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The 'biggest American car show in the world' opened in Västerås in central Sweden on Thursday. More than 10,000 cars are expected for the Big Meet 2008 show. The annual event started 31 years ago and was founded by Kjell Gustafsson who has seen it grow from the humble beginnings of 40-80 cars in a parking lot in Anderstorp. "Just to keep the show going over three days costs 1.5 million kronor ($252,000). 160 officials work with this. That is around the same as the Hultsfred festival," Gustafsson said to Di.se. The Big Meet 2008 show will take place over...

Sadly enough, this is what life looks like here in grim old Thule: "State environmental protection officials plan to forbid all new development of large shopping centers located outside established retail districts within Norway's cities and towns. The goal is to discourage driving...

Are the ices of the Arctic north about to melt away for good? Rami Abdelrahman gets the views of a range of Swedish researchers. Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria is one of a number of Scandinavian royals making for the Arctic archipelago on the Swedish ice-breaker Oden this weekend to participate in an event to coincide with and promote International Polar Year. But will there even be a need for such ice-breaking vessels in years to come? Many commentators would have us believe that glaciers and ocean ice are about to go the way of the dodo. Upon their arrival at...

Native Sweden Volume 61 Number 4, July/August 2008 by Zach Zorich Indigenous Saami are rediscovering their long-lost heritage Smithsonian archaeologist Noel Broadbent and Tim Bayliss-Smith of Cambridge University walk past a line of 1,100-year-old hut foundations at Grundskatan. (Zach Zorich) Smithsonian archaeologist Noel Broadbent offers me a handful of blueberries he has picked from the shrubs that hug the forest floor. I pop them into my mouth. The pulp and seeds are sugary, rough, and slick at the same time. In early September the leaves change color and the berries ripen on Sweden's Hornsland peninsula. Broadbent crouches by the trail...

- In Sweden that is. All the same, if various experts are right, the Nordic countries are not only the richest part of the world, but also global leaders in the domain of QUALITY of life. Therefore, living in this part of Stockholm is probably as good as life gets, or? The article: "The Stockholm suburb of Danderyd is the best municipality in which to live, according to a new ranking by the magazine Fokus. Lund and nearby Lomma in southern Sweden follow closely behind. Ljusnarsberg municipality in the Bergslagen region of central Sweden ended up in last place. The...

Sweden and the rest of the Nordic countries are definitely more "Socialist" than Hong Kong, Isle of Man and Bermuda, but especially those who claim the economic performance of the Nordic countries is evidence Socialism works ought to know that this part of the world is RAPIDLY developing into a POST-SOCIALIST economy - just like certain other parts of Europe with a much darker Socialist past like Poland, Hungary, The Czech Republic, Slovakia and many other proud nations. Nordic competence in the area of hard work and doing trade existed before 1917, before Karl Marx, before the British Empire, before...

HELSINKI: If you can bear dark snowy winters lasting anywhere between three and seven months and are prepared to stand out in a crowd of Finns – tall, blonde and speaking Suomi or Swedish – there is a chance Finland's 'silver economy' needs you. In an extraordinary attempt to lure immigrants to their rapidly-ageing country, Finnish universities have government approval to hawk their wares to Indian and Chinese students. On offer is a world-class education in one of Europe's most wired and well-developed economies and the chance of a good job afterwards. Finland's 'look east' policy is born out of...

The navy of Liechtenstein probably could manage this task. Anyhow, the article: "The Swedish navy says it’s prepared to send ships to the Horn of Africa to fight piracy there. This comes after the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution allowing UN member countries to enter Somalia’s territorial waters to help stop the illegal capture of shipping in the area. In its response to a government query on the issue, the Swedish military says it can send two corvettes and a support ship to the region in September or October for a three month tour. Last year 25 ships...

Every nation could be described as a manifestation of a unique trait of character and most countries furthermore nurture, give emphasize to and celebrate this national identity of theirs. Some examples of such key national characters (please DO comment if you feel inclined to); USA: Liberty Italy: Creativity France: Refinement India: Spirituality Germany: Self-discipline Finland: "Sisu" (a Finnish term meaning "To have guts") Britain: Elevatedness Denmark: "Hygge" (a Danish word meaning "Good-naturedness", of mind as well as of deed) Spain: Passion China: Cultivation Russia: Chaos - just joking, I would actually say "Heart" (in the sense of having a big...

300 Iraqi citizens left Sweden in the first four months of 2008. This represents an increase on the 233 Iraqis who returned home in the corresponding period of 2007. Migration minister Tobias Billström responded positively to the development. "Experience has shown that otherwise their situation could have become very bad. The situation in Södertälje and my home town Malmö is such that people live on mattresses," Billström told the Swedish public radio news programme Ekot. Billström interprets the trend as that people are starting to consider the security situation in Iraq to have improved, and that they have realised that...

The signs of the super rich in Reykjavik are as clear as the snow on the black volcanic mountains beyond its harbour.

Swedish furniture maker Ikea celebrated the opening of its first factory in the United States on Wednesday. Swedwood, a subsidiary of home furnishings giant, has 40 plants worldwide. The $281 million plant in Danville, Virginia will employ 300 people by the end of 2009, said Swedwood North America president Bengt Danielsson. Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine was at Wednesday's ceremony to hail the economic boost to the ailing region along the North Carolina border, formerly a stronghold for the tobacco industry. Swedwood received $12 million in incentives from in state and local authorities, as well as the Virginia Tobacco Commission...

Women will continue to be barred from bathing topless at an indoor pool in the central Swedish town of Enköping following a decision by the town council’s recreation committee on Tuesday. Prior to the decision, committee member Stefan Brandberg cited concerns about the health of young girls in his opposition to the proposed lifting of the ban. “We believe that it can contribute to anorexia—there is a risk for that,” he said to the newspaper Expressen. Monica Hällgren, chair of the Enköping recreation committee, confirmed that one of the central arguments for leaving the ban in place was concern over...

The technological and economical development of Scandinavia (including Finland) is today more groundbreking than anywhere else in the world. The investments being made in relation to population size is mind-boggling. Despite a mere population of 25 million inhabitants, the combined GDP of the Scandinavian countries today ridicules that of a Russia often viewed to be a "reborn" super power "on the go" (combined Scandinavian GDP is actually 125% that of of Russia - and the gap is widening!!) But, let's focus on telecommunications here; Five bidders have paid €226 million ($346 million) for fourth generation (4G), super-fast mobile telephony licences,...

I'd like to say so myself. It's time we realize we're actually in a war together and that all of us who do NOT participate at the front line have a special kind of obligation towards the brave men and women who ARE. I'm 38 years old and one thing I've learned from being alive this long is that a group of people who stand united, devoted to something of eternal value are, virtually, indestructable as such. Apart from being somewhat "old", I'm of Swedish stock (- like food a lot, but I'm not a Swedish chef in fact:D -)...

Just a hop, skip and a jump from the city, Gothenburg's archipelago is a great place to get away from it all, writes Matt O'Leary. Gothenburg’s archipelago (or, more accurately, archipelagos, as the islands form two clearly-defined and differently-named clusters) consists of dozens of islands which stretch into the sea next to the city’s coastline. Each of the main islands shares a few defining characteristics which make them attractive to first-time visitors and annually-returning guests alike; however, this isn’t to say that they’re indistinguishable. Far from it, in fact: many of the individual islands have charm and features galore to...

Yes there is. Read on and you'll find out about it. Capitalist paradise exists here on Earth. However, it comes with a price tag called "competence". Most of the world lacks this "competence" and will have a hard time aquiring it, because it is a matter of spirit, a spirit that I'm convinced most parts of the world ever will fail to aquire. In my opinion, Scandinavia leads the world in true Capitalist endeavour (check out how many multinationals we possess in realation to population size). The explanation for this tradition of entrepreneurship is not Scandinavian "Socialism". Sooner, it is...

I'm Absolut Swedish but NEVER EVER again will I buy Absolut Vodka and I will, at least, TRY to avoid other products of V&S Group (their repertoire is a pretty broad one though and I kinda party from time to time..), a former Swedish company which recently was sold to French Pernod Ricard (for the sum of €5,626 billion). I've also managed to convince my father and some of my friends to join my initiative and I'll continue to campaign! The background is, of course, the already infamous Absolut Vodka ad with the words "In an Absolut World" slapped over...

The US Federal Reserve is examining the Nordic bank nationalisations of the 1990s as a possible interim solution to the US financial crisis. The Fed has been criticised for its rescue of Bear Stearns, which critics say has degenerated into a taxpayer gift to rich bankers. A senior official at one of the Scandinavian central banks told The Daily Telegraph that Fed strategists had stepped up contacts to learn how Norway, Sweden and Finland managed their traumatic crisis from 1991 to 1993, which brought the region's economy to its knees. It is understood that Fed vice-chairman Don Kohn remains very...

"European bankers and the dollar holocaust" OK, this article isn't finished yet, but I was thinking like "why not publish what I've written so far beforehand, the topic is a highly important one and people here on Free Republic aren't whiners, sure they'll forgive me for saving this draft for later forum abuse and instead I could go treat my sore European intellect to some Absolut and b-movies". I'm on holiday, actually. The unfinished article (please comment!!): "Personally, I'm not born of banking stock. My forebears here in Sweden (yes, I am, again, trying to write an article in English...

A prayer leader in Tehran last week urged all Islamic countries to sever their ties with Denmark and with all “those who desecrate Prophet Muhammad.” According to a report in the Tehran Times, Ayatollah Khatami of the Assembly of Experts believes that the Danish cartoons depicting the religious figure are insulting and part of a plot to stop the spread of Islam in the world. “In Denmark, where the cartoons were published, the Quran became the best seller book, therefore they should know such actions will not serve their purpose,” Ayatollah Khatami told worshippers. Last month, newspapers in Denmark reprinted...

Norway's state treasury is set to overflow, local analysts claim. Some think the price of North Sea crude oil will hit USD 130 a barrel, pumping even more "petrokroner" into the state budget and giving politicians few excuses to limit its use. Norway's oil and gas industry is hotter than ever, but many Norwegians complain that government services are nonetheless declining. Some grades of crude oil hit USD 111 a barrel this week, before easing on Friday. The North Sea Brent crude that's been pumping up Norway's economy for years was being traded at just over USD 107 a barrel...

Feeling hair in her mouth, a 16-year-old vegan from Partille outside of Gothenburg looked down to discover a mouse cadaver in her bag of tortilla chips. “It was terrible. I went through the roof when I heard what happened,” said Thomas Sällström, the girl’s grandfather. He arrived at his daughter's house shortly after his granddaughter realized a mummified mouse was nestled among the chips. “They were just sitting eating chips like you would on any normal Saturday night and then this happened,” he told The Local. “She didn’t actually eat the mouse, but did get some hair in her mouth.”...

A man who displayed a placard accusing immigrants of group rape at an anti-racism rally has been convicted of agitation against an ethnic group. During a March 2007 rally organized in the south west coast town of Ängelholm by SSU, the youth wing of the Social Democratic Party, the man was seen holding a sign reading, “While Swedish girls are being group raped by immigrant gangs the SSU is fighting racism.” The man was arrested and eventually indicted on charges of agitation against an ethnic group, according to the Helsingborgs Dagblad newspaper. During his trial, the man claimed he simply...

An explosion has been reported in central Stockholm. Police confirmed on Sunday morning that a bomb squad was at the scene and that no casualties had been reported. Neighbours reported to police early on Sunday morning that a large explosion had rocked the area around Surbrunnsgatan 4 in central Stockholm. Twenty windows were blown out as result of the blast. According to Eva Nilsson at Stockholm police something exploded under a parked car. "To the naked eye the car is in principle intact." A large area was cordoned off by police after the explosion, and Surbrunnsgatan was closed off between...

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...

A bevy of busty Swedish blondes will soon take up residence in a Los Angeles mansion for a new reality television series. The series is set to kick off with a launch party at the mansion on March 1st.

Danish MPs have cancelled a trip to Iran after Tehran demanded they apologise for the republication of cartoons deemed offensive to Islam.

A 63-year-old woman died on Saturday night after falling down a well while trying to fish out a dead chicken. The accident occurred near Ed in Dalsland in western Sweden. According to local police officer Patrik Ahlbom the woman was trying to fish out a dead hen from the well when she fell in herself. The woman fell 2-3 metres and probably died immediately, Ahlbom said. The 63-year-old was found by her husband. The woman was taken to Dalsland's hospital in Bäckefors where she was confirmed dead. Ahlbom reports that the woman's husband suffered from shock following the accident.

Sweden's two main employees' federations suffered a 12 percent drop in membership in 2007. Together, the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO) and TCO, a white collar union federation, lost 173,000 members during the year.

A new report warns against a lack of dialogue and a widening gap between Islam and the West. Danes are among the most critical of Islam, according to a report by the World Economic Forum (WEF). Some 79 percent of Danes responded in a poll that they considered more interaction with the Muslim world as a threat. The worry was shared by a large majority in other European countries such as Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain, where up to 67 percent of the population feared more Western interaction with Muslim communities. The message of the report was clear: there...

I don't know for sure, but maybe Sarkozy did a quick check into the military production capacity of Europe before he made his recent threats directed against Tehran. At least in theory, the world's largest economy is today capable of inflicting such horrifying havoc upon a hostile target that we would need to awake Dante Alighieri from the dead in order to aquire a proper account of it. Europe could do A LOT more in the WOT area. I am European. I was born in Sweden and despite the fact that I enjoy exploring the world (Viking genes?), Scandinavia is...

A city in Finland best known as the namesake to mobile phone giant Nokia is floundering in filthy drinking water after a municipal employee sent thousands of gallons of sewage into the water supply. Thousands have fallen ill -- and the water is still dirty. The 30,000 residents of the small Finnish city of Nokia have long lived according to what city leaders describe as a "principle" etched in stone. "We walk in Nokia boots, we use Nokia toilet paper and we talk using Nokia phones," the saying goes. Indeed, for close to 150 years the city's fortunes have been...

It might not come as a surprise to learn that the cars Britons own are smaller than the cars Americans drive or that Swedes favour safe, politically correct SAAB's and Volvo's. But there's more to be said. To begin with: WHO'S RICH, WHO'S NOT? - Swedes claim they enjoy the highest standard of living in the world and they also say poverty, in absolute terms, is extinct in their country. The income distribution is known for being extremely even. If this really is true, how is it reflected in Swedish car consumption? Furthermore, for the first time since the 19th...

"Gender research" in Sweden has a haunting historical precursor in the realm of politicized science. We are all well aware today that environmental and climate research is heavily politicized and that politically correct politicians are using this so-called science in order to increase taxes in several areas. Sweden, where I live, and the EU in general are particularly good at this sort of taxation. However, there is another area of science today that is extremely politicized. It has not been given as much attention among conservatives, but it is politicized to such an extent that much of the "research" is not even...

Swedish opera star Tito Beltran has lashed out at his adoptive country ahead of his forthcoming rape trial, describing the country as "worse than Chile during the dictatorship". Believing himself to be the victim of ethnic discrimination, the popular tenor has vowed to burn his Swedish passport after the trial. "Swedes are as racist as they come," Beltran told Chilean newspaper Las Últimas Noticias. "This country doesn't tolerate 'blackheads' [svartskallar], of which I am one," he added. Beltran, 42, is accused of raping an 18-year-old nanny at a hotel in Nötesjö in Skåne following his participation in a Rhapsody in...

Christmas, they say, is a time to be with your family. From my perspective, 'family' is, in one way, a wider community than most of us acknowledge. Personally, I view not only my parents, my brother and my relatives here in Sweden as 'my family'. 'My family' also includes all the hard working inhabitants of Gothenburg/Göteborg - the city where I live, it also includes the nation of Sweden, it includes Scandinavia, it encompasses Europe and at least to me, it is also the whole of the Western World. When I have visited other great Western nations, be it Italy,...

The origins of ice-skating have been traced by scientists to the frozen lakes of Finland about 5,000 years ago, when people used skates made from animal bone. Researchers at Manchester Metropolitan University have calculated that skating on the primitive blades would have reduced the energy cost of travelling by 10 per cent, suggesting that it emerged as a practical method of transport and not as recreation. Southern Finland has been identified as the most likely home of skating through an analysis of the shape and distribution of lakes in central and northern Europe, which shows that the early Finns would...

Sweden’s royal family is to get significantly more money from the state next year, with the government raising its grant, known as the Appanage, by 12 million kronor to 109.5 million. ”There are two main reasons for the relatively large increase in the grant,” said Lena Westin, a civil servant at government offices, to Dagens Industri. ”Security needs to be raised to a higher level at the Royal Palace, which at the moment does not have a reception, for example. The other half of the increase in the grant is for Crown Princess Victoria’s increased number of official duties.” King...

Being broke need not mean social death in Sweden - as long as you are well-educated. But for Americans and Russians having a good all-round education is no substitute for having cash, according to a new survey on status symbols in the three countries. The international survey by analysts United Minds asked 1,000 people in each country what values confer status. 'Bling' items such as expensive jewellery and designer clothes come well down the list for Swedes, while featuring more highly for Americans and, particularly, Russians. "Sweden is the only country where you can be penniless but well-read and still...

Sweden's Migration Board ruling has rejected the asylum application of a 20-year-old from Mogadishu on the grounds that the situation in the Somali capital does not constitute an armed conflict. The board's ruling, which is expected to set the standard for future applications, goes against UN recommendations, Dagens Nyheter reports. The 20-year-old Somali, who arrived in Sweden in May, will now be sent back to his home country. Under the new guidelines, refugees from Mogadishu must be able to show that there is a specific threat against them if they are to be considered eligible for permanent residency. This was...

The political think-tank Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) says that Finnish membership in NATO would not be a permanent blot on the country's relationship with Russia. Nonetheless Finland should be aware of what would be required if the country joins the alliance. The Institute published a long-awaited report on NATO's place in Europe, its role in crisis management missions, and what it might mean for Finland to become a member. The report stopped short of making a recommendation on whether to join. "Finland should only seek NATO membership if it is ready to assist other members if they are...

Sweden is set to begin its sale of state-owned wine and spirits manufacturer, Vin & Sprit. The government said it would contact all interested parties over the course of the day before beginning an auction process, Minister for Financial Markets Mats Odell announced at a press conference on Tuesday morning. "We are now coming to the end of the preparatory phase and the beginning of a more active phase. We expect a transaction to be made public next year," sad Odell. The minister said that the government had decided to conduct the sale in the form of a bidding process...

The discovery of two massive Viking halls in Borre in Vestfold County gives archeologists reason to reassess the distribution of power in Viking Norway. Vestfold County archeologists presented finds on Wednesday that show there are two great hall buildings underneath the ground about 100 meters from the major burial mounds at Borre.

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...

Two Swedish women who want to be allowed go topless in the nation's swimming pools have had their case rejected by Sweden's equality watchdog. A ruling released on Friday underlined that women's bodies were different from men's: "There is a physical difference between a woman's upper body and that of a man," said Equal Opportunities Ombudsman Anne-Marie Bergström. "There is also a great difference between how people in general perceive men's and women's bodies. It is therefore hard to maintain that [the topless bathers] were in a comparable situation to men who bathed with naked upper bodies." Ragnhild Karlsson, 22,...

Eight people were detained by police in Lund on Friday during demonstrations to mark the anniversary of the death in 1718 of King Karl XII. Two people were formally arrested for violent resistance. One of those arrested is also suspected of attempted assault. Six others were detained. A few dozen people were involved in the march, according to police. Demonstrators from the '30th November Association' gathered outside Lund Cathedral at lunchtime on Friday. The association is made up of nationalist groups from the university town and was founded following the First World War. Counter-demonstrators met in the Lundagård park. A...

Study: Shy Swedes are habitual huggers Thu Nov 29, 5:09 PM ET STOCKHOLM, Sweden - While Swedes have a reputation of being reserved, a new study shows they'll hug just about anyone except their boss. Nine out of 10 Swedes embrace somebody at least once a week, with women aged 30-44 being the most active huggers, according to the study presented Thursday by the Swedish Red Cross. About 70 percent of the 1,036 people interviewed between Nov. 5-8 said they had hugged their partner or spouse that week, while 59 percent said they had hugged a friend or acquaintance. One-quarter...

The 2007 Human Development Report says Iceland now leads annual United Nations Index. Iceland has narrowly passed Norway to take the top spot on the Human Development Index (HDI), according to the 2007/2008 Human Development Report (HDR) released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today. Norway had held the number one ranking for the previous six years. This change in ranking is a result of new estimates of life expectancy and updated GDP per capita figures, stress the Report authors. Introduced with the first HDR in 1990, the HDI assesses the state of human development through life expectancy, adult...

People who have been smuggled into Sweden should be deported, a leading Social Democrat politician has said. Allowing those who have paid thousands to people smugglers to stay is not fair on people who can't afford to pay to leave their homelands. Göran Johansson, leader of Gothenburg Council, said he based his views on the fact that many of the 20,000 Iraqis expected to come to Sweden this year came here illegally, often with the help of people smugglers. "If it is obvious that someone has been smuggled in they should be sent back again," Johansson told newspaper GT. People...