government this week? i ll explain. first, here s my take. if you are trying to understand the recent protests against the putin regime in russia, one of the best guides is an outspoken columnist that s been writing essays in the nation s leading newspapers over the past month. political competition is the heart beat of democracy. this author writes noting the absence of such competition in contemporary russia. he describes the frustrations of the russian middle class, demanding political rights. today the quality of our state does not match civil society s readiness to participate in it. on corruption, perhaps the issue that most riles the public, the problem is scathing. it s from the lack of transparency and accountability of government, he says. now, what makes this all deeply strange is that the author of these essays is vladimir putin, the architect, builder, and chief enforcer of the system that he is critiquing. putin seems to understand russia s problems better tha
sensitive equipment and illegal immigration in the center of arizona history. you re in the situation room. captions by vitac www.vitac.com we begin with the breaking news. political and financial chaos within the european union, sending fresh shock waves through wall street and world financial markets. stocks plunging in new york today on all three indices with the dow tumbling about 400 points amid a growing debt crisis in italy. and the third largest in europe. let s bring in our own financial expert, cnn s erin burnett, the host of erin burnett outfront. the markets taking a major tumble today because of what s happening in italy, is that right? that really is the reason why. europe continuing to not dealing with its problems. right around 388 points to the downside as the final trades come in. what s happening in europe is causing all kinds of problems. general motors came out and said we can t even put out forecasts for what we re going to do in europe and as