It’s May 16th, I’m Gina Telaroli and this is TakePart.com’s look at the week in social action…

The devastating cyclone that hit Myanmar on Saturday May 3rd has left over 22,000 people dead and over 40,000 missing. Here are 10 places you can donate to support the disaster relief:

1) American Red Cross- The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has also released an initial $189,000 and shipped shelter kits, made up of tarps, ropes and hammers, to support the relief effort in Myanmar. Additionally, the American Red Cross is prepared to respond with financial aid, estimated at $100,000, to aid cyclone survivors.

2) Oxfam International - Oxfam has committed more than $725,000 in aid to the Myanmar delta region.

3) Doctors Without Borders - DWB teams are bringing immediate assistance to Myanmar while additional staff and relief materials are ready to be sent.

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After taking us to a POW camp in Laos, director Werner Herzog has his sights set on war town Burma in the late 1800’s for his next project. The Piano Tuner is being billed as a “a lush Victorian-era drama about a Brit’s journey to war-torn Burma” and will be released by Focus Features.

Based on Daniel Mason’s 2002 debut novel, the story centers on Edgar Drake, a man sent to a remote village in the late 1800s to repair an eccentric military man’s piano. Drake falls in love with a Burmese woman and her country, but as the officer wins over locals through music and medicine, things grow treacherous when his troops begin to suspect him of treason.

“Tuner” is right up the intense helmer’s alley. Herzog has directed several films about men venturing into exotic locales (”Rescue Dawn,” “Grizzly Man,” “Fitzcarraldo”), but this will be his biggest English-language costume drama in more than four decades as a filmmaker. [The Hollywood Reporter]

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is now here to give you the very best of Katie, Nicole, Giulia, Gina and Kerry! If you worry about missing your favorite bloggers’ posts as they push their way down the page each and every week - Never Fear! Check out our most popular posts of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites.

Katie:

Woody Guthrie: This Grammy Is Your Grammy / This Grammy Is My Grammy

Rambo Fights for Burma’s Freedom + 5 Steps You Can Take To Help Burma In 5 Minutes

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Nicole:

“Yes We Can” Obama Music Video a Unique Celebrity Endorsement

Top 10 US Grant, Scholarship and Fellowship Awarding Foundations

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Giulia:

Ba-Da-Bling Commercials Pulled in New York

“Safe Sex or No Sex” Shirts Get Teens Suspended

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Gina:

10 Internet Videos Featuring Celebrities Advocating For A Cause

Close Up: An Introduction to Iranian Cinema and Cinematic Rainbows

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Kerry:

Sheryl Crow’s Apocalyptic Peak-Oil Song

Solar Powered Soldiers Wear Uniforms with Built-In Batteries

Sylvester Stallone and Rambo are symbols of machismo, testosterone, fighting, shooting, punching, and… international human rights activism? To the people of Myanmar (Burma), who are living under an oppressive military junta, Rambo has become the poster boy for the pro-democracy movement, which, ironically, is non-violent, peaceful and largely Buddhist.

Nothing proves the democracy-inspiring potential of the film more than the Burmese Government’s decision to ban the movie, and the Burmese people’s decision to risk going to jail by downloading and burning dvds of the international blockbuster hit. Even the US Campaign for Burma applauds the film for its realistic representation of the brutality of the junta. SPOILER ALERT:

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It seems like more and more celebrities are using their influence to make awesome social action causes more present in the news. Often times they do this by making videos and putting those videos on the internet. This is great! But what’s really great is when the video goes beyond a talking celebrity head and turns out to be something that is well crafted, with equal attention given to image, sound and celebrity. With that I present you, the takepart community, with my Top 10 Internet Videos Featuring Celebrities Advocating for a Cause.

1. George Clooney for Amnesty International : The video is short and simple and only features Clooney and a ball, but it’s one of the most effective I’ve seen.

learn more about Amnesty International

2. Lots of Awesome Folks for Darfur Now :

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A blogger and member of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy who wrote about the lack of free expression in Burma (Myanmar technically) has been arrested. Nay Myo Latt owns three Internet Cafes and recently commented on the suppression of freedom following the demonstrations this fall according to a release from Reporters Without Borders:

Myanmar authorities have stepped up their surveillance of the Internet since the beginning of the month, pressuring Internet cafe owners to register personal details of all users and to program screen captures every five minutes on each computer, the release said.

This data apparently is sent to the Ministry of Communications, it said.

The only blog platform that had been accessible within Myanmar, the Google-owned Blogger, has been blocked by the regime since Jan. 23, preventing bloggers from posting entries unless they use proxies or other ways to get around censorship, the group said.

”This blockage is one of the ways used by the government to reduce Burmese citizens to silence.

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