Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan Pipeline and the Kurdish Issue

Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan Pipeline and the Kurdish Issue The Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline links the Caspian sea to the Eastern Mediterranean, it runs 1, 768 km long and is the second longest oil pipeline in the former Soviet Union, extending through the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Georgia, as well as Turkey. At its capacity it can pump up to 1 million barrels (160,00 m3) of oil per day. The construction of the pipeline was a massive undertaking costing upwards of US$3. 9 billion.This considered the pipeline was funded 70% by third parties (dominated by British Petroleum). Even well before it’s completion the BTC pipeline has had a remarkable effect on the world’s oil politics; some critics have gone as far to argue that it has directly affected the geopolitics of the Palestinian conflict. One can clearly see the important monetary reasons to this pipeline, however what will be dealt with more in this essay will be it’s contributions to world polit ics and the controversies that surround it.The BTC pipeline is nothing short of an engineering feat, extending almost exactly 1, 768 km across extremely difficult terrain and diverse climatic and geological zones; techniques and chemical coatings which may have worked perfect for one region had to be changed for others. What sets the BTC pipeline apart though is how this ambitious undertaking affects the myriad communities and millions of citizens, making the pipeline not only an economic undertaking but also a socio-political issue.The South Caucasus, formerly an underappreciated region of Russia, is now of extreme strategic significance; the US along with many other Western powers have vested interests in the affairs of these three nations through which the pipeline runs. The BTC pipeline bypasses the territory of the Russian Federation. It transits through the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Georgia, both of which have become US â€Å"protectorates†, firmly integ rated into a military alliance with the US and NATO. It goes without saying that the pipeline is all about the oil, but it is equally about the social and civic development of the participating countries.In order to properly discuss the social and environmental issues of the BTC project, one must first have an adequate frame of reference from which the project can be judged. There are many principles which one can use including those outlined by the World Bank. However for the purposes of this paper, the Equator Principles will be used. The EPs are a set of principles – outlined by Citigroup, ABN AMRO, Barclays and WestLB – are a voluntary set of principles for determining social and environmental risk in project financing.The Principles, adopted by seventeen leading private banks, specify that said Banks would only provide loans to projects, which meet a number of conditions. These conditions include that projects comply with the International Finance Corporation (IFC ) policies, that they follow the host country laws, among other specific requirements. A review in 2003 examined the BTC pipeline; this paper will examine the Turkish section of this review (while many of the same systemic failures were found just as well in Azerbaijan and Georgia).Based on a rigorous study of the BTC project documents, and also on two international FACT finding Missions to the pipeline route, this review found that BTC project is in breach of five EP-referenced IFC standards on 127 accounts. These sections include: 53 counts in Environmental Assessment; 7 counts in Natural Habitats; 30 counts in Indigenous Peoples; 28 counts in Involuntary Resettlement; 9 counts in Cultural Property The study also found that the project was in breach of international standards such as World Bank standards, European Union Directive on Environmental Impact Assessment, European Bank of Reconstruction & Development.This would be a massive undertaking to properly examine all of the claims made against the BTC project, so focus will instead be put in three areas: Natural Habitats, Indigenous Peoples, and Involuntary resettlement. In doing so this paper will examine the example given by the Kurdish community of Turkey. The Kurds are an example of a nation without a state; they are an ethno-linguistic group without any central state. They comprise 18% of the Turkish population (an estimated 14 million).When establishing the pipeline, Turkey strategically rerouted the pipeline away from the heavily Kurdish areas and the South-East; that being said much of the pipeline still runs through areas that require heavily armed guarding. When looking at the EP section Impacts and indigenous peoples and communities (chapter 8), the project scored a non-compliance stating that â€Å"the impacts on indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities not considered at all (notably the Kurds)†. The Kurds, an ethnic minority of the region, can apply for OD 4. 0 (Indigenous Peoples r ights, section 8. 3), however when BTC co. overlooked this to speed the construction process along they broke not only the Equator principles but also the World Bank principles. Specifically the BTC project has failed to ensure that the Kurds benefited from this project, and failed to ensure that the Kurds were adequately informed about the project prior to it’s completion. Also the project did not even attempt to draw up an ethnic minorities’ development plan (which would include schooling funding among other social programs).Operational Directive 4. 30, Involuntary Resettlement, sets out the requirements for resettlement and adequate compensation for land acquisition. Fact-finding missions outlined in the EP document emergency powers had been used to override OD 4. 30. In many cases displacement occurred before compensation was complete, and when compensation was given the rates were too low. None of the communities were informed of their rights in regards to the lan d expropriation. Much of the criticism coming from the consultation process of the BTC co. s interesting however, because the project did put in place comprehensive public consultation and disclosure processes commencing in mid-2001 with a process of stakeholder identification and preliminary consultation during project scoping; information briefs and consultations with local authorities and local NGOs followed very shortly after this. On the IFC website, the claim is made that they were informed that the members of the Kurdish communities all were fluent in Turkish. As a result of this mistreatment of the Kurdish communities, which the pipeline passes through, many Kurdish militant groups have taken to sabotaging the pipeline.The Kurdish workers party (PKK) has publicly taken credit for much of this sabotage. However there was no mention of whether they adequately explain (in Turkish of Kurdish) their rights with regards to land expropriation. As a result one can see that BTC is ma king the bare minimum of effort required to the Kurdish communities; they claim that they are meeting with the members of the community and yet there still seems to be opposition with pipeline sabotage. Some have argued that this is just an attempt to discredit the Turkish state and bring attention to their nationalist causes in regards to Kurdistan. Regardless of hich, the BTC project has not adequately equipped these communities with the means to consult with these large firms. Much of the political tension arising from the pipeline is a direct result of the lack of environmental accountability. At 1 million barrels a day, the amount of CO2 produced in a year is equal to an entire power industry in the UK. The region of Turkey that the pipeline runs through historically is prone to major earthquakes, and there has not been adequate preparation for this. The BTC project is suffering these problems because of a complete disregard to these standards, but rather seemingly because of a rushed approach.Couple the Kurdish issue with the evident disregard for any form of environmental accountability along with many other problems found in the two ex-soviet countries not mentioned in this paper and the project is simply not sustainable. If adequate structures are not put in place to allow for public dissent, the BTC is doomed to continually suffer sabotage to their pipelines. This is perhaps not such a problem from the perspective of BP, who clearly can afford this expense; it is however an embarrassing light to be shone on Turkey. If for no other reason, Turkey should be pressing for changes in the BTC structure.

An Analysis of the Declaration of Independence

Analysis of the Declaration of Independence By understanding the time frame written in the Declaration of Independence, you can see its impact on the early American people and how they handle this famous sentence. In this article I will explain the basic idea included in the Declaration of Independence, the influence of the declaration on the American Revolutionary War, and the reason why the declaration is considered a radical document. These topics show the premise of the Declaration of Independence and are discussed and analyzed to explain why and how it was written. Analysis of the Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence was aimed at releasing colonists from King George's bondage. This document affects the cornerstone of the United States and is one of the most important documents in American history. The Declaration of Independence is the foundation of that country. But what Jefferson and other signers did not think about is this firmness and f irmness ... Do most of us want to know what inspiration for the Declaration of Independence is? Who did influence Thomas Jefferson, one of the great founders, or who created such an important document in American history. To truly understand what affects Thomas Jefferson, you must understand some of the people who motivated him when writing this document. Declaration of Independence - Declaration of Independence In May 1776, the Virginia Treaty of Williamsburg passed a resolution requiring that 13 United States colonies declare that the colonies are free and independent of the British royal family. At the 2nd Continental Congress, the resolution was passed and a committee of five people, led by Thomas Jefferson on 11th June 1776, was established to write the Declaration of Independence. - In his essay Evil and Almighty, Maggie built views that opposed the possibility of the existence of God with the characteristics of the main religion: Christianity, Islam and Judaism. These feature s are completely gentle that God is omnipotent, or evil, be able to stop the kindness of almighty, or want to destroy evil.

Capital Budgeting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Capital Budgeting - Essay Example The management has the option of employing different techniques for evaluating the performance of individual project managers, each of which has its own characteristics. This paper makes a critical analysis of the performance evaluation technique adopted by Brand Neue Corporation and suggests that the project creating positive shareholder value based on Economic Value Added (EVA) calculation is to be accepted for providing overall greater bonus to the project manager. Organizations adopt both financial and non-financial metrics for evaluating the performance of senior managers. Many of the companies use performance measures such as operating income which rely mostly on financial information generated internally within the organization and are therefore are deficient in making the evaluation perfect. In order to overcome this problem firms have started combining both financial and non-financial measures in the form of balanced scorecards specifying different elements such as profitability measures, customer satisfaction measures, internal measures of efficiency, quality and time and innovation measures. The measures incorporate both long-term and short-term horizon in the evaluation. The internal financial measures are normally based on the accounting numbers routinely prepared and reported by the organization. The idea behind evaluating the performance of different projects is not only to judge the profitability of the projects but also to provid e a meaningful basis for compensating and motivating the senior managers. The objective of this paper is to analyze the project performance appraisal techniques adopted by Brand Neue Corporation. This company has been working on three projects, the performance of which was under review. The company was using ROI technique for evaluating the performance of the projects based on which the performance of the project managers was assessed for compensating them. However the evaluation technique was changed to EVA, since the management was convinced that some of the project managers have been accepting or rejecting projects based on their current ROI status in relation to the bonus structure of the firm. One of the projects was in jeopardy as the project evaluation has not considered the cost of clean up to be incurred consequent upon the passing of an environmental legislation. The cleaning cost has made the project unviable. Therefore the management wants to have a relook at the different project performance evaluation techniques. This report will analyze the effectiveness of the capital budgeting and performance evaluation techniques adopted by Brand Neue such as Return on Investment (ROI), Residual Income (RI) and Economic Value Added (EVA) and recommend to the board of directors, the best technique for evaluating the performance of the managers. The report will also substantiate the recommendation of a particular technique and the likely issues the management has to consider in the process of evaluation. This paper is organized to present theoretical aspects of the evaluation techniques, comparison of the performance evaluation under different techniques and finally a recommendation on the technique that the management can adopt. Project Performance Evaluation Techniques The objective of performance evaluation systems is to provide the information feedback loop to the

A Good Man is Hard to Find Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Good Man is Hard to Find - Research Paper Example The short story, A Good Man is Hard to Find, is written by Flannery O’Connor. The book was written in 1953. The story, A Good Man is Hard to Find is found in the compilation of short stories, A Good Man is Hard to Find. Other individuals perceive all these occurring at once. This paper will look at how both the theme appears in the short story and how the theme appears in society. This is a short story that mainly makes people think about the probability of dramatic change in a person’s life. The old grandmother in the tale is seen as going through a miraculous and sudden change of heart after losing all members of her family and death herself. The old grandmother is tempted to kill the person who eliminated all her family members. Her actions raise a lot of questions; it is difficult to understand such an action  (Bandy 113). One is not able to explain if the grandmother’s action can be understood religiously or otherwise. This also raises questions on how an extreme event can cause such a situation. It raises questions on whether such a situation can occur at all. A Good Man is Hard to Find begins with the old grandmother protesting to her son, Bailey that she wants to go to Tennessee and not Florida, for the family holiday. Nevertheless, the family has its holiday in Florida. The old grandmother shows her family members malice by having an early day and waiting for them in the car. The old grandmother has worn her best clothes for the trip. She is dressed in her Sunday best so that in case of an accident occurs and she becomes a casualty, she will be identified as a lady. The old grandmother talks about her young days and also comments on whatever they see on the way, during the trip to Florida (O'Connor 23). The old grandmother claims that, during her early days, young people showed more respect to their parents and their homes and individuals only indulged in respectable activities. She also comments on a little pickaninny gesturing from a shack’s door. She claims that the Pickaninny almost certainly does not possess any britches. The old grandmother has a conversation with the owner of an old diner in which they were having lunch. The two were talking about a murderer and escaped convict called The Misfit. Both the grandmother and Red Sammy, the owner of the diner agree that it is difficult to find a decent man (Connie 75). Later on, when the family is back on the road, the old grandmother tries to derail the family members from their Florida trip. She tells the children tales of a nearby home she had stayed at as a young person. The grandmother intrigues the children with her stories of the home until they demand to visit the place. The children persuade their father until he accepts to take them to grandmother’s destination. The old grandmother realizes the home she had visited is not in Georgia but Tennessee. This is after they have covered some distance towards the wrong direction. She become s anxious, disturbs the cat, which is terrified, making the father lose control of the car and land in a trench below the road. After the accident, the old grandmother falsifies an internal harm to get sympathy from the family members. In contrast, the children are thrilled and perceive the accident as a quest. As the father, grandmother, and children are waiting for help, a car with three men, all with guns, approach the scene. One of the three men has glasses. He directs his accomplices to examine the car and engages the father, Bailey in courteous discussion. This is until the old grandmother recognizes him as The Misfit, the escaped convict and murderer. The Misfit directs his fellow criminals to kill the family

Travel in South Africa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Travel in South Africa - Essay Example The country is characterized by world class infrastructure, friendly citizens as well as spectacular scenery. This sector received a major boost during the 2010 world cup when it received the highest number of visitors in history. There are various benefits associated with the industry in South Africa. Tourism and travel provides foreign exchange for the country. This gives the governments enough money to offset the foreign debts, allows the South African Rand to remain at par with the US dollar. It also allows the government to pay its employees (Walker and Keith 15). This means that governments have money that is dedicated towards constructive projects such as education, infrastructure as well as health care. The South African citizens that go for shopping sprees abroad have the money to buy goods and services as long as the foreign currencies are readily available in the economy (Walker and Keith 22). Finally, tourism and travel facilitates exportation of goods into the country. Tourism and travel leads to the direct and indirect creation of jobs. When tourists visit the country, it leads to job creation for jewelry trades, drivers and vendors that are directly involved in the sector (Walker and Keith 33). Tourism and travel also has an indirect impacts on landlords and other traders. The sector plays a key role in ensuring job creation in the hotel and entertainment industries. As earlier stated the tourism and travel sector employs one out of every twelve individuals in the economy. The tourism sector contributes towards infrastructure development as the government works towards developing roads, electricity and communication networks in the country to attract tourists. This results into an infrastructure improvement in the country (Walker and Keith 67). The tourist and travel sector results into cultural preservation through economic and cultural incentives. Finally, it results

Bacteriocins and Their Impact on Our Lives and Agriculture Article

Bacteriocins and Their Impact on Our Lives and Agriculture - Article Example Andre Gratia was the first to uncover the inhibition property of bacteriocins in a compound he named colicin v, which was released by a virulent strain of E.coli bacteria. In 1954, Pierre Frederic uncovered the genetic determinates of colicin, as a conjugation transmissible element that is similar to the F factor. Since then a host of bacteriocins have been discovered, and our understanding of the usefulness of bacteriocins moves forward (Scienceray, 2012). Bacteriocins Bacteriocins are a constituent of the wide array of microbial defense systems. All bacteria produce bacteriocins (Riley & Chavan, 2007). These bacteriocins are proteinaceous compounds, which are lethal to bacteria other than the releasing strain. The spectrum of antibacterial activity can vary from narrow spectrum, with confined inhibition of closely related bacterial species or broad to include several of the other bacterial species (Joerger, 2003). Bacteriocins from gram positive bacteria are associated with the bro ader range of antibacterial range of activity. While initial studies were focused on colicins from E-coli and the bacteriocins from other gram negative bacteria, the current focus of studies on bacteriocins is on the bacteriocins from the gram positive bacteria, as they are assumed to have more application in humans and in foods and other products (Chen & Hoover, 2003). At first glance there may be a tendency to classify the bacteriocins as an extension of the traditional peptide antibiotics, because they are synthesized peptides. Yet, they are different, and it is in the essence of this difference that their utility lies. Unlike peptide antibiotics, which are synthesized by enzymes bacteriocins are ribosomally synthesized peptides. In addition, while typical antibiotics are active against a broad range of bacteria, bacteriocins have a narrow range of activity within its own bacteria species or closely related bacteria species. Furthermore, there is an important and unique differenc e in the potency. Within its narrow range of antibacterial activity it is potent in nanomolar concentrations, while in the case of antibiotics a much higher concentration is required for potent antibiotic activity. Though the initial origins and studies on bacteriocins pertain to those produced by gram negative bacteria, the current research on bacteriocins focuses more on the bacteriocins produced by gram positive bacteria, because of the greater potential utility seen in them. Any evaluation of bacteriocins produced by gram positive bacteria is best undertaken by studying them as two groups, namely the heat-stable lantibiotics and the nonmodified heat-stable bacteriocins (Nes, 2011). Bacteriocins from the gram positive lactobacillus are the most investigated group of bacteriocins. Class – I of these bacteriocins consist of the lantibiotics, which are heat stable. They comprise of post-transitionally modified peptides, having multiple rings, bridged by lanthiones or methylla nthionine residues (Zendo & Sonomoto, 2011). Class I bacteriocins are further

Brain development from infancy to the age of two Research Paper

Brain development from infancy to the age of two - Research Paper Example Positive in that the infant’s brain is open to learning new things and acquiring new skills as well as enriching influences. However, the young brain is prone to developmental problems especially when the environment is un-nurturing or impoverished. Research shows that the environment of an infant’s early years can have effects affecting the infant throughout life. Muehlenbein, (2010) further says that due to advanced technology, effects relating to early brain development and the environment are now easier to study and understand. Patterns in brain activity that seem to be related to some types of negative early experiences can now be identified by neuroscientists. However, some scholars argue that even before the brain scanning tools allowing this study, some behaviors stemming from early stress, poverty, maltreatment and neglect could be seen even before technology. The evidence provided by neuroscientists is of essence and should be paid attention to since it is crucial in helping people understand how exactly the environment affects brain development. Such knowledge will help children who are at risk and to reverse where possible the consequences of early adversity. Neuroscientists may also aid in our efforts to learn when experiences affect children. Understanding the patterns of specific periods of vulnerability is a better way of improving efforts towards intervention. Brain development begins in the first three weeks after a child is conceived. At conception, it is the egg and the sperm that meet forming a single cell that determine the potential of the genes. Over 55% of the genes carry out the work of brain development. Cells in a thin layer develop on the embryo (Brestan & Lee, 2009). The cells merge to form a tube filled with liquid which is the foundation of the brain and the spinal cord. At this stage, the embryo produces neurons also called nerve cells and in the first month, the cells multiply to produce