Well hello Dolly

Cloned sheep first...now, humans.

Professor Ian Wilmut of the Roslin Institute in Scotland, the
man who created Dolly, the world's first cloned sheep is now looking to work
with human embryos. The purpose for his proposed human cloning is primarily
research, specifically for "advances in treatments for heart disease or to
test how someone might respond to drugs."

Give us the mark...

It is only a matter of time before Western minds are worn
down by advocates of ID technology, making way for the ultimate Big Brother
society. Obviously benefits of utilising electronic implants can be readily
identified. Tagging paedophiles is the latest call in the UK.

Technology used around the world currently is limited to
curfew addresses and probation boundaries. The Observer newspaper in
Britain has reported that the UK Government is looking at a new system which
could track paedophiles by satellite in much the same way as the location
systems installed to deter car theft. The 'implant' or electronic tag would
be placed under the skin of the convicted paedophile, indicating location, heart
rate and blood pressure.

The Herald, 19 November 2002 "Tracker, the company
which runs Britain's largest stolen vehicle monitoring network, has already
been approached about paedophile monitoring and computer company Compaq has been
asked to develop the software.

Compaq Software Solutions has developed similar technology
for Nasa to monitor remotely the bodily functions of astronauts...

Ministers would need to pass new legislation to oblige
offenders to be fitted with the tags.

Civil liberties groups have expressed horror at the proposals...

The implant tag has been proposed by Phoenix Survivors, a
group of child abuse victims who were traded as child prostitutes in the
northwest of England.

Phoenix Survivors spokeswoman Shy Keenan said: 'I am sick
to death of it being acceptable that I am a victim because these people have to
have their human rights.'..."

Implant technology gaining momentum

We use to wonder how implant units could ever be made small
enough to be placed into a human without causing disfiguring or marking.
Technology is moving so fast, it would appear we now have the answer: The
Press, back in June 2002, reported on Atomic transistors "Transistors have
been shrunk to their smallest possible limit -– the size of a single atom, it
was disclosed yesterday. The breakthrough by United States scientists could
herald a new era of ultra-miniaturised electronic devices.

Transistors, traditionally made from silicon, are components
that regulate the passage of electric current through them. They form the basic
building block of electronic circuits and can act as amplifiers, oscillators,
photocells or switches."

Finally, here's some positive techno-news to end with: In
Bristol, England you can now pay for 'parking meters via credit card'...
Excellent move.