[BartSimpson]

As usual, this is all unconfirmed scuttlebutt so WYSIWYG.

* India's military planners are preparing for the possibility of a two-front war in which China and China's ally Pakistan attack India from two land fronts and the Chinese navy attacks from the sea.

* On July 31 China put a new spy satellite in orbit that has a publicly claimed resolution of 10cm. Analysts estimate the actual resolution to be far better, perhaps as much as 1cm. China publicly touts this satellite as a commercial satellite but the addition of external fuel cells to the vehicle betray that it is a military satellite capable of multiple retaskings.

* Pakistan is allowing the positioning of 500,000 Chinese military and civilians in a new Chinese-ruled enclave near the port of Gwadar. The Gwadar Port project is noted to have distinctly military features such as arms bunkers and the expectation is that the port will also be a Chinese naval base.

* Anti-regime protests in Iran continue to mount despite desperate measures by the regime to calm things down. Economic problems are the main reason for the protests and senior clerics are divided over what course of action to adopt.

* Russia and Iran have quietly cancelled several commercial and military projects due to banking concerns, sanctions on both countries, and both regimes backing away from each other to focus on domestic issues.

* Pakistan is striving to improve relations with Iran but pressure from Saudi Arabia is causing internal disputes in the Pakistani leadership.

* Hamas is faltering in terms of international financial support and in terms of material support from abroad. Egypt has reduced the amount of food and fuel into Gaza across the border with Egypt as leverage for negotiating a unification and peace deal between Hamas and Fatah.

* Israeli leadership went public over the summer with giving up on negotiating peace with Hamas. The Hamas 'fire kite' and balloon attacks from Gaza have stirred the Israelis against any notions of peace.

* Israeli troops entered the al Aqsa mosque to arrest twenty-four criminals who were dropping rocks and firebombs on Jewish worshipers at the Western Wall.

* Russian troops are augmenting UN forces to enforce the peacekeeping positions between Israel and Syria.

* Venezuela is now challenged by the flight of ruling party leaders who are escaping the country along with other refugees. This is exacerbating problems in the country as unskilled party loyalists are being tapped to operate electric plants, subways, and railroads.

* Blackouts are now a daily occurrence in Venezuela. Officially the blackouts are due to sabotage but Colombian officials report that the primary problem is poor maintenance of key electrical stations. Several rural areas are now in constant blackout as functioning equipment is moved from rural areas to urban areas.

* Polish, Czech, Slovakian, Hungarian, Romanian, and Serbian military officials met in the Slovakian city of Kosice in late August. NATO and EU officials were denied invitations to the conclave but at least four US DoD officials attended the meeting.

* Ukrainian military forces report having intercepted and killed or captured a 250 strong unit of Russian military crossing a reservoir near Zaporizhia. Moscow did not respond to inquires about the force.

* North Korean cyberwarfare efforts continue unabated after recent talks.

That is all.