An alarming advance in modern technology has been developed in Brazil. Children up to the age of 14 have had electronic chips implanted into their uniforms in the north-eastern city of Vitoria da Conquista. Authorities say the tracking devices will provide an easy way to combat truancy. "The students' whereabouts are fed into a central computer when school starts. Staff are informed immediately if the child is absent, and if any student is still absent 20 minutes after lessons begin, parents receive a text message to their phones. City education secretary Coriolano Moraes says the innovation, which cost the government $670 thousand to design, is aimed at helping parents. "We noticed that many parents would bring their children to school but would not see if they actually entered the building because they always left in a hurry to get to work," he told the Associated Press news agency." (Russia Today, 23 March) No doubt many dictators will be looking forward to obtaining this excellent method of surveillance to deal with their dissidents. Isn't capitalism a wonderful system? RD
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