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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: neolib who wrote (152641)	11/25/2004 12:25:46 AM
From: arun gera	Respond to of 281500

OT We missed our chance. :-) See claim 23. Location-based firearm discharge prevention United States Patent 6,415,542 Bates , et al. July 9, 2002 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Location-based firearm discharge prevention Abstract A firearm, program product and method collectively utilize an on-board location sensor (e.g., a GPS receiver) and stored location information to selectively inhibit discharge of a firearm based on the current location of the firearm. Location information identifying one or more prohibited locations is stored in the firearm (typically in an on-board memory). A controller on-board the firearm then accesses the location sensor to determine a current location for the firearm, and selectively inhibits the discharge of the firearm if the current location is proximate any prohibited location. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inventors: Bates; Cary Lee (Rochester, MN); Nelson; Eric John (Rochester, MN); Santosuosso; John Matthew (Rochester, MN) Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation (Armonk, NY) Appl. No.: 552140 Filed: April 19, 2000 Current U.S. Class: 42/70.11; 42/70.05; 42/70.06 Intern'l Class: F41A 017/00 Field of Search: 42/70.11,70.01,70.02,70.03,70.04 89/137,142,148,154 124/32,34 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- References Cited [Referenced By] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Patent Documents 3785261 Jan., 1974 Ganteaume 95/12. 4067411 Jan., 1978 Conley et al. 180/114. 4541191 Sep., 1985 Morris et al. 42/1. 4682435 Jul., 1987 Heltzel 42/70. 5168114 Dec., 1992 Enget 42/70. 5192818 Mar., 1993 Martin 42/70. 5303495 Apr., 1994 Harthcock 42/84. 5423143 Jun., 1995 Martin 42/70. 5459957 Oct., 1995 Winer 42/70. 5461812 Oct., 1995 Bennett 42/70. 5479149 Dec., 1995 Pike 340/539. 5537771 Jul., 1996 Martin 42/70. 5566486 Oct., 1996 Brinkley 42/1. 5675925 Oct., 1997 Wurger 42/70. 6223461 May., 2001 Mardirossian 42/70. Primary Examiner: Jordan; Charles T. Assistant Examiner: Holzen; Stephen A Attorney, Agent or Firm: Wood Herron & Evans LLP -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Claims -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What is claimed is: 1. A firearm, comprising: (a) a memory configured to store location information identifying at least one prohibited location proximate which discharge of the firearm is to be inhibited; (b) a location sensor configured to determine a current location of the firearm; and (c) a controller coupled to the memory and the location sensor, the controller configured to inhibit discharge of the firearm if the current location of the firearm determined by the location sensor is proximate a prohibited location stored in the memory. 2. The firearm of claim 1, wherein the memory comprises at least one of a read only memory (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM). 3. The firearm of claim 1, wherein the location sensor comprises a global positioning system (GPS) receiver. 4. The firearm of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to add and remove prohibited locations to and from the memory in response to user input. 5. The firearm of claim 4, wherein the controller is further configured to receive a user password prior to adding or removing a prohibited location to or from the memory. 6. The firearm of claim 5, wherein the controller is further configured to modify the user password in response to user input. 7. The firearm of claim 4, wherein the firearm further comprises a user interface disposed on the firearm and configured to receive user input from a user to add and remove prohibited locations to and from the memory. 8. The firearm of claim 4, wherein the firearm further comprises an electronic interface configured to interface with an external computer for programming the firearm via the external computer. 9. The firearm of claim 8, wherein the controller is further configured to record at least one of a time, location and direction of the firearm in response to discharge of the firearm, and to transmit the same to the external computer via the electronic interface. 10. The firearm of claim 1, further comprising a manually actuated trigger and an electrically-actuated, normally-locked trigger lock coupled to the trigger, wherein the controller is configured to inhibit discharge of the firearm by asserting a control signal to unlock the trigger lock only if the current location of the firearm determined by the location sensor is not proximate a prohibited location stored in the memory. 11. The firearm of claim 1, wherein the location information for the prohibited location identifies a point in space, and wherein the controller is configured to determine whether the current location of the firearm is proximate the prohibited location by determining a distance between the current location and the point in space. 12. The firearm of claim 1, wherein the location information for the prohibited location identifies a boundary of a region in space, and wherein the controller is configured to determine whether the current location of the firearm is proximate the prohibited location by determining whether the current location is within the boundary. 13. The firearm of claim 1, further comprising a handle configured to house the memory, the controller and the location sensor. 14. The firearm of claim 13, further comprising: (a) a user interface disposed on the handle and electrically coupled to the controller to receive user input; and (b) a removable access panel secured to the handle overlaying the user interface. 15. The firearm of claim 1, wherein the firearm comprises a long gun. 16. The firearm of claim 1, wherein the firearm comprises a handgun. 17. A method of inhibiting discharge of a firearm, the method comprising: (a) determining a current location of the firearm using a location sensor coupled to the firearm; and (b) inhibiting discharge of the firearm if the current location of the firearm is proximate a prohibited location identified in a memory coupled to the firearm. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein determining the current location includes accessing a global positioning system (GPS) receiver. 19. The method of claim 17, further comprising: (a) adding location information for an additional prohibited location to the memory in response to user input; and (b) removing location information for a prohibited location from the memory in response to user input. 20. The method of claim 19, further comprising receiving a user password prior to adding or removing location information to or from the memory. 21. The method of claim 20, further comprising modifying the user password in response to user input. 22. The method of claim 17, further comprising programming the firearm using an external computer coupled to the firearm via an electronic interface. 23. The method of claim 22, further comprising: (a) recording at least one of a time, location and direction of the firearm in response to discharge of the firearm; and (b) transmitting the same to the external computer via the electronic interface. 24. The method of claim 17, wherein the firearm includes a manually actuated trigger and an electrically-actuated, normally-locked trigger lock coupled to the trigger, wherein inhibiting discharge of the firearm includes asserting a control signal to unlock the trigger lock only if the current location of the firearm is not proximate a prohibited location identified in the memory. 25. The method of claim 17, wherein the memory includes location information for the prohibited location that identifies a point in space, the method further comprising determining whether the current location of the firearm is proximate the prohibited location by determining a distance between the current location and the point in space. 26. The method of claim 17, wherein the memory includes location information for the prohibited location that identifies a boundary of a region in space, the method further comprising determining whether the current location of the firearm is proximate the prohibited location by determining whether the current location is within the boundary. 27. A program product, comprising: (a) a program configured to be executed by a controller disposed within a firearm, the program configured to determine a current location of the firearm by accessing a location sensor coupled to the firearm, to access a memory coupled to the firearm to obtain location information identifying at least one prohibited location, and to inhibit discharge of the firearm if the current location of the firearm is proximate a prohibited location identified in the memory; and (b) a signal bearing medium bearing the program. 28. The program product of claim 27, wherein the signal bearing medium includes at least one of a recordable medium and a transmission medium.

To: neolib who wrote (152641)	11/25/2004 9:48:51 AM
From: michael97123	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Page 22 on the NYTimes today had quite alot of positive news from the Mideast. Zarquawis attack on sunni clerics indicate to me that the Falujah operation may have been more effective than even we though. Remember zarquawis plea to bin laden early on in this war. Seems to be on the run now and our military is doing an excellent job taking on the remnants of these forces south of bagdad and in mosul. It aint pretty, but war rarely is. mike nytimes.com Tape Condemns Sunni Muslim Clerics By JOHN F. BURNS Published: November 25, 2004 AGHDAD, Iraq, Nov. 24 - An audiotape was posted on the Internet on Wednesday in which a man identified as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian terrorist leader, condemned the Sunni Muslim clerical establishment in Iraq for abandoning the Iraqi resistance movement in the face of the American military offensive in Falluja and other Sunni cities. "You have let us down in the darkest circumstances and handed us over to the enemy," the tape said. "You have stopped supporting the mujahedeen. Hundreds of thousands of the nation's sons are being slaughtered at the hands of the infidels because of your silence." Although the tape's authenticity could not be confirmed, it was posted on an Islamic Web site known as al-Qala'a, which has been a mailbox for Islamic militant groups. American intelligence officials have named Mr. Zarqawi as the man behind dozens of suicide bombings, kidnappings and beheadings. He carries a $25 million bounty on his head . For months before the Falluja offensive began three weeks ago, American officials said that Mr. Zarqawi was based in the city. He is believed to have fled before the American attack, leaving houses where some of the killings he is alleged to have ordered took place. American officials have said that some of the bombings and ambushes in a new wave of attacks in other Sunni Muslim strongholds, including Mosul, bear Mr. Zarqawi's hallmark. Efforts to assess the new military and political landscape in the wake of the Falluja offensive have been fraught by contradictory strands of evidence, with the tape, suggesting that the insurgents suffered a major setback in Falluja, only the latest. American hopes that Falluja would be a turning point in the war were dimmed, at least initially, by the concurrent upsurge in rebel attacks elsewhere in the Sunni heartland, especially in Mosul. The fear was that the American forces might have crushed one center of resistance only to ignite others. But the week since the major fighting in Falluja has also been one of a sudden quickening in political activity before the nationwide election set for Jan. 30, in which voters are to choose a 275-member assembly that will pick a provisional government and draft a permanent constitution. Many Iraqis fear that the election could set off new levels of rebel violence, but the political momentum is building. The leader of the Iraqi Electoral Commission, Abdel Hussein al-Hindawi, said Wednesday that more than 200 Iraqi political parties had registered for the polls, a week before the closing date. Maneuvering is under way to form consolidated lists of candidates who can draw a major share of the votes. Mr. Zarqawi's tape, if authentic, would offer support to the assertions of American commanders that the Sunni insurgency suffered a strategic defeat in Falluja. The commanders have said that the offensive killed at least 1,200 insurgents in Falluja, and that more than 1,000 were taken prisoner. Lt. Col. Dan Wilson of the Marines told reporters on Wednesday that the huge arms caches found in the city had far exceeded expectations. Western reporters embedded with American forces and Iraqi reporters operating independently have been skeptical about some military reports, noting that independent body counts have not come close to the military's figure. The suspicion remains that many insurgents fled, ready to strike at the Americans from bases in centers like Mosul. But the angry tone of the tape was hard to reconcile with the notion that the rebels had left Falluja with anything but a defeat. Addressing the Muslim "ulema," an Arabic term for Islamic clerics and scholars, the tape drew a grim picture of the consequences of what it described as their failure to step in to help the Falluja rebels against the Americans. "You made peace with the tyranny and handed over the country and its people to the Jews and Crusaders, by resorting to silence on their crimes and preventing our youth from heading to the battlefields in order to defend our religion," it said. American troops have responded to a surge in rebel strikes with a crackdown in Mosul. The extent of the rebel challenge was underscored by two assassination attempts there on Wednesday. Khosru Kuran, the deputy governor of Nineveh Province and a Kurd, said that rebels fired on his convoy, killing one of his bodyguards. An Agence France-Presse report said the attack on Maj. Gen. Rashid Flaih was mounted by gunmen in a side street. American troops returned fire, killing all four attackers. This week, the American forces massed 5,000 troops for a fresh offensive in the so-called triangle of death region stretching south of Baghdad, aiming to drive north to Sunni rebel strongholds closer to Baghdad. American officers, aware of the anger that the attack on Falluja stirred in Sunnis, have been careful to distinguish this new campaign south of the capital from the Falluja offensive. Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, the American officer in charge of training Iraqi troops, told reporters that while most of the country's 18 provinces were calm, "there's still a good deal of fighting to be done" in the six Sunni provinces where insurgents were most active. State Department Worker Killed The New York Times BAGHDAD, Iraq, Nov. 24 - A United States civilian official was killed today when the vehicle in which he was traveling came under fire outside the Green Zone government compound, a Reuters report quoting an unnamed American official in Washington said. The official was said to have identified the victim as Jim Mollen, a State Department employee who was working as an adviser to the Iraqi education ministry. No immediate statement on the incident was issued by the American military command. It was not clear whether the attack was the same as one reported earlier in the day by the Iraqi police, who told Reuters in Baghdad that a suicide bomber had detonated his car near an American convoy traveling on an expressway overpass in western Baghdad shortly before noon, on the 10-mile route between the Green Zone and Baghdad's international airport that Iraqi insurgents have turned into one of the deadliest stretches of road in Iraq. Richard A. Oppel Jr. contributed reporting from Mosul for this article.