13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

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odd

Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

Post by odd »

Gaybutton-would your praise for Musk have been so fulsome had he been from the UK? Just wondering?
And I cannot see any praise in the last few pages for the Brits who masterminded the whole recue?
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Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

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odd wrote:Gaybutton-would your praise for Musk have been so fulsome had he been from the UK? Just wondering?
You can stop wondering. The answer is yes. For what reason would I care about what country he comes from?

Apparently you're trying to criticize me because I haven't posted specific praise for the UK divers. I posted my praise for Musk in response to criticism of Musk. I haven't seen you post any praise for anybody at all, including the UK divers.

Maybe you ought to think about posting some praise yourself before you start criticizing me for not doing so . . .
odd

Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

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Quite right-the Brits are not glory seekers like the Americans and Australians. The Brits just get on with the job and then vanish into the background. Job done.
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Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

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odd wrote:Quite right-the Brits are not glory seekers like the Americans and Australians.
Are you going to post any praise or are you just going to continue posting disdain for not only Americans, but Australians too - not one bit of which has anything to do with the rescue?

Many more Americans and Australians participated in the rescue besides Musk. Who among them do you see seeking glory?


Patty: "Am I the only American you've ever liked?"
Mr. Shorthouse: "There was one other."
Patty: "Who was that?"
Mr. Shorthouse: "Benedict Arnold."

- Lynn Loring, Maurice Dallimore, 'Fair Exchange' tv series
odd

Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

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Of course there were many more Americans and Australians there-they were sent by their countries and they did a good job. Just remember that the Brits were volunteers and were there of their own choosing. The Australian doctor ,who was a vital cog in the rescue, was actually asked for by the Brits. There were also hundreds of Thais there doing all the dirty work. And people from many other countries.

What has got to me is that the American and Australian posters here can only praise their own countrymen. It has been a marvelous 'International' operation-this seems to be beyond some posters.
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Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

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odd wrote:It has been a marvelous 'International' operation
Agreed.

Now, let's please get back to the rescue operation and the boys.
odd

Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

Post by odd »

Agreed- I did forget Trump's belated interest
fountainhall

Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

Post by fountainhall »

odd wrote:And I cannot see any praise in the last few pages for the Brits who masterminded the whole recue?
I really wonder why this thread is descending into carping! Surely this amazing rescue should be above the usual cut and thrust of a gay chat forum.

As far as the Brits are concerned, look back near the start of the thread and there is a lot about the Brits who discovered the boys. Look at some of the videos which have been posted where they are prominently mentioned and quite rightly praised. But according to all reports they themselves are modest guys. They are not looking for any praise. Like some of the other overseas volunteers, they jumped on a plane at their own expense because they felt they were needed.

And yes, you are correct. If one of the overseas cave experts had not found them, we would in the fullness of time be experiencing the grief of the families and watching a lot of funerals. So hooray to these two Brits. But let's also never forget this was a team effort as everyone from the heroic Australian doctor whose father passed away just as the coach was extracted from the cave, to the Thai Navy Seals, the dozens of foreign experts and the leader of the rescue have repeatedly stated.

The leader of the Chinese team said this yesterday at a celebration lunch.
Wang Yingjie said that the foreign divers had cooperated seamlessly.

Yingjie and his team apologised for wearing slippers to the formal event; he said their feet had been macerated by the dozens of hours they had spent submerged in muddy water in recent days.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/j ... o-disaster

Let's also never forget the kids themselves and their coach. That heroic and equally modest Australian doctor said this of them -
"They are the toughest . . . kids I've ever had the privilege to meet," Dr Harris said.

"They are the ones who were responsible for their own morale and really their own safety, and without them being in the state they were in we couldn't have done anything."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-12/t ... es/9982644
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Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

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fountainhall wrote:I really wonder why this thread is descending into carping!
It's my fault and I'll take the blame for it. I've asked several times that this topic remain about the boys, but some have ignored that request because they just have to get in their dig.

I've asked for that to stop. I am no longer asking. Now I'm telling that will stop. Starting now, any posts that are not about the boys, the rescue operation, what happens next for the boys, or anything else off topic - those post will be deleted. And it will be my call.

Those who wish to criticize, carp, or whatever else about it - start a new topic and do it there. This topic is the wrong place to be doing that.
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Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

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"Stateless" boy who emerged as leader in Thailand cave was key to rescue

July 12, 2018

The 12 boys rescued from a cave in Thailand are reported to be feeling better Thursday morning. The boys and their soccer coach have been hospitalized since their 18-day ordeal ended earlier this week and are expected to spend at least a week at the hospital, followed by 30 days at home.

The British divers who found the boys also had a helper inside the cave: A student who was able to take a leadership role by translating for them. Staff at his school told CBS News' Anna Werner, that's not surprising. He's a boy who has already faced significant challenges in his life and overcome them.

Teacher Kru Nice says 14-year-old Adun Sam-On has always been a leader, despite the fact he doesn't have his parents with him or even an official home. Since Adun's parents slipped him out of Myanmar eight years ago to escape the ethnic conflicts there, he's become one of many students at this school considered "stateless." He's not a citizen of any country. Yet in Thailand, Adun is a top student and a standout athlete.

Kru told us she was so worried when she learned Adun was trapped in the cave. But Adun's proficiency in languages – he speaks four – proved key inside the cave, as he acted as translator for the British divers during the complicated rescue.

They were given anti-anxiety medication to keep them calm. In some portions of the journey, the boys were put into harnesses lying down. Rescuers used a rope system and high lines to pull them through the caverns.

Before they were found, a family member told CBS News the boys worked together to survive for nine days in the cave. When the boys entered the cave they each had a flashlight along with one watch and one mobile phone with light until the batteries died. They were able to check a watch for the time for the first three days. They slept close together for warmth and took turns digging in the cave to try and redirect the water that had trapped them.

Now, the boys are in the hospital where new video shows them sitting up in their beds, their relieved parents watching them through a window. It's the result Adun's teacher has been waiting for.

"He's a miracle boy," she told us. "I'm so happy he's safe."

CBS News has learned all of the boys want to become monks for a short period of time after they are released from the hospital. Sources also told us the boys have been asking about their cleats and when they can get back on the soccer field.

Thai Airways is providing round-trip tickets and an all-expenses-paid weeklong trip for all of the international volunteers who worked on this rescue. The tourism authority is also giving them all a five-year visa. Thai officials said they plan to create an interactive museum at the cave that will feature items such as the clothing worn by rescuers. But for now, the cave is closed.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/thailand-c ... as-leader/
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