Vic Whittington

Aged Bermondsey Boy, European, Ex Senior Civil Service, Grandad, #FBPE, #FBPPR

[Damien Echols @damienechols]

I’ve had a lot of people asking me about the botched execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee, as well as the upcoming execution by firing squad that’s supposed to be livestreamed. Having spent nearly 20 years on death row, my thoughts and feelings about these things are so vast that I sometimes struggle to find a place to begin. I became close friends with a man who had committed murder. He was like a brother to me. I once watched him break down crying, trembling as he told me he wished he was as evil as the world believed him to be, because then he wouldn’t have to care about what he’d done. Fifteen years later, he was still having nightmares about it. I know in my soul that he would never hurt another person again. But I’ve also watched a man being stabbed to death in prison. I cried for days afterward, and something inside me was changed forever. I learned that some people are capable of extraordinary transformation, while others remain capable of terrible violence even behind prison walls. There are no simple answers here. No slogans or political arguments that can adequately address the complexity of human beings, guilt, punishment, and suffering.

But there is one thing I want to say about the upcoming execution by firing squad. Don’t watch it. Whatever you believe about the death penalty, even if you think the person being executed deserves to die, don’t watch it. You cannot witness a human being being killed and simply walk away unchanged. What you see becomes part of you. It follows you into places you never expected it to reach. There are things I witnessed in prison that I would give anything to forget, things that still cast a shadow over my life decades later. There’s a difference between understanding that terrible things happen in the world and deliberately making yourself a spectator to them. I don’t have all the answers about justice, punishment, or forgiveness. But I do know that killing another human being should never become so ordinary that we turn it into something to watch from the comfort of our living rooms.

[Crazy Moments @Crazymoments01]

"Our old gelding went blind in March and the goose has walked him to water every day since. She gets her body against his shoulder and steers him with it. When there's something in the way she stops and plants herself and he stops too. Then she taps the side of the tank so he knows where it is. Nobody taught her any of that.

[Vic Whittington @WhittingtonVic]

Agreed.

[Baroness Patricia of Plague Island @Patrici89225734]

I'm a pensioner (nearly 80) still caring for my 104 year old aunt I have always fought for the triple lock, but I'm happy to give it up for a double lock and any future care I may need that's a win win as far as I'm concerned

[Dr Krish Kandiah OBE @krishk]

Ever wondered where your tax money actually goes? 💷
@BBCNews broke it down by imagining we each handed the Government £100.

Here’s how that £100 was spent in 2023–24:

£22 → NHS
£6 → Defence
£10 → Education
£10 → Debt interest
£11.40 → State pensions
£4.15 → Working-age welfare (PIP, Universal Credit, health support)
£0.50 → Asylum system
£0.70 → Overseas aid

What strikes me most is this: immigration dominates headlines and public debate, consistently ranking as one of the nation’s top concerns — yet the asylum system accounts for just 0.5% of public spending.

A reminder that sometimes the loudest issues aren’t the largest ones.

#Budget2026

[Vic Whittington @WhittingtonVic]

@GeorgeCochrane1 A Range Rover Country Coop.

[Meaghan Mobbs @mobbs_mentality]

I uploaded verified images of the “peace” document to Grok.

I prompted, “Analyze this document from a logistic perspective. It is in English, but assess whether or not it has been translated. If so, what is the likely language of the original?” 🧵

[Vic Whittington @WhittingtonVic]

Billionaires shouldn't be able to buy a bigger voice in politics. Add your name to @electoralreform call to put a cap on how much they can donate in the #ElectionsBill https://t.co/nvVkwGjhMb

[Vic Whittington @WhittingtonVic]

@GeorgeCochrane1 “Is this a coincidence, or is George having a bit of fun?”

[Vic Whittington @WhittingtonVic]

@GeorgeCochrane1 " Never mind, Love. It still LOOKS sporty, even if it can't beat a Capri away from the lights. "

[Farrukh @implausibleblog]

BBC News explain that because of Brexit, Brits will be photographed and have their fingerprints taken when going into the EU, as the UK now is a third country

BBC News forget to explain that the UK helped create these rules when we were part of the EU because we wanted stronger border control

[James Tate @JamesTate121]

Long COVID brain fog is real — and now, we know what’s causing it.
A breakthrough brain scan reveals the science behind the symptoms.
Scientists in Japan have identified a biological cause behind the cognitive “brain fog” experienced by many Long COVID patients—a breakthrough that could lead to reliable diagnosis and treatment.
A team at Yokohama City University used a cutting-edge brain imaging method to detect abnormal increases in AMPA receptors (AMPARs), molecules essential for learning and memory, in people suffering from Long COVID. These elevated receptor levels, observed using [11C]K-2 PET imaging, were closely linked to the severity of cognitive symptoms and inflammation markers, offering the first clear molecular explanation for the condition.
The findings, published in Brain Communications, show that AMPAR density not only tracks with brain fog severity but also enables near-perfect distinction between affected and healthy individuals—100% sensitivity and 91% specificity. This offers promise for both diagnostic tools and treatments, such as drugs that suppress AMPAR activity. With brain fog affecting over 80% of Long COVID sufferers globally, this research marks a significant step toward validating the condition and accelerating efforts to address it with targeted therapies.
Reference: “Systemic increase of AMPA receptors associated with cognitive impairment of long COVID” by Yu Fujimoto et al., 1 October 2025, Brain Communications.

[Vic Whittington @WhittingtonVic]

@GeorgeCochrane1 "Great idea!" You said. " Baked beans for breakfast! " you said.

[Dr Rachel Clarke @doctor_oxford]

Here I am in 2020 in the flimsiest, most pitful PPE - like so many other NHS staff, some of whom died from the Covid they caught in their hospitals.

Tory peer @MichelleMone - who today rightly (& wonderfully) lost her legal case - dares to claim she’s been ‘scapegoated’.

What, Michelle?

For the £122 million you pocketed from taxpayers for delivering unusable PPE – at least £65 million of which went straight into your venal husband’s offshore accounts in the Isle of Man?

For being one of a small minority of corrupt grifters who saw a global pandemic as nothing more than a chance to get rich quick?

For caring more about lining your own pockets than the deaths of NHS staff & patients?

For being disgustingly cynical & avaracious - unlike all those millions of ordinary, decent Britons across the country who stepped up with such courage & decency?

I was given masks whose ear loops fell off & aprons so flimsy they ripped apart when you tried to put them on, Michelle.

Nurses and porters in our hospital died from the Covid they caught there, Michelle.

How dare you try to bleat victimisation now, Michelle?

You are the polar opposite of the values that should govern public life.

Repay what you owe & get your dishonourable form as far away from the House of Lords as possible.

[Vic Whittington @WhittingtonVic]

Fai!it's to agree a Budget is likely to be called a "National Emergency" . Look out folks!

[Vic Whittington @WhittingtonVic]

@noelle_nole1 I think the same.

[Vic Whittington @WhittingtonVic]

When Mandelson was appointed, a lot of people thought "Pardon?!" , but thought Starmer must know more than we did, so let it go and moved on. Turns out we we wrong.

[BladeoftheSun @BladeoftheS]

Is it time Nigel Farage was banned from the BBC?

Like if it is.
RT if it should be today.

[Liberal Democrats @LibDems]

The BBC must balance their political news so it doesn’t boost Nigel Farage’s dangerous, divisive politics.

[Vic Whittington @WhittingtonVic]

Dear Sir Keir, you already know who will succeed you, don't you? I do.

[Vic Whittington @WhittingtonVic]

Is there a Nobel prize for Undercover Agents?