Análisis judeo-cristiano de la crisis de COVID-19 y su gestión

The present coronavirus crisis caused major worldwide disruption. Numerous experts admit now that the crisis management was far from optimal from the very beginning. In the paper, we first digest the available information on the crisis and its management. We then list factors that led to the chosen way of crisis management. Afterwards, we question whether religious leaders could have gained enough information for them not to have supported lockdowns etc. back in March, 2020. In our opinion, they could have if they would have addressed trustworthy experts with a list of reasonable professional questions. We then analyze the question if hypothetical coercive measures are justified in the case when they are effective in decreasing the overall mortality but cause the death of several people. Our conclusion is that such measures are not justified ethically, and implementing emergency powers is justified only in the case of war. Finally, we formulate several important problems highlighted by COVID-19 to be discussed in the future.La actual crisis del coronavirus ha causado una gran perturbación a nivel mundial. Numerosos expertos admiten ahora que la gestión de crisis estuvo lejos de ser óptima desde el principio. En el documento, primero resumimos la información disponible sobre la crisis y su gestión. A continuación, enumeramos los factores que llevaron a la forma elegida de gestión de crisis. Posteriormente, cuestionamos si los líderes religiosos podrían haber obtenido suficiente información para no haber apoyado los bloqueos, etc. en marzo de 2020. En nuestra opinión, podrían haberlo hecho si se hubieran dirigido a expertos confiables con una lista de preguntas profesionales razonables. Luego analizamos la cuestión de si las medidas coercitivas hipotéticas están justificadas en el caso de que sean efectivas para disminuir la mortalidad general pero causen la muerte de varias personas. Nuestra conclusión es que tales medidas no están justificadas éticamente, y la implementación de poderes de emergencia solo está justificada en caso de guerra. Finalmente, formulamos varios problemas importantes destacados por COVID-19 para ser discutidos en el futuro. Palabras clave: salud pública; ateísmo; responsabilidad del sacerdocio; Toma de decisiones; elecció

¿El conflicto de intereses que es tan grave que todos preferimos ignorarlo?

Conflict of Interest declaration is the default way to mitigate the risk of harm of unconscious or deliberate promotion of self-interest causing misinformation or wrong decision-making. Public attention to the disclosure of interests caused by private sources of research funding results in a routine procedure now. At the same time, very strong interests caused by taxpayer-covered Governmental funding of research are generally badly underestimated. Researchers generally have no idea that taking public funding and promoting policy advice to provide more funds should be declared as a conflict of interest: Promotion of more funds and power under the control of bureaucratic bodies or entities is anticipated to bring more funding for the researchers themselves. For example, the COVID-19 response of most democratic governments, based on the use of emergency powers, enjoys broad support from publicly funded research – though the effectiveness of such a response is not supported by the history of previous pandemics. The explicit requirement to disclose public funding as a potential Conflict of Interest, at least in case the authors promote more power and more funds for the Government, will mitigate risks of one of the potentially dangerous biases both in research and in decision-making

Descanse en paz: enfoque judeocristiano sobre el final de la vida y los tratamientos paliativos.

The concept of "dying of old age" almost does not exist today: it is always death from some illness. The religious world became captive to the concept that we must do everything to prolong metabolism for every additional moment. In most cases, a person is separated from the world while in an alienated environment, connected to transfusions and machines. While we deny euthanasia in an absolute and unconditional manner, our practical suggestion is encouraging palliative medicine. This type of care is focused on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of the illness rather than attempting to cure. We wish to instill the understanding that natural death from old age is a gift from God, not a punishment.El concepto de "morir de vejez" casi no existe hoy en día; siempre es una muerte por alguna enfermedad. El mundo religioso ha quedado atrapado en la noción de que debemos hacer todo lo posible para prolongar el metabolismo en cada momento adicional. En la mayoría de los casos, una persona está separada del mundo en un entorno alienado, conectada a transfusiones y máquinas. Aunque negamos la eutanasia de manera absoluta e incondicional, nuestra sugerencia práctica es fomentar la medicina paliativa. Este tipo de atención se centra en brindar alivio a los síntomas y el estrés de la enfermedad en lugar de intentar curarla. Deseamos inculcar la comprensión de que la muerte natural por vejez es un regalo de Dios, no un castigo

How Butter Beats the Guns

The decreasing share of defence in total government expenditures reflects the fundamental choices about state functions. The main hypothesis of the research is: decreasing priority of military spending could cause lower quality of defence. The case study shows, how “punishment for military success” strategy undermines incentives for army officers. Historical data (military spending and rise of new military justice) support the main hypothesis