Boomerang (countermeasure)

Boomerang is a gunfire locator developed by DARPA and BBN Technologies primarily for use against snipers. Boomerang is mounted on mobile vehicles such as the Humvee, Stryker, and MRAP combat vehicles. There were plans to integrate it into the Land Warrior system.

Development

Boomerang grew out of a program conceived by the U.S. Department of Defense in late 2003, months after the traditional combat phase of the Iraq War had ended on 1 May, at a time when it was clear that U.S. troops were increasingly at risk from a growing and aggressive insurgency. Often, troops in noisy Humvees did not know they were being shot at until someone was hit. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld approached DARPA and asked for near-term solutions that could be applied to the conflict in Iraq. Rumsfeld was looking for something that did not have to be a perfect solution, but was at least better than nothing.

The U.S. Army and Special Operations Command began using a limited number of French-made PILAR anti-sniper systems in 2003, but at $65,000 per copy was too expensive to field in great quantities. This led DARPA to develop a new, more affordable system. Karen Wood, a program manager at DARPA, said BBN's previous work was the most impressive that was examined. BBN had previously developed a less sophisticated counter sniper system named "Bullet Ears" under DARPA sponsorship in 1997.

Boomerang (soundtrack)

The Boomerang soundtrack is the official soundtrack to the 1992 film Boomerang. The album was released June 30, 1992 on LaFace Records.

The soundtrack peaked at four on the Billboard 200 chart in 1992. By April 1995, it was certified triple platinum in sales by the RIAA, after sales exceeding 3,000,000 copies in the United States.

Release and reception

The album peaked at four on the U.S. Billboard 200 and reached the top spot on the R&B Albums chart. The album was certified gold in August 1992 and eventually reached triple-platinum status by April 1995.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic said in his review that the soundtrack was "actually better than the film itself," and stated that "most of the album is first-rate contemporary urban soul, hip-hop, and new jack swing."

Track listing

Boomerang (Germany)

Boomerang is German television channel broadcasting to children in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. It was launched on June 1, 2006. It is owned by Turner Broadcasting System Europe.

In August 2013, SES Platform Services won an international tender by Turner Broadcasting System, to provide playout services for Boomerang, and for Cartoon Network, TNT Glitz, TNT Film and TNT Serie (in both SD and HD) for the German-speaking market, digitization of existing Turner content, and playout for Turner on-demand and catch-up services in Germany, Austria, Switzerland the Benelux region, from November 2013.

Current programming

Plum Island Animal Disease Center

Plum Island Animal Disease Center of New York (PIADCNY) is a United States federal research facility dedicated to the study of animal diseases. It is part of the DHS Directorate for Science and Technology.

Since 1954, the center has had the goal of protecting America's livestock from animal diseases. During the Cold War a secret biological weapons program targeting livestock was conducted at the site, although it had slowly declined through the end of the century. After the September 11 attacks in 2001, Plum Island renewed its research into biological weapons. This program has been for many years the subject of controversy.

Location and description

The center is located on Plum Island near the northeast coast of Long Island in New York state. During the Spanish–American War, the island was purchased by the government for the construction of Fort Terry, which was later deactivated after World War II and then reactivated in 1952 for the Army Chemical Corps. The center comprises 70 buildings (many of them dilapidated) on 840 acres (3.4 km²). Plum Island has its own fire department, power plant, water treatment plant and security. Any wild mammal seen on the island is killed to prevent the possible outbreak of foot and mouth disease. However, as Plum Island was named an important bird area by the New York Audubon Society, it has successfully attracted different birds. Plum Island has placed osprey nests and bluebird boxes throughout the island; new kestrel houses will soon be added.

Crime

In ordinary language, the term crime denotes an unlawful act punishable by a state. The term "crime" does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition, though statutory definitions have been provided for certain purposes. The most popular view is that crime is a category created by law; in other words, something is a crime if declared as such by the relevant and applicable law. One proposed definition is that a crime or offence (or criminal offence) is an act harmful not only to some individual or individuals but also to a community, society or the state ("a public wrong"). Such acts are forbidden and punishable by law.

The notion that acts such as murder, rape and theft are to be prohibited exists worldwide. What precisely is a criminal offence is defined by criminal law of each country. While many have a catalogue of crimes called the criminal code, in some common law countries no such comprehensive statute exists.

The state (government) has the power to severely restrict one's liberty for committing a crime. In modern societies, there are procedures to which investigations and trials must adhere. If found guilty, an offender may be sentenced to a form of reparation such as a community sentence, or, depending on the nature of their offence, to undergo imprisonment, life imprisonment or, in some jurisdictions, execution.

Crime (novel)

Crime is a 2008 novel by Scottish writer Irvine Welsh. It is the sequel to his earlier novel, Filth.

Plot summary

The main protagonist is Ray Lennox; a Detective Inspector with the Lothian and Borders Police who attempts to recover from a mental breakdown induced by stress, cocaine and alcohol abuse and a child murder case in Edinburgh in which he was the lead investigating officer by taking a holiday in Florida with his fiancée, Trudi. The pair meet up with Eddie 'Ginger' Rodgers, one of Lennox's retired former colleagues, and his wife Delores, and they all drink into the early hours of the morning. The next morning Lennox finds himself craving more alcohol and goes to a bar with Trudi where they have an argument which causes Trudi to angrily leave the bar. Lennox continues drinking heavily. Soon afterwards he meets two women, Starry and Robyn, in a different bar and they all go back Robyn's apartment where they drink more alcohol and take cocaine. They are soon joined by two men, Lance Dearing and Johnnie, and a fight breaks out a short time later when Lennox sees Johnnie is sexually assaulting Tianna, Robyn's ten-year-old daughter. Lennox incapacitates Johnnie and struggles with Dearing who ultimately leaves the apartment with everyone except Lennox and Tianna, who have locked themselves in a bathroom. After a fight Lennox is left in the apartment with Tianna, the 10-year-old daughter of one of the women.