Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

“But what about the lurkers?”

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

You cannot shame the shameless.

Everybody saw this coming.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

The willow is too close to the house.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Thai Cave Rescue Complete

Thai Cave Rescue Complete

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According to news alerts blowing up my phone, the entire soccer team plus the coach have been successfully extracted from the cave in Thailand. That is wonderful news. Here’s hoping all recover physically and mentally.

Spare a thought for former Thai Navy diver Saman Gunan today. He died last week trying to save those kids. I think the word “hero” is thrown around too easily these days, but Gunan fit the bill.

Now, maybe the cave extraction team can travel to the United States and liberate the thousands of immigrant children the Trump administration jacked from their families at the border. The Trump administration will blow through a court deadline today due to a combination of incompetence and malice.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

90Comments

  1. 1.

    donnah

    Hearing that news this morning brought me to tears. As the mother of three grown soccer-playing boys, I could not even imagine the agony those children and their parents must have experienced. I’m so glad the ordeal ended well and that they will all recover from the trauma.

    Sometimes the good guys win.

  3. 3.

    A Ghost To Most

    Heroes all. Another word thrown around – miracle. This was accomplished with science and human will.

  4. 4.

    Elizabelle

    Beyond thankful that all were rescued. We need some happy endings. And will remember Saman Guman as long as I can. Selfless.

  5. 5.

    JPL

    Betty, I choose malice, and there is nothing that could convince me otherwise. Trump is probably upset that the rescue means there is little coverage of his nominee.

  6. 6.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Just woke up to this news, and it restored an awful lot of what’s been missing for the past year and a half. Really great news. And R.I.P. Saman Gunan.

  8. 8.

    NotMax

    Open Thread?

    Global Lunar warming.

    A recent study in the Journal of Geophysical Research found that humans presence on the moon increased it’s temperature. Here’s why.
    [snip]
    The only scenario that fits this type of warming is that the astronauts caused it.

    While they were driving a rover over the surface, walking and installing the probes, they disturbed the moon’s surface, which is covered in regolith, a layer of dust and debris. Images from the camera show that those paths were darker, which lowered their albedo, or ability to reflect the sun’s light into space. Source

  9. 9.

    Platonailedit

    Great team work and planning. Kudos to those who volunteered.

    And fuck musk, the showboater. Pun intended.

  10. 10.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Yes, repeating that I am most happy to be wrong about this rescue. Once they decided to bring them out I was pretty sure it would not be without fatalities. An amazing feat that they managed it.

  11. 11.

    satby

    Not quite complete, still waiting for the last 3 Deals and the medic that stayed to prep the team to emerge. They have to be exhausted, so their safe removal is eagerly awaited by the Seals.

  15. 15.

    magurakurin

    @Platonailedit: Does anyone else think that Elon is losing the plot and slowly slipping into a Howard Hughes like madness?

    Also, too how come he didn’t cut a big check to help pay the rescue as he left? The dude is worth 19 billion dollars… even 50 million dollars is chump change at that level.

  17. 17.

    satby

    It’s been 46 minutes since confirmation of the last kid and coach, if the hour per announcement holds, we should hear about the Seals and medic soon.

  19. 19.

    Platonailedit

    @magurakurin:

    Exactly. Instead of flying out to that cave and filming his sorry ass inside that cave, thereby disrupting a very dangerous and complicated rescue operation, he could have very well spent a few dimes where they were needed. Asshole.

  21. 21.

    Platonailedit

    @satby: May be, but this was not a time or the place to test his hastily put together whatever contraption, which the rescue chief said wouldn’t even go inside the cave. He is not an expert on everything.

  22. 22.

    different-church-lady

    According to news alerts blowing up my phone…

    You allow that happen to yourself, you know.

    @Platonailedit: Is it Musk, or is it that every news outlet in America uses him for clickbait four times an hour?

  24. 24.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Baud: Yes they did, I suspect it was the air situation that forced their hand. At this point, all I can say is Damn. They made a plan and they executed it to perfection. So sorry the Thai diver had to die making it possible.

  25. 25.

    different-church-lady

    @magurakurin: He does seem to be at an inflection point, where one branch leads to Edison and the other goes towards Hughes.

  26. 26.

    Honus

    OT, but here’s one I’m sure the civility police will be all over soon:

    Bernardino County prosecutor has been placed on leave after posting a vicious attack on social media about Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.). It read: “Being a loud-mouthed c**t in the ghetto you would think someone would have shot this b***h by now.”

    Leave? Guy should never be allowed in courtroom again.

  27. 27.

    Kathleen

    @donnah: I teared up also. I’m also taking this as a message of hope for those fighting the good fight. Victory is possible in the face of overwhelming odds.

  30. 30.

    satby

    @Platonailedit: @magurakurin: you guys are putting me in the bizarre position of defending Musk, but he did more than being the mini sub:
    “Musk’s company, Boring Co, which digs tunnels for transport systems and has advanced ground-penetrating radar, has sent a team of engineers to Thailand to see if they can help with the rescue effort.” And in trying to grab the link, I inadvertently closed the tab, but you can Google it.

  33. 33.

    Patricia Kayden

    @debit: Yes, great news to start a new day. I hope they recover from this ordeal. This kind of reminds me of the Chilean mine collapse and rescue which also had a happy ending.

  36. 36.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Honus: Nah. You know that civility only goes in one direction — from us to them. They can get away with pretty much anything just like their President.

  38. 38.

    Platonailedit

    More on the the Brits who helped find the boys.

    Our correspondent Howard Johnson met 64-year-old Manop Suksaard outside the hospital in Chiang Rai, where the boys are being treated.

    Manop said Thais will support England tomorrow in their World Cup semi-final to show their gratitude to the British divers who found the boys and played a key part in the rescue.

    LOL.

  39. 39.

    Platonailedit

    @Honus:

    Finally. His chief or whoever fuck supervises him said yesterday, his political views did not matter ‘cuz he was doing such a good job with drug dealers.

  40. 40.

    rikyrah

    PERCEPTION

    If you follow me on Socials Media you may have noted that on Saturday morning I participated in the “Shut down the Dan Ryan” march in Chicago that achieved its goal of saturation local media coverage in addition to national exposure…as a way Fox News could offer its dying, elderly audience a group of black people to be mad at for no particular reason.

    The reasons I went are many. One is that the South Side is routinely an afterthought in this city, even among people who live here. Another is that since a Catholic parish organized and led the event, I thought there was at least a decent chance the police wouldn’t just club everyone over the head and herd them into paddywagons. But mostly I was eager to participate to use the experience of being there as a baseline for evaluating the media coverage (and social media commentary) on the event after the fact. Here are, in no order, some observations….

  41. 41.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @satby: Yes, me too. This is actually a very dangerous point, they are nearing the end, relaxing a little bit internally. Entrance fever is no doubt grabbing them by the balls and pushing them to do things they shouldn’t. It’s interesting how much I would miss the sun and fresh air with a breeze after a week or more underground, any hindrance or obstacle would become a thing to be cursed and thrashed. Very dangerous on rope 100+’ off the floor. Suicidal in a cave dive.

  43. 43.

    Honus

    @OzarkHillbilly: I kept thinking that the the Thai authorities were demonstrating a lot of patience with a guy with no real expertise insinuating himself into a very difficult situation.

  49. 49.

    Honus

    @Platonailedit:I’d argue that calling somebody a vulgar name and wishing they’d get shot doesn’t qualify as a political view. Especially for a prosecutor.

  50. 50.

    SenyorDave

    OT, but I realize that we could use a laugh this morning:

    Brett Kavanaugh to @POTUS: “I have witnessed firsthand your appreciation for the vital role of the American judiciary.”

    If the SCOTUS gig doesn’t work out, he’s got a future in stand-up.

  52. 52.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Honus: I am still in disbelief that he was allowed anywhere near this operation. It would never happen at a rescue here. The IC would have him thrown out on his ass in a NY second.

  53. 53.

    rikyrah

    The Trump administration will blow through a court deadline today due to a combination of incompetence and malice.

    One of the rare times that I disagree with you, BC.

    This wasn’t incompetence. This was MALICE.
    Your local cleaners has a better way of keeping track of your laundry than the federal government did with these children.
    They LOST paperwork?
    They DESTROYED paperwork?
    The reason that you know it was complete malice was the revelation a week or so ago that they had done a PILOT PROGRAM of ripping children from their parents.

    They did a PILOT PROGRAM, and in no step along in the process, they had put in place a detailed REUNIFICATION PROCESS.

    Let me make it clear for the bleacher seats.

    THEY.HAD.NO.INTENTION.OF.REUNITING.THESE.PARENTS.WITH.THESE.CHILDREN.

    When you can’t present the judge with a detailed outline of how you will reunite the parents…

    YOU NEVER HAD A PLAN.
    One only doesn’t have a plan..

    IF THEY NEVER INTENDED TO REUNITE THESE CHILDREN WITH THEIR PARENTS.

    stop with the giving them the benefit of the doubt with the excuse of incompetence. they knew what they were doing.

  55. 55.

    rikyrah

    UH HUH
    UH HUH

    We’re learning this morning that this choice was a back channel quid pro quo agreement for Kennedy’s decision to retire MONTHS in the making. Kavanaugh is a disgusting liar. https://t.co/L14wbS48o6

    — meta (@metaquest) July 10, 2018

  56. 56.

    rikyrah

    Source familiar tells NBC that Justice Kennedy had been in negotiations with the Trump team for months over Kennedy’s replacement. Once Kennedy received assurances that it would be Kavanaugh (his former law clerk) Kennedy felt comfortable retiring – @LACaldwellDC & @frankthorp

    — Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) July 10, 2018

  57. 57.

    rikyrah

    FLORES IS UPHELD!

    BREAKING: A judge has rejected the Trump administration’s bid to change a 1997 settlement that limits how long kids can be held in immigration detention — getting that settlement changed was a central part of Trump’s executive order last month https://t.co/C2413bEoxy pic.twitter.com/XSdCtTQdcC

    — Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) July 10, 2018

  58. 58.

    rikyrah

    Tremendously important development in Michigan, where organizers turned in far more than the required 316,000 signatures. If petition is validated, Michiganders will vote on an ambitious voting-rights package, incl. automatic registration & same-day registration. Stakes got high! https://t.co/KA2Ke6rgqj

    — Taniel (@Taniel) July 9, 2018

  59. 59.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    My only buddy breathing event came about in the Coral Sea. Entrance was rough, and we fought a couple of knots along with some surge all the way to the wall. Huffed through a lot of nitrox by the time we got to the short overhead at 70’. Once you were through the overhead (about 60’, more or less), you were on the reef. It was beautiful but I was already pretty well spent and chugging air like I was on a surface run.

    At 35 minutes, I signal the return to the Countess, and start working back, eager for relaxation. I missed the turn to get to the overhead and go down a trench which took us down and away- when we emerged (she’s pissed at this point), I’m at 600 lbs but we’re at 85’ and further from the line on the wrong side of the surge. When I made the safety stop, I was down to about 100 lbs. and am facing the Death Glare as she’s handing me her reg.

    I ate about 2 hours of shit over that.

  62. 62.

    rikyrah

    See the giant Map of connections between Trump and Putin here:
    nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/07/trump-putin-russia-collusion.html

  64. 64.

    rikyrah

    When you think about all that had to happen in order for this result…it’s stunning.
    That they were alive in the first place.
    That they were found.
    That the team put together to rescue them was just THAT GOOD.
    That the weather held up.

    Nobody wanted these boys to get lost, but the stars all aligned in this one.

  65. 65.

    msb

    Thank God.

    Now, maybe the cave extraction team can travel to the United States and liberate the thousands of immigrant children the Trump administration jacked from their families at the border.

    My very thoughts.

  66. 66.

    Robert Sneddon

    @OzarkHillbilly: Smart move to wait, to allow the euphoria to wear off and make the return just another traverse. Congratulations to all involved in the operation, the report that’s to be written about this is going to be an essential read for anyone involved in cave diving and rescue in the future.

  67. 67.

    satby

    @OzarkHillbilly: They must have decided that the guide divers were spent for the day. So one more day to worry a bit for their safety, but it’s been amazingly well run. These guys know what they’re doing.

  68. 68.

    Brachiator

    All Wild Boars rescued! What a wonderful way to start the day.

    I understand that the kids and the coach have to go through a period of quarantine, and undergo various tests. I hope that everyone, including the rescue divers all come through this with no ongoing health issues.

    I bow down in admiration and respect for everyone who planned the rescue and pulled it off.

    And of course sympathies to the family of the diver who lost his life.

  73. 73.

    Platonailedit

    bbc

    The Thai Navy Seals have just posted this picture of the last four people to get out of the cave system.

    They are three divers and a doctor – all Seals. They stayed in the cave for days supporting the young boys.

    “Hooyah Hooyah Hooyah.”

    Mission Accomplished. In the truest sense.

  74. 74.

    Bess

    @Platonailedit:

    And fuck musk, the showboater. Pun intended.

    No, fuck you.

    Musk offered help. SpaceX built a rescue sub they thought would work and on their way to delivering the sub they landed in Humboldt County and picked up some flexible rescue pods a local company had designed and built overnight.

    Did you see GM, Apple or you offering assistance?

  75. 75.

    Brachiator

    Quarantine details

    In quarantine

    By Michelle Roberts, BBC News

    After the boys had spent so long in the cold and dark with poor ventilation and relatively little to eat and drink, there were concerns that they would be in a far worse state. Now that they are dry, warm and in safe care, full medical assessments can be done.

    None of the first eight has a fever – a sign of a possible infection – although two have needed antibiotic treatment for suspected lung infections. Doctors will be checking for any infections, such as “caver’s disease”, a lung disease caused by a fungus that grows in bat droppings. They will also make sure any cuts and scrapes that the boys have on their skin are clean and healing nicely.

    The boys remain in quarantine, meaning their parents will not be allowed any physical contact. This is partly to protect the boys from unnecessary infections until they regain their strength, as well as to prevent them passing on anything they might have picked up in the wet cave.

    They will need to build up their muscles and their immunity, as well as get used to living in the outside world again. For now, they wear shades to protect their eyes from the bright light.

    Kinda reminds me of astronauts returning to Earth.

  77. 77.

    satby

    Now, the rescue is complete. Yeah, I’m a broken record from upstairs: The last Seals and medic left the cave!! All out safe!
    Hooyah!

  78. 78.

    Platonailedit

    @Bess:

    Showboating inside a cave when others are working on a obviously dangerous & delicate mission is not ‘offering assistance’. So, yeah, fuck musk and his rescue boat you came in with.

  79. 79.

    Bess

    @Platonailedit:

    Elon was in the entry of the cave for a few minutes and posted some video of rescurers entering. That’s showboating?

    He first sent a group of SpaceX and Boring Co. engineers to see if their skills might be helpful. SpaceX built both an exit tunnel liner and a miniature sub.

    Mr Musk said the design had four “handles/hitch points” on both the front and back of the device, adding: “Two air tank connections on front and two on rear, allowing one to four tanks simultaneously connected, all recessed for impact protection [with] secondary cap seal if leak develops.”

    It also has “segmented compartments to place rocks or dive weights [and] adjust buoyancy”

    .

    The sub had been tested to assure it would fit through the passageway and make the necessary turn. SpaceX had the measurements from the cave.

    The people in charge of the rescue decided to not try any of the other ideas offered but went with what they knew best, use humans. That worked so no harm, no foul.

    I do not understand the Musk hate from you, OH and a few others. Elon Musk is doing more to combat climate change than any other single person via his electrification of transportation. He’s bringing affordable storage to grids around the world allowing for higher wind and solar penetration and a reduction of fossil fuel use.

    He’s done more for restoring power in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria than most organizations.

    He’s building a system of low orbit satellites that promise to bring affordable internet service to all the planet.

    He doesn’t “be seen” at clubs and post events to get publicity. He simply gives interviews from time to time, tweets occasionally, and introduces new products/developments for the companies he runs.

    And yet you hate him for this?

  83. 83.

    J R in WV

    Betty:

    You are right that former Thai Navy diver Saman Gunan was a hero, and his fellow divers who continued that exceptionally dangerous mission to success in spite of losing a close friend and associate — they were all close by then — were all heros. Everyone who went into that cave were heros.

    And mission accomplished. I’m so glad.

  85. 85.

    Bess

    Many of the Musk attacks seem to come from people who short-sold Tesla stock, expecting Tesla to go bankrupt. They now are facing billions of dollars in losses as Tesla is apparently producing enough cars per week to become profitable.

    There have been an incredible amount of attacks on Tesla and Musk on clean energy sites and in the media. It appears to be an attempt to drive down Tesla stock prices so that they can bail out at a lower cost to exit.

  88. 88.

    TenguPhule

    @Bess:

    There have been an incredible amount of attacks on Tesla and Musk on clean energy sites and in the media.

    There have been credible reports that Musk is not a good boss to his workers.

  90. 90.

    Ohio Mom

    Since there were parts of the cave that were so narrow that the divers had to take off their oxygen tanks to pass through, I don’t see how any equipment Musk has could have been of any use, except of course if he had the Magic School Bus with Miss Frizzle and that iguana at the wheel. As I recall, that vehicle was able to shrink to sub-microscopic size in seconds.

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