Debate Motion Central

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Reedhoven Cup, Bonn, Germany, March 15-16 2014

Reedhoven Cup, Bonn, Germany, March 15-16 2014 (translated)

R1: Should the state provide drug checking options in all areas with higher than average drug use?
R2: Should all people be required to take a vaccination against human gene mutation (of the X-men variety) after birth?
R3: Should professional sports clubs be prohibited to seek national and international transfers of minors that are still in youth programs?
R4: Should closed prisons be abolished for all crimes in juvenile justice system?
Semi: Should there be an unconditional basic income?
Final: Should killing and feeding (Verfüttern) zoo animals for population control and consolidation of genetic diversity be banned?

Paris V, French Debating Association Tournament semis, Paris, France, March 11 - March 17 2014

Semi 1: THBT the relationship between Britain and France is indeed a "Dear Conjunction"
Semi 2: THBT "Action is Eloquence" (Coriolanus)

Pre-Pristina Open, Pristina, Kosovo, March 9 2014

R1: THW ban advertising targeted at children
R2: THW assassinate North Korean nuclear scientists
Final: TH, as a high profile Kosovar football player, would choose to play for a national team fully recognised by FIFA instead of Kosovo

Mainzer Debütanten Cup, Mainz, Germany, March 8 2014

Mainzer Debütanten Cup, Mainz, Germany, March 8 2014 (translated)

R1: Should religious education at school be abolished?
R2: Should we introduce mandatory quotas for media products from Europe in film, tv and radio?
R3: Should men be allowed to protest their legal duty to pay child support in writing if their partners decide against getting their written permission for abortion?
Final: Should the West cut all economic ties with Russia as long as it occupies Crimea?

Leeds Open, Leeds, England, March 8-9 2014

R1: THW legally require the consent of artists for the resale and use of their art
R2: TH supports The RMT's decision to strike (in protest at ticket office closures)
R3: THBT the US and EU should apply economic sanctions to Russia unless there is a full withdrawal of troops from territorial Ukraine.
R4: THW replace all means-tested benefits with a Universal Basic Income
R5: THW abolish Oxford and Cambridge Universities

Vienna IV, Vienna, Austria, March 7-9 2014

R1: THBT NGOs/charities should not accept donations from organizations that contradict their aims
R2: In situations where it's not possible to achieve both aims and the decision lies with the doctor, THBT doctors should prioritize prolonging life over the quality of that life
R3: THBT that Vienna should devote Ottakring to immigrants from Eastern Europe (i.e.: An Eastern European 'Chinatown') Context: Ottakring is a neighbourhood with a high percentage of immigrants, particularly from former Yugoslavia.
R4: THBT the US and the EU should support a Russian annexation of Crimea in exchange for an otherwise independent Ukraine
R5: Info: the “Thirst Games” is a reality tv show in which contestants compete against each other and battle to the death. The games continue until only one contestant remains alive and that person wins fame, glory and riches.Motion: Assuming participants have consented freely and in full knowledge of the risks and possible consequences, THW allow its citizens to participate in the “Thirst Games”
R6: TH supports nations marketing themselves as destinations for ‘good time tourism’ (for the purpose of this debate, good time tourism refers to every form of tourism that satisfies human desires and is generally forbidden in the West (prostitution, drugs)
Quarter: Given a machine that can predict a person's life 95% accurately, THW not use it
Semi: THBT media aimed at children should reject the "happily ever after" model and show a more realistic picture
Final: THBT no state, in any situation, has the right to demand, encourage or promote its citizen to fight or die for their country

UL Open, Limerick, Ireland, March 7-9 2014

R1: THW legalise all drugs
R2: THW ban all political parties
R3: THB that in times of war, the state should conscript a military by means of a draft lottery
R4: THW abolish the welfare state
R5: THW open all borders
Semi: TH regrets the demise of the Soviet Union
Final: THB in the virtue of a disproportionate response

Tallaight IV, Dublin, Ireland, March 1 2014

R1: THW legalise simulated child pornography
R2: THW, when casting minority characters (e.g. racial minorities, LGBTs, people with disabilities etc.) would only cast actors from that same minority
R3: TH, when testing life-extending treatments for terminally ill patients, would not use control groups
R4: THBT Pakistan should not engage in peace talks with the Taliban
Final: You are a scientist working at CERN. Working alone one night, you make an accidental breakthrough in your research that will allow humanity to travel through time. You are alone in the lab and the odds of someone else making the same accidental breakthrough are non-existent. Motion: THW destroy its research

Helsinki Mini, Helsinki, Finland, March 1 2014

R1: THBT feminists should endorse conscripting women in the Finnish army rather than abolishing conscription
R2: TH as Russia supports partitioning Ukraine
R3: THW ban male circumcision

Nottingham Open, Nottingham, England, March 1-2 2014

R1: THW ban the screening and production of films depicting current or recent conflicts
R2: Info: •Iraq’s government offers its citizens a cash reward of around £10,000 for each foreign militant killed from Al-Qaeda or other insurgent jihadist groups.Motion: TH supports the Iraqi Government’s policy of paying citizens rewards to kill jihadist insurgents
R3:TH regrets the rise and dominance of social media (such as Facebook and Twitter) in Western Liberal Democracies.
R4: Info: A charter city involves a developing country giving a long term lease on a small area of land to a developed country. The developed country will build and govern a new city for a pre-determined period of time.Motion: THBT developing countries should establish Charter Cities
Semi: THBT the ICC should hire mercenaries to capture indicted individuals and put them on trial at The Hague
Final: THBT convicted criminals should be allowed to raise their children in prison

Marburger Geschichte Turnier (History Tournament), Marburg, Germany, March 1-2 2014

Marburger Geschichte Turnier (History Tournament), Marburg, Germany, March 1-2 2014 (translated)

R1.: It is 5 July 1914. THW, as the German Reich, issue the Austrian-Hungarian empire a “blank check” on how to deal with the conflict with Serbia
R2.: It is the end of the year 1862. THW, as Abraham Lincoln, give up on the demand to abolish slavery, provided it would help end the Civil War
R3: It is February of the year 44 before Christ. THW, as Brutus, join the conspiracy group of Cassius that aims to murder Caesar
R4.: It is the beginning of 1961. THW, as the USA, seek a mutual neutrality pact with Cuba.
Semi: It is the fall of 1923. THW, as the Western allied forced, let Germany repay ful reparations.
Final: It is 1990 shortly before German reunification. THW, as the Bundesrepublik Deutschland, select the DDR anthem “Auferstanden aus Ruinen” (Risen from Ruins) as the new national anthem for a reunited Germany

Glasgow Women’s, Glasgow, Scotland, March 3 2014

R1: THW abolish trial by jury
R2: Info slide: At present, UK broadcasters (TV, radio) and the UK press (newspapers) are regulated differently. Broadcasters are required to remain impartial when reporting on political matters, especially in the lead up to elections and referenda. The press, however, is free to be partisan, and newspapers often back candidates, advocate for political parties and hire politicians as columnists.Motion: THW allow UK broadcasters to be politically partisan in the reporting of current events
R3: THW allow parents to remove their children from specific classes at school (such as sports, religious studies, sex education and science) on moral, religious or political grounds
R4: THW never subject international treaties to popular referenda
Final: Info slide: The disposition matrix, or 'kill list', is a complex grid of suspected terrorists to be traced and then extrajudicially targeted in drone strikes or captured and interrogated. This list includes US citizens and foreign nationals with links to international terrorism. Motion: TH supports Barack Obama's 'Kill List'

Glasgow Ancients. Glasgow, Scotland, March 1-2 2014

R1: THW compel doctors to report suspected cases of domestic abuse to the police
R2: THBT football associations should require clubs to be majority owned by their fans
R3: THW legalise entrapment
R4: THBT the EU should give automatic membership to states that have seceded from current member states
R5: THW not afford religious identity the same level of anti-discrimination protection as inborn traits (such as race, gender and sexuality)
Semi: THBT that the UN Security Council should sanction companies that buy 'booty futures' from rebel movements
Final: TH supports the rise of online communities that aggressively police ideological purity within the feminist movement

Manchester IV, Manchester, England, February 22-23 2014

R1: THBT US media should not report any details about school shootings beyond the fact that they happened
R2: THBT all international peacekeeping operations in Africa should be carried out solely by African troops.
R3: Info slide - Menstrual activism is a movement which seeks to examine social attitudes towards menstruation through artistic performances such as wearing menstrual blood. Motion: TH supports menstrual activism.
R4:THW ban holocaust denial
Open Quarters: Info slide: There are segregated economic zones in Riyadh where only women are allowed to work. This means that normal rules that apply to women's daily activity can be relaxed i.e. they enjoy greater economic rights in these zones. Motion: TH supports the creation of women only economic zones in Saudi Arabia
ESL Final: THW support a strict disciplinarian education system, as long as it makes students perform better
Semi Final: THB African-American civil rights organisations should condemn capitalism
Novice Final: TH regrets the use of nationalism by colonial liberation movements (e.g. the Indian National Congress, Sinn Fein).
Final: The technology exists to allow people to selectively erase their memories without any physical side effects.Motion: THW allow individuals to selectively erase their own memories

Leiden Open, Leiden, Netherlands, February 22-23 2014

R1: Infoslide: Slum tourism is a type of tourism that involves visiting impoverished areas - usually through a service provided by tourism agencies. Slum tourism is now becoming increasingly prominent in developing nations, including India, Brazil, Kenya and Indonesia. Motion: THBT the governments of developing nations should actively encourage slum tourism
R2: TH, as a critic, would advise the public not to consume works of music, film and art produced by artists that you deem morally reprehensible, regardless of the artistic merit of their work
R3: There have been successful experiments with citizens actively involved in the rehabilitation process of ex-convicts by, for example, hosting them in their house, or building supportive relationships with them. In these programmes, the state ensured adequate financial and professional assistance. The participation in these programmes by citizens and ex-convicts has always been voluntary. Motion: THW randomly select citizens to actively assist in the rehabilitation process of ex-convicts, and make participation mandatory for those citizens
R4: THBT the state should make funding for political parties proportionate to the number of members from low-income brackets in those parties
R5: THW nationalise prostitution
Semi: Some academic and cultural institutions have a practice of awarding prizes that recognise the achievements of members of minority groups. For example, “Muslim Student Achievement Award” or “African American Writer of the Year”. Motion:THB it is legitimate for states to deny residence or asylum to immigrants who openly contradict their predominant values
Novice Final: Some awards in literature, theater, film, sports, etc. are granted only to people from specific minorities (NAACP awards) Motion: TH as a nominee of such an award would not accept it.
Final: THBT the Catholic church should make absolution for those who have committed a crime conditional upon them handing themselves into the police.