And muddying the whole picture is the tea-party movement, a tax revolt whose activists (some clever, some dotty, all angry) seem to loathe Bush-era free-spending Republicans as much as they hate Democrats.

ECONOMIST: The Republicans

"They've done a clever twist on it, " Charity Kenyon from the Slow Food Movement told BBC News.

BBC: US animal activist laws 'may impact globally'

The system is not only attractive and clever, but is also uniquely designed to fit on the relatively flat surface of a watch dial and movement.

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