This entry was posted on
Friday, August 19th, 2005 at
1:56 pm and is filed
under Anne Milton.
Folks, I’d like you to meet Dennis Paul. Again.
Dennis Paul is a local campaigner for the Conservative Party who dreams of one day holding office. During the most recent election, he put out a misleading pamphlet that pandered to racism (it didn’t go out to everyone; only people who lived in certain areas). He and his wife also chipped in to help Anne Milton squeak to victory. (But Anne Milton would rather we didn’t mention that.)
Dennis is also an excellent web designer, who has cut dennispaul.org and aupairmatch.co.uk out of whole cloth. You will note on both sites that he repeats the mistake of resizing (HUGE!) images with HTML…. but it would appear that this is not his only bad habit.
You see, Dennis Paul (or perhaps one of his able assistants such as Mike Chambers) has a small problem with apostrophes. A few days ago, a campaigner for the Liberal Democrats – Chris Ward – noticed this when looking at Dennis Paul’s new discussion board. There is a very strong indication that all of the posts (under different names) – and many of those that abused the comments system at the Anne Milton weblog – are written by the same person. Posing as ordinary members of the public (a common tactic for the Milton team; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).
But there’s joy beyond this ‘tell’ and the very real prospect that a lot of online support for Anne Milton is one man talking to himself…
Dennis recently opened an online discussion room with all the security of a rusty screen door. It was soon sniffed out by spambots, who began to have their wicked way with his website.
Dennis Paul’s response was to blame “Lib Dem spammers” (his words)… before swiftly deleting the offending entry as part of what he claimed was a clean-up of spam. A message heading this discussion board still reads: Apologies for disruption caused by spam postings. My opponents seem hell bent on causing a nuisance. They are cleared regularly so you can browse articles and posts more effectively.
1) The spam is obviously automated dross that most of us are prone to from time to time… but Dennis Paul is especially prone to it because he is hopelessly inept as a web designer.
2) He is also either a liar, a jerk, and/or a delusional and paranoid jerk for claiming that Chinese ads for generic Viagra are part of an attack by Liberal Democrats.
I popped in to have my say and inevitably the conversation turned to his pandering to racism during the election. Most of the original entries are gone now, because Dennis likes to use the spam as an excuse to delete anything that disproves any of his claims or reveals him to be the duplicitous loner that he is. Here’s an exchange that was deleted yesterday:
Dennis Paul refuses to put up or shut up
From: Tim Ireland
Date: Thursday August 18, 2005
Time: 13:12
Comments: How curious that you’ve deleted the entries that: 1) Suggest yet again that it’s you, Dennis, making all of these posts from ‘genuine members of the public’ 2) Called upon you to make good on your threat to ‘take this further’ I’ve made my case. You’ve questioned it (and then requested that I make my case all over again). Are we going to court or not, Dennis? Put up or shut up.
Racism Smears
From: Dennis Paul
Date: Thursday August 18, 2005
Time: 13:20
Comments: Previous sparring bout of tittle tattle deleted – back to the serious claim. The submitter named as Tim Ireland complains of a “misleading pamphlet that pandered to racism and was deliberately sent only to impoverished areas” sent out in my name. This is similar to a claim made by the Liberal Democrats during the County Council election of 2005. As yet, the Liberal Democrats or Tim has yet to clarify or substantiate: a) whose racism I was pandering to; b) racism in what respect; c) their definition of an impoverished area. These claims may be seen by many as the politics of the gutter, smearing candidates with a racist brush for cheap political gain. Will they ever have the courage and sincerity to explain who the racists were I am alleged to have pandered to, where they live, and why they or I am racist…….I await the answer.
Re: Racism Smears
From: Tim Ireland
Date: Thursday August 18, 2005
Time: 13:31
Comments: I refuse to dance your little dance knowing that anytime I do make a valid point, you’ll delete the article. I’ve made my case and you have challenged it. Are we going to court or not?
This scenario was played out time and again as Dennis Paul continued to assert in new posts that I had failed to substantiate my claims, while he deleted any responses from me that did so and/or challenged him on his threat to ‘take things further’ with the authorities. (Chris Ward caught him at it over the ‘Lib Dem spammers’ claim and I have a few screengrabs of my own.)
I called him on his bluff time and again (on his joke of a discussion board and via direct email) and asked him when we were going to court. He responded by deleting every such post and ignoring every email. He then introduced a password system on the discussion board (that made his whole site fall over) before quickly giving up on the idea.
That was fun to watch, but the icing on the cake was the honour of a front-page story repeating his assertion that claims that he had pandered to racism for political gain had yet to be substantiated:
Cheap Claims of Racism Are Unsubstantiated (16/08/05)
Site visitors will note claims in my Discussion Room of a “misleading pamphlet that pandered to racism and was deliberately sent only to impoverished areas” sent out in my name during the 2005 County Election Campaign. This is similar to a claim made by Liberal Democrats during that same campaign.
My opponents submitting posts have yet to clarify or substantiate:
a) whose racism I was pandering to;
b) racism in what respect;
c) their definition of an impoverished area.
I cannot at this stage verify the identity of those making the claims, but they appear to be an attempt to smear my character with a racist brush for cheap political gain. Those who submit posts to my discussion room are responsible for their content and are invited to explain their rationale – this is not a threat, and incidentally, I have made no denial about the content of any leaflet bearing my name.
We are entitled to ask, will they ever have the courage or sincerity to explain who the racists are that I am alleged to have pandered to, the area where they live, and why they or I am racist…….I await the answer.
The thing is… he got his answer. Again and again and again. But he deleted each answer and pretended that no such answer was given. (Unless it was an answer on his terms; the way he’s trying to frame the argument suggests that he wants a ‘poor people of Guildford are inherently racist’ comment from me that he can pluck out of context and use as he pleases.)
This is another thing Dennis Paul has in common with the anonymous posters who have ‘contributed’ to the Anne Milton weblog. When asked to put up or shut up on any particular claim or accusation, they failed to put up… then failed to shut up.
Dennis Paul, I’m calling you out. I continue to maintain that you were directly involved with a misleading pamphlet that pandered to racism. If you have a problem with that, I suggest you make good on your threat to ‘take it further’.
I also maintain that you publish and moderate information on your website in a way that is grossly misleading, and shows a total lack of respect for the truth and the online community. Again, if you have a problem with that, you know what to do.
PS – Good luck deleting this. Jerk.
UPDATE – Dennis Paul’s site has a new message today. It reads: Coming soon…THE SEWER – Guildford’s very own gutter of bile, bull and hate that lies beneath…. (I smell a hatchet-job in the offing. We may end up in court after all.)
UPDATE 2 (20 Aug) – ‘The Sewer Tunnel’ is live. (Wait. Ignore that link. It’s recently been renamed and moved: Click here for ‘The Sewer’.) It’s a bunch of excerpts of stuff that has been said about him on my site and others (or by others on my site). If you ask me, the man has lost it. Maybe we can get him to quote the following:
Dennis Paul fribgiblet wibble-wobble farley-farley-farley on a lurgid bee.
Oh, and the main page for the online discussion room appears to have been removed. How will Dennis get by with no-one to talk to but himself? (No, wait…)
UPDATE 3 (20 Aug) – Oh dear. And he really should learn not to leech images from other websites.
UPDATE 4 (24 Aug) – Oh dear, oh dear. He now claims to have been hacked. Twice. (Details in comments.)
By Wibbler August 19, 2005 - 8:55 pm
Tim, you little stirrer! My joy would be complete if he was a Labour candidate…
By peteconnolly.co.uk August 20, 2005 - 11:05 am
a nasty little man
Tim over at Bloggerheads is having a few problems with a racist tory. Looks like it might be heading to court, especially now that Dennis has resorted to publishing his ‘Sewer Tunnel’ section, as he so nicely puts it….
By mark August 20, 2005 - 2:24 pm
I’m not totally sure what the point of his “Sewer Tunnel” is (link on the left of his site). All it does it to reiterate the claims previously made by you and others, including “Dennis Paul is a complete and total arse… but then, I think we always knew that”. Why, as a “prospective parliamentary candidate” would you publish that sort of thing on your website?
By Manic August 20, 2005 - 3:38 pm
I’m struggling to see where/what the upside is for him, too. Perhaps a sane person will have a quiet word with him on Monday.Bits I really, really like:1. The missing apostrophe in “Local Peoples Concerns”2. He’s trying to nail someone for something I said on their site (“hosted by Chris Ward, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson”) when his site carries the disclaimer; “I am not responsible for the content of submissions to my discussion pages…”
By Wolf Solent August 21, 2005 - 1:31 am
And it just keeps coming! The Sewer Tunnel has now become The Sewer and has been shifted to http://www.dennispaul.org/the_sewer.htm – but the daft sod’s still leeching that image from your site…
By Manic August 22, 2005 - 7:50 am
He’s finally removed that image and updated the page to put his side across. Remember when I said: “the way he’s trying to frame the argument suggests that he wants a ‘poor people of Guildford are inherently racist’ comment from me that he can pluck out of context and use as he pleases”…?Well, here’s Dennis partially fulfilling that prophecy:”Seems Manic may have slurred the people of Park Barn by describing them as ‘impoverished’.”And he’s removed (almost) all of the links previously embedded in the text, thereby robbing these quotes of context. What a complete and total arse.
By mark August 23, 2005 - 12:01 am
His photo gallery, however, is priceless:http://www.dennispaul.org/photo.htmDP looking thoughtful in front of a bus shelter:http://www.dennispaul.org/images/Cabell_Road_Bus_Shelter.jpg
By Wolf Solent August 23, 2005 - 2:19 am
I liked this one:http://www.dennispaul.org/images/Roundhill%20Way%20002.jpglargely because it seems to have been taken with a flash in broad daylight. I’m guessing it’s a dangerously overgrown hedge which Mr Paul subsequently dealt with.Best of the lot has to behttp://www.dennispaul.org/images/Scan10004.JPGbecause at 72dpi it is somewhere in the region of eight feet across. Seriously. 7086*4724 pixels, 2.6Mb. His kid’s face completely filled my browser window for one eerie moment.
By Uponnothing.co.uk August 23, 2005 - 2:47 pm
The Joy Of Blogging…
As demonstrated by Tim Ireland, who tangles with a prospective Tory MP, who may or may not be an idiot, who may or may not be pandering to racism, and who may or may not take legal action against any smears to his good name….
By Wolf Solent August 24, 2005 - 1:06 am
Oh lordy. This is on his front page just now: ” Saturday’s hacking incident and this evening’s is now being reported to the Police. I know who you are, and I have the file attached in your email preserved. This Is [sic] a serious privacy violation.” I believe Mr Paul has crossed something of a Rubicon here.Mysteriously, his inviting Police scrutiny of his website coincides with much of the, shall we say, more contentious content disappearing into the aether, with barely a link (apart from the one with the .gif of the rat) to show that it was ever even there… I wonder why?
By Manic August 24, 2005 - 8:21 am
I didn’t see the result of any hacking on Saturday. I didn’t look at his website last night… though perhaps Google or Yahoo captured something. I’ll check a cache or two tomorrow.On the face of it, the pattern of missing content (involving pretty much all recently-added data, including two articles about Tesco’s liquor ‘license’) mostly suggests a failure to back up.Either way, the following is worth saying:If this is someone who has decided to ‘help’ after reading about Dennis Paul on Bloggerheads:Please stop… it’s not going to end well.If this is Dennis Paul playing the victim and/or covering his tracks:Please stop… it’s not going to end well.
By Manic August 24, 2005 - 11:11 am
The Sewer has been removed within the last few hours:http://www.dennispaul.org/the_sewer.htmAlso, a dreadful thought occurs… what if Dennis Paul has interpreted my changing a file on my server (that he was calling up on his own web page) as a ‘hack’? That would explain Saturday, but not last night.
By dangerhighvoltage August 25, 2005 - 12:07 am
Hi. I’ve been visiting Dennis Paul’s site regularly over the past few weeks, refreshing what I see & monitoring changes. I haven’t a clue what he’s on about. I’ve been reading everything, I’ve kept silent…Until now :)I first made a post on Chris Ward’s site criticising the fact that, if you went to the police with allegations, they’d surely advise you not to do anything to potentially antagonise any alleged perpetrator (like saying that you’ve gone to the police!!), that message disappeared within 90 minutes of my post. Not sure if it’s coincidence, or whether I’d hit a nerve? Judge for yourself: http://www.cjward.co.uk/2005/08/cowabunga.html#c112491253204630134All the best folks.[mod: link corrected]
By Political Weblogs August 30, 2005 - 11:15 am
Black Dog lacks clue
I spotted this in the Mail on Sunday this weekend. The author of Black Dog appears to be the victim of ignorance or wishful thinking. Not that one expects to see accuracy in political gossip columns – or the Mail,…