Bush's presence at opening of Beijing Olympics is focus of Pro-Tibet, Anti-China rally in DC today

The brutality of the Chinese government in Tibet is capturing attention around the world. And, with the Olympics looming, China's government really doesn't seem to get that the world is watching. Today, we had a taste of the fervor here in DC:

Wrapped in multihued Tibetan national flags, more than 1,500 Tibetan refugees from as far as Georgia and Massachusetts rallied yesterday in front of the White House to protest China's recent crackdown on dissent in their homeland and demand that President Bush boycott opening ceremonies at the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

The demonstrators, who included a group of Buddhist monks and a handful of American supporters, said the combination of widening protests over Tibet and China's upcoming debut as an Olympic host in August have created a unique opportunity to press for greater Tibetan rights and autonomy after a half-century under Chinese control.

The Chinese embassy is around the corner from my house so I wandered over to get some first hand pictures of the event. It was very impressive. There was a massive police presence because of some minor incident. And, the protest blocked Connecticut Avenue, one of the city's major thoroughfares, at rush hour.

We're going be seeing a lot more anti-China protests -- and the repressive, brutal regime in Beijing has brought this on themselves. Bush is going to have to decide which side he is on. My guess: No way he'll miss the opening ceremonies. He's got no scruples.