At least 15 people were killed today and many more wounded when a US drone launched a pair of attacks against a mud dwelling just outside of the North Waziristan town of Miramshah, near the Afghan border. The first strike, in the early afternoon, killed at least eight people and collapsed the structure, trapping others underneath. When local villagers arrived on the scene to try to dig the others out of the rubbe, a second missile was fired, killing seven more people. The identities of the victims are not yet known, but reports have the owner of the dwelling, Abdur Rehman, among the slain. An anonymous Pakistani security source claimed Rehman was a “local commander” and identified every single person killed, even the locals who gathered for the rescue operation, as “terrorists.” But a local intelligence official told a different story, saying that they could not confirm that any of the victims was a member of any militant group. Rehman was also identified by locals as an important local tribal leader, but not necessarily with any affiliation to any militant group. [The photo is from another US massacre...] PressTV: 2009 deadliest year for Afghan children.

President Hamid Karzai demanded arrest of the US troops engaged in the break-in and mafia-style execution of their children. The US responded to the Afghan demand of January 1 by rejecting the findings of the Afghan government and UN with a vague promise of their own self-investigation at some later date.

Viva Palestina Starts Entry To Gaza. Report by George Galloway: The Viva Palestina Convoy, and after facing ongoing Egyptian rejection and violent attacks by the Egyptian security forces, started on Wednesday evening to roll into the besieged Gaza Strip. Thousands of Palestinians, carrying flowers and flags, gathered in the streets while the convoy continued to move in. A Press conference would be held on Thursday and would be followed by the official ceremony of handing the international humanitarian aid. The Qatar-based Al Jazeera reported that a convoy of eight truck started crossing the Rafeh Terminal. On its website the Viva Palestina reported that “convoy continues to move into the strip to be greeted by flowers and flag-waving crowds. Press conference later to be followed tomorrow with ceremony to hand over the aid”. PressTV: Aid convoy breaks Israeli blockade of Gaza. + Viva Palestina Convoy Rafah Crossing Interviews -VIDEO.

Ross Kemp: Middle East Gaza 1/5
Ross Kemp: Middle East Gaza 2/5
Ross Kemp: Middle East Gaza 3/5
Ross Kemp: Middle East Gaza 5/5

This is the finest piece documentary reporting I have ever seen on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The environment the young Gaza children are growing up in is truly frightening. Forget about newspapers and news reports; just watch this.

A disgruntled employee of a power company stormed the plant with an assault rifle this morning in north St. Louis, killing two workers and injuring five others. Police say a third person has been found dead -- and he is presumed to be the gunman. Police are waiting for his relatives to identify the body. The shots erupted at 6:30 a.m., right as the morning shift began at ABB Power, at 4350 Semple Avenue.

US border officials were aware that an alleged extremist was on a Detroit-bound flight on Christmas Day and were ready to question him on landing, according to a report in the the Los Angeles Times. Examiner: US lies about Flight 253 "crotch bomber" patsy: summary of the evidence; Yemen attack implication.

108,500 Deaths in the US in 2008; 36,700 in England and Wales Last Winter; 5,600 in Canada (2006); 7,000 in Australia (1997-2006 Average); Thousands in Other Developed Countries.

As cold temperatures sweep across Europe, Britons prepare themselves for more snow amidst one of the harshest winters that has hit the UK in the past decades. Heavy snows have crippled transport links, delivering a harsh blow to Britain's already recession-hit economy, as work has been suspended in some areas. According to the Met Office forecast, the British capital and its more heavily populated southeastern areas will receive more heavy snowfalls. The forecasters said the weather was at its coldest since 1981. They also warned that the weather would not change soon.

The head of the UN's climate change panel - Dr Rajendra Pachauri - is accused of making a fortune from his links with 'carbon trading' companies. No one in the world exercised more influence on the events leading up to the Copenhagen conference on global warming than Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and mastermind of its latest report in 2007. Although Dr Pachauri is often presented as a scientist (he was even once described by the BBC as “the world’s top climate scientist”), as a former railway engineer with a PhD in economics he has no qualifications in climate science at all. EUReferendum: Pachauri: the smoking gun.

The nation’s top scientists and spies are collaborating on an effort to use the federal government’s intelligence assets — including spy satellites and other classified sensors — to assess the hidden complexities of environmental change. They seek insights from natural phenomena like clouds and glaciers, deserts and tropical forests [The New York Times].

Blackwater has been "working for" the CIA since at least April 2002. Prince recently claimed he was personally a CIA asset, conducting clandestine black operations around the globe. In June, Leon Panetta reportedly told Congress he had canceled the CIA assassination program involving Blackwater. AWIP: CIA reportedly ordered Blackwater to murder 9/11 suspect.

Median male incomes today are the same as they were in 1974 in the US. No progress has been made despite a doubling of productivity and massive top line GDP growth. Given that female incomes aren't on par with male incomes, the typical American family makes much less per hour worked than in 1974. AWIP: ESCAPE FROM POTTERSVILLE: THE NORTH DAKOTA MODEL FOR CAPITALIZING COMMUNITY BANKS Economic Policy Journal: Robert Rubin: All Hell Could Break Loose Because of the Huge Government Debt.

The Japanese government is calling for Australia and New Zealand to curb Sea Shepherd’s Antarctic activities, while their officials deny claims Shonan Maru No 2 deliberately rammed Sea Shepherd’s Ady Gil, The Australian reports. The video in the article shows clearly that the Japanese vessel had ample opportunity to avoid ramming Sea Shepherd’s Ady Gil. This means that they did ram it intentionally. Japan's "stern" complaint is...pathetic. You Tube: Ady Gil Being Rammed by Japanese Whalers.

Baroness Scotland announces plans to alter laws after attempts to obtain warrants against Israeli generals for war crimes. The [British] government is determined to protect high-ranking Israeli officials from arrest in the UK, the attorney general said, as it emerged that a further visit by the Israeli military had been cancelled. Speaking at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem today, Baroness Scotland said Israeli leaders should not face arrest for war crimes under the law of "universal jurisdiction", following attempts by British lawyers last month to obtain a warrant for the former Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni.

EU website hacked. Spanish president's photo with replaced with one of Mr. Bean.

Soviet General, 1986: "After seven years in Afghanistan there is not one square kilometre left untouched by the boot of a Soviet soldier. But as soon as they leave the place, the enemy returns and restores it all the way it used to be. We have lost this war."

Very quietly, China has become the world's second-largest producer of scientific knowledge. If it continues at this awe-inspiring rate, China will overtake the US before 2020 and the world will look very different as a result.

CROW CREEK LAND IS NOT FOR SALE! End the attacks of the USA on the indigenous people of the world. www.FirstNationsNetwork.com