Posted on 10/06/2016 8:15:47 AM PDT by nickcarraway
A 30-year-old postdoctoral researcher at the University of California's plant biology department was killed in Ethiopia when the vehicle she was riding in was struck by rocks thrown by protesters.
The university said in a statement Wednesday that Sharon Gray was in the East African country for a meeting about her research when she was killed Tuesday while traveling in a car in the outskirts of the capital, Addis Ababa. Her field of study was looking at the effects of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide on certain tomato roots.
There has been unrest in Ethiopa for months and is increasingly becoming a cause of international concern. But tensions came to a head on Sunday, two days before Gray was killed, when dozens of people were crushed in a stampede after police fired tear gas and rubber pellets to disperse an anti-government protest that grew out of a massive religious festival. The stampede occurred in Oromia, where demonstrators have been actively campaigning for wider freedoms.
During the Olympics, Feyisa Lilesa of Ethiopia crossed his wrists as he crossed the finish line in Rio to win a silver medal, showing his anti-government stance.
The U.S. State Department issued a travel alert for Ethiopia on Aug. 19, reminding tourists that "even demonstrations to be peaceful can can turn confrontational and escalate into violence." The university chose to focus on Gray, a young woman pictured with a wide smile and lots of friends.
Even in tragedy, we hope that we all can find some comfort in the wonderful work Sharon was engaged in that will better the lives of so many around the world, Ken Burtis, the universitys acting provost, said in a statement posted on the UC Davis Graduate Studies Facebook page.
Gray earned her PhD in 2013 from the school's Department of Plant biology, and did her undergraduate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She had been doing her postdoctoral work as a researcher at the UC Davis Brady lab.
The university said what happened was unclear but spokesman Andy Fell confirmed to the the Sacramento Bee that Gray was the American the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia confirmed was killed in an area that has seen months of deadly protests UC Davis says another member of the plant biology department who was traveling with Gray was not injured in is headed home.
This is the first foreigner killed in the massive anti-government protests that have claimed the lives of hundreds of protesters since November 2015.
But after all - aren’t all people and cultures equal in every way?
Except for those dastardly white Americans.
/s
I'm not saying that there is anything inherently wrong with doing this research in Ethiopia, but I will point out that the tomato is a New World plant. You can study it in North America. Or South America. Plants are plants, and CO2 is CO2 and atmosphere is atmosphere.
If you really, really need to go to Africa and get up close and personal with the lovely people, things happen.
“But it’s not nearly as bad as Dihydrogen Monoxide. “
Kills more people in the US than any other single molecule. In fact, it is worldwide the greatest killer of humans except for diseases. In 2011, for example, Japan’s 9.0 mag quake killed far less people than the dihydrogen monooxide incidents just 30 mins afterwards. True story.
Backpack lives matter.
Does she get a star in Langley?
In fact, we were using Dihydrogen Monoxide to torture prisoners at Gitmo.
Trends in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide
Amy Biel II
Addis Ababa has a large Muslim population.
Surely the stone-throwing was a coincidence. /sarc
All my friends from Africa left there voluntarily to better their lives in the USA because they were educated and knew how bad things would become in their mother countries. So sad.
Even Muhammad Ali said, “Thank God my granddaddy got on that boat.”
Obviously, we can't trust the NOAA data! And they will never admit that 95%+ is naturally occurring CO2.
It’s possible they will excuse the killers that way.
I think we should embrace this. If it means warmer and longer summers (growing seasons) for Greenland, Antarctica, Canada and Siberia that could be a plus.
You are clearly unaware of the tendency of killer tomatoes to attack. I'm waiting for the day they settle the score with the Heinz company.
Tragic as it is, liberals are under the impression that if they give the enemy a big, sloppy kiss, they won't be harmed.
That's why the black man declared war on whites here in America decades ago, and whitey is acting like all is well.
"They can't be mad at ME!"
Infidel woman not wearing hijab, and not being escorted by a family member = death by stoning.
These are muslims, this is what they do.
Interact with muslims at your own peril, or come packing heat if you do.
I’m sure there is now a new line of “research” that combines the study of social revolutions and climate change.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.