US Police Shootings before the Autumn Equinox

Twelve police officers were injured during protests sparked by the police shooting of a black man in Charlotte, North Carolina. Demonstrators destroyed marked police cars around the block of flats where the shooting took place, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department tweeted. Earlier on Tuesday, Keith Lamont Scott, 43, was shot by a black officer and died in hospital. Police say he was carrying a gun and posed an "imminent deadly threat", but relatives told local media he was not holding a weapon but a book. "He didn't have no gun," a woman identifying herself as his sister told local television. "He wasn't messing with nobody." Police officers wearing riot gear block a road during protests after a black police officer fatally shot Keith Lamont Scott in the parking lot of an apartment complex. Mayor Jennifer Roberts appealed for calm, and said the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott would be looked into : "The community deserves answers and full investigation will ensue," she tweeted. "Will be reaching out to community leaders to work together." Police spokesman Keith Trietley said Charlotte, officers had been looking for a different suspect at a block of flats when Scott was killed. Police saw Scott get out of a car carrying a gun before getting back in, he said. When the officers approached, Scott got out of the car with the gun again and police opened fire after deeming him a threat. He was not the suspect police were originally looking for. ~~~~~~ The Charlotte shooting and unrest came a day after police in Tulsa,Oklahoma, said a black man they had killed on Friday was unarmed. Hundreds of people have been protesting outside police headquarters there. Terence Crutcher was walking away with his hands in the air when he was shot by police, his family said. Video footage showed him walking with his arms raised to the door of his vehicle, but a lawyer for the officer who shot Mr Crutcher said he had ignored officers' commands. The footage at the moment of the shooting is not clear. The female Tulsa police officer who shot Crutcher said she thought he was on PCP or a similar drug because of the way he was acting. Police confirmed later that PCP was found in his car. ~~~~~~ The continuation of police shootings in the US -- those reported, but not the majority, black men -- is a problem that appears to have very few solutions Taking away police firearms would only lead to making them victims as they patrol and stop cars. Allowing only Tasers could help, but again, the police would be put at a disadvantage. Constitutional rights both to carry firearms and to be protected from random stop-and-search procedures are well-defined. Perhaps letting neighborhood leaders drive with police on their routine patrols would help them to give positive feedback to their constituents and neighbors, perhams breaking the pattern that leads black Americans to believe that every police shooting is criminal. Better monitoring, by legal meqns, of the activities of those in Black Lives Matter who are determined to sew distrust between police and black Americans could help. Enlisting black celebrities and media personalities and journalists to deliver messages meant to bring black citizens and police into a dialogue cannot be anything but positive. President Obama has done a lot to damage race relations in America. Perhaps in the calm of his post-presidency period, he will reconsider his position. It would do more to create the "legacy" he seems to be desperately seeking than almost anything else he could do. ~~~~~~ But, I would like to pause today to consider something not at all related to politics and the state of our world. It's the Autumn Equinox. On Thursday, September 22, 2016, the day and night will be almost equal in most locations. Summer is gone, but the warm days will linger a while longer. ~~~~~~ Here are some facts about the first day of astronomical fall (autumn) in the Northern Hemisphere. (1). It's the Second Equinox of the year. The September Equinox is on or around September 22, while the first equinox of the year, the March Equinox, takes place on or around March 21 every year, marking the Southern Hemisphere's autumnal, or fall, equinox and the Northern Hemisphere's spring equinox. (2). It's Time to Say Goodbye to Summer n the Northern Hemisphere. Astronomically, the September Equinox marks the end of summer and the beginning of fall (autumn). The fall season ends on December Solstice, when astronomical winter begins. For meteorologists, on the other hand, fall in the Northern Hemisphere begins about three weeks before the September Equinox on September 1 and ends on November 30. (3). The Southern Hemisphere Welcomes Spring. The September Equinox is also known as the vernal or spring equinox in the Southern Hemisphere and is considered by astronomers as the first day of spring there. (4).The Equinox is a Specific Moment. Contrary to popular belief, equinoxes are not day-long events, even though many cultures choose to celebrate it as such. Instead, they occur at the exact moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator -- the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s Equator. At this instant, the Earth's rotational axis is neither tilted away from nor towards the Sun. In 2016, the Sun's crosses the celestial equator from north to south on September 22, at 14:22 UTC. Because of time zone differences, the Equinox will take place on September 23, 2016 at locations that are at least 10 hours ahead UTC. These include cities in eastern Australia, eastern Russia, Guam and New Zealand. (5).And its Date Can Vary. Pope Gregory XIII was responsible for introducing our modern-day calendar. While the September Equinox usually occurs on September 22 or 23, it can very rarely fall on September 21 or September 24. A September 21 Equinox has not occurred since 1000 AD, but will happen twice in the 21st century -- in 2092 and 2096. The last September 24 Equinox occurred in 1931. It will next take place in 2303. The Equinox dates vary because of the difference between how the Gregorian calendar defines a year (365 days) and the time it actually takes for the Earth to complete its orbit around the Sun (about 365 and 1/4 days). This means that each September Equinox occurs about 6 hours later than the previous year's September Equinox. This eventually moves the date by a day. These dates are based on the time of the Equinox in UTC. Due to time zone differences, locations ahead of UTC may celebrate the September Equinox a day later and locations behind UTC may celebrate it a day earlier. (6). Equal Day and Night -- but most locations on Earth do not experience equal day and night on the September Equinox. The term 'equinox' comes from the Latin words aequus, meaning equal and nox, meaning night. This has led to the conventional wisdom that everybody on Earth experiences equal day and night -- 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night time -- on the day of the September Equinox. (7). But Not Quite. In reality, most places on Earth enjoy more than 12 hours of daylight on this day. This is for two reasons: the way sunrise and sunset are defined and atmospheric refraction of sunlight. Why isn't there equal day and night? Locations that are not on the equator do get to experience equal day and night twice a year, usually a few days before or after the equinoxes. The dates for this event, which is also known as equilux, depend on a location's latitude -- those closer to the Equator celebrate it a few days before the Equinox. (8). Time Between Successive Moonrises Becomes Shorter. Harvest Moon is the Northern Hemisphere's first fall (autumn) full Moon. The Harvest Moon is also sometimes called Corn Moon by American Indians, after the corn harvest in the Fall. The full Moon closest to the September Equinox, which is also known as Harvest Moon in the Northern Hemisphere, is astronomically special. This is because the time between one moonrise to another around this period becomes shorter. On average, the Moon rises about 50 minutes later every day in a lunar month -- the time period between two full Moons or two new Moons. Around the Harvest Moon, the time difference between two successive moonrises decreases to about 30-40 minutes for a few days. Known as the Harvest Moon Effect, this phenomenon occurs due to the low angle the Moon's orbit around the Earth makes with the horizon during this time of year. The reverse effect occurs in the Southern Hemisphere, where the Moon rises more than 50 minutes later than on the previous day. In times past, the early moonrise for a few days around the Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere meant that farmers could work and harvest their crops for a longer time in the evenings. It also brought Harvest celebrations that have become our Halloween. (9). Prepare for Northern Lights. As the September Equinox rolls by, the chances that one can catch the Aurora Borealis display increases for those located at high Northern Hemisphere latitudes. According to NASA, the equinoxes are prime time for Northern Lights -- geomagnetic activities are twice more likely to take place in the spring and fall time, than in the summer or winter. (10). It is Celebrated Around the World. Many cultures around the world hold feasts and celebrate festivals and holidays to mark the September Equinox. ~~~~~~ So, dear readers, no matter where you live, enjoy the Autumn Equinox on Thursday. Celebrate in your region's fashion -- or start your own private family custom for celebrating this special day. And on Friday, we will take up the world and its troubles with a fresh spirit and heart determined to find the customs that bind us together as human beings -- as they have since the dawn of time. AND, remember that on the Autumn Equinox it is only 47 days until a new US President is elected on November 8.