When is a war not a war?

When Teribus says so. Just ask him. To be a war, a war must first meet Teribus's requirements. And they are...........???

As far as paying a premium for gas, though, well I think everyone in Europe has been doing that for quite a long time now, haven't they? North America is slowly catching up to reality in that regard. We travel much longer distances on average in North America, we commute to work in cars much more than Europeans do and we commute farther, we have far less public transit than other developed nations do, and we have long benefited from our comparatively low fuel prices which were, I suppose, tailored to fit our car-oriented lifestyle. That is going to change now that gas is becoming more expensive, and it may get North America to finally give good public transit the importance it deserves.

I know that people around where I live are doing a lot less long distance driving now if they can possibly manage it, and they are finding other alternatives.