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19th century London: Ada Lovelace meets Charles Babbage at a party and impresses him with her knowledge of mathematics. They team up to develop a differential machine, able to perform arithmetical operations automatically, and her innovative ideas establish her as the world's first computer nerd, a hundred years before real computers are made.
Watch the story of Ada Lovelace in Eni's new MINDS series, where we travel through time seeking scientists.
"Welcome to our country," says the immigration officer, "your passport please?"
You fumble through your travel wallet, pull out your national passport, and helpfully open it to the photo page.
"Thank you," she says, "Now, the other one."
But you don't have the other one. You haven't gotten the COVID vaccine, so you don't have the "vaccine passport" that this country now requires for entry.
<p>This scene could soon play out in many places around the world as countries and airlines begin issuing — or requiring — <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/04/travel/coronavirus-vaccine-passports.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">vaccine passports</a> that prove the bearer has been vaccinated against COVID-19 or has recently tested negative for the virus. </p><p>This isn't just a question of that vacation you've been dreaming of since the pandemic shut down travel. Many employers could begin demanding proof of vaccination before they hire you — or even to let you in the building for an interview. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/14/business/covid-vaccine-health-hospitals.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Medical facilities</a> in some places have already made clear that vaccinations for their staff will be mandatory. </p><p><strong>Are vaccines passports a good idea? </strong>People, governments, and companies want to know who might set off a new COVID wave and who is safe. But are we moving toward a Brave New World where the holders of vaccine passports become an unfairly privileged class of people? </p><p><strong>The arguments in favor are obvious. </strong>Governments want to know that people entering their countries are highly unlikely to spread the virus within their borders. That's particularly important for major international transit hubs like London and Hong Kong, and island tourism destinations, but also for large economies like, say, the Philippines, Thailand, Greece, or Mexico, where jobs, economic growth, and government revenue <a href="https://www.gzeromedia.com/the-graphic-truth-tourism-reliant-economies-take-a-hit" target="_self">depend heavily on outside business travelers and tourists</a>. </p><p>And national governments aren't the only ones interested in a vaccine passport. Airlines want people to feel safe enough to fly. Event producers, hoteliers, and restaurant owners — who have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic — want customers to feel secure enough to return in large numbers. </p><p><strong>There are also strong arguments against this idea.</strong> First, it won't be easy to build such a complex system with anything approaching common standards and oversight, and the risk of mistaken identity is obvious. Given the stakes, a black market in fake passports will likely arise -- feeding corruption and undermining confidence in public gatherings, especially if some holders of vaccine passports are shown to transmit infection. </p><p>Second, even if the system works well, it will inevitably discriminate against people who, through no fault of their own, are still waiting to be vaccinated. That could mean younger and healthier people who are ineligible until later stages of the vaccine distribution process or those who are eligible but don't yet have enough information or access to vaccination sites. And those who decide not to get vaccinated because they believe it's dangerous would also pay a price in terms of mobility and employment under a system like this. </p><p><strong>Bottom-line: </strong>The World Health Organization <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/as-israel-and-greece-push-vaccine-passport-some-say-not-so-fast/ar-BB1dAbCX?ocid=uxbndlbing" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">opposes</a> a vaccine passport plan, but countries like <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/07/freedom-and-fairness-covid-vaccine-passport-plans-cause-global-unease" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Denmark, Sweden, Israel and others</a> already have passport plans in development. Australia's <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-55048438" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Qantas Airways</a> won't fly you down under without proof you've been jabbed. Other governments and <a href="https://www.webmd.com/vaccines/covid-19-vaccine/news/20210114/apps-to-let-travelers-others_show_covid_19_status" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">private companies</a> are debating right now whether and how to create and roll out such a system.</p>
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Listen: Mexico finds itself at a critical moment in history. Its populist president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (also known as AMLO), appears unable to get control of the rampant violence that he promised to curb or of the raging coronavirus that he himself was just infected by. And during this moment of crisis, Mexico's most important trading partner, the United States, has just elected a new president. Outside observers were surprised by leftist AMLO's ability to get along so well with former President Trump. Will President Biden prove a tougher challenge? Ian Bremmer speaks with acclaimed journalist and Univision anchor Jorge Ramos.
Subscribe to the GZERO World Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or another podcast platform to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.
In this edition of The Red Pen, we take a look at an editorial by the FT's Janan Ganesh, who argues that Mitt Romney represents a future for US conservatism post-Trump and is in a unique position to turn around the Republican Party. Ian Bremmer and Eurasia Group's Jon Lieber point out that the GOP is actually moving in a very different direction.
<p>Today we're taking our red pen to an op-ed published in the Financial Times, the Pinks, written by Janan Ganesh, the newspaper's chief US political commentator.</p><p>And it's titled, "<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/36b2741d-2bf8-4656-bf37-878073b3620a" target="_blank">Mitt Romney is the model for a new Republican party,</a>" and argues that the Utah Senator and former presidential candidate is an example of how the GOP should approach the post-Trump political world.</p><p>Now, Ganesh is a sharp observer of US politics, but we think this one misses the mark. Let me explain.</p><p>The op-ed is framed in the context of Trump's second impeachment trial, and whether Republican Senators should stand for their collective good or vote to acquit for political protection. Of course, the last few days have all focused on Trump's actions and behavior after the November election and his role in inciting the insurrection we witnessed at the Capitol on January 6<sup>th</sup>. But it also has implications for the 2024 election, 2022 midterms, and what happens to the GOP in the interim.</p><p>So let's get out the Red Pen and dive into Ganesh's arguments.</p><p>First, he writes that "if there is a future for US conservatism beyond hot-tempered quackery, Romney points the way." He adds that while Romney himself is nearing the end of his career, he can "serve as the model for whoever does one day redeem the party."</p><p>Romney is not the future of the GOP. He (and his ideas) are the embodiment of the past of a party that's actually getting Trumpier and Trumpier. And it's important to note that while he has taken stands against President Trump, one of few Republicans in Congress to loudly do so, he also represents a state, Utah, where Trump underperformed in both 2016 and 2020 relative to other red states, and relative to other Republicans over the years. But in the totality of the GOP, Romney is an outlier, he's increasingly becoming his own island. And in general, we question how many Never Trumpers or Lincoln Project folks will even be Republicans in five years.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY0Mzg5MS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3MTA2OTA1NH0.tDVU4C11KZ5YH9UrligvwodyN6vft8TXs6WZJLxwC3w/img.png?width=980" id="d9e89" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bac7847a1447b6f9492367e41b15534c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="'If there is a future for US conservatism beyond hot-tempered quackery, Romney points the way." Romney is not hte future of the GOP. He (and his ideas) represents the past, the past of a party that's getting Trumpier and Trumpier." />
</p><p>Next, Ganesh writes that Romney is an "agent for change" and that, if it wasn't for his age, he would be the perfect person to turn around the party.<br/></p><p>Here's the thing, the GOP doesn't think it needs a turnaround. Trump almost won re-election in the midst of a global pandemic (that he seriously, even epically, mismanaged). Republicans may take back the House next year, and maybe even the Senate. GOP donors, voters, and the base support the way the party is going. Ganesh is offering a potential cure for patients who don't believe they're sick and didn't come seeking a diagnosis.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY0MzkxOS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1Mjc4OTE0N30.zW5NmilXOGa_4EMh_eVgAbU-Pcp6umTjxUkkQNxijUQ/img.png?width=980" id="751db" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6269d86e1db3cf05ff7c05fef3fdec95" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt=""...Romney is not going to make the Grand Old Party his last corporate turnaround job." Here's the thing: The GOP doesn't think it needs a turnaround.'" />
</p><p>Ganesh also writes that Romney "questions the small-government bias of a party that has let its economic views become articles of faith," and cites his "break with Republican convention."<br/></p><p>Are we talking about the same Mitt Romney? Romney supports tax cuts, he opposes the ACA, and is the lead sponsor of the only budget amendment that is meant to deal with debts and deficits and reforming entitlements. There is one exception, and it's important, Romney's plan for generous reforms to family tax credits. And to be sure, it's admirable that Senator Romney is proposing it, but these ideas have been kicked around for years, including by George W. Bush. It's not the future of the GOP, it's a flashback to "compassionate conservatism."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY0MzkzNC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3MzY5ODYyMn0.EGyQqJgvcHlo8Z0cYIE9j3dKiV3CywCdOeT-WF9lJAM/img.png?width=980" id="e106a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="05dabda17478d2895ebbf3c5137988fa" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt=""His break with Republican convention is as doctrinal as it is moral." Are we talking about the same Mitt Romney?" />
</p><p>Finally, to return to impeachment, Ganesh argues "it is in the collective interest of sensible Republicans in that chamber to convict the former president over last month's Capitol siege."</p><p>Really? How is it in the collective interest of the party to break from and condemn its most popular member? Even if they bar him from running again, Trump is not going to simply fade away. He lost the 2020 election by plenty. But he also won 74 million votes across this nation. That's enough political mojo to be a big voice in the Republican party or to bring millions of people into a new one.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY0Mzk3Ny9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2Mjc1NjE4NH0.GCWkyGweswiJFQsnJ7Wou7iuiAy5JeJuNtjcXRAhbFU/img.png?width=980" id="a9c3a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="36189474afb060f6a30e3e5c7e9cc86e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt=""It is in the collective interest of sensible Republicans in that chamber to convict the former president.." Trump is not going to fade away." />
</p><p>Look, I'd love to be able to say that it's in the political interest of Republicans to convict Trump. I do think it's in the interests of the country. But the political interest of the party? Sorry, Ganesh. And that's part of why we're in the fix we're in right now.</p>
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As Mexico's COVID death toll surpasses India's, making it the third highest in the world, Univision anchor and acclaimed journalist Jorge Ramos joins GZERO World to discuss the reasons why the nation has responded poorly to the pandemic. "It was clearly mismanaged. It didn't work. And now Mexicans are suffering the consequences," Ramos said.
<p>Ramos cites "bad examples" set by Mexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, known as AMLO, including refusing to wear a mask in public, calling for people to "embrace each other" even during the pandemic, and failing to create a clear path to successful vaccine distribution. He also calls out Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro and former US President Donald Trump whose nations, along with Mexico, have the three highest death tolls globally. It's "no coincidence," Ramos says, given their shared reluctance or refusal to promote mask-wearing. </p><p>Ian Bremmer's conversation with Jorge Ramos is part of the latest episode of <em>GZERO World, </em>which<em> </em>begins airing on US public television nationwide this Friday, February 12th. Check local listings.</p>
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