Nuke mystery. Remember those six nuclear missiles "accidentally" shipped from Minot, North Dakota to Barksdale, Louisiana? Conspiracy buffs have pounced on the revelation that one soldier (and possibly two compatriots) who might have witnessed this "accident" met with a mysterious end. From cryptogon:

Airman 1st Class Todd Blue was assigned to the unit that provides security for that bomber wing at Minot Air Force base. He died while on leave in Virginia. No further details have been released.

Blue protected nuclear storage facilities.

Meanwhile, a Minot Air Force Base B-52 pilot named Weston Kissel died on leave in Tennessee, in a motorcycle accident.

The third death seems the least "hinkey" (as cops used to say): A 20 year old Minot AFB man named Adam Barrs died in a vehicle crash. Barrs was the passenger; his driver survived.

I'm sure the Air Force will have explanations for all three deaths that clear away any hint of mystery. On the other hand -- remember Pat Tillman?

Iran. Another Guardian story suggests that war is imminent. Yes, I know we have heard this forecast before. Look at it this way: There was talk of a widespread European war for some twenty years before World War I. Then as now, those predicting the worst hoped that they were wrong. I certainly do. But how can one ignore this...?

Vincent Cannistraro, a former CIA counter-terrorism chief who is now a security analyst, said: "The decision to attack was made some time ago. It will be in two stages. If a smoking gun is found in terms of Iranian interference in Iraq, the US will retaliate on a tactical level, and they will strike against military targets. The second part of this is: Bush has made the decision to launch a strategic attack against Iranian nuclear facilities, although not before next year. He has been lining up some Sunni countries for tacit support for his actions."

Predators. Since ground troops are over-extended, military commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan now rely on bombing runs conducted with unmanned aircraft. That'll win hearts and minds!

Are the banks shot? There's an old-fashioned run on the bank in England. The institution in question is Northern Rock:

Queues snaked round the block at branches of Britain's fifth-biggest mortgage provider for a second day after customers were reported to have withdrawn one billion pounds on Friday...

One branch manager was forced to ring the police when a couple barricaded her in her office after they were unable to withdraw one million pounds of savings, according to a report in the Sun newspaper.

Also see here.

Meanwhile, in the USA: If those Brits think they have it bad, they should be glad they don't live in Baltimore, Maryland. There, the American Home Mortgage Investment Corporation has been issuing bounced checks.

Homeowners who have mortgages with that firm send in money each month intended to be used to pay property taxes. The money was supposed to be held in an escrow account. Looks like someone at AHM has dipped into that account, because checks drawn against those accounts have a certain rubbery quality.

Foreclosures gain on sales. That's the headline in a Sacramento Bee story which comes to us by way of Marc Parent.

It's come to this: For roughly every two homes sold in August in the capital region, one house went into foreclosure, according to the newest sales statistics released Thursday.

That said, I have to note that prices in California have not dropped as sharply as I would have predicted.