic part of the debate. Furthermore, establishing causal links was a problem in many debates.

It begs the question why the debate was not focused further, e.g.: "THB that China will have to democratize in order to reap further economic benefits in the future." Or something like this. 1P still wouldn't need to give a model, but there would be a bit more beef to chew on. But that's just IMHO.

Awaiting round 4!

R3 motion

"This House believes that democracy is a necessary condition for economic growth and stability (ANALYSIS)"

Adjudication team decided to post this an analysis motion, ie: No model required, just debate first principles. Interesting.

Wrap up R2

Generally, people were satisfied with the motion and the debates. The impression is that there are less "star" teams this year, but that the general level is better than in previous years - especially in ESL-debates.

In ESL-news: Daniel and Patrick (Berlin) beat Cambridge B (or C?), while most of the other German teams hit hard rounds this time and came mostly 3rd or last.

R2 motion

"This House believes the state should prohibit all items of clothing which cover the face."

Very nice.

R1 wrap up

Most propositions seem to have interpreted the motion to be about organ donation, but so far we haven't heard of a sensible definition for "unhealthy lifestyle" in that context. A few cases were also run about extreme sports and insurance.

German teams apparently fared well, so far I have 3 wins and a third on the list.

Motion R1

"This House would take lifestyle choices into account in the allocation of scarce medical resources."

Opening ceremonies and party

Under a heavily clouded sky, opening ceremonies were held last night. We had an excellent dinner and heard refreshingly short and inspired speeches. At the opening party, we got to enjoy free and unlimited Beck's beer. The draw will be posted at 9 a.m. - let's see who isn't there...

Biggest Euros ever

Koc Euros will have 43 rooms of parallel debate. If I recall correctly, that also was the number of rooms in Berlin. However, Koc seems to have a very deep adjudication pool - Can Okar said they almost have 4 judges per room.

But Euros also grows in the numbers of participating countries: In Cork 2005, there were 15 countries present, in Berlin 2006 around 20, and here the estimate is around 22.

Debate about bids

This year, EUDC council members are voting on competing bids to host Euros 2008.

Tallinn (Estonia) wants to hold Euros in June, IDC Herzliya (Israel) is bidding to hold Euros by the end of March.

A first and incomplete poll showed that we have a few interesting days ahead. Representatives and other participants expressed sympathy for both bids, and many country reps are still undecided.

Council will be meet on Friday, Aug. 10th - we'll keep you posted.

DCA exchange

Prospective DCA Alex Betts (Oxford) had to cancel his participation on short notice. The adjudication team has appointed Will Jones (Oxford) as DCA in his place.

Rain before opening ceremonies

Today, it rained. According to Chief Adjudicator Can Okar, this has not happened in 3 months. For central Europeans, it is actually not only bad: Temperatures stayed modest during the day at probably 27°C. Unfortunately though, the evening barbecue had to be moved indoors.

They sent a bus for us to take us over the Bosphorus.

We arrived in Koc on the night between Friday and Saturday on Sabiha International Airport. And the first impression of the tournament was wonderful: We were picked up and transferred to Koc University by bus - a 70 minute trip including crossing the Bosphorus. Amazing.

The university is situated north of Istanbul and has a secluded campus. It has everything we could wish for: A swimming pool, nice rooms with mini bar and wonderful facilities. I'll include some pictures later.

Your German Correspondent is back

This is Tallinn Academy, and Henrik and me decided to blog this - tell us what you think!

Worlds Grand Final Transcript available

Another transcript of the Grand Final of UBC Worlds is available online on CUSID net:

http://www.cusid.ca/community/viewtopic.php?t=13596&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=60

Worlds 2007 Tab is online now

Colm Flynn has published the Tab or UBCWorlds 2007.

Click to follow the links:

Speaker Tab

Team Tab

Tab will be on Colm Flynn's page soon

Kevin posted the tab to Colm Flynn a few minutes ago, it should be up there soon. Check flynn.debating.net!

Plush Party Pictures

The "end of the worlds" party ended last night at 1.30 a.m. because of (you guessed it) B.C. legislation. We had some fun anyway.

Hey Miranda, thank you for the music!

You could say the cages provided at the club were a real attraction.

A hooray for Croatia!

The new World Champions

Julia (left) and Anna from Sydney G are the new World Universities Debating Champions 2007. Congratulations!

Tab not yet released

UBCWorlds is over, and everybody is headed back to their homes. Since yesterday, we had more than a thousand people reading the blog from almost everywhere in the world. Thank you very much for all the comments!

The tab has not yet been released as of now. According to Kevin, it's being worked on and will be posted some time soon, most probably on ubcworlds2007.com. We'll let you know.

I'm going to stay in Vancouver for a couple more days. If there's anything else to say, I'll post it up here.

End of the Worlds

"This is the end."

And while I will switch from music to tennis in underlining my commentary tomorrow (I think I owe the community one final evaluative one), let me just announce that our friends from the grand nation of Canadia have managed to kick us out at 2 a.m. from the End of the Worlds party.

Shame, ladies and gentlemen!
I shall take the opportunity to abuse this forum to advertise an event at which things run slightly differently tomorrow ...

Tab will be released tomorrow

Derek and Tim say this. As soon as we get a copy, we'll publish it. And give it to Colm. And let you know where to get it on the net.

Hope you had fun reading this in the middle of the night! And yes: We called it wrong, apparently. And a hell lot of people in the audience also got it wrong.

This is why we were not actually judging the Final(s), I guess.

We're off to the Plush Party (End of the Worlds) now. Have a good sleep, Europe.

Top 10 Speakers on the Tab

Sorry for misspellings


10 Jack Wright, Sydney
10 Christopher Croke, Sydney
9 Alex Campbell, Oxford
8 David Denton, Yale A
7 Adam Chilton, Yale A
5 Will Jones, Oxford D
5 Adam Bott, Cambridge B
4 Patrick Meagher, Sydney A
3 Joshua Bone, Yale B
2 Sam Block, Cambridge B
1 Jess Prince, Oxford A

The Winners

Here are the very surprising results.

Sorry for all the misspellings - we'll correct this later


Comedy Night:
Willard Foxton, Middle Temple

Public Speaking:
Michael Einsten

Masters:
Quebec (Matthew Sinclair and Ali Dewji)

EFL:
Tsinghua A

ESL:
IIU Malaysia A

Top Speaker of the Tab:
Jess Prince, Oxford A

World Universities Debating Champions 2007:
Sydney G by a unanimous decision "after lengthy discussion" (Kevin Massie)

Announcements starting

People are adjourning now.

Bob and Will

SSE Riga A

"No, thank you, Sir."

Overview of the ESL Final

The Grand Ballroom at the Sheraton

I know it's not enough for you, however: This is where we spend our time at present. It's better than the gym all the rounds were announced in, that's for certain.

Announcement delayed

The closing ceremonies have been postponed from the planned time (6.30 p.m.) to "at least 7:45 p.m." (Miranda Weigler). There seems to be quite a need for discussion amongst the judges, but then again: Maybe they just want to make sure.

Overheard

Reactions from the Irish crowd (overheard at the Sheraton):

1. The motion was not precisely brilliant.
2. If Oxford D didn't win, the lifespan of the judge panel might be severely reduced.

They went on to describe in quite some detail how they would kill the judges - y'know. You should ask Ciarán about it...

Judge Panel in the Grand Final

Hi Guys, here we go again. Thanks for all the positive feedback!

Awaiting confirmation, the judge panel in the Grand Final was:

Kevin Massie (Chair)
Tim Sonnreich
Derek Lande
Alex Deane
Neill Harvey-Smith
Ian Lising
Jeremy Brier
Jo Nairn
Hayley Nix (Yale)

The rest later

We are going back to the Sheraton now and will get back to you - interest is massive around the globe, apparently.

Some pictures of the Grand final

Here's the pictures of the debate and of the teams - sorry again for the poor quality of some of the pictures.

Opening Government: Cambridge C

Opening Opposition: Queensland A

Closing Government: Oxford D

Closing Opposition: Sydney G

Opposition Whip Speech - Grand Final

Anna Garsia on behalf of Sydney G:

1. Interaction with economics
- Costs get passed on. Need to see that restructuring is actually cheaper than buying credits ... hm, right.
- Business has political capital ... PoI (Will Jones): The Opp model kind of also requires universal subscription.

2. Some people are carrying the costs to a greater exent than others.

3. Restructuring is conducted by those who cannot afford credits ... HUH?

4. Credit systems vs. tax systems
- All right, the EU system was shit ... this is not exciting.

Hmmmmm ... my hunch: Team Oxbridge beat Team Australia. I'll hand this over to Jens for the sophisticated stuff.

Government Whip Speech - Grand Final

Will Jones on behalf of Oxford D:

Who has got the siliest model?
- Congruent economic interest by states. "Debate the model ... that is, all states opt into it."

Is flexibility great?
- Yes, b/c adaptive ability just differs ...

Does it matter where the CO2 is produced?
- No, the shit just goes up in the atmosphere ...

Why treat firms with equality treatment when some can adjust better?
- Well, don't ... and use credits.

Cheaper products for environmentally unsound companies?
- No, they have to pay for the credits. Done.

The cool thing about MNCs - they're multinational. And can take the credits to the developing world.

Affluent economies are the only places where green politics have developed ...
c.f., economic development of Europe ... grow, go green
People need to care!

Yes, we do ... and things are looking bright for the government bench, I would argue.

Member of Opposition Speech - Grand Final

Julia Bowes on behalf of Sydney G

The best G team in the tournament ...

Rebuttal:
- The big fish don't care and buy out ... and governments may introduce too-low prices, under lobbyist pressure. Big business must pay its own cost.
- Immediate short term costs to companies b/c of restructuring ... yes, and what?
- On to the extension ... no, more model bashing on practicality (China won't participate) ... go away. Now on to the extension ... restructuring industry adds costs to the consumer ... false incentive to buy from environmentally disgusting companies, c.f. SUVs - not exactly a proud analogy.
- Consumer backlash ... with examples from all over the world. But praising "Team Australia" - my hunch: the better result for the region with the better weather ...

Positive matter?

Member of Government Speech - Grand Final

James Dray on behalf of Oxford D:

A farmboy from Africa ...

and how to change the attitudes of individuals as regards pollution.

Rebuttal:
- Tax will hurt growth - affecting productive and unproductive elements at the same time.
- Flat tax disproportionately hurts the Third World ... reduction schemes are different from that of the First World.
- The First World will be driving innovation ... and thus reduce rather than buy out.

Triggering individual clean green awareness (affecting attitudes)
- Best done by way of growth ... oh, we're getting all postmaterialist ...
- Green politics in the West, given the satisfaction of individuals' material needs.
- Individuals hold states accountable for climate change ... states act upon political demand.

Nice extension!

Deputy Leader of Opposition Speech - Grand Final

Erin O'Brien on behalf of Queensland A:

Apparently there is embarrasing gossip about Ranald, which has found its way into the collective memory of the Australasian debating community ...

- Flexibility should not be part of a system to save the World ... huhm.

1. Credit systems have proven a failure.
- The sulphur dioxide system ... underpriced credits, and the scheme fell apart b/c people didn't want to trade. Moreover, clean coal destroyed the need ... example sorted.

2. Developing nations
- Perverse incentives ... with declining profits as and when the CO2 emissions fall.

3. Polluters should pay under a punitive system.
- Absolute responsibility on the part of the pollutor ... naja.
- Maybe we missed something, but where did that argument go ...

Deputy Prime Minister Speech - Grand Final

Bob Nimmo on behalf of Cambridge C:

Wants to talk about the Third World, and its economic development.
Apparently Cam C believe that economic development in the Third World is a good thing.

Rebuttal:
- Essentially the models are the same on the agreement level ... nenenenenene ... "yes, we accept that the occasional wanker gets a seat in the White House". But let at least California join ...
- Mulitnational corporations can buy in ... c.f., US sulphur dioxide credit system - "the argument that the EU are idiots is not an argument against a better, more intelligent system"

- On the benefits of a market system ... and allowing flexibility

4. The Third World
- Needs to develop.
- Need to help and direct sustainable development.
4.1. Western co.s go into the countries and are under the credit system.
4.2. The money from the credit system is partially chanelled into the Third World.

"The fate of the planet ... and with the planet, your industry. [...]
"Yay us, we stand for saving the World."

Leader of Opposition Speech - Grand Final

Evan Goldman on behalf of Queensland A:

OO want a carbon tax instead.

1. Avoidance of the going green of old reactors on the part of corporate executives for as long as it's cost effective
- A flat tax forces everybody to change at the first opportunity.

2. Better incentive for innovation

3. Driving down CO2 emissions works better under a cap on the macrolevel

PoI on realism (Ranald): How realistic is a global flat tax?
Reply: Just about as realistic as a worldwide credits system ... not particularly ... ;)

Prime Minister Speech - Grand Final

Ranald Clouston on behalf of Cambridge C:

Propose a Treaty which can be signed by countries, states, and cities; the largest CO2 emitting organizations must buy credits from a central authority. Money is to go to monitoring the CO2 reduction, and clean development projects in the Third World.

1. Gravity of the threat
- Apparently, there are people dying in the direction of Fidji ...

2. Incentive to Cos in terms of resources
- Cost on bads incentivize investment in clean energy and conservation

3. Transformation of economic growth
- Knowledge economy and more employment
- Ability to sell credits on upon going green

Not a lot of evil things come to my mind ... definitely a solid speech!

Scandal at the Grand Final

Oxford D (Will Jones and James Dray) unveil a Scottish flag.

Speech by the UBC VP for Students

"I don't think that the values of debate and the values of a university could be any more perfectly aligned."
Greetings home with that ...

Additionally, the VP acknowledges the dedication and commitment of the many volunteers at this tournament.
The applause is indeed well-deserved - excellent job, guys.

"I wish you all well for the End of the Worlds party ..."

It is England in Prop and Australia in Opp

These are the positions drawn by the teams in the grand final:

OG: Cambridge C
OO: Queensland A
CG: Oxford D
CO: Sydney G

Motion: "THB that economic growth is the solution to climate change."

Analysis ESL final

It is not an easy debate to judge. We think it was a second table debate - slightly benefitial to the opposition Hebrew B. Then again: This motion is easy to oppose.

On an unrelated issue: I find it really hard to see why Hebrew B is listed as an ESL team. They did not seem to have any "substantial barriers" in the command of English. There may be reasons which I cannot evaluate, but it certainly shows that the categories are very hard to manage and distinguish.

Opposition Whip Speech - ESL Final

Do we have right to know?
Is that right good or bad?

Good two questions, go ...
Media reporting as an occupational hazard ... and on to rebutting the point on negative externalities on families. The speaker would like to have heard examples ... right, mate, how about thinking of Hilary for the moment ...

PoI (Yuri): "When did Monica get elected to give up her privacy?"
Reply: "When you have sex with the President of the US of A, it cannot exactly be said that you really don't want the world to know ..."
- Sauber!

That aside, I've just seen that "anonymous" pointed to my little rant on Colm Flynn's blog with a reference to Jens ... good that he will then also be taking the blame for the equity violations ... ;P

Government Whip Speech - ESL

On relations with the Mafia - "get the legal system to address that". Yes, so I can still be JFK one day ...
Next question: "Will England turn into an evil dictatorship if we don't know about Tony's private life?"

Does the lack of public knowledge impair voter judgment?
Do we need to protect private informaiton to serve society?

Guys, more structure in the summation ...

That aside, I have just come up with genius theorizing: The Clinton administration was probably so much more peaceful than the Bush administration b/c Bill occasionally got to screw the aggression out of his mind ... I would have seriously liked to see more analysis on that point ;)

Member of Opposition Speech - ESL Final

"The private life of a politician and his capacity to lead" ... we've had that already.
Empowering democracy ... more principles, yey.

"Certain sexual connections can have a direct effect ... JFK had affairs with women who had direct connections to the mafia" - Can I have that too, please ...

"Sorting out the bad apples of political life" ... guys, I really can't become a politician - what they do with Jude Law is bad enough.

Final argument: we usually don't know a lot about the private life of evil dictators, but are more involved in the private lives of our congresspersons ... uhu. I read in the paper this morning that there's a new comedy coming out about Adolf Hitler's impotence ... had we only known!

Member of Government Speech - ESL Final

Yuri, mach' sie fertig ... sorry, European parochialism.

On to principles, the balance of rights, and the foregoing of rights to privacy. Yuri finds it unfair that the families and friends get dragged into this ... then again, interns improve their career chances by later running their own line of handbags ...
Yes, disputing that Clinton actually had sex with "that woman" ... we love definitional issues.
Wow, Yuri also seems to read this blog - he has just rebutted my point on sex in the Oval Office.
Finally, the Baltics look at actual indicators of political performance ... and at the same time advocate enlightened values.

Deputy Leader of Opposition Speech - ESL Final

Yey, the DLO seems to be reading this blog ... she is making reference to the practicality of the model.
She really is reading this blog ... now she's onto quality press. Except that she's confusing niche and mass media.
On to Bill Clinton bashing again ... guys, that was an intern, not a secretary.
"The electorate wants to know whether politicians have sexual connections with children" ... is it now that I have to fear that I can't become a politician? ... or do we have to remark that screwing babies is somewhat beyond the law, anyway.

Deputy Prime Minister Speech - ESL Final

The DPM has been rambling about Wayne Rooney's girlfriends and their role in "The Sun" for the past four minutes ... should we tell him to read quality press instead, or will finally someone offer a PoI, informing the audience that Wayne Rooney is not a British politician. Not yet, anyhow.
All right, next argument: public office is like working at Microsoft - the employer has no right to interfere in its employees' private lives ... yep, and Bill Gates is God.

Leader of Opposition Speech - ESL Final

The LO has chosen to completely ignore the practicalities of the model - this points me to suspect that my initial hunch that this will be a second-half-of-the-table debate will come true.
LO further argues that the public must know about politicians' adultery to judge their moral character especially in countries in which cheating on your partner is illegal.
I love argumentation based on premodern values ...

Teams in the Final pictured

Here's the teams in the ESL final, pictured from above: OG, OO, CG, CO. Sorry for the poor quality - we must not use the flash.

Prime Minister Speech - ESL Final

The PM is suggesting to somehow ban media reporting on politicians' private lives.
Besides not having provided for a means of enforcement in the model, I am wondering what happens when a US President chooses to use an intern as a humidor in the Oval Office - is that a private or presidential matter?

Motion ESL final

"This house believes that politicians have a right to a private life."

Positions of teams in the ESL final

OG: NLSIU A
OO: IIU Malaysia A
CG: SSE A
CO: Hebrew B

Teams in the Grand Final

Queensland A (unanimous)
Cambridge C (4:3 split)

Sydney G (unanimous)
Oxford D (4:3 split)

Awaiting the finals

We are now in the Chan Concert Hall on UBC campus - eagerly awaiting the break announcement and subsequently the finals. It really is a nice place!

Go to Tallinn IV!

Tallinn University's debating society will be hosting an IV in March 2007, preceded by a two days workshop. Exact dates are to be found on their website www.tallinniv.org. Pictured to the right: Tallinn debate superstar Uve Poom.

After the break

After the break announcement: CA Kevin Massie commiserates with Isa for not making it to the finals.

Before the break

Tension before the break announcement: Team Bonn A with Isabelle Loewe and Matthias Lux.

Motion Semi Finals

"This House would ban websites that glorify eating disorders."

Semi Finals

The semi final pairings are:

SF 1
St. Andrews A
Oxford D
Oxford C
Sydney G

SF 2
Queensland A
Alaska A
Sydney D
Cambridge C

ESL Final announced - Netherlands and Germany are out.

The ESL Final has finally been announced - with the notable exception of SSE Riga A, the Central European teams did not make it.

The setup of the final debate is completely different from that of last year which comprised of teams from Holland, Romania and Germany.

Anyway: Well done, guys!


ESL Final
NLSIU A
Hebrew B
IIU Malaysia A
SSE Riga A

Masters final instead of break announcement

I know that Europe is asleep, so this may not be such a biggie for you, but here the break announcement for Semi Finals and the ESL Final has been delayed and that caused some mild turmoil. The delay occured because the team Hebrew B was not present. The Masters final was started instead and should be finished any minute now.

Read http://1stpropinthefinal.blogspot.com/2007/01/semi-final-announcement-postponed.html for an evaluation of the decision.

Motion for Masters

"This House supports a 35 hour working week".

NHS as first prop speaker suggested just this for the EU, adding it would seem a fit proposal in a place like UBC with many more "ridicolous rules" in place.

It's all in your head

"A good way of learning" says Neill Harvey-Smith while relaxing on "Ethics in Practice"

Motion for ESL Semis

"This House believes all serious crimes should be tried by Jury."

As Henrik points out rightly in his commentary, we ran this motion in a slight variation as the final motion in IUB Open 2006 - Derek Lande was DCA.

The ESL Semi-Final pairings

ESL SF 1
OG: USM A (University of Science Malaysia)
OO: NLSIU A (National Law School of India University, Bangalore)
CG: Bonaparte A
CO: Hebrew B

Judges: Ian Lising (Chair), Greg Allen, Jeremy Brier, Jess Harvey-Smith, Steve Johnson

ESL SF 2
OG: Tilburg
OO: IIU Malaysia A
CG: Bonn A
CO: SSE Riga A

Judges: Peter Nielson (Chair), Jenny Harrison, Rob Leeds, Claire Lindsey, David Kenny

Switch to English

Ich werde ab jetzt auf Englisch bloggen - die Nachfrage ist groß.

Colm, could you post this? I'll be blogging in English from now on.

Quarter Finals Draw

Das lief schlecht für Oxford und gut für Sydney: Hier die Paarungen im Viertelfinale.

It didn't go too well for Oxford, but for Sydney instead. Here's the pairings for the quarterfinals.

QF 1

Oxford D 1p
L&H A 2p
St. Andrews A 1o
Queensland B 2o

QF 2

Sydney A 1p
Sydney G 2p
Oxford C 1o
Sydney E 2o

QF 3

Queensland A 1p
Cambridge A 2p
Alaska A 1o
KCL A 2o

QF 4

Sydney D 1p
George Washington A 2p
Cambridge C 1o
Stanford A 2o


Source: 1stpropinthefinal.blogspot.com

Thema Viertelfinale ENL

"This House believes that people sentenced to life imprisonment
should be allowed to choose the death penalty instead". 

Richtigstellung

Liebe Freunde (und hier sind meine Mama und meine Kollegen an der IUB im Besonderen gemeint),
nein, wir sind nicht im Gefängnis. Das war nur Jens' Steilvorlage zum Thema Nichterreichen des Breaks, auch mit ironischer Referenz zu den vielen blöden Rules, denen wir hier (zumindest angeblich) Folge leisten müssen.

Wir gehen uns daher jetzt mal die Körperwelten-Ausstellung in der Science World reintun, denn das EFL Finale wollten wir mit Abwesenheit strafen - aus Gründen. Dabei, liebe Familie (und hier ist mein Bruder im Besonderen gemeint), könnten wir euch auch das gewünschte T-Shirt aus dem Hard Rock Café mitbringen, wenn es denn in Vancouver tatsächlich ein Hard Rock Café gäbe ... ;)

Teams und Juroren im EFL Finale

1st Prop: Tsuda A
1st Opp: Seikei A
2nd Prop: Tsinghua A
2nd Opp: ICU B

Juroren (nicht 100% sicher):
Tim Sonnreich (Chair)
Loke Wing Fatt
Rose Helens Hart
Haley Nix
Tom Shinner

Motion Achtelfinale

Das Thema im Achtelfinale: "This house believes that developing nations 
should nationalize their energy resources." 

EFL Gedanken

Richtig viel Spaß macht dieses Finale nicht. Offenbar hat OG das Thema missverstanden, und will nun einen NATO-Angriff auf Iran. Das wiederum wird von CG aufgehoben, die sich über die Sinnlosigkeit der Sanktionen auslassen - und dabei nicht nur OG direkt widersprechen, sondern auch noch vergessen, dass die Sanktionen erst am 23.12. überhaupt beschlossen wurden.

Daneben beweist das EFL Finale vor allem eines: Dass die Kriterien zur Unterscheidung zwischen ESL und EFL nicht funktionieren. Das Team CG (Tsinghua, Peking) hat eindeutig keine großen Sprachschwierigkeiten - der mangelnde Erfolg muss hier wohl an anderen Faktoren liegen.

Unsere Vorhersage für den EFL-Sieg: Auf jeden Fall Opposition, meine Vermutung ist OO. CO ist aber auch vertretbar.

Thema EFL Finale

"This House would lift (the) sanctions on Iran".

In Vancouver regnet es Bindfäden, also warum nicht auch mal EFL angucken?

Zitate zur Lage der Dinge

Aus dem großartigen Schatz des Turniers meine Favorites (random order):

"That's not politically incorrect; that's just the truth." (Isabelle Loewe zu einem geheim zu haltenden Thema)

"I believe everybody should have had a sexual experience prior to their death." (Irgendein Debattierer der University of the West Indies at Cave Hill in Barbados)

"They resist at first, but then they keep coming back for more." (Jens Fischer on life in general)

"If you believe that they (developing nations) put down their breakfast in favor of some insignificant forum, you are deeply mistaken ..." (Willard from Middle Temple in the attempt to secure his seventh equity violation)

Henrik Maedler: "I have lived in New Zealand for a while."
Jessica van der Meer: "Oh, I am sorry."

Council beendet

Council ist zu Ende, jetzt freuen wir uns alle auf die Thai Night - es wird sicher großartig.

Ian Lising als Vorsitzender des Worlds Council bestätigt

Ian Lising wurde auf ein weiteres Jahr als Vorsitzender des Worlds Council gewählt.

Kein Viertelfinale

Es wird kein Viertelfinale geben - Council hat das abgelehnt. Details bei Gelegenheit.

EFL Finale vertagt

Das EFL-Finale sollte heute Abend stattfinden - es wurde soeben vom Council auf morgen verschoben, um die Debatte im Council fortsetzen zu können.

Hier die Teams im EFL-Finale:
- Tsuda C
- Seikei A
- Tsinghua A
- ICU (International Christian University) B

$8.75 für einen Martini, das war's uns wert.

Das Foto entstand etwa 12 Sekunden, bevor die Jungs vom Sicherheitsdienst verhaftet wurden. Jetzt schmoren sie in einem kanadischen Knast, weil sie Alkohol auf einer Rolltreppe verzehrt haben - das ist in British Columbia eine Straftat. Es ist nicht so, dass wir nicht in der Lage wären, die Kaution zu hinterlegen - wir haben einfach keinen Bock. If you are reading this: Sorry, Boys.

Die deutsche Delegation

Die deutsche Delegation bei den UBCWorlds 2007 in Vancouver. Von links nach rechts: Patrick, Daniel, Tim, Gabriela, Christian, Matthias B., Matthias L., Isa, Jens, Felix, Rick, Henrik.

Nett hier

Der Blick aus Isas und meinem Hotelzimmer. Links sieht man die Türme des Sheraton-Hotels, in dem der Großteil der Delegationen untergebracht ist. Wir sind allerdings im Sutton Place untergebracht, dass noch ein bisschen netter und sehr europäisch ist.

Welcome to Vancouver

Ich werde künftig mal ein paar Bilder hochladen. Dieses hier kommt mit einer kleinen Geschichte: Ich dachte immer, Kevin Massies Art wäre einfach nur eine persönliche Macke. Es stellt sich heraus, dass Kevin einfach nur ein ganz normaler West-Kanadier ist.

Als wir am Flughafen ankamen, sagte eine Stimme: "We advise you to pick up your luggage and carry it through customs personally. Whatever they told you in Europe or anywhere else, this is our policy. Welcome to Vancouver."

Argument gegen das Viertelfinale

Damit ihr mal eine Vorstellung vom Council kriegt: So sieht es aus.

Ich habe das Gegenargument mittlerweile verstanden:

Weil die Teams gezwungen wurden, sich ENTWEDER für ESL ODER für EFL zu registrieren, haben sich offenbar eine Reihe von Teams für ESL entschieden, obwohl sie sich eigentlich als EFL fühlen.

Würde man jetzt die beiden Kategorien verschmelzen und eine Durchlässigkeit schaffen, müsste man auch die Registrierung wiederholen und die Teams beim EFL-Break berücksichtigen. Damit aber müsste dann das EFL-Finale erneut verkündet werden - eine blöde Situation.

Dazu noch zwei Dinge:

1. Die entscheidende Frage lautet: Entsprach die bisherige Situation der geltenden Beschluss- und Rechtslage? Das ist unklar. Wäre es aber rechtswidrig, dann stellt sich die Folgefrage, ob dann dieser EFL-Break überhaupt hätte verkündet werden können - immerhin war er offensichtlich fehlerhaft!

2. Wie konnte es dazu kommen? Offenbar gab es einen Unterausschuß (ich weiss nicht zu welchem Ausschuss), der sich NICHT über die Opt-Out-Frage geeinigt hat. Trotzdem wurde als Ergebnis festgehalten, dass es ein Opting-Out geben soll - und damit eine Beschlusslage vorspiegelt, die so nicht zu bestehen scheint.

Cork richtet die Weltmeisterschaft 2009 aus.

Gerade wurde verkündet: Cork hat sich gegen Botswana durchgesetzt, die Weltmeisterschaft zum Jahreswechsel 2008/2009 findet in der zweitgrößten Stadt Irlands statt.

Herzlichen Glückwunsch, Cork. 

Schade, Botswana: Wir hoffen, ihr bewerbt euch erneut.

Es sieht nicht gut aus für das Viertelfinale

So, ich war jetzt mal eine Stunde nicht beim Council, und was soll ich sagen: Hier brennt die Luft. Es geht um die Frage, ob es ein Viertelfinale für ESL geben soll. Das passiert nach der WUDC Verfassung nur, wenn mehr als 80 Teams als ESL registriert sind. Das ist nicht der Fall, weil sich in diesem Jahr die Mehrheit der asiatischen Teams entschieden hat, sich als EFL registrieren zu lassen.

Ich habe die Argumente schon zuvor kurz aufgelistet. Hier fliegen jedenfalls gerade die verschiedenen Verfassungsargumente durch die Gegend.

Das ist ganz in Ordnung so, aber eines stößt doch sauer auf: Es wird das Argument stark gemacht, dass jetzt bereits der Break verkündet wurde, und eine Erweiterung um ein Viertelfinale eventuell Teams aus dem Break werfen würde.

Das ist deswegen problematisch, weil wir hier während all der Tage immer auf das Problem hingewiesen haben, und uns mitgeteilt wurde, dass könne man während des Councils lösen. Sollte das jetzt ein Problem darstellen, wäre es doch sehr komisch.

Assumption Worlds

Wir haben eben im Worlds Council die Präsentation für die Weltmeisterschaft in einem Jahr gesehen - in Assumption University, Bangkok, Thailand.

Ich sage so etwas nicht oft, aber ehrlich: Es wird FANTASTISCH! Und: Thai Airlines gibt 30% Rabatt.

Im kommenden Jahr sollte also das deutsche Kontingent wieder etwas größer werden, und nicht nur aus den B-Club (Berlin, Bonn, Bremen) bestehen. Sondern vielleicht sollte auch Aachen dabei sein... ;-)

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Der Main Break

Übernommen von Ciarán Lawlor.

Oxford D ist das beste Team der Vorrunden (die waren auch in Berlin Top of the Tab), allerdings mit einem Punkt weniger als letztes Jahr das damalige Yale A-Team. Trotzdem: 23 aus möglichen 27 Punkten ist ziemlich beeindruckend.

Ziemlich selten ist die Entscheidung zwischen Platz 10 und 11: Es wurde durch Münzwurf entschieden, weil die Teams nach allen Kriterien (Teampunkte, Rednerpunkte, 1., 2., 3. und 4. Plätze) genau gleich abschnitten. Beide Teams waren aus Cambridge.

Insgesamt ist Amerika dieses Jahr erstaunlich schwach. Yale A hat Cambridge gewonnen, und es hier nicht geschafft. Das Team aus Helsinki sind zwei Kanadier, damit ist kein ESL Team im Main Break.

1) Oxford D 23 Punkte
2) Cambridge B 22
3) Oxford E 22
4) Sydney A 21
5) Sydney E 21
6) McGill A 21
7) Sydney D 20
8) Sydney B 20
9) L&H A 20
10) Cambridge C 20
11) Cambridge A 20 (after a Coin toss)
12) Oxford C 20
13) UCC Phil A 20
14) Yale B 19
15) Stanford A 19
16) Oxford B 19
17) Oxford A 19
18) Durham A 19
19) Queensland A 19
20) Sydney G 19
21) SMU B 19
22) Alberta A 19
23) Birmingham A 19
24) Durham B 19
25) Queensland B 18
26) Helsinki A 18
27) Melbourne A 18
28) Manchester A 18
29) Middle Temple 18
30) KCL A 18
31) George Washington A 18
32) St. Andrews A 18

Grossartig! Bonn A breaks second in ESL!

Ein gutes neues Jahr! Jetzt ist es hier 11 Uhr morgens, und das Worlds Council beginnt - da habe ich Zeit, die letzten Neuigkeiten zu berichten:

Gestern Abend wurde der Break verkündet, und es scheint für das deutsche Debattieren die erfolgreichste Weltmeisterschaft in der Geschichte zu sein:

Das Team Bonn A (Isabelle Loewe und Matthias Lux) wurde im ESL Break nur vom Team Hebrew B geschlagen! Das ist das bisher beste Ergebnis eines deutschen Teams. Im vergangenen Jahr war kein deutsches Team unter den besten acht ESL Teams!

Leider sind die Teams aus Bremen und Berlin nicht weitergekommen, obwohl wir uns große Hoffnungen gemacht haben. Dafür haben es noch zwei Teams aus Holland geschafft. Und wer weiss: Vielleicht gibt es ja doch noch ein Viertelfinale.

Ausserdem kann ich ein bisschen stolz verkünden, dass ich den Judge Break geschafft habe - ich hatte nicht damit gerechnet. Neben mir sind nur zwei weitere ESL Juroren weiter: Eine Asiatin (den Namen habe ich nicht mitgekriegt), und Anat Gelber (Israel, DCA der Europameisterschaft 2007). Weitere namhafte Juroren haben es nicht geschafft, insbesondere Laura Horvat (Kroatien) und Lars Duursma (Holland, amtierender ESL-Weltmeister).

Hier die besten acht ESL-Teams (über ein Viertelfinale wird erst heute entschieden, und dann werden ggf. auch 9-16 veröffentlicht. Spätestens sobald der Tab veröffentlicht ist, berichte ich darüber)

1) Hebrew B
2) Bonn A
3) IIU A
4) MSIU A
5) Bonaparte A
6) SSE A
7) Tilburg A
8) Sains Malay A

Motion für Runde 9

Die erste Debatte im (für euch) neuen Jahr, die letzte Debatte für uns im alten:

Runde 9: "This House would grant citizenship in exchange for military service".

Die deutschen Teams haben sich wohl in Runde 7 und 8 ganz gut geschlagen - ich hoffe, ein paar schaffen es ins ESL-Halbfinale (oder Viertelfinale, auch wenn die Hoffnungen darauf schwinden...)

Happy New Year

An alle Daheimgebliebenen - und mit Blick auf die mitteleuropäische Uhr: Happy New Year!
Beste Wünsche aus Vancouver für gute Erfolge in 2007.