here we go again

[danny_boy]

Apologies for the rotten service at the moment but I'm afraid the site has come under attack once more. I am doing my best to resolve matters.

[norfolkngoode]

The truth must be really upsetting someone!

[Lucy Lass-Tick]

The truth must be really upsetting someone!

Schade...

[for fawkes sake]

What can you say? It's just pathetic, really.

[christine blakey]

I am sorry to hear of the attack, but it is truly a compliment! x

[mk1]

The Manor Mafia or the SCABs?
They will do anything to try and hide their misdeeds.
What can you expect from the woman who let her dog to starve to death..................

It shows the power of the site and you can picture  the creeps huddled together  trying to find ways to deal with the 'troublemakers'.
Overweight stinking thieves every last one of the bas*tards.

[fred c]

Do the people who are interferring with the site realise that all it does is reinforce the opinions that people already have about them.

If anything shows a lack of democratic thought amongst them it`s the attacks on HTH, on the other hand it goes to show they do have something to be seriously concerned about.

[mk1]

These thugs operate like Jimmy Savile. They think that by hiding their thievery under the cover of 'charidee' and 'Public Service' that they will be given the benefit of the doubt when a slip  exposes their chicanery.
They scatter like rats caught in a torchbeam.
They  have no way of dealing with criticism because they find it impossible to admit any error.
If there is a problem then the blame must lie elsewhere.
What a shower of bas**ar*s they all are.

[stokoe]

could not get on all day yesterday,thats the first time it has done it to me.

got to agree with christine its truly a compliment.

[Lord Elpus]

I have not posted on the site for some time, however, I follow the site on a regular basis.  I agree with Perseus regarding the need to let people know what's going on. 

I'm willing to contribute cash to a news sheet if others will.

No reason why we could not get a few thousand on the streets by the end of the month.

[not4me]

At some point, someone is going to have the wit to realise that in attacking the site they are doing far more damage to themselves than they could ever hope to do to this site.

[steveL]

For Info:

Dear Joy,

I'm not really expecting you to publish the Press Release below considering that you refused to publish any story covering the first attack in May even though we sent you a similar Press Release at the time.

However, the HTH site will not be down forever and will be restored at some stage. I'm quite sure that the present ddos attack will figure prominently when it does, as will the response of the Hartlepool Mail to the attack and to the Press Release below

Press Release
The website which was behind the Freedom of Information request which forced Hartlepool Borough Council to reveal the full details of the recent Peer Challenge interim findings has now itself come under a denial of service attack which is preventing visitors from accessing the site.

The attack started the day after the HTH website published the full findings of the Peer Groups interim findings.

Speaking after receiving confirmation from their server company that the site was under attack, site co-founder Steve Latimer said, "This is the second time the site has come under attack, the first being just before the local elections in May. On both occasions, the attacks occurred immediately after we highlighted issues which questioned the way that Hartlepool Borough Council was being run and in particular, the way it was funding certain community groups. Fortunately, we are not alone anymore in questioning this relationship"

"The HTH site receives just over 50,000 visitors each month which is a measure of just how much concern there is out there. Denial of Service Attacks are a criminal offence in the UK and we have therefore reported the matter to The Police."

[fred c]

Nice one steveL

Can i ask as i am sure others will wont to know as well, have you made the press release available to the National Dailies & the local Echo & Gazette, also have the Peer Group been informed of the situation & the apparent lack of action by HBC in releasing the report to as wide an audience as possible ??

I would like to think a coupls of the Nationals would be interested in informing the public about council matters.

Cleveland Police should be taking this attack as a serious threat to the democratic process.

[mk1]

SCAB 2 was in the Mail tonight doing the dirty on Walker.
Strange how everyone is now claiming they knew something was wrong with the Tall Stories/Walker's pay rise
et al  but at the time they kept quiet.
Rats on a sinking ship?

[mk1]

HARTLEPOOL Borough Council's former chief executive  has launched a scathing attack on the town's Labour Group and has urged residents to stay with the mayoral system.
In an open letter to the Mail, Paul Walker slams the Labour Group as lacking "talent or ability" and criticises them for "hijacking" Mayor Stuart Drummond's budget proposals back in Febuary.
The comments are made in a letter which urges people to vote to keep the mayor and cabinet system
ahead of the mayoral referendum  in November.
Labour group leader Christopher Akers-Belcher, has hit back labelling the comments "appalling
It comes after a damning review found the effective running of the council and its reputation are currently being badly damaged.
Mr Walker, who retired last August after eight years at the helm, made national headlines over a backdated pay rise of £10,000 by  the cabinet committee, taking his
salary to £168,000, at a time the council was making cuts to jobs and services.
In his letter to the Mail, Mr Walker accuses the Labour Group of:
- Lacking "talent or ability".
- "Hijacking" Mayor Drummond's budget. .
- Relying on the "apathy" of voters to keep voting   numbers low at election time.
- And making decisions behind closed doors.Ahead of the referendum, which will decide whether Hartlepool retains the mayor and cabinet system or has a
  committee system made up of councillors, Mr Walker posed a number of questions.
  He wrote: "Why change? 
"Not because it  will improve Hartlepool itself, but  rather that the Labour Group on  the Council can regain the power  democratically taken away from  them in 1999. "  Since then, they have contested  all three mayoral elections and lost every time to Mayor Drummond.  "There is a simple reason for  this; the distinct lack of talent or  ability within the Labour Group.  "They cannot find a candidate from within their ranks who will  enthuse people to vote for him or her.
"So if you can't win the contest change the system" 
In response Coun Akers·Belcher said: "When he left the authority,  it was under a cloud after taking a £10,000 pay rise that was given to  him by the cabinet and not by full council.  "I find it quite sad that a former  employee is trying to influence the  democratic right of people through  sheer bitterness."  Councilor Akers-Belcher added: "We are talking about someone who left  when public opinion was really against the council.
"He took the £10,000 pay rise, leaving Hartlepool and we have  had to pick up the pieces and move Hartlepool forward.
"We have 21 Labour councillors who are community champions who represent the people and are more in touch.
"It is sad that an employee leaves the local authority and is  then critical of the people that are left to pick up the pieces."
  Mr Walker was also critical of the Labour Group's decision to oppose cabinet's budget plans to outsource the Council's computing  and housing beneFit systems to the private sector, which he says would have saved £10m. Coun. Akers-Belcher, who has 22 years experience of working in  local government, said the Labour Group meet on a monthly basis and work within the annual governance statement, adding: "We work alongside the same aims and the objective of the council."
He added: "The Governments welfare reform programme  lgoing to have huge  implications for Hartlepool but we would have had no control over the implications if the housing and benefit systems had gone to an outside company. "We made the right decision and we were very proactive."
"With regard to cuts, we are going to mitigate the damage and we are supporting collaborative  work with Darlington and Redcar Councils at a strategic level so there is minimum damage to the delivery of services."  When asked about the "distinct lack of talent or ability" statement, Coun Akers-Belcher said:
"I think it is an appalling statement. He was completely out of touch with the Labour Group and while he was chief executive he wanted to govern the council.
The officers manage the council and the councillors govern it and  there should be a clear demarcation between the two but he could not accept that."
Coun Akers-Belcher said there is always six observers in their "open' group meetings and they work closely with the trade unions.'
He said the Labour Group also holds monthly meetings with the council's corporate management team, adding: "That is something that has been done since Paul Walker left."