100 Celebrities signed a letter opposing war with Iraq.

"More than 100 celebrities, including Kim Basinger, Matt Damon, Ethan Hawke, Samuel L. Jackson and Jessica Lange, have urged President Bush to avoid a war with Iraq in a letter that will be made public on Tuesday. The letter, also signed by a retired admiral and a former U.S. envoy to Iraq, will be made public at a press conference hosted by former "MASH" star Mike Farrell, who is co-founder of a new group called "Artists United To Win Without War."

Don't miss Maureen Dowd today on Henry Kissinger in He's Ba-a-ack!

"Kenyan authorities have released a Western couple who were being questioned in connection with the bombing of a resort hotel in Mombasa. Alicia Kalhammer, an American citizen, and her Spanish husband, Jose Tena, were released on Saturday after nearly two days in police custody. "

Check out the picture of the smiling couple -- they look incredibly good emerging from two days of custodial interrogation in Kenya.

Arkansan Asa Hutchinson, who now heads the Drug Enforcement Administration, will take charge of immigration and border security -- and a workforce of one hundred thousand -- in the new Department of Homeland Security.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette promises full details Tuesday.

Toby of 'Let it Begin Here' has some thoughts on repression in this country and on the Iraqi professor at U Mass who became the focus of an FBI probe, prompting student protests.

John Shattuck, CEO of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, delivered a speech last week on <a title="Boston Globe Online / Editorials | Opinions / Human rights in an age of terrorism" human rights in an age of terrorism at the University of Western Bohemia in the Czech Republic. Among his points:

"Democratic countries have to find ways of helping people who are living under tyranny. This must be done carefully so that it doesn't cause repressive governments to crack down even more. But it has to be done, because repression breeds human rights abuse, and human rights abuse breeds terror. Authoritarian countries must be encouraged to reform, and reformers within those countries supported for what they are trying to do."

"The danger today is that, as the NATO alliance joins with the United States in fighting the war on terrorism, it will ignore what the world should have learned since 1989 about the urgency of defending human rights. If in the name of fighting terror we abandon the struggle for human rights, we should certainly know by now that in the long run we are only likely to have more terror. "

A British anti-war group plans legal action against the British Government to stop the War in Iraq unless Britain promises not to particpate if U.N. approval is not granted.

The group, Nuclear Campaign for Disarmament, is relying upon an opinion by a British law firm, Matrix Chambers, of which Prime Minister Tony Blair's wife Cherie is a partner.

"The legal opinion from Matrix lawyers Rabinder Singh and Charlotte Kilroy argues that the resolution agreed by the Security Council on Nov. 7 does not authorize the use of force to disarm Iraq. The resolution is designed to rid Iraq of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs and threatens the country with unspecified "serious consequences" if it fails to cooperate with U.N. weapons inspectors."

"In October, lawyers from Matrix argued both sides of a mock legal inquiry into military action against Iraq. The inquiry chair, Colin Warbrick, ruled that force was unjustified without a new U.N. resolution."

The Predator's Execution Drone--cartoon video by Mark Fiore--worth the few seconds it takes to load.

Happy Birthday to Avedon Carol's The Sideshow blog which is one year old. Avedon has a good post up today about Bush's concern about gays in the military outweighing his concern for making us safe from terrorism. She compares it to her own childhood, which makes it a very interesting read. She also links to Patrick Nielson's post on the subject which we highly recommend as well. Nathan Newman chimes in as well, as does Daily Kos.

Democratic Senator Tom Daschle asks a vital question, one we have been asking ourselves for a long time: Is the administration's war against terror merely another version of The Emporer Has No Clothes? Daschle's comments today:

"We can't find bin Laden, we haven't made real progress" in finding key elements of al-Qaida. They continue to be as great a threat today as they were one and a half years ago. So by what measure can we claim to be successful so far?"

With the new Homeland Security Bill, once again we are going to limit our own civil liberties, but where is the evidence it will make us any safer?

Law Professor Glenn Reynolds ( Instapundit), writing for TechCentral Station today, has some constructive ideas for how we citizens can help prevent and best respond to future terrorist attacks.

We compliment the Professor on coming up with concrete suggestions that can be implemented fairly easily. Too often, we all opine on what's wrong without providing constructive and do-able alternatives. Among his suggestions:

Training and arming citizens in what to be alert for "could be a very valuable last line of defense against terrorism. In almost every instance of terrorism, the true first responders will be the people already on the scene."

Training people in "first aid (especially the specific skills likely to be useful in the aftermath of a terrorist attack), in recognizing the signs of chemical or biological attack, and in various other disaster-recovery skills."

Encouraging people "to carry cameras, or video cameras, and use them in the immediate moments after an attack, when they might gather valuable data."

Prof. Reynolds concludes:

"One of the lessons that we should take from the D.C. sniper attacks is that even a massive law-enforcement presence can't prevent terror attacks, even when it knows they're about to happen. But an informed and prepared citizenry - which, after all, is what stopped "shoebomber" Richard Reid, helped stop Mohammad Hadayet, and kept Flight 93 from smashing into the Capitol, as well as being what actually caught Muhammad and Malvo - can be everywhere. "

If you have some other ideas, feel free to use the comments section below.

You won't find much comfort in the war effort after reading a news article in today's Washington Post, Officials Question FBI Terror Readiness .

Experts and government officials tell us we can expect retaliatory terrorist attacks if we invade Iraq. But...

"Fourteen months after the terror attacks on New York and Washington, the FBI does not have a detailed understanding of domestic terrorist networks that could fund, prepare and launch revenge attacks, said administration and congressional officials and outside experts."

"The FBI's ability to convert from a primarily case-oriented criminal justice agency into a domestic investigatory body is being questioned and debated with great urgency by the National Security Council, members of Congress and intelligence experts who have been called upon to help out."

History suggests retaliatory strikes are likely. During the Persian Gulf War, the number of terror attacks tripled. Intelligence analysts believe a backlash this time would be much stronger."

"An unclassified version of a recent National Intelligence Estimate, which includes the opinions of all U.S. intelligence agencies, predicted that an invasion of Iraq would prompt Hussein "to become much less constrained in adopting terrorist actions," including enlisting the aid of extremists."

During his October 17 congressional testimony, FBI Director Robert Mueller summed up the situation thusly:

"There is a substantial risk out there that they could undertake" attacks...."And by 'they,' I mean not just those associated with Iraq, but those associated with al Qaeda or [the militant Lebanese group] Hezbollah or somebody else." Mueller's testimony also included this sober view: "I would be uncomfortable in saying that you should relax and say, 'The FBI or the CIA is taking care of that issue.' " (our emphasis).

"Knowledgeable officials said the FBI's problems go beyond money and staff needs. Unlike the CIA, which has elaborate analysis of terrorist networks from Paraguay to Malaysia to Saudi Arabia, FBI officials "still aren't looking at this as an intelligence agency, but as cops," said one U.S. government official who has been briefed on FBI assessments and plans. "You get the sense they don't really have a clue" about domestic terrorists in the United States."

We feel like we're about to get on a runaway train, one that is likely to spiral out of control.