It's already 2014 somewhere

++In Saipan, it's New Year's.

++The US finally released the last three Uighurs from Gitmo. They will probably be sent to Slovakia.

++The tribes in the Anbar Province in Iraq,once known as the backbone of the "Surge", are at war with the Iraqi government. 55 Sunni members of parliament have resigned in protest.

++Prince Bandar said he warned Russia about Chechen terrorists. Is this like his warning to the UK?

++Peter King says that the bombings in Russia are a wake-up call to Americans about Islamic terrorists.

++Josh Marshall at Talkingpoints has an excellent piece on Benghazi and Beyond the Crazy. He argues that the fake scandal prevents us from having the foreign policy debate we deserve about the role of our foreign service in conflict areas.

++Steve Benen, formerly of Washington Monthly and now the Rachel Maddow blogger, has a fine piece on Benghazi.

++The New York Times responded to criticism that their Benghazi piece was meant to exonerate Hillary Clinton. They said Hillary had nothing to do with their piece and they haven't made up their minds.

++Andrew Sullivan says that 2013 was a pretty sucky year but that beneath the surface some good happened. 

++Brainwrap in his public service of keeping us up to date on Obamacare posted new figures from states last night. 

++Sonia Sotomayor will count down the ball at Times Square tonight. 

++For the first time in my life, I actually kept all dates,to-do lists and appointments in one notebook. It really is a BFD!