Under the authority invested in me by myself, I am hereby declaring a moratorium on the further use of the term "rock star" to describe any politician anywhere in the world. This moratorium will remain in effect until further notice and was occasioned by an article in today's Wall Street Journal on Hussein al-Shami, a Hezbollah financer who employs microlending techniques to increase support for the group among Lebanese Muslims (sub req):
Amal Dbouk, a 35-year-old housewife, said she came to the credit agency to pay off part of $1,000 she had borrowed to cover school fees for two of her three children. Abir Mansara, 27, a self-employed hairdresser, said she needed money to buy hair dye and cover other costs. She's taken out two loans, depositing three gold bracelets, a necklace and a gold ring as collateral.
Lebanon's mainstream banks, the two women say, would never give them loans. Both support Hezbollah and both took part in the recent street demonstrations against Lebanon's American-backed government. Ms. Mansara says she adores Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, comparing him to a "rock star." "He fights for his country and fights for us," she says. Ms. Dbouk complains that America helps only Israel. "Hezbollah," she says, "helps us."
Bill Clinton, Barak Obama (among others), and now Hassan Nasrallah. This "rock star" nonsense has gone on far too long. The time has come for someone to put his foot down. And that foot is me.
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