Microsoft has change of heart about CISPA — drops support

Microsoft has decided not to back CISPA citing consumer privacy concerns. One of the major corporate supporters of the draconian bill backs down.

One of the biggest worries on the minds of activists against the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) was the number of large internet corporations who are supporting the bill.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill on Thursday by a huge margin of 248 to 168.

Now one of the biggest has changed its mind - Microsoft says that any new law must allow them “to honor privacy promises” that they make to their customers. The company further said that it hopes to "ensure the final legislation helps to tackle the real threat of cybercrime while protecting consumer privacy." In its current form, CISPA does not protect the privacy of consumers... read full article.

Visiting Amsterdam for the pot? Sorry, not for foreigners

Amsterdam is famous for its "coffee shops" where you can have, well, just a little more than just plain old coffee. But now a judge is upholding a plan to ban foreign tourists from indulging.

There are currently more than 650 coffee shops in the Netherlands, of which 214 are in Amsterdam.

On Friday this week a Netherlands court upheld a brand new law that will introduce a "weed pass" which will be available exclusively to Dutch citizens and permanent residents in the country.

This means that when you go into a coffee shop, you'll just have to put up with a cappuccino instead.

The ruling comes into power in the southern provinces of the Netherlands next Tuesday... read full article.

Video: Austerity grows, police lash out at protesters in Spain

In a country where one in four citizens are now unemployed anger grows and with it, the brutality of the police against demonstrators.

Digital Journal recently reported that Spain has slipped back into recession. And now Spain has reached the highest level of unemployment in all of Europe, with 25% unable to find work.

As unemployment rises and the Spanish people's benefits are cut, anger is taking to the streets of Spain.

The more the desperation grows, the harsher the measures taken by police... read full article and view video.

Ukraine explosions: Follow up to blast in 2011?

Yesterday four explosions hit the Ukrainian city of Dnepropetrovsk, injuring at least 29 people, including around 10 children.

Digital Journal reported yesterday on the four explosions in various areas of Dnepropetrovsk which injured at least 29 people.

Ria Novosti has reported that the Security Service’s First Deputy Chairman Vladimir Rokitsky has said they have asked the help of international organizations to investigate the bomb attacks.

Rokitsky stated in an interview with the First National Channel on Friday that, “The [Security Service’s] Antiterrorism Center and its head have turned for help to international organizations that have an opportunity to assist in investigating this crime.” However, he did not elaborate on which organizations had been contacted.... read full article and view video.

Anonymous taking the battle against CISPA to the streets (video)

Anonymous has been battling against CISPA for some time - now they are starting "Operation Defense. Phase II" calling on people to take to the streets against the invasive legislation.

The group has now admitted that distributed denial of service attacks (DDoS) are not as effective as they were last year. They state that a number of major web sites have now upgraded their servers to manage the attacks.

Now they are telling people to take to the streets against the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act. They are calling on Americans to protest outside the local offices of companies that support the draconian bill which was adopted by the House on Thursday... read full article and view video.