Outer oblectation...

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[edit 17:45] Snow, ice and cold beats sun, sand and heat in the happiness stakes it would seem; or as Bloomberg tells us "Happiness seems to be most abundant a long way from the equator"... ..."The 10 happiest countries are Switzerland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Canada, Finland, Netherlands, Sweden, New Zealand, and Australia"  ... and "Except for war-torn Syria and Afghanistan, the 10 unhappiest countries are all in Saharan or sub-Saharan Africa" in the World Happiness Report 2015, measuring not GDP/GNP but gross national happiness [GNH]. The UK is just off the left hand chart at #21. 

Outer oblectation...

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[edit 17:45] Snow, ice and cold beats sun, sand and heat in the happiness stakes it would seem; or as Bloomberg tells us "Happiness seems to be most abundant a long way from the equator"... ..."The 10 happiest countries are Switzerland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Canada, Finland, Netherlands, Sweden, New Zealand, and Australia"  ... and "Except for war-torn Syria and Afghanistan, the 10 unhappiest countries are all in Saharan or sub-Saharan Africa" in the World Happiness Report 2015, measuring not GDP/GNP but gross national happiness [GNH]. The UK is just off the left hand chart at #21. 

Offing oldies...

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Is the government offing oldies by allowing thousands to die from increased energy bills (ooh those evil energy companies)? No. Of course, let's do what we have to do to reduce the number of winter excess deaths: we can and are getting this number down but let's not get carried away with silly headlines about the estimated 30,000 + excess winter deaths occurring in England and Wales in 2012/13 and that it is a '29% increase'. The figure may be accurate but the context isn't given the graph (click to enlarge or see all figures HERE [pdf]). The ONS summary states: "In common with other countries, in England and Wales more people die in the winter than in the summer. This statistical bulletin presents provisional figures of excess winter deaths...  Historical trends from 1950/51 onwards are also presented for comparison. Figures are presented by sex, age, area and cause of death. Figures on temperature and influenza incidence are also provided to add context to the mortality figures."

Offing oldies...

---

Is the government offing oldies by allowing thousands to die from increased energy bills (ooh those evil energy companies)? No. Of course, let's do what we have to do to reduce the number of winter excess deaths: we can and are getting this number down but let's not get carried away with silly headlines about the estimated 30,000 + excess winter deaths occurring in England and Wales in 2012/13 and that it is a '29% increase'. The figure may be accurate but the context isn't given the graph (click to enlarge or see all figures HERE [pdf]). The ONS summary states: "In common with other countries, in England and Wales more people die in the winter than in the summer. This statistical bulletin presents provisional figures of excess winter deaths...  Historical trends from 1950/51 onwards are also presented for comparison. Figures are presented by sex, age, area and cause of death. Figures on temperature and influenza incidence are also provided to add context to the mortality figures."