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NEWS ... GLOBAL NEWS ... Mr Thomas even considered that so- IMF AND WORLD BANK FACE DECLINING AUTHORITY AS called "talking CCTV", which is to be VENEZUELA ANNOUNCES WITHDRAWAL trialled in 20 areas across the country, might be a "bridge too far". This system enezuela's decision to pull out of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the allows operators to bellow orders at those World Bank will be seen in the United States as just another example of the ongoing deemed to be behaving badly. feud between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and the Bush Administration. But it is He said it was arguable that surveillance | likely to be viewed differently in the rest of the world, and could have an impact on both in Britain—which is greater than in any institutions, whose power and legitimacy in developing countries have been waning other democratic nation—may already steadily in recent years. have gone too far. Other countries may follow. President Rafael Correa of Ecuador announced last But MPs told Mr Thomas that their week that it was kicking the World Bank's representative out of the country. It was an constituents were keen on CCTV, which unprecedented action, which President Correa punctuated by stating that "we will not they found reassuring. stand for extortion by this international bureaucracy". In 2005, the World Bank (Source: Daily Telegraph, UK, 2 May 2007, withheld a previously approved US$100 million loan to Ecuador to try to force the http:/www. telegraph.co.uk) government to use windfall oil revenues for debt repayment, rather than the government's choice of social spending. NEXT-GENERATION VIDEO This is the way these two institutions have operated for decades. With the IMF as GAMES READ BRAIN WAVES leader and the US Treasury department holding veto power, they have run a "creditors' Brineess at NeuroSky Inc. have big cartel" that has been able to exert enormous pressure on governments over a wide variety plans for brain-wave-reading toys and | of economic issues. This pressure has not only generated widespread resentment, but video games, to make them more mentally __| has also often led to economic failure in the countries and regions where the IMF and stimulating and realistic. The technology | World Bank have had the most influence. Over the last 25 years, Latin America has had could even enable players to control video _| its worst long-term economic growth performance in more than a century. game characters or avatars in virtual worlds Venezuela also has specific grievances against the IMF, which are likely to generate with nothing but their thoughts. sympathy in other developing countries with democratic, left-of-centre governments. Adding biofeedback to Tiger Woods On 12 April 2002, just hours after Venezuela's democratically elected government was PGA Tour, for instance, could mean that overthrown in a military coup, the IMF stated publicly that it was "ready to assist the only those players who muster Zen-like new administration [of Pedro Carmona] in whatever manner they find suitable". concentration could nail a putt. In the This instantaneous show of financial support for a newly installed dictatorship—one popular first-person shooter Grand Theft | which immediately dissolved the country's Constitution, General Assembly and Auto, players who become nervous or Supreme Court—was unprecedented in the IMF's history. Typically the IMF does not frightened will have worse aim than those | react so quickly, even to an elected government. It is no wonder that this move was who remain relaxed and focused. seen in Venezuela and elsewhere as an attempt by the IMF to support the coup itself. NeuroSky's prototype measures a_ | Washington, which dominates the Fund, had advance knowledge of the coup, supported person's baseline brain-wave activity, it and funded some of its leaders, according to US government documents. including signals that relate to In addition, Venezuela has not been happy with the IMF's consistently under- concentration, relaxation and anxiety. projecting its economic growth in recent years, as the Fund has also done with The technology ranks performance in Argentina. The IMF's forecasts are widely used and can therefore influence investors. each category on a scale of one to 100, and But the resentment against the IMF and the World Bank and demands for change are the numbers change as a person thinks worldwide. The scandal over Paul Wolfowitz's leadership at the World Bank, which is about relaxing images, focuses intently or | about to topple the Bank's most unwanted president ever, is just the tip of the iceberg. gets kicked, interrupted or otherwise Last month, the IMF's Independent Evaluation Office stated that since 1999 nearly three- distracted. quarters of aid money given to the poor countries of Sub-Saharan Africa is not being The technology is similar to more spent. Rather, at the IMF's request, it is being used to pay off debt and accumulate sensitive, expensive equipment that | reserves. This is a terrible thing to do to some of the poorest countries in the world, which athletes use to achieve peak performance. desperately need to spend this money on such pressing needs as the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Koo Hyoung Lee, a NeuroSky co-founder Venezuela's decision is likely to strengthen the hand of developing nations within the from South Korea, used biofeedback to IMF and the World Bank which are demanding serious reforms. Right now the United improve concentration and relaxation States, with less than five per cent of the world's population, has more votes in the IMF techniques for members of his country's than countries representing the majority of the planet. The world's developing Olympic archery team. countries, which bear the brunt of these institutions' mistakes, have little or no voice in Toys with even the most basic brain- their decision-making. Venezuela's move—and any other countries that follow—will wave-reading technology—scheduled for show the IMF and the World Bank that the option of quitting these institutions debut later this year—could boost mental _| altogether is a real one. focus and help kids with attention deficit Whether this will spur reform that can actually change the colonial relationship that hyperactivity disorder, autism and mood these institutions maintain with their borrowers remains to be seen. More likely, they disorders. will simply continue to become less relevant to the developing world, as has happened (Source: Associated Press, 30 April 2007, drastically over the last decade. http://edition.cnn.com/2007/TECH/fun.games | (Source: by Mark Weisbrot, McClatchy Tribune Information Services, 1 May 2007, /04/30/mind.reading.toys.ap/index.html) http://ifiwatchnet.org/documents/item. shtml ?x=64866) Mr Thomas even considered that so- called "talking CCTV", which is to be trialled in 20 areas across the country, might be a "bridge too far". This system allows operators to bellow orders at those deemed to be behaving badly. He said it was arguable that surveillance in Britain—which is greater than in any other democratic nation—may already have gone too far. But MPs told Mr Thomas that their constituents were keen on CCTV, which they found reassuring. (Source: Daily Telegraph, UK, 2 May 2007, http:/www. telegraph.co.uk) NEXT-GENERATION VIDEO GAMES READ BRAIN WAVES Brineess at NeuroSky Inc. have big plans for brain-wave-reading toys and video games, to make them more mentally stimulating and realistic. The technology could even enable players to control video game characters or avatars in virtual worlds with nothing but their thoughts. Adding biofeedback to Tiger Woods PGA Tour, for instance, could mean that only those players who muster Zen-like concentration could nail a putt. In the popular first-person shooter Grand Theft Auto, players who become nervous or frightened will have worse aim than those who remain relaxed and focused. NeuroSky's prototype measures a person's baseline brain-wave activity, including signals that relate to concentration, relaxation and anxiety. The technology ranks performance in each category on a scale of one to 100, and the numbers change as a person thinks about relaxing images, focuses intently or gets kicked, interrupted or otherwise distracted. The technology is similar to more sensitive, expensive equipment that athletes use to achieve peak performance. Koo Hyoung Lee, a NeuroSky co-founder from South Korea, used biofeedback to improve concentration and relaxation techniques for members of his country's Olympic archery team. Toys with even the most basic brain- wave-reading technology—scheduled for debut later this year—could boost mental focus and help kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism and mood disorders. (Source: Associated Press, 30 April 2007, http://edition.cnn.com/2007/TECH/fun. games /04/30/mind.reading.toys.ap/index.html) JUNE — JULY 2007 NEXUS +9 www.nexusmagazine.com