Stuart Berry

@myfizzypop And her follow up single Oh People was an absolute classic which deserved to be a much bigger hit!

40 yrs since #PattiLabelle teamed up with #MichaelMcDonald on the gorgeous ballad #OnMyOwn, released in the UK #onthisdayinpop in 1986. Loved this sumptuous ballad - it felt as grown up to me as an episode of Dynasty! The world agreed - it hit no.1 in the US and no.2 here in UK!

These are the stories of animals harmed by Russia’s war in Ukraine - ones I have written about over the years. Sadly, there are many more. Do you remember them? Which story stayed with you the most?

@polidemitolog Certainly don’t copy the UK system. At the last election the Labour Party achieved 34% of the vote yet won by a huge majority of 174 seats. The latest opinion polls show we have 5 parties polling between 13 and 24%. Our voting system is not designed to cope with that.

What Eastern European countries should never ever adopt is 1) the presidential system and 2) the majoritarian electoral system. Both of these make democratic backsliding guaranteed. Avoid them like the plague. Ideally, elect presidents with ceremonial roles from the parliament and not by popular vote and keep to a version of a proportional electoral system (there are many, many variants, some even representative of various regions of the country).

Today in Kherson, russia struck a civilian car with a drone, killing one man and injuring two others‼️ The world continues to ignore russia’s “human safari” in Kherson, allowing it to murder and spread.

@polidemitolog How fair and impartial is Serbian media? Do Serbian voters get a balanced picture from TV and newspapers?

Not so long ago, I wrote about the contradictory beliefs of the Serbian median voter. This is the actual data that backs it up. More than half of the population supports the EU, while only 8% of them think Russia is responsible for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This is the Serbian median voter.

This is 11‑year‑old Maksym. On the night of April 16 he was killed by russian terrorists🕯💔 He slept in his bed when russia brought his house crashing down on him and his family.

@polidemitolog World Athletics continues to ban athletes from Russia and Belarus from international competition. Sebastian Coe (President of World Athletics) has been very firm in his views on this. It’s a great pity he didn’t become head of the IOC.

International sports are one of the most corrupt spheres there is. No wonder limitations against Russia and Belarus are being lifted here and nowhere else. This goes for every international organization where dictator capital is freely flowing.

@myfizzypop A-Ha - Hunting High And Low. When I got home, the case was empty. The assistant in the record shop hadn’t realised they had to find the disc from behind the counter and put it in the case!

Technotronic, Pump up the Jam...

Odesa today. According to latest reports 8 people died here in a massive russian attack. 16 others were injured. These deaths didn't bring russia any closer to conquering Ukraine. They didn't serve any military purpose whatsoever, its plain and simple terrorism.

🔴 BREAKING: Overnight Russian missile attack on Ukraine killed at least five in Kyiv, including a child. 21 others were injured, including four first responders targeted in a double-tap strike, according to local authorities.

💔Another Sunrise in Ukraine, where people wake to the sound of explosions & the sky covered in thick, black smoke. Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa… The headlines might be gone, but the russians keeps murdering Ukrainians in their own homes, while they sleep, every single day. Don’t look away 😔

Every day, I write the same story: Russian strikes claiming lives. One person here, five there, a child, a grandparent... These tragedies have become so routine that the world is growing numb. ​Even as I try to share what’s happening in Kharkiv, I have to fight the algorithms. I have to get creative with my phrasing because the app flags "explosions in Kharkiv" as spam because of how often i post this same thing. ​Don't let our reality become background noise or a "show" you've grown tired of. Please help us amplify the truth. Every life taken was important and irreplaceable. These are not just statistics; they are unspeakable crimes.

@Daractenus I would treat this as a badge of honour. Congratulations!

Rather sensitive for a guy threatening nuclear Armageddon twice a day for a living.

@PaulEmbery On what terms would you like to see a ‘peace settlement’? Terms which reward Russia for its aggression?

That is an eye-watering amount of money. Four years into the war, is it not reasonable to question whether our government should be committing such sums to the cause - especially given the state of our own economy - and also whether there shouldn't be a greater push to secure a peace settlement?

@polidemitolog ‘Voter fatigue with Orban’s long rule’. That’s ironic, considering that the concept of ‘voter fatigue’ doesn’t apply in Russia.

Russian propaganda has found a new explanation for Viktor Orban’s defeat in Hungary’s parliamentary elections. After initially calling the vote the dirtiest in history, state media and pro-Kremlin experts now blame voter fatigue with Orban’s long rule and his close ties to Trump and Israel. Orban’s Fidesz won only 55 seats while the opposition Tisza party secured 138, according to post-election results. Orban was one of Kremlin’s key allies in the EU.

@Daractenus There was a bizarre case in the UK of a sports presenter on TV, David Icke, who appeared on a TV show announcing that he was the son of God. He was unsurprisingly widely ridiculed and went on to become a renowned conspiracy theorist.

This reminds me of that one Chinese guy from the 19th century that failed an exam one day and suddenly started thinking he's the brother of Jesus. He quickly after somehow found several million fanatical followers and went on to start the bloodiest civil war in human history.

Ukraine is victim of an unprovoked invasion by a barbaric totalitarian killing machine. And the VP of the USA says he’s proud not to be helping it. Immoral, callous charlatan. Let’s hope we never hear of him again after 2028.

@myfizzypop Yes, it was a travesty that it only reached no 31! Probably because of people like me who didn’t buy it because they had already bought the album by then.

40 yrs since #TheBangles followed up #ManicMonday with equally infectious #IfSheKnewWhatSheWants - out #onthisdayinpop in 1986. Brilliant call-and-response style song, this had classic pop dimensions and layered harmonies for days. Felt like a huge smash to me! Were you a fan?

Dnipro. This is what hell looks like. Sadly, this is what life has become for Ukrainians every single day. 📽 The first minutes of aid to the wounded after a deliberate russian strike.

After a ceasefire Russia never kept, it’s back to killing civilians. 5 people killed on the street in Dnipro in Russian missile strike today.