In spite of these restrictions on people carrying cameras and taking pictures, some have gone out to record the extent of the damages. There is anger over the failure of authorities to evacuate the affected villages, even when they were allegedly aware of the impending cyclone and the possible devastation it could cause. The following images, uploaded by YouTube user aungsayapyi may affect sensitive people: they are very graphic, include dead bodies and should be viewed with discretion and an adult's consent:

YouTube user AfterNargisYgn has been uploading a multi-part series of videos featuring images of the effects of the Cyclone in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, previously known as Rangoon. People removing downed trees, wading through waters and drying up their mattresses, clothing and in general trying to clean up and move on.

YouTube user Burma4u uploaded a video of the aftermath in Latbutta, with Cyclone Nargis' victims crowded in refugee shelters, trying to sleep as they mull over what will happen to them in the near and far future.

An insightful video about the Burmese people's future has come from myochitmyanmar, another YouTube user who has uploaded a video with some English subtitles, interviewing Laputta survivors and refugees on their current situation: at the refugee camps, on the streets: rice donations and clothing hand-outs for children, private initiatives done without the State Peace and Development Council who governs them. Meanwhile, a picture on Burma News shows what looks like Red Cross aid, which is supposed to be for Cyclone refugees, being sold on the streets.

The following video, also from aungsayapyi shows how people are experiencing life in the refugee camps with donations from private donations, and a Military General's arrival, carrying promises instead of clothing, food or water. They proceed to tell refugees that the people who died, died because of bad karma, and that they should consider themselves lucky to be alive. They give some recommendations about grouping themselves according to villages and then leave. It has been subtitled in English for a better understanding of the events:

In the YouTube Blog they've also highlighted the video community's efforts to help Myanmar and provide aid, and they highlight both news networks and private initiatives who are documenting the cyclone and letting the world know what is going on in this small Southeast Asian country. For example, Nightwatcher1982 of the Netherlands has promised that for every video response to his video he gets, he will donate $5 to the Red Cross, and if it's a good video, he'll donate $10:

Global Voices Online has been providing extensive coverage of the disaster, aggregating information from different citizen media sources in the region on what is happening with food aid, water and the refugee situation as death tolls continue to rise. Please don't hesitate to go over to our Special Myanmar Cyclone Coverage page and read the posts that the amazing team of volunteer authors have been writing with translations from Burmese blogs telling first hand accounts of life in Myanmar right now. You can also follow our Myanmar feed on twitter.

There will also be a global blog action day on behalf of the Burmese victims on May 17th, when people are asked to tell others about the crisis in Myanmar, and some are already organizing fundraisers and events.

How do you evaluate the presence of homosexual blogs in the Iranian blogosphere? Are there many bloggers that talk about their homosexuality?

Yes, we have many Iranian LGBTIQ bloggers, and most of them live inside Iran. They have nicknames and write anonymously, which is safest for their security, but sometimes the government finds them through their IP addresses. But they do exist and are very active.

How do you use the Internet, including blogs and video films, to talk about Iranian homosexuality?

The Internet is one of our most important communication tools. Without the internet our organization could not do many things. We don't have representatives in Iran because we fear for their safety; we don't want to make problems for them. We monitor their weblogs, and it is one of our resources. The Internet is a gift to us.

What about Iranian reactions to your website/blog? Is there any dialogue there between people who are homosexual or defend homosexual rights, and people who consider homosexuality a “sin” or “an immoral act”?

There are different reactions. We receive many hate messages, and also many messages of support. In the Iranian queer weblogs, they have dialogues with other people, and sometimes bloggers address these issues. But in general, people have changed their views in the last few years.

Is there any online forum where Iranian homosexuals exchange their ideas or leave comments?

We have a magazine, Cheraq. And we have a forum for Iranian homosexuals too. It started a few months ago. But weblogs are more common.

How you see the situation of homosexuals in Iran? Are they involved in cyberspace in order to express themselves?

As I said, a lot has changed. I remember a few years ago, nobody talked about our rights, but now you can find thousands of pages online. According to them, they cannot have physical relations freely, but they exist and they try to be active. I think now, Iranian queer issues have become a human rights issue.

When you look at Iranian gay and lesbian blogs. Do they face different kinds of difficulties?

Of course yes, it is totally different. They have different situations. Lesbians are more invisible, and it is because of Iran's general lack of women's rights. We don't have many lesbian blogs, and those that I know, are active in trying to say lesbians exist too. We have an online magazine for lesbians, Hamjens-e man. It is the first magazine for Iranian lesbians.

Do you have any project, comment or idea to share with us?

We exist, but we cannot speak out. We should support each other. It is our freedom tax.

Enquanto em alguns países o uso da maconha é restritamente aceito, no Brasil esse tipo de debate não é nem ao menos permitido. Falar sobre maconha se tornou mais que um tabu, visto que poucos dias antes da marcha acontecer ela foi proibida pelo Ministerio Público, decisão essa que impediu um recurso contrário devido a proximidade da data do evento. Fica clara a incapacidade desse país em permitir com que seus cidadãos possam debater em prol das relações que temos com alguns problemas vividos por aqui. Seria uma passeata, apologia? Debater se tornou influenciar? Alguns termos estão muito mal definidos na cabeça do poder legislativo, o que impede o cidadão de se reunir para reivindicar o que lhe julga de direito: a liberdade de expressão.
Fascismo Tropical - Obrog!!!

Obviamente, decisões judiciais não se descumprem, mesmo que as achemos inconstitucionais, pois gozam da presunção de legitimidade necessária à segurança jurídica das relações humanas e sociais reguladas pelo direito, valor maior a ser preservado no sistema jurídico. Mas nada impede que sejam objeto de debate acadêmico e mesmo político, sob um ponto de vista crítico. Os direitos à livre expressão do pensamento e à reunião são garantidos pelo artigo 5º de nossa Constituição como valores fundamentais do regime democrático. Princípio democrático é a norma constitucional que determina não apenas a adoção de decisões por uma maioria legislativa ou social, mas também - e em especial -, a preservação dos direitos das minorias… Subtrair de parcela da cidadania o direito de protestar contra a vigência de qualquer lei, penal ou não, é ferir de morte o regime democrático. É subtrair-lhe o sentido, traduzindo-se em ato imperial, impróprio ao Estado Democrático de Direito… Se postular pela revogação de uma lei não é conduta salvaguardada pelo direito de livre expressão, que condutas da cidadania seriam salvaguardadas por este direito? Posso expressar que sou contra as normas vigentes, mas não posso dizer quais e as respectivas razões?… Fica agora a questão: será que passeatas em favor da descriminalização do aborto e outras semelhantes também serão proibidas? Podem também serem compreendidas como um estímulo à prática do aborto, conduta tipificada em nossa ordem penal. Se forem, obviamente o sentido da democracia brasileira se esvairá.
A Marcha da Maconha e o direito à livre expressão, por Pedro Estavam Serrano - Última Instância

Cannabis was brought to Brazil by the first Africans arriving from Angola, and it's use and cultivation was encouraged by the Portuguese, which resulted in it being culturally assimilated by the mestizos and by some Indian groups. Medical use was also common, mostly during the second part of the 19th century, and even advertised in Brazilian medical journals up to the first years of the 20th century. Some commenters focused on the cultural aspects of the censorship.

Tal proibição numa cidade como Salvador, afronta um significado étnico e cultural do uso dessa planta, que é uma parte da herança cultural africana. Sobre esse aspecto assim se expressou Gilberto Freyre: “as tradições religiosas, como outras formas de cultura, ou de culturas negras, para cá transportadas, junto com a sombra das próprias árvores sagradas, com o cheiro das próprias plantas místicas – a maconha ou a diamba, por exemplo – é que vêm resistindo mais profundamente, no Brasil, à desafricanização. Muito mais do que o sangue, a cor e a forma dos homens. A Europa não as vencerá.” (Sobrados e Mucambos, 2003, p.797). Poderia Gilberto Freyre ser enquadrado como “apologista” da maconha?
Democracia Cultural e a Marcha da Maconha - Blog Oficial do Tio Tod

Recentemente, o Ministro da Cultura Gilberto Gil apresentou uma proposta p/ tombar a Ayahuasca, planta alucinógena que compõe o chá do Santo Daime, como patrimônio cultural nacional. Se a “Pequena Morte” pode, por que não a Manga Rosa, o Cabeça de Nego, o Cabrobó?… Enquanto não se chega a um consenso, e muito menos a uma solução p/ o problema, o presidente do Conselho Federal da OAB, Cezar Britto, defende a liberdade de expressão como bem primordial de um Estado democrático: “O maior mal que se pode impor a um país é calar, censurar o pensamento.”
A marcha que não quer calar - Viva la Brasa

The 20th century brought about the spreading of the notion of the plant as a great danger to individuals and society, and also a surge of international agreements for the adjustment of national laws criminalizing the use of cannabis. Ecologia Cognitiva offers a good account and links showing how the the early Twentieth Century American movie industry played a key role in disseminating the new cultural references for the plant, and the ideological elements displayed by some commenters adds up to the notion that politics seems to play a role bigger than science when it comes down to defining how harmful cannabis really is.

Ao examinarmos os fatos percebemos claramente que os mais comuns e perigosos mitos e inverdades sobre a substância ilegal mais utilizada no mundo são concebidos e difundidos pelo governo americano, em desacordo com as descobertas oficiais… Em 1936 o filme Reefer Madness (vale à pena assistir) inaugura a perseguição mostrando como apenas uma tragada da fumaça maldita pode levar jovens sadios a uma escalada de violência e luxúria que resulta em morte e insanidade. Apesar da declaração de que os fatos narrados no filme não apresentavam nenhuma relação com pessoas ou situações reais, o filme explicita que cumpre a missão de informar a população incauta sobre o ‘novo inimigo público número um' (veja ao lado)… O famoso estudo de 1972 da ‘National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse', formada por especialistas e congressistas convocados pelo então presidente Nixon, sugeria no relatório final que “deveríamos desenfatizar a maconha como um problema” e afirmava que “o uso de drogas por prazer ou outros motivos não-medicinais não são inerente irresponsáveis”. Tal resultado certamente não atendeu à agenda política da época e foi totalmente ignorado pelo governo — o período que se seguiu foi marcado por grande censura à pesquisa com psicoativos.
Em 1988, após 4 anos de estudos envolvendo centenas de testemunhas e milhares de páginas em documentação, Francis Young, Chefe do Depto. Jurídico do DEA publicou relatório onde sugeriu uma reclassificação de periculosidade da cannabis declarando: “é razoável concluir que existem utilizações seguras para a maconha sob supervisão médica — afirmar o contrário constitui claro erro de julgamento”. Novamente os estudos oficiais foram desconsiderados, e aproximadamente 10 anos depois o drug-czar do presidente Clinton (Barry Macfrey), afirma à imprensa que “não existe nenhum traço de evidência científica sobre segurança ou benefícios medicinais da maconha.”… Enquanto isso, na Europa, pesquisa encomendada pelo governo inglês em 1996 registrou parecer que também recomendava a reclassificação da substância, indicando que “os malefícios não devem ser superestimados: a cannabis não é venenosa e não apresenta algo grau de adição”. E o National Institute of Health (EUA) promoveu em 2001 workshop sobre as possíveis utilizações médicas da cannabis, e dentre as conclusões afirma que podem existir casos específicos de pacientes onde o uso da cannabis (a fumaça) supera em resultados os medicamentos que utilizam o princípio ativo (thc) em cápsulas.
Planta proibida, perseguição denunciada - Ecologia Cognitiva

… Deputado Federal Marcelo Itagiba (PMDB-RJ), ex-secretário de Segurança do Estado, que entrou com uma ação contra a passeata que resultou na sua proibição pela Justiça, contrapôs que o ato era ilegal, pois diligenciava em favor do uso da maconha: “A marcha foi criada para promover um crime, que é o consumo de drogas. Eu não sou contra a liberdade de expressão, mas essa discussão não deveria ser feita em local público, e sim em meios acadêmicos e no Congresso. Essa é um movimento de meia dúzia de burgueses que buscam satisfação pessoal para o seu vício”. O deputado Itagiba está coberto de razão, mas, coitado, não sabe com quem está lidando, ou sabe e não quer falar: pois é justamente no seio da “comunidade” acadêmica, no âmbito das ONGs ambientalistas e, de forma camuflada, nos bastidores dos partidos “progressistas” - e radicais - que se trama a luta pela descriminalização da droga e a sua posterior liberação. O ex-presidente Fernando Henrique Cardoso, o Vaselina, e o governador Sérgio Cabral, leitor do “Estado e a Revolução” (de Lenin), dois produtos típicos do nosso meio “politicamente correto”, são favoráveis e laboram, sempre que possível, em função da sua descriminalização. A tese é a de que com a legalização da produção, comercialização, distribuição e o controle da droga pelo Estado, a violência que a cerca acabaria como num passe de mágica… O fato concreto é que nos últimos 50 anos a droga massificou-se em escala universal. E, paralelamente, tornou-se um negócio (porco) dos mais lucrativos do mundo, com renda global em torno dos US$ 800 bilhões anuais. Por trás dele estão as máfias internacionais, o crime organizado, os guerrilheiros das FARC, interesses ideológicos e revolucionários de todos os matizes, para não falar da própria polícia, dos políticos e de setores do poder judiciário – justamente as instituições que deveriam combater a ferro e fogo o narcotráfico.
A Marcha da Maconha - Blog sem Máscara

One thing is certain: this year's edition of the Brazilian Marijuana March is to be remembered by activists from all the different positions of the spectrum. On one hand, it is the first time that the movement to legalize was spread across the country, and on the other, it is worth some reflection on what could be called a backfire in the repression strategy, as the issue earned even more visibility in the media. The two videos posted at Filipeta da Massa illustrate well the situation: the first is a brief documentary of the single legal March in Recife, Pernambuco and the other reports the negative reaction to the prohibition as shown on the main TV news program in Brazil.

Among the many different points-of-view, some people are just starting to approach the issue. For them, it seems illogical trying to understand something without having fair access to all sides of the debate. Kind of obvious, isn't it?

Sobre a marcha: fiquei sabendo há acho que faz duas ou três semanas e, assumo, achei ridículo. Imaginei que só teria um monte de gente que não quer saber de nada da vida, que acha que abala, fumando com a maior pose de ‘prenda-me se for capaz’. Mas, quando soube que, durante a marcha, o consumo da maconha não seria permitido, me esquivei. Esquivei porque senti que seria um negócio sério, mesmo que, obviamente, pessoas tipo citadas acima estariam lá estragando todo o ideal. No fundo eu achei que não fosse dar certo mesmo, a maconha é um grande tabu e ninguém – das pessoas ligadas à política - quer ser o primeiro a discutir sobre sua legalização. Eu não tenho uma opinião formada sobre isso. Lí um folhetinho sobre a marcha e não me convenci que isso deve ou não deve acontecer; tem seus problemas, tem seus benefícios, mas eu realmente não sei o que achar disso. Se fosse comprovado que iria diminuir o tráfico, eu até iria à marcha, defender de verdade a legalização, mas como isso é só uma dedução – mesmo que pareça lógico – e não uma certeza… De qualquer forma, barrar a manifestação foi o cúmulo do autoritarismo, e isso sim eu não apoio de verdade. O pior nessa história toda, é que ninguém sabe agumentar e respeitar. Todos têm suas opiniões a respeito, querem impô-las aos outros, mas não sabe ser pacifico e convincente para isso.
A história de como eu perdi um dente + A Marcha da Maconha - Grão de Estrelas

Many bloggers reacted to a statement by Greek Foreign Minister that even mentioning the existence of Macedonian language and ethnicity is “not helpful” to solving the name issue, perceiving it as continuation of the policy of ethnocide. Zharko Trajanovski, referred to the related U.S. Dept. of State Briefing, extracting the most interesting parts (MKD).

In the same vein, dozens of bloggers promoted the video of the song “Postojam” (”I Exist”), by embedding it in their own posts and even reposting copies of it on YouTube. The video features scenes from documentary films about the ethnic cleansing of Macedonians during the Greek Civil War of 1946-49, accompanied with humanistic lyrics: “I exist… All is forgiven: even your wish for me to be no more.”

The author of the blog Agnes wrote (MKD):

Since its official release, the video of the single “Postojam” by the pop rock singer Miyatta received wide media coverage and it is a topic of discussion among the Macedonian population all around the world. Interest for the English translation of the lyrics and releasing it abroad has also been shown. Regardless of the context, the video has become something worth a comment. Those who were familiar with that part of Macedonia's history congratulated Miyatta for delivering this audio-visual expression. Those who see such pictures for the first time, think that it is too painful to be true. Some believe that this is just an attempt at attention-seeking. All kinds of positive and negative comments are yet to be heard. I am happy that the number of people who were indifferent towards “Postojam” is rather small.

Images of sorrow and exile on the one hand, and images of unity and pride on the other make for a rather authentic representation of Macedonia.

The past is not to be revived, but to be outgrown.
Let us outgrow it, but first,
Let us know it!
Macedonia exists.

In the other direction, the blog Drugarche posted translations of articles from the Greek press, including cartoons [MKD]. A number of bloggers also praised the interview of the Macedonian director Milcho Manchevski [GRE], given to the Greek newspaper Eleftherotypia, and posted links to its English translations. Some offered more historical information from ancient books [MKD] and Western newspaper archives [MKD], as well as about the possible origins of the Greek flag.

But, most importantly, blogs have proved to be the primary vehicle for distributing information on grassroots peace-building. The news about the upcoming visit of about 50 Greek peace activists to Macedonian capital Skopje scheduled for May 17, 2008, appeared [MKD] on the influential Vuna blog first:

This is not an attempt to stoke fires of the Macedonian nationalist sentiments. This is not a call to stone embassies, supermarkets or whatever.

On the contrary, this is a call to participate in an event intended as opposition to all the madness. Greek citizens are first and foremost human beings, and most of them have nothing to do with their retrograde and fascizoid state policy, nor with the hordes of morons who harass people on the highways. At the same time, not all Macedonian citizens are hotheads who “hate every Greek thing” and can't wait to throw stones on the Liaison office.

[…]

Peace, love, empathy!

Below are a few opinions from the Russophone blogosphere.

LJ user shusharin wrote this (RUS) in the ru_politics LJ community:

[…] SBU [Security Service of Ukraine] has told him: come here no more […]. And they were right. Basically, they've done what the Russian federal authorities are supposed to do. Look in the [Constitution]. Russia's foreign policy is an exclusive prerogative of the head of our state.

But, of course, the state is weak, the vertical of power is a fiction. [Chukotka]'s governor [billionaire Roman Abramovich] lives in London and doesn't give a damn. In Chechnya, the federal government is not working. As for Luzhkov - he's got his own foreign policy.

Which serves his business. Of which they reminded him:

“SBU is investigating the circumstances of the controversial statements that Luzhkov made in Sevastopol on May 11, which may be related to his alleged involvement in “dirty money” laundering in Sevastopol.” [link to a Gazeta.ru text, in Russian]

And what nonsense was he saying about Sevastopol. That it was the city subordinated to the [Soviet] state [and not to Ukraine]. But this only confirms Ukraine's rights! [Ukrainian SSR] was not [the least significant] republic within the Soviet Union. A UN member, by the way, unlike RSFSR [Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic].

In the comments section, LJ user pan_andriy seems to have proved Luzhkov wrong, by a linking to a Soviet-time article on Sevastopol from the Big Soviet Encyclopedia (RUS), which described Sevastopol as “a city of republican subordination to the Crimean region of the [Ukrainaian SSR].”

LJ user reverendsfd wrote this (RUS) in the ukraine LJ community:

SBU is SBU, but those who are giving orders to them should know well that there could be no better PR action to help achieve national consensus on Ukraine's NATO membership than the presence of Mr. Luzhkov with his long tongue in Crimea!

Everyone would've felt good -

Luzhkov, earning his political capital for the chauvinistic segment of the Russian population of the Russian Federation; his state bosses need this kind of screaming badly now, the country really needs to have as many enemies as possible, to distract the people; and for Ukrainian politicians it would've been a blessing, too - because only in Moscow they believe that the coal miners of Donetsk as well as the Crimean residents desire to become part of their “state”… […]

LJ user irek_murtazin wrote this (RUS) in the ru_politics LJ community:

[…] [Yuri Luzhkov] flew to Sevastopol and … prolonged his mayor's term for an unspecified period of time. What kind of extraordinary things did he say there? Nothing extraordinary. It's common knowledge that Sevastopol is Russia's city. But [Luzhkov] managed to present it in a way that made Ukraine declare him a persona non grata… And how after this are you supposed to rid Luzhkov of his Moscow mayor's post? No way. Even if [president Dmitry Medvedev] had had plans to [make Luzhkov retire], he'll have to postpone these plans now. Seriously, [we can't be ordered around] by Ukraine, thus hurting [Luzhkov's feeling]. […]

Like LJ user irek_murtazin, LJ user den-shi seems to believe (RUS) that Luzhkov's Sevastopol speech was meant to help him keep his mayor's post:

[…] Well, how can you fire this hero now? […]

In the comments section, LJ user vatasi made a rather humorous suggestion that, perhaps, Luzhkov would be appointed to Sevastopol next, following his dismissal as the mayor of Moscow.