Reality calls

Reality works in funny ways, sometimes.

Yesterday, I talked about London's Sadiq Khan and his plan to charge the owners of old cars, those wealthy bastards, for the privilege of driving in London.

"How very Labour", I thought, "with its Punching Up And Speaking Truth To Power(TM)".

Today, Reality presents me with another glimpse of what London's Labour stands for, who it defends.

Truth be told, I don't know with full certainty what is the London's Mayor role in this issue; the article just mentions "the zombie Blairites running the north London borough". However, according to this, he does have something to say on Housing.

Still, it's all Labour, even if it may be different factions. And if "squeeze money out of people who own old cars because they probably can't afford a new one" seems a bit Weird Labour, "give a yuuuge real-estate gift to some private friends at the expense of those who currently live in said real-estate" defies classification.

Or maybe not. Like I said, while the Labours of the world are going on and on with their Holy Grail of Identity Politics, inequality continues to rise, affecting Everyone. And since the goal of Identity Politics is not to address Everyone's issues, those not on the "Protected List" are left on their own, usually turning to the first, say, orange-haired idiot that comes along.

So, in London, we have a bunch of politicians from "mainstream" parties. You know, the parties that are "sensible" and neither "radical" nor "extreme".

And we have a private interest that needs to make money.

And because the people in charge of the private interest don't like hard work and don't actually have talent to make money, they get "a little help from their friends", the above-mentioned politicians.

And, to quote another song, "it makes me wonder" - why on Earth do people commit "stupidest things"? It's a tough one, innit?

Yes, I did read the "stupidest thing" article. The Billionaire Guy describes the UK (and the US, by Brexit-Trump association) as "a country that was doing so well" and warns "that some workers at the financial media company that bears his name were asking to leave the UK and US because they think the two countries no longer like immigrants and are no longer welcoming".

See? The country is doing great, but now these vulnerable financial media employees want to leave. Mind you, not leave Bloomberg, but get a transfer to another country.

Just like Everyone Else can do in a country that is doing "so well", right? I suppose if I live in the UK, my house is drafty and leaky, and it's having a negative effect on my health, and I can't afford to repair it, I can just... you know, get a transfer. Life's good!

Yeah, it makes me wonder... where, oh, where do those extremist votes come from...? Well, maybe it's the Russians.

Plenty of news, but nothing new

While there have been events worthy of comment, I haven't bothered to comment because I'd just be repeating myself. E.g.,

• Catalonia

It's all about the money. Sure, the people on the streets will shout "Freedom" and "Democracy", but the ones pulling their strings couldn't care less about either. If Catalonia (and all its little "freedom-loving" friends, like Northern Italy) wasn't the economic powerhouse it is, I'm sure its elite would be a lot less independence-inclined.

• Harvey & Friends

It's all about power. Which, incidentally, comes from...? From...? Ah, I'm sure you can guess it, just try to imagine what would Harvey need to control everyone and everything the way he did. Devious minds don't get very far without deep pockets.

However, even though I'll be repeating myself, sometimes the level of stupid does get to me. Case in question: "London is trying an innovative new strategy to stop air pollution: taxing old cars".

Seems straightforward - pollution is "suddenly" a problem; old cars create more of this "pollution" thingie; hit the owners of old cars hard for having the nerve to prefer an old car to a new one.

I'm sure that's the real reason we have old cars on our roads - it's not, say, that people can't afford a new car, nah. They're just pollutin' old buggers, and prefer driving around in old cars to annoy millennials and kill babies.

I particularly like this part (my emphasis):

The T-Charge, short for toxicity charge, mainly applies to cars that either use diesel or fail to meet European emissions standards adopted in 2006.

If you happen to drive diesel, it doesn't matter how old your car is, you're getting milked. It's irrelevant that you bought your car when both the car industry and the State said you were doing the Right Thing (TM). The industry lied, but it's got... you guessed it, money, so it's the owners of the cars that are going to pay. Doesn't make sense, you say? How cute. You're not an expert, then, right?

By the way, this is not why we have populism, these days, mmkay? It's because of sexism and racism. It's definitely not because we keep applauding and supporting politicians who throw people under the bus to save face and/or line pockets. And as long as those under the bus are not "Us", everything's good, "They" probably deserved it, anyway.

Me? I own a new-ish (6 years) diesel car. And I expect to be forced to pay for the "luxury", sooner or later. However, I've been preparing to adapt to it. I have changed my consumption habits to spend as little as possible in Lisbon, which I'm sure is on its way to also adopt measures that punish people and let the car industry off the hook.

Yes, I know, Lisbon doesn't need me. And I've reached a point where I only need it to visit my family. That's the only point where "justice champions" like Sadiq Khan still hold me hostage.

Sympathy? Nah, I don't expect sympathy. I'm sure I deserve whatever comes to me. Besides, like the guy said n the movie, "Show then no mercy... for you shall receive none".