Dictator Chic - Can Ahmadinejad Take A Tip From Qaddafi?

By now we've all read about the outcome of the recent elections in Iran and seen the photos of the protests against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
I was just wondering
if Ahmadinejad stepped up his style à la Qaddafi
would he be more popular in Iran

God knows that here in the US a sense of style is always desired in our elected leaders
because for so many of us
Style = Substance

Here we have Ahmadinejad in his early early flak jacket look

circa 1979

And later in classic Camo with the AK47 accessory du jour

Reaching his mature look

Classic khaki jacket and the always in style kifaya scarf

In spite of what Matt Yglesias described in 2006

Ahmadinejad's "sweet hipster style"

I keep talking about this with people in real life, but it deserves a blog mention as well — Mahmoun [sic] Ahmadinejad has a pretty sweet hipster style. It all starts with a beard not unlike the one I and many of my twentysomething male friends sport. But it goes deeper. The man went without a tie to address the UN General Assembly. And I was in a bar where the TV was showing his interview with Anderson Cooper (it's DC, these things happen) and while there was no sound, he certainly looked witty and charming. There was also this clip of him walking down some hallway shooting the sh** with Kofi Annan

(h/t instapundit)

I prefer what Manolo had to say about his look
Briefly and remarkably, the President of the Iran wears the same khaki windbreaker, wrinkled trousers, cheap oxford shirts, scruffy beard and wild eyes favored by the aging high school chemistry teachers everywhere.

And then we have the fashion sense of the Lion Of The Desert, Colonel Qaddafi

who brings us more Tyra than Tyrant!

Gorgeous in Gold

Now, let's face it, you never see any protests in the streets of Libya

Could it be that the Libyans just really appreciate their leader's senses of style

Let's just take a minute to ponder the golden gorgeousness of Qaddafi in this photo

Color coordination, beautiful use of prints with solids and draping,

matching hat, sunglasses

Note: no small flag lapel pin

he's sporting great big green brooch in the shape of Libya

And here, pretty in pink

Even Qaddafi's personal bodyguards look better than the Ahmadinejad's Revolutionary Guards

Blue and black, one of my personal favorites

And regal purple

Mutassim Qaddafi with Hillary Clinton

And now we have Qaddafi's son

a chip off the old block sartorially speaking

looking sleek and chic in is skinny sharkskin suit

I'm assuming that Ahmadinejad will become Iran's leader for life, as Qaddafi has in Libya

If that happens will Ahmadinejad's sons keep the khaki or step up to something more Shah like.

Bling Biz- Restricted Rubies

Burma Star Ruby
(photo courtesy of John McLean)

From Idex Online

President Bush on Tuesday signed into law a bill to ban the import of gems, including jade and rubies, originating in Burma (Myanmar). The Tom Lantos Block Burmese Jade Act of 2008 bars Burmese gems from entering the U.S. via third party countries such as Thailand, China, Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore, in an effort to withhold a major source of revenue from the ruling junta.
The bill also bars the regime’s generals and their families from acquiring visas to enter the U.S. and intensifies pre-existing financial sanctions against the regime.
The Jewelers Vigilance Committee explained the bill requires that within 60 days, jadeite or rubies originating in Burma cannot be imported into the U.S. The ban does not apply to gems imported for personal use nor to exports of Burmese gems from the U.S. In addition, the bill does not prevent U.S. sales of Burmese gems already in the U.S.
Tom Lantos, after whom the bill was named, was a long-serving Congressman, the only Holocaust survivor to be elected to Congress and a fierce champion of human rights. When he died in February, he was the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and had a personal interest in the fate of the Burmese people.

and

Tiffany & Co on Monday ran an advertisement in the Washington Post saluting the U.S. Congress for passing an absolute embargo on rubies originating in Burma (Myanmar). “This sanction,” the ad says, “is an important step by the U.S. to help secure basic freedoms for the Burmese people.”
The U.S. Senate approved the legislation last week, following a similar bill passed in the House of Representatives the week before, in an effort to cut off sources of funding for Myanmar’s ruling junta, for which the export of rubies and jade is a major revenue source.
The legislation, among other details, would keep Burmese gemstones from entering the U.S. via third-party countries, and has now been sent to President Bush to be signed into law.
Tiffany & Co, along with other jewelers such as Cartier, previously announced that it would not buy gems that are from, or that could possibly be from, Burma
Jewelers of America and CIBJO (the World Jewellery Confederation) issued similar statements, calling on their members not to source gemstones from the country, following widespread condemnation of the junta’s human rights abuses and violent crackdowns on peaceful protests last year.

Of course the export of rubies and jadeite isn't a huge revenue source for the ruling junta, unlike the export of opium, so these sanctions are more symbolic than economic.

And, I'm wondering if Tiffany et al are being disingenuous in supporting these sanctions knowing that restricting the supply of Burma rubies is resulting in increased value of their inventory.

Still, I'd support any economic policy that would lead to the downfall of Myanmar junta.