Beyond the Bubble

International News

Protests in Hong Kong broke out after Chinese parliament denied voters the right to directly vote for their leaders in elections set for 2007 and 2008. Although Beijing had guaranteed autonomy to the region since it assumed control in 1997, this move solidifies Beijing's control over constitutional change in Hong Kong.

"This is terrible news, absolutely awful. They're telling the whole world that Beijing will now run Hong Kong," said Martin Lee, a veteran lawmaker, as reported by the Washington Post. "They're not even hiding it or pretending anymore."

The Chinese Communist Party had been wary for months of calls for Democratic reform in Hong Kong, but had acted subtly in suppressing reform until now. The ruling allows for half of the members of the Legislative Council in Hong Kong to be filled by direct votes, while the others will be decided by small professional and business groups who tend to favor Chinese government.

The Chinese government defended the decision by saying that the city was not yet ready socially and politically for universal suffrage and that the consequences of such an election would have a negative impact on its people.

National News

Rev. Gerald Robinson was arraigned in Toledo, Ohio on Monday after new evidence was introduced in the murder of a nun 24 years ago.

Robinson, 66, was ordained into the Roman Catholic Church in 1964, after which he spent several years working at Mercy Hospital with Sister Margaret Ann Pahl, who was strangled and stabbed at least 27 times in 1980.

Pahl's body was found in the hospital chapel, her arms folded across her chest and surrounded by lit candles.

A new technological form of analysis called "blood transfer patterns" revealed evidence that led to the arrest of Robinson.

"It's not DNA," John Thebes said, Robinson's attorney, according to The New York Times. "It's not blood spatter, which is blood you find on walls or other surfaces. It's an imprint of some kind. Something happened that changed the nature of this case, and I don't know what it is."

A spokeswoman for the Toledo diocese, Sally Oberski described Robinson as being well-respected in the community.

"The Catholic Church is just under fire for so many things right now. It's difficult to say what kind of effect this will have," Oberski said, according to The New York Times.

College News

Portions of Loyola Marymount University were closed off Monday, as World War II ammunition casings were unearthed in a nearby Playa Vista development.

Once LMU administrators became aware of the discovery, several residence halls were closed and classes were cancelled.

The LAPD and the Army bomb squad were summoned as more than 200 nearby residents and 1,600 students were evacuated from the area. Two casings were found; both of which were eventually determined by military and federal agencies to be either inactive or disarmed.

"We are being extremely cautious," Mayor James Hahn said, according to the San Jose Mercury News. "You can't be too cautious; we're talking about a thousand pound bomb."

LMU coped with the days' events by hosting an all-day concert by a student band and offering free food to the students, according to junior Virginette Acacio.

Spirits were high as a large portion of the campus community gathered into a decidedly secure area of the campus, playing football and frisbee, according to Acacio.

Entertainment News

Michael Jackson has announced that he has fired two of his lawyers, saying he needs a defense team who can work exclusively on his case.

"It is imperative that I have the full attention of those who are representing me," Jackson said. "My life is at stake, therefore I must feel confident that my interests are of the highest priority."

Mark Geragos and Benjamin Brafman were the two lawyers who were fired.

Geragos is currently working on the Scott Peterson case and Brafman is based in New York, while Jackson's case is taking place in Northern California.

Jackson decided to hire Thomas Mesereau, who had previously worked on the defense team for Robert Blake before being let go from that case.

Jackson faces seven charges for lewd acts committed against a 14-year-old boy who lived on his Neverland Ranch.

-Compiled by Lance Dwyer