At the boot camp they're told to loosen up, speak clearly and sit up straight for the cameras. Even our own Dan Rubenstein isn't immune to the criticisms from those running the broadcast boot camp.
Source: http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2012/6/22/3110241/nfl-broadcast-boot-camp-video?xid=si_nfl
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For your pleasure, a Barbie-themed Yoruba wedding by.London-based wedding photographer Obi Nwokedi:
The bride is hidden under a veil at the beginning of the ceremony. The groom's family ceremonially checks to see that she is the right girl.The groom and his male relatives lie prostrate before the bride's family as a sign of respect.
Wedding guests shower the couple with money in celebration of their union
Source: http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/06/29/black-barbies-yoruba-wedding
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[ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/finra-reports-84-million-fiscal-loss-182147186--sector.html
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WASHINGTON |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - United Technologies Corp on Thursday admitted selling China software that helped Beijing develop its first modern military attack helicopter, one of hundreds of export control violations over nearly two decades.
At a federal court hearing in Bridgeport, Connecticut, United Technologies and its two subsidiaries, Pratt & Whitney Canada and Hamilton Sundstrand Corp, agreed to pay more than $75 million to the U.S. government to settle criminal and administrative charges related to the violations.
As part of the settlement, Pratt & Whitney Canada pleaded guilty to two federal criminal charges - violating a U.S. export control law and making false statements.
Federal prosecutors said the company knew that its export of modified software to China would allow Beijing to test and develop its new military helicopter, called the Z-10, using 10 engines that had been legally exported as commercial items.
They said the company harmed national security while trying to gain access to China's lucrative civilian helicopter market.
"P&WC exported controlled U.S. technology to China, knowing it would be used in the development of a military attack helicopter in violation of the U.S. arms embargo with China," said U.S. Attorney David Fein of Connecticut.
"P&WC took what it described internally as a ?calculated risk,' because it wanted to become the exclusive supplier for a civil helicopter market in China with projected revenues of up to $2 billion," Fein said.
The case comes amid growing U.S. concerns about China's military expansion and escalating electronic espionage.
Federal authorities have brought five major cases since last February, involving everything from drone technology to radiation-hardened computers used in satellite communications.
SLAP ON THE WRIST?
United Technologies said it accepted full responsibility for the violations and deeply regretted that they had occurred. It said it had spent $30 million and hired more than 1,000 full and part-time employees to beef up its internal export oversight.
"These violations revealed important opportunities to strengthen our export compliance program," United Technologies Chief Executive Louis Chenevert said in a statement, adding that both the Justice and State departments had recognized the company's "significant remedial actions."
Fein said the penalties were substantial, but analysts said they amounted to a slap on the wrist for a major global industrial conglomerate with annual revenues of $58.1 billion.
"The fine is substantial ... but it's fairly modest measured against the company's overall revenues," said Loren Thompson, analyst with the Virginia-based Lexington Institute. "It will not have a material impact on the company's financial results."
Hamilton Sundstrand and Pratt & Whitney Canada also admitted that they had failed to make timely disclosures, required by regulations, to the U.S. State Department about the exports.
The government said the $75 million settlement included $20.7 million in criminal fines, forfeitures and other penalties to be paid to the Justice Department, and $55 million in payments to the State Department as part of a consent agreement resolving 576 administrative export control violations.
About $20 million of the State Department fines may be used by the company for improving its export control procedures and hiring an independent monitor, United Technologies said.
The export control violations ranged from problems with classification, inadequate monitoring of existing export agreements, and even controls imposed on foreign visitors.
One case centered on the export to Venezuela of a test stand for an F100 engine used for F-16 fighter planes that was falsely classified as commercial because it used only commercial items. The individual responsible is still being hunted by U.S. law enforcement officials.
"The Justice Department will spare no effort to hold accountable those who compromise U.S. national security for the sake of profits and then lie about it to the government," said Assistant Attorney General Lisa Monaco.
As part of the agreement, the U.S. State Department also will impose curbs on new export licenses for Pratt & Whitney Canada, although the company can request licenses on a case-by-case basis. The debarment does not affect the parent company or Hamilton Sundstrand.
The company's shares closed $1.56 lower on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, a drop of 2.1 percent. It said it had put money in reserve to cover the payments.
A CAPABLE, MODERN HELICOPTER
Western experts said the Z-10, first delivered to China's People's Liberation Army in 2009, is developing into one of the world's most modern and capable combat helicopters.
Full production of the Z-10 would give China's military unprecedented levels of "aerial artillery" to support an amphibious invasion and subsequent operations against Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own, said Richard Fisher, an expert on China's military use of so-called dual-use technologies.
U.S. authorities said China had been trying to develop a specialized modern military attack helicopter since the 1980s.
The U.S. government has prohibited the export to China of U.S. defense equipment and technology since Beijing's 1989 crackdown on the pro-democracy movement, but Washington does allow the export of certain so-called dual-use items that may have a military use but are not weapons in and of themselves.
The U.S. case against United Technologies said P&WC knew as early as 2000 that China's effort to develop a new helicopter would lead off with a military variant, but repeatedly made false statements about its knowledge. It also failed to notify its U.S. parent and the U.S. subsidiary Hamilton Sundstrand.
U.S. authorities said that Pratt & Whitney Canada's initial involvement in the program was to deliver 10 engines to China from Canada in 2001 and 2002. The company believed the engines did not constitute defense equipment subject to the U.S. military embargo on China because the engines were identical to those it was supplying China for commercial helicopters.
The problem arose when Connecticut-based Hamilton Sundstrand delivered certain modifications to the engine control software, which allowed China to test and develop the Pratt & Whitney Canada engines as it was developing the new military helicopter.
U.S. authorities say the software modifications were specifically for use on the military program, making them subject to the U.S. military embargo on China.
PRATT CANADA FORESAW PROBLEMS
According to court documents, in one 2001 internal e-mail, a Pratt & Whitney Canada manager said: "We must be very careful that the helicopter programs we are doing with the Chinese are not presented or viewed as military programs ... If the first flight will be a gunship, then we could have problems with the U.S. government."
In the United States, U.S. investigators say, Hamilton Sundstrand believed it was providing its software to Pratt & Whitney Canada for use in a civilian Chinese helicopter, although it learned in 2004 about a possible export law problem and stopped working on the Z-10 program. But authorities say Pratt & Whitney Canada then modified software on its own and continued to export it to China through June 2005.
A law enforcement source said the companies did not even launch an internal inquiry until a non-governmental organization involved in examining "socially responsible" investments in February 2006 asked United Technologies whether Pratt & Whitney Canada's involvement in the Z-10's development might violate U.S. export laws. The group threatened to recommend that investors sell their holdings in UTC.
That investigation led to an initial disclosure, in July 2006, to U.S. authorities about the Z-10 issue, but that filing was based on an incomplete investigation and contained false statements, according to company officials and the filings.
Analysts said the settlement was a setback for United Technologies, which is transforming itself into an aerospace giant. But the penalties are unlikely to affect its sales in China, which accounted for almost $10 billion of its 2011 sales.
"It's certainly a black eye," said analyst Jeff Sprague of Vertical Research Partners.
United Tech expects to close in coming weeks on its $16.5 billion acquisition of aircraft components maker Goodrich Corp. It has put three units up for sale, including the industrial arm of the Hamilton Sundstrand division.
Jay DeFrank, a spokesman for Pratt & Whitney, said the company continued to do business in China, but it had now launched major efforts to educate all 70,000 employees in United Technologies' aerospace units about export controls.
"China is and remains an important market for UTC and we will continue to do business there in full compliance with the law," he said. Company officials said they were being particularly cautious about possible sales of Pratt engines for another Chinese helicopter, the commercial Z-15 aircraft.
The Obama administration has lent high-level backing to United Technologies' work in China.
Then-Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, now the U.S. ambassador to China, visited a Pratt & Whitney joint venture in Shanghai in May 2010, according to the company's website.
(Additional reporting by Jim Wolf in Washington, Edith Honan in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Nick Zieminski in New York; Editing by Warren Strobel, Bill Trott, Dan Grebler and Michael Perry)
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More than I can count. At home, we have 3 outdoor dogs (2 filas and a rescue dog) that live in the barn. One JRT that is a house dog. And 2 indoor cats and 5 outdoor cats. Plus many, many horses although those aren't "pets" per se as they're all for sale.
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>>> this next and final story is for all those who have faced what might seem like an impossible challenge. it's about a young man who has already been doing some pretty incredible things. he set a new goal for himself, on a big day in his life, he achieved it. his story tonight from jenna wolf. 34 the seniors at scripps ranch high school have been waiting a long time for this moment. but none more than patrick , whose dream of walking at graduation once seemed impossible.
>> when i was first injured i was completely paralyzed.
>> a driver backing out of a parking space didn't see him and ran over the little boy . he survived but his spinal cord was crushed.
>> i'm technically a quadriplegic. which means i have impairment in all four limbs.
>> reporter: he's a kid that dreams big, he was never supposed to walk, but somehow learned to play soccer, tennis and kayak. and there was nothing he wanted more than to learn to surf. we first met patrick three years ago in the water.
>> can you explain to me how you surf?
>> i have a specially adapted board, we get a team of people and go out in the water.
>> with his wheelchair on shore, a team fits him into the holders. and for a few seconds, patrick is free.
>> it feels like i'm flying.
>> reporter: patrick told us of one more dream.
>> to walk across the stage at graduation.
>> reporter: to walk across the stage. for three years, patrick 's been working with specialists, intensive rehab that's given him back some of his mobility. bringing him here.
>> you made this promise to us a couple years ago, you were going to walk across the stage at graduation.
>> yeah.
>> how do you feel about that now?
>> i feel good.
>> patrick james iveson.
>> reporter: as patrick stands, so does the audience. a standing ovation as he makes his way across the stage, proving that with guts and dreams, almost anything is possible. jenna wolf, nbc news, san diego .
>> how about that. and we thought you'd like to know, patrick will be off to
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In this photo released by Middle East News Agency, the Egyptian official news agency, caretaker Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri, left, shakes hands with newly elected President Mohammed Morsi in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, June 25, 2012. Morsi met with the military-backed Prime Minister el-Ganzouri, who resigned Monday and was asked to head a caretaker government until Morsi nominates a new one. The election of an Islamist president in Egypt is turning longstanding U.S. policy in the Mideast inside out. The Obama administration is relieved that the candidate who represents three decades of close partnership with the United States was beaten by an Islamic fundamentalist. (AP Photo/Middle East News Agency, HO)
In this photo released by Middle East News Agency, the Egyptian official news agency, caretaker Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri, left, shakes hands with newly elected President Mohammed Morsi in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, June 25, 2012. Morsi met with the military-backed Prime Minister el-Ganzouri, who resigned Monday and was asked to head a caretaker government until Morsi nominates a new one. The election of an Islamist president in Egypt is turning longstanding U.S. policy in the Mideast inside out. The Obama administration is relieved that the candidate who represents three decades of close partnership with the United States was beaten by an Islamic fundamentalist. (AP Photo/Middle East News Agency, HO)
FILE - In this Saturday, May 26, 2012 file photo, Egyptian presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq speaks to the media during a press conference at his office in Cairo, Egypt. A Cairo airport official says Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister who was defeated by an Islamist in the race for Egypt's new president has left the country for the United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)
Egyptians read a newspaper fronted by a picture of Egypt's newly elected President Mohammed Morsi in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, June 25, 2012. The new Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi moved first thing Monday morning into the office once occupied by his ousted predecessor Hosni Mubarak and started work on forming a government even before he had a clear picture of what he could do after the ruling military stripped most of the major powers from his post. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
An Egyptian boy is reflected in a mirror in Tahrir Square, Cairo, Monday, June 25, 2012. The new Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi moved first thing Monday morning into the office once occupied by his ousted predecessor Hosni Mubarak and started work on forming a government even before he had a clear picture of what he could do after the ruling military stripped most of the major powers from his post. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)
Egyptian women watch fireworks in Tahrir Square, Cairo, Monday, June 25, 2012. The new Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi moved first thing Monday morning into the office once occupied by his ousted predecessor Hosni Mubarak and started work on forming a government even before he had a clear picture of what he could do after the ruling military stripped most of the major powers from his post. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)
CAIRO (AP) ? An Egyptian court suspended on Tuesday a government decision allowing military police and intelligence to arrest civilians, a setback for the country's military rulers after the decree drew an outcry from opponents who accused them of trying to impose martial law.
The Justice Ministry issued a decree on June 13 that allowed military police and intelligence agents to arrest civilians for even minor offenses such as traffic violations. Rights activists feared the new powers essentially reproduced the country's hated emergency law, which had expired just two weeks earlier after more than 30 years in force. The emergency law granted broad powers of arrest and detention to police that were abused over the years and fed the popular anger that led to last year's uprising.
Critics said the new powers of detention could extend the rule of the generals, even if they transfer power to the elected president by the end of this month as promised.
"This (court ruling) is the best possible way to have such a repressive law struck down," said Heba Morayef, a researcher with Human Rights Watch in Egypt. "It is a pretty significant decision against a decree that would have permanently given the military this right of law enforcement and encroachment on civilian life."
Military officials said at the time that the new powers were only meant to fill a security vacuum resulting from the uprising when the police force collapsed and disappeared from the streets during the first days of mass protests.
The government, which was appointed by the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), can appeal the court decision.
The military has pledged to turn power over to a civilian government once a new president is named. On Sunday, Islamist Mohammed Morsi of the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood was declared Egypt's first freely elected president in modern history.
However Morsi is facing a power struggle with the military rulers after they stripped the presidency of its major powers one week before the winner of the election was announced.
The ruling military council has used court decrees and constitutional declarations to stop Islamists from controlling all the executive and legislative branches.
The same court postponed a key decision on overturning the ruling military council's order to disband the Islamist-dominated parliament.
The Muslim Brotherhood and another Islamist group, the ultraconservative Salafis, won more than 70 percent of parliament in a free election around the start of the year. The parliament, according to Egypt's interim constitution, is tasked with forming a panel to write the constitution. Twice, liberals walked away from panels formed by the Islamist-controlled parliament, saying the panels are packed with Islamists and voicing fears that Egypt's new constitution would end up more Islamic.
However, two days before the June 16-17 presidential runoff, the ruling council dissolved parliament after a court determined that the parliamentary elections were illegal. As polls closed on June 17, the SCAF issued a declaration of constitutional amendments that gave the ruling military legislative power and control over the process of drafting the constitution.
They also declared a new body, The National Defense Council, dominated by generals with a wide mandate to decide security, military and foreign affairs.
Hossam Bahgat, a human rights activist and head of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, said the court decision Tuesday gives Morsi and other mediators ammunition in their battle with the ruling generals to argue that the decisions to entrench military power are unlawful and can be challenged. Bahgat said the military decisions started as a "power grab and effectively transformed into a military coup."
"Today is the first time we get the judiciary pushing against one of the three pillars of this coup," he said. "Today's decision should and could empower the president to explain in the clearest terms that what the (generals) are asking for is against the law."
There are other pending court cases against all the military's recent decisions.
But on Tuesday, Morsi also suffered a setback in his power struggle with the military. Attempts to reverse some of the military council's decrees were stalled after the Cairo Administrative Court postponed a ruling to July 7 on the legality of dissolving the 498-member parliament.
The case was brought by lawmakers.
In the absence of a parliament, Morsi must take his oath of office before the Constitutional Court, which was behind the ruling that recommended dissolving the Brotherhood-led parliament.
If Morsi takes the oath in front of the court, it will undermine him in the eyes of many, especially those who staged a sit-in for a week in Cairo's Tahrir Square against the military's power grab.
Morsi, according to his spokesman Yasser Ali, has been meeting with legal and constitutional experts to try to resolve the swearing in dilemma.
Also on Tuesday, the same court postponed to Sept. 1 an appeal that sought to disband a 100-member panel appointed by parliament to draft a new constitution. That left the panel and the constitution drafting process in limbo.
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Xavier Cervera / Panos for msnbc.com
Tony Cortes, who has been out of work for almost three years, and his partner Ana Valderrama have occupied an empty home in Terrassa, Spain, with their young daughters Jennifer and Ariadna.
By F. Brinley Bruton, msnbc.com
TERRASSA, Spain -- Ana Valderrama and Tony Cortes do not look like squatters.
The?suburban apartment they've illegally occupied since December is free of clutter.?Its stone floors shine while two?poster-sized pictures of daughters Jennifer, seven, and Ariadna, 11, hang on gleaming white walls.
Twelve months ago, life was very different.
Valderrama, 36, and Cortes, 38, had both been out of work for more than two years.?Unable to maintain payments on their 102,000-euro (around $128,000 at today?s exchange rates) mortgage, the couple?lost their home in this commuter town about 12 miles north of Barcelona.
"I was very depressed when I realized I may be on the street with my two girls," Cortes told msnbc.com.?"It?s a depression the whole family feels, a sort of Chinese torture."
Desperate to ensure they had a roof over their head, Valderrama, Cortes and 10 other families took possession of an empty apartment building. But life is still precarious. The family of four?now lives on 641 euros ($800)?a month in public assistance and they could face eviction at any time.
Destitution
While sophisticated and fun-loving Barcelona serves as the country's showcase to the world, Terrassa is?among the?many towns hiding Spain's shame: Despite boasting Europe's fourth-largest economy, hundreds of thousands have been forced into destitution by the country's?housing crash.
Photos: Faces of Spain's economic crisis
Many Spaniards?now exist on the margins of a society that just a few years ago promised them easy access to cars, holiday homes, trips abroad and regular tickets to professional?soccer games.
The crisis?was born out of?a mighty housing and construction bubble that saw house prices triple between 1995 and 2007. They've?fallen by at least a quarter since then.
'The country is on its knees': Ireland grapples with economic collapse
About one out of every four people in Spain is without a job, according to government statistics. However,?the large so-called "gray economy" mitigates the effects of unemployment, the IMF says.
In 2010, court evictions hit 100,000 ? four times the total?in 2007. About 200 homes are repossessed every day?across Spain, according to the Platform for People Affected by Mortgages (PAH) campaign group.
These repossessions continue despite a voluntary ethical code signed by many?banks that is intended to delay evictions by two years in cases of families with no income.?Still, an estimated 20 percent of the country?s unoccupied homes are now owned by banks, The Economist reported.
You don?t have to look very far to see the toll the crash has taken on people who have worked all their lives. ?
Before the crisis Juan Antonio Pache, 67, did not think of himself as poor.
His construction business once employed nine people. He borrowed money to build a house on land he already owned, and a few years later he borrowed more to extend it.
Xavier Cervera / Panos for msnbc.com
Juan Antonio Pache, 67, who lost a construction business that once boasted nine employees, is now receiving help from Catholic organization Caritas.
Pache's company thrived, he said, until 2007 when he noticed a fall-off in new business. By April 2008, income had decreased "vertically," he said.
"I made proposals, proposals and proposals but no projects came," he said. He fell behind on payments to Spain's equivalent of Social Security. Soon he could not afford his mortgage payments of around 3,000 euros a month.
Now the bank has seized?his house and land. He has lost his business and lives with his son in Sabadell, a city northwest of Barcelona.? ?
He doesn't receive a state pension, and his wife has moved in with family in another town.?
"All I've done is work. I've worked day and night on the highways. And after so much work I have no house and no pension," he said, standing very straight. "I don't know what kind of country this is."
Greek tragedy: Economic crisis sparks brain drain
With banks in a fierce competition for new customers and mortgages easy to come by, some borrowers doubtless took on too much debt during the boom years. But even as the crisis hit, politicians assured the public that all would be well.
In 2008, former Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero declared that Spain had "perhaps the most solid financial system in the world."
Infant malnutrition
The fact the crisis is taking a toll in a relatively wealthy part of Spain surprises those who work with the most vulnerable.
"We have noticed a huge increase in people asking for food assistance ? around three times more than a year ago," said Ester Soto, a manager at Terrassa's Red Cross homeless shelter.
Xavier Cervera / Panos for msnbc.com
Aida Abello and Ester Soto work at a Red Cross homeless shelter in Terrassa, Spain.
Fraying family networks and swinging cuts in social programs, as well as the worsening crisis, are the likely reasons for this growth, she said.
More startlingly, the Red Cross is also seeing evidence of infant malnutrition for the first time in decades, Soto added.
"And this is not a poor town," she said.
Spain's financial plight has taken center stage for European Union leaders who are tackling long-term plans for closer fiscal and banking union in a bid to strengthen the euro's foundations, after bailouts for Greece, Ireland and Portugal failed to end a 2-1/2-year old debt crisis.
On June 9, the European Union stepped in with the promise of a bank-bailout plan of up to 100 billion euros ($125 billion) and Spain formally requested the rescue on Monday. The original announcement failed to calm nerves as investors worried that it might not be enough and a wholesale bailout of Spain could be in the offing.
Spain to seek bailout; up to $125 billion on table
Paul De Grauwe, a prominent economist and professor at the London School of Economics, said that not only would the bailout announced in early June probably be inadequate, it was unlikely that European Union?s response would help ease the suffering of millions of Spaniards.
He also said the European Union's decision-making process, which is propelled by economic powerhouse Germany, is deeply undemocratic.
"Today it is a German politician who decides about Spain," he said. "They couldn?t care less about the Spanish unemployed. They will only care about unemployment if it is German unemployment. They will only care about youth unemployment if it is German youth unemployment."
Germany grows weary of being Europe's crutch
'I want to work'
Spanish youth unemployment stands at 50 percent, the highest in Europe. Such statistics are a fact of life for university student Marisol Martin.
"I want to work, have money, be independent and have my own place," the 19-year-old said. "I go on the Internet, send out resumes and resumes but nothing."
The only opportunities for people like her, she said, are unpaid work experience positions or poorly paid jobs in bars or restaurants.
So she is taking English classes and hopes to one day leave Spain.
Xavier Cervera / Panos for msnbc.com
Marisol Martin, right, has been encouraged by her father to leave Spain. Her friend Laia Moreno also has little optimism about the future in her homeland.
"My dad?s told me and my sister that what I have to do is get out and go to England," she said.
Martin's friend Laia Moreno, 18, lives with her mother. "I would like to have my own place and my own life," she said.
"I wanted to be a teacher," she adds. But for now, that dream has died and she's trying to get a driver's license so she can deliver pizzas.
'I had to sell everything'
Life isn't much better for many immigrants, with the unemployment in these communities hovering at around 35 percent. ?
Wilson Lopez left Ecuador more a decade ago in search of a better life for his wife and son. Nine years ago, he took on a mortgage of 109,000 euros, on which his wife Isabel and he made interest-only payments, Lopez said.
"I paid my mortgage loyally for nine years," the 63-year-old native of Guayaquil said during a protest organized by the PAH in Barcelona.
CSM: As Europe peers into economic chasm, Africa is rising
In 2010, Lopez lost his job as a security guard in a local hotel.
"I had to sell everything ? my wife's jewelry, our television, clothes ? everything," he said.
Lopez would like to hand over the apartment's keys to the bank and have done with it, he said. But he can't because most homeowners in Spain can be pursued for mortgage debt even after their properties have been repossessed.
Xavier Cervera / Panos for msnbc.com
Wilson Lopez, 63, is originally from Ecuador.
Instead, Lopez felt forced to extend the loan for another 40 years. He pointed out wryly that he will be over 100 when it runs its course.
"The government works for the banks but it does not help the people," he said.
This sort of disillusionment has grown as people impacted by the crisis watch the government bailing out banks while imposing widespread cuts to public services.
Amid this backdrop, the Platform for People Affected by Mortgages (PAH) has sprouted branches throughout the country.
In the last six months, PAH has suspended or delayed dozens of evictions by protesting outside foreclosed homes and helping people negotiate with their banks. Their highly public campaign has fed a wave of defiance and forced the government to promise relief for borrowers.
But the organization is not "superman," warned PAH organizer Guillem Domingo.
"This country?s politicians need to step-up, be courageous," he said.
Spanish bailout may prove to be stopgap measure
Spain's "indignados" or M-15, which helped spark the global "Occupy" movement, is also flexing its muscles. While huge public protests have largely died down, the group, along with the PAH, has seen an opportunity in the country's estimated one million empty homes for the growing number of homeless.
And on June 15, activists filed a case against the former management of one of the largest lenders Bankia, whose partial nationalization helped push Spain to seek the EU bailout.
The mass movement has helped raise tens of thousands of euros via crowdsourcing to bring a case against the bank.?
Ghost towns tell the story of Ireland's faded dream
The apartment illegally occupied by Cortes and Valderrama?is owned by CatalunyaCaixa, a regional bank. The unofficial residents' offers to pay rent to the bank have so far gone unanswered, PAH organizer Domingo said.
CatalunyaCaixa did not respond to a request for information or comment on their plans for the apartment building.
Still, defying the powers-that-be has energized Valderrama and Cortes.
"Every day that passes I feel stronger," Valderrama said. "I have gone through so much, and every time you do you become more powerful."
"I lost my shame many years ago," Cortes added and smiled.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
More world news from msnbc.com and NBC News:
Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world
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If you've just picked up a MacBook Pro with Retina display or a 2012-era MacBook Air, you may be jonesing for a matching external hard drive to take advantage of that much-awaited USB 3.0 support. G-Technology has you covered -- and how. Updated versions of the laptop-oriented G-Drive Mini, Mobile and Slim (you're looking at the Mobile up top) all roll in the higher peak speeds and progressively trade raw speed as well as 1TB capacities for sleekness, while the twin-drive, 1.5TB G-RAID Mini will tax that 5Gbps bandwidth without becoming too ungainly. Not taking your external storage on the road? The single-disk G-Drive now climbs to 4TB in addition to jumping on the USB 3.0 bandwagon, and the dual-drive G-RAID will serve up as much as 8TB at the newly brisk speeds. All but the G-Drive Slim support FireWire to ease those jitters over transitioning from old to new, although they won't all arrive at the same time. Most of the G-Drive and G-RAID gear will be showing up in August at prices between $110 and $810, but the two Mini-labelled drives could be a bit late to the party with a less defined summer target. You can get the full scoop after the break.
G-Technology kicks out USB 3.0 G-Drives for Macs, keeps your Retina MacBook Pro well-fed originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jun 2012 03:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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While women were banned as both competitors and spectators at the ancient Olympics, the history of women?s athletics is just as old and auspicious. The Heraean Games (named after the godess Hera) were the first recorded and officially sanctioned women?s athletic event. It is thought they were held at the same time of year as the men?s Olympics. Winners were also awarded a crown of olive leaves.
The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896.
"The founder, Pierre de Coubertin, was dead against women's participation," says Pirkko Markula, a professor in socio-cultural studies of physical activity at the University of Alberta and author of "Olympic Women and the Media: International?Perspectives."
Women did not compete until four years later. At the 1900 Paris Games, women entered yachting, equestrian, croquet, tennis, and golf competitions. By 1912, women were also allowed to compete in swimming, and in 1928 women competed in track in field for the first time.
At the 2012 games in London, women?s boxing will be an Olympic sport for the first time. Adding women?s boxing to the Olympic program means there is no longer any sport that does not include women. Here's our list of the 15 biggest moments for women in Olympic history.
The US women?s gymnastics team won the gold medal in the Women?s Team Competition for the first time at the 1996 games in Atlanta.
The team was packed with all-stars, and the competition full of dramatic moments. It was an epic win for the United States, considering the former Soviet Union had won the event in every Olympics it had entered since the 1950s. The US beat both the Russians and the Romanians, who were the reigning World Champions that year.
The most memorable moment of the competition, and perhaps the Atlanta Games overall, was when Kerri Strug fell during her first vault attempt and injured her ankle. With a sprained ankle, she vaulted a second time and stuck her landing on one leg. She smiled and then collapsed.
"Kerri Strug is definitely remembered because of the pain and injury and debates of whether such sacrifice was good," says Professor Markula.
The team also included Shannon Miller, who won the gold medal on the balance beam, earning the US only its third-ever individual gold medal in women?s gymnastics.
Team member Dominique Dawes also took home an individual medal, the bronze in floor exercise, making her the first African-American woman to win an individual Olympic medal in gymnastics. With the team win, Dawes became the first black person of any nationality or gender to win an Olympic gold medal in gymnastics.
The other members of the US team were Dominique Moceanu, Amy Chow, Amanda Borden, and Jaycie Phelps.
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The Caps sent Eakin and their second-round pick (No. 54) to Dallas in exchange for Ribeiro.
?We?ve got some big, gritty forwards,? Caps GM George McPhee said at a press conference broadcast on WashingtonCapitals.com. ?We just wanted to put another skilled guy in the middle of it to see if it helps. I think it makes our team immediately better today.
?He?s got skill. He makes plays.?
Eakin, who also had four goals and four assists in 30 games with Washington last season, might have made a run to stay up full-time with Washington in 2012-13. But, as summer free-agent season looms, his loss is a hit to Hershey?s theoretical forward depth right now.
?We gave up a real good kid in Cody,? McPhee said. ?He?s going to play a long time in this league. But, obviously, Ribeiro will come in and play much higher in the lineup right away.?
In a whirlwind day of NHL trades, the Caps also made two first-round picks at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, taking Swedish centerman Filip Forsberg at No. 11 and Plymouth (OHL) winger Tom Wilson at No. 16.
Forsberg was ranked the No. 2 prospect in the draft by The Hockey News and No. 3 by TSN, but he fell to No. 11 as eight defensemen went in the first 10 picks.
The 6-4, 195-pound power forward Wilson had 27 points and 141 penalty minutes in 49 games last season.
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes brokered a major trade. Pittsburgh sent Jordan Staal to Carolina for the No. 8 pick, 2007 first-rounder Brandon Sutter and Boston College defenseman Brian Dumoulin, a 2009 second-rounder.
Staal, who had one season remaining on his contract and turned down a contract extension offer by Pittsburgh, will get to play with his brother Eric in Carolina.
?I just felt, as an organization we felt, it was the right thing to do for Jordan,? Penguins GM Ray Shero said during the NBC Sports Network?s broadcast of the draft. ?He?s ready for an expanded role.?
With the No. 8 pick, Pittsburgh drafted Portland (WHL) defenseman Derrick Pouliot. At No. 22, the Penguins selected London (OHL) defenseman Olli Maatta.
The Philadelphia Flyers also made a big trade, sending goalie Sergei Bobrovsky to the Columbus Blue Jackets for second- and fourth-round picks in the 2012 draft and a 2013 fourth-rounder.
With the No. 20 pick, Philadelphia took Oshawa (OHL) centerman Scott Laughton.
Calgary Flames GM Jay Feaster, former general manager of the Bears, also made a trade. The Flames gave their No. 14 pick to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a first-round pick (No. 21) and a second-rounder (No. 42).
At No. 21, Calgary selected high school centerman Mark Jankowski.
With the No. 1 overall pick, the Edmonton Oilers selected Sarnia (OHL) winger Nail Yakupov, a native of Russia.
NOTEBOOK
As a junior eligible, Eakin was a member of Hershey?s 2009-10 Calder Cup club, playing four regular-season games and five playoff games. He scored a goal on his first pro shot at Syracuse.
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, Utah (AP) ? Thousands of residents whose homes were in danger of being threatened by a Utah wildfire have had to find shelter elsewhere as strong winds fueled a blaze that officials believe was started by target shooters.
Residents of at least 2,300 homes in northern Utah were evacuated Friday, a day after the more than 6-square-mile fire started near the Saratoga Springs landfill, about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City. High winds then helped fan the flames onto tinder-dry grasslands.
Authorities were initially worried as flames moved toward property owned by an explosives company, but the focus turned to saving homes as winds kicked up and the fire moved toward Saratoga Springs.
Forecasters expect strong winds to persist through the weekend.
On Friday, fire officials were calling in additional aircraft and extra ground crews.
Utah County Sheriff Jim Tracy said he feared the fire could take down the area's power grid, shutting off electricity to up to 7,000 homes.
"Several power poles and transformers ... up and down the fire lines have burned," Tracy said Friday evening. "If the fire gets a couple more critical poles and drops that grid, wires down on the ground, it will black out this entire area."
Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Teresa Rigby said the 2,300 houses evacuated include residents who voluntarily left, along with those ordered to leave.
BLM officials say they believe the blaze was caused when a bullet hit a rock and sparked the fire. This is the 20th target-shooting related fire this year in Utah, they said.
One firefighter had suffered minor burns, and no structural damage had been reported, said Jason Curry, a spokesman for the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands.
A continued mix of hot, windy and extremely dry conditions has raised the fire danger across Utah and parts of Wyoming, Arizona, Nevada and Colorado.
At a wildfire burning on more than 69,000 acres in northern Colorado, some homes were being evacuated Friday because of several spot fires started by winds outside the main fire. Some of those residents were evacuated after the fire flared up on Sunday and had only returned home Wednesday.
The mix of conditions that makes it easy for new fires to start and spread and cause existing fires to flare up is expected to last through Saturday there.
The fire west of Fort Collins has now destroyed at least 191 homes. It's also blamed for the death of a woman found dead at her ranch.
In southern Colorado, a new 300-acre fire near Mancos was threatening at least 10 structures and prompted officials to evacuate some homes east of town, federal officials said.
Gov. John Hickenlooper's office said he signed executive orders releasing $6.2 million more in state disaster money to fight the fire and two others.
The northern Colorado fire will have $5 million more available, on top of $20 million made available by a previous order. The fire has qualified for 75 percent federal reimbursement for firefighting costs, Hickenlooper's office said. A fire near Lake George will get $1 million, and the Stuart Hole fire in Larimer County will receive $200,000. The disaster money is coming partly from reserve funds.
Elsewhere:
? In Colorado, heat and low humidity is also a concern at the 1,150-acre wildfire burning near Lake George, which is 57 percent contained. A fire burning for over a month near Pagosa Springs has grown by about 1,300 acres. Two ranches have been evacuated.
? In Nevada, a wildfire that has charred nearly 12,000 acres of rugged terrain in northeast Nevada near the Utah line is 60 percent contained. It was started by a planned burn that escaped June 9.
? In Wyoming, crews were preparing safety zones where firefighters can flee in case a wildfire that has scorched more than 4.5 square miles in Medicine Bow National Forest makes a run. It's 10 percent contained.
? In New Mexico, a fire that has destroyed 242 homes and businesses, the largest in state history, has blackened 463 square miles in the Gila Wilderness and is 80 percent contained. Meanwhile, a 360-acre fire along the Rio Grande on the northern edge of Albuquerque was 50 percent contained. Nearby residents were on alert, but no one has been evacuated.
? In Arizona, officials battling a wildfire in eastern Arizona say they're prepared for high winds and low humidity. Firefighters have created containments lines around the community of Young and burned out fuel ahead of the fire. Crews are reinforcing those lines and patrolling for spot fires. The Poco Fire is nearly 12,000 acres and 25 percent contained. More than 740 people and several helicopters are fighting the fire.
? In Hawaii, the largest wildfire of the season has scorched at least 5,200 acres on the Big Island.
___
AP writers Brian Skoloff and Paul Foy contributed to this report from Salt Lake City.
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Saturday afternoon I opened my mailbox to find a notice from a former employer. My retirement plan had no declared beneficiary. The message I, a Euro-obsessed man, inferred: Sunday?s England-Italy match may kill you.
That?s also when it hit me: I?ve become far too obsessed with England-Italy. To verify, I looked back at all the hyperbole I?ve spewed since Tuesday:
Somebody call Dr. Drew.
It?s a stupid list, one that makes me feel bad because even if we do get a stoic match between two teams whose styles merge with the dissonance of microphone feedback (add that to the list), we?ll still have two fabled nations meeting in the knockout stage of a major international tournament. How excited would we have been at the beginning of the tournament if somebody told us this would be a quarterfinal?
That this should be a really, really close, well-played game should be enough to justify our excitement. Here I could be all clich?-y and talk about why we love sports, but we don?t really love sports just for the competition. I can?t remember the last time I watched AYSO soccer, but I sure remember some of those games being close. Sunday?s match is going to be close, the stakes will be huge, and we?ll have 22 of the world?s best athletes playing it out.
It may be one of the tournament?s worst matches (who knows), but it?s still a Euro 2012 quarterfinal, and I don?t know about you, but my life isn?t so all-fire important that I can?t sit down and see if the thing can?t exceed my expectations. What else am I going to do? Live out my life in 120 character bursts?
And with that, here?s the playlist for Sunday?s quarterfinal, the 2:45 p.m. Eastern kickoff deciding who moves on to face Germany on Thursday.
After one match, Italy midfielder Andrea Pirlo looked like the tournaments best player. Then a slowed down a little versus Croatia, and when he didn?t recover against Ireland, it was obvious. The short turn around time is taking its toll.
Pirlo isn?t especially old. He?s only 33, but he has accumulated a tone of miles. Only once in the last decade has he failed to play at least 40 matches in a season (counting club and country appearances). For a four year stretch between 2003-04 and 2007-08, he played over 50 matches in every year. It?s not quite Lampardian, but it?s still a lot of wear and tear.
Between Italy?s last group game and Sunday?s quarterfinal, the Juventus regista has had five days off. ?Hopefully, Pirlo will be recharged, because in a match that looks to even on paper, one small sway could tilt the scales.
2.Volatile pair (Volatile game)
It?s a bit strange that Mario Balotelli?s antics have been singled out ahead of a game that will feature John Terry. Balotelli?s portrayed as an impulsive, immature talent that exercises poor judgement, but compared to Terry?s knee to Alexei Sanchez?s back ahead of the Champions League final (which Terry had to miss, serving a red card suspension), Balotelli looks more?quixotic?than malicious.
Teams with Antonio Cassano, Balotelli forms one of the most volatile attacking tandems in tournament memory, but they?re not the only sparks in Sunday?s potential tinder box. Wayne Rooney entered this match serving a red card suspension, Ashley Cole?s off-field behavior has had it?s Balotellian turns, Thiago Motta (perhaps unfairly) has seen red in a Champions League semifinal, while no U.S. Men?s National Team fan need be reminded what Daniele de Rossi did to Brian McBride.
There are a number of flash points in Sunday?s game. Thankfully, none of them are truly likely to spark.
As similar as these teams are, one has wide play, and the other does not. Seems like a big difference, right? It will be, if England exploit it.
Italy provides no real help for their fullbacks (or wingbacks, if they play 3-5-2). The narrow midfield invites the opposition?s wide players onto Ignacio Abate and Federico Balzaretti, though none of their Group C opposition exploited it. Ireland doesn?t exploit anything, Spain play too narrow, while both Croatia fullbacks (Darijo Srna, Ivan Strnic) had good games against the Italians.
England should provide more of a challenge. On Italy?s right, the threat of the two Ashleys (Cole and Young) should be clear. Claudio Marchisio is going to have to help Abate. On the other flank, James Milner?s nowhere near as dangerous, but somebody?s going to have to get out and contest his crosses. And if Milner?s not out there, it?s going to be Theo Walcott ? an even more dangerous proposition.
4. A small wish for Wayne Rooney
It?s rare that a great player has such a glaring chance to define a match. Is Wayne Rooney a great player? I don?t really know. A lot of that depends on how you define great, but on Sunday he?s going to the be one, glaring, meaningful difference between two teams that couldn?t be more evenly matched.
Perhaps it?s an unfair expectation, but players who have blessed places in the starting XI are usually those who?ve shown they can do special things. And so when an England fan looks at Italy and looks at the Three Lions, it?s not without reason that they look at Rooney and think they can win. Italy?s just like us, except we have Wayne Rooney. They don?t.
And if England?s eliminated? How did that happen? We have Wayne Rooney. They don?t.
I don?t know if Wayne Rooney?s a great player, but some people might make their decisions tomorrow.
ProSoccerTalk is doing its best to keep you up to date on what?s going on in Poland and Ukraine.?Check out the site?s Euro 2012 page?and look at the site?s previews, predictions, and coverage of all the events defining UEFA?s championship.
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There's nothing quite like the pent-up anticipation for an Apple product arrival, and yes, that extends even to customers of Cricket, who lined up this morning for their first chance to score an iPhone from the prepaid carrier. While both the iPhone 4 (8GB) and 4S (16GB) must be purchased outright -- for $399 and $499 respectively -- sales were said to be "brisk" today, which can be partially attributed to Cricket's $55 per month plan. For the monthly layout, customers can take advantage of unlimited calling, messaging and data, although they'll need to contend with throttling for any usage past 2.3GB. Next up, Virgin Mobile is similarly situated to receive the iPhone on June 29th. Think there'll be any lines?
iPhone 4 and 4S now available to purchase outright at Cricket for $399 and $499 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jun 2012 22:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has fired a salvo at The Washington Post after two of its columnists wrote that he has been inconsistent on First Amendment issues.
McConnell, who considers himself an ardent defender of First Amendment freedoms, pushed back in an op-ed published in The Post Saturday.
The battle started June 17 when editorial page editor Fred Hiatt wrote that Republican leaders have changed their position on campaign finance disclosure because the flood of anonymous money to campaigns helps their party.He cited McConnell?s statement on NBC?s ?Meet the Press? in 2000 that ?Republicans are in favor of disclosure? and a lot of disclosure at that: ?Why would a little disclosure be better than a lot of disclosure??
Now Republican lawmakers oppose the Democrats? Disclose Act, which would require groups spending millions of dollars to influence campaigns to reveal their biggest donors.
?What?s changed? Sadly, only one thing, and it?s not the merits of the argument. The playing field has tilted toward Republicans, and they?re in no hurry to tilt it back,? Hiatt wrote.
Two days later, Post columnist Ruth Marcus, weighing the arguments for amending the constitution to limit independent expenditures, noted that McConnell once supported such an amendment.
She quoted McConnell?s argument: ?These are constitutional problems ? demanding constitutional answers.?
The Post columns were published shortly after McConnell delivered a major speech at the American Enterprise Institute urging conservatives to do all in their power to protect the First Amendment?s speech protections.
McConnell scolded The Post Saturday for questioning his motives and overlooking what he sees as the serious threat government intimidation poses to free speech.
?Unfortunately, many journalists have been less concerned about a president using his powers to silence critics than in drawing false inferences about the motives of those blowing the whistle,? he wrote.
?Post columnist Ruth Marcus went back to 1987, to my introduction of a constitutional amendment to allow limits on self-funding millionaires as evidence of my supposed hypocrisy,? he added.
McConnell said he quickly realized he was wrong to propose such an amendment and publicly testified against the idea nine months after proposing it.
?Not only have I voted against this idea every time it?s come up but I have also led the opposition,? he wrote.
McConnell argued that he has not changed his position on disclosure.
?Some, including Hiatt, have pointed to a 12-year-old quote in which I expressed support for disclosure not just for politicians and parties but maybe even for certain outside groups. This supposedly proved that I now oppose disclosure measures I used to support,? he wrote.
McConnell said Hiatt omitted concerns he raised at the time about the possibility of donors to controversial advocacy groups receiving harassment.
?My concern remains what it was in 2000: Selective disclosure would be used to harass people who have participated in the political process or to scare others from doing so,? McConnell wrote.
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Everyone loves a good cup of coffee. Despite being quite acidic, I still can't say no to my needed dose of caffeine. That's why when I was invited to try the new homegrown Kuppa Roastery & Caf? in The Fort, I simply can't say no despite the inconveniences I had to go through to get to Taguig. However, I'm happy I made the right choice.
The Food
Although Kuppa Roastery & Caf? specializes in coffee and tea, they also have a wide selection of food offerings. And although I was only expecting a coffee and tea tasting with snacks on the side, I was pleased as I was surprised that a feast awaited our trip.
The Teas
Bountiful is an understatement of what we've just had for lunch. And to help with digestion, lighten up our system and ease our bloatedness, our group was introduced to three of Kuppa Roastery & Caf?'s special whole-leaf loose teas.
We first sampled Gyokuro (P140), a fine and expensive green tea from Japan. Being a tea lover, I instantly fell in love with the light, smooth, clean, slightly sweet and vegetal flavor of this Japanese shaded green tea. It's the kind of tea you'd drink after a hearty meal, or just to relax and unwind in a chilly, lazy afternoon.After a light-flavored tea, we moved on to Jasmine Dragon Pearl (P95), a Chinese tea made from high-grade tea leaves rolled into small balls and scented with jasmine flowers. Although I love jasmine-scented teas, this one was a bit overwhelming for my senses. This cup is smooth and very fragrant, but the flavor was rich and quite heavy for my liking. However, those who are into rich jasmine taste will definitely enjoy this.Last among the teas we got to sample is the Casablanca Mint (P125), an herbal tisane made from green tea, peppermint and lemongrass. This tea is definitely clean-tasting, light in flavor but very minty and refreshing. Upon taking a sip, one will definitely feel the cool sensation going up through the nose which makes it perfect for people with colds.Coffee and Dessert Pairing
I know this post seems endless, but we also felt that way after enjoying course after course of food and drinks. However, if you're a die-hard coffee lover, I hope you'll stick with me as I share my experience with Kuppa Roastery & Caf?'s coffee.
First we had was a set of Sumatra Mandheling Coffee (P90) -- a smooth and heavy-bodied Indonesian coffee with low acidity, rich earthy aftertaste and hints of chocolate and brown sugar, and Matt's Choco Cake (P130) -- a moist chocolate lava cake oozing with rich and creamy chocolatey goodness.We also had a set of local Hineleban Coffee (P90) -- a smooth, strong and fragrant Bukidnon-grown cup with a subtle fruity note that complemented the sweetness, caramel taste and crunchy apple slices of the Apple Tart (P115).
Before ending our 4-hour lunch, we had a set of Ben's Cappuccino (P80) -- a rich and creamy signature drink named after the owner's dad, and Strawberry Kiss (P130) -- a light, fluffy and fruity chiffon cake with cream and slices of fresh strawberries. We also got to try a shot of strong Espresso (P75) which I bravely downed with a chocolate chip cookie on one hand. (I really need to get the hang of the espresso's bitterness.)THE VERDICT
I know this review is really long. I personally can't believe that we've eaten and drank so much in one sitting. However, I don't regret anything 'cause everything we tried, from the food, the teas and the coffees, were of superb quality. And with such a lovely experience at Kuppa Roastery & Caf?, I know I'll be back not just for a good cup of coffee or tea, but also for the unforgettable Pan-Seared Snapper that I oh-so-love!
Taste - 4.5/5
Ambiance - 4/5
Service - 4/5
Price - 4/5
Overall Value - 4/5
Kuppa Coffee & Roastery, Bonifacio Global City
Commercenter Bldg., 31st St. cor. 4th Ave.,
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City
Metro Manila, Philippines
(02) 623-5120
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