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That pesky number is sandwiched between the product’s more romantic benefits. “We sell luxury—it’s an emotion,” Mr. Brücker instructed.

Flattery sells, so to further those positive emotions, he insists that sales associates compliment the customer’s own watch, even if it’s from a competitor.

But don’t expect to bargain with his clients. He coaches them to offer a gift if a discount is requested. “The minute you leave the boutique, you forget” the discount, he said. A closet in IWC’s boutique is filled with coffee mugs, umbrellas, watch-winding devices and the like.

His methods dictate that salespeople lay the client’s well-worn watch on a tray between two shiny new ones, creating a contrast that subtly suggests it’s time to upgrade.

Because guilt over spending is playing a big role in the sales downturn, he teaches salespeople to suggest a “sorry gift”—of another timepiece—for a wife who might be disappointed that her husband just dropped a sizable sum on his own wrist.

On the second day of training, shop manager Arnaud Gouel moved in to welcome a couple. He amiably toured them through the boutique and offered them a coffee from the store’s Nespresso machine. Then he donned black gloves and placed the gentleman’s watch on a tray between two IWC timepieces. He strapped a rugged but elegant Big Pilot on the man’s wrist.

Mr. Brücker, hovering nearby, sent Mr. Huynh over to offer the wife a watch. “It’s not to sell her a watch. It’s to occupy her,” he whispered. “She’s bored and she will say, ‘OK, let’s go.’?”

These happen to be key tenets of casino marketing, which revolves around flattering men, distracting their wives, and keeping them around as long as possible; the longer they stay, the more likely they are to spend money. But Mr. Brücker was never disdainful of customers—in fact, he championed the need for better, more thoughtful service that makes the customer sense caring and quality —the stuff of luxury.

The report comes after The Independent revealed yesterday that Exxon Mobil was looking to sell its New Zealand petrol stations, tank farms and 19.2 percent stake in NZ Refining. Shell also has a series of Kiwi assets on the block including its 17.4 percent NZ Refining stake.

That means a total of 36.34 percent of NZ Refining is up for sale. Other major shareholders in the Marsden Point-based refiner include BP with 23.66 percent, Chevron with 12.69 percent and the Canadian owned Emerald Capital with 13.12 percent.

Bloomberg reported that the San Antonio-based Valero might seek either full ownership of, or a stake in, NZ Refining. Under the Takeovers Code any offer for 20 percent or more of a listed company must be extended to all shareholders.

Valero has increased efforts to expand overseas this year because of concern that US climate legislation could cut the profitability of its domestic plants, Bloomberg noted.

In a move expected to encourage foreign interest in New Zealand assets, Finance Minister Bill English said yesterday the Government was looking to abolish the controversial foreign ownership strategic asset test. It was introduced by the previous Labour-led government to block Canadian interests from buying into Auckland International Airport.

The device is an extension of its controversial Active Denial System, which uses microwaves to heat the surface of the skin, creating a painful sensation without burning that strongly motivates the target to flee. The ADS was unveiled in 2001, but it has not been deployed owing to legal issues and safety fears.

Nevertheless, the Pentagon’s Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate (JNLWD) in Quantico, Virginia, has now called for it to be upgraded. The US air force, whose radar technology the ADS is based on, is increasing its annual funding of the system from $2 million to $10 million.

According to a report in the Oklahoman, 12,000 children nationwide will partake in “fast-tracked studies” to test the side-effects of the untested swine flu vaccine in trials set to begin next month.

“The trials will test the vaccine’s effectiveness and whether or not it has negative side effects in patients,” states the report.

Since less than 100 children in the U.S. die from regular seasonal flu each year, a reasonable estimate would be that around 100 children will die from swine flu over the course of the next year.

So in effect, the authorities will vaccinate millions of children in order to try and prevent 100 deaths. If the mass vaccination program mirrors the previous swine flu outbreak of 1976 then the vaccine is likely to kill more people than the actual virus.

Furthermore, since the swine flu vaccine includes squalene, a dangerous adjuvant that contributed to Gulf War Syndrome cases, there’s little doubt that it will lead to debilitating lifelong diseases far more deadly than the swine flu virus itself for thousands of children if a mass vaccination campaign is conducted.

According to Meryl Nass, M.D., “A novel feature of the two H1N1 vaccines being developed by companies Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline is the addition of squalene-containing adjuvants to boost immunogenicity and dramatically reduce the amount of viral antigen needed. This translates to much faster production of desired vaccine quantities.”

“Research shows that squalene is the experimental anthrax vaccine ingredient that caused devastating autoimmune diseases and deaths for many Gulf War veterans from the US, UK, and Australia, yet it continues in use today and for new vaccines development in labs,” writes Stephen Lendman.

Opposition parties and civil liberties groups criticised the powers as top security officials announced plans concerned with keeping the games, to be held mostly in London, safe from terrorist attack and from “domestic extremists” and public order problems like disruptive protests.

The legislation is directed at curbing advertising near the Olympic venues. A government spokesperson said the laws, passed in 2006, were meant to stop “over-commercialisation” of the games.

But civil rights campaigners are worried about several clauses in the London Olympic Games and Games Act 2006. Section 19(4) could cover protest placards, they said, as it read: “The regulations may apply in respect of advertising of any kind including in particular – (a) advertising of a non-commercial nature, and (b) announcements or notices of any kind.”

Section 22 allows a “constable or enforcement officer” to “enter land or premises” where they believe such an advert is being shown or produced. It allows for materials to be destroyed, and for the use of “reasonable force”. The power to force entry requires a court warrant. Causing still further concern is a section granting the powers to an enforcement officer appointed by Olympic Delivery Authority.

Anita Coles, policy officer for Liberty, said: “This goes much further than protecting the Olympic logo for commercial use. Regulations could ban signs urging boycotts of sponsors with sweat shops. Then private contractors designated by the Olympic authority could enter homes and other premises in the vicinity, seizing or destroying private property.”

The Liberal Democrats’ home affairs spokesman, Chris Huhne, said: “This sort of police action runs the risk of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. The police should take a deep breath and read the excellent report from the chief inspector of constabulary on the tolerance of protest. We should aim to show the Chinese that you can run a successful Olympics without cracking down on protesters and free speech.”

Chris Grayling, the shadow home secretary, said: “This is a government who just doesn’t understand civil liberties – they may claim these powers won’t be used but the frank truth is no one will believe them. Neither the police nor any other official should be invading people’s homes for what appear to be commercial reasons.”

A senior government security official said the powers would not be used to suppress protests or political placards. And the assistant commissioner, Chris Alison, in charge of the policing of the 2012 Olympics, said: “We are not going into people’s houses to stop people protesting.”

But Peter McNeil, who opposes the staging of equestrian events in Greenwich park, told BBC London: “This is dreadful. It’s bullying taken to another level.”

They face court action and possible fines of up to £1,000 for repeatedly breaking rules.

The contracts will become compulsory in all English state schools under plans laid out in a Government White Paper.

Ministers suggested that “good” parents would be able to complain about other mothers and fathers who fail to ensure their children behave.

Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, said the changes would help stop a single student disrupting the education of his or her classmates.

“If the large majority of parents are doing the right thing but a small minority do not engage you can have one lesson for 30 kids disrupted by one child,” he said.

“Every parent will have to, as part of the admissions process, say they take on board the obligations in the Home School Agreement, and every parent will be expected to reaffirm that every year.

“If other parents feel that the HSA is not being enforced against other parents they will be able to tell the local education authority.”

HSAs are already in widespread use. They are currently imposed on the parents of unruly children, forcing them to take responsibility for their behaviour.

But under new rules, all parents of children starting school for the first time will be required to sign them, the Government said.

It will set out rules on behaviour, attendance, school uniform and homework. Parents will have a duty to ensure children meet the tough code.

Ministers have already announced plans to toughen up the contracts.

Under the White Paper, parents may be hauled before the courts by local authorities if they repeatedly break the contract.

They can be served with civil “parenting orders” by magistrates’ courts, forcing mothers and fathers to attend parenting courses or counselling sessions and ensuring children are at home at night or kept clear of bad influences. Orders are backed by fines of up to £1,000.

The details of the contracts form part of the updated Youth Crime Action Plan, published on Wednesday by the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

They used induced pluripotent skin cells, or iPS cells — cells that have been reprogrammed to look and act like embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells, taken from days-old embryos, have the power to morph into any cell type and, in mice, can be implanted into a mother’s womb to create living mouse pups.

Their experiment, published in Nature, means that it is theoretically possible to clone someone using ordinary connective tissue cells found on the person’s skin, but the experts were quick to distance themselves from such controversy.

“We are confident that tremendous good can come from demonstrating the versatility of reprogrammed cells in mice, and this research will be used to … understand the root causes of disease and lead to viable treatments and cures of human afflictions,” said Fanyi Zeng of the Shanghai Institute of Medical Genetics at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

“It would not be ethical to attempt to use iPS cells in human reproduction. It is important for science to have ethical boundaries,” she said, adding that their study was “in no way meant as a first step in that direction.”

No one has ever cloned a human being and while many stem cell experiments in mice have been replicated in humans, not all have.

Led by Qi Zhou at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’s State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Biology, the team created iPS cells, using mouse fibroblasts, which are cells found in connective tissue in the skin.

Stem cells are the body’s master cells, giving rise to all the tissues, organs and blood. Embryonic stem cells are considered the most powerful kind of stem cells as they have the potential to give rise to any type of tissue.

But they are difficult to make and require the use of an embryo or cloning technology. Many people also object to using human embryonic stem cells and many countries limit funding for such experiments.

From the skin cells, the Chinese scientists created 37 stem cell lines, and of these, three generated live births.

“One line can generate such competent mice that the longest living one we have is nine months,” Zeng told Reuters.

“It has generated now more than 100 of second-generation (mice) and more than 100 third-generation (mice). It really demonstrates how fertile and strong the system is.”

The Chinese experiment generated questions and caution from other stem cell researchers not connected to the study.

“These investigators have, for the first time, unequivocally demonstrated that the iPS lines they have generated are truly pluripotent,” wrote Andrew Laslett, group leader of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Technology at the Australian Stem Cell Center in Melbourne, Australia.

Mr Griffiths deposited the cash at the Nelson Building Society in Richmond, but because NBS banks with Westpac, it has deposited the money there.

NBS general manager Ken Beams said today it did not hold huge amounts of cash.

“Westpac clears our cash for us. It is better to sit in an account earning interest, and that’s where it will be now.”

He appreciated the irony. “It’s ridiculous, really.”

Mr Griffiths said today he had no idea that would happen next. “It’s just a little merry-go-round.”

However, he would not move the money again, and did not think his protest had been a waste of time, because of the support he had received.

The bank provided a red-and-black carry bag to take away the cash after meticulously counting it in front of Mr Griffiths at its Nelson branch.

Mr Griffiths, a loyal Westpac customer for 25 years, decided to withdraw his money after the bank rejected his application for an $80,000 mortgage. “It’s about time normal people took a stand.”

He said the bank turned down his application because he did not have a regular income as an artist. However, he was a successful artist, exhibiting his paintings at the World of Wearable Art complex, in Christchurch and New York, he said.

He wanted to buy a $385,000 property in Mapua, had $200,000 in cash and was going to sell his $110,000 campervan.

That more than met the bank’s criteria for a 20 per cent deposit, and the property which included a home and commercial premises would have returned $500 a week, he said.

He was disappointed when his loan application was rejected, but it was Westpac losing $111 million to Lane Walker Rudkin Industries that tipped his decision to withdraw his money.

“They can lose $110 million with LWR but turn down a normal customer who has never missed a loan payment,” he said. “If they don’t have the trust in me after 25 years, there’s a problem for Westpac.”

Having decided to withdraw his money, he then decided to make it hard for the bank by requesting payment in $20 bills.

He said the Nelson branch told him it did not have that amount and he would have to also go to other branches at Stoke, Richmond and Motueka. However, he insisted the bank have the money ready to collect at 9am today. He then took it to the Nelson Building Society, saying he would rather deal with NBS because it was part of the community.

I find the damnedest things on those reading jags. Here’s one: farmers down there—which is cotton, soy, and corn country—are having a hell of a time controlling weeds, and resorting to evermore complex herbicide cocktails to combat them.

The dominant herbicide is still glyphosate, a broad-spectrum herbicide marketed by Monsanto as Roundup. Monsanto, of course, has established itself as an agribusiness giant by selling “Roundup Ready” corn, soy, and cotton seeds—genetically engineered to withstand copious lashings of Roundup. (Scientists recently discovered that the “inert” ingredients in Roundup damage human cells. Oh-oh!) The technology makes farming easy. You plant your seeds, and anytime weeds break out, you can knock them down with herbicide, without damaging the crop a bit! Except … Roundup applications have become so heavy that weeds are starting to develop resistance.

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