Substance Web Site Under Cyber Attack, Needs Assistance

Those of you following the Chicago union story know that George Schmidt's Substance, in the midst of a media blackout, is our major source of information. But if you try to get into the site it is like watching grass grow. Here is a request from George:

6/15/10

I've spent the better part of the day monitoring the attack on SubstanceNews and on the phone with Network Solutions about it. I've learned some very interesting things, and was wondering if you could ask ICE people, when they have the time, to do the following:

Please go to the Substance website at

www.substancenews.net

Every eight to twelve hours and e-mail me a copy of what happens

My email for this is

Gnschmidt@aol.com

I am beginning to document this third time we were sabotaged by Network Solutions since January, and how this always happens at a mission critical time. In January they were supposedly "sweeping for hackers" and had our site stats down a total of four full days (January February 2010). In April, they let another site basically piggy back on Substance, and CPS blocked us for a week from local Chicago schools access. This time, within 24 hours after our announcing the CORE victory, there have been a half dozen different Network Solutions explanations about why nobody can get to Substance.

So I need to document each iteration, and from different places. We're at this point working with lawyers. Needless to say, these problems haven't hit all (or even most of) the site hosted by Network Solutions. While it's an honor in a way, we can't let them continue to disrupt us every time we're in the middle of some large scale political activity here in Chicago or elsewhere, and that is precisely what they have been doing and are continuing to do as I write this.

Thanks for your help,

George N. Schmidt

Editor, Substance

www.substancenews.net