CBS News: Steve Croft: Hospitals: The Cost of Admission

Source:CBS News 60 Minutes with a piece about for-profit hospitals in America.

"Steve Kroft investigates allegations from doctors that the hospital chain they worked for pressured them to admit patients regardless of their medical needs." 

From CBS News

This sounds like one of those stories about for-profit, private prisons in America that have been making the news the last couple of years, because states have been looking for ways to cut costs in their state budgets. 

Whether hospitals are for-profit or not, the point of hospitals is to serve people who are injured and are sick. They are not banks looking to make as much money as possible. At least they're not supposed to be. Housing people in hospitals, simply to make more money, just drives up the health care costs for everyone else and it should be illegal.

Al Jazeera: Italy's Democratic Party Chooses New Leader

Source:Al Jazeera talking to Massimo Franco.

"Italy's centre-left has chosen the man it wants to be the country's next prime minister.  Pier Luigi Bersani won Sunday's run-off vote, to become one of the main candidates for leader in the 2013 election.  And with the centre-right in disarray over whether Silvio Berlusconi will run again, polls put Bersani's Democratic Party well ahead.  Al Jazeera's Claudio Lavanga reports from Rome." 

From Al Jazeera

"Al Jazeera English (AJE; Arabic: الجزيرة‎, romanized: al-jazīrah, pronounced [æl (d)ʒæˈziːrɐ], meaning "The Peninsula") is a 24-hour English-language news channel. It operates under the ownership of the Al Jazeera Media Network, which, in turn, funded by the goverment of Qatar. It is the first English-language news channel to be headquartered in Western Asia.[3] Al Jazeera broadcasts in over 150 countries and territories, and has a large global audience of over 430 million people.[4]

Al Jazeera is known for its independent and in-depth reporting, particularly in conflict zones. It has been praised for its in-depth coverage of events such as the Arab Spring, the Gaza–Israel conflict, and others.[5][6][7][8] Al Jazeera's coverage of the Arab Spring won the network numerous awards, including the Peabody Award." 

From Wikipedia

As a Liberal Democrat, (meaning someone who believes in liberal democracy) in America, I'm glad to see that Italy has a Democratic Party. Especially because of the country's past of supporting right-wing fascists and left-wing Communists.