Founder Stories | Bec Astley Clarke on Building a Luxury Brand Online

LONDON, United Kingdom ? BoF sat down with Bec Astley Clarke only days after she was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)?by Queen Elizabeth II for doing what was once considered impossible ? building a fully fledged luxury brand on the Internet ? and doing it with a distinctly British combination of elegance and irreverence.

Over the last seven years, Ms Astley Clarke has turned what began as a multi-brand e-tailer, selling jewellery by other designers, into a small but rapidly expanding modern British luxury brand, designing and distributing its own fine and contemporary jewellery collections, which currently account for about 70 percent of the overall business, both online and off. Astley Clarke declined to disclose exact sales figures ? annual revenues are still under ?10 million (about $15 million at current rates) ? but the business has grown by over 45 percent since last year, with sales of ?core? own-label Astley Clarke collections growing at 200 percent, year on year.

In recent months, the company has hired a professional managing director, Scott Thomson, and is ?full steam ahead? with plans to expand the business offline and internationally, in the US, Europe and China.

BoF spoke to Bec Astley Clarke, a rare fashion-tech founder whose background spans both fashion and technology, to discuss the genesis of Astley Clarke, building a luxury brand online, growing a multi-channel business, bringing in a professional chief executive and the ?just do it? attitude she inherited from her Everest-climbing father.

BoF: I hear you?ve just been awarded an MBE by the Queen for services to the jewellery industry. What did that mean to you?

BAC: Britishness is a core tenet of brand. The bits of Britishness that we celebrate are London and design and creativity and a very sort of international outlook. We have a very British tone of voice, which celebrates British wit ? so, sort of Blackadder meets Monty Python meets luxury jewellery!

We are a young brand. We?re a pretty irreverent brand. And we?re an outsider in the jewellery industry. We?re not really part of the establishment. We have an amazing picture of the Queen wearing dark sunglasses in our office next door. That?s more us. But the recognition feels really lovely. Everyone has worked so hard for the last seven years.

BoF: I?d like to go back to the very beginning. What were you doing before Astley Clarke?

BAC: My career pre-Astley Clarke was in e-commerce, online and a bit of fashion. I left university and worked with a French agency that did all the buying in London, Paris and Milan for Bergdorf?s and Lane Crawford. But I wanted to get into the nuts and bolts of business, so I joined Anderson Consulting and worked on tech projects, which were quite boring, but did give me great grounding. I worked for a number of Internet companies, then ended up at Tesco.com where I was head of online strategy.

BoF: Most fashion-tech founders come from either a fashion background or a technology background. Very few have done both.

BAC: I?ve definitely done both and it was sort of part luck and part design. I knew I wanted to start a business and I knew it had to be in e-commerce, because that?s what it?s really about from a business perspective, and I really managed to learn the bits of the puzzle: a bit of fashion, a bit of tech, a bit of commercial, a bit of operational.

BoF: Why luxury jewellery? What was the opportunity you saw?

BAC: Luxury brands, and jewellery brands in particular, were very slow to start online. And it was a really interesting business, with beautiful products. And the more I looked into it, there were a few different areas that seemed to be completely lacking in the market, online or off. One of them was design. Another one was preciousness. And the third one was colour.

A large proportion of the market, in the UK, was either Bond Street or high street. And they basically sell silver and diamonds. And it?s all very generic ? a little diamond on a little chain. That sort of struck me as odd. And the more I looked into it, I saw that men, who were once the primary purchasers of jewellery [for women], weren?t that interested in the design of women?s products, but that women were buying more and more jewellery for themselves ? you buy your Louboutin shoes, you buy your amazing handbag, you?re going to buy jewellery for yourself and you?re going to want something beautifully designed.

Then, there was the whole idea of preciousness. We have a mantra in the office: ?Go precious every day.? This is a ?5,000 pair of earrings [gestures] and most people will put them in a drawer and wear them when they go to the opera or something. And we?re like, ?No, you can wear them with jeans!? It doesn?t have to be a special occasion to pull out your jewellery. As a brand, that?s what we believe. Additionally, there were not many brands that celebrated colour. I have a personal love of coloured gemstones and I saw a real opportunity there.

So, I think there is an opportunity for a brand to try and own that space, somewhere between Bond Street and the high street, embracing all the things established jewellery brands aren?t doing: design, colour and educating people about preciousness.

BoF: So you?d identified a market opportunity. But, of course, being a founder comes with enormous pressure and expectations. It?s a personal journey, as well as a professional one. On a personal level, what convinced you to take the plunge?

BAC: I was pretty fed up with working for other people and, also, I wanted to build something. You don?t get the opportunity to actually make something that often and when you work in big organisations, you?re sort of a cog in this big chain, you don?t see the beginning and you don?t see the end.

I also come from sort of a weird family: people that all just went off and did their own thing. My dad was on the first British expedition to climb Mount Everest and my grandfather was a geneticist who discovered the cure for Rhesus negative in babies. And my mom was a doctor and psychiatrist before most women did that type of thing. Whenever I?ve said to my dad, ?Oh what do you think I should do?? even if there are a hundred million risks involved, he always said, ?You?ve got to do it, you?ve just got to do it.?

A guy called Mark Esiri ? who?s on our board of directors and was one of our initial investors ? has his own venture capital fund and, at the time, he said: ?Come and work for me, you?ll see lots of businesses and if you get an idea while you?re here and if we like it, we?ll back it.? And they did. It was like an unofficial entrepreneur-in-residence scheme.

BoF: Astley Clarke launched as a multi-brand e-tailer, selling jewellery by other designers. When did you first realise that you were actually building your own brand?

BAC: Quite early on we had our own jewellery collections but we sort of kept them under the radar. Initially, they were very plain, pearl studs or an easy amethyst necklace. Remember, I?m not a jewellery designer. But soon we realised that actually 70 percent of our search traffic was based on people typing in keywords like ?Astley Clarke.? It wasn?t like Net-a-Porter, where people were searching for brand names, like Gucci or whatever. They were searching for ?Astley Clarke.? So that made me think we?re quite good at this brand building thing.

In fact, we were quite good at two things. One was PR, looking after the press and educating the press about the market and fine jewellery. And the other was building this luxury experience on the website. And having interesting content and the right tone of voice and fantastic customer service. We made a big point of always having the telephone number on the homepage of the website and we actively welcomed people calling and interacting with the business. People seemed to engage with the brand. They liked the name, they liked the emails, they liked the tone of voice, they liked the products.

So we hired a creative director, Lorna Watson. She came from Faberg?. She?d worked across fine jewellery and more contemporary jewellery and we set about designing and making our own collections. And from day one it flew. And that sort of gave us a bit more confidence and we said, ?Ok, let?s put a little bit more behind this.? As of last year, it?s actually 70 percent of sales. I remember there was a board meeting where everyone was like, ?You?re a brand, you?re a brand.? So we said, let?s really give this the due attention it deserves. And, of course, commercially it made sense.

BoF: Unlike most offline brands, you launch new collections every week. Why this rhythm?

BAC: I think it?s a really interesting one because fine jewellers, they put their product out for the year and that?s it. But as an online business, we?ve had to run launches differently because we?ve got to keep interest and we?ve got to have people coming back. There is something about giving people newness.

For many people, jewellery purchases are associated with their engagement ring, or anniversary, or birthday. And we want our customers to see jewellery more in line with how they see other fashion items, like a new dress or a new pair of shoes.

BoF: Some say that, more than any other factor, product is the key to a successful e-commerce business. Tell me about the Astley Clarke product. What makes it special?

BAC: Our design handwriting. And our use of noble metals and coloured gemstones. But we are a young brand, so our handwriting is quite soft in the mould still. We have these pillars that run though [our designs] and that are evolving all the time. Collectability and stackability are key elements.

BoF: Why did you decide to start selling offline, first at Harrods, then at Liberty and Selfridges?

BAC: Initially it wasn?t strategic. It just happened. They came to us. As did Harvey Nichols. But ultimately, I think you?ve got to let people shop in the way they want to shop ? as a brand, we?ve got to be where customers are expecting to find us. And as a marketing tool, it?s been very valuable to have our brand in front of potential customers that don?t necessarily know us.

BoF: Do you see Astley Clarke stores?

BAC: I see an Astley Clarke store, yes. I think we will have a flagship store at some point in the future. Offline is there to welcome our customers who want to shop that way and, more than anything else, introduce people to the brand. The core of our business will always be e-commerce, but we?d like to have a flagship store in the next 18 months. Mayfair and the West End is where we would most likely be. But I don?t think we need to be on Bond Street.

BoF: What about international expansion?

BAC: We?re in the middle of looking at this as well. We?ve got the US website. And I think the East Coast of America is where most of our international customers are. And Europe. And I think China. We probably have to do web first. It?s the lowest cost entry mechanism. And then we have our engine there, set up and ready. Then we?d look at wholesale accounts and then we?d look at press launch. We probably need to do Japan. We definitely need to do Hong Kong before mainland China in terms of a physical presence.

BoF: A couple months ago, you brought in a professional managing director, Scott Thomson. How did you know it was time?

BAC: We felt, ?Ok, we?ve opened three concessions in Harrods, Selfridges, we have a US website, it?s all going really well.? But let?s really get behind it. Let?s get behind it internationally. Let?s get behind it offline. I don?t think we really have offline retailing experience, or wholesaling experience. He does. His story?s quite interesting actually. He started with a lady called Marcia Kilgore, who owned Bliss, a beauty brand that was sold to LVMH. And then she started this brand FitFlop ? you know the sandals that make you thin? Apparently, they?ve got something that tones your legs. But it went from zero to ?150 million in turnover through a big internationalisation, through big wholesale. And so we really wanted to have that expertise in house.

We?ve got to be a multi-channel brand in the places that people want to shop. And for me it was quite easy to see that I don?t have enough offline retailing or wholesaling experience to do this by myself. And I think having someone frees me up to do the bits that I?m good at ? and not the bits that I?m not good at. Operational efficiency is not my strong point. But tone of voice and brand messaging and working with our creative director are much more my strengths.

BoF: You have attracted a number of impressive investors. How did you go about choosing your investors? Other than financial backing, what have they brought to the table?

BAC: I have been good at finding good investors who bring more than just money to the table and I?m so delighted with the people that we?ve got on board. When things are good, or when things are bad, we?ve had nothing but support from them.

Mark Esiri was our first investor. And when he came on board, he brought some other people with him. Then, my ex-Tesco people invested. [At Tesco] I did a deal with a guy ? we bought his online dieting company called e-Diets and he made loads of money. So when I rang him up and said I?m setting up [Astley Clarke], he invested. And Robin and Saul Klein I had done this deal with and they invested. Then Index [Ventures] got in touch, which opened up a whole new family of people. More recently Carmen [Busquets], who came via a lady called Mimma Viglezio, a former communications director at Gucci Group who has been great, helping us with PR, helping us with product.

It?s a really nice bunch, because we have these hardcore e-commerce tech guys who know nothing about products, but they approach it from a conversion rate, traffic, stop doing affiliates, start doing this, all of that good old fashioned e-commerce stuff. And then we have people like Carmen and Mimma, who understand products and who understand brands. I think e-commerce and platforms was the differentiator ten years ago or five years ago. But now anyone can have a website. There?s no barrier to entry. But not everyone can have a brand.

BoF: Looking into the future, where do you see Astley Clarke in five years time?

BAC: We?ve got a slide: it?s a map of the world. We want to be a global luxury jewellery brand. In a similar sort of vein to what Mulberry did for handbags, I think we want to be that sort of size business, a ?200 million turnover business with some multi-currency and multi-language websites, with concession locations or wholesale locations across the world, and probably one or two flagships. I mean we have in our business plan a London one, which is a definite, and possibly one on the East Coast of America. But we?re not a store rollout business. We?re an e-commerce business using offline to build our brand.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Source: http://www.businessoffashion.com/2013/06/founder-stories-bec-astley-clarke-on-building-a-luxury-brand-online.html

Microsoft Tropical Storm Isaac amber portwood Phyllis Diller Darla Moore newsweek Tony Scott

Bombs target soccer players, spectators in Iraq

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Bombs targeting soccer players and young men who had gathered to watch a match in Iraq killed seven people on Saturday.

A roadside bomb in a busy market killed another three people, bringing the death toll to 10, police and medics said.

The violence is part of a trend of increasing militant attacks since the start of the year, which claimed more than 1,000 lives in May alone, making it the deadliest month since the sectarian bloodletting of 2006-7.

In recent days, men playing in local soccer fixtures and watching matches have been the targets - after spates of attacks on both Sunni and Shi'ite mosques and the security forces.

The reason behind the attacks on soccer players and spectators is not clear.

Police and medics said the bomb was planted inside a coffee shop in central Baghdad and killed four young men who had gathered to watch an under 20s international match between Iraq and Chile on television.

Twin roadside bombs exploded near a soccer stadium, killing three players in Muqdadiya, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of the capital, and the blast in the market left a further three people dead in a town west of Baghdad, police said.

Earlier this week, twin blasts at a neighborhood football stadium killed five players and two blasts tore through cafes where scores of young men had gathered to watch another match, killing eight people.

Concerns that Iraq may lapse back into full-scale sectarian conflict have mounted in recent months amid tensions fuelled by the civil war in neighboring Syria, where mainly Sunni rebels are fighting to overthrow a leader backed by Shi'ite Iran.

Sunni insurgents including al Qaeda's Iraqi affiliate have been regaining ground, recruiting from the country's Sunni minority, which resents Shi'ite domination since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled former dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003.

(Reporting by Kareem Raheem in Baghdad and a Reuters reporter in Baquba; Writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Alison Williams)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bombs-target-soccer-players-spectators-iraq-210455463.html

earth day 2012 jon jones rashad evans ufc jones vs evans watergate pregnant man outside lands 2012 lineup beloved

CE Week's Startup Pavilion Serves Up Bikes, Hydroponics, And Rotary Phone Photo-Sharing

In the Startup Pavilion at CE Week, there's just as much diversity as there is similarity among the new flock of products and services hitting New York. We saw a number of bikecessories, bike services, and reached the other end of the spectrum by visiting a cloud-based hydroponics monitoring solution and a nice twist between new-school photo-sharing and old-school phones. Join us, won't you, as we journey through Startup Pavilion?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/_sc2jJnNzC0/

Jack Klugman merry Christmas a christmas story twas the night before christmas santa Capital STEEZ George Bush

3. Golf: Park grabs US Women's Open lead

SOUTHAMPTON, New York: World number one Park In-Bee, chasing her third major title of the year, fired a four-under par 72 on Friday to take the US Women's Open lead just as fog halted the second round.

The South Korean superstar had a nine-under par total of 135 and a two-stroke lead over compatriot I.K. Kim.

Kim was in the clubhouse on seven-under 137 after a three-under 69 that included five birdies and two bogeys.

American Lizette Salas carded a 72 at Sebonack Golf Club for a four-under total of 140. England's Jodi Ewart Shadoff was four-under for the tournament through 15 holes when play was halted for the day, with the second round to resume Saturday morning.

"I think we got very lucky that we finished today," said Park, who capped her round with the last of her six birdies at the par-five 18th.

"I played very good golf today. I gave myself a lot of good opportunities, a very good ball-striking day. The long putts seemed to be going well today. I left a couple out there, but very satisfied with today's score."

Park, whose five titles in 2013 include major triumphs at the Kraft Nabisco Championship and the LPGA Championship, opened her round with a birdie at the first.

She had two bogeys and two more birdies in her outward run, then gathered steam on the back nine.

At the 13th, she hit a wedge over the green but made a 20-footer for birdie.

At 15 she landed a sand wedge within a foot before draining a 12-footer at the last.

"I'd say it was a little tougher to play in the fog, but I made a birdie so I don't think it really came into effect for me," she said.

"I was able to see the pin on the third shot, so I think that was good enough."

Overnight rain softened the course, but players found it windier on Friday, with the conditions changing frequently from sunny to overcast to foggy and back.

That made a good round all the more satisfying, Park said.

"It really made me think today that with the wind and fog, it just really made me think. I think that is what the US Open is all about."

Kim had five birdies and two bogeys in her three-under 69. She missed a 12-foot birdie putt at her final hole of the day, the ninth, but was pleased to emerge with the clubhouse lead on seven-under 137.

"Anything under par I thought was going to be a great score," Kim said.

"Definitely more wind out there. The wind was a little different direction and it was changing a little bit. Definitely tricky to adjust to the wind on some holes.

"But the greens were a little softer with the rain, so I was able to give myself some chances."

Salas had two birdies and two bogeys in her even par effort.

"I'm not as pleased with it just because I was striking the ball very well," Salas said.

"At the same time, you have to look at the bright side, and you have to take into effect the wind and the weather, how it's a completely different golf course.

"I was still hitting my targets and even though the putts didn't fall, I still was confident over every shot.

"You just can't be too greedy out here," Salas said.

"Just hitting fairways, hitting greens, that was my goal.

"Eventually the putts will drop."

Park is trying to become the first woman to win the first three major championships in a year in which more than three tournaments were designated as majors.

Babe Zaharias won all three majors in 1950, comprising the Titleholders Championship, Women's Western Open and the US Women's Open.

"It's tough not to think about it, but I just try to think that's not a big deal," Park said.

"If I want to do it so much, it's just so tough and it puts too much pressure on you."

In 1961 Mickey Wright won the LPGA Championship US Women's Open and Titleholders but was third in the Western Open designated a major that year.

In 1986, Pat Bradley won the Kraft Nabisco, LPGA Championship and du Maurier Classic but missed out at the US Women's Open.

This year, the LPGA has designated five tournaments as majors: the Kraft Nabisco, LPGA Championship, US Women's Open, Women's British Open and the Evian Championship in France. - AFP

Source: http://thestar.com.my.feedsportal.com/c/33048/f/534601/s/2df826e1/l/0Lthestar0N0Bmy0Csports0Cstory0Basp0Dfile0F0C20A130C60C290Csports0C20A130A6291126120Gsec0Fsports/story01.htm

Time earthquake today earthquake today bachelor justin timberlake gerard butler danielle fishel

Imgur Now Has a Meme Generator

The internet's (aka Reddit's) favorite online image hosting service now has a built-in meme generator. This is the greatest thing to ever happen to Imgur or the worst. Either way, the workflow is fairly straightforward and even the dopiest of luddites can make their own memes now. Great. Grand. Wonderful!

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/L8oD-t6GiU4/imgur-now-has-a-meme-generator-597123554

ray lewis alicia keys Harbaugh brothers superbowl commercials randy moss randy moss OJ Brigance

Video: Baron's Long-Term Theme Picks

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/cnbc/52339684/

daniel day lewis Life of Pi Christoph Waltz Quvenzhané Wallis dancing with the stars cast kristen stewart Shirley Bassey

Flashback of the Day (Taegan Goddard's Political Wire)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/315412632?client_source=feed&format=rss

Cnn Live Logan airport Miranda rights Police Scanner boston herald mit nfl schedule

Researchers find zinc's crucial pathway to the brain

June 26, 2013 ? A new study helps explain how parts of the brain maintain their delicate balance of zinc, an element required in minute but crucial doses, particularly during embryonic development.

The study, led at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) by Mark Messerli in collaboration with scientists from the University of California, Davis, shows that neural cells require zinc uptake through a membrane transporter referred to as ZIP12.. If that route is closed, neuronal sprouting and growth are significantly impaired and is fatal for a developing embryo. Their discovery was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"This particular transporter is an essential doorway for many neurons in the central nervous system," explains Messerli. "You knock out this one gene, this one particular pathway for the uptake of zinc into these cells, and you essentially prevent neuronal outgrowth. That's lethal to the embryo."

Previously, scientists thought that zinc could use more than one pathway to enter the cell during early brain development. Some other elements, like calcium, enjoy such luxury of multiple options.

Knocking out ZIP12, affected several critical processes in the brain, the scientists found. For example, frog embryos were unable to develop their neural systems properly. Additionally, neurons had trouble reaching out to connect to other neurons; their extensions were both shorter and fewer in number than normal.

"We were surprised that ZIP12 was required at such an early and critical stage of development," said Winyoo Chowanadisai, a researcher in nutrition at the University of California at Davis and visiting scientist in the Cellular Dynamics Program at the MBL. Dr. Chowanadisai was the first on the team to realize that ZIP12 is expressed in such abundance in the brain."This study also reinforces the importance of periconceptional and prenatal nutrition and counseling to promote health during the earliest stages of life."

ZIP12 is part of a larger family of transporters involved in the movement of metal ions from outside the cell. Other reports showed that simultaneously blocking 3 other transporters in the family -- including ZIP1, 2, and 3 -- had no major effects on embryonic development.

Zinc is needed for healthy neural development, helping the brain to learn and remember new information. However, too much zinc can also be problematic.

The research team is investigating the implications of their results on processes like embryonic brain development and wound healing.

"[The result] was not expected," said Messerli, a physiologist in the MBL's Bell Center for Regenerative Biology and Tissue Enginering and Cellular Dynamics Program. ""We found that zinc uptake through ZIP12 is a regulatory point for neuronal growth, required for development and possibly required for learning and memory throughout life. We want to elucidate the downstream targets that zinc is affecting. That's the next exploration."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/7oxtNlIxpwk/130626162822.htm

hitch justin beiber lamar odom perfect game jon jones vs rashad evans results rashad evans jon jones

Starbucks to Raise Prices for First Time in Two Years

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/06/starbucks-to-raise-prices-for-first-time-in-two-years/

michael bay zsa zsa gabor illinois primary trayvon martin 911 call kiribati vernal equinox mr rogers

Protesters gather in Brazil despite concessions

SAO PAULO (AP) ? Protesters gathered for a new wave of massive demonstrations in Brazil on Thursday, extending the protests that have sent hundreds of thousands of people into the streets since last week to denounce poor public services and government corruption.

Police cordoned off Rio de Janeiro's iconic Maracana Stadium blocking access to protesters during the Spain-Tahiti Confederations Cup game. Only ticket-holders were allowed to enter.

The biggest of the more than 80 demonstrations was expected in Rio de Janeiro, where thousands of protesters waving flags and carrying banners demanding quality public services blocked several streets and avenues in a peaceful demonstration.

Similar scenes were seen in Sao Paulo, Recife, Salvador and other cities where store and bank windows were boarded up in case the protests turned violent.

Several city leaders have already accepted protester demands to revoke an increase in bus and subway fares and hope that anti-government anger cools.

In Sao Paulo, where demonstrators blocked Paulista Avenue, one of the city's main thoroughfares, organizers said they would turn their demonstration into a party celebrating the lower transit fares. But many believe the protests are no longer just about bus fares and have become a cry for systemic changes in a country that's otherwise seen a decade-long economic boom.

The U.S. Embassy in Brazil wasn't taking any chances: It warned its citizens to stay away from the flurry of protests nationwide.

"It's not really about the price anymore," said Camila Sena, an 18-year-old university student at a Wednesday protest in Rio de Janeiro's sister city of Niteroi. "People are so disgusted with the system, so fed up that now we're demanding change."

Sena added that seeing money poured into soccer stadiums for the current Confederations Cup and next year's World Cup only added fuel to people's anger.

"It's not that we're against the World Cup, not at all. It will bring good things for Brazil. It's just that we're against the corruption that the World Cup has become an excuse for," she said.

Mass protests are rare in this 190 million-person country, with demonstrations generally attracting small numbers of politicized participants.

Many now marching in Brazil's streets hail from the growing middle class, which government figures show has ballooned by some 40 million people over the past decade amid a commodities-driven boom.

While the complaints of protesters are wide-ranging, there have been few answers about how to turn the disgruntlement into a coherent list of demands for the government.

In announcing the reversal of the fare hike, Sao Paulo Mayor Fernando Haddad said it "will represent a big sacrifice and we will have to reduce investments in other areas." He didn't give details on where other cuts would occur.

Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes also said his city's fare increase would be rescinded.

Despite that, scattered street demonstrations sprang up Wednesday in some parts of Brazil, including well into the night in Niteroi, as protesters continued to call for better public services in return for high taxes and rising prices.

About 200 people also blocked the Anchieta Highway that links Sao Paulo, the country's biggest city, and the port of Santos before heading to the industrial suburb of Sao Bernardo do Campo on Sao Paulo's outskirts. Another group of protesters later obstructed the highway again.

In the northeastern city of Fortaleza, 15,000 protesters clashed with police who kept them from reaching the Castelao stadium before Brazil's game with Mexico in the Confederations Cup.

"We are against a government that spends billions in stadiums while people are suffering across the country," said Natalia Querino, a 22-year-old student participating in the protest. "We want better education, more security and a better health system."

___

Associated Press writers Stan Lehman in Sao Paulo, Marco Sibaja in Brasilia and Tales Azzoni in Fortaleza contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/protesters-gather-brazil-despite-concessions-200627212.html

x factor john kerry eastbay Samantha Steele Dec 21 2012 doomsday Is The World Going To End

Heat, Spurs set to play for a title and add to their legacies in Game 7 of NBA Finals

MIAMI ? Game 7s do more than settle championships. They define legacies.

No matter what happens Thursday night, LeBron James and the Miami Heat, and Tim Duncan's San Antonio Spurs have already won NBA titles and secured a place in history.

Now is their opportunity to elevate it.

The truly memorable teams won the hard way, and that will be the case for the one celebrating at center court this time. It's either a Heat repeat, possible only after James led them back from what seemed certain elimination in the closing seconds of Game 6, or the Spurs shaking off as gut-wrenching a loss as a team can have to become just the fourth club to win a Game 7 of the NBA Finals on the road.

"As a competitor you love it, because you know you have an opportunity and it's up to you," Heat guard Ray Allen said. "We have a chance in our building to make something great. All of our legacies are tied to this moment, this game. It's something our kids will be able to talk about that they were a part of. Forever will remember these moments, so we want to not live and have any regrets."

Allen played in the game the last time the NBA's season went down to the very last day, the Boston Celtics fading at the finish and falling 83-79 to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2010. That made home teams 14-3 in finals Game 7s, with no road team winning since Washington beat Seattle in 1978.

Overcoming those odds, not to mention the NBA's winningest team, would make this more memorable than the Spurs' previous four titles, though this is a franchise that never dwells too much on the past or looks too far into the future.

All that matters is now.

"You know what, it's all about just winning the title. It's not about situation or what has led up to it," Duncan said. "It's a great story for everybody else, but we're here for one reason, one reason only: It's to try to win this game (Thursday). We have had a very good season thus far, and I think we just want to get to the game more than anything. We just want to see what happens and be able to leave everything out there."

The teams trudged back to the arena Wednesday, some 12 hours after the Heat pulled out a 103-100 overtime victory in Game 6 to even the series. The Spurs, five points ahead with 28 seconds left in regulation, had to fight off fatigue and heartbreak, insisting neither would linger into Thursday.

By far the best game of this series, Game 6 immediately took its place among the best finishes in finals history, with everything from James' triple-double to Allen's tying 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds left in regulation.

Source: http://www.startribune.com/sports/212246961.html

illinois primary results acapulco mexico hines ward robert deniro mexico news the talented mr ripley weather new orleans