If you had told us a year ago the History Hunters International (HHI) website would implode, disappearing altogether and stranding scores of dedicated members while wiping out years of content, we would have said: "highly unlikely." The site had too many members with numerous legitimate projects and ongoing and often interesting discussions about history and archaeology (excepting the Odyssey blather, obviously).
Yet, that is precisely what happened, resulting in some highly entertaining punches being thrown between the uber-egocentric Doc (McManus) and Solomon (Bartram). There is clearly a full-on war being waged regarding the rights to HHI. It's so sublimely ridiculous that Doc recently posted what looked like a third-grade clubhouse application allegedly signed by Bartram to "prove" HHI was McManus's. Hilariously, Doc even claimed this "formality" (as opposed to an actual legal document) was witnessed by a "Miss Money Penny," the well-known character from the fictional James Bond series. It has since been removed along with a forum devoted to Doc's haughty posts about his new HHI and it's mission and philosophy. (To date, there are still only 13 members of his faction.)
On the other hand, if you had predicted a year ago that Doc would file for bankruptcy to the tune of $238,000 that would later result in a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation for possibly misleading the court about the truthfulness of his filing, which he swore to be true so help him God, we would have said: "Yeah, that doesn't surprise us so much."
Sure enough, a new January, 20, 2009 court document clearly shows that McManus's bankruptcy petition is being investigated by the DOJ trustee (as we had earlier suggested based on the public record). The Trustee now wants more time to conduct "a thorough investigation into the financial condition, expenses, income, and assets" of Doc. Further, the Trustee adds:
The United States Trustee is in the process of reviewing this case to determine whether to file a motion to dismiss under section 707 or a complaint objecting to discharge under section 727 of the Bankruptcy Code.
Section 727 you say? Whatever does that mean? Let's take a look:
Bankruptcy Code Section 727 lists grounds under which a Court may deny a discharge to an individual debtor in a Chapter 7 case. Grounds include that the debtor transferred, removed, destroyed, or concealed property of the debtor or estate, failed to keep or produce adequate books or records, failed to satisfactorily explain an asset loss, committed a bankruptcy crime or failed to obey a lawful order. (Source)
That doesn't sound good at all, does it? Especially since Doc recently amended his Chapter 7 filing to list that infamous sailboat as part of his assets.
Do these dark clouds perhaps explain Doc's quick removal of his new HHI forum claiming ownership of the former website's rights and content over Bartram? Or, why he suddenly became so hushed about Odyssey (after years of vicious attacks)? Tellingly, there is not one peep about Odyssey on his new site. It appears his plate is too full to engage in battles unrelated to keeping himself out of immediate trouble, doesn't it? As cliches go, "the chickens coming home to roost," is an overused oldie, but in this case, is a definite and applicable goody.
Doc is innocent until proven guilty and based on the public record we should know more on or after February 20, 2009, assuming the Trustee's court request for an extended deadline for the continued investigation is granted. As always, we will keep you posted.
“We can't all be heroes, because somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by.” ~ Will Rogers
We're sure you won't be surprised that of the handful of members on Doc's new History Hunter's website, only one is listed as a "Hero Member." Can you guess whom?
Yep. You got it.
We don't doubt that when you've lost everything, and see yourself as the victim of your own crimes, you immediately set yourself up as a "hero" when the forum is under your supreme command. No debate, no questions asked.
Is there any doubt "God" pronouncements can be far behind?
Philosophical Question: Can "God" wink away $238,000 in debt, or a DOJ investigation?
The more things change, the more they remain the same. We all know that shortly after Doc was unceremoniously dropped from the club he co-founded, the HHI website mysteriously disappeared. Doc then tried launching an extremely amateurish site that, days later, suddenly disappeared. That was replaced with an archived version of the HHI site going back to 2007.
Now, a mere week since launching, that is now gone and has been replaced with a basic Simple Machines template for a discussion group where the only member appears to be Doc.
One wonders if Doc was read the riot act about using content that wasn't exclusively his. One has to believe Solomon was involved in both kicking Doc out of the club and refusing him rights to old HHI content.
Meanwhile, the old HHI site continues to post a questionable claim about being the victim of DOS attacks (though it appears more likely that someone with administrative rights deleted the site's index files), and provides a link to a site they claim will not be publicly accessible (interestingly, it's also now signed by "John Bartram, admin," which is new). So much for HHI's commitment to educate the public about all things history and archaeology.
We know some of our readers are former HHI-ers and if you have any details of what actually took place, we'd like to hear from you. You can email us anonymously or we promise to protect your identity. Considering the founders' arrogance and sense of self-importance they obviously felt about their place in the world, we'd love to get to the bottom of what caused HHI to implode.
A couple of readers sent us some comments about our website made by an "andysally" over on the OMEX discussion group. Apparently he thinks we're bullies. Gosh did that hurt our feelings.
Not really.
If we were afraid of being called schoolyard names, we never would have gone after HHI, its founders and members, all of whom were involved in the ultimate bullying campaign to destroy a company, its employees and stock. We think it's safe to say we prevailed while they did not.
The world is full of unoriginal dolts who never recovered from their momma removing their tit from their eager little mouths too early, and frankly, we already have our hands full dealing with enough of them. Plus, we like to actually be interested in the topics we write about.
So, sorry "andysally," the only attention you're going to get is whatever you receive from working so hard on the discussion board. We're sure you'll be popular and well-liked some where in cyberspace.
Um, not really.
UPDATE: Well, the Dipshit OMEX-followers Love to Tease (DOLT) has already lost his ability to post messages over on the private Odyssey discussion board. That took all of 48 hours. Not surprisingly, the DOLT skulked right back to the utterly worthless Yahoo board to...guess what? You got it: blame it all on one person. (Pardon us for suppressing a chuckle.) Oh, and check out the comments section. Guess he figures he might as well try to get some attention here as well...how predictably funny is that? CSI, here we come baby!
Hello ladies, my last picture featured some pretty ratty-looking shoes, so I decided this one was better. And, even though I still have the cheap pinkie rings on (which reek of class, wouldn't you agree?), my Walmart reading glasses give off a certain level of sophistication and distinction, no?
Have I told you that you look maavvvelous?
Now, let's have a glass or ten of some fine fortified wine from Mogen David; I'll tell you all about a shipwreck I discovered in the Virgin Islands...what's that? NO! I do not know about that "hunky Greg Stemm from the Discovery Channel show."
Well! I guess I'll be leaving now (by myself...again), because I have some truly bad writing to do, plus I need to have Yahoo delete all the posts from today.
Doc's been a busy bee today working on his newly hijacked website. A day's effort, however, and the site still looks like smacked ass. One thing is emerging quickly: unlike the old HHI, the site's rambling writings are littered with mistakes.
Here's just a random sampling:
It is envisioned that this become a place where serious investigation of the past may be examined and all may share and receive intelligence from one another.
Everyone is entitled to fair treatment in this acquisition of knowledge and we pledge to work with everyone who would further their own investigations and our.
We be completely open for public viewing just as soon as we can be made presentable..
We're sure Bartram and the gang are enjoying a hearty laugh at Doc's pathetic little attempt to turn a badly designed personal blog into a website of the depth and quality of the old HHI (with the exception of the Odyssey offerings, mind you, much of which was propagated by Doc and ye old village idiot Smitty). The poor dumb bastard even psychologically reveals his own empty narcissism by writing:
Truth in History, furthering the scope of archival research and new methods of examining the past are what this forum is all about, not personal aggrandizement.
Oh sure, it's all about the history. Of course, it has nothing whatsoever to do with comments like "I shall be ruined but I shall be heard." Or that Doc was kicked out of a forum he co-founded and publicly humiliated, leading him to create a sloppy website to attempt to prove some kind of relevance to the world.
That noose is tightening, and the desperation far more palpable.
UPDATE: Doc's definitely tuning in: He's corrected most, but not all, of his mistakes. Of course, we didn't point all of them out to him, because frankly, we're not interested in doing his homework for him.
It's become clear to us that Doc appears to be in trouble with the U.S. Bankruptcy trustee for issues relating to his statement of assets, or rather, lack of truthfulness about them. As we reported several weeks ago, and based on several anonymous tips from our readers (some who are unfortunate enough to know him personally), it was alleged he might be hiding several high-value items, such as a sailboat, coins and weapons (the latter two are still not listed in his filing).
A couple of weeks ago (December 16th), McManus actually amended his bankruptcy filing to update and include a receivable for $6,800 for the sale of a sailboat, which we pointed out weeks ago was missing from his initial court filing. That would certainly appear to us that he misled the court in the original filing, which is potentially very serious trouble for him down the road. One wonders what he did with the rest of the money, and we're guessing Doc's creditors will want answers too. We'd like to think some of you were responsible for this outcome; more importantly, it's an example of the chickens finally coming home to roost for Doc's reprehensible behavior (including, more recently, the allegation that he destroyed the HHI website after he was booted off).
A new court document was also recently filed that indicates Doc continues to be investigated by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for possibly lying about assets. We remind you that lying about assets in a bankruptcy filing is a felony punishable by fines and/or a prison sentence.
Meanwhile, Doc has launched an amazingly poorly designed website meant, we suppose, as a replacement/substitute for the old HHI website he allegedly destroyed after they banned him. Interestingly, he writes:
The founder has...moved to History Hunters International dot com. and placed it under new administration. We will be open for our public as soon as we can be made presentable.
Well, if the current site is any indication, being made "presentable" is going to be a tough order. It looks like cat yak, in our opinion. Regardless, it's interesting that one solution to being publicly humiliated by HHI was to simply place the website under "new administration." An administration of one, no doubt. We imagine many of the old HHI folks are simply thrilled by this development -- yet more fans of McManus' douchebaggery.
One sweet thing about the new site is it gave us a new photo of Doc making a toast to what has surely been one hell of year for him in 2008. Let's see, he was sued by Odyssey for libel, had numerous drunken embarrassments and self-outings of aliases over on Yahoo, filed for bankruptcy to the tune of $238,000, has an ongoing DOJ investigation into possibly lying about assets, and was banished from the HHI website he co-founded.
What an amazing run, DearieMcManus! We join you in saluting the depth of your idiocy and decades of cretinous behavior: After all, it sure makes for great copy!
P.S. Regarding the McManus photo, is there anything classier than wearing beat-up loafers and pinkie rings with a Goodwill suit? What's in the glass, Mad Dog 20/20?
The demise of the History Hunters International website, historyhuntersinternational.org, saddens us deeply.In fact, we’re nearly distraught.What will we do with our lives now?
In all seriousness, it seems that we get many visitors who also enjoyed HHI, albeit for different reasons, and in different ways than we did.To those people: We share your loss and share our sympathies.HHI presented a rich forum for a great number of people to share like interests and experience.Unfortunately, HHI was run by misanthropic, egotistical, megalomaniacal goofballs who gathered a very small following in terms of the overall population of HHI.
It is the actions of these few individuals, John Bartram and Jim McManus and their small posse of sycophants, that brought our attention to the site. The site provided us with barns' full of fodder (and excrement) for amusement over the past few months.We will truly miss them as a form of entertainment, but we are curious as to what actually occurred.
We suppose it would be best to leave sleeping dogs lie, but untruths piss us off.
On December 7, 2008, the HHI account of Jim McManus, a co-founder of HHI and known as “Diving Doc” on HHI, and generally “Doc,” was revoked. Roughly two days later, HHI was inaccessible. Clearly one of those things makes you go “hmmmm...”
Out damn’d spot!
We must ask ourselves why HHI would deny McManus’ ability to post.(For the record, his past posts were not removed and he was not “banned,” the punishment of choice for disagreement with the privileged few on HHI – more on this later.)
Let’s see now:The core of HHI – Bartram, McManus and a supposedly accredited archaeologist named “Vince” – obviously intended to use the HHI site as a marketing platform for “services.”A lot of effort went into constructing the site.But then, one of the founders created a fine mess for himself in the way of a libel suit brought against him.The lawsuit was brought by Odyssey Marine Exploration based on false and malicious statements made by McManus on the Yahoo! message board.This fine mess rolled over into HHI as the sycophants leapt on the honey wagon.
We have consistently pointed out the growing disconnect between McManus and Bartram over the months since the filing – at first Bartram seemed fairly supportive, albeit somewhat reluctantly.Then we saw Bartram grow a bit impatient with McManus’ assertions and rambling nonsense.A few of the sycophants, notably Sat Diver (who is also smithvi2003 on Yahoo!) and Scribe, joined with McManus on HHI in a continuation of nonsense and unsupportable conclusions.
A lawsuit was inevitably filed in Tampa, FL, and we have documented much of the interesting defense McManus presented.But then, in August, McManus filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.
As we’ve recently learned, it now appears McManus misstated some things on his Bankruptcy filing.A few weeks after the original filing the U.S. Government involved itself in the form of the U.S. Trustee, specifically investigating abuse of the Bankruptcy Code.McManus’ bankruptcy filing lists approximately $238,000 in credit card debt.
Apparently, and as we had earlier suggested based on a reliable tip from someone in the know, the $25,000 sailboat McManus still had listed for sale at the time of his Bankruptcy filing didn’t find its way into the listing of assets.Nor did the $30,000 underground radar unit he has bragged to many as having purchased for HHI (or for HHI use).Nor did his alleged possession of weapons and coins. It appears to us that the sale of the sailboat was indeed uncovered and McManus amended his list of assets on December 16, 2008, to include a $6,800 receivable (money owed to him) on the sale of the sailboat.It is a felony to sell assets prior to a bankruptcy filing and not report it.We would imagine the creditors – largely American Express – will be very interested to learn what he did with the significant amount of money he received at the time of the sale.
Obviously, McManus’ deceitful and even potentially illegal activities caused the head HHI megalomaniac, Bartram, a bit of concern.What if, for example, American Express comes to retrieve the underground radar unit?What are the implications regarding Bartram’s “important contacts” within HMG if the close association with a proven liar and potential felon became known?What of his soapbox and congregation?
Talk about a rock and a hard place!
We imagine a very difficult decision was reached.We have no insight into the reasons behind ousting McManus or any revelations or deliberations involved.The result was McManus was silenced on HHI the night of December 7, 2008.
Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a worm scorned (apologies to William Congreve, not only for the morph of this line, but several of his famous lines are often confused with our Shakespeare theme).
Just a day or so later, POOF!, the HHI website disappeared.
Despite the eventual disclaimers placed on HHI, the facts are clear:The original “FORBIDDEN” message (which one would normally see if prevented from accessing a site by a firewall or the site itself) also contained information that the error-handler delivering the message couldn’t access the files needed to respond intelligently.The site was there – the files were gone.It’s just that simple.The message came from the HHI site.There was no “Denial of Service” at all.
It appears to us that this was no outside “attack” of any form.Someone with administrator rights simply deleted the HHI website. It is a common hobby for some to attempt to disrupt a website or even hundreds of them using widely published security flaws within the hacker community.It’s a game to them
As incomprehensible as this may seem, this appears to be what occurred.One person took it upon him or herself to simply erase HHI.Who on earth could this be? What is even more incomprehensible is there apparently was no backup of the site.
A few years ago, McManus got himself removed, along with all of his posts, from TreasureNet.com.As we recall, McManus had over 2,000 posts deleted from TreasureNet.He was furious!He blamed Odyssey “pumpers” for his dismissal from that site and began to libel Odyssey with a vengeance on the Yahoo! Finance board which, as we have seen, resulted in unwanted attention from the company.It also seems to have fostered a deep hatred for a Jeff K9 (on Yahoo!) whom McManus thinks is the same person as “Jeff from PA” who moderated the TreasureNet forum.This is not so, but it doesn’t bother McManus.
We seriously wonder how he would react to his own hive tossing him out the door.
Our confidence level is 90 percent plus that McManus is all of the above, mostly dead, Yahoo! ID’s.Many of them once supported one another in conversation.That’s weird, no?
We’re talking about a man (in the gender sense only) on a mission here….Given the nature and substance of McManus’ “mission,” one may alternatively allude to psychopathic behavior, but we are not here to judge, nor are we qualified to make such a diagnosis - rather our goal is to simply bring fact to the forefront and allow folks to draw their own conclusions.
Eye of newt, and toe of frog, wool of bat, and tongue of dog, adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting, lizard's leg, and howlet's wing; For a charm of powerful trouble, like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
Whew – what a mix!But in keeping with raising the worm theme, we are without other words to describe the depth to which McManus has apparently reached.His few “friends” must certainly now be enemies. At any rate, it would be better for them to disavow all knowledge or association with him.But can they?
McManus has single-handedly robbed hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of well-meaning hobbyists, contributors and just curious folks of a well-produced forum of educational interest.
How can McManus get away with that?Why isn’t Bartram up in arms?He seems less of a coward than a blowhard, although the two facets dwell closely.Our thinking is McManus has something on Bartram.Something that Bartram does not want revealed.
Looking at the formula above – the “blind worm’s sting” stands out – as does “a charm of powerful trouble.”
'Tis better to be vile than vile esteemed, when not to be receives reproach of being, and the just pleasure lost, which is so deemed not by our feeling, but by others' seeing.
So is it with McManus, who would appear to embrace the betrayal of former allies as some form of justice for not recognizing his genius…or delusion.After all, his prophesy still rings – “I shall be destroyed, but I will be heard.”
Apparently, and through his actions on HHI, Yahoo! and other forums, McManus deems himself the only one worth hearing.This strikes us as comical as the same tactics have failed in grand fashion when viewed in light of the histories of Hitler, Mussolini, Amin and Hussein.While the similar antics of Lenin, Stalin, Mao etc. remain largely written off in terms of fitting punishment, we cannot help but chuckle that McManus even pretends to place himself in a similar despotic position.
Napoleon was punished, and he was short also.
To be, or not to be, that is the question: whether ‘tis nobler in mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of trouble and by opposing end them.
This is likely the same question that likely went through the minds of Jim Jones, Charles Manson, Vernon Wayne Howell (who took the name David Koresh), John Wayne Gacy and every other person who showed absolutely no regard for others, even those who believed in them, in pursuit of their own dreams of grandeur or whatever.
While there is certainly no comparison in terms of the level of violence and physical harm, it would appear McManus took the same latter approach as those listed above.Rather than suffer the slings and arrows, he chose to cast them.It should, then, come as no surprise to anyone that McManus’ existence depends on his ability to be heard. Apparently he feels he has no worth otherwise.TreasureNet found reason to silence him.History Hunters found reason to silence him.What rage is boiling? There may be reason for some people to cautious.
The good news is that McManus is short, weak, has no money, no friends and no teeth. All he has as a weapon is to betray everyone who took him into confidence.
And thus the whirligig of time brings in his revenges.
Therefore, it comes as no surprise to us that McManus has already given birth to a new History Hunters International site, in which McManus more correctly describes the demise of the original site than HHI did.He states the former site was attacked and defaced, claims credit for the origination of the entire idea of HHI, publishes a copyright going back to 2002, does not mention anyone who helped along the way and tersely states “it’s about time” for a new site.
Imagine the power this man must wield to so summarily dismiss the interests of hundreds of members of the site it appears he may have single-handedly erased!
Could it be that McManus’ sought acceptance through HHI so strongly that it drove him to bankruptcy?Could it be that everyone in McManus’ life wants to stifle him?Could it be that this small person sees himself in a completely different way than the rest of the world?Could it be that McManus is the last bastion of sanity in this crazy world?We’ll leave a full expose’ to Dan Brown, who in our opinion is the only person capable of dealing with such deeply threaded and totally unsupported conspiracies in a manner that puts food on the table.
O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!"
On our part, we are convinced that Captain Jim McManus, a co-founder of History Hunters International, deliberately erased the entire website because his posting ability was restricted.McManus’ hissy fits are notoriously well known among his acquaintances.
We are equally certain that McManus is a black hole – what few friends he may have had, and a website enjoyed by a bunch of innocent folks who didn’t even know him or how harmful he can be, are gone, likely forever.In our opinion, it is only a matter of time before he consumes what is left of himself.
Something wicked this way comes
In the mean time, we will continue to watch with interest the developments stemming from the violent hijacking of the History Hunters International site….
A reader was kind enough to forward to us some new documents in Doc's bankruptcy case. We haven't had a lot of time yet to digest their full meaning, but after a cursory look it appears there is an active investigation into Doc's recent filing. We're particularly intrigued by this comment from the Chapter 7 court trustee:
On August 21, 2008, a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Petition was filed. On August 22, 2008, I was appointed Chapter 7 Trustee. The Section 341 meeting was conducted on September 19, 2008. At this time, I am awaiting certain financial documents for the purpose of investigating the possibility of recovery of assets in this case for the benefit of creditors. [Our emphasis]
"Recovery of assets"? As in, the ones that were not listed in his original filing (e.g. sailboats, metal detectors, coins (stolen or otherwise), diving gear)? We assume so. Normally bankruptcy filings are cut and dry affairs. But something is astir here, we're fairly certain.
Normally, decent people never wish hardships on a fellow human being, but in McManus's case, it's difficult not to desire ill will on the man. First of all, there's no doubt Doc (and his cretinous fellow creatures at HHI) would love to succeed in his mission to destroy Odyssey. He has absolutely zero regard for how this outcome would affect countless living, breathing people, including Odyssey's employees, their families, investors and fans of what the company is doing.
So when it comes to Dear old Doc, we think he's getting exactly what his karma dictates. And we think the unpleasantness level for him just ratcheted up a notch.
Stay tuned for more....
Caption: Doc roams a lonely field, unaware that expensive magnetometers can't uncover a good and decent character
Well, the histrionic gnashing of teeth about Odyssey's latest court filing over its Black Swan discovery is well underway over at HHI.
Doc's complained, without one ounce of irony or shame, about the "poor writing" of the filing (read this gem for an idea of his ability), and Solomon bashed, and possibly defamed, the two archaeologists who offered expert testimony about the find. The Angry Twit went so far as to essentially accuse the archaeologists of committing illegality (lying under oath) to specifically benefit Odyssey:
Odyssey employs a couple of guys who say that they see nothing, just some "objects". (Exactly what Odyssey needs them to say. Is anyone surprised?) Take away the vested interests and who would you believe?
Doc, doing what Minor Twits do, followed up Bartram by alleging one of the archaeologists lied about his undergraduate degree while purchasing his master degree from an online "university" (which are his quotes, undoubtedly to suggest it wasn't an actual academic institution). Gosh, you fellas sure better have your facts right, because if you're not 100 percent correct about your smears, and if we were these two professionals (one of whom we believe is a Brit), we'd sue you personally and HHI's collective ass for defamation.
But to the point, and this is where it gets truly interesting, there's plenty of evidence that John Bartram has in the past peddled himself and services-for-hire as both an archaeologist and historian. Yet, he's never produced any credentials to justify these self-appointed professional titles, he clearly doesn't refer to himself as an "amateur," nor has he ever provided any specific project details about the field work he's claimed to have done "all over the world."
[For the record, Bartram has also been publicly called out before by others for these false claims, and we've also written about his lack of credentials and questionable past before, here and here. Bartram was identified in a recent New Yorker profile of Odyssey as a "former television producer," but there was no mention of Bartram's involvement in either of the two professional fields he claims to have "worldwide experience" in.]
There's even a tell-tale photo and caption taken from an old HHI website -- which, not surprisingly offered several services in these fields -- that clearly shows Bartram referring to himself as an archaeologist and historian:
So, obviously, who the hell is John Bartram to question the credentials of two practicing archaeologists providing expert testimony? He has repeatedly failed and/or declined to produce one single credential or project summery in archaeology or history to justify these self-appointed titles in two very distinct academic fields.
Today he arrogantly mocked one archaeologist for having a "piece of paper from an online institution" (of course, Bartram fails to explain or provide details about this, yet more potential defamation). We'd remind the Angry Twit that even a single piece of paper from any organization would be more than he's ever produced to justify his use of these professional titles.
Mr. Pot, meet Mr. Kettle.
The HHI founders' hypocrisy is so thick with stench you need a mask and massive shovel to manage it all. We'll keep doing the dirty work, though, because someone has to.
It's been a while since we posted, but, as usual, the unfathomable depths of Solomon's arrogant puffery and his personal delusions of grandeur awoke us from our current relaxed state of ambivalence about all things HHI. (We mean, c'mon! One of their founders just publicly, badly disgraced himself...again! How much attention do these guys deserve?).
If you haven't yet, be sure to check out Bartram's insanely disjointed, highly nonacademic thread called "The American Phenomenon of Treasure Hunting" over on the HHI website. Besides being poorly written and argued, it's more conspiratorial than the JFK-assassination and Fake Moon Landing weirdos combined (e.g. he puts heavy emphasis and offers lots of nonsensical non sequiturs about Mormons and Freemasons).
One can almost envision the Master Twit penning this drivel -- sun about to rise, him furiously kneading overgrown brows, dramatically stroking that empty bald noggin, quaffing copious amounts of sherry. This latest installment encapsulates some of his hair-brained notions, while displaying his grandiose sense of self-importance. It's particularly entertaining that he sees himself as an unappreciated victim of the "enemies of truth." Of course, the "truth" is something only he offers up to an ungrateful world of idiots and frauds...in other words, anyone who dares disagree with his Sageness (Bartram really is a cantankerous, bitter douchebag). Hilarious.
Check it out:
'Occult and esoteric involvement has often been downplayed by the Craft and relegated to a category of activity referred to as “Fringe Masonry”, in which the participants are painted as either charlatans or as slightly delusional. This is of course a response to the use of this historical data by those promoting an anti-Masonic agenda. The truth is that the interest of these Freemasons in the occult needs to be considered in a purely historical context.'
The denials, the misrepresentations, are all to be expected in defence of the Masonic cause, right? That is also what I was told to expect when I asked about their fraudulent activities. That is what I got and I wasn't attacking the 'Craft', but asking politely on a matter of history.
It was the nature of my enquiry that frightened. That is, those of whom I enquired were gutless. Morally worthless. Great people, just the sort you want in positions of authority - not. I needn't make an attack - any damage has been and is being done by themselves.
Perhaps one day somebody will have the rectitude to make a truthful account, or perhaps I will just have to continue dragging it out of them. The web is worldwide - everyone has a voice. The silence has spoken volumes on this generation already. ~Solomon
P.S. I once sat on a corporate Board and found I was the only non-Freemason; none could be bothered and one by one I had to fire them all - they thought they were due payment for just being there. I was and am unimpressed.
There you have it. The full douchebaggery known as HHI's "Solomon" -- archaeologist and historian of great stature ... for us to poop on!
Oh what we wouldn't give to see Bartram's royal wrath at such pedestrian criticism of his life's work! We fully expect red-faced rage and an Irish whiskey-soaked spittle outburst at the nerve of the illiteratti!
We bet that infamous horsewhip gets a strenuous workout too.
There's been a hilarious outburst of delusion over at the history hunters' website. The poseurs are loudly touting projects "all over the world," but, as usual, only two are listed in any kind of detail, and even that is as thin as Bartram's Rocky Top noggin. To be fair, one seems a fairly legitimate exercise with somewhat interesting results; the other is a spurious claim of a mysterious Spanish shipwreck that some have alleged is an old, well-known (i.e. picked over and useless) shipwreck that Doc stole credit for finding.
[Note to HHI: We're not sure using the pathetic efforts of a bankrupt-filing libeling loser goes far in promoting your organizational legitimacy; but hey: whoever said you guys were bright or had good judgment?]
Believe it or not, the poseurs also actually try to take credit for the entering into force of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage. And without one measly shred of evidence, or a specific example to back it up, the losers actually haughtily proclaim: "We continue to advise and assist governments and their institutions in these endeavours. We also advise the media, providing background briefings on the various issues."
Um, we seriously doubt it.
Co-founder John Bartram likes to tell people he's an archaeologist and historian by training (he's neither), and Doc and the "Satdiver" idiot ("smithvi2003" over on Yahoo) claim they're accomplished underwater shipwreck explorers. In fact, no credentials, no specific projects, no accomplishments, have ever been provided. They just want you to take their word for it. And, as we've documented before, they're also peddling services that are in direct competition to the people they vociferously (and disingenuously) attack.
But, to paraphrase the great Lily Tomlin, delusions of grandeur are necessary for some people: it helps them feel better about themselves.
One other note: Doc's bankruptcy hearing is now November 21st. We've received numerous reports from readers of possibly hidden assets -- a Federal crime -- and we know for a fact that his creditors have been directly contacted about certain details. We hope if you have information that might help "clarify" McManus's moral failure, you'll contact the appropriate authorities.
Finally, if any of our readers in the Virgin Islands would like to attend the hearing and report back, we'd love to file to file your report.
It's obvious from our comments section, and from emails we've received, that some out there appear to possess compelling information related to Doc's recent bankruptcy filing. A new filing now lists a major creditor involved in the filing, American Express (whom he owes close to $60,000). We don't know what you have, but if your information is truly contradictory to his filing, we're certain these folks would be interested in learning of it. Hey, consider it your civic duty to the rest of us responsible taxpayers who get punished by deadbeats like Doc!
The information:
Cynthia L. Groff, Esquire Michelle L. McGowan, Esquire Crystal J. Oswald, Esquire Becket and Lee LLP, Attorneys/Agent P.O. Box 3001 Malvern, PA 19355-0701
We see that a certain Spanish reporter -- the Geraldo Rivera of Europe (and that's deeply insulting to Rivera, actually) -- has returned to his goofy conspiracy mongering over on Yahoo. Interestingly, he also decided to layout his wild, completely speculative "theories" about Odyssey activities on the HHI website as well. Of course, like the little yappy lap dog that he is, Doc immediately jumped into the fray, dropping not so subtle hints about other supposed nefarious activities of Odyssey Marine, including the company "looting" shipwreck sites during their search for the HMS Sussex, and storing Black Swan artifacts in Tangier.
(We know, you can't make this stuff up.)
Of interest, though, Solomon immediately deleted Doc's likely libelous response and warned this reporter not to make "criminal allegations" against Odyssey because HHI abides by English law (where libel and defamation judgements are far easier to receive than the U.S.). Smart move, sure. But we find it interesting that he failed to take down the reporter's piece, the very thing that accuses Odyssey of committing crimes in Europe.
We won't bother with a detailed explanation of this reporter's outlandish theories, but suffice to say they involve Odyssey operating in coordination with the UK's Ministry of Defense to use submarines for illegal activities. James Bond stuff, for sure, except their offered up by a drooling madman who wouldn't recognize good reporting if Walter Conkrite personally stuck his foot in his ass.
Poor Doc, he just can't catch a break. Already shunned and laughed at by his HHI brethren, he also just pathetically posted an update on his supposed Spanish shipwreck project (which has been mocked by some in our comments section as a worthless site that Doc stole credit for from someone else) has been delayed because the Virgin Island's territorial archaeologist had to return to the States for personal business. Oh, we bet. Translation: Doc can no longer fund his junkets with credit cards. Remember, according to his filing, he only has $200 in the bank.
We are in the process of attempting to track down this archaeologist, by the way. We're interested in finding out if he's even heard of one Doc McManus, let alone a Spanish shipwreck. We'll keep you posted.
Ever notice Doc's ID tagline on HHI, Treasure is in books? We suggest an amended version that more accurately reflects his new "public standing":
Screw history & archaeology, treasure's in credit cards baby!
Yeah, we have some more.
Satdiver (aka "Smitty")
Current: In the face of stupidity, even the gods themselves are helpless.... Amended: When you're the face of stupidity, helplessly bleat on about buckets and portable generators....
Scribe
Current: We possess only the past Amended: We poseurs possess nothing, really
Jesus of Lubby
Current: Better to sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian Amended: Better not let a drunken Doc near your change jar, or a sober Doc either
Solomon
Current: Errare Humanum est perseverare diabolicum Amended: EGO lenio itchy scrotums per meus fidus equus verbero (or: I mitigate itchy scrotums with my trusty horse whip to lash)
(Diabolical, that last one.)
Perhaps this is why the HHI brass suddenly wants to take their Odyssey "conversations" private? For fear of well-deserved ridicule?
