The counting of votes for 543 seats in 15^th Lok Sabha began at 8:00 am on May 16^th 2009 to decide the fate of more than 8,000 candidates. The overall voter turnout was 59-60%. In the early stages, NDA was in the leading, however, by 3:30 pm, the entire picture changed drastically. Congress along with its UPA almost got the victory, though not announced. UPA got a land sliding victory in the states of Kerala, Rajasthan and West Bengal. It was for the first time in 40 years for the Left to face a worst fate in West Bengal. Congress leading 6 seats in Delhi, celebrations already started at Sonia Gandhi’s residence at 10 Janpath. She called for an immediate Congress meet at 4.15 pm to take stock of the victories.

In other sectors, BJD won in Kandhmal and Patnaik’s BJD headed for majority in Orissa, NDA and UPA were in stiff competition with 2 seats each in Jharkhand and JD (U) headed for a sweeping victory in Bihar. While Sajad Lone was trailing in Baramulla in J&K, Farooq Abdullah recorded a leading in Srinagar. While BJP’s Vinod Khanna leading in Gurdaspur, Punjab, DMK’s Dayanidhi Maran was in lead in Tamil Nadu.

Live counting results At 11:00 am

UPA leading with 224 seats

NDA having 154 leads

3rd Front having 74 leads

4th Front having 27 leads

Others having 12 leads

*courtesy: ndtv

It is observed that UPA is moving very fast leading in the states of J&K (UPA 2/6), Punjab (Cong 8/13), Uttarakhand (Cong 3/5), Haryana (Cong 8/10), Delhi (Cong 7/7), Rajasthan, entire North East except Nagaland and Tripura, where NPF and Left are leading respectively. In the south, except Karnataka and Pondichery UPA is in leading position by the time of the posting.

NDA is in lead in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, MP, Chattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkand and Karnataka at the time of this posting.

SP in Uttar Pradesh and BJD in Orissa are in leading position.

While Cong is leading in Lakshdweep, BJP shared Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Blore_blasts_SIMI_LeT_suspects/articleshow/3279993.cms, dated 25 Jul 2008.

These are the sites where the brutal bomb blasts took place, victimizing the civilian population. The sites include the Madiwala bus depot, Adugudi, Mysore road, Adugudi, Koramangla, Langford Town, Vittal Mallaya road and Richmond Town. The involvement of the terrorist organizations like SIMI and Lashkar-e-thoiba are suspected.

Source: IBNLive.com India, dated July 25, 2008.

Title: Child labor and prostitution

Author: Carlos Quintanilla

URL: http://www.change-links.org/Prostitution.htm

Abstract: This article focuses on the negative effects of child labor, as reported by the international and domestic organizations. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) observes that the poverty, neglect and the struggle for survival have proliferated child labor in Central America. The International Labor Organization of the Permanent Economic Commission for Latin America (CEPAL) reveals that the child labor has increased to over 15 million working in Latin American, who are living in dangerous physical, emotional and unhealthy conditions. The reports highlights that half of the children working for poor salaries are aged between 6 and 14, while the girls working as maids, end up as prostitutes after suffering from sexual abuse at the hands of their employers.

Title: Childhood Abuse Changes the Developing Brain

URL: http://nospank.net/teicher.htm

Abstract: This article reveals the results of a research on the negative affects of childhood abuse and neglect in causing permanent damage to the brain structure of growing children, which shapes their perception towards life. A researchers headed by Martin H. Teicher of the McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, identify four abnormalities in the brain. They find that the trauma of abuse induces cascade of effects, including changes in hormones and neurotransmitters, which mediate development of vulnerable brain regions. Due to this the adults who had been abused and neglected as children are more likely to experience epileptic seizures caused by changes to the limbic system, a part of the brain that controls emotions. The emotions that accompany these seizures include sadness, embarrassment, anger, mental worry and torture behind cheerful explosive laughter, serenity, fear and even the self-destructive behavior. The difference of effects on boys and girls is also discussed.

Title: Death Made In America: Impacts of Depleted Uranium Contamination on Afghanistan’s Children: Disturbing Photographs.

Author: Dr. Mohammed Daud Miraki

URL: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=DAU20060509&articleId=2412

Abstract:
This is a photo essay illustrating the intensity of environmental damage caused by the contamination of depleted Uranium used by the American soldiers and its impact on Afghan children, via these photos of babies born deformed.

Title: The Struggle for a Jewish State

Author: Walter Laqueur

URL: http://pij.org/details.php?id=927

Abstract:
This is an extract from Part III of the book ‘A History of Zionism,’ by Walter Laqueur, a distinguished historian and director of the Institute for Contemporary History in London. It discusses the efforts by the international community to establish an independent state of Israel following the World War II. The United Nations General Assembly had established on May 15, 1947, an eleven member committee, known as the ‘United Nations Special Committee on Palestine,’ to investigate into the Palestinian question, make proposals for a settlement and to report back by September 1947. This article presents an account of the period which started with the proposals at the United Nations on May 15, 1947 and ended with the and the final creation and legitimization of Israel with the declaration of the State of Israel on May 15, 1948.

A German-born Israeli journalist, Uri Avneri has been contributing various essays on the Arab-Israeli conflict, over the years. He is a left-wing peace activist and former Knesset member, who was originally one of the members of the right-wing Revisionist Zionist movement.  The following website presents information about him and the related sites.

URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uri_Avnery

Title: Black flags in Ramallah: of war and transfer

Author: Uri Avnery

URL: http://www.counterpunch.org/avnery03102003.html

Abstract:
The author discusses his experience of visiting Ramallah in an attempt to know from the Palestinian civic leaders about the dangers threatening the Palestinian population in case of an American attack on Iraq. He observes that there will be a prolonged closure and curfew in all the occupied territories, preventing Palestinians’ access to food, medicines and hospitals. Israel may increase the acts of ‘transfer,’ which means the mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from Palestine, as happened in 1948 and 1967. As all the acts constitute war crimes under the Geneva Convention and other international laws, the author calls on the Israelis to take up every step to prevent such acts from taking place, which, he believes, a patriotic duty of the highest order.

Title: Beware of Iraq’s whipping boys

Author: Nir Rosen

URL: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FB19Ak02.html

Abstract: This article presents information about the Shi’ite Islam’s paradigmatic ritual commemorating its central, epic, narrative, the seventh-century martyrdom of Husain, the third imam, or leader of the Shi’ite community. It discusses the activities of a 26-year-old Najim Abdul Amir, a construction worker and a mudarib, or trainer, instructing up to 60 boys in the correct performance of Shi’ite Islam’s paradigmatic ritual. This article offers deep insight into the religious and political history of the Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq.