MigL

It is obvious any change is not going to be top-down; not with this current President. Would this not be a good time for a contender for the Presidency, in November, to propose some policies or legislative changes, and take advantage of the 'mood' of the American population ? ( even D Trump could expand his base by getting on board; but he may lose some of his 'traditional' base ) I have heard a lot of condemnations of the riots, but not very much in terms of proposals for changes moving forward

Far from it, Eise .

May I suggest that if Moreno wants ( that's questionable ) an education in police, or systemic, discrimination/violence towards black people in the US, he should start another thread. Every time we can have an interesting discourse about racism, causes, cures, and where do we go from here, it always gets hijacked by someone claiming there is no racism, and goes on to give us several pages of "Yes there is"/"No there isn't". This same pattern also emerges when we start having interesting discussions about AGW, and I sometimes I limit my participation for that reason, even if I find the OP very interesting. I would really like to discuss what effects the death/murder of G Floyd will have ( if any ) on American society, its government, policing and justice system, and society in general. I would hate to think his death, and many before him, have died for nothing.

I guess that is the philosophical viewpoint ( which I don't fully understand ) which is different from mine. Whereas you consider not only the processes, but also the laws governing those processes, as the make up of our will, I can only bring myself to allow the processes as the make up of our will. The laws governing those processes that make up our will also govern every other process in the universe ( not just our will ) and as such, I consider them 'fundamental' and separate from our will. To me, it seems excessive hubris or self-confidence that the laws governing the universe could be part of our will. However, I thank you for opening my eyes to different viewpoints and possibilities. You bring something new and interesting with every one of your posts, Eise.

Just looking for other's opinions here... Are the 'violent' protests feeding the neurosis of the current occupant of the White House ? Or would non-violent protests simply be disregarded, and 'business as usual' shortly ?

First off, there is no freedom of speech on this forum. There are limits ( read the the rules ) as to what things can be said. But since we all agree to those rules when we join, the complaints department easily and rightfully dismisses those types of complaints. Most other social media also have rules, to which you agree in order to participate. As to general society, and obviously disregarding speech which may cause harm to others ( the famous yelling "fire" in a crowded building ), the gauge for free speech is not whether you yourself agree with it, or even if the vast majority of people agree with it. but rather the tolerance of society for the most vile and distasteful opinions. ( or at least, it should be )

When I mentioned that people are painting Moreano as a racist, Zap mentioned he already has two coats. ( there's that hidden meaning to words and phrases, on both our parts ) Exactly ! Whether Moreno is ignorant, or willfully ignorant, is a byproduct of education and/or life experience. If you can't see that it has nothing to do with the fact that he hasn't lived in the US for more than 6 months, and you choose to blame his attitudes on that fact, when you also haven't lived in the US for any extended time, you have the problem, Dim. Not me. And if you don't like my contributions, why do you always engage with me ? I look forward to our next disagreement .

OK. I guess we can go with "ignorant" then. Here is the 'strawman' INow.. I don't particularly like it when 'labelling' takes the place of reasoning. Calling people racists, or ignorant ( especially when the criteria used also applies to the user ) is counterproductive to the discussion America ( and some other parts of the world ) needs to have in the wake of this eye-opening incident. The time for pointing fingers and divisiveness is way past, only by working together can we bring about change and move forward. One simply needs to ask Moreno "How do you feel when you watch the video death murder of G Floyd ? Do you think that this is OK ? What about all the other shit that black people have to put up with every day of their lives ? And do you think it's time for a change ?" You might find that he thinks a lot like the rest of us.

Can we please get back to the G Floyd incident and any potential change, instead of everyone trying to score points by painting Moreno as a racist ? I find it funny that a bunch of Brits have labelled him ignorant because he has never lived in the US for more than 6 months. How long have Dimreepr and Strange lived in the US ?? Surely you can make a better argument than that ! Seems former slave, Mr S McGee, lived to a ripe old age of 130... "Died: October 15, 1971, Columbia, Mississippi Born: May 29, 1841, North Carolina" Slavery must be good for you ! ( Or the dates are wrong )

I do 'get' it, Dim, Zap, CY, INow, and all who have tried explaining. My concern is that often we find 'hidden' meaning in certain words or phrases. Usually because our perception of those words or phrases are colored by our life experiences. And not to make light of a person losing his life to deliberate brutality, but this incident couldn't have come at a worse time. In about a week there will be an explosion of Covid-19 cases all across the US. And of course, predominantly in the communities that took part in the protests. How many more will die ?

Sorry CY, bad choice of ethnicity; just pick any other disenfranchised and oppressed group of people. It doesn't change the point I was trying to make ( and now, I'm not sure if it got across ) I have edited my post from Oriental to another group of oppressed people. Just to be clear, 3rd degree is the more serious offence to manslaughter, right ? so whereas before they could expect 3rd to be plead down to manslaughter, now they expect 2nd to be plead down to 3rd ? ( I wasn't even aware there was a 3rd, previously ) In that case what are the 'levels' of premeditation that separate 1st and 2nd degree murder ?

I see you don't understand the meaning of 'discussion forum'. If there is no discussion your postings are useless, and it should be shut down.

I understand your points, INow and Zap, and fully agree with it. But say you have a protester with a sign that said "Native American lives matter also", would he/she be kicked out of the protest march ? What if another was carrying a sign that said "Latinx lives matter also", do you think they should be kicked out, or admonished for it ? Or protesters with signs that say "Oriental Muslim lives matter too", would they be fired from their jobs, or receive neg reps on this forum ? Because that is what is happening when people try to be inclusive ( remember when that was a politically correct word ) and say " ALL lives have to matter if we are to get past this mess ).

But when is he going to improve the situation ? ( November, I hope )

Sorry games/fantasy don't interest me in the least... Nobody can understand what you are saying because you haven't explained anything yet. And noone cares about your past 'battles' with Phil ( who ?)

The DA is going to have a heck of a time proving premeditation, and he'll only get convicted of the lesser charge anyway. They may be doing this to appease the protesters, and calm the rioting down. Your cartoon perverts the meaning of words, INow. ALL lives should matter equally ! ( currently, they don't ) If we simply say "Black Lives Matter", but then Native Americans, or latinx, or Orientals, are getting mistreated, are we going to have separate slogans for each one ?

Ok, I can accept that these 'internal forcings' constitute your 'free will', although we are getting dreadfully close to a difference of definition. ( wouldn't want to contest definitions for several pages like Koti and you ) However the constraints that these forcings place on your free will, or choice, are based on fundamental, and immutable, physical laws. Sometimes you only have the one, or even no choice, at all; the other choices are simply impossible. The forcings and constraints would then appear to be separate from your will.

Is this game theory, or a model of reality ? If the former, we only have a few member who are interested and well versed in game theory. If the latter, you haven't presented anything discussable yet, and it is starting to sound like a blog. Neither ( but especially the latter ) bodes well for your thread.

Simply, any forcing that removes a choice, reduces the degrees of freedom. forcings that remove all choice save one, are reducing degrees of freedom to one. The only choice available is that specific one. So how exactly, are you free to choose ?? Its like a Russian election; you can vote for anyone you want, but V Putin is the only name on the ballot. So how do you have free will ?

On a related note, the Canadian province of Ontario does not keep 'race' based statistics for fear that those statistics may be used to treat varying demographics differently. However, as different demographics have been hit by Covid-19 to very variable degrees, it is reconsidering its stance, at least in health related matters.

I'm sure Markus or Mordred will give you a much more detailed answer when they log on tonight.. All I can offer is that a geodesic is an orbit, a 'fall' is essentially an arc of that orbit, and the speed and direction of a test mass are defined by the energy and momentum of that test mass. IOW, an orbit could be circular, or straight through the gravitating body ( assuming point sources ), 'up' the other side, and back down again; its initial conditions determine direction along the orbit, or geodesic.

Keep in mind that this is a Science forum, not a blog. Your propositions, assertions and ideas will be questioned by members, and you are required to justify them according to the scientific method. And if not based on accepted science, will be moved to Speculations, where the same rules apply.

Ionically bonded solids, such as NaCl, when melted to a liquid, are variously called liquid electrolytes, ionic melts/fluids, fused/liquid salts, or ionic glasses. Some of the nomenclature gives clues as to the make-up. Last time I studied any Chemistry was 1977. I am not a chemist, I just play one, at work. ( and I don't give demerits )

Seems China isn't just building islands in the South China Sea to increase their territorial limits. Seems they are not just scrapping the contract they had with Hong Kong that granted them independent governance until 2047. Seems they are not just threatening Australia for suggesting an independent investigation into the origins of SARS-COV2 to prevent future outbreaks, by cutting trade. Seems they are not just threatening Canada for detaining the Huawei CFO for possible extradition, by cutting trade and imprisoning Canadian nationals. Seems they are not just engaging in internet IP theft, Political influencing and dissemination of disinformation. Seems they also withheld the genetic decoding of the new virus for at least a week, and then stalled for at least two more weeks before giving the WHO pertinent information "all at a time when the outbreak arguably might have been dramatically slowed" https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/china-delayed-releasing-coronavirus-info-frustrating-who/ar-BB14UB71?ocid=msedgntp Seems President Trump is right about at least one thing, during the whole of his Presidency s

If the internal and external forcings are constraining your choices, limiting your degrees of freedom if you will, possibly even to only one choice, you may 'think' you are choosing, but you are constrained to make that choice. That is NOT free will. IOW, I know what 'free will' isn't, but I don't know what it is. ( interstingly enough, I know what is not random, but you can never be sure what is )