One of the lessons of the downturn has been that repression is a recession-proof industry. Galas and fashion shows don't throw themselves, you know? Let's meet Lola Karimova, social circuit sensation and daughter of the brutal Uzbek dictaor Islam Karmiov.
Many thanks to the handful of you who left messages for us yesterday and today at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Uzbekistan. (The imaginary one, at least.) His Excellency will return your call just as soon as possible. Or, you know, not.
Islam Karimov is the autocratic leader of Uzbekistan and a man routinely described as one of the worst dictators on earth by the likes of Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. (The group Common Dreams once suggested he's so bad that he made Saddam "look good.") Since taking over the oil and gas-rich country…
