Mott's Blog

THE BILDERBERG CONSPIRACY: THE TOTALLY BOGUS THEORY OF AN INTERNATIONAL ELITE THAT RULES THE WORLD For some inexplicable reason, I have found myself drawn to the investigation and debunking of ridiculous conspiracy theories of late. The impetus for this development has been the invasion of the Internet by conspiracy theorists of all stripes. Adherents are invariably folks "out of the flow" of real events. You will not find substantive lawyers, bankers, or serious corporate managers among the conspiracy theorists. They will seldom have viable academic or professional credentials. But the Internet for all of its worth and inestimable value creates a democracy of cyber space, where every man or woman’s opinion can be posted with equal footing. If I have an explanation for doing this article, it is to try to objectively beat back a growing fringe of people who are poisoning the well of ideas with total and unmitigated trash. The Bilderberg theory holds that a gr...

ANOTHER CONSPIRACY THEORY FOR THE GUILIBLE AND THE DISAFFECTED When I first heard someone refer to plans for a new “North American Union” I was enormously surprised and then convinced that someone was not playing with a full deck. No politician in any of the North America countries had stepped up to suggest this idea and the notion that it was being done as a secret conspiracy was totally preposterous. Now, after investigating every assertion by the extremist web-sites that have fuelled this conspiracy theory, I am convinced that my initial reaction was too charitable to them. This is by leaps and bounds the dumbest conspiracy theory on the Internet. The fact that some folks would deliberately mislead the gullible is probably no surprise. But somehow I remain surprised that anyone could take the bait on this silly and groundless bit of paranoia. Several sources, mostly on the Internet, have concluded that there is a secret plan in the Bush Administration to merge the United States wit...

Note: This article is written from the perspective of Polish transactions. (1) With environmental liabilities becoming an increasing concern in Polish company and land acquisitions, it is time to ask if environmental due diligence is doing its job. Given some publicized cases in Central Europe of embarrassing environmental liabilities coming due after acquisitions that used the classic environmental due diligence approach, it is fair to suggest that current practices are less than adequate. What mistakes and misconceptions exist and how should a company making what could be an environmentally risky investment look at this issue? First, there is no guarantee from the due diligence firm. The only comfort level that can be achieved is by the design and implementation of an aggressive environmental due diligence effort itself. If something is missed, there is no recourse to the service providers and no insurance against mistakes being ma...