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We’re starting what’s become an annual conversation about the price of gas a bit early this year. Seems like every summer, there’s lots of talk of how the price of gasoline has set new records, and a new set of circumstances that’s causing it. The plain fact that we apparently haven’t quite grasped yet is that the days of cheap gasoline are over. Oh, it’s something people might acknowledge if you really put it to them, but not in a way that suggests that anyone thinks it means anything more than paying more at the pump when getting from Point...

Danes have always loved the US as a travel destination. But with the dollar at its lowest point in 30 years, residents are now gobbling up the many discount offers being pitched by the nation's travel companies. Several travel bureaus are reporting increases of up to 140 percent on sales of trips to the states, where Danes can feel like wealthy plantation barons. In the past two years, the dollar has fallen from a value of 6.4 kroner to a shocking 4.8 kroner today - its lowest point since 1977. Weekend trips to New York City have been a hot...

For the fourth consecutive year, New Hampshire was named the nation’s Most Livable State by Morgan Quitno Press, which determined its 17th annual award from its just released reference book "State Rankings 2007." At the other end of the spectrum, statistics returned Mississippi at the bottom of the scale for the ninth time in the past 10 years. Louisiana, which ranked No. 50 last year, is No. 49. “ New Hampshire does an outstanding job in a number of quality of life areas,” said Scott Morgan, president of Morgan Quitno Press. “The state has the lowest crime and poverty rates...

RETROSEXUAL CODE A Retrosexual, no matter what the women insists, PAYS FOR THE DATE. A Retrosexual opens doors for a lady. Even for the ones that fit that term only because they are female. A Retrosexual DEALS with IT, be it a flat tire, break-in into your home, or a natural disaster, you DEAL WITH IT. A Retrosexual not only eats red meat, he often kills it himself. A Retrosexual doesn't worry about living to be 90. It's not how long you live, but how well. If you're 90 years old and still smoking cigars and drinking, I salute you....

In bars, restaurants and homes across Sweden champagne is flowing in abundance as Swedes enjoy a seemingly endless thirst for the bubbly beverage, spurred by a gastronomic "revolution" and a rosy economy. Champagne sales at stores run by the alcohol distribution monopoly Systembolaget are expected to hit an all-time high of one million bottles this year, excluding sales in bars and restaurants. That figure can be compared to 738,000 bottles sold last year and 287,000 a decade ago. "Drinking champagne is usual now and it's common not only at the weekend or to celebrate a special event, it's an everyday...

Sultan of Brunei lets slip his £4bn lifestyle By Andrew Pierce Last Updated: 1:46am BST 25/10/2007 The Sultan of Brunei, who is embroiled in the most expensive family feud in legal history, transferred $8 billion (£3.9 billion) of state funds into his personal bank account to help fund his lavish lifestyle, The Daily Telegraph can reveal. The Sultan of Brunei and his wife, Queen Hajah Mariam, is the world’s wealthiest monarch, with a £10 billion fortune The sultan, one of the world's richest men, has been forced to disclose his personal finances in a court case at the Privy Council...

Scandinavia has been rated as the best place to live, that’s according to a ranking by Reader’s Digest. Using a range of environmental and social indicators based in part on the UN’s Human Development Index, the survey rates countries on care of the environment and quality of life for their citizens. Finland tops the 141-nation list, followed by Nordic neighbours Iceland and Norway, with Sweden coming in at fourth place. And the Swedish capital comes top of the Reader’s Digest ranking of 72 world cities when it comes to quality of life. Cities were rated according to quality of public...

(Sweden:) An unusual feud has soured relations between two neighbours in Norrtälje as a woman battles for the right to retain her outdoor jacuzzi. Ever since the 51-year-old woman bought the hot tub last year, her journalist neighbour has complained about the noise of the motor. The 62-year-old jazz journalist has a writer's den close to her garden and has been finding it impossible to work. The journalist has primarily struggled to understand why his neighbour needs to have the jacuzzi turned on all year round and for more than ten minutes every hour, Norrtelje Tidning reports. She in turn...

Should biblical churches host gay-glorifying funerals? Should evangelical politics move leftward? Many news organs give us one answer: Yes! The lead of an Aug. 11 Associated Press story seemed to expose a clear case of homophobia: "A megachurch canceled a memorial service for a Navy veteran 24 hours before it was to start because the deceased was gay." The story stated that officials at High Point Church in Arlington, Texas, offered to host the service for a gay janitor who wasn't a church member but had worked there -- only to say no when his obituary listed a life partner....

A married couple in Kinda in the south east of Sweden have lost a court bid to retain their current level of welfare payments. For almost ten years the husband and wife pair have asserted their right to opt out of the rat race and live on a combination of state support and their own crops. Östergötland county court disagreed however, ruling that there were no health issues preventing the pair from taking up employment and that their benefits should therefore be reduced, Corren.se reports. In a letter to the county court, the husband had argued for a reversal of...

Storm-battered and abandoned in winter, Sweden’s harbor-side restaurants come alive in the summer. But two million boat lovers’ thirst for good food and seaside relaxation means tough work for the seasonal restaurant owners.

No longer content to offer consumers Swedish meatballs and self-assembly shelves, Ikea in Norway is now offering weary shoppers the chance to sleep over in one of its Oslo showrooms free of charge. From July 23 to July 27, the public will be able to spend the night in special rooms set up in the store, with a choice of bridal suite, complete with hanging chandelier and a round bed, or a luxury suite that includes breakfast in bed. Others can share a bunk in the dormitory, while parents and children can join in the fun in one of Ikea's...

Vaesteraas, Sweden - Thousands of mint-condition Chevrolets, Cadillacs and Oldsmobiles from the 1950's boulevard-cruise with Brylcreemed greasers draped over the steering wheel and rock 'n roll hits blaring on their radios. You might think you've been transported back a half-century to small-town America but, no, this is a scene found in any number of towns across Sweden where the early days of the US car culture never went out of style.

This weekend over 10,000 classic cars will converge on Västerås at the Power Big Meet as car enthusiasts from Sweden, Europe and as far afield as Russia, Israel and Australia make their annual pilgrimage to the biggest Classic car event in the world. For Sweden’s Raggare, the Power Big Meet is more than just a car show - it’s a celebration of a way of life that is peculiarly Swedish, despite being entrenched in the fashions, music and motor cars of Americana. Since the 1950s, a version of the American Dream has been embraced with an enthusiasm that has endured...

A Swedish heavy metal fan has had his musical preferences officially classified as a disability. The results of a psychological analysis enable the metal lover to supplement his income with state benefits. Roger Tullgren, 42, from Hässleholm in southern Sweden has just got part time work as a dishwasher at a local restaurant. Because heavy metal dominates so many aspects of his life, the Employment Service has agreed to pay part of Tullgren's salary. His new boss meanwhile has given him a special dispensation to play loud music at work. "I have been trying for ten years to get this...

State Senate boss Don Perata throws impressive parties, and this one was a doozy. The guests, some of Perata's best donors among them, feasted on buttery Dungeness crab and sipped California Chardonnay. Then they settled into their plush luxury box seats to watch the Oakland Raiders play the New York Jets in a game with playoff implications. It was mid-December 2000, and the state senator had just dropped $43,600 on an oversize luxury suite at the Oakland Coliseum for a single afternoon of festivities. At the time he said he was trying to convince East Bay business leaders to buy...

Sweden will open the first 'diplomatic representation' in the virtual reality of web-based Second Life, a fantasy world inhabited by computer-generated residents, on May 30, the Swedish Institute said Friday. "The Second House of Sweden, the world's first virtual embassy in Second Life will be inaugurated on May 30," the institute said in a statement. Related Articles Swedish taxman sets sights on Second Life 31st January 2007 Sweden to set up embassy in Second Life 26th January 2007 Article Options Send to a friend Printable version Submit to Digg.com Sweden's Foreign Minister Carl Bildt and Director General of the Swedish...

As France goes to the polls many agree that change is vital to tackle the slowing economy and growing public debt. But they also want to keep the best of what makes the country so distinctive... so French. Earlier this spring, I found myself in the small sleepy Burgundy town of Donzy at one o'clock and very much looking forward to a solid French lunch. The pale sunshine beat down on the main square, giving the honey-coloured stone a golden tinge. On the narrow cobbled main street was a host of cafes, their blinds shading the tables outside. For once,...

Singer George Michael denied he has been forced to call off his "wedding" to his long-term partner after being caught cruising for sex with strangers. The former Wham! star insisted that his partner Kenny Goss had no problem with him being with other men.

<p>MEGA-RICH pop superstar George Michael this week sank to new levels of depravity—trawling for illegal gay sex thrills in a London park.</p> <p>News of the World investigators caught the singer red-handed and red-faced as he emerged from the bushes after cavorting with a pot-bellied, 58-year-old, jobless van driver.</p>