In the first strike

In the first strike, a drone fired missiles Louis Vuitton handbags at a vehicle in the Birmal area of the South Waziristan tribal region, killing eight.

Among the dead were Shams Ullah and Amir Hamza, senior commanders of a pro-government militant faction led by Maulvi Nazir, one of the most influential militant leaders in the region.

Seven suspected militants were killed in the second attack later in the day, when a drone fired missiles at a vehicle in the Sara Khawra area, which straddles the border between North Waziristan and South Waziristan.

Several militant groups, including the Afghan Taliban and al Qaeda, operate in Pakistan's semi-autonomous border regions, taking advantage of a porous border with Afghanistan to conduct cross-border attacks or plot violence elsewhere.

The usually unacknowledged Central Intelligence Agency's drone programme, an important element of the U.S. counter-terrorism strategy in the region, appeared to have been halted after a NATO cross-border air attack killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last November, sparking fury in Pakistan.

The campaign, using remotely-piloted armed aircraft, resumed on Jan. 10.

The use of drones is opposed by most Pakistani politicians and the public, who consider drone strikes violations of sovereignty with unacceptable civilian casualties.Viewed in these stark terms, entitlements seem terrifying -- but when you look at who is actually gucci bags receiving them, the picture changes rapidly.

Let's examine the largest two slices of the entitlement pie first: According to a recent analysis by the nonprofit Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 53% of entitlement spending goes to the elderly through Social Security and Medicare. And, as a study recently released by Wider Opportunities for Women suggested, these programs are hardly encouraging sloth: For many oldsters, they can mean the difference between economic viability and desperate poverty. Another 20% goes to the disabled, through programs like Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid.

Sure, But Aside from the Elderly and the Disabled ...

What about the remaining 27% of entitlement spending? Well, the CBPP found that 18% goes to working households, through 2012 louis vuitton handbag for women discount sale online brown entitlements like the school lunch program, the earned income tax credit, the child tax credit, and the children's health insurance program, which are designed to help provide a minimum standard of living for the working poor, a group that the Department of Labor conservatively estimates at 10 million.After deducting the shares absorbed by the elderly, the disabled and the working poor, we're left with 9% of entitlement spending, about $176 billion a year. But even within that figure, the CBPP finds that only a small portion finances the slothful layabouts whom entitlement critics complain about. An estimated 7% goes to the "almost elderly," covering medical care, unemployment insurance, Social Security survivor benefits and Social Security benefits for those between the ages of 62 and 64.

And the remaining 2% of entitlement spending? That gets spent on what is generally temporary assistance for needy families, and other programs designed to help those who are sound of mind and body, but whose Classic louis vuitton handbags outlet 2012 womens discount black online lives have been undermined by bad luck, job losses and the unsteady economy.