Let Your Dreams Lead You to a New Career

Everyone has dreams, but all too often they let these dreams fall to the wayside and end up wondering years later whatever happed to all of the dreams that they had when they were younger. This doesn't have to be the case, however; it's possible to not only hold on to your dreams but also to make them come true by letting them influence your life and your career choices. Instead of simply saying that they're nothing more than dreams, you can make a conscious decision to embrace those dreams and see them through to the end. Not only will you get to see your dreams become real, but you will find that by letting them influence the work that you do and the direction that your life takes you will be much more satisfied with your life's work in general.Recognizing Your DreamsIn order to live your dreams and let them lead you to your dream career, you will first need to realize exactly what your dreams are. Take some time to consider the things that you want and what you would like to see come to pass in your life; these aren't the fanciful obsessions that you might get from time to time that will pass in a matter of days or weeks, but are instead the lifelong ambitions that you've held on to ever since you were introduced to the concept. Look into your heart, see what's really important to you and what you would like most of all to see happen in your life, and that is where you will find your dreams.Relating Your Dreams to Your WorkWhen you start seriously thinking about your dreams and comparing them to your life as it is right now, you might wonder how you're ever going to be able to reach your dreams from the place that you are in life. Look at your job and the things that you do, and try and imagine what it would take in order to reach your dreams from this starting point. For some people this might be easy, and you might have been living out portions of your dreams without even realizing it for quite some time. You may notice that your volunteer work is what you love.For others this could be a rather difficult task, however, since they may have taken the job that was needed at the time and then never really got a chance to start working toward their dreams again. Consider where in your career you are, and whether it's possible to get where you want to be within that same career path. If it's not, then you should start researching different career options until you find the one that will take you to your dreams and help you make them come true.Using Your Work to Follow Your DreamsWhen you can see yourself reaching your dreams from the career that you have, then it's time to start putting your energy into following your career path to the point where you can reach your dreams. Set goals for yourself and for your career, and keep trying after every setback until those goals are reached. It might not always be easy, but once you have the career that's right for you making it to your dreams will seem to be a natural progression.Contact Career Coaching Connections at 248-390-0781 and visit www.c3livingthedream.com. Cindy Swiantek has provided coaching and instruction for several hundred professionals, assisting them in planning and executing successful career transition. She brings her own experiences from personally making the transition from employee to executive in the automotive industry. Her passion for assisting others is contagious!

Mantra for creation of a small business - Develop Your Web Site Marketing Plan

Web site marketing is essential because it increases the likelihood that the time and money you invest in creating a site will pay off. This workshop will help you quickly and easily create a strategic and tactical Web site marketing plan by guiding you through key decisions and prompting you to formalize goals.
You can use this workshop no matter where you are in the Web site marketing process. If you want to create a comprehensive plan, start at Step 1 and work your way through each exercise. At the end of the workshop, you'll receive a custom Web site marketing plan that you can print out. If you prefer to get specific information that matches your current marketing needs, select the appropriate step from the table below. After you complete it, you can move on to the other workshop steps or print only the results of the area you completed.

Objectives

Your Web site marketing efforts will have the most impact if they support a clear site objective. Answer the questions below if you already know your primary plan objective. If you would like to learn more about how to set objectives before answering the questions, click here.
What is the primary objective of your Web site?E-commerce (sell products and services over the Internet)Brochure (provide information about products or services)Information resource (provide information to help visitors make a buying decision)Global marketing (extend geographic reach)Branding (complement an offline marketing program)
What is the primary purpose of your Web site-marketing plan?To drive a high volume of visitors to my Web siteTo drive only qualified prospects to my Web siteTo make my company more visible on the Web.

In the same way that you wouldn’t set out on a road trip without knowing where you want to be, or make a phone call without knowing who you want to speak to, you can’t begin effective marketing without understanding who you want to reach.
Defining your audience requires looking for common identifiable characteristics of your target customer. Doing this will make it easier for you to determine powerful marketing messages and tactics for reaching this market. Use the steps below to define your audience, to review tips for pinpointing the most promising customer segment.
Target Customer: Are you targeting consumers or business?
Consumers / Businesses
Geographic Location: Where are your customers located?
Local / Regional / National / International.

Musharraf steps down

Heeding to domestic and international pressures to give up dual posts, Pakistan's military ruler Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday stepped down as Army Chief after a nine-year reign, handing over the baton to his trusted deputy Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani before taking oath as a civilian President on Thursday.
According to The Hindu, Pakistani news channel Dawn reported that President Pervez Musharraf is expected to lift emergency in next 48 hours.
The "change of command" ceremony, replete with military pomp and traditions, was held at a stadium in the army's General Headquarters in the nearby garrison city of Rawalpindi.
Ending a 46-year career in the army, Musharraf formally handed over the charge to Kayani, the 52-year-old former chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency who was hand-picked by him last month to head the 500,000-strong force.
"I am saddened that I will not be in uniform from tomorrow and it is difficult to express my feelings in words," Musharraf, a former commando, said in his farewell address.
"After being in uniform for 46 years, I am saying goodbye to this force. This army is my life, my passion, I have been in love with this force," the Pakistani President said.
Musharraf, 64, was appointed Army Chief on October 7, 1998 by then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who promoted him over several other officers. The two men soon fell out over differences on several issues, including the incursion into the Kargil area of Jammu and Kashmir, and Musharraf seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999.
"After you have spent half a century in the family of the Pakistani armed forces -- forces which have given me total loyalty and love -- there is sadness in leaving," said Musharraf, wearing a ceremonial dress, medals and a green sash, as his wife Sehba, looking glum, listened in rapt attention.
"I know the army is under a lot of pressure today. It has been in Siachen and Kashmir, there are operations in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, settled areas of NWFP, though operations have reduced in Balochistan," he said.
"But I would like to say this is part of our duty. When we put on this uniform, we vow to even give up our life. We can't run away from this promise."
"The armed forces of Pakistan are an integrating force, they are a binding force for the country and they are the saviours of Pakistan," Musharraf told the gathering comprising serving and retired army officers, diplomats and members of the interim government, including caretaker Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro.
Referring to his successor, Musharraf said: "I am handing over command to Gen Kayani, a man I have known for over 20 years. He has served under me and I know he is an excellent soldier.
"I have full faith that under his command the force will attain new heights. I am sure you will be as loyal to him as you have been to me."
Earlier, Musharraf was welcomed by Kayani to the ceremony at the Hockey Stadium near the General Headquarters. An army band played the national anthem before Musharraf reviewed a marching parade comprising contingents from the Frontier Force and Azad Kashmir Force.
Musharraf's address was followed by a performance by a brass band and a drum solo, after which he handed over the "change of command" baton to Kayani.
The military ruler shook hands with members of the audience, including several retired officers, before leaving the stadium with Kayani.
Regarded as a Musharraf loyalist, Kayani was promoted as the Vice chief of Army Staff on October 2. The chain-smoking career soldier managed to beat several fellow corps commanders in a closely fought race for the top slot of Army.
Kayani, who always kept a low public profile, was replaced as the ISI chief on September 21 in a reshuffle of the top Army brass. He had worked closely with former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto as her military secretary and was the chief negotiator in her talks with Musharraf for a political rapprochement.
An avid golfer and a keen sportsman, Kayani is married and has a son and a daughter.

Tourist season in October

Nepal saw an impressive 18 percent growth in arrival of tourists via air in the month of October as compared to the same month of the last year. According to a press release issued by the Nepal Tourism Board on Saturday, the visitors' arrival data released by Immigration Office, Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in October shows the healthy growth of 18 percent-- up by 6617 tourists.China and Sweden have registered a colossal growth of 133 percent and 91.7 percent respectively, the highest of the arrival of the overall tourists.
American markets like Canada (43.2%) and USA (40.3%) have continued to show the positive result despite their travel advisory. Denmark (88.6%), Austria (56.9%), Norway (55.4%), Belgium (50.3%), S Korea (37%) and Germany (33.3%) clearly show the revival of Nepali tourism as the peace process continues.Other upcoming markets like Bangladesh (51.1%) and Sri Lanka (56.6%) have also shown positive growth.The total arrivals in the last nine months have gone up by 30 % having 295,855 visitors by air in comparison to the same period last year. Each country has recorded very optimistic figures except the Indian market. The cheap tour packages floated by South East Asian and European countries have reportedly enticed the Indians, which is one of the reasons for decline in tourist arrivals from India, according to the NTB officials. Since Cosmic Air has already resumed its service to New Delhi and other airlines are expected to increase flight frequency in this sector soon, tourist arrival will definitely increase from India in next few months, the NTB claimed.The launch of service of Silk Air from Singapore and Etihad Airways from the United Arab Emirates in the month of October drifted positive message to the world that Nepal is a happening destination. With the operation of these two airlines, it is expected to increase the number of passengers from Singapore, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Europe.

Emergency in Pakistan

Embattled President Pervez Musharraf on Satuday night clamped a state of emergency in Pakistan ahead of a crucial Supreme Court ruling on the legality of his re-election, plunging the country into a fresh political crisis.
An eight-member Supreme Court bench immediately set aside the Emergency order which suspended the current Constitution amid reports that Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who has been at loggerheads with Musharraf, has been asked to go.
Musharraf, who had seized power in a bloodless coup ousting Nawaz Sharif in October, 1999, took the step as he struggled to contain the militant violence and faced serious challenge to his political authority, raising doubts over parliamentary polls planned for January.
"The chief of army staff (Musharraf) has proclaimed a state of emergency and issued a Provisional Constitutional Order," the state-run Pakistan TV said without elaborating.
Security forces were deployed around vital installations, including state-run TV and radio stations, in the capital and other parts of the country. Army troops entered the Supreme Court building while dozens of security personnel blocked the road leading to the apex court with the judges inside, witnesses said.
All land and mobile telephone services were suspended and several private TV channels were taken off air.
Security forces arrested Eitzaz Ahsan, Supreme Court Bar Association chief who successfully defended Chaudhry after he was suspended in March by Musharraf. Ahsan had represented the petitioners opposing Musharraf's re-election in the Supreme Court.
The Association, which had spearheaded a massive anti-Musharraf campaign by the lawyers, had earlier issued a resolution saying it will oppose imposition of emergency.
The Supreme Court had earlier said it will give its verdict by November six on the legality of Musharraf's re-election in uniform for the post of President.
Musharraf had said that if re-elected he would doff his uniform, a key demand of the opposition. However, later he said he will decide on his course of action after the Supreme Court ruling on his re-election, leading to speculation that he may declare a state of emergency or martial law in case of an adverse verdict.
Musharraf is expected to address the nation later on Saturday night setting out the reasons for imposing emergency rule.
According to TV channels, judges would have to take a fresh oath under the new provisional constitutional order.
Senior security officials were meeting in the interior ministry to discuss the situation and the possible detention of senior political leaders and lawyers, they said
Ahead of clamping emergency, Musharraf held a series of meetings with close aides, security advisors and senior ministers. He was briefed by Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao on the situation in Swat, where over 150 people have died in clashes between government troops and militants.
This was followed by a meeting at the presidency between Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, ruling PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, cabinet ministers and senior intelligence officials.
Security was tightened in Islamabad and across the country. More than 1,500 personnel from Punjab province were deployed in the national capital, including the Constitution Avenue, the central boulevard along which the parliament, president and Supreme Court are located.

Housewives on the job

A HUGE manpower crunch in the retail, banking, IT and insurance sectors has made homes an emerging campus for recruitment.
Waking up to untapped potential of housewives with past work experience, companies are now hiring married women who have had career breaks because “they are less likely to hop jobs and can work part-time”.
“Women are perfect for the retail industry because they understand customer needs,” said Kripesh Hariharan of People Enterprise, which handles HR for Pantaloon Retail. Pantaloon kicked off a “women only” recruitment drive in Kolkata this week for over 2,000 “flexi-career” positions targeted at housewives wanting to strike a work-home balance.
The Chennai-based Interim Women Manager’s Interface Network (I-WIN), an initiative by HR firm Avtar, has become a big hit. “We have placed over 450 women in organisations such as Standard Chartered, Unilever, Merrill Lynch and Cognizant,” said Avtar CEO Saundarya Rajesh. About 73 per cent of the 4,000 registered with I-WIN are married and include CAs, MBAs, engineers, bankers and programmers.
“I was apprehensive about taking up a full-time job because I have a daughter. Here I work 20 hours a week,” said Kalai Selvi, a senior programmer with IT firm Blue Shift

Breaking the popular trend and returning to Nepal-Sulav Bhatta

Ever since I came back from the US eight months ago, the most common question I have faced is regarding my "naive" decision to return. In my opinion, this is a wrong question to be asked. They should be asking why people do not return after completing their studies. To satisfy people's curiosity I tell them that this is my country and I have come back because I feel that I can do something here with my engineering degree. But people seem less convinced with my answer. They give me a strange, funny look.
The US, undoubtedly, is one of the most developed countries in the world. It is full of opportunities and it treats hardworking people very well. However, it is not Nepal, the country of our birth, where we enjoy an intricate feeling of belongingness. I have no hard feelings against the US; it treated me very well during my six years there. I think all Nepalese should go to the US at least once in life to learn about freedom, hard work, fairness, positive attitude, accountability, sense of responsibility etc. After experiencing US life, I wanted to come to Nepal and give it a shot. I adjusted my expectation level accordingly because it would be ridiculous to expect things here to be the way they are in the west.
However, after spending about eight months is Nepal, I have some idea about why I was “mocked”. Currently I am doing my MBA as well. When I went to join the MBA programme, the college was locked due to some problem at Pokhara University. Our student coordinator who took my interview asked me why I came back. This was a strange question because she herself studied in the US and then returned to Nepal. I could not help but think that people are very frustrated with the current situation here. Regular class interruption due to Nepal bandh etc. is a part of life and something I am used to by now. Some of my MBA colleagues are in the process of applying for the US. If they get the visa, they would have no qualms about leaving the MBA program here.
What has really motivated me to write this article is the recent turn of events. There was vacancy for engineers at Nepal Telecom, and naturally I thought of applying. Since I have a certificate from the US, I was asked to present a TU equivalent for my US degree. I went to TU and filled up the necessary paperwork. Then they asked me to take my documents to Pulchowk Engineering College (PEC). They needed recommendations from PEC before they can form a committee and decide. Fair enough. Now, I go to Pulchowk only to discover that the Dean's Office has been locked down since the past two months due to the strike of the students. I asked the guy there if there was anything at all that could be done so that my credentials could be evaluated. He told me there was little, if any, chance for that. Then he asked me where I did my engineering. I told him and his eyes lightened up. Then he asked me the same question that I was already expecting--- why did I return?!
I came back home tired and frustrated. My parents were eagerly waiting to know if my problem got solved. I told them what happened and what the guy had said. I tried not to show my frustration. My parents, who were once overjoyed when I came back from the US, are having second thoughts now. They are wondering whether they should have ordered their only son to come back. This is a very ironic situation. However, I still stand by my decision to come back. I just hope that somehow I never have to regret my decision.
My problem is just a tip of the iceberg that the people here are facing. I find that our system is so broken up that it needs immediate and thorough change. If something is not done soon enough, we might alienate our young and productive generation so much that the only people remaining in Nepal would be the retired and old people. If we take the case of India, a lot of young people are returning from the US because they can now get same opportunity in India itself. This is helping India a lot. We all know how India has developed over the past few years. We should also try to attract our young, talented people back to Nepal. And I know that there are a lot of people out there who would love to come back if there is stability and opportunity here. I would like to request everyone to do whatever they can in their capacity so that people do not have to run away from Nepal.

Special House session

The seven-party alliance has decided to prorogue the special session of the interim parliament after hectic parleys over the week could not resolve the political deadlock over key issues including the declaration of a republic and the voting system for the Constituent Assembly (CA) elections.
Speaker Subhas Chandra Nemwang Tuesday afternoon adjourned the special House session till October 29 acting on request of the parties.
The session was delayed for two days and was expected to resume at 11:00 am today.
After postponing the special House session, the top leaders of the seven parties held a short informal meeting at Baluwatar.
“We took two decisions today,” said Nepali Congress (NC) leader Bimalendra Nidhi. “Firstly, we have decided to urge the Speaker to prorogue the House session till October 29. We also agreed to fix a (new) date for the Constituent Assembly elections at the earliest on the basis of a consensus.”
The latest decision allows the parties to buy more time to resolve the impasse caused by the proposals tabled at the interim parliament by the Maoists.
This session was expected to end rapidly as Dashain, the great Nepali festival, has already started.
This morning, the top leaders of the four major parties had met at Baluwatar to continue their effort to break the stalemate.
After no headway, the top leaders of the NC, CPN-UML, CPN-Maoist and the People’s Front Nepal agreed to postpone the special House session and the leaders of the other parties were invited to formalize the decision.
The meeting had resumed this morning after Monday’s meeting ended inconclusively.
The UML is trying to persuade other parties to forge an agreement on the amendment proposal that it registered at parliament yesterday, sources said.
The leaders have not been able to find a way out of the political impasse, though they agreed to end the deadlock reaching a consensus before voting on the Maoist motions at the special House session, sources added.
If the motions—an immediate declaration of a republic through parliament and proportional representation system for the CA elections- were to be decided through votes, the seven-party alliance could break and the entire peace process could be in jeopardy.
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala-led NC has outright rejected both the Maoist motions. The motions cannot succeed without NC’s party’s support.
Yesterday, the UML had registered an amendment proposal at the parliament secretariat in a bid to find a middle ground to break the deadlock.
The UML proposal states that the government should first identify the reason why the country failed to conduct the polls on time and announce a new poll date.
It has also urged the government to take immediate and concrete steps to announce a new date, hold the election and proclaim a federal democratic republic, fulfilling all the necessary procedures.
UML registered the amendment proposal at 4:58pm, two minutes before the deadline to lodge an amendment motion ended, after the seven-party meeting failed to reach a conclusion.

Postponed Polls, Postponed Future

As the joke goes, when God was about to set up the world, he called his Prophet and said, “Let’s give Nepal the highest mountains.” After the Prophet nodded in agreement, God said, “Let’s also give this country a massive network of rivers with immense power potential.” God then said, “Let’s also give this small nation enough of plain fertile land, thick dense forests with the rare woody trees, a great deal of bio-diversity and massive deposits of ores and minerals.”
The Prophet, surprised by God’s generosity for Nepal, remarked, “God! You have put every good thing in Nepal. This will perhaps be the most beautiful and prosperous country in the world.”
God then smiled and replied, “Wait, you are going to see the people I put here who will be responsible to manage and rule this country!”
Sadly, what was perhaps meant to be a shot of harmless fun from the Almighty has turned out to be a tragic reality. And this has been all too true throughout our history. Throughout our history, our decision-makers have failed to deliver when it mattered. Denying the country, denying its people.
The latest denial has come in the form of the postponement of the November 22 Constituent Assembly elections. With less than 50 days to go, the crucial election which had already been deferred twice was put off for the third time when the Election Commission had carried out all necessary preparations and the people were eagerly waiting for the fateful day to draft their own constitution and seal, secure their fate and future. But with the polls postponed yet again, there is clearly too much at stake now.
Frequent strikes, bandas and protests continue to cripple life across the country, especially in the southern Terai region. The law and order situation is at its worst. Communal harmony is being tested to the threshold. We have seen that in Nepalgunj, Gaur, and recently, in Kapilvastu. But the question is who is supposed to improve the security situation and maintain law and order? Who will instill a feeling of security in the people’s mind? How many times will the self-proclaimed intellectuals shamelessly defend the polls postponement decision saying “there was no other option”? How many times will the country and its people be denied under different pretexts?
Whatever any of us may personally feel about the seven-party leaders and their national and international advisors, we should now be able to clearly admit that by postponing the polls again they have proved that they are simply incapable of comprehending and dealing with the immense complexities of the real Nepali situation.
Why the polls have been postponed this time around is no secret to anybody. It’s because of the Maoists. Even a child can see that. The Maoists, who have been advocating a Constituent Assembly from Day One of their “People’s War”, which claimed over 14,000 lives, put forth two impossible-to-meet preconditions out of the blue — proclamation of a republic by the interim parliament and a fully proportional representation (PR) based electoral system for the CA polls— which literally jeopardized the possibility of holding the polls on November 22.
The Maoists have been mechanically parroting the republic slogan, painting the Kathmandu walls red, but have betrayed the cause when it mattered the most.
The Maoist dream of the interim parliament declaring a republic is not workable at all. Morality and political honesty both enjoin us to reject this idea of a republic ahead of the polls as fundamentally, philosophically, logically, legally and constitutionally wrong. This parliament, whose nearly one-third members are not only unelected but also never faced elections, while the rest were elected over eight years ago, has no right to take such a decision. We hope our honourable interim legislators who will be busy with the special session of the House in the next few days in a bid to seek a way-out of the current deadlock will not forget this limitation of theirs.
Without entering into a debate on the merits and demerits of a fully PR-based electoral system, it is enough to note that the Maoists used this, too, just to thwart the elections which they have successfully done. Otherwise, there was no need at all to beat over an issue which they had already agreed upon months back—a mixed electoral system—and which has been also clearly mentioned in the Interim Constitution which in turn was amended twice without the republic or the PR issue being raised by the Maoists at all.
In the peace process so far, they seem to have offered an inch and taken a mile. And lately, they resorted to sheer blackmailing—“Postpone the polls, or else…”-- putting a price on things. This time around, proclamation of a republic prior to the polls is the ransom. Who knows if it won’t be a communist republic next time around?
This game of blackmailing has to end

Special session of parliament today

KATHMANDU, Oct 11 - On the eve of the Special Session of the Interim Parliament, the CPN-Maoist on Wednesday registered at the parliament secretariat their two demands under special political proposals of public importance.
In the proposals, registered by Maoist Spokesperson Krishna Bahadur Mahara and seconded by Pari Thapa of CPN-United and Ganesh Sah of United Left Front, the Maoists have demanded that the special parliament session adopt a fully proportional electoral system and proclaim a republic.
As the Maoist's demand for proclaiming a republic through the special session of the parliament contravenes Article 159 (3) (a) of the Interim Constitution, the Maoist has also registered a separate proposal to amend the interim constitution.
Article 159 (3) (a) of the Interim Constitution states that the cabinet would submit proposal in the House on declaring Nepal a republican state if the king is found to be disrupting the Constituent Assembly (CA) elections.
The Maoist proposal has also demanded an amendment to the Article 63 (3) of the Interim Constitution which has provisioned a mixed electoral system for the CA poll.
Maoist Spokesperson Mahara said, "We are hopeful that all political parties will support our proposals and the political uncertainty will be settled."
He also said political uncertainty may continue if there is no consensus in the special session of the parliament.
UML Central leader Mahendra Panday said his party is ready to settle all the political issues through consensus.
The Special Session of the Interim Parliament on Thursday will discuss the Maoists' proposals, which were the major reasons for the deferral of the CA poll.

Motorcycle

A motorcycle or motorbike is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle powered by an engine. Styles of motorcycles vary depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions. In many parts of the world, motorcycles are among the least expensive and most widespread forms of motorised transport.

The inspiration for arguably the first motorcycle was designed and built by the German inventors Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in Bad Cannstatt (since 1905 a city district of Stuttgart) in 1885.[1] The first petroleum-powered vehicle, it was essentially a motorised bicycle, although the inventors called their invention the Reitwagen ("riding car").
However, if one counts two wheels with steam propulsion as being a motorcycle, then the first one may have been American. One such machine was demonstrated at fairs and circuses in the eastern U.S. in 1867, built by Sylvester Howard Roper of Roxbury, Massachusetts.[1]
In 1894, Hildebrand & Wolfmüller became the first motorcycle available for purchase.[2] In the early period of motorcycle history, many producers of bicycles adapted their designs to accommodate the new internal combustion engine. As the engines became more powerful, and designs outgrew the bicycle origins, the number of motorcycle producers increased.


Until the First World War, the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world was Indian, producing over 20,000 bikes per year. By 1920, this honour went to Harley-Davidson, with their motorcycles being sold by dealers in 67 countries, until 1928 when DKW took over as the largest manufacturer.
After the Second World War, the BSA Group became the largest producer of motorcycles in the world, producing up to 75,000 bikes a year in the 1950s. The German company NSU Motorenwerke AG held the position of largest manufacturer from 1955 until the 1970s.
From the 1960s through the 1990s, small two-stroke motorcycles were popular worldwide, partly as a result of East German Walter Kaaden's engine work in the 1950s.[3]
Today, the Japanese manufacturers, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha dominate the motorcycle industry, although Harley-Davidson still maintains a high degree of popularity in the United States. Recent years have also seen a resurgence in the popularity of several other brands sold in the U.S. market, including BMW, Triumph, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi and Ducati.
Outside of the USA, these brands have enjoyed continued and sustained success, although Triumph, for example, has been re-incarnated from its former self into a modern world-class manufacturer. In overall numbers, however, the Chinese currently manufacture and sell more motorcycles than any other country and exports are rising. The quality of these machines is asserted to be somewhat lower than their Japanese, European and American counterparts [citation needed].
Additionally, the small-capacity scooter is very popular through most of the world. The Piaggio group of Italy, for example, is one of the world's largest producers of two-wheeled vehicles. The scooter culture has, as yet, not been adopted widely in North America.

Motorcycle construction is the engineering, manufacturing, and assembly of components and systems for a motorcycle which results in performance, cost and aesthetics desired by the designer. With some exceptions, construction of modern mass-produced motorcycles has standardised on a steel or aluminum frame, telescopic forks holding the front wheel, and disc brakes. A one- to six-cylinder gasoline powered engine coupled to a manual, five- or six-speed sequential transmission drives the swingarm-mounted rear wheel by a chain, driveshaft or belt.

Types of motorcycles

There are three major types of motorcycle, street, off-road, and dual purpose. Within these types, there are many different sub-types of motorcycles for many different purposes.

Choppers: Highly customised motorcycles based on a cruiser-style frame with long rake (longer front forks) and wild paint jobs. These are created more for show than ridability.
Cruisers: A range of small to large motorcycles designed for comfort and looks with a relaxed upright seating position. They are notable for their heavy use of chrome and are often highly customised.
Electric motorcycles: Nearly silent, zero-emission electric motor-driven vehicles. Operating range and top speed suffer because of limitations of battery technology. Fuel cells and petroleum-electric hybrids are also under development to extend the range and improve performance of the electric motors.
Mini bikes: Very small bikes designed to be simple runaround fun for both children and adults. Generally they have no hand-operated clutch or gearbox to simplify operation. Also known as Mini Motos. Not street-legal in most countries and jurisdictions. May be used for racing by all age levels.
Mopeds: Small, light, inexpensive, efficient rides for getting around town. Usually started by pedaling (motorcycle + pedals = moped).
Underbones: Small motorcycle which is a crossover between a scooter and a true motorcycle with step-through frame, popular in Southeast Asia. While the fuel tank for most motorcycles are tear-shaped and located at the top and just behind the instrument panel, the fuel tank for an underbone motorcycle is located under the seat.
Naked bikes/Standard/Street bikes: Naked bikes have a riding position midway between the forward position of a sports bike and the reclined position of a cruiser. Unlike touring bikes, naked bikes often have little or no fairing (hence the title). Luggage capabilities are often an optional extra. Naked bikes are popular for commuting and other city riding as the upright riding position gives greater visibility in heavy traffic (both for the rider and to other road users) and are more comfortable than the hunched over sport bikes. Note that naked bike and standard are not fully interchangeable terms. Naked refers to the lack of bodywork and standard refers to the upright riding position.
Scooters: Motorbikes with a step-through frame and generally smaller wheels than those of a traditional motorcycle. Can be ridden without straddling any part of the bike. Available in sport, commuter, and touring models.
Sport bikes: Fast, light, sleek motorcycles designed for maximum performance, for racing or spirited road riding. They are distinguishable by their full fairings and the rider's tipped-forward seating position. They are also called "race replicas" because of their connection to the racing category for production motorcycles known as Superbike racing. The power to weight ratio of the 900 cc+ models typically matches or exceeds one bhp of power for every one kg of mass. (Slang terms for sport bikes include "suicycles" and "crotch rockets".)
Racing bikes: Motorcycles designed for circuit or road racing, including mass-production motorcycles modified for motorcycle racing or sport riding.
Street customs: Highly customised motorcycles with wild paint jobs also built for show, but constructed from a sport bike frame instead of a cruiser-style frame.
Touring motorcycles: Touring bikes are designed for rider and passenger comfort, luggage carrying capacity, and reliability. Cruisers, sport bikes and some dual-sports can also be used as touring bikes with the addition of aftermarket luggage and seats. Common throughout the touring market are usually large-displacement fairings and windshields (for weather and wind protection), large-capacity fuel tanks (for long-range travel), engines offering lots of torque instead of horsepower, and a more relaxed, basically upright seating position.
Sport touring motorcycles: Sport-tourers are factory-built hybrids of a sport bike and a touring motorcycle. They are built for comfort, while maintaining a forward-leaning riding position.

Bizarre baby born in Dolakha

Charikot, Dolakha, - The birth of a bizarre-looking baby in Charikot, the headquarters of Dolakha district, on Wednesday, drew a huge number of onlookers to witness the astonishing sight.
The neck-less baby with its head almost totally sunk into the upper part of the body and with extraordinarily large eyeballs literally popping out of the eye-sockets, was born to Nir Bahadur Karki and Suntali Karki at the Gaurishnkar Hospital in Charikot.
The Karki couple is a permanent resident of Dolakha?s Bhirkot VDC.
The bizarre baby, however, died after half an hour of its birth, Suntali, the mother, informed. It was taken to the hospital after its death.
The news about such a baby being brought to the hospital spread like wildfire and there were hundreds gathered at the hospital to have a look. The police had to be deployed to control the crowd.
?We wouldn?t have been able to save it, even if it had been brought here alive,? said a nurse attending to the mother at the hospital, ?This is an extremely abnormal case.?
The ?baby? weighed 2kg at birth and was born after the normal nine-month gestation period.
Suntali, already a mother of two normal daughters, was not suffering from any illness during the pregnancy.
Nir Bahadur, the father, says he does not feel any remorse for the newly-born baby?s death. ?I am happy that nothing happened to my wife,? he said.

We have evidence to prove palace's involvement in Sunday's blasts: Dr Bhattarai

Maoist leader Dr Baburam Bhattarai has claimed that his party has found "evidence" to show that the royal palace was behind Sunday's serial bomb blasts in the capital.
"The palace is planning a coup by holding the Maoists responsible for the chaos it is unleashing," Dr Bhattarai said at a function here on Thursday, "We have already collected evidence, which we will make public within the next few days."
The Maoist second-in-command further claimed that the royalists had carried out the explosions to thwart the establishment of a republic and to take the army out of the barracks to stage a coup.
He also alleged that the Nepal Army was accusing the Maoists of carrying out the explosions.
"As the army still favours the royal palace, it has made the allegation only to cover up the palace's conspiracy," he said. "The allegation is completely false."
He also urged all political parties to become serious about the 22 prerequisites cited by the Maoists to stop conspiracies hatched by the royalists and to overthrow the institution of monarchy.
"The Maoists will be compelled to take to the streets if the parliamentary parties do not agree to declare a republic through the interim parliament," he said, adding that their agitation could also be directed against the parliamentary parties "if they do not give up the tendency to retain the monarchy in one form or the other."
The royal palace has already refuted reports in some newspapers that linked Crown Prince Paras to the serial blasts.
Issuing a statement on Wednesday, the royal palace press secretariat said the news reports were false and published with the ill intention to defame the palace and the crown prince.
Similarly, the Nepal Army, too, has condemned the media reports, which tried to "link the army to Sunday’s blasts".
Terming the news reports a "well-planned and false propaganda" carried out by some media organizations, the NA has appealed to the people to be alert against "this kind of conspiracy, and against the elements, who want to impose their atrocious and extremist ideology."

UK vicars' yoga ban stems from ignorance: Baba Ramdev

Reacting sharply to the ban imposed on yoga by two churches in England [Images] in their halls, yoga exponent Baba Ramdev and a Catholic priest on Saturday said the decision stems from "ignorance"."To relate yoga with religion is nothing but ignorance. There is nothing to suggest in the yoga texts that it is against Christianity," Baba Ramdev said.Delhi Catholic Archdiocese spokesperson Emmanuel Dominic said the action was "stupidity because of lack of sufficient knowledge about what yoga is."Describing yoga as a sham and un-Christian, priests of two churches in England have banned a children's exercise class from their church halls because it is teaching yoga.Louise Woodcock, 41, who was looking for a new home for her Yum Yum Yoga class for toddlers was turned away by the Silver Street Baptist Church and St James's Anglican Church in Taunton, Somerset.Dominic, a yoga practioner, said the decision was not official of either of the Church of England or of the Catholic Church or the Protestant Church.
"Two small parishes are small thing. These are the individual opinions of the two priests," he said.

Royal family shifts

Royal family 'shifts' to Nagarjun palace

Day after the government decided to nationalise seven royal palaces including the Narayanhiti palace, King Gyanendra moved to Nagarjun palace with his family on Friday.
A royal palace source however claimed that King Gyanendra and his family moved to Nagarjun palace as part of their vacation plan set weeks earlier and that their departure from Narayanhiti has nothing to do with yesterday's cabinet decision to bring the seven palaces under government ownership.
Nagarjun palace, northwestern suburb of Kathmandu, is known as a summer retreat of the royal family.
The palace source told Nepalnews that the King and his family are staying at Nagarjun for a month.

Thursday's government decision to nationalise the royal palaces and lands is seen as one of the boldest decisions taken in recent weeks by the interim government to clip the powers of the monarch. The Nayanhiti administration has not reacted to the latest government decision.
The five-member ministerial team headed by Home Minister Krishna Situala, which has been given 15 days to complete the task of nationalising the royal family's properties, has decided to register seven palaces in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Nuwakot, Gorkha and Lamjung districts. 1533 ropanies of land occupied by these palaces will also come under government ownership.
The committee has also decided to freeze the bank accounts of King Gyanendra, Queen Komal and Crown Prince Paras to stop transfer of late King Birendra and late Queen Aishwarya's money to them.

Weekend break may hit Salman's bail moves

Kathmandu: Salman Khan will, in all probability, be forced to spend some time in jail even if his legal team succeeds in convincing the Jodhpur High Court to stay the warrant of arrest against him. With the court being shut for the weekend, the earliest that it can take up the bail application is Monday. But Jodhpur cops are not going to wait so long to arrest Khan. Officials told TOI that a team, led by Udai Mandir station house officer Dinesh Meena, would be leaving for Mumbai on Saturday itself to take the actor into their custody. But the star himself appeared quite cool about the situation. "Don't worry about it, dear," he told TOI in his drawl when quizzed about the sessions court order sending him to prison for five years. "I will do whatever my lawyer advises," he added. The lawyer, Dipesh Mehta, is planning to move the Jodhpur High Court by way of a criminal revision application against the sessions court order and seek bail. Senior defence counsel Mahesh Jethmalani said, "He can certainly go to the high court by way of a revision application and get the non-bailable warrant stayed. The application can be filed before he surrenders but the court will stay the warrant only on condition that the actor first surrenders." The application can be filed on Saturday but its hearing can only take place on Monday as Saturday is a court holiday. There is more trouble awaiting Khan's legal team - lawyers from Jodhpur say Tuesday is also a holiday on account of Rakshabandhan so it may be a few days before the matter actually gets heard and there is no way the actor can avoid jail. vv

Bollywood salutes India’s patriotic spirit!

Today being Independence Day we’re feeling particularly patriotic. So we thought we’d introduce you to some of our most patriotic films. These films are a great way to bring about the patriotic mood and we bet you’ll find more than one of these films showing on cable today. So watch out for these… Rang De BasantiRang De Basanti is a contemporary film about the carefree ways of our youth. Of course such happy-go-lucky days don’t last forever and they are confronted with the harsh truths plaguing this country. One of their mates dies in a crash because of a faulty jet. This is because the arms dealer who supplies weapons to the country wants to make extra money by selling faulty planes. The filmmaker draws parallels with the lives of these youth and those of our freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives during the independence struggle. It goes to show that if we are not vigilant and stand up for those harming our country we will be trampled upon.