In Other News: MH17

A look at a current news item through the lens of different titles available on GVRL.

By Michelle Eickmeyer

This story is heart-breaking. Everything about the events in Ukraine since 17 July have not made logical or reasonable sense. A commercial airliner with 298 passengers flew, at an approved height, over a battle zone. Fighters in that area blew it out of the sky, believing only a military plane would fly there, with weapons provided by another nation. Then, for days, the same fighters laid a sordid claim to the wreckage, holding the victims and their family in some cruel, unthinkable, inhumane limbo — they held the bodies of victims; they rummaged through their belongings; they took photos. Finger pointing began immediately, and few solid answers have found their way to the surface. The black boxes have finally been turned over and international authorities have begun an increasingly difficult task of proving what happened. Based solely on facts and without pressure from any side.

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In Other News: The King of Spain

A look at a current news item through the lens of different titles available on GVRL.

By Michelle Eickmeyer

There are few “jobs” in the world from which people don’t quit. In just over a year, we have seen two exceptions to this — the resignation of Pope Benedict and the abdication of Spain’s King Juan Carlos I. The latter giving just over the (Western) traditional “two weeks notice.” After making his intentions known on the 2nd of June, Spain crowned their new King, Felipe, on the 19th.

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In Other News: The World Cup

A look at a current news item through the lens of different titles available on GVRL.

By Michelle Eickmeyer

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!

Soccer. Football. The beautiful game. Ready or not, here comes the World Cup! (For the sake of sanity and simplification in this post,”soccer” refers to the game with the round ball while “football” refers to game with the oblong one.)

For most of the world, the most exciting month has just begun and Brazil is the place to be. For years, soccer has been a second-class sport among Americans. While there are always die-hard exceptions, soccer has struggled to gain a serious following. Which doesn’t make any sense at all.

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Featured Partner: Encyclopedia Britannica

An ongoing look at the partner publishers available through GVRL.

By Michelle Eickmeyer

For many of us, Encyclopedia Britannica has long represented the place to go to find information on just about everything. While the look of the book has changed, and how students and your community interact with it have changed, the standard of excellence has not. Founded nearly 250 years ago, Encyclopedia Britannica is still a trusted source of all kinds of information.

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