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Robert A. Heinlein

Starship Troopers is a science-fiction action film released on November 7, 1997. Directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier, it is based on the 1959 novel Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein (pictured). The story follows teenager Johnny Rico and his comrades as they serve in a 23rd-century interstellar war against aliens called the Arachnids. The film stars Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Denise Richards, Jake Busey, Neil Patrick Harris, Patrick Muldoon, and Michael Ironside. Starship Troopers faced critical backlash, with reviewers seeing it as endorsing fascism, and disparaging its violent content. Despite initial box-office success, negative reviews and unfavorable word of mouth made it only the 34th-highest-grossing film of 1997. It has since been critically re-evaluated, and is now considered a cult classic and a satire of fascism and authoritarianism that has grown in relevancy. The film launched a multimedia franchise, video games, comics, and a variety of merchandise. (Full article...)

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Issue 3 of The True Record

... that The True Record (issue pictured) closed shortly after implicating Provisional President Yuan Shikai in the assassination of Song Jiaoren?
... that Allison Reese has received millions of views for her impressions of Kamala Harris?
... that the embassy of the Philippines in Bucharest is the country's first mission in the Eastern Bloc?
... that the lyrics of Gigi Perez's "Sailor Song" were criticized by far-right conservative Christian communities?
... that the first Chinese driver to race in Formula One debuted at the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix?
... that several major U.S. politicians have spread conspiracy theories about the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season?
... that Tenzin Doendrup, the 68th Je Khenpo and chief abbot of Bhutan, issued a decree to stop the practice of animal sacrifices?
... that Manhood was Josh Hawley's second book to be published by Regnery, after he was dropped by Simon & Schuster for his support of attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election?
... that Vivian Stranders, a British-born Jew, served as an officer in the Nazi SS?

In the news

Donald Trump in 2017

Donald Trump (pictured) wins the United States presidential election.
Maia Sandu is re-elected President of Moldova.
In baseball, the Yokohama DeNA BayStars defeat the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks to win the Japan Series.
A canopy collapse at Serbia's Novi Sad railway station kills fourteen people.
The ruins of a Maya city, dubbed Valeriana, are discovered in Campeche, Mexico.

On this day

November 7

Tufted jay

1723 – O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 60, a dialogue cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach for Leipzig, was first performed.
1837 – American abolitionist Elijah Parish Lovejoy was murdered by a pro-slavery mob in Alton, Illinois, during an attack to destroy his printing press and abolitionist materials.
1934 – The first specimens of the tufted jay (pictured) to be scientifically described were collected in Mexico.
1949 – Oil was discovered in the Caspian Sea off the coast of Azerbaijan, leading to the construction of Neft Daşları, the world's first offshore oil platform.
1987 – Singapore's first Mass Rapid Transit line opened, with train services running between Yio Chu Kang and Toa Payoh.
1991 – Magic Johnson announced his retirement from professional basketball due to HIV infection.

Ibn Hazm (b. 994)
Paul Sandby (d. 1809)
Ruby Hurley (b. 1909)
Ellen Stewart (b. 1919)

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Today's featured picture

The Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus) is a bird in the family Pelecanidae. With a length of 160 to 183 centimetres (63 to 72 inches), a mass of 7.25 to 15 kilograms (16.0 to 33.1 pounds) and a wingspan of 245 to 351 centimetres (96 to 138 inches), it is the largest pelican species and one of the world's largest living flying birds. The Dalmatian pelican has a range spanning across much of central Eurasia, from the Mediterranean in the west to the Taiwan Strait in the east, and from the Persian Gulf in the south to Siberia in the north. It is a short-to-medium-distance migrant between breeding and overwintering areas. The Dalmatian pelican's preferred habitat is lakes, rivers, deltas and estuaries, and it feeds on various fish species such as the common carp and European perch. Like many pelicans, it is often silent, but can be vocal during the mating season, engaging in a wide range of guttural, deep vocalisations, including barks, hisses and grunts. This Dalmatian pelican was photographed in flight over the Danube Delta in Romania.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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