Some moral matters

Those who know me, or try to proselytise me with petitions or for political party support, know that I am a moral vacuum. At least, that's what I say when they try ("Sorry, I'm a moral vacuum". It gets great reactions). I like to talk about facts and practices, but not to prescribe or proscribe. I have my own moral code, but you won't get me trying to convince you of it.

But sometimes moral claims are too strong to ignore. A couple of these popped up lately on the Science Blogs, and I thought I'd shirk my duty by linking to the morally better informed and formed.

One is, of course, the Tripoli 6 case. Here, for those who do not know, is a case in which the Libyan government is trying to avoid responsibility for poor hygiene and resources in their own hospitals by rejecting scientific evidence and claiming that foreign doctors and nurses infected their patients with diseases, including HIV, that can be shown to be much older than the arrival of these health workers. It goes to show that Libya is still a morally bankrupt nation, not that I should complain, I guess. Hell, consistency is a hobgoblin. I complain. J'accuse!

The other is the support of those who see their duty to do militarily what their government requires, and who expect that they will be supported once they are injured or traumatised (which is an injury too). So given that governments rarely support their troops once they are discharged, it falls to the friends and family of the military to do it. My mate Mike Dunford, over at the Questionable Authority, is helping with a marathon to raise funds for the families of those who lost their lives in military actions. Go check it out.

Oh, and Grrlscientist is home, and probably needs any spare money you can offer via PayPal (scroll to the bottom of her sidebar) to help her get back into a normalised life (leaving aside any questions of what is Normal for undergraduates to debate). She needs funds to feed the birds, at least.

Now, I have done some moral stuff. Can I get back to depersonalised and purely pragmatic stuff now? Hmm? Just the facts, Ma'am, just the facts...