Nicola Cutcher

One of my favourite things about International Women’s Day is the comedian Richard Herring’s Twitter feed. He replies to every tweet he sees which asks why there is no International Men’s Day and explains that there is one and it’s on November 19th.

He says:

Whilst one person in the world assumes that there can’t be an international men’s day due to inverse sexism my work will not be done.

I salute his tireless and hilarious efforts. I’m sure Caitlin Moran would approve. She published a brilliant piece at the weekend offering advice for winning arguments online. She pointed out that one of the key hindrances to getting things done on the internet is the idea that if you talk about something then you must talk about everything. This is patently impractical; the most effective campaigners and change-makers tend to specialise.

Moran advised:

When you get accosted by someone going, “You cannot talk about BLAH unless you also talk about BLAH”, the best response is, “I know – you do BLAH and I’ll do BLAH, and then the world will be twice as improved! Thanks for volunteering! You’re a total mensch. On behalf of the rest of the world – thank you!”

Kudos to The Telegraph for reporting the incredible demonstrations that flourished across Syria on Friday when people took advantage of a rare ceasefire to resume peaceful protests with the tagline ‘The Revolution Continues’.

Before talks resume in Geneva, this is a timely reminder to the world that Syria’s five year war started with a popular uprising calling for political reforms, inspired by the Arab Spring.

Despite nearly five years of conflict involving unimaginable brutality, these peaceful demonstrations show that civil opposition to the regime continues. The indefatigable bravery, courage and determination of the protestors should be major international news.

Time quoted a human rights advocate called Fadi al-Qadi:

War kills political space, but now there are no guns, why should it continue to kill political space? And I think the masses on the streets in these cities and towns and villages are proving this theory correct. No gun can take the place of the will of the people.

Reem Salahi, a human rights attorney, also wrote a personal piece for the Huffington Post which puts these protests in context and expresses their significance – well worth reading.