Quote Originally Posted by David Vincent View Post
This case fascinates me. We don't know the "true circumstances" but we can still say the official version is so unlikely that you would have to be very gullible to believe it. The almost total news blackout is part of the problem. For me that just adds to the unlikelihood of the official story. If the government are lying about this then what else are they lying about.

Every little bit of information that slips out just adds to the probability that the official story is not true. Not long ago there was something about Skipal feeding ducks with bread before his collapse. He even gave some bread to boys to feed to the ducks. No dead ducks were observed floating upside down and although one of the boys ate his bread there are no reports that those children died or were even ill.
I have no doubt that the official version of events may be a little askew from the actual facts but it is leap of faith that the alternatives proposed or imagined are in any way more credible.

It is absolutely right to challenge stories and events presented as the authorised and unambiguous truth, particularly around the murky world of espionage, international relations and politics. However that does not mean that those who intuitively or automatically buy in to the counter-narrative immediately take on the status of shamen, seeing what others can't or won't see and taking condescending potshots at those not blessed with the gift. Yet all the time it would appear that those mystics are guessing, just like the rest of us!

It's a football messageboard, full of second rate analysts and third rate psychics, me included. We are not going to change the world but a bit of banter, wit and debate helps keep the claws sharpened for other important things!