Free Republic

Our offspring and culture is the most successful feature of the History of Mankind. Ancient Rome and Greece have nothing on Scandinavia of today, nor what we did some centuries after Rome came down. No, I'm not a Racist - and I furthermore am more than a true friend of Italy and Greece. But I do not believe there's a point in denying the fact that Viking Culture has played a major role in shaping the World of today. Have a look at it. Britain, North America, Scandinavia, Germany, etc. in one way or another, all were formed by the...

Deep down inside we all regret the fact that we have turned Christmas, originally a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, into a feast of consumption. Americans view themselves as being the worst example of this attitude and behavior. But are they? Perhaps there are nations even worse. Below, a report from an American ex-pat living in my home country, Sweden. The article; "Rampant holiday consumerism is hard to avoid, writes US-native and parent Rebecca Ahlfeldt, as she struggles to reconcile competing Swedish and American Christmas traditions in finding gifts for her children. Our family has entirely too much...

Thursday, December 1, 2011 Muslim Rape Wave of European Girls continues across Scandanavia Euro-media covering up Islamic violence against Natives From Eric Dondero: On November 30, the Copenhagen Post reported on a rape of a 10-year old Danish girl by a Muslim immigrant from Somalia...

To begin with, congrats to the US on nice Black Friday shopping statistics! Maybe, the World economy is facing a brighter future despite Obama and the horrid mess of Southern Europe. Over here, in the midst of the Euro crises, it seems Northern Europe is doing pretty well. Especially Germany and my Sweden that is, if we are to believe the most recent statistics, delivered today on the 29th of November. BGA, the Federation of German Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services, seated in the German capital of Berlin, today announced that it estimates German exports to grow by 12% in...

Walter Isaacsson has, recently, completed a great work on Steve Jobs. My relatives will probably force me to read it (even though Isaacson was the former head of CNN, they're Conservatives and I'm a 42 year old with a will of my own) but prefer his magnificent study of Einstein as far books go. Anyhow, what do people actually understand about how and in what ways the IT sector of the economy has transformed all of our lives? Being Swedish, I wish to draw attention to what a marvelous revolution a certain poor peasant boy from the region of Värmland...

Why are cities like Oslo, Copenhagen and Stockholm so expensive? Simple answer: - Why are you so poor? To a 20 year old office secretary who works there, Stockholm is not expensive. She can easily afford a 79 SEK sushi lunch and then do some shopping before it's back to work again. She owns a chic French car and a €200 000 apartment and her dad probably owns two homes and a nice leisure boat as well as a summer house in the magnificent archipelago of that Nordic city. There is nothing wrong with Scandinavian price levels.

Scandinavia is widely known for tolerance. Sweden's Freedom of the Press Act, passed in 1766, is the oldest in the World. Likewise, people dwelling in Sweden have enjoyed freedom of religion for centuries (however, native Swedish Lutheran citizens were not allowed to convert until 150 years ago). But what to do when certain religious miniorities don't respect the right of other religious groups to practise their religion? I am Swedish and don't hesitate to admit my Sweden has failed in this regard. Malmö is not completely overrun by Muslims like some people outside of Sweden, apparently, believe. But it's time...

Perhaps being somewhat of an overly patriotic Swede, I admit to having had written some rather cocky stuff here on one of the most patriotic American sites on the Internet. But I somehow imagine you lot will survive my harsh accusations of driving around in Fred Flintstone vehicles and your tap water tasting like ***t. Let's forget about these "incidents", simply because I won't apologize and only Liberal Americans care about what we Europeans have to say about your great nation. Instead, I'd like to draw attention to a matter deserving much more of global interest when it comes to...

Ilmar Reepalu is the Mayor of Malmo, Sweden’s third largest city. He is a man on the move, trying to promote and develop Malmo’s position as a leader in green technology around the world. He can squeeze us in for an interview at 8:30 on a Sunday evening. Uncomplaining, he rides up to Malmo’s City Hall on his bicycle in the dark and rain to talk to us. We are in Malmo, not to discuss sustainability and fair trade in the city, but rather its massive immigration, which some call a problem, others consider a gift.

Ever been to Norway? We visited it this summer. Clean cities and towns, lots of hills and fjords, very green foliage, a really pretty place. Summertime temperatures were just perfect (winters hit 35 below). As "nanny states" go, Norway is just about the top of the heap. Supposedly, Norwegians are some of the happiest people on earth. They seem to just send most if not all their money to the government and they are taken care of pretty much cradle to grave. We did notice some things about Norway, though, that don't immediately meet the eye; that's because they aren't...

Here's a reply to that question coming from "tiny" Sweden (please see youtube link below). Yes, it's true some of our unaware teenagers daily are slandering America on You Tube. Hopefully, you'll survive it. The average, decent, well educated European may eat snails, yet is an reliable ally of the US. America is not alone.

According to American Liberals, publications like the Economist, the Guardian et al and various studies, Scandinavia is the most successful society on Earth. Despite Breivik and Malmö. Whether it actually is true or not, let's say the average Scandinavian enjoys a higher standard of living than the average German, Dutch, Briton or American. What could be learned from it? Should other countries try and copy our concept of society? Does the Scandinavian model of taxation explain Scandinavian prosperity? Hardly. The way in which Scandinavian wealth is taxed and redistributed says absolutely nothing about how it was created in the first...

There are many problems with parroting socialist-first studies, as Wilson does, especially from Scandinavia, where Orwellian speech codes prevent free-thinking academics from reaching the “wrong” conclusions. But I digress. You see, scientific truths always find ways of getting out, eventually, so one can detect a pattern. Take gay marriage and marriage-like unions and think about where children are more at risk. From The Ruth Institute: What types of unions have the highest rates of divorce? •Opposite sex married couples: men and women are so different, it is a wonder they ever stay married. •Male unions: men are naturally less committed,...

To anyone sane of mind, it's pretty obvious that something, basically, is wrong about the way large parts of European and American economy is run today. Scandinavia is an exception - and a bigger one than most people are aware of. Our German neighbors are beginning to realize this and lately Chancellor Merkel have been very successful in restoring economic growth on German soil. Presently, the German economy, after 20 years of a sad standstill, is growing at a pace nearing that of Sweden. Scandinavia (including Finland) taken as a whole is today the World's 10th largest economy despite it's...

(Translation from Swedish into English:) Stockholm: More and more Swedish families have a third child. "Trebarnstrenden," - The "three children trend" which has become increasingly manifest since the 1990s, was unexpected by demographers at Statistics Sweden (SCB), which lies behind the study. - We had expected a reduction of third child births given that women become older when they have their first child, about 29 years, and therefore would have a hard time getting a third child, says Lotta Persson, demographer at Statistics Sweden who carried out the study. Even in the early 1990s there were many who got a...

Almost 100 years after the great Swedish migration to North America, dialect researchers from Gothenburg are heading across the Atlantic in hopes of learning more about the evolution of the Swedish language, The Local’s Karen Holst explains. Wild myths that solve the mysterious birth of language and its dispersal often include floods, catastrophes or punishment by the gods. In Hindu stories it was a tree being humbled, in North American Indian folklore it was a great flood, in east Africa it was starvation-induced madness, in the Amazon it was stolen hummingbird eggs and in aboriginal Australia it was a goddess’...

The Yale Glee Club chose Sweden to kick off a reprise the US singing group's 1928 international tour undertaken to celebrate its 150th anniversary. Contributor Lina Sennevall finds out why. The stately harmonies of the Yale Glee Club filled the halls of the Adolf Fredrik Church in Stockholm on a recent evening. The performance is one of four Swedish concerts the prestigious singing group gave as part of a European tour retracing the steps of the choir’s landmark 1928 tour which helped the group gain recognition as one of the first American singing groups to tour the Scandinavian countries and...

- Perhaps, but Northern Europe didn't get rich by adopting policies resembling what Obama today is doing to the US.

My ancestors have lived close to Russia since the dawn of Mankind. We have lost territory to them, counqured it back and so forth. In 1809, Sweden had to give up Finland to Russia during the Napoleonic Wars. Later on, Finland became sovereign and stood up very well to the test when challenged by Stalin in the wake of WWII. Tiny Finland in fact even ridiculed Stalin and his Soviet warriors in the legendary Winter War. Most often, Stalin is seen as a brutal yet efficient ruler, but Finland, aided by Sweden, really demonstrated to the World how weak and...

I was born in Sweden 41 years ago and since 1988 I work there. Compared to when I begun my career, wages are much higher, prices have not gone up much and taxes are way lower. Recently, our economy has displayed GDP growth figures of 7.3%. Do we Scandinavians set an example for other nations? I think we do. Germany has recently begun listening to what Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden have to say in the area of economic policy and national budget discipline. One fine day, France, Italy, Britain, Japan and the US perhaps will too.. The article: "The...

The Church of Sweden has advised pastors to avoid christening asylum seekers that have converted to Christianity due to the risk of reprisals in the case of repatriation, reported news agency TT. One of the reasons for the recommendation is because it can cause danger and increase risks if a person who has converted to Christianity is later sent back to their home country. Another reason is that the motive for the christening can be questioned by some who suggest that asylum seekers convert to Christianity to increase their chances of staying in Sweden. The issue is being addressed in...

1. I'm convinced several forum members who are impressed by Sweden's Liberal policies on immigration wish to contribute in a constructive manner to this thread:) 2. Which is the biggest shopping mall on Earth? According to Forbes, no mall in the entire US enters the top ten list! (See link below) However, there are many ways to count. If you'd measure them by the number of shops, Emporia would beat number 10 on that list by around 100% even though it will have only half the size. Furthermore, the yearly combined sales of a mall like Emporia, located in an...

No one really knows how to measure such wealth as billionaires as the likes of Kamprad and Gates dispose of. Kamprad's ranked as number 11 by Forbes on their 2011 listing of the World's wealthiest persons, but after recent news of his hidden possessions in the tax haven of Lichtenstein, some experts rank Ingvar Kamprad as number one. In any case, I, being Swedish myself find it interesting that two of the 15 richest men on Earth are Swedish (although I'm not one of them myself) and that small Scandinavia has more of companies listed on the Forbes Global 2000...

There is actually nothing to be afraid of here in life. But most people act like disorganized creatures running around recently having their necks cut off. Prior to Gustavus Adolphus, monarch of tiny Sweden, decided to break the backbone of Catholicism in the 17th century, he told his troops; "Fear not, O little flock, the foe Who madly seeks your overthrow; Dread not his rage and power; What though your courage sometimes faints, His seeming triumph o’er God’s saints Lasts but a little hour. Be of good cheer; your cause belongs To Him who can avenge your wrongs; Leave it...

Around a.d. 1000, Scandinavia was Christianized. This clip could be said to feature how the Christian nation of Sweden was secured. Most historians would say Denmark is an even older Christian nation. The flag of Denmark is commonly considered to be the oldest existing flag on Earth.

Being a four year old toddler, my grandpa robbed me from my mother's knee and taught me the realities of life; "We men work and when work is finished, we'll enjoy grandma's great cooking". My grandma knew how to cook. I'm fortunate. I've enjoyed the greatest childhood any person could dream of. Despite the torture of Swedish Liberal schools. My maternal grandfather owned three summer houses by the age of 30 and managed them all by himself (with a little aid from his family though). His father worked at a factory. My paternal grandfather was just like him. He had...

STOCKHOLM—Sweden's gross domestic product surged in the fourth quarter of 2010, rising the most since records began, easily beating forecasts and offering further support to the Riksbank's plans to raise interest rates during 2011. Economic output in Sweden grew 7.3% in the three months to Dec. 31 compared with the same period in 2009, beating economists' estimates of 6.9%, and expanded 1.2% compared with the third quarter against forecasts of 0.9%, Statistics Sweden said. GDP growth of 7.3% was the biggest quarterly rise year-on-year since Statistics Sweden started measuring such figures in 1970, said Per Ericson, an analyst at the...

Many Americans of today enjoy a high standard of living, but unemployment is on the rise and no signs of economic recovery is in sight (please correct me if you think I'm wrong). In order to make things worse, USA has also elected a certain Liberal named Obama for president. By and by, America, a nation which still is admired by many over here in Europe (I'm Swedish by the way), a nation which once ruled the World, is becoming more and more like a backyard of today's international business scene. Yes, it IS that bad. I live in Gothenburg,...

A year after claims about an exodus of Jews from Malmö made global headlines, many Jewish residents still don't feel safe in southern Sweden, The Local's Karen Holst discovers. The past couple of years have been turbulent for Malmö's Jewish community. A spike in anti-Semitic attacks in 2009 prompted a number of Jews to leave the city altogether, concluding they would never feel accepted there. Controversial comments by the town's long-serving Social Democratic mayor Ilmar Reepalu also put Malmö in the spotlight, drawing criticism from within his own party, as well as from influential Jewish organisations aboard. And in December...

A year after claims about an exodus of Jews from Malmö made global headlines, many Jewish residents still don't feel safe in southern Sweden, The Local's Karen Holst discovers. The past couple of years have been turbulent for Malmö's Jewish community. A spike in anti-Semitic attacks in 2009 prompted a number of Jews to leave the city altogether, concluding they would never feel accepted there. Controversial comments by the town's long-serving Social Democratic mayor Ilmar Reepalu also put Malmö in the spotlight, drawing criticism from within his own party, as well as from influential Jewish organisations aboard. And in December...

In case you consider yourself an expert of the economy of Sweden and issues of Economics in general, please skip the following introduction to the article. Otherwise; While goody, self-opinioned, PC Swedish officials are doing no one a favour trying to brand the "New" Swedish Model as a pre-packed, instant solution to each and every challenge any corner of the World might encounter, Liberals like Obama also need to listen more carefully to what Scandinavians actually are wishing to say. American Liberals, Continental Europeans, the British and many others often appraise the Swedish societal concept without actually having much knowledge...

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has indicated that his government is ready to push ahead with further tax cuts assuming public finances continue to improve. Reinfeldt told Sveriges Television (SVT) on Sunday that he’s open to moving ahead with the fifth stage in the centre-right government’s in-work tax credit programme (jobbskatteavdraget). According to Reinfeldt, the tax reductions could come as soon as January 1st, 2012 as long as the four parties of the centre-right Alliance government can come to an agreement on the issue. “But we believe on the best way to stimulated part time workers and low-wage earners to...

The Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) has turned to antique rolling stock to boost resources battling the snow and to clear a stretch of track in southern Sweden, according to a report by Sveriges Television (SVT). The trains, old DA locomotives normally resident in the Swedish Railway Museum in Gävle in northern Sweden, have been dusted off and put back into service to clear the tracks of snow between Mjölby and Alvesta in southern Sweden. Furthermore a 100-year-old snowplough is in place alongside the tracks in nearby Nässjö, ready to be called into action if needed. "These are made of stern...

Norwegian media is painting a gloomy picture of the planned procurement of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. This picture is based on unverified information coming from a meeting at the Pentagon last week and the draft of a report that describes the various opportunities for spending cuts throughout the U.S. economy. Now is the time to look at the facts. During spring and summer of 2010, changes were decided in the US-led multinational F-35 program. These changes place a stronger emphasis on testing before full-scale production begins, and this implies that the development phase be extended by 19 months. Costs...

If we are to believe the wisdom received by early medieval (southern) European scholars, the northernmost parts of the continent prior and after the fall of the Roman Empire was not only cold, barbaric and uninviting. It also was inferior. Pretty much like people of today not having visited Scandinavia and Finland would describe it. In fact, certain Romans and Arabs did actually pay visits to frozen, godforsaken "Thule". What did they meet with? Although they were not all that impressed with certain aspects of Nordic culture, like eating habits, they understood the Vikings had developed forging, warrior code and...

I'm Swedish and I admit my nation has made a lot of mistakes throughout the centuries. But, in resemblence to the other Nordic nations (Scandinavia + Finland), we know how to run an economy. From people who live in other parts of the World pretending to understand macro economics I often hear remarks like "Norway is rich because of oil" and "Sweden is a small country with a homogenous population that therefore is easily governed". A nation like Libya too houses a homogenous population and has even more oil and gas reserves than Norway, but can't exactly compete with Scandinavia...

SNIPPET: "Meanwhile, if anyone has any sites to add to this list, or any other insights regarding HuT online, I'm right here."

(Translation from Swedish) "The Danish government wants to demolish parts of the country's ghettos. Areas with high immigrant density and high levels of crime and social problems are in focus. In today's opening speech in the National assembly, Prime Minister Lars Rasmussen Løkke described the situation in these problem- areas as "untenable". Increased police presence and the demolition of particularly crime stricken neighborhoods is the solution offered by Rasmussen. The Prime Minister has identified 29 districts across Denmark requiring "special measures".

I admit my part of the world has been haunted by the evil of Socialism. But does that mean we are lost for ever on? If you think so, you probably haven't paid a visit to the Volvo Torlsanda Plant lately, one of the largest industrial plants in all of Europe. We are a more productive and better organized society than you are.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbTEzhaXZ3w

SHOULD America try and become more like "Socialist" Sweden? COULD Americans aquire the English skills, become as beautiful and get as successful at establishing healthy multinationals as Swedes? Some would say so: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDAQWJbEl9U

STRASBOURG, France, June 28, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) — Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) and the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) filed an application with the European Court of Human Rights Friday asking it to hear the case of a seven-year-old boy seized by Swedish authorities because his parents homeschool.“Parents have the right and authority to make decisions regarding their children’s education without government interference,” said ADF Legal Counsel Roger Kiska, who is based in Europe. “A government trying to create a cookie-cutter child in its own image should not be allowed to violate this basic and fundamental human right. "The...

Sweden's Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has joined forces with UK Prime Minister David Cameron to call for "less talk and more action" to ensure that Europe tackles its economic crisis as EU premiers head to Brussels for crisis talks. In an opinion article in the UK Financial Times on Thursday, Reinfeldt and Cameron lay out "four clear steps" which they argue are needed to ensure that Europe "thrives and prospers". "First we need to get a grip on our debts," the pair write, underlining that as "Sweden has been living within its means it is one of the member states...

Sweden is simply the best. And don't take our word for it - this is the conclusion of a whole range of global rankings, write Bo Ekman and James Wine from the Tällberg Foundation. Three years ago, the Tällberg Foundation set out to find the answer to a question: which countries and which social models have created the best societies? Which can work as tried and tested visions in the development of the evermore integrated globalized civilization? To find an answer we collated the results of the most frequently quoted of the many indexes and ranking lists that compare how...

See links below.

Milton Friedman, prime advisor to U.S. President Ronald Reagan, was perhaps the most insightful and clearsighted advocate of Capitalism ever. Over here in Europe (where I live), a continent characterized by Socialism, tradition, but also by high IQ levels, he was awarded the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics. Few economists ever are. Considering the fact that Europe - and especially the Scandinavian countries - were very much into Socialism at that time, 1976, this might surprise some people not having studied the details of his life or that part of recent Scandinavian history. Why would anyone in Volvo Paradise...

While Scandinavian school children today learn about how USA became the leading industrial power on Earth during the 20th century, American pupils are informed by their teachers and by American media that Scandinavians believe in a Socialist welfare state model of society. But Socialism has actually little to do with the facts that; - Norway has more dollar millionaires per capita than any other nation. - Danes are paid the highest salaries on Earth. - Swedes enjoy more of living space, drive more expensive cars than any other nation on the planet and run a nation that boasts a larger...

One of the most Muslim cities throughout Europe is Malmö, Sweden. What does it look like? http://www.hitta.se/LargeMap.aspx?start (a direct link below) (Choose "Malmö") No I don't wish to say there is no problem. There is. My point is this; - There is much at stake. - Distrust those who claim the game is already lost.

"The environment here is good, it's beautiful, it's clean," summed up Anna Elig, a 37 year-old Stockholm dweller pushing her eight-week-old daughter's carriage through the city centre on a cool, sunny afternoon. "All the moms and dads who are on parental leave go out for walks around the city ... This wouldn't work in Paris," she chuckled, strolling along the broad walkway near the sparkling water. With 40 percent of the inner city composed of green spaces, the Baltic Sea archipelago city seems a natural place to begin the European Commission's Green Capital initiative. "I wasn't surprised," said Katarina Eckerberg,...

Sweden has the world's most hooked-up economy, according to a new report from the World Economic Ranking (WEF). Nordic countries all performed well on the list in the WEF Global Information Technology report released on Thursday. Sweden displaced Denmark to rank first on the chart, with the Danes sliding to third place. Other Nordic countries were also in the top 10, with Finland in sixth place and Norway in tenth. Singapore crept closer to the top, moving up from fourth place last year to second place now. Fellow Asian economy Hong Kong was in eighth place, also gaining from 12th...