The usual unconfirmed scuttlebutt and chatter:

* Kurdistan is voting on independence today. The nascent state would carve itself out of Iraq but it would also have tentative claims on parts of Turkey, Iran, and Syria. So far the only nation in the region that poses a threat to Kurdistan is Turkey and so far things are quiet.

* China is bolstering its anti-missile forces around Beijing. The forces are using a version of the S300 that is estimated to be most effective at intercepting intermediate range missiles...like what North Korea would use. The move indicates a further breakdown in the Sino-Nork relationship.

* An intermittent source of iodine-131 that has been detected across Europe for several years has possibly been identified. Andreeva Bay, near Murmansk, Russia has reportedly been the center of Russian naval activity over the summer and observers indicate what looks like a cleanup of a nuclear accident. A naval nuclear reactor is possibly the source of the iodine-131.

* A contract to begin development of a replacement for the A-10 Warthog was briefly available on a Department of Defense procurement website before being removed on Monday.

* Russia's forces in the oblast might be a misdirection. The buildup of forces over the summer involved moving about three divisions worth of equipment into the oblast but analysis of social media indicates that the movement was carried out by The First Cadet Corps of the Border Service in approximately brigade strength.

(Personal comment: If the above is true then NATO got fooled into moving a lot of men and equipment into the Baltic states and Poland to counter a threat that never existed in the first place. Well played by Russia if that's the case.)

* Three Chinese warships slowly circled Indonesia's Riau Islands sometime in August. In response Indonesia has deployed at least one additional gunboat to Pelabuhan Facility.

That is all.

It just seems...odd...to me to see China being so wary of their own client. I mean are they really afraid of North Korea chucking a nuke at Beijing?

Really?

China obviously has better intelligence of what's going on inside in North Korea's military command, so it's not shocking they're preparing for the worst case scenario.

That makes sense.