A 72-Year-Old Crossdressing Grandpa Is The Official Model For A Chinese Teen Girl Fashion Line

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A 72-year-old man is donning dresses, scarves, and signature red stockings as the official model for a Chinese teen girl fashion line.

Liu Xianping's granddaughter is one of five recent college grads who created Yuekou, a female fashion store. 

Xianping's granddaughter told Chinese Newsweek his modeling career started by accident. "He picked up one piece and tried to give some advice on how to mix and match. We thought it was fun so we started shooting," she said. Looking like an extra straight off the set of "Gossip Girl," Xianping's photos made it to the store's website shortly after. 

The photos of the Karl Lagerfeld-esque gramps have gone viral, and online sales are booming. Since his modeling debut, online sales have increased fivefold.

See our favorite shots below:

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SEE ALSO: Watch Samsung's extremely weird new ad about computers and ... beating puppies>

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Israeli Leaders Made Some Astonishing Comments Over The Weekend

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Israel stepped up its strikes on Gaza this weekend in response to a week's worth of missiles launched from Gaza militants, but it wasn't just the strikes that stepped up.

Several prominent Israeli leaders made astounding comments in the last couple days that raised more than a few eyebrows.

Last night Haaretz reported on their Live Blog of the conflict that Interior Minister Eli Yishai said, "The goal of the operation is to send Gaza back to the Middle Ages. Only then will Israel be calm for forty years."

Taking it a step further, ultra right-wing politician Michael Ben Ari blurted out this gem:

“Brothers! Beloved soldiers and commanders - preserve your lives! Don’t give a hoot about Goldstone! There are no innocents in Gaza, don’t let any diplomats who want to look good in the world endanger your lives[;] at any tiniest concern for your lives - Mow them!”

His reference to Goldstone was about the U.N.-commissioned report which analyzed the 2008/9 conflict between Gaza and Israel. The report concluded that Israel and Hamas both committed several war crimes and humanitarian offenses.

One can understand taking a hardline against "terrorists," but Gilad Sharon's comments this weekend caught everyone by surprise. Sharon pretty much advocated for turning Gaza into a parking lot in an OpEd he wrote for the right-leaning Jerusalem Post.

From Sharon's post:

There is no justification for the State of Gaza being able to shoot at our towns with impunity. We need to flatten entire neighborhoods in Gaza. Flatten all of Gaza. The Americans didn’t stop with Hiroshima – the Japanese weren’t surrendering fast enough, so they hit Nagasaki, too.

The startling nature of Sharon's comments is twofold. First, he is the son of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The elder Sharon famously resigned from his previous post as Defense Minister for presiding over the Sabra and Shatila massacre during the war in Lebanon.

The Israeli government banned him for life from ever resuming the post, and he subsequently took over as Prime Minister.

The second reason is that Israel is totally capable of doing as much. Hamas threats out of Gaza are no less extreme, but they're hurling cheap homemade rockets, a stark contrast to Israel's cutting edge military complex.

Granted, in must be said that Hamas leaders make plenty of insane statements, but they are what Israelis and Americans call terrorists — so it's probably better not to take up their forms of speech.

Barack Obama again reaffirmed his support of Israel, to defend itself against unprovoked attacks, but also advised restraint. Israel stepped up the campaign though, striking several targets, even hitting a Hamas newsroom in the same building that housed British news outlets.

Muhammed Morsi recently made some comments indicating that a ceasefire may be close, but also said there are "no guarantees."

NOW SEE: Israel struck media building in Gaza > 


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The Wall Between Central Bank And State Continues To Get Demolished In Japan

Central bank independence is one of the prize features of modern economies. Around the world, central bankers pride themselves on the fact that they're not beholden to politics, and that they pursue their mandates based on rules, rather than the whim of leaders.

But in the world's most chronically deflationary modern economy -- Japan -- the wall between bank and state is quickly crumbling.

Consider this From Japan Times:

Shinzo Abe said he would consider making the Bank of Japan purchase construction bonds directly from the government to tame chronic deflation if his Liberal Democratic Party wins December's Lower House election and he becomes prime minister. Abe, who heads the largest opposition party, also said he would appoint as the central bank's next governor someone who agrees with his proposed annual inflation target of 2 to 3 percent. BOJ Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa's term of office is set to expire next April.

"We would carry out necessary public investment and have the BOJ purchase construction bonds to forcibly put money in the market," Abe said Saturday in the city of Kumamoto, referring to special government-issued bonds to raise funds for public works. "We would take fiscal policy steps as well as monetary policy measures to overcome deflation at an early time."

It's really hard to fathom something like that happening in the US, a candidate explicitly running on a platform of forcing the Fed to do more QE. Yes, the President appoints the Fed, and Romney let it be known during the campaign that he was not fond of Bernanke, but even he never said anything about making the head of the Fed pursue one policy or another (the closest was probably back in the primary, when Rick Perry said that Quantitative Easing during an election was akin to treason).

Back to Japan, Shinzo Abe has been talking about this for awhile, and it was the subject of a section of the latest weekly note from Goldman's Jim O'Neill

Japan, Abe and the Yen!

 Which brings me finally to my theme, and I will be brief. From the Plaza Accord of September 1985 all the way until I joined GS in the Autumn of 1995, I was bullish Yen, and after a brief shift to being temporarily US$ bullish, I returned to being a Yen bull from 1997 until a few years ago. I was quite chuffed with myself for understanding the Yen and it was based on pretty simple stuff, Japan’s persistent and strong balance of payments, especially its trade and current account surplus, and its associated rising equilibrium exchange rate. 

 All of this has reversed and recently, Japan was reported its first ever current account deficit, or certainly, its first for many decades. They have a very overvalued exchange rate, a collapsing export sector, an unreformed domestic economy, a debt challenge that makes Greece’s seem easy to solve, a central bank that doesn’t try too hard – currently – to reach its inflation target and, once again, a very weak economy. And that is without even getting into the complex issues of its relationship with China and other Asian countries, that in principle should be as good for them as those countries are for the rest of us. Anyhow, we may soon see a general election and a return of the LPD, whose probable Prime Minister has told us now 3 times in the last fortnight that he would force the BOJ, if necessary, to pursue a 3% inflation target. This is the sort of thing that many were advising Japan from overseas in the mid to late 90’s when so many people mistakenly lost of lot of money betting against the Yen. Go get all those guys out of retirement as the time has probably come. The outlook for the Yen is highly asymmetric. It could either waffle around, or could decline sharply in coming months. It is, in my opinion, the most interesting macro thing out there.  I have been getting more and more negative about the Yen for the past couple of years, and I have, so far, been wrong, but it seems more and more obvious to me, that the moment is here.

Abe's promises/O'Neill's thinking -- combined with the aforementioned Current Account Deficit -- help to explain why the US dollar has risen to its highest level against the yen in 7 months.

Here's USD/JPY:

image

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Analysts Say Google Is 'Just Trying Harder' Than Apple, And Android Innovation Is Racing Ahead (AAPL, GOOG)

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Smartphones and tablets powered by Google's Android software are devouring the mobile gadget market, eating into Apple's turf by feeding appetites for innovation and low prices, analysts say.

The Android operating system powered nearly three out of four smartphones shipped worldwide in the recently ended quarter as the mobile platform dominated the market, according to industry trackers at IDC.

"Android has been one of the primary growth engines of the smartphone market since it was launched in 2008," said IDC's mobile phones research manager Ramon Llamas.

"In every year since then, Android has effectively outpaced the market and taken market share from the competition."

In tablets, Apple's market share has fallen to just over 50 percent from 65 percent in the second quarter as Android devices gain ground, according to IDC figures.

"Having a lot of people building a lot of things covering a lot of price points with multiple brands in multiple places makes a big difference," said NPD Group analyst Stephen Baker.

"Variety is strength when it comes to moving units."

Android smartphones shipments surged to 136 million, topping those in the same three-month period last year by slightly more than 90 percent, IDC reported.

Samsung's Galaxy S3 overtook Apple's iPhone 4S in the third quarter to give the South Korean firm the world's best-selling smartphone model for the first time ever, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.

"The pace of innovation in Android is faster than Apple," said Gartner vice president of mobile computing Ken Dulaney. "They are just trying harder; Apple is way behind in that area."

Android is benefiting from being an "open-source" platform that gadget makers use free of charge and improve as they deem fit, providing Google with insights along the way.

Apple tightly controls its products from the software to the hardware and even the online shop for music, books, games or other content.

"What you get with Android is this incredible feedback loop with developers, equipment makers, customers, and designers," Dulaney said.

"At Apple, as long as they have a great vision internally it is fine but they don't have the feedback Android does."

Having thousands of different Android devices vying for consumers' cash is a strength when it comes to market share but puts hardware makers into a fiercely competitive arena, Baker noted.

"Other than Samsung, I don't know if other Android guys are making money," the analyst said.

Google gives Android away free, but the platform is crafted to make it easy for people to use the California Internet titan's money-making services such as search and maps, and get content at its online Google Play shop.

Forrester analyst Charles Golvin said that forces powering Android momentum include changing demographics of smartphone buyers.

Early adopters of smartphones focused more on new technology than on price, but the devices have gone mainstream with cost increasingly important to shoppers, according to Golvin.

"People are more inclined toward the Android platform because there is more choice and most of that choice is low price," Golvin said.

The open nature of Android and the myriad models offered by gadget makers serve as a "double-edged sword," warned the analyst.

Apple pushes annual updates of iOS mobile operating system out to its devices, while new versions of Android hit more often but must get through hardware makers and telecom services to get onto people's handsets.

"You have this lengthy chain of intermediaries who are delaying the delivery of that new software and its innovations to existing devices in the market," Golvin said.

He backed his point by noting that many Android devices in use still run on generations-old versions of the operating system.

Android gadget variety can also make it tough to design accessories or even "apps" that can be used across the array of devices.

For its part, Google has done an excellent job of improving the "ecosystem" of music, films, apps, books and more available for Android-powered devices, according to analysts.

In the red-hot tablet market effectively created by the iPad, strong growth is being seen by Android rivals including Amazon's popular Kindle Fire and Nook devices from Barnes & Noble, which run custom versions of the software.

Analysts believe that the Google-backed operating system is likely to spread to typically "dumb" gizmos like appliances.

"These platforms are becoming the molecule elements for building all kinds of hybrid devices," Dulaney said.

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Fighting Unsecured Debt * The Top Methods Of Take Away A Person?s Unsecured Debt

When we finally contend with a aftereffects and then tension connected with pacificdebt.com|pacificdebt consolidation|pacificdebt|pacificdebt loansfinancial obligation, we’re feeling rather by itself and sometimes displaced. Really a lot more people contend with this approach exact predicament when compared with some of us discover, along with realism, we aren’t by itself in the least. You’re able to [...]

The post Fighting Unsecured Debt * The Top Methods Of Take Away A Person’s Unsecured Debt appeared first on legal debt help online.

Source: http://www.legaldebthelponline.com/2012/07/01/fighting-unsecured-debt-the-top-methods-of-take-away-a-persons-unsecured-debt/

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IKEA, Where 50% Off Is Really Just An Approximation

Consumerist reader Brad was looking at IKEA’s Black Friday mailer that went out this week and noticed that something just was just a bit off about the math on this deal on soft toys.

The error is continued on the back page of the mailer (see below), so at least IKEA is consistent about the inaccuracy.


[More]

Source: http://consumerist.com/2012/11/16/ikea-where-50-off-is-really-just-an-approximation/

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Things Should Be Aware Of With Regards To Debt Consolidation Reduction Lending Options

At this time, most of us inhabit a good fast-paced, high-technology environment where all sorts of things comes and goes when rapid as being a blink of total eye. Right from e-mails that will messengers that will cards, these items realestatehomesbcseem to be whatever you call now when necessities. Even now, we quite often lose [...]

The post Things Should Be Aware Of With Regards To Debt Consolidation Reduction Lending Options appeared first on legal debt help online.

Source: http://www.legaldebthelponline.com/2012/07/02/things-should-be-aware-of-with-regards-to-debt-consolidation-reduction-lending-options/

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What Could Go Wrong for the iPad Mini

The iPad Mini is out, and the preliminary sales numbers look fantastic. But Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL  ) is not invincible, and the company has made mistakes before. Steve Jobs himself once called all 7-inch tablets "dead on arrival," and many Apple bears have called this a red flag. In this video, Motley Fool analyst Eric Bleeker takes us through some of the major fears investors have about the iPad Mini. Will the majority of sales simply be cannibalizing regular iPad sales, leaving Apple's bottom line unchanged? Is the iPad Mini's premium pricing too high to edge out some of the more aggressively priced competitors? Eric addresses these fears for investors.

The release of the iPad Mini has been major for Apple, but it's not the only feather in the tech powerhouse's cap these days. The introduction of the iPhone 5 was hotly anticipated by Apple investors for months. The stakes continue to be high and the opportunity huge, so to help investors understand this epic Apple event, we've just released an exclusive update dedicated to the iPhone 5 launch. By picking up a copy of our premium research report on Apple, you'll learn everything you need to know about the launch, and receive ongoing guidance as key news hits. Claim your copy today by clicking here now.

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NetApp?s Software And Services Underpin $37 Fair Value

Despite tough macroeconomic conditions, EPS came in above guidance provided as GAAP net income was $110 million, or $0.30 per share, compared to GAAP net income of $166 million, or $0.44 per share last year.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/11/16/netapps-software-and-services-underpin-37-fair-value/

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