Lebanon's Arabic press digest – Oct. 8, 2014

The following are a selection of stories from Lebanese newspapers that may be of interest to Daily Star readers. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.

Al-Liwaa

Hariri convinced France to resume active role in Lebanon

Sources following up on the meeting between former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and French President Francois Hollande in Paris Tuesday said Hariri spelled out the conditions causing the obstruction in the presidential election and what is preventing the election from being held.

The sources said Hariri was able to persuade the French to resume their active role in Lebanon and Hollande promised to take the presidential election issue seriously.

Meanwhile, Kataeb MP Elie Maroni said Hariri and head of the Kataeb Party Amine Gemayel agreed during their meeting in Paris not to hold parliamentary elections before the presidential election.

An-Nahar

Hostage families told not to close Beirut roads

While there is no clear knowledge on the Qatari-conducted mediation with the captors of the Lebanese soldiers and policemen, MP Walid Jumblatt launched a fresh bid Tuesday to reopen the Dahr al-Baidar highway and has dispatched Health Minister Wael Abu Faour to meet with Prime Minister Tammam Salam for this purpose.

Jumblatt is expected to multiply his efforts Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a message has been delivered to the hostages’ families telling them they are not allowed to shut down Beirut roads or vital facilities such as the airport or the port.

Al-Akhbar

Salam to hostages’ families: Don’t help politicians use you as a political commodity

Prime Minister Tammam Salam acknowledged that negotiation with the captors is challenging with many interfering and overlapping issues, including the split among politicians over the hostage crisis and the fact that the government is dealing with groups and not a state or one team.

“These groups [ISIS and Nusra Front] do not hesitate to carry out any brutal and inhumane act, something that doesn’t help negotiations,” Salam told Al-Akhbar.

“Nevertheless, we are trying to overcome all the obstacles to achieve progress, either through our internal capabilities or with external help,” he added.

“It is no secret and I cannot deny the political struggle in Lebanon,” Salam said. “The hostage crisis comes amid this split and we are watching the rival [politicians], each in his own way, trying to exploit the issue through mobilization and incitement for personal gains.”

The hostage crisis, he stressed, “is not a political commodity and cannot be subjected to justification of our differences."

Al-Joumhouria

Hezbollah passed on a message Tuesday that it is still in Shebaa

Sources told Al-Joumhouria that all expectations about an imminent war in south Lebanon were not so accurate because neither Israel nor Hezbollah intend to open a war on the southern front.

The sources said Tuesday’s bombing was a response to Israel’s violation in Adloun, adding that Hezbollah also aimed – the blast – to pass on a message that the resistance party still exists in Shebaa and other occupied territories, and that it is always present and fully ready, contrary to what is being portrayed weeks ago that the Free Syrian Army has penetrated this area.

Preparing America’s Hospitals, Health Care Facilities, and Health Care Providers for Ebola

Ed. note: This is cross-posted on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's "CDC Director Blog." See the original post here.

Since the first appearance of Ebola in West Africa earlier this year, CDC has been working to prepare the American health care system for the diagnosis and safe care of a patient with Ebola here on our shores.

We have learned immensely from this first U.S.-diagnosed case and we are implementing additional actions to make sure health care workers and hospitals around the nation are as prepared and informed as possible.

CDC is committed to making sure every U.S. health care system and health care worker is prepared for Ebola. Key is first noting if the patient exhibits symptoms consistent with Ebola, and if so, working with that patient using the most meticulous infection control procedures, and then taking a careful and complete travel history of each patient who comes in their door.

In the past three months, CDC has been in close communication with hundreds of thousands of clinicians through notices distributed through CDC’s Health Alert Network, our primary means of reaching the nation’s health care community — and one they are already very familiar with. The Ebola-related notices have included recommendations for evaluating patients, guidance for the nation’s Emergency Medical Services systems and 911 offices, and guidelines for infection control should a hospital or health care facility find themselves caring for a patient with known or suspected Ebola.

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Millennial Voters Are Paying Attention – So Why Don't More Actually Vote?

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Rapper Lil' John appears in a new ad for Rock The Vote's 2014 campaign. The organization was founded to get Generation X engaged in politics, and is adapting its tactics to reach millennials. Courtesy Rock The Vote hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy Rock The Vote

Rapper Lil' John appears in a new ad for Rock The Vote's 2014 campaign. The organization was founded to get Generation X engaged in politics, and is adapting its tactics to reach millennials.

Courtesy Rock The Vote

Millennials are not getting much love from politicians this year.

The big reason for that is low expectations for turnout among young voters.

Back in 2010, the last midterm election, fewer than a quarter of voters aged 18-29 showed up at the polls. This year, it's looking even worse: 23% of voters under 30 are expected to vote. That's according to Eva Guidarini of the Harvard Institute of Politics, which studies young voters.

For many years, young voters were not expected to really care about politics, much less get involved.

YouTube

Rock the Vote gained visibility in its early years with music stars like Madonna appearing in spots that aired on MTV.

That's why the group Rock The Vote was started in 1989, relying on music stars like Madonna to engage their young fans. And they're still at it, with an updated set list.

And for a while, it didn't look like millennials would need much convincing. As more members of this generation reached voting age, participation among young voters rose. The peak year was 2008 (52%). In 2012, the turnout among voters 18-29 dropped to 45%.

On top of that, the rate of voters under 30 who could say with certainty that they were registered to vote fell steadily after 2008, according to the Pew Research Center. By 2012, it hit 50% — the lowest number Pew has recorded going back as far as 1996.

Why the big drop? It's not like millennials aren't paying attention. Some say they're easily better informed than past generations.

YouTube

Rock The Vote's latest video message, starring rapper Lil' John.

Jacob Bell, a 20-year-old student at the University of Maryland put it this way: "I can pull up Facebook in front of me and see five different articles about the next Senate race, and that's something that I know my mom's generation never had."

Ashley Spillane, the president of Rock the Vote, says it's no mystery why millennials, or any voters, would be turned off from the process: "Politics right now is really disheartening. I think it's why you see in the polls that young people are not affiliating with political parties."

(The number of millennials who consider themselves independents has shot up to 50%, according to Pew.)

But Spillane doesn't think that means they are apathetic. "They do care very passionately about issues that matter to them," she says. "They are getting involved at a local level. They are creating start-ups. They are volunteering with local organizations. They are looking to take problems on in real time and fix them," she says.

For Rock the Vote, the challenge is reaching a generation that's paying attention to politics — but is simultaneously repelled by what they see.

While Guidarini is concerned about a generation of voters turned off by politics as they are forming their political identities, she doesn't think all hope is lost: "I think that if politics starts to change in a direction that i think all of America wants to see it change — not just young people — then you'll see young people get back in the game."

The question is whether politics will improve unless a new generation gets more involved pushes for that change.

Residents say zero tolerance for extremists in Brital

BRITAL, Lebanon: “We don’t fear Daesh because if it enters Lebanon and terrorizes people the 1-year-old infant will carry a gun, and the women will fight,” said the former Army officer, dressed in military fatigues. “Daesh stops here.”The former officer, who declined to give his name, was speaking two days after fighters from the Nusra Front briefly took over a Hezbollah checkpoint in the mountains outside Brital before being driven back. Daesh has become a catch-all term for Syrian militants fighting on the Lebanese-Syrian border, the Arabic acronym for ISIS.

The peace that now reigns in Brital contrasts with the defiance of the well-armed residents of the majority-Shiite town of some 30,000 in the northeast. The residents say they do not fear the militants, despite their well-publicized extreme violence and the recent beheading of two Lebanese Army soldiers held in captivity on the outskirts of nearby Arsal.

“If Daesh comes I want to slaughter them,” said the former officer, who rushed with hundreds, possibly thousands of local residents to the rugged hills between Brital and the Syrian border when news of the militant attack arrived. “I want to defend my country, my land, my honor, everything.”

Portraits of Hezbollah martyrs are common in the town.

Residents held a subdued funeral for one of the party’s fighters who was killed in the clashes.

Brital’s residents are well-armed, the town thriving in the weapons trade, and locals believe strongly in self-defense amid the absence of the state. The local checkpoint that was attacked by the Nusra Front was originally manned by local watchmen and was set up a year ago, but was handed over to Hezbollah two months earlier.

From there, residents would often pound militant positions observed from the hills down in the nearby valley within the Syrian border, between Brital’s outskirts and the Syrian village of Asal al-Ward, which was contested by the regime, Hezbollah and the militants.

Many of the town’s residents are sympathetic to or supporters of Hezbollah, but are not necessarily affiliated with the party. They support its intervention in Syria because they believe it blocked the militants’ advance into Lebanon.

“ Hezbollah did not enter Syria to gain great victories, but to protect Lebanon,” the former officer said.

In their accounts, it was local residents who formed the core of the rapid response to the Nusra Front’s attack. Locals estimate that about 3,000 Brital residents immediately drove up to a checkpoint less than a kilometer from the militants position.

They also offered a harrowing account of the day’s drama, which lasted from about 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. when the residents returned to their homes.

Brital’s reliance on self-defense is one that mirrors other towns on the border that have taken security into their own hands, establishing local guard units, observation posts and patrols to deter attacks, as well as instituting curfews on refugees.

“We have nothing to do with our Syrian brothers who are calling themselves Daesh and Nusra, but when they destroy their country and then come to destroy Lebanon and are threatening us, it became the duty of residents, of Hezbollah, of the state, to confront this threat,” said Qassem Tleiss, a prominent Brital resident who trained fighters during the early 1980s in the Revolutionary Guard, the precursor force that gave rise to Hezbollah, though he is no longer affiliated with the party.

Tleiss said he could only guess at the reason that sparked this particular attack on Brital, though he said the militants likely sought a foothold in Lebanon or may be growing desperate due to the onset of winter.

But he said they faced a town with a history of contributing to Lebanon’s resistance movements, from the anti-Ottoman guerrillas to the resistance against Israel.

In his recounting of the weekend incidents, Tleiss said the Hezbollah guards at the observation posts were “careless,” and apparently did not expect an attack on the area.

But once news of the assault reached the townsfolk, they were armed within half an hour and drove in large convoys up to a nearby outpost, less than a kilometer from where the attack took place.

“Within half an hour all of Brital had armed itself with its own weapons and vehicles and bravery, not for any party but to defend our land no matter the cost,” he said. “Daesh will take the land of Brital over our dead bodies.”

A.T., who asked that only his initials be used, said he joined the convoys as they drove up to the outpost. He showed video recordings of the scene on his mobile phone, with dozens of SUVs lining the mountaintop and looking out to the post that was taken over by the militants.

He said that a Hezbollah fighter, whose brother was killed in the battle, decided to attack the outpost with a Kornet rocket while residents peppered it with mortar bombs and gunfire. After the fighting was over, the residents found the mangled remains of five militants, the bodies of the guards and the remains of a launchpad that the militants were apparently preparing to fire at the residents.

One of the guards was found with his ammo expended, said Tleiss, showing that he had not surrendered and fought to the very end.

Hezbollah fighters who reached the scene pleaded with the residents to stay back in case the area was rigged with explosives.

“They even tied the hands of the martyr and pulled him along the ground to see if he was booby trapped,” A.T. said.

But Brital’s residents remained defiant, saying they did not fear the militant threat. The aim, they said, is to sow division.

“They are killing Sunnis, they’re not here just for the Shiites,” Tleiss said. “The existence of ISIS is all about strife, division, slaughter and criminality.”

Protesters’ ultimatum sparks hostage talks

BEIRUT: Prime Minister Tammam Salam discussed Tuesday the hostage crisis with Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk and General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim hours after the servicemen’s families threatened to escalate their protest in the event the government does not brief them about progress in the negotiations.

A source close to Salam told The Daily Star that Salam and his visitors discussed the hostage file and other security-related issues during a two-hour meeting.

Earlier, the hostages’ families warned the Lebanese government that it had 24 hours to clarify the exact status of negotiations for the release of the Lebanese soldiers and policemen being held by militants from Syria, or they would escalate their protest and close down more roads.

“Given the [hostage] crisis we are going through and to ease the pressure on fellow citizens, we decided to give the government a 24-hour deadline to [brief us on the status of negotiations], which sides are obstructing these negotiations and what is the fate of our children,” a statement released by the hostages’ families Tuesday morning said.

“As a goodwill gesture on our part, we decided not to close any roads Tuesday, with the exception of the [protest] campsites at Dahr al-Baidar and Qalamoun.”

The statement said this was the last warning the families would give. Sources close to the families said the ultimatum ends early Wednesday morning.

Dahr al-Baidar, which links Beirut and the Bekaa Valley, remained shut after demonstrators erected high sand mounds Monday, blocking all access, including a narrow passageway that had been kept open for ambulances and emergency cases, disrupting traffic on the Bekaa Valley’s main artery for a second week.

The hostages’ families had initially put up huge tents to block the Beirut-Damascus Highway.

On the Qalamoun Highway in north Lebanon, protesters have erected two tents on the side of the road and only block traffic upon a collective decision by the hostages’ families.

The frustrated relatives have shut off many roads across Lebanon over the last several weeks to press the government into speeding up efforts toward the release of their loved ones.

At least 21 Lebanese soldiers and policemen are held captive by ISIS and the Nusra Front since their brief takeover of the northeastern border town of Arsal in early August.

Among other demands, the captors are reportedly seeking to swap the servicemen with Islamist inmates held at Roumieh prison.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Wael Abu Faour once again urged the government to endorse the Qatari-mediated deal to exchange the captive soldiers with the Roumieh inmates.

“We as Progressive Socialist Party still believe that the government should accept a swap [deal] and move forward with it,” Abu Faour told a news conference after meeting Salam at the Grand Serail in Beirut.

He said every day that did not result in progress toward this goal “is risking the lives of the servicemen.” Abu Faour pointed to what appeared to be a recent swap deal between Turkey and ISIS and the 2008 Israel-Hezbollah prisoner exchange.

According to reports leaked to the Times, two British jihadists were handed back to ISIS in a prisoner swap deal with the Turkish government. They were among 180 jihadists exchanged in return for 49 Turkish diplomats captured by ISIS in May.

Protesters’ ultimatum sparks hostage talks

BEIRUT: Prime Minister Tammam Salam discussed Tuesday the hostage crisis with Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk and General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim hours after the servicemen’s families threatened to escalate their protest in the event the government does not brief them about progress in the negotiations.

A source close to Salam told The Daily Star that Salam and his visitors discussed the hostage file and other security-related issues during a two-hour meeting.

Earlier, the hostages’ families warned the Lebanese government that it had 24 hours to clarify the exact status of negotiations for the release of the Lebanese soldiers and policemen being held by militants from Syria, or they would escalate their protest and close down more roads.

“Given the [hostage] crisis we are going through and to ease the pressure on fellow citizens, we decided to give the government a 24-hour deadline to [brief us on the status of negotiations], which sides are obstructing these negotiations and what is the fate of our children,” a statement released by the hostages’ families Tuesday morning said.

“As a goodwill gesture on our part, we decided not to close any roads Tuesday, with the exception of the [protest] campsites at Dahr al-Baidar and Qalamoun.”

The statement said this was the last warning the families would give. Sources close to the families said the ultimatum ends early Wednesday morning.

Dahr al-Baidar, which links Beirut and the Bekaa Valley, remained shut after demonstrators erected high sand mounds Monday, blocking all access, including a narrow passageway that had been kept open for ambulances and emergency cases, disrupting traffic on the Bekaa Valley’s main artery for a second week.

The hostages’ families had initially put up huge tents to block the Beirut-Damascus Highway.

On the Qalamoun Highway in north Lebanon, protesters have erected two tents on the side of the road and only block traffic upon a collective decision by the hostages’ families.

The frustrated relatives have shut off many roads across Lebanon over the last several weeks to press the government into speeding up efforts toward the release of their loved ones.

At least 21 Lebanese soldiers and policemen are held captive by ISIS and the Nusra Front since their brief takeover of the northeastern border town of Arsal in early August.

Among other demands, the captors are reportedly seeking to swap the servicemen with Islamist inmates held at Roumieh prison.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Wael Abu Faour once again urged the government to endorse the Qatari-mediated deal to exchange the captive soldiers with the Roumieh inmates.

“We as Progressive Socialist Party still believe that the government should accept a swap [deal] and move forward with it,” Abu Faour told a news conference after meeting Salam at the Grand Serail in Beirut.

He said every day that did not result in progress toward this goal “is risking the lives of the servicemen.” Abu Faour pointed to what appeared to be a recent swap deal between Turkey and ISIS and the 2008 Israel-Hezbollah prisoner exchange.

According to reports leaked to the Times, two British jihadists were handed back to ISIS in a prisoner swap deal with the Turkish government. They were among 180 jihadists exchanged in return for 49 Turkish diplomats captured by ISIS in May.

Iran briefs Lebanon on nature of military aid

BEIRUT: Iran has informed the Lebanese government of the nature of the pledged military aid, Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mohammad Fathali said Tuesday, after Iran announced it would donate military equipment to the Lebanese Army last week.

“The military grant provided by Iran to the Lebanese government and the Lebanese Army is ready in storage in Tehran,” Fathali said after meeting with the Lebanese Democratic Party leader MP Talal Arslan.

According to the Iranian ambassador, Tehran has also sent an official letter to the Lebanese government listing the weapons and military equipment included in the pledged aid.

“We believe the [donation] will support the valiant Lebanese Army in its heroic confrontation with terrorist groups” he added.

There have been local and foreign calls to shore up the Lebanese Army’s capabilities to help in the battle against terrorism since it fought fierce battles with ISIS and Nusra Front militants after they briefly took over the northeastern town of Arsal in August, capturing 30 soldiers and policemen before retreating to the town’s outskirts.

Speaking on his meeting with Arslan, Fathali said the consolidation of bilateral relations between Iran and Lebanon was among the most important points to be raised.

Fathali lauded the party chief, saying that he praised Arslan’s approach to local and regional political dossiers. The Iranian ambassador also said that Arslan had a prestigious record in political and national life, causing him to enjoy “great prestige among all the officials in Iran.”

Meanwhile, MP Michel Aoun’s parliamentary Change and Reform bloc welcomed the Iranian military aid to the Lebanese Army to help it in the battle against terrorist groups, indirectly dismissing March 14’s rejection of the aid on the grounds it is coming from Iran.

“The Iranian [military] grant for the Lebanese Army is unconditional and instant under the circumstances through which we are passing,” former Labor Minister Salim Joreisati told reporters after the bloc’s weekly meeting chaired by Aoun.

He said the Iranian grant still needed a Cabinet approval based on a proposal by Defense Minister Samir Moqbel who has said he would visit Tehran soon to discuss details of the grant with Iranian officials.

Referring to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1474, which explicitly forbids all export of arms from Iran, Joreisati said: “The most important element in the U.N. Resolution 1474 is that it applies only to economic exchanges. The result lies in politics. Shall we reject a grant just because it is coming from Iran?”

Indirectly referring to the March 14 rejection of the military aid because it is coming from Iran, which arms and finances Hezbollah, he said: “The political rejection [of the grant] is condemned in these circumstances which the entire world has described as dangerous because takfiri terrorism has invaded countries and borders, in addition to the forced displacement of peoples from their lands and killing them en masse. These are crimes against humanity and annihilation crimes as described by the relevant U.N. resolutions.”

France impatient on Lebanese presidential crisis

France continues to exert diplomatic pressure to bring about the Lebanese presidential election as it prepares to hand over billions in weapons and equipment to the Lebanese Army, but French officials have reportedly expressed concern over the lack of political will in Lebanon to overcome the presidential crisis.

Visitors to Paris who spoke with officials there say France is in contact with various regional and international parties in an effort to resolve Lebanon’s myriad crises, mainly the presidential vacuum.

The French reading, as explained by French officials to their Lebanese visitors, is that the United Nations is currently preoccupied with the regional situation, particularly the terrorist organizations such as ISIS and the Nusra Front, leaving no room to address the Lebanese presidential crisis. Recently Iranian-Saudi and Iranian-American meetings in New York failed to yield the solution many were hoping for.

“The ball is still in the court of the Lebanese,” the officials reportedly said. “If they want to put an end to this crisis, they should agree on a consensus candidate and get away from foreign interference which ties Lebanon to outside issues that have no imminent solutions, especially the conflict in Syria. If there is any room for foreign role, it does not go beyond urging political leaders to agree among themselves.”

The sources said that France was in discreet contact with some of the parties, particularly Iran and the Vatican, to urge support for a consensus candidate acceptable to the Lebanese people, and to convince Free Patriotic Movement Michel Aoun’s allies that he was not a realistic candidate.

However, the Vatican is currently refusing to get involved, fearing that its actions might be misunderstood and lead to a deepening of the Christian-Christian divide in Lebanon. Iran has also remained tight-lipped, telling a French official that the Islamic Republic was “aware of the details” of the case in Lebanon.

According to the French view, that in light of the escalation of sectarian tension and deteriorating security linked to regional events, the Lebanese state is weak as a result of the presidential vacuum, and that if it persists any longer, it could lead to a decline in the prestige of the presidency, and Christians of the region would lose an important figure.

In regard to the Saudi-French gift to the Army, visitors to Paris said officials told them France has no problem with strengthening and enhancing the capabilities of the Lebanese Army, but there are red lines not drawn by France preventing them from providing the Army with certain heavy weapons. These prohibitions are linked to fears the weapons may fall into Hezbollah’s hands and that Israel could be threatened by a strengthened Lebanese Army. There have been painstaking negotiations to find a solution to this impasse that pleases all parties, and provides the Army with the resources needed to fight terrorism.

The French officials did not offer details, but assured their Lebanese visitors that the Lebanese Army would receive enough equipment and hardware to meet its needs for “years” in order to control the border and security in remote areas, through monitoring and airstrikes.

Officials maintain that the main reason for the delay in delivery of the equipment has to do with the manufacturing process, which is nearing completion, and which would allow the French state to start handing over weapons and equipment starting next month and finishing by the beginning of next year.

The officials reportedly denied rumors the delay was caused by mediators France insisted on bringing into the deal, adding that that there are exclusive agents for the French manufacturers who have agreements that cannot be ignored.

Contract workers invite EDL to retrieve key files

BEIRUT: EDL contract workers Tuesday called on the company’s executives to send a delegation to retrieve documents from the firm’s headquarters that management says are necessary to resolve the ongoing row over the number of strikers who will be offered full-time employment.

“The committee announces that it is ready ... to facilitate the entry of a delegation from the institution’s administration to complete the name lists of bill collectors upon the Civil Service Council’s request,” the workers said in a statement.

In April, the Civil Service Council asked EDL to provide the number of contract workers and bill collectors that needed to be hired as full-timers at the public company.

EDL sent a memo to the council the first week of August, stating that it only needed to hire 897 of the approximately 2,000 contract workers and bill collectors.

As a result, the workers launched a strike on Aug. 9, blocking EDL’s headquarters in Mar Mikhael to demand the company’s executives reconsider the decision.

In light of the ongoing dispute, and after the workers continuously argued that EDL does not take into consideration all the bill collectors’ lists, the CSC requested EDL’s complete list of bill collectors.

“The CSC told EDL to provide the full lists, and the latter responded by saying that the headquarters are occupied and we cannot reach the documents,” the workers’ committee leader Lubnan Makhoul told The Daily Star. “So we are telling them that we will open the doors, let them enter and provide all the names to see what the CSC will say.”

“We will accept any decision by the CSC, even if it decides to decrease the controversial 897 number.”

According to the contract workers, an earlier study at EDL indicated that the number of employees needed was more than 1,300, which is why they are confident in leaving the decision to an “impartial third party.”

In their statement, the workers said the move should be in coordination with a parliamentary commission, to resume discussions on Law 287 that was issued by Parliament in April to employ the contract workers.

They suggested that the commission be headed by MP Mohammad Qabbani, the head of the Water and Energy parliamentary committee, or by another lawmaker that the two sides can agree upon.

“The committee pledges to provide all facilitations for the delegation chosen by the institution’s administration,” the statement said, “and vows to not save any effort that could bring an end to the crisis.”

Voters Get Their Say On GMO Labeling In Colorado, Oregon

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Labels on bags of snack foods indicate they are non-GMO food products. This fall, Colorado and Oregon will be the latest states to put GMO labeling on the ballot. Robyn Beck /AFP/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Robyn Beck /AFP/Getty Images

Labels on bags of snack foods indicate they are non-GMO food products. This fall, Colorado and Oregon will be the latest states to put GMO labeling on the ballot.

Robyn Beck /AFP/Getty Images

Ben Hamilton walks down the salad dressing aisle at his neighborhood grocery store in west Denver. The human resources consultant usually seeks out organic options and scans nutrition information.

"I am a label reader. I think a lot of people read labels and really are curious to know what is in our food supply," he says. But Hamilton says he wants more information, specifically whether or not the food he buys includes ingredients derived from genetically modified crops, or GMOs.

Voters in Colorado and Oregon will decide this fall whether or not they want labels on foods containing genetically modified ingredients. Similar measures failed in recent years in California and Washington state. Vermont is currently being sued for the labeling law it enacted earlier this year. The ballot measures this fall highlight a much larger national conversation about requiring labels on genetically modified foods.

Earlier this summer, Hamilton sat on a citizen review panel and heard from both sides of the labeling debate. The panel voted 11 to 9 in favor of labels. Hamilton's yes vote is right in line with consumer groups that say GMOs come with too many unanswered questions. "I think this boils down to a consumer's right to know," says Hamilton. "So it's not to debate whether GMOs are safe or they're good for you or bad for you. But it is about a right to know what's in our food supply."

The Salt

Bracing For A Battle, Vermont Passes GMO Labeling Bill

Oregon voters will also be voting on GMO labeling in this election. Like Colorado, there was a similar citizen review panel. Ernest Estes, a Portland lawyer who sat on that panel, has his doubts.

"I'm not convinced we need it at this point," Estes says. "And I'm not sure it does much for Oregonians."

Estes wasn't alone in that sentiment. The citizen panel in Oregon also voted 11 to 9, but in the opposite direction as the Colorado panel. They turned down the labeling proposal.

"If there is little to no risk to the public, I'm not sure the government should be in the role of requiring things like this," Estes says.

The Salt

Why The 'Non-GMO' Label Is Organic's Frenemy

See, current science has found no adverse health effects from humans eating genetically modified foods. That's supported by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the World Health Organization. Many scientists worry labels could confuse consumers, especially given the proposals' exemptions. The meat or milk from a cow that's fed GMO corn and hay wouldn't be labeled. Neither would chewing gum, alcohol and pet food. Larry Cooper, leader of Colorado Right To Know Larry Cooper, says the proposal had to be narrowly written.

"We had to be very careful what subjects we put in the ballot. Yes, we've eliminated some specific areas, but certainly they can be added later," says Cooper.

But even with narrower language, if the proposals pass, lawsuits are likely inevitable.

"When you're compelling a business to say something or a producer to say something, there has to be some governmental interest. There has to be a substantial government interest," says Justin Marceau, a law professor at the University of Denver.

"Why do we need this information? If it's idle curiosity that we're all just really curious about what's in our food, that might not be good enough. If it is GMOs are harmful, then that's a different matter," he says.

Farmer Paul Schlagel grows genetically engineered, or G-E, sugar beets outside Longmont, Colorado. The sweet tasting beets are turned into granulated sugar at a nearby plant. "Once it's processed," he says, "There's no GE material in the sugar" because there's no DNA or protein left in the final sugar product. "The sugar is identical to conventionally grown sugar, sugar cane, even organic sugar."

Despite that, if the Colorado measure, called Proposition 105, passes, the sugar that's grown on Schlagel's farm will bear a label saying it was genetically modified.

"It's misleading. Prop 105 is a mistake, and hopefully the consumers can figure that out," says Schlagel.

Consumers will have a chance to make their voices heard at the ballot box this November in both Colorado and Oregon. And with more states taking up the issue, the national debate about GMO labeling is far from over.

Why One Forecaster Doesn't Think The GOP Will Take The Senate

Audio for this story from All Things Considered will be available at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET.

Most forecasters predict that Republicans will pick up enough seats in the midterms to control the chamber. But Sam Wang at the Princeton Election Commission predicts the Democrats will hold on.

Despite SCOTUS Decision, Kansas Holds On To Same-Sex Marriage Ban

Audio for this story from All Things Considered will be available at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET.

On Tuesday, gay couples who applied for marriage licenses in Kansas were turned away by county officials, despite the U.S. Supreme Court clearing the way for same-sex marriages in the state on Monday.

Alaska Must Translate Election Material Into 2 Indigenous Languages

Earlier this year, a judge ruled that Alaskan election officials were in violation of the Voting Rights Act because they did not provide election materials into two dying indigenous languages. The ruling gave them until this Friday to comply.

The decision applies to everything from the buttons that poll workers wear that read "Can I Help?" to candidates' statements to the ballots themselves. There are four regional election pamphlets more than 600 pages, and Yupik and Gwich'in. While the translations into Yupik and Gwich'in are a huge undertaking for Alaska's Division of Elections, it could help save two dying languages. Adding modern concepts to languages that are thousands of years old is something Marilyn Savage never really considered, but she understands the necessity.

But there are some hurdles. "Some of it is very technical language, legal jargon, and [it] can be difficult to translate into our language," said Allan Hayton, who is charged with translating the material into Gwich'in language. That language is completely unrelated to European language, and it has its own vast vocabulary. Another wrinkle: there are lots of words that don't exist at all in Gwich'in — terms like commerce, marijuana and Department of National Resources.

Gary Holton, a linguist at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, says the language can't describe the very concept of elections. "If you were going to set out to design a language that was as different from English as possible, you would probably come up with something like Gwich'in," he said.

(Editor's note: You should listen to the audio above if you want to get a sense of what some of that election material sounds like when it's spoken in Gwich'in.)

Normally, a dedicated language agency would discuss how best to create new terms, but no such group exists in Alaska. But Holton said this kind of project could help add new vocabulary to the language.

It's unclear how many of the state's 300 native Gwich'in speakers or how many of its 10,000 speakers of Yupik will turn out to the polls next month. But Marilyn Savage, who worked with Hayton last year to translate Shakespeare into Gwich'in, is working with him again on this translation project. She said the work is more personal this time. "Some people will say, 'Oh, did you go to vote? It's in our language now, you know','" Savage said So I'm pretty excited about it, yeah.

"I always thought our language was for, you know, people from ancient times and that it was just their day-to-day language for day-to-day living," she said. "Now we're in a century that's pretty high-tech."

Two ISIS-affiliated Lebanese killed in Iraq and Syria

BEIRUT: Two Lebanese nationals aligned with ISIS were killed separately in Iraq and Syria Tuesday.

The Tripoli resident, Khaled Ahmed Ahdab, better known by his nom de guerre “Abu Hamza” was killed fighting alongside ISIS in Iraq, security sources said.

Ahdab was not the only Lebanese national who died in the service of the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria. Reports circulated Tuesday claiming that Abed al-Rahman al-Sayyed, a native of the village of Fnaydeq in Akkar, was allegedly killed in the Syrian province of Raqqa while fighting under the ISIS banner.

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Border blast linked to killing of Hezbollah expert

BEIRUT: The explosion claimed by Hezbollah which wounded two Israeli soldiers in south Lebanon Tuesday was meant to demonstrate the resistance’s ability to respond to Israeli violations, such as the killing of the party's explosives expert Ali Hasan Haidar last month, Hezbollah's deputy leader said in a televised interview.

“The Shebaa Farms are occupied and it is the right of the resistance to conduct operations to liberate the land,” Sheikh Naim Qassem told OTV.

The south Lebanon explosion was meant to signal that the resistance is ready to fight Israel, despite Hezbollah’s intervention in other regional battle fields, said the party's deputy.

“We wanted to tell Israelis that we are ready and that there is no way they can assault us while we stand by and watch,” he added.

Earlier Tuesday, the brigade of the martyred Ali Hasan Haidar of the Islamic Resistance set off an explosive device under an Israeli patrol in the Shebaa heights, which led to several casualties among the ranks of the occupying soldiers, read a Hezbollah statement published after the incident.

The brigade was named after 25-year-old Ali Hasan Haidar, a Hezbollah explosives expert, who was killed while trying to dismantle four Israeli devices planted on Hezbollah's telecommunications network in Adloun, south Lebanon last month.

One motive behind the attack on Tuesday was linked to the name of the brigade that carried it out, said Qassem, hinting that the incident was retaliation over Haidar’s death.

Nevertheless, Qassem said the resistance was not limiting itself to tit-for-tat attacks, “It is our right to carry out operations against Israel when and where we see fit,” he added.

When asked why Hezbollah swiftly claimed responsibility for the operation, Qassem said that the move was meant to express Hezbollah's readiness to counter any breach carried out by the Israeli army.

In an implicit warning to the Israeli forces, the Hezbollah official said that the resistance was capable of planting explosives in areas monitored by Israeli forces.

“This means that the resistance went from Lebanese territories to occupied territories,” despite heavy Israeli surveillance, said Qassem.

Negating Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that Israeli forces succeeded in foiling a massive attack, Qassem said that the explosion had served its purpose.

In response to a question concerning possible Israeli retaliation, the Hezbollah official said that it was not feasible for Israel to wage a military operation against Lebanon.

“The resistance’s readiness and capabilities makes Israeli forces wary of the consequences,” he said.

Qassem denied that the operation had any link to the war against takfiri terrorists positioned in Lebanon’s outskirts. “This is an operation exclusively targeting Israel, any other party fighting under the banner of Israel like takfiri terrorism, is irrelevant, this has nothing to do with them,” he said.

In Case You Missed It: Why We Can — and Will — Stop Ebola in the U.S.

By now, most people are aware that the first Ebola case was diagnosed in the U.S. last week, in a person traveling from Liberia to Dallas, Texas. As such, many Americans have grown more concerned about the chances of an Ebola outbreak happening here at home.

In a blog post for CNN last Thursday, Dr. Tom Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), explained exactly why we can — and will — stop the disease in the United States, and outlined the "distinct differences in what will happen here":

The United States has a strong health care system and dedicated public health professionals -- all hard at work right now -- to make sure this case will not threaten the community at large, or the nation. A person who is sick from Ebola virus disease can be cared for in U.S. hospitals when the patient is isolated in a private room with a private bathroom and contact with them is highly controlled. Every health care worker must meticulously follow every single infection control protection we recommend.

Public health officials, meanwhile, are also identifying people who have had close personal contact with the newly diagnosed patient and will follow up with them for 21 days, the longest known incubation period for Ebola. If they develop any signs of the disease, those people will be isolated, tested and cared for.

"CDC has been preparing for this day," Dr. Frieden said, "working around the clock with local and state health departments to enhance surveillance and laboratory testing capacity, provide recommendations for health care infection control and other measures to prevent disease spread, and deliver guidance and tools for health departments to conduct public health investigations."

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Tripoli explosive kills Army soldier

Five Syrians arrested in Army raids in north Lebanon

Army raids Syrian refugee gatherings in Tripoli, arrests five people for not possessing identification papers.

Baalbek families engage in fierce armed clashes

Deadly border clashes signal darker days ahead

Lebanon’s northeastern border with Syria braced for more violence after fierce clashes between Hezbollah and the Nusra...

Police arrest dangerous fugitives

BEIRUT: A fugitive Syrian national was arrested as well as his Lebanese partner, who was serving a life sentence, the Internal Security Forces said Tuesday.

Police also busted two drug dealers preparing to sell 340 kilograms of Captagon pills.

The fugitives, described as "dangerous," were identified as Syrian national M.J., 37, who had been sentenced to death for murdering a woman during an attempted robbery.

His accomplice, a 21 year old Lebanese man, was also arrested having been on the run since a life sentence was issued against him.

The two confessed to having committed more than 20 robberies against Syrians in Sidon, Shoueifat, Khaldeh, Aramoun and Bshamoun. They used several vehicles, including a silver and black Kia Picanto and a Honda motorcycle to commit their alleged crimes.

The convicts were arrested after a police bust. A pistol, a hand grenade, a walkie-talkie, a knife, a black mask, five cellphones, an unspecified quantity of hashish and a fake identity cards were also found in their possession.

The ISF called on those who believe to have been the victims of the two men to provide testimony to the Asaad Daher Barrack in Warwar, or to call 05/467051, 05/467919.

Separately, the police discovered nearly two million Captagon pills on Monday in an apartment used to stock drugs for export, the ISF said in another statement Tuesday.

Two suspects were arrested at the apartment, 25-year-old Syrian national S. H., 30, and 45-year-old Lebanese S. J.

Police discovered Thursday about 1 million Captagon pills hidden inside furniture set to be exported from Lebanon.

The drugs, which were destined for an unspecified Gulf country, were found during a police raid on a factory in the coastal city of Byblos.

Iran informs Lebanon of nature of military aid

US stresses on disassociation to insulate Lebanon

The U.S. Ambassador says Lebanon can count on Washington’s continued assistance to the Lebanese Army, facing what he...

Hezbollah claims responsibility for Shebaa blast: Al-Manar

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Hamadeh going to The Hague over assassination attempt

BEIRUT: MP Marwan Hamadeh announced Tuesday that he would head to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon where his case is being processed in along with the late Prime Minister Rafic Hariri’s assassination file.

“I will go to The Hague in the near future to follow up on the assassination attempt case,” Hamadeh said at the Chouf village of Mazraa, during the 10th memorial ceremony for his companion, Sgt. Maj. Yehya Bou Karoum, who was killed in the assassination attempt.

Hamadeh said that his stance on the matter was in harmony with the vision of Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt and derive from the principles of the Druze leader’s late father, Kamal Jumblatt.

The ceremony was also attended by a representative of Jumblatt, Druze spiritual judge Sheikh Fouad Beaini, the village’s mayor and other local leaders in the area.

In October 2004, Hamadeh was severely wounded when his motorcade was targeted by a car bomb near his residence in Ras Beirut. His assassination attempt was the first of a series of bombings targeting critics of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime.

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