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By now, almost everyone knows about the tragic and fatal crash on the luge track in Vancouver that took place before the opening ceremony. Georgian Olympian, Nodar Kumaritashvili, had a fatal accident on the luge track that he was said to be afraid of competing on earlier. Officials and organizers from Vancouver say that the accident was not caused by “deficiencies in the track,” but by Kumaritashvili’s own inexperience; however, the Georgian Olympic committee’s chief, Giorgi Natsvlishlili, blames the track, “I exclude the possibility that Nodar was not experienced enough. From my point of view the track was at fault.” There had also been around 70 crashes in the days leading up to the accident; only after the accident was a wall built and the starting point lowered. An Olympic hopeful in February 2009, after officials wanted to him to start from the highest men’s starting point said it “would be suicidal” and even further explained his refusal by saying, “I had heard enough horror stories. Every athlete treats this track with the upmost respect. Nearly every athlete is scared to death of this track.” The officials did not try to fix the known problem spot on the course or allow other countries more runs on the course, despite their many requests.
However, the Canadians technically did no wrong according to an international official. A spokesman for the Whistler Sliding Centre, John Gibson, said, “We have actually surpassed the requirements set forth by the international sport federations in terms of athletic access.” Canadians were allowed more practice time after it was discovered that athletes were reaching speeds over the maximum speed of the track, 85 m.p.h. Kumaritashvili only had twenty-six runs in comparison to the average of 250 runs the Canadians got, which I feel played a big role in why this accident happened. Many of my questions are questions that many are asking. Why was the course not changed before this crash happened, even though there had been over seventy more crashes? Why was a home advantage more important to the Canadians than the safety of young athletes? I say young because Kumaritashvili was only a mere 21 years old when he died.
The most disturbing thing about this whole tragic fiasco is it could have been easily avoided if more precautions had been taken. For instance, officials could have listened to the athletes fears of the track being too dangerous, but instead they decided to do nothing.

The angry foam rushing by was as loud as ten semi trucks rolling along the highway. The White Salmon River was a river full of hatred seemed to feed on my ever growing fear of drowning. My family was in the great and beautiful state of Oregon and about to risk our lives by going white water rafting.

We started this beyond petrifying experience by squeezing into wetsuits and going over what and what not to do if you ended up falling out of the flimsy yellow raft and hit your head on a rock. One major rule was, under no circumstances were you to touch the bottom of the river unless you wanted to sink down into the rock bed that turned to quicksand at the lightest touch.

As we began our journey down this crafty river, it seemed our raft was looking for ways to throw me into the clutches of the bone chilling ten degree water which rolled straight off the back of a nearby mountain. Slowly, I began to realize that the river would have to do a lot more than rock me back and forth to get me out of the raft. I was soon being rocked to sleep! I wouldn't be tired for long though.

At one point in the river made a sharp bend that even a one person kayak couldn't get through. We had two choices, we could jump off a twenty foot cliff into the rocky water below, or crawl along jagged rocks so sharp they could cut through just about anything. Me, not feeling too adventurous, opted out of the cliff jumping, and went for what I believed to be a safe choice. The woman walking in front of me slipped quite a few times, almost pulling me in with her when she finally did fall. But this was not the most dangerous part of my rafting experience.

Farther along the river, there was an optional 15 foot waterfall you could go over. My entire family decided to try it. It took a while to convince me though. I had good reason to be afraid. You were expected to keep one hand, the one holding your paddle, outside the raft, which I just could not do, which resulted in my mom's teeth almost being knocked out. Now, I should explain how we were seated in the raft. My dad, my brother, and a bag of sand named Bob, were all in the front row, making the front end too heavy. My mom and I were in the next row, my sister behind us, and the guide behind her. When we went over the waterfall, we were under way too long. When we finally surfaced, I had thought I broke my arm because I was holding on a rope on the back of my seat and had completely flipped over. My sister and the guide had both disappeared, and we had no clue where either were. It was a moment of pure chaos. I had no idea where I was due to the pain in my arm. Eventually everything straightened out, we found my sister, and my arm was not broken. But I will never forget the day I went white water rafting.

The Chinese Currency Troubles

The Chinese need to revalue their currency.

I feel that the main reason the Chinese need to revalue their currency, is the renminbi is valued very low compared to other countries’ currencies. Economists figure that the renminbi is anywhere from 25% to 40% undervalued compared to currencies from around the world. In July 2008, the renminbi appreciated 21 percent, after which the U.S. dollar still only adds up to about 6.83 renminbi. It kind of reminds me of a little kid who is very proud of having his ten pennies instead of one dollar, because in his mind, ten is greater than one, therefore the ten pennies are worth more than the one dollar. This allows China to be a great exporter.

China will continue to have the upper-hand in global trading unless its currency is revalued to be worth more. Because of how little the renminbi is worth compared to other countries’ currencies, they can export much more than they import. Also, the U.S. owes the majority of the $2.4 trillion debt to china that various countries have added to over the years. President Obama showed America’s disgust with the Chinese’s currency prices and goods when he said, “to make sure our goods are not artificially deflated in price; puts us at a huge competitive disadvantage.” This statement shows that American’s care about quality and is a blow to Chinese goods and their quality.