Now is arguably the best time of year to sign up for a VPN, or gift a subscription to someone. Black Friday VPN deals are already available, with one of the best being on our favorite VPN overall. Proton VPN is offering two years of access to its VPN Plus tier for $59.76, which works out to $2.49 per month.
That’s a discount of 75 percent compared with the regular price of $10 per month. Overall, you’d save $180.
Proton
Two years of protection with the Proton VPN Plus plan can be yours for under $60.
Proton VPN is our pick for the best VPN overall because it checks all of the boxes it needs to. There is a free plan with unlimited data, but with that you can only connect to servers in a few countries and the connection might not be fast enough for you to watch anything from your preferred streaming service’s library in that locale. The VPN Plus tier unlocks a lot more options, such as the ability to connect to 15,000 servers across more than 120 countries and simultaneous protection for up to 15 devices.
The apps are well-designed — Proton has clients for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android — and it’s easy to find a feature or setting you’re looking for. In our testing, Proton VPN Plus had a relatively small impact on browsing speeds. Our download speeds dropped by 12 percent and uploads by 4 percent, while the global average ping remained below 300 ms (which is especially impressive if you’re connecting to a server on the other side of the planet).
Perhaps, most importantly, though, it’s Proton’s commitment to privacy that helps make its VPN an easy recommendation. There’s a no-logs policy, meaning it does not log user activity or any identifiable characteristics of devices that connect to the VPN. Proton’s servers use full-disk encryption to bolster privacy as well.
Proton VPN is not the only service to offer a Black Friday VPN deal this year, of course. There are plenty of others available on services we like. Here are the best of the bunch if you’re looking for an alternative to Proton VPN.
Surfshark One (24 months + 3 free months) for $59.13 (88 percent off): A VPN is great, but it’s not enough to protect your data all on its own. Surfshark One adds several apps that boost your security beyond just VPN service, including Surfshark Antivirus (scans devices and downloads for malware) and Surfshark Alert (alerts you whenever your sensitive information shows up in a data breach), plus Surfshark Search and Alternative ID from the tier below. This extra-low deal gives you 88 percent off all those features.
NordVPN Plus (24 months + 3 free months) for $105.03 (74 percent off): NordVPN has taken 74 percent off its Plus subscription for Black Friday. For only a little more, you get a powerful ad and tracker blocker that can also catch malware downloads, plus access to the NordPass password manager. A Plus plan also adds a data breach scanner that checks the dark web for your sensitive information.
CyberGhost (24 months + 4 free months) for $56.94 (84 percent off): CyberGhost has some of the best automation you’ll see on any VPN. With its Smart Rules system, you can determine how its apps respond to different types of Wi-Fi networks, with exceptions for specific networks you know by name. Typically, you can set it to auto-connect, disconnect or send you a message asking what to do. CyberGhost’s other best feature is its streaming servers — I’ve found both better video quality and more consistent unblocking when I use them on streaming sites.
Private Internet Access (36 months + 4 free months) for $79.20 (83 percent off): Private Internet Access (PIA) is giving out the best available price right now on a VPN I’d recommend using. With this deal, you can get 40 months of PIA for just under $2 per month — an 83 percent discount on its monthly price. Despite being so cheap, PIA has plenty of features, coming with its own DNS servers, a built-in ad blocker and automation powers to rival CyberGhost. However, internet speeds can fluctuate while you’re connected.
The Silver Platter may be the oldest existing Latinx bar for LGBTQ+ people in Los Angeles, but it’s not just a bar; it’s a living piece of local history.
Established in 1963, the Silver Platter has served as a sanctuary for Spanish-speaking gay Latinos, transgender Latinas and working-class immigrants in the Westlake district. There, customers find community and acceptance for who they are.
Yet now, after many years of supporting this diverse community, the bar faces demolition.
On a typical Friday or Saturday night, the bar can expect up to 200 patrons, many of whom are longtime regulars. They catch up on neighborhood gossip, or sing along to pop, disco and Latin rock. Owner Margarita Xatruch not only cooks for her customers, but also acts as a surrogate mother of sorts.
“For [many in] this community, they don’t have family here, some [members of] our trans community don’t have a family that accepts them,” said Xatruch’s daughter Martha Vasquez, who runs the bar with her mother. “It is a very hard and sad time, but to share a place or have somewhere to go, that you’re not by yourself, brings a feeling of acceptance.
“It’s like the Hispanic [version of] ‘Cheers’ where everybody kind of knows everybody, but it’s also a very welcoming space,” Vasquez added, referencing the American sitcom.
Bar owner Margarita Xatruch, left, and her daughter Martha Vasquez at the Silver Platter, which has been named an Endangered Latinx Landmark by Latinos in Heritage Conservation.
(Jill Connelly / For De Los)
Last August, Vasquez was going to help her mother at the Silver Platter as usual, when she saw a note stating that the building would be demolished. She later learned the landlord intended to build affordable housing there.
Vasquez was told she would be given an update at a later date, and in January, her family’s business received an official eviction notice. Although they originally settled on a Nov. 30 move-out date, the landlord has extended their stay until March 1.
Roussin Capital Group, who owns the building, did not respond to a request for comment.
Vasquez said the news of the demolition and eviction came as a shock to her and her mother. The bar had survived the Civil Rights movement; the Olympics in 1984 and the L.A. riots in 1992. The bar also helped sponsor the Lavender Left demonstration against police harassment in 1988.
The Silver Platter even endured a shutdown during the first 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic; as well as the occasional spikes in crime, followed by the rampant ICE raids this summer.
While the owners signed a lease to another location in Westlake, they are still looking to City Council, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Neighborhood Council to grant them a conditional use permit in order to reopen, which requires up to $22,000 for a nonrefundable application fee and up to 18 months to get approved.
The Silver Platter has ample support in the community, including from the Los Angeles Conservancy, the Latinos in Heritage Conservation, the Museum of Neon Art, the TransLatin@ Coalition and a local school, in addition to their loyal patrons.
“[The] Silver Platter is the fabric of the community,” Vasquez said. “[Our] neighborhood is really a first-generation immigrant community. They’re basically telling us what Trump is saying: ‘You don’t belong in these spaces. If you want to get relocated, or if you want to stay in this neighborhood, you better get in line like everybody else.’”
LAPD Rampart Station Sgt. Anthony Kong said that the space where Vasquez and her mother are trying to relocate Silver Platter has been vacant for three years and has had no problems during that time — nor have there been any issues with the Silver Platter.
Vasquez said she is hoping to preserve some aspects of the Silver Platter by bringing them to the new building. She is working with the Museum of Neon Art to restore the iconic “Silver Platter” sign that is perched just above the building’s entrance, as it has taken some damage over the years. They hope to move the sign and the bar table itself to the new bar.
Rosalie Rodriguez buys a hot dog outside the Silver Platter.
(Jill Connelly / For De Los)
The demolition was recently approved by the City Council. Vasquez said that, although they have the authority to waive the application fee or public hearing, the City Council declined. Waiving the hearing would have allowed the Silver Platter to reopen in its new location in four months, instead of what could be 18 months. Vasquez said she hopes they will redeem themselves by approving the permits for the Silver Platter to reopen.
“They can really deny us, they can say, ‘No, we’re not going to allow you to relocate,’ and that’s it,” Vasquez said. “That’s the end of an era. That’s the end of the oldest Latinx LGBTQ+ bar in the Westlake district, and it’s done.”
Recognizing the Silver Platter’s historic legacy within the Latinx and LGBTQ+ communities in Los Angeles, the Latinos in Heritage Conservation, which was established in 2014 to help support Latinx preservation, got involved and named the Silver Platter one of the top 13 endangered Latinx landmarks in the country.
“When we lose a landmark, we’re not just losing a brick building; we’re losing a history, we’re losing a memory,” said Sehila Mota Casper, executive director of the Latinos in Heritage Conservation. “We’re losing stories, we’re losing community identity.”
Mota Casper said there are many sites across the country that are being demolished, like the Silver Platter, because the history and value isn’t recognized. In the National Register of Historic Places, less than 1% of sites listed there are representative of Latino heritage, despite Latinos making up 20% of the U.S. population.
In addition to the Silver Platter, the Latinos in Heritage Conservation also included the the Elgin Mexican Cemetery in Texas, which is where many Latinos who migrated during the early 20th century are buried, but the area is threatened by flooding, and Las Barracas, a World War II-era building where bracero workers would stay as they supported the troops, but is now abandoned, facing deterioration and vandalized.
“If our sites aren’t designated, if they’re not protected, then they will be demolished,” Mota Casper said. “So the designation of it, or the overlooking of this history and the valuation of it, creates threats every single day.”
Aracely Cruz dances with Angel Garcia at the Silver Platter.
(Jill Connelly / For De Los)
For Cris Davila, a regular patron at Silver Platter, “that bar is like my home.”
When Davila first started coming to the Silver Platter five years ago, she instantly felt welcome. She was drawn to the bar because she knew it supports the Latinx LGBTQ+ community, and as a bisexual immigrant from Honduras, she was seeking community. She doesn’t have family in the U.S., but she says her family in Honduras didn’t accept her either.
After long work weeks, Davila likes to go to the Silver Platter to relax, sing and enjoy time with friends. While everyone in the bar has been very welcoming, Davila said it is especially the owner, Xatruch, who makes the place special.
On Holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving, Xatruch cooks for the patrons. Davila said that Xatruch also cooked her barbecue ribs at the Silver Platter for her birthday.
“I’ve made many friends, I’m accepted by everyone who goes there,” Davila said. “I feel very welcome and loved by the people who have visited, by the owner and by the staff.”
“As a person alone in this country, it makes me really sad that this place will be demolished,” Davila added.
Julio Castillo works his way across the dance floor at the Silver Platter.
(Jill Connelly / For De Los)
Julio Castillo, who has been a regular for 10 years, also enjoys spending the holidays at the Silver Platter. He particularly likes the fiesta Xatruch throws at the bar on Nochebuena, as she cooks a feast for everyone. At midnight, they all embrace.
“I’m glad they are attempting to relocate, but we were already used to being in that business location that treated us good,” Castillo said.
“It’s very important to preserve the bar; it’s a place where we can be ourselves in this moment. I wish it wouldn’t get demolished so we could keep going there.”
Gunmen have abducted 25 girls from a boarding school in northwestern Nigeria, according to police.
The attack took place at 4am on Monday local time (3am UK time), leaving one staff member dead and another injured.
Police spokesperson Nafi’u Abubakar Kotarkoshi said the assailants were armed with “sophisticated weapons” and exchanged fire with guards before abducting the girls.
He said teams were searching suspected escape routes and surrounding forests to find the abducted students and perpetrators.
The boarding school is in Maga, in Kebbi state’s Danko-Wasagu area.
No group has claimed responsibility for the abductions.
Previous attacks
The incident is the latest school abduction in Nigeria‘s northern region, where armed groups have been targeting schoolchildren for more than a decade.
But there has been an uptick in attacks by different armed groups in northern Nigeria this year.
The most infamous case was in 2014 when militant group Boko Haram abducted 276 students from a secondary school in Chibok. Many remain missing.
Sometimes children are released by their abductors or rescued by authorities.
Last year, authorities managed to rescue 137 hostages more than two weeks after they were taken. Yet even in this case, more than half of those taken were presumed to still be held by the captors.
These queens are leaving to start their own colonies. It’s a risky endeavor. Even if they are successful, they still face threats — like a parasitic queen that may try to topple them.
Joachim K. Löckener, CC BY-SA 3.0/Wikimedia Commons
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Joachim K. Löckener, CC BY-SA 3.0/Wikimedia Commons
Biologist E.O. Wilson once wrote that “ants are the most warlike of all animals,” noting that clashes between ant colonies dwarfed the human battles at Waterloo and Gettysburg. But sometimes ant colonies get conquered not by outright warfare, but by stealth and deceit.
In fact, sometimes the members of an ant colony can get tricked into murdering their own precious queen.
That’s according to a new report in the journal Current Biology, which reveals how some female ants practice a kind of chemical warfare that lets them sneak into the established colonies of other ant species and manipulate the worker ants into committing regicide — the act of killing a monarch — in order to usurp the throne.
The role of queen is paramount in an ant colony; the queen produces all the eggs, while the workers take care of her. After a colony has been around awhile and gotten bigger, however, it will start to produce some females that are capable of reproduction. These females fly away, in order to establish new colonies and their own reigns.
The founding of an ant colony by a would-be queen, however, is a precarious, fragile business. The female ant faces a lot of danger as she leaves the protection of the nest and lays the eggs that will produce her first group of workers.
“Even one small mistake, or one bad luck event that kills off your workforce, can mean the end of the colony,” says Erik Frank, an ant expert at the University of Würzburg in Germany.
So some species have evolved to have a canny strategy — their females find a colony, knock the existing queen off her perch and take her place. That lets them enjoy the care and protection of a ready-made workforce while laying the eggs needed to slowly build up their own genetically-related societies.
“It’s very enticing to do it, because the hardest part for the colony is to build up their city, build up that colony,” says Frank.
Simply taking over another colony “is very efficient,” agrees Keizo Takasuka, an ecologist at Kyushu University in Japan. He explains that scientists have observed female ants entering a foreign colony and directly throttling or beheading a queen.
But Takasuka, along with colleagues Taku Shimada and Yuji Tanaka, recently observed a couple of ant species in the lab, Lasius orientalis and umbratus. And what they learned is that female ants from these species can use a far more devious method of getting rid of a colony’s queen and stealing her crown.
First, the female ant needs some camouflage, so that she can enter the targeted colony without being detected as an outsider.
Since ants mainly tell friend from foe using chemical signals, the female ant can pick up the necessary scent by coming into contact with a few of the colony’s workers. Takasuka’s group gave females the opportunity to do this in the lab, letting them interact with workers from two other species, Lasius flavus and japonicus.
Then the scientists watched as a disguised female would make her way through a colony towards its queen. Once she reached the monarch, the foreign ant would shoot jets of fluid from her abdomen, to douse the queen in some kind of chemical, and then retreat.
“My guess is that it was formic acid,” says Takasuka. That’s used by some ants as a defense, or to signal danger. Whatever it was, putting this chemical onto the reigning queen had a dramatic effect.
Swarms of workers who had been lovingly obedient, ready to lay down their lives to protect their queen — who also was their biological mother — abruptly turned on her, attacking her violently until she was dead.
In their report, the researchers call this the first documented case of a parasite that “prompts offspring to kill an otherwise indispensable mother.”
After the matricide, the colony’s ants accepted the invading female as their new queen and began to serve her, protecting her and helping to raise her progeny.
“Obviously there is absolutely zero benefit to the host colony to kill their own queen,” notes Frank, who wasn’t part of the research team but watched a video of the chemical sprays and subsequent unwitting betrayal of the queen by her own subjects.
Given how much the new queen benefits, he says, it’s a solid strategy: “I would call it a parasite abusing the workforce of the host colony to do their dirty work, basically.”
He says it was fascinating to see it on video, because usually, this kind of drama plays out in the dark, like in an underground nest. That’s why ants rely so much on chemical smells rather than vision and why they’re vulnerable to being tricked in this way.
“Chemical communication plays such a major role in how these animals perceive the world and how they interpret information that it is very unsurprising for me that the parasite could manipulate the host workers to attack their own queen,” says Frank. “Because to them, it would no longer be the queen.”
We already seem to rely on AI for a whole host of things. But can it select a perfect portfolio of FTSE 100 stocks that dish out passive income?
For a bit of fun (and no more), I decided to test this out with ChatGPT.
The usual suspects
Having entered my query, the AI bot trotted out an answer featuring seven of the UK’s biggest stocks paying income. I’ll say a little more about that number in a bit.
The first six recommendations read like a who’s who of trusted UK-listed dividend heavyweights:
The final stock completing the set arguably sticks out from the rest.
Dependable income
Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) is one of the world’s biggest diversified miners. It’s also boasted great income credentials for some time.
Over the years, Rio’s dividend yield has been far above the average of the FTSE 100. Indeed, that’s the case today. Right now, the shares yield 5.2%. The index offers ‘just’ 3.1%.
Naturally, we can’t rely on the past to predict the future. But I would be surprised if Rio stopped returning a high percentage of its profit to shareholders. It consistently generates strong free cash flow and has some of the lowest cost projects in the world. The balance sheet carries only a relatively small amount of debt too.
Considering how much copper, iron ore, and other metals will be needed for the green energy revolution, I’m also bullish on the firm’s long-term prospects.
Buyer beware
Even so, I have some concerns.
Rio’s total dividend has been falling in recent years (despite still boasting an above-average yield). This goes some way to underlining the fact that anything related to commodities can be rather volatile. Not only does it not have any control over the price of what it digs up, the very process of doing so is often dangerous and difficult.
But there are other, more general things that make me uneasy.
For one, ChatGPT only put forward seven stocks (I didn’t specify a number). Call me a cautious soul but I think that’s too few. While there’s no magic figure, a portfolio such as this could see a big drop in income if one or two encounter problems.
Eagle-eyed Fools will also spot that at least four of the seven — Legal & General, Phoenix Group, M&G and HSBC — come from the Financials sector. If the UK and/or global economy goes through a sticky (or stickier) patch, all could suffer. And that might mean less passive income being dished out.
Interestingly, ChatGPT said that its suggestions were diversified. I beg to differ.
Don’t rely on the bot
Ultimately, I’m not comfortable taking the easy option with my hard-earned cash. Yes, I might consider some of those names the AI bot churned out, based on their history of distributing cash for shareholders in the past. But I know more research into their future prospects is needed.
Although I did specify only top-tier stocks in my prompt, this selection also felt a bit…lazy.
Knowing that the UK market is a dividend hunters dream, I think there are a whole host of other stocks to ponder buying if generating income is the name of my game.
Brits are being warned to brace for a significant drop in temperatures this week, which could pose serious health risks for some. The cold snap may increase the risk of health complications associated with the chilly weather.
While the colder temperatures can be uncomfortable for many, they can pose a more severe health threat to others who may suffer from serious illnesses or worsening conditions due to the plummeting temperatures. For most people, the winter months heighten their susceptibility to a range of ailments, including flu, common cold, and Covid-19.
However, those living with long-term health conditions may find their symptoms worsen when the temperature consistently drops throughout the day and night.
As a result, it is generally advised that certain people ensure their homes are sufficiently heated and dress appropriately for the weather if they need to venture outdoors. This advice comes after the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued a yellow cold weather warning until 8am on Friday, November 21.
Regions affected by the warning include the North East, North West, East Midlands, West Midlands, and Yorkshire and The Humber. The UKHSA issues these warnings when severe temperature changes are likely to impact a person’s health and wellbeing.
The Met Office has verified that parts of the UK could experience snow and ice this week, following above-average temperatures for this time of year. The Met Office’s chief meteorologist, Dan Holley, explained that the upcoming cold snap is due to high pressure in the northwest.
He emphasised that this will “drive a cold northerly flow from the arctic”, potentially bringing “much colder conditions than of late”. He also pointed out that current Met Office forecasts suggest temperatures could plummet to as low as -7C in some areas this week.
People most at risk from the cold
Guidance from the UKHSA notes that the following nine people are particularly at a serious risk of experiencing health issues during this cold period:
People with long-term health conditions such as cardiovascular or respiratory disease, or a mental health condition
People living in deprived circumstances
Pregnant women
People aged 65 years and over
People who are housebound or have low mobility
Young children – especially those aged 5 and under
People with learning disabilities
People at risk of falls
People who live alone and may be unable to care for themselves
The agency also points out that several external factors could heighten your risk of being more vulnerable to the cold, such as substandard housing, snow and ice, and a higher prevalence of infectious diseases.
Keeping your home warm
One crucial measure you can take to mitigate any complications from the cold weather is to ensure your home is sufficiently heated when needed. Generally, it’s recommended that rooms you spend a significant amount of time in should be heated to at least 18C.
If your home isn’t warming up despite having the central heating or electric heater on, it might be time to make some minor adjustments. Check for any unsealed doors or windows that could be letting in a draught, as this can allow cold air from outside to infiltrate your home.
It’s also crucial to ensure your home is properly insulated, which can help minimise heat loss. If you’re worried about the potential health impacts of cold weather, consider signing up for UKHSA weather health alerts.
These provide early warnings for any severe temperatures that could affect your health. You can register for these alerts online here.
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There are some actors who are just born to play certain roles, and Steve Carell as Michael Scott is the perfect example. The actor made Michael into the best character on “The Office,” but another performer came remarkably close to playing the Dunder Mifflin regional manager — one who would just miss out on “The Office” only to find stardom shortly afterwards: The great Bob Odenkirk was one of the finalists to play Michael Scott.
Odenkirk, who shot to stardom after playing fast-talking lawyer Jimmy McGill aka Saul Goodman on “Breaking Bad” and its spinoff, “Better Call Saul,” appeared on a 2024 episode of the “Office Ladies” podcast, where he discussed losing out on the role of Michael. “I am, in a strange way, a very earnest person for a person in comedy,” he said. “I am oddly earnest, and … it’s one of the reasons I think Steve Carell is a better, you know — is the one who got the role [on ‘The Office’].”
During his time on the rewatch podcast, which is hosted by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey (who respectively played Pam Beesly and Angela Martin on “The Office”), Odenkirk also revealed that he’d lost other parts to Carell, and that he thought it came down to the actor being “better at being genuinely fun.” He continued, “I think I bring with me a little bit too much earnest seriousness, and it’s just kinda there. And there’s nothing I can do about it except play other roles where it’s helpful to have that.”
Bob Odenkirk thought he was too ‘dark’ to play Michael on The Office
On the official “The Office” YouTube account, which released a compilation of auditions for the show, you can see some of the “earnest seriousness” to which Bob Odenkirk refers. The montage includes his audition for Michael alongside tapes from numerous other actors, including Seth Rogen (“The Studio”) trying out for Dwight and Adam Scott (“Severance”) reading for Jim. Though we only see a few seconds of Odenkirk’s Michael Scott, it’s clear his version was going to be less charmingly dopey than Steve Carell’s take on the character. As the “Better Call Saul” star went on to say during his “Office Ladies” appearance, “You just don’t believe me as a purely light character. You just are looking for the darkness, and that’s actually great in drama. That’s a plus, you know? But in comedy, it’s not a plus.”
Just four years after “The Office” debuted, Odenkirk would find himself on a breakout hit with “Breaking Bad,” the AMC drama he joined in 2009. The role of Saul Goodman, which allowed Odenkirk to display that dark comedy he spoke about, ultimately took him from a respected alt-comedian to a household name when his character received a spinoff, “Better Call Saul,” in 2015.
Bob Odenkirk did eventually appear on The Office
NBC
In the book “Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office,” former Kevin Malone actor Brian Baumgartner and executive producer Ben Silverman delve into the show’s history and touch on the audition process for Michael. It seems the final shortlist actually came down to just Steve Carell and Bob Odenkirk, with Silverman recalling (via Esquire), “We still had Bob as somebody we were in love with as a comedic performer.” Ultimately, however, the producers preferred Carell’s “Midwestern-accessible, lovable comedic energy,” which Silverman likened to “the great primetime sitcom stars of the fifties and sixties.”
According to the former EP, Odenkirk had “hard edges” and an “angularity” that ultimately didn’t quite fit with the character’s easygoing dimwittedness. As casting director Allison Jones put it, Carell’s Michael Scott was “sweet and simple,” while Odenkirk had a more cerebral approach.
Years later, Odenkirk actually did show up on “The Office,” appearing in the ninth and final season as a manager of a real estate company. In the 2013 episode “Moving On,” Odenkirk plays Mark, who’s basically a Philadelphia variant of Michael Scott; he interviews Pam for a job at his company. During Odenkirk’s “Office Ladies” appearance, the actor recalled how his Season 9 appearance gave him a chance to “show people what I would have done [as Michael Scott]. Although I do think that what I was doing was more [of] a tribute to Steve, because that’s what I was supposed to be doing.”
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman’s dating advice for young men has gone viral — as thousands of social media users ruthlessly mock his bizarre pick-up line.
Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management and a major MAGA donor, said he is concerned about a trend of young men struggling to meet women in public due to internet culture.
“As such, I thought I would share a few words that I used in my youth to meet someone that I found compelling. I would ask: ‘May I meet you?’ before engaging further in a conversation,” Ackman wrote in a post on Saturday.
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman advised young men to try his pick-up line. REUTERS
He claimed the pick-up line “almost never got a No,” adding that “the combination of proper grammar and politeness was the key to its effectiveness.”
“Just two cents from an older happily married guy concerned about our next generation’s happiness and population replacement rates.”
Users online quickly turned the dating advice into a meme – jabbing at the pick-up line’s apparent success rate — or lack thereof — in dozens of posts.
“May I meet you?” a user wrote in a post with a photo of comedian Shane Gillis leering into the camera.
Another user added the line to a photo of young women reacting in disgust at a party.Users online quickly turned the dating advice into a meme – jabbing at the pick-up line’s apparent success rate.
Another added the pick-up line to an awkward interaction caught on camera at a sports game where a woman held up her palm to reject a man sitting next to her – “talk to the hand”-style.
“‘May I meet you’ from a 6’3” hedge fund billionaire,” another user wrote next to a photo of actress Sydney Sweeney smiling, “vs. ‘May I meet you’ from a 5’8” junior banker clearing $160K total comp,” the user added next to a shot of Sweeney scowling.
A user online mocked Ackman’s pick-up line with a Sydney Sweeney meme.A user added the pick-up line to a photo of comedian Shane Gillis leering into the camera.The pick-up line appeared next to a photo of a man standing in the corner of a party surrounded by groups of women ignoring him.
Another user added a screenshot of the dating app Hinge showing the message “May I meet you?” sent to five women – without a single response.
Yet another user sarcastically added the line to a video of a man surrounded by women hugging him and asking for photos: “Life after saying ‘May I meet you?’”
In another post, the pick-up line appeared next to a photo of a man standing in the corner of a party surrounded by groups of women ignoring him.
The New York Times reported last month on the dire situation for gay people in Iran, where homosexuality is punishable by death. Many are pressured to undergo brutal reassignment surgeries to live as the opposite sex. Now, instead of effeminate gay men, they’re just run-of-the-mill straight women. Problem solved.
What Iran has effectively built is a medical system that treats homosexuality as a defect to be surgically erased. The goal isn’t self-expression; it’s social conformity. Transition becomes a tool of state-enforced heterosexuality.
As a gay man myself, I think that sounds pretty barbaric.
Though you could say that what’s occurring in the United States is arguably worse.
Here, the process of medically engineering gays into pseudo-straight people starts even earlier. Sissy boys who like Barbies are fed puberty blockers, which prevent their voices from deepening, facial hair from growing and shoulders from broadening. That way, they’ll have an even better chance of “passing” as female.
In Iran, this pressure comes from the state. In America, the pressure is cultural and medical rather than legal, but the result is eerily similar: Gender-nonconforming kids, many of whom would simply grow up to be gay, are rerouted onto a medicalized track.
Suppress a boy’s puberty, inject him with estrogen, get him on the operating table, and voilà — you’ve transed the gay away.
We once understood that many gay adults were gender-nonconforming kids. Now we treat that nonconformity as a sign of being “born in the wrong body” rather than a natural part of growing into a gay identity.
And guess who wants to expand access to these regressive practices? Zohran Mamdani, whose mayoral campaign was fueled by the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Yes, the same CAIR linked to Iran-backed Hamas.
The irony is almost too on-the-nose: A politician supported by groups tied to regimes that persecute gays is championing policies that disproportionately pathologize gender-nonconforming kids here at home.
During his campaign, Mamdani pledged to invest $65 million in gender clinicians and vowed to turn our city into a national hub for this mad science.
In effect, Mamdani wants New York to mirror the very ideology that erases gay people in places like Iran, except he sells it as “progress.”
Mamdani vowed to turn our city into a national hub for the mad science of gender transition. Stephen Yang for the NY Post
What makes the American version of this ideology so insidious is that it wraps itself in the language of liberation. In Iran, the state is at least honest about what it’s doing: It claims being gay is a perversion that must be corrected, and it uses medical interventions to enforce heterosexuality.
Here, the same logic is marketed as “gender-affirming care.” We’re told stopping a child’s puberty is a compassionate act. We’re told halting sexual maturation is “lifesaving.” The procedures themselves haven’t changed (breast removal, genital surgeries, chemical castration), but the branding has.
Euphemisms do a lot of heavy lifting. If you slap a pastel-colored label on the same interventions used in some of the most repressive countries on earth, you can convince otherwise intelligent people they’re progressive.
There is nothing progressive about preventing gay young people from becoming gay adults. And that’s the key point lost in these debates: Most gay adults were unmistakably gender-nonconforming children.
We used to understand this as part of the natural spectrum of human development. Now the culture has pathologized it. A boy who behaves like a boy is just a boy, but a boy who behaves like a girl is told he might actually be a girl. A girl who likes sports and hates dresses is told she might be “born in the wrong body.”
The so-called LGBTQ+ movement — the same movement that once insisted homosexuality was not a disorder — now sits silently while clinicians reinterpret ordinary gay childhoods as clinical symptoms.
And this is what makes Mamdani’s proposal especially galling. He isn’t merely advancing a misguided policy. He’s championing a worldview that mirrors the very regimes whose influence he has politically benefited from.
Iran erases gay people by forcing them into surgeries. Mamdani wants to expand access to the same medical pathway that disproportionately captures gay youth here at home, just with better p.r. and a government subsidy.
The effect is the same: You collapse the space for gay young people to grow into healthy adults.
New York City does not need to become the Western hemisphere’s testing ground for a practice that stripped of its slogans amounts to the soft-power version of what illiberal states have already perfected. The only difference is that here, it’s sold to parents as kindness rather than coercion. But the end result is the same.
Courage. Creativity. Resilience. For years, self-help books and articles have pegged these traits, among others, as the qualities to look for in workplace leaders. But when behavioral scientist and author Jon Levy researched that accepted wisdom further for his new book, he realized it wasn’t true.
“We’ve been sold this bill by all the major consultancies and all the major university MBA programs that here are these essential skills, and if I want to be a leader, I need to develop myself in all these ways I’m just never going to be able to accomplish,” Levy told me. “What’s really frustrating about that is that it pushes all these people who could be fantastic leaders out.”
What’s the real secret to being a stand-out leader? It’s about the feeling that you trigger in another human being, he said—specifically the feeling that there’s a new and better future.
“The emotional response that we have when we interact with somebody is what causes us to want to follow them,” Levy said. “It’s not based on qualifications or experience or capabilities. They don’t have to even be honest, which is super frustrating, because it’s an emotional response.”
Levy explores this, and other learnings, in his recently releasedTeam Intelligence: How Brilliant Leaders Unlock Collective Genius. As the title suggests, he also dug into what makes great teams function—and fail.
He calls out the “too much talent” problem: when company leaders pack their teams with “superstar” hires. Such hires should be made sparingly, he argues, since teams more than half filled with these ambitious and energetic players tend to massively underperform, his research has found.
“The reason is self-interest and egos,” Levy said. “What you actually need are players called ‘glue’ players that focus on the team connecting and functioning. They work as a multiplier that make everybody else perform at multiple of their normal behavior.”
P.S. Fortune’s annual World’s Best Workplaces list was released last week, with Hilton taking the No. 1 spot. For more about the list, and to check out what other companies made the ranks, click here.
Eight employees who’ve stayed in one job for decades talk about why they’ve stayed—and the changes they’ve seen in the workplace. Wall Street Journal
Could shift work, pioneered by those in the medical field, solve the problem of women leaving the workforce in droves? New York Times
Companies are calling in internal AI “influencers” or “ambassadors” to help persuade reluctant coworkers to get on board. Bloomberg
Watercooler
Everything you need to know from Fortune.
Buyout blues. About 600 Paramount Skydance employees took a buyout instead of returning to the office five days a week, costing the company $185 million in severance packages. —Sasha Rogelberg
Skills shortage. Ford CEO Jim Farley said he’s having trouble filling 5,000 open mechanic positions, despite a six-figure salary—nearly double the American worker’s median pay. —Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
Immersive interview. After feeling regret for bringing on the wrong people, the former Coach CEO developed a grueling interview strategy, complete with an EQ rating and 80-skill test. —Emma Burleigh
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