by Andrew MacPherson BORIS’S EMBATTLEMENT

News this week from Russia smacks of deja vu. The current leader of the world’s largest coun- try is facing problems from hardline commu- nists as he tries to implement economic reform in his country and faces the possiblity of losing his grip on power. It sounds very similar to the story which came from the Soviet Union in late summer of 1991; however, the same story came from Moscow again last week. Russian Presi- dent Boris Yeltsin faced backlash from the Congress of People’s Deputies and has had the power of his position weakened considerably. The non-elected congress has taken away Yeltsin’s power to rule by decree and has can- celled the referendum on power sharing which was to be held in April. President Clinton and other world leaders, in an effort to prevent Yeltsin’s demise, are scrambling to come up with plans to aid the Russian economy. Perhaps the west can take more ofa leadership role than in the past and direct this former super power more firmly in the proper direction.

PREVENTING A CORONATION

It would appear that the federal Progressive Conservative party is facing a problem similar to that faced by the Prince Edward Island Lib- eral party in its recent leadership campaign, a lack of strong candidates to oppose the front runner. It seems that many members of the government caucus have conceded the leader- ship to Kim Campbell. There are several forces which have caused this result, including the tendency of people to line up behind the prob- able winner and the glowing reports that Campbell has received from the media, espe- cially the CBC; however, Brian Mulroney has a little too much political savvy to allow this to happen. It would be a shame for the Tories if they chose to waste this great opportunity for media coverage without a climactical conven- tion. Mr, Mulroney has been making an effort to induce other familar faces in his cabinet to put a strong campaign together. Finance min- ister Don Mazankowski has said that he will re- examine his previous decsion not to run for the leadership. There is work underway to get

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eport on off-campus news

Bernard Valcourt’s campaign off to a strong start. Perrin Beatty and Barbara MacDougall are said to be on the verge of announcing their candidacy. This is not to say that Mulroney does not support Campbell; in fact, his reaction is more fatherly. He wants his successor to go through the joy of winning a hard fought cam- paign. Something that he may not be taking into account is that a difficult leadership campaign this close to a federal election may divide his party instead of binding it together.

LEADERS GO PUBLIC

Asthe provicial election approaches its midway point more and more public appearances are taking place. Finally, the first public forum with all three leaders present has been an- nounced. It will be held in the Prince Edward Hotel this coming Monday at 7:00PM. The forum has been organized by the PEI Teacher’s Federation and will cenetered upon education. On Wednesday of the same week the three leaders will again be present at lunch time in “The Pit.’’ Students are strongly encouraged to go to both of these events and be vocal. The plight of students must be raised in the con- sciousness of these leaders and they must be reminded that we have votes that are worth just as much as anyone else’s.

KING BEATING TRIAL II

The second trial for the police officers involved in the beating of Rodney King is underway in

U.S. Federal court. Last week King himselfwas .

on the witness stand. It was his first testimony since the incident which ocurred on March 3, 1991. The four defendants -Sgt. Stacey Koon, offecers Lawrence Powell and Theodore Briseno and former officer Timothy Wind - were acquit- ted in their first trial last spring. The jury’s decision was followed by an outbreak of vio- lence in Los Angeles. In this trial they are accused of willfully violating King’s civil rights. What this means is that the prosecutors must show that the officers not only used excessive force, but also did so intentionally. In the previous trial excessive force was the only issue in question. King’s testimony is positioned halfway through the prosecution’s case; hence, a verdict is not expected for about another

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month. Legal experts believe that Mr. King’s testimony will be the deciding factor either way. The defence will be trying to establish that the victim is not a good person and deserved what happened to him. A decision is going to be infinitely harder for the jury to come to, espe- cially the three African-American members. There is a strong possibility of a hung jury and it is unclear what kind of public reaction that type of decision would provoke.

GOLD ON ICE

= To say it wasa very successful week for Canadiaiss participating in wiii- ter sports would be a great understate- ment. In figure skat- ing and downhill skiing, World Championships ee * went to Canadians in numerous categories. In men’s figure skat- ing Kurt Browning won his fourth gold medal in the past five years. The only real blemish on his record was his sixth place finish at last year’s Winter Olympics. Another Canadian, Elvis Stojko took home the silver in this same event. Stojko came from fifth place to win the silver on the final day of competition. Earlier in the week Lloyd Isler and Elizabeth Brasseur won the gold for the couples dance competion; it was only the fourth time in the past thirty-five years that a non-Russian couple has won this medal. This success helps to show the world that Canadians are more than a bunch of rough hoodlums who play hockey...some of us a graceful as well.

THE PICTURE

Last week I wrote about the picture of Kim Campbell which ap- peared in British tab- loids several weeks back. Ihave obtaineda copy of the picture and have run it in this week’s edition. Pretty scandalous, eh! @