Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying

Blogathon 2006 ended at 9 a.m. Sunday morning. For the 24 hours preceding the end, my fellow bloggers from Bloggers Against Torture and I managed to hammer out 53 posts on torture. You can read all the posts here. I have also created a handy list of all the posts here for easy access.

This year’s Blogathon raised $100,015.49 for various worthy charities. Bloggers Against Torture raised $1167 for Amnesty International USA. You can see a complete list of all the bloggers that participated and how much money they raised for their respective charities here. The Blogathon started with 400 participating bloggers but only 285 bloggers survived the 24 hours of non-stop blogging.

I wanted to take the time to thank our sponsors for your support and your generous contributions to Amnesty International USA. Those of us who were blogging felt motivated during the waning hours when our minds had turned to mush by your generosity and compassion. Here is a list of all our sponsors and a link to the web sites that they represented (some sponsors pledged anonymously, so thank you to you too - you know who you are):

• Candy Stern
• Donkephant
• Greg Hartnett
• Hermel’s Drive-in
• Milkyway
• odanny
• PeacefulWaters.org
• Rummy’s Diaries
• Subodh
• The Heathlander
• The Peace Tree
• All the anonymous sponsors

We also just had a new sponsor sign up a little while ago. I don’t have the new sponsor’s information yet. When I do, I will add the sponsor to this list. If you are still interested in becoming a sponsor, you can do so until 9 a.m. Tuesday (August 1, 2006). Just click on the sponsorship link on the sidebar to sign up. The list of all sponsors is also posted on the Bloggers Against Torture web site.

I also want to thank the Bloggers Against Torture bloggers who toiled with me throughout the 24 hours to write some worthy posts. Here is a list of my fellow insomniacs:

• bodda
• Chuck Cliff
• Cyberotter
• Ingrid
• Marcella Chester
• Per
• Robbie
• The Heathlander
• The Heretical Jew

I want to especially thank The Heathlander for organizing the schedule and maintaining order throughout the 24 hours. Not only did he manage the posting schedule, he also found time to write posts himself. That is quite a feat - especially when you have to deal with bloggers spread throughout the world trying to post in a coherent manner every 30 minutes. I also want to thank elendil of Rummy’s Diaries for founding Bloggers Against Torture and offering her time and resources generously to the effort. She is the glue that holds this rag tag group of a few hundred bloggers together and is not nearly thanked enough for her dedication and boundless energy.

Finally, I want to thank Crooks and Liars for mentioning Bloggers Against Torture and the Blogathon yesterday on their blog roundup. I also want to thank Taylor Marsh for allowing me to post an announcement about the Blogathon yesterday on her blog.

Until next year…

I’ll update this post throughout the day with links to all our Blogathon 2006 posts at Bloggers Against Torture.

Here’s the list:

1. Let the 2006 Blogathon Commence! by The Heathlander (posted at 8:56 a.m.)
2. Going After The Family by Mash (posted at 9:42 a.m.)
3. War Crimes Act of 1996 — Oops We Didn’t Mean Us by Marcella Chester (posted at 10:02 a.m.)
4. Circumventing Article 3 and Other Atrocities by the Bush Administration by Robbie (posted at 10:33 a.m.)
5. Torture – What is the point? by cyberotter (posted at 11:04 a.m.)
6. The reason to have legal parameters of conduct with prisoners by Ingrid (posted at 11:33 a.m.)
7. Words Words Words, now..the visual by Ingrid (posted at 12:02 p.m.)
8. Meanwhile, Back In Guantanamo Bay Prison… by Robbie (posted at 12:34 p.m.)
9. The Internment of Juma Mohammed Abdul Latif Al Dossary by Robbie (posted at 1:11 p.m.)
10. We Have Ways Of Making You Talk!!! by Mash (posted at 1:31 p.m.)
11. The Iron Fist Fallacy by Marcella Chester (posted at 2:00 p.m.)
12. I. Are They HUman? by Per (posted at 2:32 p.m.)
13. II. Do As You Are Done? by Per (posted at 3:02 p.m.)
14. III. Why? by Per (posted at 3:30 p.m.)
15. The US is Practicing Torture by Proxy Around the World by The Heathlander (posted at 4:12 p.m.)
16. IV. Are You A Torturer Too? by Per (posted at 4:30 p.m.)
17. Torture & Extraordinary Rendition Flights Are a State Secret by Robbie (posted at 5:02 p.m.)
18. Dana Priest Appreciation Thread by Robbie (posted at 5:35 p.m.)
19. V. I confess: I am! by Per (posted at 6:00 p.m.)
20. VI. Civil and Human Rights? by Per (posted at 6:30 p.m.)
21. The War On Terrorism Exception To International Treaties by Mash (posted at 7:03 p.m.)
22. Jordan Is "Central Hub" of Secret Detention Centers by Robbie (posted at 7:33 p.m.)
23. Psychologists To Assist In Military Interrogations by Robbie (posted at 8:05 p.m.)
24. Abu Ghraib: The Las Vegas of Iraq by Marcella Chester (posted at 8:30 p.m.)
25. Outlawed by Mash (posted at 9:03 p.m.)
26. VII. We Must Withstand! by Per (posted at 9:30 p.m.)
27. The Real World by Per (posted at 10:00 p.m.)
28. Dershowitz’s Arguments For The Legalisation of Torture are both Nonsensical and Unnecessary by The Heathlander (posted at 10:30 p.m.)
29. The Dark Prison by Mash (posted at 11:00 p.m.)
30. Support StopTheTorture.org by Robbie (posted at 11:42 PM)
31. Amnesty International: Hamdan v. Rumsfeld Action Letter Campaign by Robbie (posted at 12:03 a.m.)
32. Living In A Post 9/11 World Means Living Outside The Bubble by Marcella Chester (posted at 12:30 a.m.)
33. The Mentality of Torture. by The Heretical Jew (posted at 1:00 a.m.)
34. Debunking The "Ticking Bomb" Argument For Torture by Mash (posted at 1:32 a.m.)
35. IX. HUman Beings are equal! by Per (posted at 2:00 a.m.)
36. VIII. The price is vulnerability. by Per (posted at 2:30 a.m.)
37. Torture: It’s Fashionable in Belarus, Too by Robbie (posted at 3:01 a.m.)
38. Oath Betrayed: Torture, Medical Complicity, and the War on Terror by Robbie (posted at 3:33 a.m.)
39. The Suffering Must Not Be Anonymous by The Heathlander (posted at 4:00 a.m.)
40. It Pisses Me Off by Chuck Cliff (posted at 4:30 a.m.)
41. Detainee 546 by Mash (posted at 5:00 a.m.)
42. The Headlines are Enough to Make You Puke by Chuck Cliff (posted at 5:20 a.m.)
43. Loose Change by Ingrid (posted at 5:30 a.m.)
44. Eyes wide shut by bodda (posted at 5:41 a.m.)
45. You Know The United States Is In Deep Trouble… by Robbie (posted at 6:30 a.m.)
46. Amnesty International USA Critical of U.S. Human Rights Record by Robbie (posted at 7:01 a.m.)
47. Please call me by my true name by Per (posted at 7:30 a.m.)
48. In Tyrannis by Per (posted at 7:45 a.m.)
49. Psychology and U.S. psychologists in torture and war in the Middle East by Ingrid (posted at 7:50 a.m.)
50. Torture FAQ by bodda (posted at 8:00 a.m.)
51. If We Shouldn’t Torture What Should We Do Instead? by Marcella Chester (posted at 8:32 a.m.)
52. not so random links by bodda (posted at 8:45 a.m.)
53. Congrats! We Did It! by The Heathlander (posted at 9:00 a.m.)

It’s almost time!

Blogathon 2006 starts Saturday morning at 9 a.m. (EST). We (Bloggers Against Torture) have raised $970 so far for Amnesty International USA thanks to generous contributions from our readers. We are just short of the $1000 mark and are still hoping someone will put us over the top. You can continue to pledge all throughout the day until 9 a.m. Sunday. As of this writing, there are 369 bloggers participating in Blogathon 2006 with $72,188 in total pledges from sponsors.

Please stop by the Bloggers Against Torture web site tomorrow to read our posts on torture throughout the day.

For more information on our participation in Blogathon 2006, click here.

Click the image to sponsor me and Bloggers Against Torture:

Your Name Here

Well…sort of.

Less than one week left to sponsor us!

Sponsor me and Bloggers Against Torture for Blogathon 2006. On July 29, 2006 we will blog 48 posts in 24 hours against torture. We will be raising money for Amnesty International USA. Your generous pledge of $5, $10, $20 or more will make a big difference and will go directly to Amnesty International USA.

We will list all sponsors (except anonymous ones) on the Sponsor’s List (including a link to your blog or web site, if you have one) at the Bloggers Against Torture web site. Log on all day during the Blogathon to see our posts against torture at the Bloggers Against Torture web site (I will contribute a few posts) and posts from other participating bloggers through the Blogathon 2006 web site.

So far, Blogathon 2006 has raised $48,411 through the generous pledges of all sponsors. Bloggers Against Torture sponsors have pledged $855 so far. We would like to cross the $1000 mark before July 29th.

Click on the button below become a sponsor. Your generous pledge of $5, $10, $20 or more will be very much appreciated.

P.S. Even Jeremiah Bullfrog, who actually is for torture, is helping out!

As you probably know I am a member of Bloggers Against Torture, a growing alliance of bloggers dedicated to speaking out against torture practiced by the United States of America as well as all practice of torture worldwide. On July 29, 2006 we will take part in Blogathon 2006. We will post articles about torture, every 30 minutes, for 24 hours on July 29th to raise money for charity as well as raise awareness about torture. We will be blogging to raise money for Amnesty International USA.

We will post all our articles on the Bloggers Against Torture website during the Blogathon 2006. I am excited to be part of this event and I will crosspost my article on this site as well. Please join and support us as we begin to leverage the power of the blogs to help end this inhumane practice.

If you would like to sponsor our effort and pledge a donation to Amnesty International USA, click here or click on the link on the sidebar. We will display a list of sponsors on the Bloggers Against Torture website sidebar. All donations by you will be made directly to Amnesty International USA. Neither Bloggers Against Torture nor Blogathon 2006 will collect any funds. You can find more information about our effort on the Bloggers Against Torture website.

June is Torture Awareness Month. June 26th is the date that the United Nations has marked as the International Day in Support of Survivors and Victims of Torture.

This blog has joined Bloggers Against Torture to spread awareness of American torture policy. The United States has increasingly used torture as a weapon in the "War on Terror". Throughout this month I will post articles that call attention to this abhorrent practice.

Here is what you can do to help:

• Visit the Torture Awareness Month website for more information on US torture policies and how you can help end these policies through community action, lobbying and other activities.
• If you are a blogger, please join Bloggers Against Torture.
• Please spread the word to your friends and neighbors by referring them to the Torture Awareness Month website.

June is Torture Awareness Month. To spread awareness Elendil of Rummy’s Diaries has launched Bloggers Against Torture. If you are a blogger, please consider joining the alliance. If you are a reader, visit the alliance web site and help spread the word. Torture can only survive in the shadows - help shine a light on this scourge upon humanity.

"The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed." - Stephen Biko (1946-1977)