Thailand Cave Rescue: All 12 Boys And Coach Successfully Rescued

[synaesthesia]

No, almost certainly a stupid comment made with no thought behind it. No different to the explanation as to why kids in the playground are calling each-other gay, etc.

Overblown by the media. It's not like anyone's whinged about the diver who told him where to stick the sub.

Edited July 18, 2018 by synaesthesia

[witch]

No, almost certainly a stupid comment made with no thought behind it. No different to the explanation as to why kids in the playground are calling each-other gay, etc.

Overblown by the media. It's not like anyone's whinged about the diver who told him where to stick the sub.

 

 

No, it ISN'T the same at all. The diver was rude, yes, no issues with that, but to call somebody someone who sexually abuses children is absolutely NOT "a stupid comment". Musk isn't on the playground. he isnt a child, he is a grown man who, however much he is "on the spectrum", should know that that sort of thing is absolutely unacceptable. His apology was weak at best

[synaesthesia]

Can't disagree with the weak apology but I do with "it isn't the same at all".

Unfortunately some people are like that, it is little more than playground insults and some people still do act like children. Would it have been much different if Musk had called him something else? Possibly. None of this makes it right or excusable BUT we are dealing with human beings. I have a neighbour in his 50s teaching his junior school kid to call others names like (another word for a bundle of sticks or a Brains meatball type meal). Some are less furnished in the brain department than others, some have lesser moral standards, some are quick to say or type things without thinking.

[AJWhite1970]

Did anyone see the brilliant documentary on Discovery last night charting the three weeks of the rescue with unseen footage from within the caves?

[jthompson]

Billionaire in turning-out-to-be-not-all-that-nice-and-not-really-living-on-planet-Earth shocker.

 

That he spelled it wrong suggests he's never really used the term seriously anyway. This is a man who loves his puerile humour, let's not forget. Tesla models S, E and X (and Y?), and BFR.

[synaesthesia]

He spelled it correctly according to American spelling, but that's pedantics He's a manchild but that needs to be kept in check.

[6Foot2]

According to Radio 4 this morning Musk has now apologised. Nothing to do with the threat of being sued or the nosedive of Tesla share prices of course

Link: Elon Musk in new rant at Thai cave rescuer [bBC News]

 

Elon Musk has again attacked a British diver he has previously accused without evidence of being a child abuser.

 

In an email to a reporter, Mr Musk said Vernon Unsworth - who assisted with the rescue of 12 Thai teenagers from a flooded cave - was a "child rapist".

 

Mr Unsworth's lawyer said the allegation was "completely false".

 

Mr Musk had earlier apologised for calling Mr Unsworth a "pedo". The pair first clashed over Mr Musk's offer of a mini-submarine to help with the rescue.

 

The Briton had told CNN that the submarine was "just a PR stunt [that] had absolutely no chance of working". The Tesla founder responded with a series of tweets accusing Mr Unsworth of paedophilia without providing any evidence...

 

This looks to be ready to rumble a on little longer...

Edited September 6, 2018 by 6Foot2
Add a missing 'a'

[elsiegee40]

Link: Elon Musk in new rant at Thai cave rescuer [bBC News]

 

 

 

This looks to be ready to rumble on little longer...

 

He’s like Trump. Used to getting his own way, has to have the last word, believes he is always right even when he is blatantly wrong and has never apologised to anyone.

[elsiegee40]

Elon Musk sued for libel by British Thai cave rescuer - BBC News

[6Foot2]

Link: Man Utd host 'cave-trapped' Thai football team at Old Trafford during Everton game [Mirror.co.uk]

 

 

The Thai side were warmly welcomed by the Old Trafford crowd (Image: AFP/Getty Images)

 

...The Thai teenagers were introduced to the Old Trafford crowd before kick off where they were given a warm welcome from the Mancunian supporters.

 

They watched as Paul Pogba handed United a first half lead, having followed up his penalty miss with the rebound.

 

They travelled to the UK to thank British cave divers John Volanthen and Rick Stanton, who helped rescue them in July.

 

The 12 youngsters, and their coach, will also attend the Daily Mirror's Pride of Britain Awards this week, where they will meet up with Volanthen and Stanton at Grosvenor House in London...

[mikeprice]

That's a bit harsh - surely they could have watched a proper football match - I mean Man U is bad enough - but playing Everton - surely the poor kids have been through enough:)

 

guess which team I support??

 

 

seriously - great to see people welcoming them and them getting something good

[elsiegee40]

Elon Musk files to dismiss 'pedo' defamation lawsuit by British diver

In a filing on Wednesday with the US district court inLos Angeles, Musk’s lawyers said their client’s comments about Vernon Unsworth were free speech protected by the US constitution’s first amendment even if they lacked any factual basis.

 

They also said Musk’s “over-the-top” comments came amid a “schoolyard spat on social media”, including Twitter, where participants “expect to read opinions, not facts”, and that no one could have reasonably believed they were truthful.

 

These statements were “just imaginative attacks; even if offensive, such speculative insults are by their nature opinion and protected by the first amendment,” the lawyers said.

 

L Lin Wood, a lawyer for Unsworth, rejected Musk’s defense, saying it would effectively doom all lawsuits over alleged false and defamatory attacks on reputation published online.

 

“Mr Musk does not let the facts or well-established law get in the way of his novel but inaccurate contentions in his motion to dismiss,” Wood said on Thursday. “I am confident the trial court will likewise reject this fanciful position.“

 

A hearing is set for 1 April 2019.

[6Foot2]

Link: New Year Honours 2019: Cave divers honoured for Thai rescue [bBC News]

 

Divers who helped save 12 schoolboys and their football coach from a flooded cave in Thailand have been recognised in the New Year Honours.

 

John Volanthen, from Bristol, and Richard Stanton, from Coventry, were both awarded the George Medal.

 

Vern Unsworth, 63, has been appointed MBE, alongside Joshua Bratchley and L/Cpl Connor Roe, 26, from Scotland.

 

Christopher Jewell, from Cheddar, and Jason Mallinson, from Huddersfield, received the Queen's Gallantry Medal.

 

The British divers answered a call by Thai authorities to join a major search after the group disappeared in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave, in Chiang Rai province, on 23 June...

[stevejp]

Link: New Year Honours 2019: Cave divers honoured for Thai rescue [bBC News]

 

Not often I see any value in the honours system, but on this occasion I'm happy to make an exception and stop being a grumpy old git for a few minutes!

[6Foot2]

Not often I see any value in the honours system, but on this occasion I'm happy to make an exception and stop being a grumpy old git for a few minutes!

This echoes the thoughts/feelings I had when creating my post.

 

[elsiegee40]

Elon Musk says 'pedo guy' tweet was not accusation

 

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said he did not intend to accuse a British diver of being a paedophile when he called him "pedo guy" on Twitter.

Vern Unsworth, 64 - who helped rescue 12 Thai boys from an underwater cave in 2018 - has sued Mr Musk for defamation.

In court documents, lawyers for Mr Musk argued that in South Africa, where he grew up, "pedo" is commonly used to refer to a "creepy old man".

 

So that’s alright then [emoji849]

[Norphy]

I’d call him an a*** but I think that’s an unfair comparison as a***s have value...

[mikeprice]

Elon Musk says 'pedo guy' tweet was not accusation

 

 

 

So that’s alright then [emoji849]

 

I think he should stop defending himself - he is starting to sound like Trump

 

 

He needs to just say whoops sorry - didn;t think - didn;t mean it to be that offensive - got it wrong

 

next he'll be adding sharpie lines things

[Arthur]

Elon Musk did not defame British cave explorer, jury finds

 

Elon Musk did not defame British cave explorer Vernon Unsworth by calling him a “pedo guy” on Twitter, a Los Angeles jury found Friday.

 

Musk shook hands with his lawyer at the close of the four day trial in Los Angeles. He did not address Unsworth, whose team had told the court earlier on Friday the Tesla CEO should pay at least $190m in damages for his tweets about the diver.

 

“My faith in humanity is restored,” Musk told reporters in the hallways of the courtroom.

 

“I came here for a verdict and unfortunately it was not what I expected but I respect the jury’s decision,” Unsworth said after emerging from the courtroom about an hour after the verdict was read.

 

“The challenge that was thrown down by Elon Musk was that if you don’t sue it’s true,” said his lead attorney, L Lin Wood. “We sued because it’s false.”

 

“I’m unhappy with the verdict because I think that [unsworth] deserved a different brand of justice, but he had the courage to come to this country where Elon Musk lives and accept his challenge,” Wood added. “He sued him. It’s not true.”

 

Mark Stephens, Unsworth’s solicitor in the UK, said: “It is a pity that a bullying billionaire has been able to cast such a long shadow, and I just hope that nobody else has to go … toe to toe with Mr Musk.”

 

The case pitted a 64-year-old financial adviser earning a salary of about £25,000 ($33,000) against one of the richest and most famous men in the world. The dispute stemmed from the Tesla and SpaceX chief’s ancillary involvement in the Tham Luang cave rescue in June and July 2018, which saw 12 young football players and their coach successfully extracted from a flooded cave system by a team of British cave divers.

 

On 13 July 2018, after the successful completion of the rescue, Unsworth said in an interview with CNN that the rescue pod Musk had delivered to the cave site was a “PR stunt”, adding that he should “stick his submarine where it hurts”. A video clip of the interview went viral, drawing the ire of Musk.

 

The billionaire entrepreneur responded in a series of tweets on 15 July, suggesting that Unsworth’s presence in Thailand was “sus[picious]” and calling him “pedo guy”.

 

Musk eventually deleted the tweets and apologized to Unsworth. He apologized again from the witness stand and contended, “I did not accuse Mr Unsworth of being a pedophile.”

 

While much of the evidence presented to the jury over three days of testimony involved the details of the cave rescue and the aftermath of Musk’s tweets, the jury was tasked with determining whether a reasonable person would understand the tweets to mean that Musk was calling Unsworth a pedophile.

 

Musk’s attorneys argued that the tweet was not a statement of fact, but an insult, which is considered protected speech. They also attempted to show that Unsworth’s reputation had not been seriously damaged because his efforts in the rescue operation were rewarded with an MBE, a medal from the Thai king, and other honors.

 

“It doesn’t matter that it’s not the most common insult,” Musk’s attorney, Alex Spiro, said during closing arguments. “You’re free to speak certain things in this country.”

 

Spiro further argued that Musk’s statement should never have been considered unlawful behavior. “Federal courts are not meant for people who insult each other,” he said.

 

Unsworth testified that “being branded a pedophile” had made him feel “humiliated, ashamed, dirty”. “I was effectively given a life sentence without parole,” he said. “It hurts to talk about it.”