they sure do make good wages, get sweet vacations and drive nice cars.

Make that energy efficient cars...

Energy efficient cars are illegal in North America.

remember what a fraud that 65 year old swede was, the one that was more fit than the average 35 year old old canadian, the one that particpaction (only in canada could we come up with that word)shoved down our throats, the one that turned out 20 years later to be a complete marketing fabrication? why should i believe anything about sweden now? fool me once..........

blow me sweden.

I don't think anyone needs to work more than 30 hours a week.

Whoowee, Portland, I am reminded of the Swedish bikini team, but REALLY!

At the very least we need a statutory long weekend in June.

Think big - why not a statutory week off? Pick one that is the natural retooling time for factories. Give it to everyone with a half day on Wednesday for grocery buying.

portland in his "direct" way is usually right, in a fashion.

I suppose if you believe man's natural state is one of laziness (in this case, depositing yourself into the hands of the state from cradle to grave) then more Euro-type leisure time is what you're looking for.

For exactly what are the Euros doing with their expansive vacations? Spending that time with their increasingly non-existent families? Using the time to procreate? Creating great art, architecture, or music? Making great scientific discoveries? Creating "start up" companies? Apparently not. Have you met any "bright light" in the sciences or an entrepreneur in business, for instance, who wants to move to and live in Europe "'cause that's where all the free- wheeling action is, baby"? Didn't think so.

And as for the "good" wages and "nice" cars, I would suggest the appropriate adjective is "modest" (on the whole - unless your a German, with respect to the cars, anyway)...and with housing, I would suggest the appropriate adjective is "generally cramped and crappy" - on the whole.

I suppose when you hand over all of your economic freedom to the state, a six-week vacation is a small opiate to expect in return. Let's see where they are in 10 - 20 years. I suggest that they use their leisure time wisely: building more robots...

What a ignorant goof you are. [Did you know Hitler was really a socialist as well?] It is all a conspiracy and Europe is behind it. <p><i>"BOO!!!"</i> Oh, Good Lord! I thought Eurpoe was creeping up on me there...<p>Here is the deal - Say "I love Europe" and nothing else or I delete everything you post for the next week. Say it. Say it.

["I love Europe..." ]*

Who cares about Europe, what about the S.B.T.?

S.B.T.?

Interviewer: And you don't bear him any grudge?

SayNay: A grudge! Al? He was a real darling.
Interviewer: But, I understand he also nailed your wife's head to a coffee table. Isn't that right Mrs. SayNay?

[Camera pans to show Mrs. SayNay with coffee table nailed to head.]

Mrs SayNay?: Oh, no. No. No.
SayNay?: Yeah, well, ok, he did do that. Yeah, yeah. He was a cruel man, but fair...

[I love it - you said you love Europe and even left the qualifying asterix outside the quotation marks and the brackets!!! You really <i>do</i> love Europe. You do!]

That all being said, there is definitely a truth in an unbalanced economy not being the strongest - the UK in the mid-70s were too strongly anti-capital and many parts of the southern US and moreso even further south being too strongly anti-labour even still these days and Japan in the 80s being too anti-<i>auslander</i>. But there is no single stream that all this flows upon. The entire set of interests within an economy is a network of interacting demands which is perfected only in balance. That is why Randian mumbo-jumbo and that nutty North Korean principle and that other nutty Zimbabwean one and nationalism of any sort are just wacko. It is not that they are extreme so much as they are partial - and indeed extreme partial - in terms of the interests they represent. The sensible social welfare captialism of North America and Europe are only two sides of the same coin compared to these wingnuts. The happy Swedes and the happy Minnesotans are indistinguishable practically speaking.

so it's the cold weather. you're saying it's the cold weather......

Exactly. And the longing for the old days. And BBQ sauce.

Alan, you ignorant goof. I had previously remarked upon the Swedish Bikini Team, therefore S.B.T. I am not, however, making any sort of LEWD connection between what Portland originally said about Sweden and ....well, really, enough said.

How about the Gen X at 40 Bikini Team? Us guys could all go out and get itty bitty little Speedos and the women also and....

All the girls love me in a Speedo (and many of the lads too).

Itty bitty Speedos for the guys, this for the gals.

"and nationalism of any sort are just wacko."? Al, you sure you want to go this way? Any and all nationalism(not jingoism. Just nationalism.) is the first step down the path to all that is evil, evil, evil?

I'm not tracking you on this one. An ethical (which we don't quite have yet) globalism that results in major economic integration to the benefit of all is a good thing. BUt any and all nationalism being evil? I don't think that's what you meant. Care to lead me out of the dark and scary Schwarzwald?

Let us abstract ourselves for a moment. If pride in one's nation become an "-ism" for e person that means he is a "nationalist". For me Slobo and the lads in Serbia (or Holland in a box) are the last European "-ists" with their "-ism". Below that, while a good thing, does not read the level of "-ism" or "-ist". Mugabe in Zimbabwe seems to be well over in the "-ist" corner. Your love of country I would hope has no master race, greater California or otherwise "-istic" tendencies.

cm, yer such a good sport, but why not go all the way? Make it a Burka, covered head to toe, and for all we know Portland and a family of monkeys could be hiding in there.

From past comments about swimwear, jam, toast and whatnot: I really want some nice baggy jams for this summer. You know, opposite of a Speedo-roomy, longish, maybe some sort of palm tree hula girls theme decoration in extra loud colors.

Oh! Portland hiding in my burka. Could be fun. :-)

You may (or may not) be interested to note that everytime I pass a skate shop I wonder if they have baggy jams for sale. I'd like to buy a new bathing suit, but the thought of trying them on gives me the willies.

Who cares about Europe, what about the S.B.T.?

South Bronx, the South, South Bronx!

Um, cm, I sorta imagined Portland in his own Burka with his own family of monkeys, but hey, Canada has its own way of doing things, and far be it for me to pass judgement on...

Well, can you boil potential bathing suits for 20 minutes or so before trying on? Spray liberally with pesticides and say a few prayers? Just trying to be helpful. We had 8 or 9 wintry days, my 'rents even had snow on their hilltop the other morning, today back to this summery thing. Grilled them tofu pups and veggies on the barbie, yumalicious!

If I find the right jams I will need to find a pair of skate sneaks to go with, maybe checkered Vans slip-ons (oh how foolish is a forty year old with a teenage heart).

Its not just Sweden. Denmark has a minumum legislated 5 weeks of vacation with high rates of productivity. They also have a lower unemployment rate than Sweden. AND there are more corporate HQs in Copenhagen than any other world capital. And they even get mail on Saturdays. THAT'S gotta be a socialist plot of some kind.

I suppose it's all in the eye of the beholder:

"...But the good times in Europe and Japan are long gone. In the past decade, the gap between US living standards and those in other leading countries widened again. Europe has been actively concerned about its relative decline for five years. It devised the Lisbon agenda in March 2000 with the grand goal of making the EU15 “the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-driveneconomy by 2010”. But it has failed and the relative position of Europe’s economy has declined since 2000..."

see "How US Productivity Pulled Away"

And how does a comment about the US v. whole EU add to a discussion between Canada and certain northern European nations? It's like you pulled out a trump card but everyone else is playing basketball. Nice one.<p>[Plus big media, like Europe, is full of evil lies. The Financial Times is European big media. I think I need to have a shower. I feel dirty.]

Are the Swedes really this bleak? see:

http://www.mises.org/story/2190

Every country has their old farts. Follow them if you will. YOu can spot them easily. They use phrases like:<blockquote class="smalltext">This degenerated morality and lack of understanding for the real and natural order of things...</blockquote>Conversely, consider this month's opportunities for dealing with the other fun Swedes, those who do have a sense of the real and natural order.