Reports have been pouring in that the Burmese soldiers today used baton and tear gas against the Buddhist monks and civilian protesters at Shwedagon pagoda, the holiest Buddhist place in Rangoon. The situation calls for immediate interventions of the international community.

Some questions relevant in the context of ethics in social science research are: Does social science have peculiarities which are masked by discussions on science at large? Given the need for objectivity in scientific inquiry can theory laden-ness be kept sufficiently distinct from value...