H-1B bill seeks to 'staple' green cards to PhDs

A new bill has been introduced in the US Congress to exempt foreign graduates of US PhD programmes from counting towards a cap on H-1B visas and give them 'green cards' or permanent residency directly.

Jeff Flake, Republican member of the House of Representatives, last week introduced what he calls the Stopping Trained in America PhDs From Leaving the Economy Act of 2009 (HR 1791) to stem a reverse brain drain of highly skilled immigrants, mainly from India and China, due to the economic downturn.

By design, the bill's acronym, STAPLE, represents the stapling of science, technology, engineering and mathematics PhD degrees onto green cards, granting their holders permanent residency.

Foreign students make up a substantial portion of US doctoral graduates with a large majority of them coming from India and China. According to a survey conducted by the Computing Research Association, foreign students received 55.5 percent of the 1,597 computer science doctoral degrees awarded in the last academic year.

There have been a number of efforts to increase the H-1B visa cap apart from a comprehensive immigration reform push. But supporters of an overhaul of the immigration system have managed to stymie such efforts to get Congress to separately consider changes to the H-1B programme.

Washington, April 8; © Copyright 2009 Indo Asian News Service.

Barack Obama's inaugural speech: full transcript

My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and co-operation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labour, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and travelled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and ploughed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favours only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defence, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologise for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the fire-fighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people: "Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Obama inaugural oration: Crafted by 27-year-old in StarBucks

When Barack Obama steps up to the podium to deliver his inaugural address, one man standing anonymously in the crowd will be paying especially close attention. With his cropped hair, five o'clock shadow and boyish face, he might look out of place among the dignitaries, though as co-author of the speech this man has more claim than most to be a witness to this moment of history.

Jon Favreau, 27, is, as Obama himself puts it, the president's mind reader. He is the youngest chief speechwriter on record in the White House, and, despite such youth, was at the centre of discussions of the content of today's speech, one which has so much riding on it.

For a politician whose rise to prominence was largely built upon his powers as an orator, Obama is well versed in the arts of speech-making. But today's effort will tower over all previous ones.

It is not just that Obama has set an extremely high bar by invoking the inaugural speeches of Abraham Lincoln as his inspiration - admitting to feeling "intimidated" when he read them. It is also that, as he begins his term with the US in an economic crisis and two wars, he knows he needs to kick start his presidency with a soaring rhetoric that both moves and motivates the American people.

The tone of the speech could be decisive in determining how the public responds to his first 100 days, as Franklin Roosevelt's famous line "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" helped to determine his.

Obama aides have let it be known that a key theme will be restoring responsibility - both in terms of accountability in Washington and the responsibility of ordinary people to get involved. Rahm Emanuel, Obama's chief of staff, talks of a "culture of responsibility" that would "not just be asked of the American people; its leaders must also lead by example."

In composing the high notes of the speech, Obama has leant on Favreau, whom he discovered almost by chance four years ago when the younger man was working on John Kerry's failed presidential bid. "Favs" has since studied Obama's speech patterns and cadences with the intensity of a stalker. He memorised the 2004 speech to the Democratic national convention which first brought Obama into the limelight. He is said to carry Obama's autobiography, Dreams From My Father, wherever he goes. As a result, last November when Favreau sat down to write the first draft of the inaugural address, he could conjure up his master's voice as if an accomplished impersonator.

That skill had been put to almost daily use in the 18 months of brutal campaigning on the presidential trail. Favreau would be up most nights until 3am, honing the next day's stump speeches in a caffeine haze of espressos and Red Bull energy drinks, taking breaks to play the video game Rock Band. He coined a phrase for this late-night deadline surfing: "crashing".

He crashed his way through all Obama's most memorable speeches. He wrote the draft of one that helped to turn Iowa for Obama while closeted in a coffee shop in Des Moines. For the presidential election, he wrote two speeches: one for a victory, one for defeat. When the result came through, he emailed his best friend: "Dude, we won. Oh my God."

The tension between such youthful outbursts and his onerous role has sometimes cost the 27-year-old. In December, pictures of him and a friend mocking a cardboard cut-out of Hillary Clinton at a party, Favreau's hand on her breast, were posted on Facebook to his huge embarrassment.

Obama is an accomplished writer in his own right, and the process of drafting with his mind reader is collaborative. The inaugural speech has shuttled between them four or five times, following an initial hour-long meeting in which the president-elect spoke about his vision for the address, and Favreau took notes on his computer.

Favreau then went away and spent weeks on research. His team interviewed historians and speech writers, studied periods of crisis, and listened to past inaugural orations. When ready, he took up residence in Starbucks in Washington and wrote the first draft. The end result will be uttered on the steps of the Capitol.

Obama's mind reader has crashed his way through yet another deadline.

on Favreau is • Chief speechwriter known as president's mind reader
• Young aide studied past inaugural orations

Jon Favreau, head speech writer for US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Photograph: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

Full Text of Steve Jobs Stanford Speech: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish"

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.

This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much.

The Declaration of American Independence

The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies
In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. —Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain [George III] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

The Declaration of American Independence

http://www.writespirit.net/inspirational_talks/talks_jefferson/declaration_of_independence
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Us_declaration_independence.jpg

The Last Hours Of Mahatma Gandhi

PUNCTUALLY at 3.30am on Friday, January 30, 1948, Mahatma Gandhi awoke to greet the last morning he would ever see.

He was in the tense atmosphere of Delhi, staying in a ground-floor guest room of Birla house, the mansion of industrialist and benefactor G.D. Birla located in Albuquerque Road. Gandhi had arrived in the strife-torn capital of newly independent India on September 9, 1947 from Calcutta, where he had performed a miracle of peace-making. By January 30, almost four months had passed since his 78th, and last, birthday. It was 12 days since the successful end of his fast to bring about a reunion of hearts in Delhi. But 10 days before, there had been an aborted attempt on his life during the evening prayer meeting at Birla House. With the situation in Delhi having stabilised, Gandhi was again looking to the future, but his life was in grave danger - and he knew it.

The Mahatma's last day would be as methodical and crowded as any other. Upon getting up from his wooden plank, he roused the other members of his party. They included attendants Brij Krishna Chandiwala and Manu and Abha, his grand-nieces. His physician, Dr Sushila Nayar, who was normally with him, was away in Pakistan. He brushed his teeth with a twig like any ordinary Indian.

At 3.45 am prayers were held on the same cold verandah where the party had slept. With Sushila away, Manu led the Bhagavad Gita recitation. They recited the first and second shlokas. Another female member had failed to rise in time for prayers. This disturbed Gandhi. He mused whether she should leave him, and concluded by saying, "I do not like these signs. I hope God does not keep me here very long to witness these things." When Manu asked Gandhi which prayer she should chant for him, Gandhi chose a favourite Gujarati hymn. The song begins, "Whether weary or unweary, O man, do not tarry, stop not, your struggle if single-handed - continue, and do not tarry!"

After prayers, leaning on his "walking sticks", Manu and Abha, the old man moved slowly into the inner room where Manu covered his legs with a warm blanket. It was still dark outside as Gandhi began his day's work. He corrected the draft of his proposal for a new Congress constitution written the previous night. This document was to become known as his Last Will and Testament to the nation. At 4.45 he drank a glass of lemon, honey and hot water, and an hour later, his daily glass of orange juice. While working, because of weakness caused by the fast, he became tired and allowed himself a sleep.

Waking after only half an hour, Gandhi asked for his correspondence file. The previous day he had written a letter to Kishorlal Mashruwala. One of two matters the letter discussed was a tentative plan for Gandhi to soon leave Delhi and go to Sevagram. The letter had been mislaid, by Manu, and not posted. But it was found and Gandhi gave it to be posted, the last of many thousands. Manu had also wished to convey a message to Mashruwala, who had recently left Gandhi's service. She asked Gandhi whether they were returning to Sevagram on February 2, in which case they would be seeing Mashruwala soon anyway. Gandhi replied, "Who knows about the future? If we come to a decision regarding Sevagram, I shall announce it at the evening prayer meeting. It will then be relayed on the radio at night."

Also a consequence of his fast, Gandhi suffered from a bad cough. To treat it he would take palm-jaggery lozenges with powdered cloves. But by this morning the clove powder had finished. Instead of joining him in his morning walk, a stroll up and down the room, Manu sat down to prepare some more. "I shall join you presently," she said to Gandhi. "Otherwise there will be nothing at hand at night when it is needed." But always focusing on the here-and-now, Gandhi replied, "Who knows what is going to happen before nightfall or even whether I shall be alive. If at night I am still alive you can easily prepare some then." Manu, although well aware of Gandhi's principled stance against modern medicines, could not refrain from offering him penicillin lozenges instead. Unyielding, Gandhi asked her how she could offer him such things when his faith was in Ramanama and prayer.

The Mahatma's first appointment for the day was at 7 am, with Rajen Nehru who was going to America. Gandhi spoke with her while taking his morning constitutional in the room. He had not yet regained enough strength for his customary long walk in the open air.

Next Gandhi was to have a massage. Passing through his secretary Pyarelal's room, Gandhi handed Pyarelal his draft submission for the new Congress constitution, written for the forthcoming Congress Working Committee meeting. Gandhi asked him to go through it carefully. "Fill any gaps that you may find in my thinking," he instructed. "I have prepared it under heavy strain." Brij Krishna gave Gandhi the half-hour massage in a room adjacent to his sitting room. Two electric heaters were needed to warm the chilly air. While laying on the table Gandhi digested the morning newspapers.

After the massage Gandhi asked Pyarelal whether he had finished the revision. Gandhi also requested him to write a note on how, in the light of his work in Noakhali, he believed an impending rice crisis in Madras province could be handled. Manu then gave Gandhi his bath. During this he asked her whether she was doing the hand exercises he had prescribed. Manu told him that she did not like the exercises, then listened to a long but gentle rebuke from her master, who told her of the responsibility he had taken for her health and moral development.

After the bath Manu weighed the little man (who was about five feet and five inches tall). He was 109 1/2 pounds. He had regained two-and-a-half pounds since ending his fast. His strength was returning. Pyarelal thought he looked refreshed after his bath. The strain of the previous night had disappeared. When someone told Gandhi that a woman member of Sevagram Ashram had missed her train that morning because there had been no conveyance for the several mile ride to Wardha station, he asked in all seriousness, "Why did she not walk to the station?" Then Gandhi did his morning Bengali writing exercise. Today he wrote, "Bhairab's home is in Naihati. Shaila is his eldest daughter. Today Shaila gets married to Kailash."

By now it was 9.30, and time for Gandhi's morning meal. The meal included cooked vegetables, 12 ounces of goat's milk, four tomatoes, four oranges, carrot juice and a decoction of ginger, sour limes and aloes. While eating Gandhi talked with Pyarelal about the draft Congress Constitution, to which Pyarelal had made some alterations. Pyarelal also reported on the outcome of a meeting the previous day with the leader of the extremist Hindu Mahasabha, Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerjee. Gandhi had sent Pyarelal to inform Dr Mookerjee of speeches of a particular Hindu Mahasabha worker inciting the assassination of some Congress leaders. Could not Dr Mookerjee stop these inflammatory speeches? Dr Mookerjee's reply was halting and unsatisfactory, reported Pyarelal to the Mahatma. Pyarelal observed Gandhi's brow darken as he repeated Dr Mookerjee's reply. Gandhi and Pyarelal then talked at length about the volatile situation at Noakhali. He told Pyarelal also of his plan to go to Pakistan. He asked Pyarelal to go back to Noakhali, but to wait until he had returned to Sevagram. Pyarelal was surprised at this request, for it was unusual for Gandhi to delay anyone returning to their post. Mid-morning also, an old associate from Gandhi's South African days, Rustom Sorabji, called in with his family.

Next, at about 10.30, Gandhi again slept. The soles of his feet were rubbed with ghee. At midday he awoke and drank a glass of hot water with honey. A little later he walked alone to the bathroom. It was the first time since his fast that he had walked unaided. "Bapuji," Manu called out to him, "how strange you look, walking all alone!" Gandhi laughed and said, "It's nice, isn't it? 'Walk alone, Walk alone'!" These last words were Tagore's.

Morning had given way to afternoon. At about 12.30 Gandhi talked about the plan of a prominent local doctor to build a nursing home and orphanage. He wanted very much to help. Soon Gandhi was visited by a delegation of Delhi Muslim leaders who were calling daily. Communal tensions and the refugee crisis still darkened the atmosphere in the capital. Gandhi discussed with the leaders his wish to go to Wardha to see about his institutions there and attend a conference on February 2. He would be back in Delhi by the 14th. He sought their permission to leave Delhi. "I do expect to be back here by the 14th. But if Providence has decreed otherwise, that is a different matter. I am not, however, sure whether I shall be able to leave here even on the day after tomorrow. It is all in God's hands." The leaders gave their permission for Gandhi to leave Delhi. He would announce his plans at the evening prayer meeting.

On his last day Gandhi also spoke about his late beloved secretary Mahadev Desai. A biography of Mahadev's was to be written, but there was disagreement over financial terms. Gandhi expressed his frustration at this. Mahadev's diaries also needed to be edited and compiled. The ideal candidate, Narhari Parikh, was in poor health. The task, Gandhi decided, should fall to Chandrashanker Shukla. Mashruwala had been another candidate.

The Mahatma also met with Sudhir Ghosh, who mentioned an apparent campaign in the British press to highlight a rift that had developed between Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Deputy Prime Minister Vallabhbhai Patel. Gandhi would raise the matter with Patel who was calling this afternoon, and with Nehru who, with Maulana Azad, was calling at 7pm this evening.

Gandhi lay down in the afternoon January sunshine and had his abdominal mud pack. To shade his face he donned the peasant's bamboo hat he had brought from Noakhali. Kanu and Abha again pressed his feet. A journalist who was there asked Gandhi if information that he was leaving for Sevagram on February 1 was correct. "Who says so?" Gandhi asked. "The papers have it," replied the journalist. "Yes," rejoined Gandhi, "the papers have announced that Gandhi would be going on the Ist. But who that Gandhi is, I do not know."

At about 1.30pm, Brij Krishna read out to Gandhi a statement by Master Tara Singh which angrily advised the Mahatma to retire to the Himalayas. A similar attack by a refugee yesterday had shocked him, and this also left its mark. Gandhi then took a few ounces of carrot and lemon juice. Some blind and homeless refugees came to meet him. He gave instructions to Brij Krishna about them. Then the Allahabad Riot report was read to him.

Time was ebbing away. It was now mid-afternoon.

The usual daily round of interviews began at about 2.15 pm. Representatives from all of India - and beyond - sought an audience. Two Punjabis spoke about the Harijans of their province. Two Sindhis followed. A representative of Ceylon accompanied by his daughter asked Gandhi to give a message for Ceylon's independence day on February 14. The girl obtained Gandhi's autograph, the last he was to give. At about 3pm a professor who called in told Gandhi that what he was preaching had been advocated in Buddha's time. At about 3.15 a French photographer presented him with an album of his photographs. He met a Punjabi delegation, and a Sikh delegation who asked him to suggest a president for a conference to be held in Delhi on February 15. Gandhi suggested Congress president Rajendra Prasad, and added he would give a message himself.

Gandhi finished the last interview by 4pm, when the Sardar was due to arrive. Gandhi rose from his sitting place and walked towards the bathroom. He asked Brij Krishna to arrange his railway journey to Wardha for the very next day, Saturday.

Gandhi was still in the bathroom when Patel and his daughter and secretary Mani arrived. Patel and Brij Krishna chatted for a few minutes. When Gandhi emerged he and Patel immediately fell into conversation. Gandhi told Patel that although earlier he had believed either Patel or Nehru would have to withdraw from Cabinet, he now agreed with Mountbatten, the new Governor-General, that both were indispensable. He told Patel that he would make a statement to this effect at the prayer meeting, and he would say this to Nehru when he called that evening. He might even postpone his departure for Wardha if he felt there was any trouble between the two.

As Gandhi and Patel were speaking, two Kathiawad leaders came and told Manu they wished to see Gandhi. She enquired of Gandhi whether he would see them. Said Gandhi in Patel's presence, "Tell them that I will, but only after the prayer meeting, and that too if I am still living. We shall then talk things over." Manu conveyed Gandhi's reply to the visitors and invited them to stay for the prayer meeting. Yet again, Gandhi had spoken of his possible imminent demise, and on this occasion in front of the man with prime responsibility for his safety. While Gandhi talked Abha served him his meal. It included goat's milk, vegetable soup, oranges and carrot juice. Gandhi then asked for his charkha, which he plied lovingly for the last time.

For Gandhi this fateful Friday had been, more or less, a normal day. But for Nathuram Godse, a 37-year-old Hindu extremist, it was a momentous one from the second he awoke that morning in Old Delhi Railway Station's Retiring Room No. 6. For today was the day he was going to kill Mahatma Gandhi.

Early in the morning Godse was joined by fellow conspirators Narayan Apte and Vishnu Karkare. There were actually eight men involved in the plot to kill Gandhi. The three who would carry out their group's second assassination attempt spent the day working out the details of their planned murder and preparing for the awful deed. They would stand at the outer rim of the crowd toward the right as they faced the elevated platform on which Gandhi sat. Godse would shoot at Gandhi with a seven chambered automatic pistol from this distance of about 35 feet. The other two would fend off anyone who tried to interfere. Godse had little experience with guns.

In mid-afternoon they left the railway station and went to Birla Temple. The other two prayed, but Godse did not. At 4.30, Godse, dressed in a newly bought khaki jacket - it would be a confrontation of khaki versus khadi - left the temple by tonga for Birla House. Five minutes later, Apte and Karkare took their own tonga.

Before five o'clock Godse reached Birla House, followed by Apte and Karkare. Since the failed assassination attempt on January 20, Gandhi had acceded to the wishes of Patel and Nehru, and permitted about 30 police, uniformed and plainclothes, to be stationed at various points around Birla House and its surrounds. Not to have agreed, Gandhi felt, would have only added to the burdens on the shoulders of the two leaders. But he drew the line at agreeing to the searching of those entering the grounds to attend his prayer meetings. Upon arrival the conspirators observed that the guard had been increased, and, with great relief, that no-one was being searched. All three entered the grounds without difficulty. They walked through the front entrance separately, as Gandhi and Patel at the rear of the mansion carried on their conversation.

It was 5 pm. Afternoon was fading to evening as the winter sun dipped low. Five o'clock was the appointed time for prayers. Gandhi disliked ever being late, especially for prayers. But he was not wearing his familiar Ingersoll pocket watch. These days others were his timekeepers. Manu and Abha saw the hour but dared not interrupt such an important conversation. At 5.10 they could wait no longer. Abha showed Gandhi his watch. But he was not distracted. Finally in desperation Mani intervened, and with Gandhi saying, "I must now tear myself away", the talk ended.

Gandhi got up, put on his chappals and stepped through the side door out of the room into the twilight. He wore a shawl for warmth. As usual he lent gently on his two "walking sticks". Manu was on his right and Abha on his left. As usual also Manu carried Gandhi's spittoon, spectacle case and rosary, and her notebook. Brij Krishna was behind them, together with some members of the Birla family and a few others, including the two Kathiawad visitors. Sushila Nayar, who normally walked in front of Gandhi, of course was not there. Nor, momentarily, was another attendant Gurbachan Singh, who with one or two other men was usually in front of Gandhi. Also absent from his position at Gandhi's side was A.N. Bhatia, the recently introduced plainclothes policeman. He had been assigned elsewhere that day, and no replacement had been appointed. The congregation had wondered why the punctual Gandhi was late, but now they could see him coming.

Thus Mahatma Gandhi set out an his final 200 yard journey, his final trek, his final march. He had come from Porbandar, to Rajkot, to the Inner Temple, to Bombay, to Durban, to Pietermaritzburg, to Johannesburg, to Phoenix Settlement, to Tolstoy Farm, to Champaran, to Sabarmati, to Yeravda, to Dandi, to Kingsley Hall, to St James Palace, to Sevagram, to the Age Khan Palace, to Noakhali, to Calcutta, to Delhi.

Today he did not walk as usual through the leafy arbour to the right side of the grounds. Being late he took a short cut directly across the lawn to the steps leading to the terrace where prayers were held.

Despite everything, his mood was light. He joked about the raw carrot Abha had served him that day. "So you are serving me cattle fare!" he exclaimed. Abha replied that Ba, Gandhi's deceased wife, used to call it horse fare. Rejoined Gandhi as they hurried along, "Is it not grand of me to relish what no-one else would care for?"

Abha and Manu teased Gandhi for neglecting his watch and his timekeepers both. "It is your fault that I am 10 minutes late," he responded. "It is the duty of nurses to carry on their work even if God himself should be present there. If it is time to give medicine to a patient and you hesitate, the poor patient may die. I hate it if I am late for prayers even by a minute."

With this the party had finished the first 170 yards of the journey and had reached the foot of the six curved steps that led onto the prayer ground. Gandhi always insisted on his party stopping all jokes and conversation before they entered the prayer ground. About now Gurbachan Singh caught up with the group, but did not move in front of Gandhi.

Around India and the world Gandhi's numberless friends and co-workers, old and new, were carrying on in the knowledge that Mahatma Gandhi lived still. Reverend John Haynes Holmes was at his home in New York, Mirabehn was at her ashram in the Himalayas, Mountbatten was at Government House, Nehru was at work in Delhi, Pyarelal was on his way to Birla House, the Life magazine photographer Margaret Bourke-White was just a few streets away, Patel was returning to his bungalow, and American journalist Vincent Sheean, who also had an appointment with Gandhi that evening, was only a few yards away on the Birla House terrace, himself part of the throng.

The hushed crowd was several hundred thick (including possibly about 20 plainclothes policemen). At the top of the steps Gandhi brought his palms together to greet the gathering. As usual, the people parted to make a passage for him to the wooden platform. Critically, today there was no-one in front of Gandhi.

The supreme moment had come. Gandhi trod his final steps to eternity.

Through the parting, Godse saw Gandhi coming straight towards him. Godse then made an instant decision to completely change the plan, and to shoot Gandhi there and then from point-blank range. The Mahatma had taken just few paces from the steps. Godse elbowed his way through, parting from the other two, and approached the Mahatma with his palms joined. The tiny black Italian Beretta pistol was concealed between them. He bowed low and said, "Namaste, Gandhiji." Gandhi joined his palms in acknowledgement. Manu thought Godse was going to kiss Gandhi's feet, a practice the Mahatma did not like. She motioned him away. "Brother, Bapu is already late for prayers. Why are you bothering him?" she said.

Gandhi had been expecting another attempt on his life. As this incident occurred, he might have understood... this was it.

No police intervened. Godse pushed Manu forcefully aside with his left hand, momentarily exposing the gun in his right. The items in her hands fell to the ground. For a few moments she continued arguing with the unknown assailant. But when the rosary dropped she bent down to pick it up. At this precise moment, a burst of deafening blasts ripped apart the peaceful atmosphere as Godse fired three bullets into Gandhi's abdomen and chest. As the third shot was fired Gandhi was still standing, his palms still joined. He was heard to gasp, "He Ram, He Ram" ("Oh God, Oh God"). Then he slowly sank to the ground, palms joined still, possibly in a final ultimate act of ahimsa. Smoke filled the air. Confusion and panic reigned. The Mahatma was slumped on the ground, his head resting in the laps of both girls. His face turned pale, his white shawl of Australian wool was turning crimson with blood. Within seconds Mahatma Gandhi was dead. It was 5.17pm.

Early that very morning, foreseeing the manner of his death, Gandhi had said to Manu, "If someone fires bullets at me and I die without a groan and with God's name on my lips, then you should tell the world that here was a real Mahatma..." Gandhi had journeyed through a lifetime from Porbandar to Delhi. He had journeyed from a struggle against disenfranchisement in Natal, to one against British rule of India, to one for peace and justice in free India. He had journeyed from ordinary young man to Mahatma.

He had journeyed "from untruth to truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality."

His teachings had journeyed from India to the four corners of the world.

Gandhi, the soldier of Truth, lay on the soft, moist earth, his body sacrificed. But Gandhi had never fought with the body but with the spirit, and that remained untouched.

By Stephen Murphy

What do Aliens look like? A conversation with Seth Shostak -- Senior Astronomer-Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)

Humans have been around for millions of years, but only in the past century have we begun beaming radio transmissions powerful enough to reach any alien planets. If we do make contact, what might our intelligent counterparts look like?

The scoop:

Ever imagined what that first moment of alien contact might be like? Perhaps a slimy green creature descending from a saucer-shape spaceship, or maybe just a repeating radio beacon.

To find out what the experts think, Discovery Space linked up with Seth Shostak -- senior astronomer at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) institute who consulted on "The Day the Earth Stood Still" movie remake.



Dave on Earth (1:01 PM): Hi Seth. How are you?

SethHeartsAliens (1:02 PM): Just peachy-keen, Dave!

Dave on Earth (1:03 PM): Great. So we're here to chat about aliens... but before we start, what do you have to do with extraterrestrial life?

SethHeartsAliens (1:03 PM): Well, my day job is to look for them.
Not here on Earth, but aliens that might be on other worlds, sending us a radio broadcast.

Dave on Earth (1:04 PM): I know some would beg to differ, but so far I assume we haven't talked to aliens yet. Correct?

SethHeartsAliens (1:05 PM): That's correct. We still haven't received any radio signals that we believe were sent by extraterrestrials.
We're looking, of course, and our search is speeding up, too.

Dave on Earth (1:05 PM): What about the "Wow!" signal?

SethHeartsAliens (1:05 PM): Well, that was a strange signal received in 1977 with an antenna in Ohio.
No one yet knows for sure what it was, but it was only picked up once. So... if you can't see it again, if you only hear it a single time, then you can't claim that it was ET.
You just don't know.

Dave on Earth (1:06 PM): Thanks. If we did make contact, do you have any idea what the aliens might look like?

SethHeartsAliens (1:07 PM): That's a question that everyone asks!
In the movies they often look a lot like us -- two arms, two legs, a head, two eyes, and so forth.
But really, if you go down to the local zoo, and check out the critters there, THEY don't look like us.
So I don't think aliens would, either.
But my personal opinion is that if we find a signal...
... it will be coming from a society that's more advanced than ours.
So they may have already invented thinking machines.

Dave on Earth (1:08 PM): Thinking machines?

SethHeartsAliens (1:09 PM): Yep. I'm willing to bet you a lunch that any signal we eventually find will be coming from ...
... you said it, thinking machines!

Dave on Earth (1:09 PM): So my computer could be an alien?

SethHeartsAliens (1:09 PM): Well, I don't know how smart your computer is. When it's clever enough to take over your job, I'll be willing to admit that it might be like an alien!

Dave on Earth (1:09 PM): The one I'm working from is pretty dumb, but it has a few tricks up its silicon sleeves.

SethHeartsAliens (1:10 PM): Glad to hear it has sleeves!
But this would be the kind of machine that could teach high school chemistry, or write that Great American Novel.

Dave on Earth (1:10 PM): Honestly, I don't think of machines when I think of aliens.
Why do you think it will be a machine and not, well, a living thing?

SethHeartsAliens (1:11 PM): I think this is just a matter of time scales.
Imagine an alien society that invents radio, similar to the way we did 100 years ago.
Within a century, they've invented computers.
And within a century after that, maybe, they've invented thinking machines.
So: if any aliens we hear are as much as a few centuries ahead of us, they've already invented their successors.

Dave on Earth (1:12 PM): I see... don't you think that's a little depressing?

SethHeartsAliens (1:12 PM): I think we're just subjecting ourselves to wishful thinking when we imagine that the aliens will be protoplasm blobs the way we are!

Dave on Earth (1:12 PM): True... I suppose I just never like that robot from "Lost in Space."
I wouldn't want to meet that kind of "thinking machine" -- too annoying. I'd rather meet other protoplasm blobs.

SethHeartsAliens (1:12 PM): Machines don't bug me that much. And we could be their pets!
Robert May... Yes, I met that fellow once! But he was a very limited robot.
All he could do is roll around the landscape saying "Danger, Will Robinson!" A dog can do more than that.
The machines we'll have a century from now will be rather more sophisticated, I think.

Dave on Earth (1:14 PM): Ok, so let me rephrase my big question:
What might an alien "thinking machine" look like? Obviously this is speculative territory, but it's your job to think about these things :)

SethHeartsAliens (1:14 PM): Well, it may not matter much what it LOOKS like.
What counts is what it is doing that we might detect, even from light-years away. And as you implied, we don't know.
But maybe it's sending out light or radio signals that our telescopes could pick up.
That's one way to find them .. maybe the best way.
Another possibility is that they are building giant structures that we could see.

Dave on Earth (1:15 PM): Is there a chance SETI and everyone else is looking for the wrong thing?

SethHeartsAliens (1:15 PM): Of course there's a chance that we're doing the wrong thing, but if you don't know, then I think you should do SOMETHING.
We'll never find the aliens by just throwing up our hands and saying "we don't know how to look!"
Better to explore and not find them, than to not explore and be guaranteed not to find them!

Dave on Earth (1:17 PM): Thanks. Now another question...
Do you ever ponder why they would want to contact us -- and would you be afraid of ever making contact?

SethHeartsAliens (1:17 PM): Well, I'm certainly not afraid of hearing them on the radio. After all, they won't know that we picked up their signal.

Dave on Earth (1:18 PM): What if their politically correct greeting is to chew off one of our arms or something?

SethHeartsAliens (1:18 PM): If aliens ever came to Earth --- well, that might be a bit different!
Indeed, usually when an advanced society visits a less-advanced society, it's bad news for the less-advanced.
Frankly, I don't know why we'd be visited. I think it's unlikely that the aliens even know we're here.

Dave on Earth (1:19 PM): I see. Here's another depressing thought:
What if they know about us, but are completely avoiding us?
Maybe they know that we smell bad. Or that we're jerks to our planet

SethHeartsAliens (1:19 PM): Gosh, no one likes to be a social outcast!
But as I say, I don't think they know about how we smell or how we treat our planet.
And that's because signals that would tell them that -- for example, our TV shows -- haven't reached them yet, most likely.
They may know about the oxygen in our atmosphere, and that might tell them about plants on Earth. But I doubt any of them know about humans!
Maybe they'll come to Earth to save the chestnut trees, but I doubt it.

Dave on Earth (1:22 PM): So to touch on something you typed a moment ago...
If no aliens probably know about us yet, why are we looking for signs of them?

SethHeartsAliens (1:22 PM): Well, that's a good point. Maybe they have no reason to be sending radio messages, for example, to Earth.
But on the other hand, perhaps we're just in the "beam" of a galactic broadcast... one that's not really intended for us.
We might pick up that.

Dave on Earth (1:24 PM): I see... so it's also an issue of why they would want/need to broadcast.
Do you think it's safe to assume that intelligent aliens would be curious as we are?

SethHeartsAliens (1:24 PM): Yes, and that requires reading their minds! I doubt that we can do that very well.
I'm sure curiosity is something that any intelligent being (even a machine) would have. It's a valuable trait.
It's not just a human trait. Plenty of animals exhibit curiosity... sometimes it pays off (for example, with a nice dinner!)
We're curious to know if there are Martians, even if you'd need a microscope to see them!

Dave on Earth (1:26 PM): So that means whatever, or whomever, is out there must have grown up as a species according to evolution?

SethHeartsAliens (1:27 PM): Well, in the beginning, I'm sure that any aliens that are out there began as biological beings.
Even if they've become machines...

Dave on Earth (1:27 PM): Their "thinking machines" would be different, right?
Let's hope they're a far cry from the ones we see in the Terminator series.

SethHeartsAliens (1:27 PM): Yes, well the Terminator guy looked a lot like ... us!
The machines might just look like a lot of circuitry and some solar cells, for all we know. Just floating in space.
Not very attractive, unless you're another machine!

Dave on Earth (1:29 PM): You brought up Martians.
How would finding a few microbes not native to Earth on the Red Planet change things?

SethHeartsAliens (1:29 PM): It would be a VERY big story.
Not because finding pond scum is in itself so remarkable; you can find pond scum in your neighborhood pond.
But finding MARTIAN pond scum would say, "Hey, life must be everywhere because, look, the next planet out from the Sun also has life!"

Dave on Earth (1:29 PM): Well, we've had plenty of false-alarms that were big stories

SethHeartsAliens (1:30 PM): Yes, well, science often produces false alarms.

Dave on Earth (1:30 PM): I see -- so it's not the life itself, but the fact that it's all over the place.
And that would mean more chances out there for finding beings at least a bit similar to us.

SethHeartsAliens (1:31 PM): Well, the life itself would also be interesting. But the really big part of the story is that it would tell us that lots of worlds probably have life.
Of course, the Martian life might NOT be very similar to us. Might not have DNA, for example.
Every biologist would want to know, "could you have life without DNA?"
Now there's one other possibility...

Dave on Earth (1:32 PM): Oh?

SethHeartsAliens (1:32 PM): ...and that is, Martian life infected Earth a long time ago.
So that we and the Martians might be relatives. But that's just an idea.
We'll only know if and when we find any Martians!
I kind of like the idea that I might be descended from Martians... but it's likeable, not likely!
What we would share with any alien is the fact that we both arose from stardust.

Dave on Earth (1:36 PM): Good point. To recap:
We have no idea what aliens would look like, but if we hear from anything it's probably going to be a machine -- they live longer and might be smarter than anything biological.
We also don't know if aliens would want to find us and, if they did, what they might do.
But whoever they are, they probably started out biologically and evolved on the same principles as everything on Earth.
And no matter where "they" are, we, like them -- even the machines -- are made of stardust.

SethHeartsAliens (1:37 PM): That's about the size of it!
Of course, we'll only know if this is true by picking up a signal or by finding aliens in some other way.
So that's why we keep looking!

Dave on Earth (1:38 PM): My final big question:
Why do you think humans should look? Or listen, for that matter?

SethHeartsAliens (1:38 PM): Well, there are a lot of reasons you could think of for listening for signals.
Maybe, if we heard anything, and could understand it, we could learn important things. That's one possibility.
We would also learn that Earth isn't so special, and that's interesting to know, too.
But I think the real reason we look is, as you mentioned before... curiosity.
We've already talked about that a bit. It's a human quality (although not just humans), and it's a great thing.
Why else would you want to know what's at the bottom of the oceans? Or on the far side of the Moon?
Curiosity drives us to explore. And exploration is a wonderful thing for us to do.
That's my take on it. We could just sit around and play solitaire forever. But exploration is the thing, in my opinion.
Let's find out what the universe has to offer.

Dave on Earth (1:41 PM): Thanks so much Seth

SethHeartsAliens (1:41 PM): It's been fun!

An interview published on discovery channel website by Dave Mosher

Too Much, Too Little Sleep Leads to Big Belly

People who sleep fewer than six hours a night -- or more than nine -- are more likely to be obese, according to a new government study that is one of the largest to show a link between irregular sleep and big bellies.

The study also linked light sleepers to higher smoking rates, less physical activity and more alcohol use.

The research adds weight to a stream of studies that have found obesity and other health problems in those who don't get proper shuteye, said Dr. Ron Kramer, a Colorado physician and a spokesman for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

"The data is all coming together that short sleepers and long sleepers don't do so well," Kramer said.

The study released Wednesday is based on door-to-door surveys of 87,000 U.S. adults from 2004 through 2006 conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Such surveys can't prove cause-effect relationships, so -- for example -- it's not clear if smoking causes sleeplessness or if sleeplessness prompts smoking, said Charlotte Schoenborn, the study's lead author.

It also did not account for the influence of other factors, such as depression, which can contribute to heavy eating, smoking, sleeplessness and other problems.

Smoking was highest for people who got under six hours of sleep, with 31 percent saying they were current smokers. Those who got nine or more hours also were big puffers, with 26 percent smoking.

The overall U.S. smoking rate is about 21 percent. For those in the study who sleep seven to eight hours, the rate was lower, at 18 percent.

Results were similar, though a bit less dramatic, for obesity: About 33 percent of those who slept less than six hours were obese, and 26 percent for those who got nine or more. Normal sleepers were the thinnest group, with obesity at 22 percent.

For alcohol use, those who slept the least were the biggest drinkers. However, alcohol use for those who slept seven to eight hours and those who slept nine hours or more was similar.

In another measure, nearly half of those who slept nine hours or more each night were physically inactive in their leisure time, which was worse even than the lightest sleepers and the proper sleepers. Many of those who sleep nine hours or more may have serious health problems that make exercise difficult.

Many elderly people are in the group who get the least sleep, which would help explain why physical activity rates are low. Those skimpy sleepers who are younger may still feel too tired to exercise, experts said.

Stress or psychological problems may explain what's going on with some of the lighter sleepers, experts said.

Other studies have found inadequate sleep is tied to appetite-influencing hormone imbalances and a higher incidence of diabetes and high blood pressure, noted James Gangwisch, a respected Columbia University sleep researcher.

"We're getting to the point that they may start recommending getting enough sleep as a standard approach to weight loss and the prevention of obesity," said Gangwisch, who was not involved in the study.

A report by Mike Stobbe

To all Taureans

The Taurean's characteristics are solidity, practicality, extreme determination and strength of will - no one will ever drive them, but they will willingly and loyally follow a leader they trust. They are stable, balanced, conservative good, law-abiding citizens and lovers of peace, possessing all the best qualities of the bourgeoisie. As they have a sense of material values and physical possessions, respect for property and a horror of falling into debt, they will do everything in their power to maintain the security of the status quo and be somewhat hostile to change.

Mentally, they are keen-witted and practical more often than intellectual, but apt to become fixed in their opinions through their preference for following accepted and reliable patterns of experience. Their character is generally dependable, steadfast, prudent, just, firm and unshaken in the face of difficulties. Their vices arise from their virtues, going to extremes on occasion,such as sometimes being too slavish to the conventions they admire.

On rare occasions a Taurean may be obstinately and exasperatingly self-righteous, unoriginal, rigid, ultraconservative, argumentative, querulous bores, stuck in a self-centered rut. They may develop a brooding resentment through nursing a series of injuries received and, whether their characters are positive or negative, they need someone to stroke their egos with a frequent, "Well Done!" Most Taureans are not this extreme though.

They are faithful and generous friends with a great capacity for affection, but rarely make friends with anyone outside their social rank, to which they are ordinarily excessively faithful. In the main, they are gentle, even tempered, good natured, modest and slow to anger, disliking quarreling and avoiding ill-feeling. If they are provoked, however, they can explode into violent outbursts of ferocious anger in which they seem to lose all self-control. Equally unexpected are their occasional sallies into humor and exhibitions of fun.

Although their physical appearance may belie it, they have a strong aesthetic taste, enjoying art, for which they may have a talent, beauty (recoiling from anything sordid or ugly) and music. They may have a strong, sometimes unconventional, religious faith. Allied to their taste for all things beautiful is a love for the good things of life pleasure, comfort, luxury and good food and wine and they may have to resist the temptation to over indulgence, leading to drunkenness, gross sensuality, and covetousness.

In their work, Taureans are industrious and good craftspeople, and are not afraid of getting their hands dirty. They are reliable, practical, methodical and ambitious, within a framework of obedience to superiors. They are at their best in routine positions of trust and responsibility, where there is little need of urgency and even less risk of change, and a pension at the end. Yet they are creative and good founders of enterprises where the rewards of their productiveness come from their own work and not that of others.
They can flourish in many different trades and professions: banking, architecture, building, almost any form of bureaucracy, auctioneering, farming, medicine, chemistry, industry Taureans make good managers and foremen surveying, insurance, education and, perhaps surprisingly, music and sculpture. They make an ideal trustee or guardian, and can attain eminence as a chef. Some Taureans are gifted enough in singing to become opera stars or to excel in more popular types of music.

They are more than averagely amorous and sensually self-conscious, but sexually straightforward and not given to experiment. They make constant, faithful, home loving spouses and thoughtful, kindly parents, demanding too much of neither their spouses nor children. They can be over possessive and may sometimes play the game of engineering family roles for the pleasure of making up the quarrel. If anyone offends their amour proper they can be a determined enemy, though magnanimous in forgiveness if their opponent makes an effort to meet them halfway.

No other sign in the zodiac is closer to earth then Taurus. The main objective in leading a Taurean life is primarily (though not entirely) to maintain stability and physical concerns. Your inner spiritual sense longs for earthly harmony and wholesomeness. When you fully understand this, and work toward this end, you will no longer need to blindly reassure yourself with external possessions and comforts. A realization that finding this inner peace will cause all of the above mentioned positive things will overtake you and your life will be very full.

Ultimately the Taurean needs to discover their truest, deepest and highest values. When they know what is truly valuable, they are no longer chained to people and to things that have to do with lesser values. The greatest indication of value to a Taurean is beauty, which cannot be owned, only appreciated.

Possible Health Concerns...

Taurus governs the throat and neck and its subjects need to beware throat infections, goiter and respiratory ailments such as asthma. They are said to be at risk of diseases of the genitals, womb, liver and kidneys, and of abscesses and rheumatism. Because their body type has an inclination to physical laziness, Taureans can be overweight.

* LIKES Stability
* Being Attracted
* Things Natural
* Time to Ponder
* Comfort and Pleasure

* DISLIKES Disruption
* Being pushed too hard
* Synthetic or "man made" things
* Being rushed
* Being indoors


PROBLEMS THAT MAY ARISE FOR YOU, AND THEIR SOLUTIONS

As with all sun signs, we all have unique traits to our personalities. When these traits are suppressed, or unrealized, problems will arise. However, with astrology we can examine the problem and assess the proper solution based on the sun sign characteristics. As a Taurean you may see things below that really strike home. Try the solution, you most likely will be amazed at the results. If you find yourself on the receiving end of the negatives below, it is because you are failing to express the positive.

PROBLEM: Having feelings of being used and manipulated, led down the garden path and made a sucker of.
SOLUTION: Realize that your magnetism attracts negative as well as positive influences. You need to choose your friends, not let them choose you.

PROBLEM: Physical things start loosing their appeal, and you feel more and more out of touch with the world around you. You stop caring so much about how much money you have among other physical concerns.
SOLUTION: You are starting to discover an inner harmony that is trying to replace the physical with spiritual. You must let this grow without killing the part of you that provides sustenance for your family.

PROBLEM: Unexplained fear of loss, jealousy and a paranoia that others are out to get you.
SOLUTION: You have within you the ability to not only attract faithfulness, but also the intellect to see what is truly going on around you. You are loosing faith in both of these personal traits. Rebuild that faith.

PROBLEM: Feeling depressed with life. Disgusted and dissatisfied. People around you are little comfort. You feel that life lacks meaning. Easily addicted to physical pleasures.
SOLUTION: Revisit and realize the value of spiritual things in life. Take control of your life by realizing it is not the things in life that are important, but the spirit behind it all.

Your ruling planet is VENUS

Some more interesting facts about your sign:

The animal associated with you sign is this tough looking bull. The Egyptian Hourus was the bull of heaven, and a white bull was sacrificed in Babylonia at the New Year to placate Ramman, the god of thunder and lightning.


The color of choice for Taurus is PINK

Your Starstone is the EMERALD

Emeralds from Egypt are known to date from about 330 B.C., and indirect evidence suggests that Egyptians were mining emerald as early as 1300 B.C. The name emerald comes from the greek smaragdos meaning "green stone" and probably referred, in fact,not just to emeralds but to all or many green gems. Emerald boasts a great deal of folklore. It was used as a burnt offering, a symbol of St. John, and supposedly was a poison antidote, a cure for fevers and epilepsy, eye relief (due to the exceptional color), a cure for dysentery and leprosy, a cure for ophthalmia and bleeding, a cure for stomach problems (when laid on the stomach), and a good laxative.

How Warren Buffet Does It

Did you know that a $10,000 investment in Berkshire Hathaway in 1965, the year Warren Buffett took control of it, would grow to be worth nearly $30 million by 2005? By comparison, $10,000 in the S&P 500 would have grown to only about $500,000. Whether you like him or not, Buffett's investment strategy is arguably the most successful ever. With a sustained compound return this high for this long, it's no wonder Buffett's legend has swelled to mythical proportions. But how the heck did he do it? In this article, we'll introduce you to some of the most important tenets of Buffett's investment philosophy.

Buffett's Philosophy:

Warren Buffett descends from the Benjamin Graham school of value investing. Value investors look for securities with prices that are unjustifiably low based on their intrinsic worth. When discussing stocks, determining intrinsic value can be a bit tricky as there is no universally accepted way to obtain this figure. Most often intrinsic worth is estimated by analyzing a company's fundamentals. Like bargain hunters, value investors seek products that are beneficial and of high quality but underpriced. In other words, the value investor searches for stocks that he or she believes are undervalued by the market. Like the bargain hunter, the value investor tries to find those items that are valuable but not recognized as such by the majority of other buyers.

Warren Buffett takes this value investing approach to another level. Many value investors aren't supporters of the efficient market hypothesis, but they do trust that the market will eventually start to favor those quality stocks that were, for a time, undervalued. Buffett, however, doesn't think in these terms. He isn't concerned with the supply and demand intricacies of the stock market. In fact, he's not really concerned with the activities of the stock market at all. This is the implication this paraphrase of his famous quote : "In the short term the market is a popularity contest; in the long term it is a weighing machine."(see What Is Warren Buffett's Investing Style?)

He chooses stocks solely on the basis of their overall potential as a company - he looks at each as a whole. Holding these stocks as a long-term play, Buffett seeks not capital gain but ownership in quality companies extremely capable of generating earnings. When Buffett invests in a company, he isn't concerned with whether the market will eventually recognize its worth; he is concerned with how well that company can make money as a business.

Buffett's Methodology:

Here we look at how Buffett finds low-priced value by asking himself some questions when he evaluates the relationship between a stock's level of excellence and its price. Keep in mind that these are not the only things he analyzes but rather a brief summary of what Buffett looks for:

1. Has the company consistently performed well?
Sometimes return on equity (ROE) is referred to as "stockholder's return on investment". It reveals the rate at which shareholders are earning income on their shares. Buffett always looks at ROE to see whether or not a company has consistently performed well in comparison to other companies in the same industry. ROE is calculated as follows:
= Net Income / Shareholder's Equity


Looking at the ROE in just the last year isn't enough. The investor should view the ROE from the past five to 10 years to get a good idea of historical performance.

2. Has the company avoided excess debt?
The debt/equity ratio is another key characteristic Buffett considers carefully. Buffett prefers to see a small amount of debt so that earnings growth is being generated from shareholders' equity as opposed to borrowed money. The debt/equity ratio is calculated as follows:
= Total Liabilities / Shareholders' Equity

This ratio shows the proportion of equity and debt the company is using to finance its assets, and the higher the ratio, the more debt - rather than equity - is financing the company. A high level of debt compared to equity can result in volatile earnings and large interest expenses. For a more stringent test, investors sometimes use only long-term debt instead of total liabilities in the calculation above.

3. Are profit margins high? Are they increasing?
The profitability of a company depends not only on having a good profit margin but also on consistently increasing this profit margin. This margin is calculated by dividing net income by net sales. To get a good indication of historical profit margins, investors should look back at least five years. A high profit margin indicates the company is executing its business well, but increasing margins means management has been extremely efficient and successful at controlling expenses.


4. How long has the company been public?
Buffett typically considers only companies that have been around for at least 10 years. As a result, most of the technology companies that have had their initial public offerings (IPOs) in the past decade wouldn't get on Buffett's radar (not to mention the fact that Buffett will invest only in a business that he fully understands, and he admittedly does not understand what a lot of today's technology companies actually do). It makes sense that one of Buffet's criteria is longevity: value investing means looking at companies that have stood the test of time but are currently undervalued.

Never underestimate the value of historical performance, which demonstrates the company's ability (or inability) to increase shareholder value. Do keep in mind, however, that the past performance of a stock does not guarantee future performance - the job of the value investor is to determine how well the company can perform as well as it did in the past. Determining this is inherently tricky, but evidently Buffett is very good at it.

5. Do the company's products rely on a commodity?
Initially you might think of this question as a radical approach to narrowing down a company. Buffett, however, sees this question as an important one. He tends to shy away (but not always) from companies whose products are indistinguishable from those of competitors, and those that rely solely on a commodity such as oil and gas. If the company does not offer anything different than another firm within the same industry, Buffett sees little that sets the company apart. Any characteristic that is hard to replicate is what Buffett calls a company's economic moat, or competitive advantage. The wider the moat, the tougher it is for a competitor to gain market share.

6. Is the stock selling at a 25% discount to its real value?
This is the kicker. Finding companies that meet the other five criteria is one thing, but determining whether they are undervalued is the most difficult part of value investing, and Buffett's most important skill. To check this, an investor must determine the intrinsic value of a company by analyzing a number of business fundamentals, including earnings, revenues and assets. And a company's intrinsic value is usually higher (and more complicated) than its liquidation value - what a company would be worth if it were broken up and sold today. The liquidation value doesn't include intangibles such as the value of a brand name, which is not directly stated on the financial statements.

Once Buffett determines the intrinsic value of the company as a whole, he compares it to its current market capitalization - the current total worth (price). If his measurement of intrinsic value is at least 25% higher than the company's market capitalization, Buffett sees the company as one that has value. Sounds easy, doesn't it? Well, Buffett's success, however, depends on his unmatched skill in accurately determining this intrinsic value. While we can outline some of his criteria, we have no way of knowing exactly how he gained such precise mastery of calculating value. (To learn more about the value investing strategy of selecting stocks, check out our Guide To Stock-Picking Strategies.)

Conclusion:

As you have probably noticed, Buffett's investing style, like the shopping style of a bargain hunter, reflects a practical, down-to-earth attitude. Buffett maintains this attitude in other areas of his life: he doesn't live in a huge house, he doesn't collect cars and he doesn't take a limousine to work. The value-investing style is not without its critics, but whether you support Buffett or not, the proof is in the pudding. As of 2004, he holds the title of the second-richest man in the world, with a net worth of more $40 billion (Forbes 2004). Do note that the most difficult thing for any value investor, including Buffett, is in accurately determining a company's intrinsic value.