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Nalaxone will prevent ODs in a lot of cases and counter act the immediate effects of opiates. However it does not prevent the long term damage.

I am also aware of taxes that attempt to pass the cost of an activity to the people involved. The problem with them is often the tax required is too high so you have the effect of either subsidising it from general tax revenue OR pushing the cost of something so high you are effectively criminalising it via price and people move to finding illicit sources. You see this in the current cost of cigarettes.

As for the rights. I agree. I am advocating that peoples rights are curtailed in a society. In the same way that I am not allowed to have my stereo playing at 1000db at 2am on a Saturday night. Or to burn off my garbage in a bonfire in the back yard. Or to drive my motorcyle at 200kph. Or any one of a million other laws and by-laws that make our society function.

You may feel that legalising heroin would have a net benefit on society, I may believe that legalising heroin would be a net penalty on society. These are obviously differences in opinion but the fundamentals of having an individuals rights curtailed for the benefit of society as a greater whole is already there and I'm sure that there are many many cases where you agree with curtailing an individuals rights.

I am also aware of the concept of if a government has the power to ban all the things I don't like then it will also have the power to ban the things I do.

As an aside I live in Australia which has a universal health-care system and a universal welfare system. It is not as socialist as say a northern european country but compared to the US you would find it very left wing. If you are ill you are looked after to the best of our ability irrespective of whether you can afford to pay for the care or not. Many of the arguments around rights and what people can and cannot do in the US are settled questions here. Abortion and gun control being the two most obvious ones.

One of the biggest differences you notice when going to the US from Australia is the disenfranchisement of so much of the population. The obvious poverty and the feeling that they see no way out is actually quite shocking. You can wander around any Australian city at night and feel safe and while there are homeless people the numbers are small (Brisbane has a homeless population of 50, in a city of 2 million). http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au...

So perhaps that helps explain where I am coming from when I sit in favour of restricting an individuals rights to something like heroin. I believe that it would be a significant net cost to society to legalise it and the only way for it to not be a net cost would be for society to abandon those who become victims of it. Something I am not willing to advocate.

Sorry for a ridiculously long rambling post.

This is rather important to know about, too. It implies you should not be wading through the floodwaters with anything less than rubber overalls. You should especially not be wandering around in unprotective clothing, with any kind of injuries to your feet or legs that would admit cholera.

ie: In board shorts, getting hit in the legs with sharp flotsam, while standing in sewage contaminated water. Just don't do it.

Untreated sewage to enter floodwaters
12 January, 2011

Brisbane City Council has warned that as sewerage treatment plants become impacted by rising water, some untreated sewage will begin to enter floodwaters and is urging residents to stay away.

In addition to untreated sewage, floodwaters could also contain other ground contaminants that could be potentially dangerous.

Residents are urged however, to conserve water as much as possible to ensure reservoirs remain in maximum supply – this does not apply to infants, elderly residents and people with health issues.

For further information, contact the SEQ Water Grid Manager on 1800 771 497.
 

Just found the Brisbane City Council Newsroom, which has recent updates. For example, this new information (to me) on evacuation centres:

Residents urged to bring own bedding to evacuation centres12/1/2011
Brisbane City Council advises that although there will be some bedding provided at evacuation centres across the city, residents are urged to bring their own bedding when accessing the centres.

Council expects high demand for access to the evacuation centres and recommends residents bring their own supplies for their own comfort.

Residents are encouraged to bring pillows and sheets, any medication, important documents such as insurance papers and spare clothing.

Two major evacuation centres have been activated at the RNA Showgrounds at Bowen Hills and QEII at Nathan.

Three smaller evacuation centres were activated this morning at St Catherine’s Anglican Church and the Salvation Army Church at Middle Park and Good News Lutheran Church and Jamboree Heights.

The evacuation centres have been established for those who wish to evacuate of their own accord and cannot be accommodated with family or friends. Please note there have been no forced evacuations.

Just found the Brisbane City Council Newsroom, which has recent updates. For example, this new information (to me) on evacuation centres:

Residents urged to bring own bedding to evacuation centres12/1/2011
Brisbane City Council advises that although there will be some bedding provided at evacuation centres across the city, residents are urged to bring their own bedding when accessing the centres.

Council expects high demand for access to the evacuation centres and recommends residents bring their own supplies for their own comfort.

Residents are encouraged to bring pillows and sheets, any medication, important documents such as insurance papers and spare clothing.

Two major evacuation centres have been activated at the RNA Showgrounds at Bowen Hills and QEII at Nathan.

Three smaller evacuation centres were activated this morning at St Catherine’s Anglican Church and the Salvation Army Church at Middle Park and Good News Lutheran Church and Jamboree Heights.

The evacuation centres have been established for those who wish to evacuate of their own accord and cannot be accommodated with family or friends. Please note there have been no forced evacuations.

How is this better than just putting the bus time table into a palm held computer which could sync just as frequently? The Brisbane City Council Bus Service trialed electronic signs at bus stops over five years ago. They were very cool because not only did they tell you when the next bus was meant to arrive for each route it also told you if the bus was running late. Not sure what the status is nowadays but I'm guessing they were too expensive to put on every bus stop.

In my home town of Brisbane, Australia. The city council uses a web interface to their catalog. Its easy and apart from the browser being IE with some apparent functionality locked out, including closing / minimising the browser, its fine. In fact you can access the catalog remotely by browser. The other PCs in each library just run IE to interface to the web. Soooo ... if you had something like Konqueror or *insert name of favourite browser* then why run Winders at all ?

So my suggestion is, yep a linux box but it only runs a browser and that is the only interface the user sees.

In Brisbane, where I live, we have quite a large network of cameras in the city centre that are monitored by police. There is also a network of cameras at all the train stations as well as on the trains.

They have overwhelmingly been accepted. They where installed as a deterrent to the 'rising crime rate', but, have proven to be very effective in reducing crime in the areas that are monitored . To date, that I know of, there hasn't been any abuse of the system.

Sometimes I do think that people can overreact when it comes to this type of surveillance. It's not like every monitor has some zealot steadfastly examining ever person looking for the slightest indiscretion. There is not much else you can do with this sort of monitoring other then watch out for the sort of crime your trying to stop.

Seems like an ok system to me.