INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
The Political Hurdles

Perhaps no other Olympics has been so intensely anticipated" as the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, China, observed Jere Longman in Sunday's New York Times. The upcoming Olympics will be a test of the "inherent power of the games," Longman wrote. China is a rising economic and cultural force in the world, but the regime's behavior, both domestically and internationally, continues to be problematic. Will focusing the world's attention on China serve to positively change the behavior of an oppressive regime, as some claim was an effect of the 1988 summer games in Seoul, South Korea? Or will the 2008 Summer Olympics serve only to further empower, entrench, and legitimize that regime, as many believe happened with the 1936 "Nazi" Olympics in Berlin?

HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHINA:

Even though there has been progress in economic rights in China, "rights to free speech and assembly remain sharply restricted, ethnic minorities are repressed, [and] the Communist Party dominates," Longman noted. In a report released in late July, Amnesty International said progress on human rights in China had been limited

. Foreign journalists covering the Olympics are also confronting many restrictions. Chinese authorities "had told the International Olympic Committee that reporters would be allowed to cover the Games as they would any other Olympics," but media advocates say that has not been the case. "Chinese censors use increasingly sophisticated filtering software to block access to Web sites and conduct surveillance of online bulletin boards and chat rooms." Television crews from South America and Germany "have complained publicly about being harassed and followed by plainclothes police or about public security police who have cut off live shots even though the reporters had permission to film." Fearful of being spied on, White House staffers who are traveling to Beijing have been told to leave their Blackberries at home.

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES:

The Beijing Olympics suffered a public relations hit in February when director Steven Spielberg withdrew from his role as artistic adviser to the games in protest of China's backing for Sudan's policy in Darfur. China has been severely criticized for blocking tougher sanctions against the Sudanese government, as well as for its support for Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe. In March, there was an international outcry over China's violent crackdown on Tibetan demonstrators, in which 140 people were killed, according to the Tibetan government-in-exile. China has criticized the use of sanctions against Iran to bring Iran into compliance with nuclear inspections, though it is currently a party to the incentives package being offered to Tehran. There are also serious concerns with China's environmental policies. China's fast-growing economy "requires energy, and coal provides more than three-quarters of China's needs." According to the World Bank, 20 of the globe's 30 most polluted cities are in China. In preparation for the Olympics, "China has taken drastic anti-pollution steps, such as closing factories surrounding Beijing and ordering half of 3.3 million cars in Beijing off the roads." China has also pledged to keep many of its anti-pollution measures in force after the Olympics. 

CAN OLYMPICS CHANGE ANY OF THIS?: 

Some observers insist that the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul played an important part in moving that country's government toward internal democratic reform. Expressing this view, François Carrard, the International Olympic Committee's then-director general, said in 2001: "We are totally aware there is one issue on the table, and that is human rights. Either you say because of some serious human rights issues, we close the door, deliver a vote that is regarded as a sanction and hope things evolve better. The other way is to bet on openness. We are taking the bet that we will see many changes" as a result of holding the games in China. There are other issues on the table, such as China's support for authoritarian regimes and its growing environmental footprint. It remains to be seen whether the Olympics will help make China a more productive international partner for the United States in dealing with these important issues.

Under the Radar

ETHICS -- LOTT ALLEGED TO HAVE URGED WITNESSES TO GIVE FALSE INFORMATION IN INSURANCE FRAUD SUIT: During a deposition last week, Jim Robie, an attorney for State Farm Insurance, alleged that former Mississippi senator Trent Lott (R) had "urged witnesses to give false information in a Hurricane Katrina lawsuit." Questioning Lott's nephew, Zach Scruggs, Robie asked if it had been his "custom" to have Lott "contact and encourage witnesses to give false information." Scruggs refused to answer, invoking the Fifth Amendment. Robie recently told Legal Newsline that Lott had "initiated contact with people surrounding this case, something unprecedented for a U.S. Senator." Lott has reportedly used his position in the Senate to pressure State Farm. "Charles Chamness, the C.E.O. of a national insurance trade association, has claimed that Lott had threatened him, in a telephone call, with 'bringing down State Farm and the industry,'" the New Yorker reported. A spokesman for Lott's lobbying firm told Legal Newsline that "the former senator had no interest in justifying the implication with a response," but Robie has said "he will continue his efforts to depose both Richard and Zach Scruggs, during which he will probe the influence of Lott." 

CONGRESS -- CONSERVATIVES PLAN POLITICAL THEATER TO PUSH OIL DRILLING: Repeating a political stunt from Friday, House conservatives plan to take to the House floor today -- despite the fact that Congress has adjourned for summer recess -- in order to hold a fake session on energy prices. Politico reports that conservative lawmakers "felt they got a lot of good press out of Friday's 'revolt,'" which took place in a dark chamber with no microphones, "so they will be back at it again." The office of Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) sent out a memo Saturday "asking for an energy 'call to arms' this week, to build on Friday's success." ABC reports that 30 members of Congress are "flying back to DC from their Districts today and tomorrow" to participate in the faux session. "We've called on the Speaker to call Congress back into an emergency session this month and schedule a vote on the American Energy Act," wrote Blunt in the memo. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) called the stunt "the war dance of the hand maidens of the oil companies." At the Wonk Room, Center for American Progress Action Fund Director of Climate Strategy Dan Weiss explains how House conservatives employed Tom DeLay-style tactics to block an up or down vote on oil profiteer legislation in order to set up their political theatrics.

HEALTH CARE -- STUDY SAYS U.S. HIV INFECTION RATE 40 PERCENT HIGHER THAN BELIEVED: A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that "the United States has significantly underreported the number of new H.I.V. infections occurring nationally each year." The study found that 56,300 people became newly infected with the virus in 2006, "compared with the 40,000 figure the agency has cited as the recent annual incidence of the disease." Though the information was available in October, the CDC waited to release the figures until they were published in a peer reviewed journal. Last week, the Black AIDS Institute reported,  "If black America were a country, it would rank 16th in the world in the number of people living with the AIDS virus." The group argued that the U.S. government has not provided enough resources to fight AIDS domestically, especially among black Americans. They said there are at least 500,000 African Americans with HIV, more than "in seven of the 15 'target countries' in the Bush administration's global AIDS initiative." Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) "pointed out that the HIV prevention budget, adjusted for inflation, had fallen over the past six years by 19%."

Think Fast

Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) is opposing a decision by the Bush administration to allow a New England Little League team to visit Cuba this week, arguing such trips run counter to the U.S. policy of isolating the Cuban government. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) fired back at Diaz-Balart: "He should pick on someone his own size."

Planned layoffs at U.S. companies jumped 26 percent from June to July, which is an indication of "further deterioration in the labor market." In July, planned layoffs totaled 103,312, compared to 81,755 in June. "From January to July, planned layoffs totaled 579,260, up 33 percent from the same period a year ago."

Neither President Bush nor Congress "has acted to appoint members to a commission intended to boost U.S. energy independence in the three years since Congress enacted a law establishing the panel." During that time, "oil prices have more than doubled to $125 per barrel from $60, and the price of a gallon of gasoline has increased from about $2.25 to nearly $4."

After two years of spiraling defaults, "problems with mortgages made to people with weak, or subprime, credit are showing their first, tentative signs of leveling off." However, homeowners with good credit are now "falling behind on their payments in growing numbers."

"Iraqi lawmakers on Sunday failed to settle a dispute over the oil-rich city of Kirkuk and pass a provincial elections bill viewed as vital for national reconciliation, despite intense pressure from the United States and the United Nations." One Kurdish legislator said President Bush “is pressing the Iraqi politicians to make a fast deal," but "[t]here's no way to find a solution to a 100-year-old problem in days."

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, "who was targeted in the 2001 anthrax attack," said "the American people deserve more of an accounting on this investigation," referring to the suicide of a reported suspect. Daschle said it is "unfortunate" he has not been briefed on the latest developments.

According to a new Government Accountability Office report, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services "is putting millions of Medicare dollars at risk by authorizing fictitious sellers of wheelchairs, prosthetics and other medical supplies to submit reimbursement claims with only limited review," despite promises since "at least 2005" to fix the problems.

And finally: On Friday, rapper Jay-Z received "applause and wild cheers" from the crowd as he closed the Africa Rising Music and Fashion Festival at the Kennedy Center. The noise was the loudest though when the show turned political during "Minority Report," which criticized the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina. The song concluded with an “expletive” about President Bush. When a "giant picture" of Bush flashed across the screen, the "crowd helped him boo" Bush.

Good News

The Iraqi Health Ministry has appealed to Iraqi physicians who fled the country due to violence to return to their jobs. A deputy minister of health "said more than 165 Iraqi doctors have responded and resumed their work over the past 20 days, and he expected more than 90 percent to return this year."

State Watch

CALIFORNIA: "A workers union sued the state Friday in an effort to reverse more than 10,000 layoffs ordered by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger."

ECONOMY: "States and the federal government are using new laws and lawsuits to fend off a wave of scams in which con artists prey on homeowners facing foreclosure."

MASSACHUSETTS: "Massachusetts residents who heat their homes with natural gas or oil could end up paying nearly $1 billion more this year than they did in 2007."

Blog Watch

THINK PROGRESS: Lawyer: Former senator Trent Lott "initiated contact with people surrounding" an insurance fraud lawsuit.

WONK ROOM: Is the Congress of Racial Equality fighting for the poor or Big Oil?

CROOKS AND LIARS: Yesterday marked the eight-year anniversary of President Bush's promise to "uphold the honor and dignity of the office."

GRISTMILL: Coastal governors stand in the way of offshore drilling, even if Congress approves it.

Daily Grill

"[T]he number of persons becoming newly infected each year has remained constant over the last 10 years, at approximately 40,000 new infections per year."
-- Centers for Disease Control fact sheet on HIV

VERSUS

"Federal officials have been underestimating the number of new HIV infections in the United States by 40% every year for more than a decade. ... [T]here are about 56,300 new infections each year, not the 40,000 figure."
-- LA Times, 8/3/08