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Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stressed here on Sunday the need to prevent terrorist organisations from exploiting the situation in Syria for their agendas. Speaking at a press conference during the Doha Forum 2024 in Qatar, Fidan expressed Turkey’s commitment to supporting the Syrian people, pledging to help address the challenges ahead. When asked about the whereabouts of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, he responded, ‘Probably out of Syria,’ Xinhua news agency reported. Recent developments in Syria, Fidan noted, have been closely reviewed and monitored in collaboration with key Arab nations, including Qatar, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, as well as the United States, in a concerted effort to promote regional stability. “The new administration must be established in an orderly manner,” Fidan stressed, urging international and regional actors to help ensure a smooth transition in Syria. Fidan’s remarks came as Syrian rebel forces took the capital Damascus and declared the collapse of Assad’s government earlier on Sunday."Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum." Section 1.10.32 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum", written by Cicero in 45 BC "Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?" 1914 translation by H. Rackham "But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?" 1914 translation by H. Rackham "But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?" Thanks for your interest in Kalkine Media's content! To continue reading, please log in to your account or create your free account with us.
In a case that could affect thousands of property owners and beaches visited by millions of people along California’s 1,100-mile coastline, a state appeals court has indicated it will uphold rules limiting the construction of sea walls along the coast. The case, centered on the California Coastal Commission’s decision to deny a sea wall for 10 vulnerable townhouses near Half Moon Bay, is playing out at the First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco. It has been closely watched by environmental groups, builders and oceanfront cities across the state as sea levels continue to rise due to climate change, putting billions of dollars of property at risk. “It’s a big deal,” said Charles Lester, director of the Ocean and Coastal Policy Center at UC Santa Barbara. “This will potentially resolve a question that’s been under debate for years now.” In late October, the appeals court issued a tentative opinion agreeing with the Coastal Commission that buildings constructed after Jan. 1, 1977, are not entitled to obtain permits to build sea walls. The state’s landmark Coastal Act took effect on that date. It says the commission “shall” issue permits for sea walls and other types of armoring to protect “existing structures” against erosion from battering waves. But state lawmakers never clearly defined the term. Property owners have argued “existing structures” means any building present at the time the permit application is filed. But the Coastal Commission’s attorneys have argued in recent years that “existing structures” only means those built before 1977. They cite a growing body of scientific evidence that shows that construction of concrete walls along the coast stops bluffs from eroding, depriving public beaches of sand. Such armoring also stops beaches from naturally migrating inland, resulting in them becoming submerged over time. “Sea level rise is a new game in town,” said Lester, the former executive director of the Coastal Commission from 2011 to 2016. “The shoreline is moving landward. We’re looking at projections of losing a significant amount of California’s beaches due to sea level rise. And most of that is in places that have a lot of sea walls.” The court scheduled a Dec. 11 hearing and then will issue a final opinion. In its tentative opinion, the judges cited earlier versions of the Coastal Act as it was being debated in the state Legislature, and showed how broad language allowing sea walls was tightened to read “existing structures.” “If the Legislature intended to guarantee any structure shoreline protection — regardless of when it was constructed — it could have retained the broad language,” the appeals court wrote. Private property rights groups are unhappy. “There may not be a simple solution. But reinterpreting the Coastal Act to sacrifice the rights of coastal landowners isn’t the way to solve these problems,” said Jeremy Talcott, an attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation , a Sacramento property rights group. “Simply allowing thousands of homes to fall into the sea is a very drastic decision.” The case will decide the fate of a quiet neighborhood on the San Mateo County coast. In 2016, a severe storm caused 20 feet of bluffs to collapse into the ocean in front of Casa Mira, a complex of 10 townhouses on Mirada Road that’s 2 miles north of Half Moon Bay. Worried their homes were in imminent danger, the owners obtained an emergency permit from the Coastal Commission to place boulders, called riprap, along the crumbling shoreline to block the waves from causing more damage. But when they applied to build a permanent 257-foot concrete sea wall, the commission said no. “Sea walls eat away at the beach,” said the commission’s chairwoman, Dayna Bochco, during the 2019 meeting. “So someday as this keeps moving in and in, you are going to lose that beach if you have that sea wall. I think it’s anti-access.” The commissioners voted to allow only 50 feet of sea wall to be constructed in front of an adjacent four-unit apartment building that was built in 1972. They said the Casa Mira, whose townhouses were built in 1984, couldn’t have a sea wall. The Casa Mira Homeowners Association owners sued and won in San Mateo County Superior Court last year. The Coastal Commission appealed. In its tentative opinion, the appeals court overturned much of the lower court ruling, siding with the Coastal Commission and its Jan. 1, 1977, cutoff date. The appeals court said the Casa Mira homeowners still can get the sea wall they want, however. But only because it would protect a portion of the California Coastal Trail that runs between their homes and the public beach below, making it a “coastal dependent” use to improve public access that is allowed protection under the Coastal Act. Joshua Emerson Smith, a Coastal Commission spokesman, said the agency will withhold comment until the appeals court issues its final ruling. Thomas Roth, a San Mateo attorney who represents the Casa Mira Homeowners Association, did not respond to requests for comment. With so much at stake, experts say the issue could end up at the state Supreme Court next year. For that to happen, one of the parties would have to appeal, and the court would have to agree to take the case. Numerous groups filed briefs in the case, including the Surfrider Foundation , the Bay Area Council and the California Building Industry Association . “This is not just a California problem,” Lester said. “There are houses falling into the ocean in North Carolina, in Hawaii and other places. We’re not going to stop the ocean from rising. The question is what do we choose to protect over the long run? What’s in the public interest? Some of these developments have arguably reached the ends of their natural lives if you want to protect the beaches.”Goodbye Santa rally? U.S. stocks fell Friday as investor sentiment turned gloomy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than 300 points midmorning, while the Nasdaq Composite Index, which contains more technology-focused stocks, slid almost 2%. “Initially the market was so focused on the positives of the Trump election but I think there’s more uncertainty with tariffs and immigration as we look to next year,” said Keith Lerner, co-chief investment officer and chief market strategist for Truist. “You’re seeing some increasing inflation. The 10-year has been creeping up every day.” The 10-year U.S. Treasury note was trading around 4.58% on Friday morning, after climbing about 30 basis points over the past month. Bond yields rise when prices fall, and investors often sell Treasury bonds and notes when they expect inflation to rise. Inflation is also likely to eat at company profit margins, making stocks less valuable. “The strong economy, combined with the potential for lower taxes, higher tariffs, and restrictions on immigration, has increased the risk that the Fed will have to hike rates in 2025,” wrote Apollo Global Management Chief Economist Torsten Slok on a note to clients in mid-December. Invest wisely: Best online brokers “We see a 40% probability that the Fed will raise interest rates in 2025,” Slok added. “For investors, it is starting to look similar to 2022 – too high inflation, rising interest rates, and falling stock prices." More: Fed lowers key interest rate by another quarter point but sees just 2 cuts in 2025 Most of Friday’s decline was centered in technology-focused stocks. Shares of NVIDIA Corporation were down nearly 3% midmorning, while Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corporation shares each fell more than 2%. Despite the declines Friday, it's been a blockbuster year for stocks. The S&P 500 has gained more than 25%, while the Nasdaq is up 31%. Despite some choppiness in recent weeks, NVIDIA shares are still up nearly 180% for the year. Tech companies are often seen as being more sensitive to rises in interest rates because they have traditionally spent more on growing their businesses than those in more mature industries. Of the 11 sectors that make up the broad S&P 500 index, tech was down the most on Friday, while the real estate sector, which gains value with rising rates, was flat. There’s a “risk-off tone underneath the surface,” Lerner told USA TODAY, suggesting that investors who had been embracing more speculative investments may be rethinking that strategy.Jason and Kylie Kelce announce they are expecting fourth baby as couple shares adorable family snap
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Google unveils quantum chip "Willow" with mind-boggling computing powerChinese new energy vehicle companies plan to set up factories in Pakistan: ZafaruddinVice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday thanked supporters during an virtual call and vowed that the “fight’s not over” in what was her first remarks since conceding defeat to President-elect Donald Trump three weeks ago. “The fight that fueled our campaign, a fight for freedom and opportunity, that did not end on Nov. 5. A fight for the dignity of all people? That did not end on Nov. 5,” Harris said. “A fight for the future, a future in which all people receive the promise of America? No. A fight that is about a fight for the ideals of our nation, the ideals that reflect the promise of America? That fight’s not over.” “That fight's still in us, and it burns strong,” Harris later added. “And I know this is an uncertain time. I'm clear-eyed about that. I know you're clear-eyed about it, and it feels heavy. And I just have to remind you: Don't you ever let anybody take your power from you. You have the same power that you did before Nov. 5 and you have the same purpose that you did and you have the same ability to engage and inspire. So don't ever let anybody or any circumstance take your power from you.” The grassroots call came immediately after Harris held a call with her campaign’s finance committee. The finance call was attended by more than 400 donors, according to a source familiar. MORE: Kamala Harris raised $1 billion-plus in defeat. She's still sending persistent appeals to donors On the grassroots call, Harris also briefly discussed the historic sum of money that ran her campaign, though she did not address what went wrong as she and her campaign face intense scrutiny over how they could raise that money and lose to Trump so resolutely. “The outcome of this election, obviously, is not what we wanted. It is not what we work so hard for,” Harris said. “But I am proud of the race we ran. And your role in this was critical. What we did in 107 days was unprecedented.” Harris said that over the course of those 100-plus days, her campaign raised $1.4 billion, much of which was from grassroot donors: “Nearly 8 million donors contributed an average donation of about $56.” “You gave all that you could to support our campaign. Because of your efforts -- get this -- we raised an historic $1.4 billion, almost $1.5 billion from grassroots supporters alone, the most in presidential campaign history,” she said. MORE: Harris campaign leadership urges staffers not to speak with reporters: Sources “Being involved can make a difference, and that remains true. And that's one of the pieces that I just want us to please take away -- that our fight for freedom and for opportunity and for the promise of America, it included, for example, nearly almost 4 million first-time contributors to our campaign because of the work you did, of helping people know that they can be engaged and that they're not outside, that they're inside, that we're all in this together,” she added. Harris was joined by her former running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, on both calls -- a rare appearance from the two, though Harris joined the call from San Francisco and Walz from Minnesota. Walz on the grassroot donor call also spoke to supporters’ feeling of loss following the election and repeated Harris’ claims that she is not finished with fighting. “I think all of us saw the possibility, and I know there's a bit of a feeling of loss because we saw what a real leader looks like,” Walz said. “She did deliver the best of our better angels," he added. "She delivered a vision where all of us mattered. She did it with grace and dignity and continues to do that every single day. She is still in this fight. She is doing it every single day. She is not done with her current job. She's not done being part of it with all of you." Harris' and Walz’s remarks follow some postelection analysis from Harris campaign senior officials during an episode of “Pod Save America” that aired on Tuesday, including some reaction to finances. Harris campaign Chairwoman Jennifer O'Malley Dillon said that during the cycle, the bulk of the campaign's spending was used to reach out to “very-hard-to-find voters," including low-propensity and young voters, while investing across all swing states because polling reflected that each was in play. "We were trying to, yes, spend more resources on digital ... because we're trying to find young people, we're trying to find these lower-propensity voters that were tuned out to politics," O'Malley Dillon said. “We had some unique things that we had to do in this race that I think were really critical to do early and spent a lot of resources at an earlier stage than we would have to," she added, noting those resources were spent on both advertising and field programming. “We saw, up until the very end, that ... every single state was in such a margin of error. There was nothing that told us we couldn't play in one of these states.” During the podcast, O'Malley Dillon and senior campaign adviser David Plouffe accused the Trump campaign of coordinating with its super PACs, a practice that is not legal, but noted the Democrats need to take note and do the same. “We have to stop playing a different game as it relates to super PACs and the Republicans. Love our Democratic lawyers. I'm tired of it, OK? They coordinate more than we do. I think amongst themselves, I think with the presidential campaign, like I'm just sick and tired, OK? So, we cannot be at a disadvantage,” Plouffe said. “I think our side was completely mismatched when it came to the ecosystem of Trump and his super PACs and ours,” O’Malley Dillon said. “We had a super PAC that was helpful, very important and necessary for the work that they did because they were the kind of central recipients of a lot of the funding on our side and they staked a strategy and a plan, and we clearly could see it, and we knew what it was [going] to spend, but we did not have the ability to have people come in with us early. And so every ounce of advertising, every ounce of carrying these strategic imperatives, of defining the vice president and trying to bring down Trump's numbers, all sat with us as a campaign,” O’Malley Dillon added. MORE: What New Jersey and Virginia's governor's races could mean for Democrats Harris has rarely been seen since she delivered her concession speech at Howard University the day after the election. She attended the Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery a week later and was seen making her first return to the White House a day after that. The vice president also spent the last week on vacation in Hawaii. Walz, in the month since the election, has remained almost entirely out of the national spotlight, resuming his duties as the governor of Minnesota. He delivered his final speech of the 2024 campaign cycle on Nov. 8 from suburban Minneapolis, joining a chorus of fellow Democratic governors who said they would protect their states from threats to reproductive freedoms, citizenship and other things under the Trump administration. The former vice presidential nominee also said he’d work to find common ground with swaths of people who voted “for the other side” on Nov. 5. Harris and Walz remained mostly separate on the campaign trail in the roughly 15 weeks she had him as her running mate. The governor was present at Harris’ concession speech at Howard University the night after the election but did not speak or publicly interact with her. Before that, the two held a joint rally on Oct. 28 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, their first event together since late August, when they were seen together in Savannah, Georgia, on a bus tour. Prior to that, their last time at a rally together was in Milwaukee for programming linked to the Democratic National Convention in August.
The anti-government militants and jihadists who toppled President Bashar Assad’s government in Syria have guaranteed the security of Russia’s military bases and diplomatic outposts in the country, a Kremlin source has said. Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham (HTS) jihadists and US-armed Free Syrian Army (FSA) militants stormed Damascus on Saturday, as the Syrian Army stood down and Assad left the country for asylum in Russia. HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, a former al-Qaeda commander reportedly considered an “asset” by Washington, proclaimed victory in a televised statement on Sunday, declaring that “the future is ours.” Speaking to Russia’s TASS news agency later on Sunday, an unnamed Kremlin source said that Russian officials “are in contact with representatives of the armed Syrian opposition.” These representatives “have guaranteed the security of Russian military bases and diplomatic institutions on Syrian territory,” the source said, adding that “we hope for the continuation of political dialogue in the name of the interests of the Syrian people and the development of bilateral relations between Russia and Syria.” Russia intervened in the Syrian Civil War in 2015, helping Assad wrest back control of his country from Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), and a panoply of foreign-sponsored militias and jihadist groups. This time around, Moscow did not commit forces to hold back the HTS and FSA assault, with the Russian Foreign Ministry stating that Assad had decided to relinquish power peacefully following back-channel talks with several opposition groups. ”Russia did not participate in these negotiations,” the ministry noted. Russia began construction of the Khmeimim Air Base near Latakia shortly after it came to Assad’s aid in 2015. The facility has since been used by the Russian Air Force to launch attacks on IS and other terrorist groups in Syria, and to transport supplies and weapons into the country. Khmeimim Air Base is located around 60km from the Russian naval facility at Tartus, which was built by the Soviet Union in 1971. Russia signed a 50-year lease on the facility in 2017, allowing Moscow full sovereignty over the base and giving the Russian Navy permission to station up to 11 vessels there. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that both facilities had been placed on high alert during the insurgents’ advance on Damascus, but “there is currently no serious threat to their security.”President-elect Donald Trump has promised to bring down prices on groceries, rent and other basic necessities of life. U.S. presidents don’t typically have direct control over how much any of those things cost, but their policies can have an effect. In Trump’s case, the proposals that economists think could have significant influence are tariffs, or taxes on imports. On Monday, Trump threatened to impose new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China — the United States’ three biggest trading partners — as soon as he takes office, on Jan. 20. The Republican said the new rate for goods from Canada and Mexico would be 25% as a pressure campaign to curb the illegal drug trade and immigration. Trump proposed an additional 10% on China after previously pledging a 60% tariff on products from there. He has also proposed anywhere from 10 to 20% tariffs on other imports. Trump says his plans would bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. But economic experts say Trump’s proposals will hurt American families’ wallets with more expensive cars, appliances and technology. Wayne Winegarden, senior fellow in economics at the right-leaning Pacific Research Institute, said additional tariffs will raise the price of not only foreign goods, but those produced domestically as well. “We import steel that goes into production of cars, so cars will be more expensive,” Winegarden said. “You may see prices going up.” Winegarden said he sees the tariffs as a broad-based consumption tax that will be bad for the economy. “How bad just depends on how high the rates are and there will be secondary effects in terms of how other countries respond as well,” he said. “Even if they don’t respond — I think that’s important for people to know, even if nobody raises their tariff in response to us — we’re still making U.S. families worse off.” Under a scenario with a broad 10% tariff and a 60% China tariff, the effect on households, even if there is no tariff retaliation, would be an additional $2,421 per household in 2023 dollars according to the Budget Lab at Yale University, a nonpartisan research center. The economy was a major concern for many voters in the presidential election, although inflation has generally slowed from a peak of 9.1% in June 2022. In October, 62% of registered voters said the economy is in poor condition. Economists say, though, it’s unlikely that prices will broadly come down to where they were during Trump’s first term. If prices came down that much, it would likely be the result of a weak economy. Lauren Saidel-Baker, an economist at ITR economics, a nonpartisan economic research and consulting firm based in New Hampshire, said her forecast is that inflation will continue to slow through the end of the year and will pick back up early next year. Saidel-Baker said she had this expectation before considering Trump policies because the money supply is increasing, leading to a faster pace of transactions. But tariffs are one of her main concerns about how Trump’s policies will affect inflation next year. She said goods inflation is under control at the moment while the services sector is harder hit by inflation as the result of a tighter labor market. Under the Trump administration, goods inflation could start picking up again. “Tariffs could cause goods to catch back up. But we have long-term demographic problems that are going to keep the labor market tight. I don’t see service inflation getting materially better, especially if we do things like these mass deportations that’s going to cut from the working-age population,” Saidel-Baker said. During his first term, Trump imposed tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum, solar panels and washing machines, to name a few. Several countries responded with retaliatory tariffs, including China. Although Trump’s tariffs boosted jobs in the steel and washing machine industries, the effect was a fall in the long run GDP by 0.2% and a loss in employment of 142,000 full-time jobs, the Tax Foundation, a tax policy think tank, estimated . “We already have evidence of what his tariffs are going to do from his first term. And those aren’t positive. It did not achieve what he says they’re going to achieve,” Winegarden said. Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at the NPD Group, a market research company, said a lot of companies have already moved their production away from China as a result of Trump’s first term tariffs. Steve Madden CEO Edward Rosenfeld explained in an earnings call that the company is implementing a plan to reduce its reliance on China, where more than 70% of its imports are from. Cohen said that despite this shift, certain goods could be more affected by tariffs, such as technology, cars, appliances, and the toy business that are based in or have many ties to China. Companies such as Columbia Sportswear, AutoZone, Stanley Black & Decker have said that they will raise prices in anticipation of tariffs. “If we get tariffs, we will pass those tariff costs back to the consumer,” Philip Daniele, CEO of AutoZone, said in an earnings call. Isabella Weber, associate professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, who recently co-authored a paper on companies’ pricing strategies, said how much companies are comfortable raising prices depends on how much sales fall. “We have seen that companies were willing to increase prices even when it came at reductions in the volume sold. So, demand falling is not necessarily a reason for companies to not raise prices,” she said. “However, there comes a point of course at which further price increases no longer improve the bottom line if sales fall too much. In some segments, especially the ones where low-income households are important buyers like for example fast food, that point could have been reached.”( MENAFN - EIN Presswire) State Bar Arbitration Panel Confirms BACL's Billing Practices Were Ethical and Necessary, Awarding Additional Compensation to the Firm David J. Cohen Bay Area Criminal Lawyers PC +1 925-414-2200 ... Visit us on social media: Facebook X LinkedIn Instagram Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above. MENAFN27122024003118003196ID1109036075 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.Totalenergies’ Race Against Time: Securing $4.7 Billion For Mozambique LNG
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Regulations need to be tweaked to increase the striper population in local waterways says outdoor columnist Chris Dollar.Hello! I’m Mark Olsen . Welcome to another edition of your regular field guide to a world of Only Good Movies. I recently had the pleasure of moderating this year’s Envelope Directors Roundtable with the knockout lineup of Edward Berger (“Conclave”), Brady Corbet (“The Brutalist”), Coralie Fargeat (“The Substance”), James Mangold (“A Complete Unknown”), Denis Villeneuve (“Dune: Part Two”) and Malcolm Washington (“The Piano Lesson”). The full video will broadcast on Spectrum and be available on YouTube later today. From our edited print transcript , the group began talking about what they can compromise on and what they cannot. Villeneuve and Fargeat said that, within the confines of their budget and logistics, they have an attitude of no compromise, as often as possible. As Fargeat said, “Everybody sometimes wants to try and change it and make a difference. It’s my job to keep it the way I had invented in my head.” Conversely, Berger noted that the vaping cardinal in “Conclave,” which has now become a meme and a fan favorite, wasn’t in the script, but was a response to the actor on set in his costume vaping between takes. Mangold, director of “A Complete Unknown,” said, “We all make plans before we start. But then the secret, at least in my experience — the work I’m most proud of is where I adapt. It’s not about compromise, but it’s that the world, the actor, in that moment, the weather, the location, the schedule, something within the very real confines that Denis was talking about comes up against your vision. ... The reality is how we adapt to the s— that happens, good and bad, which isn’t about compromise, but it’s about being alive.” A holiday harvest of new releases This holiday season has brought us a terrific bounty of films to round out our end-of-year moviegoing, with “Babygirl,” “The Fire Inside,” “A Complete Unknown” and “Nosferatu” all landing in theaters this week. (And that’s not even mentioning the see-it-to-believe-it “Better Man,” a biopic about British pop star Robbie Williams, portrayed by a CGI chimp.) Seeing all four of these movies in one day might be a stretch, but it would be doable to see at least three, or maybe break them up into two days of double features. I think I personally would suggest the order they land below for the best mix of genres and moods. If anyone thinks there is a better approach to this lineup, let me know. ‘Babygirl’ Written and directed by Halina Reijn, “Babygirl” stars Nicole Kidman as a Manhattan CEO who finds herself drawn into a submissive relationship with Samuel (Harris Dickinson), a strangely dominating new intern at her company. The film becomes an exploration of power dynamics and personal identity cloaked as an erotic thriller with a dash of corporate intrigue. In Amy Nicholson’s review , she noted, “Eight years into the #MeToo movement, our reaction to the plot could fall anywhere on a spectrum between ‘Yaaaas queen’ to ‘How hypocritical!’ ... Both know their affair is happening in a cultural minefield where the trip wires are economic, professional and generational. And nowadays, the intern recognizes his boss has the most to lose.” Amy added, “The smartest choice the film makes is that Samuel isn’t some “Fifty Shades of Grey” BDSM mastermind. He learns to control as she learns to submit. Their shared adventure plays out like two people learning to juggle while staring into each other’s eyes. Sometimes, it’s clumsy. Their first tryst starts off like a bad porno with Samuel and Romy improvising a script that feels phony even to them. They have to break the scene and start again, with Samuel trying to making Romy eat candy from his hand. She pauses. He’s frustrated. ‘Can you just try it?’ he asks. The whole movie hinges on that awkward moment. Right there, Reijn decides that the strongest foundation for all of our species’ sex angst is simply consent. Forget right or wrong. ‘Babygirl’s’ key question is yes or no.” Emily Zemler spoke to Dickinson , who explained how the sense of discovery in the movie is something he felt while making it as well. “I was fascinated by the writing and the character because I didn’t really know what I would do with it,” Dickinson said. “It scared me a little bit, in the sense of ‘I don’t know how exactly best to do this in a way that’s going to elevate the rest of the story.’ But I guess that’s why it eventually led me to do it.” Certified sex educator Laura Ramadei wrote about the film’s depiction of kink , noting, “‘Babygirl’ appears to understand a common reality behind the kink: Many accomplished, strong women (and men) want to turn their brains off and fully submit to the right Dom. It also highlights a common limitation — that for skillful domination, emotional intelligence is equally, if not more, important than physical talent. The film also understands the power of unlocking such a dynamic, without being gratuitous about the visual details.” ‘The Fire Inside’ Directed by Rachel Morrison from a screenplay by Barry Jenkins, “The Fire Inside” is based on the true story of Claressa Shields, who won back-to-back Olympic gold medals in women’s boxing. But the story isn’t a typical tale of sports triumph, instead paying attention to what happens — and doesn’t happen — to Shields (Ryan Destiny) and her coach (Brian Tyree Henry) after she wins her first gold. As Robert Abele put it in his review , “‘The Fire Inside’ is no pity party about a system’s inequality, and the movie’s refusal to paint anyone in Claressa’s life as simply an impediment or an ally is another sign of the movie’s welcome (and very Jenkins-esque) emotional intelligence. And while the boxing is kinetically directed, Morrison grasps that the movie’s fiercest stands are taken outside the ring, when Claressa — faced with tough choices about her future — asserts herself to the people who need to hear it. That spin on an ever-roiling motivation to win, even when the bout is over, is what sets ‘The Fire Inside’ apart from so many others of its ilk.” For The Envelope podcast , I spoke to Destiny about the role and what it means to bring Shields’ story to a broader audience. “The first time that I watched the movie, I was looking for different things that I kind of wanted to do better,” Destiny recalls. “I was just nitpicking myself. The second time it really hit me how incredible her story is and how much this means to people and to her and how much it’s needed. Her story is so inspiring and incredible, and I literally cried because it really touched me in a way that made me see it from a different standpoint and see the bigger picture of what it’s really about.” ‘A Complete Unknown’ Directed by James Mangold from a screenplay by Mangold and Jay Cocks (adapting Elijah Wald’s book, “Dylan Goes Electric!”) “A Complete Unknown” tells the story of a young Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) as he arrives in New York City in 1961, continuing through to his legendary performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. But it also very much tells the story of the people around Dylan, including his girlfriend Sylvie (Elle Fanning), singer and paramour Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro) and folk singer Pete Seeger (Edward Norton). Reviewing the film, Joshua Rothkopf wrote , “Superfans aren’t necessarily going to love this. It’s a movie made with affection, but also with the wisdom that visionaries can sometimes be jerks. Then again, their hero won’t get a fairer shake than in ‘A Complete Unknown,’ which presents the tunes vividly (classic after classic, all of them sung live by the cast) while keeping things neatly chronological among the four or so years that any biopic interested in Dylan’s artistic arrival would have to cover, from his penniless 1961 arrival in New York through his 1965 rebellion at the Newport Folk Festival. ... [Mangold and Cocks] have landed on a counterintuitive but brilliant organizing principle, one that no great-man biopic has, to my mind, ever tried. In order for this dream to happen, that is, in order for Dylan to become Dylan , a lot of other people’s dreams had to die.” Esther Zuckerman spoke to Fanning , whose character of Sylvie Russo is based on Suze Rotolo , the character’s name reportedly changed at the behest of Dylan himself. The singer’s involvement had an impact on Fanning’s performance, she said. “I was always aware that Bob Dylan himself wanted her name changed and that was the one character that he was very precious about,” Fanning said. “Knowing that, I just felt kind of this subconscious weight to want to do justice to what they had.” ‘Nosferatu’ Written and directed by Robert Eggers, “Nosferatu” is the filmmaker’s adaptation of the 1922 silent horror classic originally mounted by director F.W. Murnau and since remade by Werner Herzog and, to an extent, E. Elias Merhige with 2000’s “Shadow of the Vampire.” In this telling, young Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) is dispatched to a remote castle to finalize the paperwork on a property purchase by the mysterious Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård). Hutter is unaware of the supernatural bond the Count has with his wife, Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp), who has been suffering from an unknown condition. For The Times, Katie Walsh wrote , “Eggers’ version isn’t a ‘take’ on ‘Nosferatu’ so much as it is an overly faithful retelling, so indebted to its inspiration that it’s utterly hamstrung by its own reverence. If ‘Shadow of the Vampire’ was a playful spin, Eggers’ ‘Nosferatu’ is an utterly straight-faced and interminably dull retread of the 1922 original. It’s the exact same movie, just with more explicit violence and sex. And while Eggers loves to pay tribute to styles and forms of cinema history in his work, the sexual politics of his remake feel at least 100 years old. ... The film is a feat of maximalist and moody production design and cinematography, but the tedious and overwrought script renders every character two-dimensional, despite the effortful acting and teary pronunciations.” Kenneth Turan spoke to Eggers , who talked about the intensely detailed research and production work that he has become notorious for in films such as “The Witch ” and “The Northman.” As Eggers said, “I personally enjoy the act of research and while I get tired of beating the drum for historical accuracy, I do believe an accumulation of details grounds and transports an audience, makes it easier for them to believe the metaphysical stuff in the film.” Points of interest Kathryn Bigelow’s ‘Strange Days’ To launch its new series “Cyberpunk: Envisioning Possible Futures Through Cinema” and exhibition of the same name, the Academy Museum will be screening Kathryn Bigelow’s 1995 “Strange Days” on 35mm. Seeing this movie, arguably Bigelow’s best, big and loud in the academy’s huge David Geffen theater should be a dazzling experience. With a climax set around a massive New Year’s Eve party in downtown Los Angeles, the film is set on the cusp of the year 2000, then five years away. (The film’s screenplay was written by James Cameron and “A Complete Unknown’s” co-writer Jay Cocks.) Ralph Feinnes plays Lenny Nero, a former LAPD officer who traffics in underground videos that presage virtual reality. When a tape of the murder of a popular rapper threatens to implicate the LAPD and lands Lenny in danger, he turns to an old friend, Mace (Angela Bassett), for help. Playing Lenny’s former girlfriend, Juliette Lewis performs a couple of PJ Harvey songs onscreen in the film and is almost worth the price of admission alone. Reviewing the film at the time of its release, Kenneth Turan wrote , “Through it all, ‘Strange Days’ manages to be consistently loud, violent and sleazy, which is less of an accomplishment than it may sound.”New 2025 laws hit hot topics from AI in movies to rapid-fire guns