Reflective Question

1. Prime Rate is a term applied in many countries to a reference interest rate used by banks. The term originally indicated the rate of interest at which banks lent to their most favored customers, though this is no longer always the case. Some variable interest rates may be expressed as a percentage above or below prime rate (Wikipedia). Prime rate is important because it is going down.

2. Tibet is a plateau region in Central Asia and the home to the indigenous Tibetan people. With an average elevation of 4,900 metres (16,000 ft), it is the highest region on Earth and is commonly referred to as the "Roof of the World."(Wikipedia) China on Tuesday slammed pro-Tibetan activists in Paris and London who disrupted the Olympic torch relay and lashed out at Washington for interfering in its rule of the Himalayan region.(CNN)

3. Colombia Trade Agreement- the U.S.-Colombia TPA is a tremendous opportunity for U.S. exporters. It will give U.S. companies improved access to a strong market and improve the business climate in Colombia as the country enacts the necessary domestic legal and business reforms required to implement the Agreement. This is important in the news because President Bush is pushing this issue.

4. Iraqi military, militia, U.S. military -- who's who in the Green Zone?- The International Zone (formerly known as the Green Zone) is the heavily guarded diplomatic/government area of closed-off streets in central Baghdad where US occupation authorities live and work. The Green Zone in the central city includes the main palaces of former President Saddam Hussein. The area houses the civilian ruling authority run by the Americans and British and the offices of major US consulting companies. The U.S. Military is running the Green Zone.

5. Benedict XVI- Pope; he want to bring the message of hope to the people of the U.S. in his upcoming trip here.