Marines in Iraq entered a structure near Falluja because one of them said the green door to the house seemed familiar. Well, he was right. It was a small detail included in an intelligence report about where Christian Science Monitor freelancer, Jill Carroll was held prisoner for more than 80 days. They captured four men they think were involved in her imprisonment. “Read The Story At CNN”://http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/08/09/iraq.main/index.html

College Couture: Cute Shoes, Cheap Shoes

Here’s a cool website I found last night. It’s called “Baker’s Shoes”://www.bakersshoes.com and it actually has some pretty good deals, like these adorable grey suede stacked heels. This is also where all the *Jessica Simpson* shoes have been hiding out. Everyone tells me that the red leather with cork platforms are impossible to find _(one woman told me she got hers off ebay because she couldn’t find them)_. But here they are!

Right now they’re having a *70% off sale* and also a spend $100, get $25 back. I should go into the drawbacks of buying shoes online, but that’s a whole other story. For now, let me tell you why I consider $80 bucks for these platforms to be dirt cheap. _This is how my love of shoes progressed over 4 years of college.

*_Freshmen_*: I wore white canvas No Boundaries sneakers from Walmart. They cost $7.97 and I bought them in bulk. *_Sophomore_*: Barely clearing my Walmart phase, I headed to Payless to buy cute knockoffs, all costing under $20 bucks. *_Junior_*: I bought my first pair of “expensive shoes”…They were brown pointy-toe slingbacks and they were $39.99. 40 bucks was a BIG deal! *_Senior_*: I moved to London and learned that the actual going rate for a fashionable pair of kicks was actually somewhere in the 200-400 dollar range. Now, if I can get a pair of shoes I love for under $100, I consider it a bargain.

My checking account misses the simple days of Walmart shoes…but my feet and my closet sure don’t.

Get Some Extra Cash and Secure Yourself an A+ Grade

*Did you know that you could be paid to take notes in your classes this fall?* It’s true. A lot of campuses employ paid note-takers to take excellent notes at the lecture that are later given to handicapped students who are unable to take their own notes, or typed up in Braille for blind or deaf students.

Besides doing a good deed _(which is always a chic thing to do)_, you’re probably going to get a better grade in the class. Just think…you’ll always show up to lecture, you won’t stop taking notes in favor of zoning out or making a to-do list and you’ll have detailed notes when it comes time for exams!

College Couture: The Four New Styles of The GAP

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*In a pretty generic advertising move, GAP has decided to define the four styles of girls for the fall*. From left to right they are: Perfectly Polished, Sleek & Sexy, Loosen Up, and Modern Charm. Ignoring the fact that “loosen” is a verb and not an adjective, I’d say the four styles are a fairly accurate representation of four groups of Gap shoppers. Read my descriptions below to figure out which group you fall into….the gap.

_Perfectly Polished_: You own several blazers of varying fabrics, corduroy, velvet, and Twill. You have riding boots, even though you’ve never touched a horse. And if you don’t shop at Gap, *you like J.Crew.*

_Sleek & Sexy_: You think a ruffle shirt with converse sneakers is sexy? You also enjoy long walks on the beach. If you don’t shop at Gap, *you go to Urban Outfitters.*

_Loosen Up_: You have at least one item of clothing in your closet that could be categorized as a “smock”. In high school you were in one of four places: in the photography lab, the art studio, behind the bleachers writing poetry, or on stage practicing for the school play. If you don’t shop at Gap, *you love Anthropologie.*

_Modern Charm_: You wore ballet flats before it was cool to wear ballet flats. You like to layer, even if it’s 90 degrees. If you don’t go to Gap…..well…. *you always go to Gap.*

Universities Warn New Students About “Dangers of Facebook”?

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You hear it all the time. *If you’re about to start a job hunt out of college, take down your MySpace and your Facebook.* And it makes sense. Do you really want a potential employer checking out pictures of your latest wild night out? But many of us keep our Facebook accounts because they’re only accessible to college students, right? *WRONG.*

Many schools have implemented new sections of their student orientation programs to include a lecture on the dangers of posting private information on the Internet through networking sites, specifically Facebook. Facebook, a site where registered college students can post personal information and connect with other college students, has more thatn 7.5 million users and is commonly referred to as “addictive” among many college students.

*Let’s be real here.* Maybe we do say it’s addictive. But we don’t mean it’s a hazardous.* But experts are quick to point out that it’s relatively easy for anyone to obtain a .edu email address _(required for Facebook)_ from an alumni or student. _But then don’t you still need to add them as your friend?_ *And if a recruiter poses as a college student to check your site out, couldn’t that be considered fraud?* One group it wouldn’t be fraudulent for is the campus police, who do reportedly monitor Facebook and MySpace entries at some universities.

*All this information poses the question: Is Facebook secure?*

“Read the Article”://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14155373/wid/11915829?GT1=8486