Concluding Argument

"Unfortunately, this sort of logic (illogic logic) will not deter conspiracy theorists (such as former head of MI6 Sir Richard Dearlove, the guy you’re arguing with.)

“The dark power of the internet means that anyone, anywhere, can find evidence to echo even the most outlandish of claims.”

(That sounds an awful lot like what you’re doing Pete. Praising the CCP as “open and transparent” is a “most outlandish claim”. Do you mean ‘scientific experts on-the-take’ are the only “dark power” authorised to “find evidence to echo even the most outlandish of claims?”

Regardless, it’s not what Sir Richard, your opponent, an intelligence expert, did. He cited an academic paper (Sorensen, Dalgleish) raising concerns about the possibility of a lab leak origin.
Is this a strawman setup by any chance? Let’s see...)

“Theories that Sars originated from space or that HIV was manmade (or the CCP is “open and transparent”) are readily available, but it doesn’t make them true. Such conspiracies play to our most base instincts and paranoias – fears that dissolve logic and reason.”

(Haha! I don’t know what the World Record Strawman is, but that’d give it a shake. Let’s report how far you’ve moved the bar here, for posterity.

Sir Richard Dearlove argues:

The possibility Covid “started as an accident” should be considered in any investigation, and notes “attempts by the leadership to lock down any debate about the origins of the pandemic and the way that people have been arrested or silenced.” Apart from his own knowledge of how the CCP works, he provided the above paper as evidence.

You: feel threatened by that so resort to childish name-calling. You provide no evidence but instead equate Sir Richard’s concerns about CCP transparency to ‘theories that SARS originated from space’. You remain adamant that WIV should not be investigated because:

"I've worked with the WIV for a good decade or more. I know some of the people there pretty well and I have visited the labs frequently, I've met and had dinner with them over 15 years."

That's a valid reason for why you have a conflict of interest and shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the investigation, but it's not a reason for quarantining WIV from the investigation.

This conflict of interest and name-calling response begs a couple of questions:

1. Is this the kind of logic and reason you’re going to be applying during the investigation?

2. What the fuck are you up to on behalf of the CCP?