Iraqis Tortured by UK Military Settle case for $6M

It wasn't just Bush, inc. that tortured "terrorists."

Attorneys for 10 Iraqis tortured by the British military say they've settled a civil case for about $6 million.

The law firm Leigh Day & Co. says the settlement with the military involves the family of slain hotel clerk Baha Mousa and nine others who suffered injuries while in British custody in Iraq.

Mousa died in September 2003 after being detained in the southern Iraqi city of Basra along with a group of other Iraqis on suspicion of being insurgents.

A post-mortem found Mousa suffered 93 different injuries, including a broken nose and fractured ribs. It said he died of asphyxia, caused by a stress position that soldiers forced him to maintain.

Obama: Your Child Should Learn to Speak Spanish

Barack Obama has shown to be a major league panderer despite the image of being a different kind of politician. But calling for Americans to learn spanish is going too far. A little background: I was raised in spanish speaking home, and do not believe in bilingualism. This is outrageous. Obama obviously learned a few tricks from Hillary Clinton on how to pander to get votes.

This is a transcript from Lou Dobbs:

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I agree with that, but, understand this, instead of worrying about whether immigrants can learn English -- they'll learn English -- you need to make sure your child can speak Spanish. You should be thinking about how can your child become bilingual.

TUCKER: Critics of the senator's statement point out the real problem isn't Americans learning another language.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Virtually every language that's spoken in the world is also spoken in the United States because we have immigrants from every corner of the world.

TUCKER: In fact, America's the most multilingual country in the world. Literally hundreds of languages are spoken here, and the linguistic diversity is not limited to urban areas. It's geographically widespread, which is why proponents of making English the official language argue it's important that one language be the official language of communication.

JIM BOULET, ENGLISH FIRST: It appears from Barack's statement that the only people expected to learn another language are English- speaking children. They're to be required to learn Spanish. I don't know what that's going to do to the Vietnamese child who has to now learn English and Spanish as well as her home language.

TUCKER: Nor does Obama's statement address the reality that in many parts of the southwest, Spanish is widely spoken and in some areas it is the dominant language.

[...]DOBBS: And today's comment, Bill Schneider, by Senator Obama, saying that children should be speaking Spanish in this country, your take?

SCHNEIDER: Well, that is a very controversial comment. That I think will provoke a lot of heated discussion about whether this should be a bilingual country. I'm not sure that's what he meant. But what he did say was that everyone in this country is bound to learn English, probably not older people, but younger people. If they want to get anywhere in this country, they need to learn English but if the implication is that somehow America should be a bilingual country that will provoke a lot of heated discussion.

DOBBS: And of course that is precisely the debate that is going on both in public education amongst a number of ethnocentric organizations, some who really and truly believe that this should be a multicultural nation to the point of separate languages defining us and departing from a unifying single official language.

Jessica, your thoughts?

YELLIN: Well, Barack Obama has taken this position that U.S. needs to change its image in the world. The U.S. needs to respect other nations and understand that we're in a global economy now, et cetera. It really does play into that message. It's going to stir up a lot of controversy as it has. But here's one area at least he's sticking to his guns.

DOBBS: He may be in one area, as you put it, at least, sticking to his guns. But when he says he's embarrassed by Americans traveling the world who cannot speak native languages, that element of this is surely -- surely going to have a considerable impact and be quiet controversial, wouldn't you agree, Bill?

SCHNEIDER: I would agree. "E pluribus unum," it says on our money, "For Many, One." That's the definition of our society; we are one culture, one society. Many different things that are celebrated in the country, but everyone comes together as one America in this country. And that is precisely what Barack Obama wants to run on.

I think if he's talking about that Americans should be more familiar with the world, should even speak more languages, that's fine. But there can be really only one national language in this country.

Here's the video of his comments (thanks to http://polijamblog.polijam.com/?p=1564):

Transcript: John McCain Interview with CBS' Katie Couric

Read the full transcript here. Update: This interview was done in early July. To Read the interview from 7-22-08 go here.

Do you need further proof that McCain, if elected, would bomb Iran.

Couric: Would you discourage Israel if their leadership came to you as president and said, we're going to strike Iran's nuclear sites?

McCain: I can’t get into that kind of hypothetical, but the Iranians are testing these missiles not because of reaction because of the Israelis in my view. This is part of a calculated plan, developing nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them. And nations led by all of European friends as well as other countries, we have to impose meaningful, tough, effective sanctions on the Iranians to modify their behavior. We cannot never allow a second holocaust.

Couric: Do you get a sense, Sen. McCain, that an attack by Israel on Iran is imminent?

McCain:I have no idea. I know this: that Iran continues to develop nuclear weapons in violation of various treaties and their own commitments and we need to do everything we can to modify that behavior in the form of very tough economic and other sanctions. Their economy is not strong because of their lousy government.

Couric: What do you think that should be done right now that isn't being done, Senator, in that department?

McCain: Impose tough sanctions. There are European financial institutions that are extending unlimited lines of credit to the Iranians. Shut all of that down. Make things very very tough economically on the Iranians and trade and others ways. I think it can have a beneficial effect.

Of course, McCain can't the question. He reverts to talking points.

Couric: Beyond a summer tax gas holiday plan that no one thinks will pass, are you offering any kind of relief to the American people, who are, as you well know, really struggling right now?

McCain: Well, we quickly have to go off-shore if the states let us and explore and exploit those areas. If you lift the moratorium on offshore exploration then I think that will send a signal and have an effect on gas prices immediately. The gas tax holiday was just a chance to give some people a little bit of a relief, that’s all it was. A lot of people say it was a gimmick and wouldn’t work. A lot of people who are driving the furthest with the most cars, which are low-income Americans, really would like to have a little bit of relief.

Jesse Jackson Jr. Denounces Father's Anti-Obama Slurs

This is very sordid and bizarre. I guess Jesse Jackson can't stand any black leader outshining himself. This is only the latest unchristian Jackson foul-mouthed remark. Even his own son has had enough. Not to mention that Congressman Jackson is a major Obama supporter. I'm fed-up also.

If you haven't seen the video of Jackson's remark that led to the apology, I've included it below:

FISA Vote: Obama Betrays his Supporters

Obama has once again proven himself to be just another typical politician.

More than two and a half years after the disclosure of President’s Bush’s domestic eavesdropping program set off a furious national debate, the Senate gave final approval on Wednesday afternoon to broadening the government’s spy powers and providing legal immunity for the phone companies that took part in the wiretapping program.

Why not wait till after the election when the Democrats control the Congress and White House? What was the hurry? Why give Bush what he wanted? It also makes Hillary look the good guy.

The plan, approved by a vote of 69 to 28, marked one of Mr. Bush’s most hard-won legislative victories in a Democratic-led Congress where he has had little success of late. Both houses, controlled by Democrats, approved what amounted to the biggest restructuring of federal surveillance law in 30 years, giving the government more latitude to eavesdrop on targets abroad and at home who are suspected of links to terrorism.

The issue put Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, the presumptive Democratic nominee, in a particularly precarious spot. After long opposing the idea of immunity for the phone companies in the wiretapping operation, he voted for the plan on Wednesday. His reversal last month angered many of his most ardent supporters, who organized an unsuccessful drive to get him to reverse his position once again. And it came to symbolize what civil liberties advocates saw as “capitulation” by Democratic leaders to political pressure from the White House in an election year.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, who was Mr. Obama’s rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, voted against the bill.

This from the AP:

Sen. Barack Obama's vote in favor of anti-terrorist surveillance legislation on Wednesday marked an about-face on the issue that left him comfortably in the bipartisan middle, no matter the criticism from John McCain nor the discomfort among liberal Democrats.

"Given the choice between voting for an improved yet imperfect bill, and losing important surveillance tools, Senator Obama chose to support" the legislation, his office said, even though it contained a provision the Democratic presidential nominee-in-waiting had flatly opposed.

Translation: With the general election looming, preventing another terrorist attack trumped fears that privacy rights may be violated.

Ironically, the Democratic presidential contender cast his vote one day after telling a campaign audience that accounts of a shift toward the center on the Iraq War, guns, the death penalty and other issues were unfounded. "The people who say this haven't apparently been listening to me," Obama said in response to a question at a town hall-style event.

Legal immunity for companies such as AT&T is not an issue likely to affect many votes in November.

This from Glenn Greenwald:

The Democratic-led Congress this afternoon voted to put an end to the NSA spying scandal, as the Senate approved a bill -- approved last week by the House -- to immunize lawbreaking telecoms, terminate all pending lawsuits against them, and vest whole new warrantless eavesdropping powers in the President. The vote in favor of the new FISA bill was 69-28. Barack Obama joined every Senate Republican (and every House Republican other than one) by voting in favor of it, while his now-vanquished primary rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton, voted against it. John McCain wasn't present for any of the votes, but shared Obama's support for the bill. The bill will now be sent to an extremely happy George Bush, who already announced that he enthusiastically supports it, and he will sign it into law very shortly.

This from Power Line:

Standing with his party's hard-left wing through the primary season, Barack Obama consistently opposed granting immunity to telecoms who cooperated with the federal government's foreign terrorist surveillance program in the years after September 11. Obama went even farther by vowing to oppose any cloture motion on the FISA reform bill as long as it included telecom immunity. Jake Tapper has assembled the quotes, including this one from Obama's Senate office in December:

Senator Obama unequivocally opposes giving retroactive immunity to telecommunication companies and has cosponsored Senator Dodd's efforts to remove that provision from the FISA bill. Granting such immunity undermines the constitutional protections Americans trust the Congress to protect. Senator Obama supports a filibuster of this bill, and strongly urges others to do the same....Senator Obama will not be among those voting to end the filibuster.

Like everything Barack Obama says, that pledge was operative only as long as it was in Obama's political interest. Last month, he announced a change in position. He still favored the Dodd amendment to strip telecom immunity from the act, but said he would now vote in favor of cloture and in favor of final passage of the FISA reform bill.

Today, the FISA bill came up for a series of votes in the Senate. Consistent with the new position he announced last month, Obama voted for the Dodd amendment, to delete telecom immunity from the act. The Dodd amendment failed, 66-32. Later came the cloture vote, the one on which Obama had pledged to vote "No." Obama voted "Yes." He then voted with the 69-28 majority in favor of the act.

Talking Points Memo:

No surprises here. Just the weight of disappointment.

Late Update: Worth noting that Hillary voted against the bill, while Obama --as we've noted here before -- changed positions on telecom immunity and voted for the bill.

Sell Out: Abu Dhabi Acquires a Stake in Chrysler Building

There doesn't seem to be anything that isn't being sold out in America. The politicians and the business community have no pride or patriotism. They will do that which benefits them, and the American people be damned. They won't protect us from terrorists, illegal immigrants, or foreign takeover of our country.

The government of Abu Dhabi bought a 75 percent stake in the landmark Chrysler Building on Tuesday for $800 million from a German real estate fund managed by Prudential Real Estate Investors.

You would think that Abu Dhabi got a controlling interest in New York’s Art Deco masterpiece for that kind of money. But you would be wrong.

Despite having only a minority holding, Tishman Speyer Properties will continue to control the property, much as it has since 1997. That is because it controls the land beneath the 77-story tower with the stainless steel crown, gargoyles and elevator cabs that evoke the chrome laden autos of years gone by.

Tishman Speyer Properties did not return calls requesting comment and the often secretive Abu Dhabi Investment Council, an arm of the Gulf emirate government, was also mum. Teresa Miller, a spokeswoman for Prudential Real Estate Investors, confirmed on Wednesday that “we no longer own a 75 percent stake in the Chrysler Building.” She declined to disclose the sale price.

Speaking of sell-out:

French President Nicolas Sarkozy will attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games next month despite an earlier threat to boycott over a crackdown in Tibet, his office said Wednesday.

Sarkozy told Chinese President Hu Jintao he would go to Beijing during a half-hour meeting on the sidelines of the Group of Eight industrialised nations summit in northern Japan.

Sarkozy had threatened to boycott the Olympic opening gala following a Chinese crackdown in Tibet in March that sparked international outrage, leading to speculation that some world leaders might shun the Summer Games.

[...]The statement came as French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he had called in China's ambassador over his comments warning of serious consequences if Sarkozy met the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.

[...] In France, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) accused Sarkozy of surrendering to China.

"I am disappointed and bitter. Until the last moment, I kept hoping he would not dare" attend the ceremony, said RSF secretary general Robert Menard.

"This is a surrender in the middle of battle, an abandonment of all the commitments he made as a candidate and all of the values our country embodies," Menard charged.

[...]Both German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown have said they will not attend the Olympics opening but denied it was a snub.

US says Iranian-sponsored Attacks in Iraq Falling

Couldn't this be seen as sign of good will? Remember all that propaganda about how the Iranians were supporting terrorism against our troops? What happened? Did the surge defeat the Iranians in Iraq, as it did with al Qaeda? Or maybe Iran is not the great big boogeyman they've been made out to be. In any case, the neocon drumbeat of war continues unabated.

The number of rocket and mortar attacks in Iraq that can be linked to Iranian-sponsored fighters has fallen in recent weeks, the second-ranking American commander in Iraq said Wednesday.

Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin attributed the decline mainly to inroads made by Iraqi security forces in choking off radical elements of Shiite militias in the southern cities of Basra and Amarah. Amarah purportedly is a hub for smuggling weapons to Iraqi Shiite extremists from Iran.

In an interview with three American reporters, Austin said he does not know whether the dropoff in attacks is an intentional gesture by Iran, which has strengthened its influence in Iraq since the war began five years ago.

It certainly isn't because Iran is afraid.

Iran state media said nine missiles were tested in total, including a new Shahab-3, with a range of 2,000km (1,240 miles).

Iran has tested the missile before, but the latest launch comes amid rising tensions with the US and Israel over the country's nuclear programme.

US Under-secretary of State William Burns said the test was "provocative".

He told a Congressional hearing: "We view force as an option that is on the table but a last resort.

McCain on Iran: "Maybe That's a way of Killing them"

It was a shocking and insensitive remark. McCain demonstrates bigotry by making light of cigarettes killing innocent Iranians. Given the last 7 years, do we want that kind of ignorance to govern us for another possible 8 years. To McCain Iranians are subhumans to be slaughtered. And if he were elected President McCain would certainly attack Iran. He made these remarks yesterday.

Are the Skies Safe: Aborted Landings on Rise, Sez Union

We were warned. The mess which is the airline industry will cost lives in other ways not the result of terrorism.

The aerobatic maneuver that almost caused two airplanes to crash in midair at Kennedy Airport is becoming both more frequent and more risky in the area's clogged skyways, air traffic controllers warned Tuesday.

In Saturday's close call, a Cayman Airways jet aborted a landing and shot upward to prepare for another attempt - a move known as a go-around - coming as close as 100 feet to an LAN Chile aircraft departing from a nearby runway, controllers said.

The National Transportation Safety Board launched a probe into the incident yesterday. Investigators plan to interview the pilots and controllers and examine radar data and control tower recordings, a spokesman said.

The Federal Aviation Administration said there was never any risk of collision.

The two airlines involved also denied there was a near-miss, although Cayman Airways confirmed yesterday that a go-around was executed.

[...]"The incidence of go-around seems to be on the rise, and that's a product of an increase in air traffic," said Doug Church, spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

Powerful Congressman Uses Campaign Funds to Help Other Candidates...and Himself

This is the corrupt two-party dictatorship perpetuates it's rule. Rangel, who has represented one of the poorest districts in the country for decades, uses his seniority to keep his seat. Meanwhile, the people of Rangel's district continue to live in the substandard squalor they've always known. The Congressman's "experience" has obviously not benefited his constituents.

Call him the House sugar daddy.

Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel, the powerful chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, has doled out a whopping $849,392 from his campaign coffers to help Democratic colleagues win elections this year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

That makes him second in generosity only to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) in helping out members of Congress.

It's also a major climb up the ladder for the dean of the New York delegation, who ranked 10th in making donations in the previous election cycle.

With nearly 100 members of Congress now indebted to him for his help, Rangel has ratcheted up his influence considerably, and some are wondering what he is going to do with his raft of IOUs.

[...] Over the two years that he has served as Ways and Means chairman, Rangel has pulled in $3.7 million in campaign contributions - more than any other incumbent - and will need to spend very little of it on his own re-election.

Since first being elected to Congress in 1970, Rangel has faced only one serious challenge and has rarely won less than 90 percent of his district.

McCain Jokes about Killing Iranians with Cigarettes

And this man wants to be President of the United States? What a scary thought. Good thing it won't happen. Furthermore, what hypocrisy? Bush doing business with a regime they want to overthrow. Then again didn't Reagan sells arms to the Ayatollahs? See the video here.

Presidential candidate John McCain, who once sang in jest about bombing Iran, on Tuesday reacted to a report of rising U.S. cigarette exports to the country by saying it may be "a way of killing 'em."

McCain, known for acerbic comments and for sometimes firing verbally from the hip, was responding to a report that U.S. exports to Iran rose tenfold during President George W. Bush's term in office despite hostility between the two states.

A rise in cigarette sales was a big part of that, according to an Associated Press analysis of seven years of U.S. trade figures.

"Maybe that's a way of killing 'em," McCain said to reporters during a campaign stop in Pittsburgh. "I meant that as a joke, as a person who hasn't had a cigarette in 28 years, 29 years," he added, laughing.

He declined further comment on the report.

McCain's Fumbling Campaign

How many more shake-ups will John McCain carry out before he realizes the problem is his unprincipled, chaotic style of politics that is the problem. He was fond of ridiculing Romney for his flip-flops. But the Senator could be considered a chameleon. One day he tows the Bush line, the next day he is denouncing the same constituency that he needs to get to the White House.

Then there is the question about his competence. He himself admits he is ignorant on Economic issues. And he proves it by talking about balancing the budget during a recession (although he denies we are in one). He is now for preserving taxcuts that he denounced when they were first proposed. He insists he will balance the budget by 2013. Something he and the Republicans could not achieve while they controlled the government for 6 years. Maybe some reporter could ask him if he intended to cut defense spending at a time when we face serious threats in Iraq and Afghanistance. He's always trying to have it both ways.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Little Old Lady Berates McCain on Taxes

I don't think McCain was expecting such a verbal attack from this elderly woman during his town hall meeting in Denver yesterday. If the person had been a younger male, the Arizonan would've lashed out at him in keeping with his short temper. Although McCain and the audience laughed at the woman, she had a really good point. The joke was on the Republican nominee.

White House Bio Calls PM Berlusconi "Dilettante", "Controversial"

This is funny. The administration certainly knows how to piss people off. We've never seen such incompetence in our history. This is truly the gang who couldn't shoot straight.

ABC News' Jon Garcia Reports: It's not often that a White House press briefing book gets world attention, but the book issued for the 2008 G8 Summit certainly grabbed headlines today when the Italian press discovered that a biography included of their Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, described him as "one of the most controversial leaders in the history of a country known for governmental corruption and vice" and "a political dilettante who gained his high office only through the use of his considerable influence on the national media."

The Italian media outcry elicited a rare White House apology. In a written statement, WH spokesman Tony Fratto said, "We apologize to Italy and to the Prime Minister for this very unfortunate mistake … The sentiments expressed in the biography do not represent the views of President Bush, the American government, or the American people."

Obama Showed Independent Streak in Lobbyist Dealings

The more we learn the more we realize that Obama is a typical politician, although better than most. He will win in November. But many of his supporters will be disappointed. He is not the saviour many believe.

On Wednesday nights during Illinois General Assembly sessions, a group of lobbyists and lawmakers used to gather at the headquarters of the Illinois Manufacturers' Association for a weekly poker game. Barack Obama, who represented part of Chicago as state senator from 1997-2004, was a regular.

These days, Obama says lobbyists are part of the problem with Washington, and he refuses to accept their fundraising help. But during his eight years in Springfield, Ill., Obama played golf and basketball with them and hit them up for campaign donations, according to records and interviews. He shared meals with them, though he was careful to pay his own way, they say.

Obama also accepted lobbyist money when he ran for the U.S. Senate in 2004, and he later used his influence to help secure grants for 16 Illinois-based institutions represented by six of his lobbyist contributors, public records show.

He did all that while retaining a reputation for independence. "I can't remember a time that state senator Obama wasn't on the side of the consumers," said David Kolata, executive director of the non-partisan Illinois Citizens Utility Board.

A look at Obama's past relationships with lobbyists shows that, for most of his political career, Obama wasn't as attentive to the appearance of coziness with special interests as he is now. But it also shows that he often voted against the interests of his lobbyist friends, and he helped pass two significant upgrades to Illinois campaign finance and ethics laws.

Iraq says may Agree Timetable for U.S. Withdrawal

There's that word again. One way or the other we will have to leave Iraq. Either we leave little by little or are forced out. Our presence in Iraq cannot be sustained.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki raised the prospect on Monday of setting a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops as part of negotiations over a new security agreement with Washington.

It was the first time the U.S.-backed Shi'ite-led government has floated the idea of a timetable for the removal of American forces from Iraq. The Bush administration has always opposed such a move, saying it would give militant groups an advantage.

In a statement, Maliki's office said the prime minister made the comments about the security pact -- which will replace a U.N. mandate for the presence of U.S. troops that expires on December 31 -- to Arab ambassadors in the United Arab Emirates.

"In all cases, the basis for any agreement will be respect for the full sovereignty of Iraq," the statement quoted Maliki as saying.

"The current trend is to reach an agreement on a memorandum of understanding either for the departure of the forces or a memorandum of understanding to put a timetable on their withdrawal."

CNN Revisits the Iraq war’s Deceit and Deception

CNN’s Late Edition celebrated its 10th anniversary today by re-airing some of Wolf Blitzer’s key interviews with Bush administration officials about the Iraq war. Some highlights. BUSH: "If at any time I found that the Iraqis were developing weapons of mass destruction, they wouldn’t exist anymore (Jan. 2000)"

read more | digg story

Why Zimbabwe Horror Ignored: No Oil, No al Qaeda, Wrong Color

It is clear that the lives of black Africans are expendable. That is why their plight is ignored.

South African President Thabo Mbeki has held talks in Harare with Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and Arthur Mutambara, leader of a breakaway opposition faction. Mr Mbeki, the chief regional negotiator on the Zimbabwe crisis, has been trying to persuade Mr Mugabe to form a government of national unity. However, Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the main opposition party, declined to meet Mr Mbeki. Before Saturday’s meeting VOA’s Akwei Thompson spoke with John Makumbe, senior lecturer of political science at the University of Zimbabwe the country’s political future.

Makumbe said that, technically, President Mugabe will rule Zimbabwe for the next five years, however, “it will be interesting to see how he rules this country with an illegitimate presidency that he has acquired ” he added.

On the issue of negotiations for a possible unity government in Zimbabwe Makumbe said that would be possible only if the conditions laid down by the Movement for Democratic change are met.

Mort Zuckerman: We're Headed for Worst Recession Since the Great Depression

Coming from a well known publisher and billionaire, Zuckerman's words carry weight. And he's been saying it all along. You just need to look all around you. There are serious problems that if not addressed will lead to a depression. This blogger is only one of the very few sounding the alarm. Tragically, we have a President who is criminally negligent and won't lift a finger to save us.

- Previous posts:

• We are in a Recession. Are We Headed for a Depression?
• Forecasters see Weak Economy, Higher Unemployment
• Economy in Crisis: Food Shortage in America?
• Economy in Crisis: Bank of America’s Profit Drops Sharply
• Food Stamp Use Is at Record Pace
• How Bad is the Mortgage Crisis Going to Get?

Bush: Olympic Boycott would Insult Chinese

Bush refuses to do the right thing. He will never take the side of the oppressed. He's also been total lapdog of the Chinese. He's once again given the finger to the Tibetans.

President Bush on Sunday defended his decision to attend next month's Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, saying that to boycott "would be an affront to the Chinese people."

Why don't you try this approach with Iran? Why appeasing China good and not with Iran?

Speaking to reporters ahead of this week's summit of the Group of Eight industrialized nations in Japan, Bush said he did not need to skip the ceremony to show his position on religious freedom and human rights in China.

He said if he failed to attend the Games it would "make it more difficult to be able to speak more frankly with the Chinese leadership."