It would be fair to say that the life of Stephen Hawking was a constant, monumental and all-consuming challenge. And with that challenge came an enormous sense of urgency. It would be hard to find a more curious and scientifically probing mind than that of Hawking, and his desire to meet and surpass the challenges he set out for himself was overshadowed by a sword of Damocles that hung by a hair above his head throughout his entire life. At age twenty-one, doctors “gave” him three years to live. From then on, and for the next half-century, he took the years he desired, in spite of that death sentence, and made every one count in terms of his discoveries and of his gifts of knowledge to the world at large. By the time Hawking died this past week at the age of seventy-six, he was, literally, about as close as any human could get to being an immensely active brain housed in what had become an almost entirely inert package. But despite his nearly complete physical disability, h...
Author Roberto Vivo comments on wars past and present, on the world’s great peacemakers and on the pathway to global peace. His basic philosophy: In a world where 9 out of every 10 victims of armed conflict are civilians, war is no longer a viable political alternative. Indeed, it is the ultimate crime against humanity. If rising generations are to have a future, the key will lie in world peace. War is the pathway to oblivion.