Internet aid energizes Justice Day

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Jun 19, 2005 | by JIM BAINBRIDGE Gazette online reporter

Post it and they will come. In a first-of-its-kind effort, America's largest labor union, Service Employees International Union, last week used the Internet to mobilize thousands of real and virtual activists at International Justice Day rallies in three cities.

An e-mail message to the more than 24,000 members of PurpleOcean.org, an affiliate of SEIU that recruits nonunion members to join the struggle for workers' rights, brought thousands of activists to International Justice Day rallies in Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Miami last Wednesday -- in the flesh and in spirit.

Activists who were not able to attend were invited to show their support by adding their signatures to banners being carried at the rallies. More than 5,200 people did.

"People want to get involved," said SEIU President Andy Stern. "They want to right injustice where they see it and they are looking for ways to help and to support American workers. This is the next wave in organizing for social justice."

www.purpleocean.org

Net oversight group planning porn domain

Almost five years after rejecting a similar proposal, the Internet's main oversight body, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, voted 6-3 this month to proceed with an ".xxx" domain, apparently in hopes that it will reduce the chances of Internet users accidentally stumbling onto porn sites.

The ruling is looked upon by some ICANN members as an opportunity for the $12 billion online porn industry to clean up its act, although the way it is set up, the .xxx designation is voluntary and it's unclear if some (or all) of the sites would retain .com presence as well.

The .xxx domain "legitimizes this group, and it gives false hope to parents," Patrick Trueman, senior legal counsel at the Family Research Council told The Associated Press.

ICANN staff are working out a contract with ICM Registry Inc., the Jupiter, Fla., company that made the bid. If the board and the U.S. Commerce Department approve it, .xxx names could be in use by year's end.

www.icann.org

PayPal, Citibank offer phishing tips

Phishers are casting a wider net and getting more sophisticated in their methods. They're making their e-mails more plausible, their fake Web sites more professional. PayPal and Citibank, two firms that have become targets of scam artists, have devoted Web pages to helping consumers figure out what's real.

PayPal's site advises that its e-mails "will address you by first name, last name, or business name, and NOT by Dear PayPal User or Dear PayPal Member."

Citibank's site warns that although they can be tough to spot, fake e-mails "generally ask you to click a link back to a spoof Web site and provide, update or confirm sensitive personal information. To bait you, they may allude to an urgent or threatening condition concerning your account."

www.paypal.com

www.citibank.com

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0126 or bainbird@gazette.com