News Headlines Feb. 21, 2013

·         'Greece becoming third world country - economically and democratically' As Greece struggles to pay back overwhelming amounts of bailout loans, journalist and documentary maker Aris Chatzistefanou says the country is facing an even bigger issue.“When you have huge debt like the one that Greece and other countries in the European periphery are facing, you start losing levels of democracy and I’m afraid that has happened,” he told RT.

·         Lethal buzz: US Air Force developing insect-size drones The US Air Force is developing bug-sized drones that will be able to fly, crawl, perch and hover while performing unprecedented surveillance tasks and carrying out deadly targeted missions.

·         UK may divert billions in foreign aid to military David Cameron announced on Wednesday that he was ‘very open’ to the idea of channeling billions of pounds from the UK’s foreign aid budget in to military defense and ‘peacekeeping’ operations, in an attempt to avoid further defense cuts.

·         China – US Cyberwars – reality or carefully crafted fiction to blame collapse of US Financial Collapse on China? In a report published Tuesday by Northern Virginia information security company Mandiant, an elusive cybersquadron of hackers hired by China’s People’s Liberation Army are linked to compromising as many as 141 companies across 20 major industries in recent years, including a corporation with access to Canada’s oil pipelines and entities of the United States government. ·         Cyber War Games: U.S. Versus China

·           Fatal painkiller overdoses rise for eleven straight years in US – far more deadly than guns! More Americans are dying from prescription drug overdose each year, causing a public health epidemic that has only been getting worse. And most of the fatalities are accidents, with 60 percent of overdoses involving medicines prescribed by a doctor. Since 1999, prescription drug use, misuse and overdose has increased steadily, causing the deaths of at least 20,000 US residents each year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relayed in a new report. ·         Just say don't: Doctors question routine tests By Sharon Begley NEW YORK - Physicians have now identified 135 medical tests and treatments - many used for decades - as almost always unnecessary and often harmful, and which doctors and patients should therefore avoid or at least seriously question.  Full ·

·         Deadly bomb blast damages Russian embassy in Damascus At least 31 people have been killed in a massive car bomb blast that's hit the Syrian capital Damascus, with the explosion happening on a square where pro-government rallies are usually staged. STORY + PHOTOS: http://bit.ly/YbiLjk

·           CrossTalk: Orwellian Skies – Drones over America!  More and more domestic drones are flying in the skies over the US. Will they make society safer? Could they be armed? To what extent would the use of domestic drones undermine privacy and other civil liberties? Do drones make America a 'surveillance society'? CrossTalking with Medea Benjamin, Ray McGovern and Christopher Jenks. Follow Peter Lavelle on Twitter http://twitter.com/PLCROSSTALK

·           New Russia meteor video: Dramatic dash cam footage of meteorite explosion

·           Fed minutes warn on durability of bond buying By Alister Bull and Pedro da Costa WASHINGTON - A number of Federal Reserve officials think the central bank might have to slow or stop buying bonds before seeing the pickup in hiring the program is designed to deliver, according to minutes of the central bank's policy meeting last month.  Full Article