The Chris Abraham Show

In this “wonderful” (John Brandon, Forbes) book, neuroscientist Shane O’Mara invites us to marvel at the benefits walking confers on our bodies and brains, and to appreciate the advantages of this uniquely human skill. From walking’s evolutionary origins, traced back millions of years to life forms on the ocean floor, to new findings from cutting-edge research, he reveals how the brain and nervous system give us the ability to balance, weave through a crowded city, and run our “inner GPS” system. Walking is good for our muscles and posture;?it helps to protect and repair organs and can slow or turn back the aging of our brains. With our minds in motion we think more creatively, our mood improves, and stress levels fall. Walking together to achieve a shared purpose is also a social glue that has contributed to our survival as a species.

As our lives become increasingly sedentary, O’Mara makes the case that we must start walking again—whether it’s up a mountain, down to the park, or simply to school and work. In Praise of Walking illuminates the joys, health benefits, and mechanics of walking, and reminds us to get out of our chairs and discover a happier, healthier, more creative self.

When the country shut down last April, many didn’t know what to do with themselves. Most Americans had never been homebound with no exit in sight.

But some people found a way to feel less trapped through an activity right under their noses: walking.

Walking has a range of health benefits, from boosting your mood to sharpening your perception of the world.

Freelance journalist Jessica Remo writes:

For this month’s Scientific Method, we’re talking about what walking does for our brains, our emotional health, and even our sense of community.

GUESTS

author, “In Praise of Walking: The New Science of How We Walk and Why It’s Good for Us.”

freelance writer; walking enthusiast.

nature-allied psychotherapist

What is the difference between constitutional carry and concealed carry? In the United States, the phrase "constitutional carry," also called permitless carry, means that someone can carry a concealed handgun without a license or permit. ... All non-residents must have a permit to carry a concealed handgun.

Texas was the sixth state to enact so-called constitutional carry laws this year. Utah's new law came into effect in early May. Montana followed on June 1, Iowa and Tennessee on July 1 and Arkansas in late August. Oklahoma, South Dakota and Kentucky had already done away with all carry permit requirements in 2019.

For many decades, Vermont was the only state with these types of laws, which is why the practice is sometimes also referred to as “Vermont carry”. In 2011, Wyoming was the first state to enact or re-introduce similar laws.

Throughout the U.S., there are nine states requiring permits for open and concealed carry. Another five (plus Washington D.C.) require permits for concealed carry and prohibit the open carry of most guns. 15 states allow the open carry of guns without a permit while requiring one for concealed carry (no states do it the other way around).

Texas recently became the 21st state which does not require permits for the open or concealed carry of firearms. The law change went into effect on September 1, 2021. Texas was the sixth state to enact so-called constitutional carry laws this year. Utah's new law came into effect in early May. Montana followed on June 1, Iowa and Tennessee on July 1 and Arkansas in late August. Oklahoma, South Dakota and Kentucky had already done away with all carry permit requirements in 2019.

The definition of a rebel is a person who stands up to or defies authority. An example of a rebel is a person involved in a political uprising. An example of a rebel is a teenager who is defying his parents. To be a rebel against the established government of one's country.

A freedom fighter is a person engaged in a resistance movement against what they believe to be an oppressive and illegitimate government.

Domestic terrorism or homegrown terrorism is a form of terrorism in which victims "within a country are targeted by a perpetrator with the same citizenship" as the victims. There are many definitions of terrorism, and none of them are universally accepted.

International terrorism: Violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups who are inspired by, or associated with, designated foreign terrorist organizations or nations (state-sponsored).

Domestic terrorism: Violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature.

Vigilantism /vɪdʒɪˈlæntɪzəm/ is the act of enforcement, investigation or punishment of perceived offenses without legal authority. A vigilante is a practitioner of vigilantism.

Vigilantism /vɪdʒɪˈlæntɪzəm/ is the act of enforcement, investigation or punishment of perceived offenses without legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”) is a practitioner of vigilantism.

Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law [and] putteth the law out of office."

Vengeance is a desire for revenge—retaliation against or punishment of someone for some kind of harm that they caused or wrongdoing that they did (whether real or perceived). It can also be used as an even more intense synonym for revenge.

A vigilante has to take the offensive against a lawbreaker to be considered a vigilante. Although not technically defined as this, a superhero is a person who uses their abilities, usually superhuman ones, to protect people.

Vigilante justice: Behavior that resembles or matches that of vigilantes.  Vigilante justice often describes the actions of a single person or group of people who claim to enforce the law but lack the legal authority to do so.  However, the term can also describe a general state of disarray or lawlessness, in which competing groups of people all claim to enforce the law in a given area.

First: The only sure way to win in a violent confrontation is to avoid the confrontation altogether.

Second: A gun is a tool of Last Resort. It is not to be used to resolve petty arguments etc, it is only to protect innocent life that is in imminent and immediate jeopardy.

You have not been deputized and don't have an obligation to put yourself in harm's way to stop petty criminals. Let the police do their job, and you do yours! It is good to help others and protect life but learn where to draw the line.

Depending on what research you believe, average deadly confrontations occur in 3-10 feet or less. Consistently putting that target out to 15 meters (45 feet) is impractical and probably not a great use of your training time or resources.

The law is up for interpretation. Only after the incident occurs, through the paradigms of two arguing attorneys in consideration of presented evidence, does a jury of 12 peers decides your fate. Justice is blind, as they say. Learn your gun laws.

Gray Man Theory: The Art Of Blending In During Disaster. The gray man theory is a way of disappearing into the crowd so you can move unnoticed when disaster strikes. The idea is that you can conceal your preparedness by blending in with the crowd before or during an emergency.

Shooting to wound refers to attempts to use a firearm to harm someone without killing them. It is controversial since the unpredictable nature of firearm wounds could result in the wound failing to incapacitate the target; it may accidentally kill or miss the target, the latter presents a risk of unintended casualties. Limbs are one main area often targeted when shooting to wound. However, limbs are smaller and can be moved faster and more radically than the torso, so the option of shooting to wound is generally viewed with skepticism by law enforcement in the United States.

“Printing” refers to what the act of the gun physically imprinting its outline on the clothing is colloquially called (example). For example, a “printing” law would make handgun imprinting illegal. “Printing” is like hiding behind a curtain and anyone being able to tell the shape in the curtain was a person.

Hollow point bullets are a more expensive round and best used for self defense situations, and loaded in your Every Day Carry (EDC) defense weapon. They are also best as your home defense weapon. Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) rounds are best used for range shooting since they are much less expensive.

Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) and Hollow Point (HP) are the designations for the two most common types of ammunition fired from metallic cartridge firearms. Full metal jacket ammo is typically used for target shooting and plinking while hollow point ammo is considered the gold standard for self-defense.

As ridiculous as it may sound, someone spotting you by seeing the outline of a handgun under your shirt — printing — or when your cover garment rides up to show a part of the firearm can be construed as brandishing.

You shoot to STOP THE THREAT is about all I can tell you. If you do find yourself in a defensive shooting you will shoot to stop the threat, that may be two shots, it may be ten.

Memories of 911, 15 years on

Every couple years I try to share my own personal memories of September 11th as a 31-year-old resident of Washington, DC.

Located in BlogWhy I Don't Have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Post 9-11

There is a study I heard reported this morning on NPR that explored the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on New Yorkers and then on the rest of the nation.

My memories of 9/11

The entire world came together to love and support us after the terrorist attack on September 11th, 2001.

Upon Arrival at the Grotto on 9/11

Upon returning to the Grotto, my pad, I joined Kate and Isa on the blue Ikea loveseat. They were hunched over, squinting at the little Sony 19" TV with all their might. The room was dark. Kate told me my mom had called to tell me what was going on. When she called, Kate and Isa had turned on the TV. Neither of them watches. Only my obsessive NPR-listening kept me informed as returned from Michelle's.

Normalish

I just drove out to Target on rt 1. The car's batts were acting funny, so I wanted to get a charge on, so I went to Target so that I could buy a can opener and some laundry detergernt and dishwashing machine liquid.

Chez Michelle

A year ago this morning at 0719, 11 September 2001, I woke up with Michelle. Michelle had recently moved out of our shared apartment and into her new condo in the Chandra Levy building in deepest, darkest Dupont, Washington, DC, US.

Collecting My Family on 9/11

When I realized the import of what was going on, I called Michelle Nolan, my recent Ex, and told her that I was jumping into the Jeep and dashing back over to Dupont so that I could collect her from her 10th floor condo, right up the street from the State Department and relatively close to the Executive Branch. And she lives in a Studio apartment, one wall of which is glass. And she lives with our dog Suzi.

My memories of 9/11 on September 11

I repost my own personal experiences of the morning and day of September 11, 2001, as a resident of Washington, DC. I did not personally experience any loss or any personal danger on that day. It's simply my experience.

My memories of 9/11 16-years later

The entire world came together to love and support us after the terrorist attack on September 11th, 2001--sixteen-years ago today.

Contact Chris Abraham

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Via The New Yorker, The Other Afghan Women: "In the countryside, the endless killing of civilians turned women against the occupiers who claimed to be helping them."

Via Cost of War "the vast majority of people killed are civilians. More than 335,000 civilians have been killed in the fighting since 2001."

Via Afghanistan: Record number of women and children killed or wounded: "Women and children made up close to half of all these civilian casualties at 46 percent, according to the report. 32 percent were children, with 468 killed and 1,214 wounded. Fourteen percent of civilian casualties were women, with 219 killed and 508 wounded."

How many people have died in the Afghanistan war? The U.S. has paid US$100,000 in a “death gratuity” to the survivors of each of the service members killed in the Afghanistan war, totaling $245.5 billion. More than 46,000 civilians have been killed by all sides in the Afghanistan conflict. These are the direct deaths from bombs, bullets, blasts and fire.

Research by Brown University estimates losses in the Afghan security forces at 69,000. It puts the number of civilians and militants killed at about 51,000 each. More than 3,500 coalition soldiers have died since 2001 - about two-thirds of them Americans. More than 20,000 US soldiers have been injured.

About 241,000 people have been killed in the Afghanistan and Pakistan war zone since 2001. More than 71,000 of those killed have been civilians.

The Genius of Sun Tzu from The Art of War, Waging War:

"A speedy victory is the main object in war. If this is long in coming, weapons are blunted and morale depressed. If troops are attacking cities, their strength will be exhausted. When the army engages in protracted campaigns, the resources of the state will fall short. When your weapons are dulled and ardor dampened, your strength exhausted and treasure spent, the chieftains of the neighboring states will take advantage of your crisis to act. In that case, no man, however wise, will be able to avert the disastrous consequences that ensue. Thus, while we have heard of stupid haste in war, we have not yet seen a clever operation that was prolonged. for there has never been a protracted war which benefited a country. Therefore, those unable to understand the evils inherent in employing troops are equally unable to understand the advantageous ways of doing so."

"There are five points in which victory may be predicted:

1. He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot will be victorious.

2. He who understands how to fight in accordance with the strength of antagonistic forces will be victorious.

3. He whose ranks are united in purpose will be victorious.

4. He who is well prepared and lies in wait for an enemy who is not well prepared will be victorious.

5. He whose generals are able and not interfered with by the sovereign will be victorious."

"It is in these five matters that the way to victory is known."

"Therefore, I say: Know your enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated. When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and of yourself, you are sure to be defeated in every battle."