with his "bet" he slowed the rate of decrease of the price of (phucked) Pirate's debt, just enough for him to sell the amount he owned with minimum loss for him and maximum loss for who took his words as serious. Clear enough? It's called "pump and dump".
I might have missed something, is there proof that MNW sold his pirate liabilities?
Also, this is the wild west... Almost all is fair in the bitcoin market... there are no laws against a pump-n-dump scheme thats for sure, there is no SIC to protect you.. Or any laws at all beyond simple fraud. Would you even want to get the government involved? And if you did... which government?
Bitcoin isn't real to most of the world, no one signed a binding contract. A forum post isn't going to provide the same protection for any perceived liabilities you take on like a proper contract will.
Stop feeling so hurt, ya big babies. Suck it up, move on, there is another ponzi scheme just forming.. You've still got a chance to be an early adopter! (HungerCoins anyone?)