Latest news with #wasteland
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
White House says homeless people in DC will be forced into shelters or put in jail. Advocates say ‘that should terrify everyone'
One day after warning people experiencing homelessness to 'move out' of Washington, D.C. 'immediately,' Donald Trump said the federal government will begin forcibly 'removing' encampments that have turned the city 'into a wasteland.' The city's Metropolitan Police Department, now under the Trump administration's control for at least 30 days, is giving the city's unhoused population the 'option' to either enter a shelter or substance abuse and mental health treatment — or go to jail, according to the White House. 'The homelessness problem has ravaged the city,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday. 'If they refuse, they will be susceptible to fines or to jail time.' The administration's latest actions follow a series of executive orders and campaign pledges that criminalize homelessness, making it easier for law enforcement to punish people who are forced to live on the streets. 'What Trump is proposing is government-run detention camps and massive psychiatric asylums,' according to Jesse Rabinowitz, communications and campaign manager with the National Homelessness Law Center in Washington, D.C. 'We have done massive institutionalization in this country. It didn't work. It was inhumane, and that's why we don't do it anymore,' he told The Independent. 'But Donald Trump wants to take our country backwards.' Trump's latest actions are 'not effective in addressing homelessness in the district — they are cruel,' according to Renee Willis, president of the National Low-Income Housing Coalition. 'Instead, this is a continuation of the administration's attacks and efforts to dehumanize the unhoused community,' she added. On any given night in D.C., nearly 800 people are sleeping on the street, according to the Community Partnership, a homelessness prevention group in the capital. More than 3,200 people are in emergency shelters, the group found. More people experienced homelessness in the United States in 2024 than at any other point within the last two decades, which is when the federal government began tracking the population. The crisis has been fueled by the compounded effects of a lack of affordable housing, high costs of living, discrimination, natural disasters, public health crises and safety nets that fail to meet rising demands for support, according to last year's annual point-in-time survey from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Approximately 19,000 people become homeless for the first time every week, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. 'Homelessness is not a criminal issue. It is an economic issue,' according to Alliance CEO Ann Oliva. 'Across the nation, in red and blue states alike, people are unable to afford their housing, medical care, groceries, and other basic living expenses.' Trump's takeover in D.C. 'does nothing' to make housing more affordable to the people living there, she said. In March, Trump signed an executive order directing agencies to remove homeless encampments on federal land within the capital. Since then, the U.S. Park Police have removed more than 70 homeless camps, according to Leavitt. She said the final two encampments would be removed this week. Last month, Trump signed another executive order empowering cities and states to force people experiencing homelessness into treatment centers. Advocacy groups have condemned the measures as inhumane and counterproductive, arguing that a 'housing first' approach with supportive services is a proven approach to combatting chronic homelessness. Trump's latest comments are an attempt to 'scapegoat people and deflect from his failures to help people get the housing that they need,' according to Rabinowitz. 'He made it very clear that what starts in D.C. will spread to the rest of the country, and that should terrify everyone,' he told The Independent. 'We need safe communities, and we know that safe communities are ones where everyone has their needs met, like housing and support. But Trump isn't interested in helping people afford housing or helping people get the help they need. He's only interested in demonizing folks who have no choice but to live outside.' During his campaign, Trump's platform promised to 'end the nightmare' of the 'dangerously deranged' with a plan to 'open large parcels of inexpensive land, bring in doctors, psychiatrists, social workers, and drug rehab specialists, and create tent cities where the homeless can be relocated and their problems identified.' The president vowed to 'bring back mental institutions to house and rehabilitate those who are severely mentally ill or dangerously deranged with the goal of reintegrating them back into society.' While campaigning alongside the president, former 'first buddy' Elon Musk repeatedly said he believes government agencies are behind a global conspiracy to make more people homeless to enrich the organizations working to end the crisis. He has called the word 'homeless' a 'lie' and 'propaganda.' In April, Musk's Department of Government Efficiency effectively shut down the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, which coordinates policy to combat homelessness across the federal government. DOGE put all its staff on administrative leave. The White House has not ruled out forcibly moving people experiencing homelessness out of D.C. 'We're exploring how we could do that,' Leavitt said. State and local governments are increasingly implementing 'public camping' bans and laws prohibiting sleeping in cars, loitering or asking for money. Last year, the Supreme Court's conservative majority rejected arguments from a group of unhoused people in Oregon who argued that a series of laws punishing people for sleeping outside was considered cruel and unusual punishment and in violation of the Eighth Amendment. That ruling paved the way for police to ticket, fine or arrest people who are sleeping in public. 'There are many places that they can go, and we're going to help them as much as you can help. But they'll not be allowed to turn our capital into a wasteland for the world to see,' Trump said during a press briefing on Monday while announcing plans to deploy the National Guard and take over the city's police department. 'If our capital is dirty, our whole country is dirty, and they don't respect us,' said Trump, referring to other world cities. Advocacy groups have called on Congress to pass the Housing Not Handcuffs Act, which prohibits the federal government from making it a crime to be homeless. More than a dozen cities have passed similar legislation modeled after the Gloria Johnson Act, which prohibits state and local governments from enforcing laws that make it a crime to be homeless. 'People want support. People want people to be able to get support,' Rabinowitz said. 'But the Trump administration is deeply out of touch, and it seems like their only solution to most problems is to demonize people and lock people up.'
The Independent
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
White House says homeless people in DC will be forced into shelters or put in jail. Advocates say ‘that should terrify everyone'
One day after warning people experiencing homelessness to 'move out' of Washington, D.C. ' immediately,' Donald Trump said the federal government will begin forcibly 'removing' encampments that have turned the city 'into a wasteland.' The city's Metropolitan Police Department, now under the Trump administration's control for at least 30 days, is giving the city's unhoused population the 'option' to either enter a shelter or substance abuse and mental health treatment — or go to jail, according to the White House. 'The homelessness problem has ravaged the city,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday. 'If they refuse, they will be susceptible to fines or to jail time.' The administration's latest actions follow a series of executive orders and campaign pledges that criminalize homelessness, making it easier for law enforcement to punish people who are forced to live on the streets. 'What Trump is proposing is government-run detention camps and massive psychiatric asylums,' according to Jesse Rabinowitz, communications and campaign manager with the National Homelessness Law Center in Washington, D.C. 'We have done massive institutionalization in this country. It didn't work. It was inhumane, and that's why we don't do it anymore,' he told The Independent. 'But Donald Trump wants to take our country backwards.' Trump's latest actions are 'not effective in addressing homelessness in the district — they are cruel,' according to Renee Willis, president of the National Low-Income Housing Coalition. 'Instead, this is a continuation of the administration's attacks and efforts to dehumanize the unhoused community,' she added. On any given night in D.C., nearly 800 people are sleeping on the street, according to the Community Partnership, a homelessness prevention group in the capital. More than 3,200 people are in emergency shelters, the group found. More people experienced homelessness in the United States in 2024 than at any other point within the last two decades, which is when the federal government began tracking the population. The crisis has been fueled by the compounded effects of a lack of affordable housing, high costs of living, discrimination, natural disasters, public health crises and safety nets that fail to meet rising demands for support, according to last year's annual point-in-time survey from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Approximately 19,000 people become homeless for the first time every week, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. 'Homelessness is not a criminal issue. It is an economic issue,' according to Alliance CEO Ann Oliva. 'Across the nation, in red and blue states alike, people are unable to afford their housing, medical care, groceries, and other basic living expenses.' Trump's takeover in D.C. 'does nothing' to make housing more affordable to the people living there, she said. In March, Trump signed an executive order directing agencies to remove homeless encampments on federal land within the capital. Since then, the U.S. Park Police have removed more than 70 homeless camps, according to Leavitt. She said the final two encampments would be removed this week. Last month, Trump signed another executive order empowering cities and states to force people experiencing homelessness into treatment centers. Advocacy groups have condemned the measures as inhumane and counterproductive, arguing that a 'housing first' approach with supportive services is a proven approach to combatting chronic homelessness. Trump's latest comments are an attempt to 'scapegoat people and deflect from his failures to help people get the housing that they need,' according to Rabinowitz. 'He made it very clear that what starts in D.C. will spread to the rest of the country, and that should terrify everyone,' he told The Independent. 'We need safe communities, and we know that safe communities are ones where everyone has their needs met, like housing and support. But Trump isn't interested in helping people afford housing or helping people get the help they need. He's only interested in demonizing folks who have no choice but to live outside.' During his campaign, Trump's platform promised to 'end the nightmare' of the 'dangerously deranged' with a plan to 'open large parcels of inexpensive land, bring in doctors, psychiatrists, social workers, and drug rehab specialists, and create tent cities where the homeless can be relocated and their problems identified.' The president vowed to 'bring back mental institutions to house and rehabilitate those who are severely mentally ill or dangerously deranged with the goal of reintegrating them back into society.' While campaigning alongside the president, former 'first buddy' Elon Musk repeatedly said he believes government agencies are behind a global conspiracy to make more people homeless to enrich the organizations working to end the crisis. He has called the word 'homeless' a 'lie' and 'propaganda.' In April, Musk's Department of Government Efficiency effectively shut down the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, which coordinates policy to combat homelessness across the federal government. DOGE put all its staff on administrative leave. The White House has not ruled out forcibly moving people experiencing homelessness out of D.C. 'We're exploring how we could do that,' Leavitt said. State and local governments are increasingly implementing 'public camping' bans and laws prohibiting sleeping in cars, loitering or asking for money. Last year, the Supreme Court's conservative majority rejected arguments from a group of unhoused people in Oregon who argued that a series of laws punishing people for sleeping outside was considered cruel and unusual punishment and in violation of the Eighth Amendment. That ruling paved the way for police to ticket, fine or arrest people who are sleeping in public. 'There are many places that they can go, and we're going to help them as much as you can help. But they'll not be allowed to turn our capital into a wasteland for the world to see,' Trump said during a press briefing on Monday while announcing plans to deploy the National Guard and take over the city's police department. 'If our capital is dirty, our whole country is dirty, and they don't respect us,' said Trump, referring to other world cities. Advocacy groups have called on Congress to pass the Housing Not Handcuffs Act, which prohibits the federal government from making it a crime to be homeless. More than a dozen cities have passed similar legislation modeled after the Gloria Johnson Act, which prohibits state and local governments from enforcing laws that make it a crime to be homeless. 'People want support. People want people to be able to get support,' Rabinowitz said. 'But the Trump administration is deeply out of touch, and it seems like their only solution to most problems is to demonize people and lock people up.'
The Review Geek
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Review Geek
The Assessment (2024) Recap & Ending Explained – Do Mia and Aaryan pass the assessment?
The Assessment Plot Summary The Assessment is a sci-fi movie and the directorial debut for Fleur Fortune. The film is written by Neil Gargarth-Cox, John Donnelly, and Dave Thomas and presents a depiction of humanity's possible fate in a future where climate change destroyed the whole world and whatever is left is strictly controlled by the state. The film introduces a couple, Mia (Elizabeth Olsen) and Aaryan (Himesh Patel), who are among the privileged group enjoying more exclusive perks, unlike the rest of the world, who dwell in wastelands. Mia is a plant biologist, while Aaryan is an AI expert. Due to the limited resources, childbirth is state-regulated in this new world. Residents are only allowed to have a child after passing an assessment test. Mia and Aaryan feel that they are ready to raise a child. Therefore, they have to undergo the state-mandated observation by Virginia (Alicia Vikander) for seven days, after which she will report to the superiors on the couple's eligibility to become parents. What happens during the Assessment Test? Virginia does not inform Mia and Aaryan what will be tested. She says that keeping them in the dark is part of the assessment process. The couple is kept in the dark to make sure that their actions are genuine. Virginia tests the couple's relationship and gets to understand their work. She becomes an active and passive participant in Mia's and Aaryan's lives. Sometimes, Virginia behaves like a child, throwing a tantrum to assess how they respond to such situations. She even invites Mia and Aaryan's old colleagues, with whom they do not get along with for dinner. Virginia tries to constantly provoke Mia and Aaryan to reveal their bad side, which the couple starts to find odd and wonder if it is all part of the assessment. How does Virginia disrupt Mia's and Aaryan's lives? Virginia tries to create conflicts between Aaryan and Mia. It feels like it is all part of the process initially, but it gets stranger. One time, she tries to kiss Mia and get her to leave home for a fake emergency. When Mia goes away, Virginia manipulates Aaryan into giving in to his urges, making him think that sleeping with her will help the couple get a positive assessment. Throughout the assessment, Virginia switches from acting like a child to acting like an adult. She makes Aaryan and Mia envious of each other as she switches her affection from one to the other. Do Aaryan and Mia pass the assessment? After a series of experiences that shakes the relationship between Mia and Aaryan, Virginia eventually says that the couple cannot have a child. Considering the turmoil they have been through all week, the couple gets angry. Aaryan confesses that he slept with Virginia, saying that Virginia forced him in return for a positive assessment. Mia's and Aaryan's relationship seems irreparable at this point. The negative assessment ruins their relationship, making Mia re-evaluate her life goals. Did Virginia have ulterior motives during the Assessment? Mia felt the urge to understand why Virginia gave them a negative assessment. She managed to track down Virginia even though contacting the assessor after the evaluation was against the rules. Mia learns that Virginia's real name is Grace. Her living conditions were not ideal, underscoring a stressful financial situation. Grace revealed that for the last six years, no couple had passed the assessment. Mia realises that the assessment was just a scam to keep people hopeful, while the reality was that no one would become parents. It was fabricated as an illusion designed to automatically fail the participants. Mia condemns Grace for agreeing to be part of such a scheme, knowing that it has an emotional impact on the couple. However, Grace had her reasons. She had lost a daughter and was promised a child by the state if she continued working diligently, without any complaints. Grace was desperate, but she did not know that she, too, was a puppet for the state. How does The Assessment end? After the confrontation with Mia, Virginia realises that she might be just a puppet for the state. There is no way that the state will give her a child when the elites like Mia and Aaryan do not pass the tests. Virginia commits suicide by jumping out of the window during her next assessment. Mia felt hopeless and trapped in the new world. She had recently learned that people were surviving outside in the old world, and they were giving birth without any restrictions. In the new world, children were grown ex-utero, while women in the old world experienced the joy of pregnancy and childbirth. Mia decides to take a risk, giving up her life extension pills and ID to cross over to the old world. Mia hoped to reconnect with her mother, who was sent to the old world for protesting against the state-controlled system. Back at their home, Aaryan is seen playing with a young girl while Mia waves from a distance. Presumably, Mia and the girl are AI models Aaryan created to fulfil his desires.
Telegraph
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The Assessment: A dystopian childbirth thriller that fails to deliver
Who is worthy of being a parent, and who should be in a position to judge that? There's a kernel of philosophical intrigue in The Assessment, encased in a sleek shell of dystopian science fiction, and unfortunately flung a million miles away from audience engagement. Earth, at an unspecified future moment, is a barren wasteland; only a skilled professional elite, living in hermetic bubbles, have access to the meagre resources remaining. Mia (Elizabeth Olsen) is a biochemist attempting to reap food sustainably, while her partner Aaryan (Himesh Patel) designs virtual pets. They live by the sea, all alone, in a cool concrete home which production designer Jan Houellevigue fills with eye-catching décor (a Mondrian stained glass window; needlessly giant sofas). They want a child. This is no simple process: to meet the state's legal requirements, it must be grown ex utero using their DNA, but only after a week-long vetting process from a visiting inspector. This is the nudgingly named Virginia (Alicia Vikander), who arrives at their door, officious and prim, and immediately creepy in Vikander's Ex Machina mode (though not a robot). Before long, she's nosing her way into their bedroom, to take notes even while they're having oral sex. It's when this stalkerish interloper poses as an impossible toddler – which she does for most of the next six days – that the film's ridiculousness gets insurmountable. She erodes the couple's patience, stomps on it, chews it up, spits it out. This is meant to be an extreme tensile test for their suitability to have a child, but also proves a nails-on-a-chalkboard ordeal for the viewer – all tantrums, scuttling tension. The passive-aggressive combat between the two women is enough to make future collaborations between Vikander and Olsen a prospect to hide from. In the third act, Virginia becomes wantonly destructive, Patel is the victim of a pretentious rape scene, and we get answers only in a well-played but maddeningly belated face-off at the assessor's place of work. The script is credited to three people, two of them married, and none of them the first-time director, Fleur Fortuné. Her film feels icily disengaged from other people's ideas, pondering them at a remove – as an opportunity for the actors, a costume brief, a means to an end. It certainly locks us out, which is a shame, as the emotive potential of the concept was right there. Mia and Aaryan don't seem desperate enough, they're hard to care about, and the stakes of the story are correspondingly feeble. The Assessment makes a great case for not having a child as a dystopian fashion accessory, but who's arguing? 15 cert, 115 min; on Amazon Prime Video now
