Long time no blog again, mainly due to work, and, oddly, The Weather!. The last few weeks have been wild out here on the West Coast.

We’ve had winds reaching 175kph, Category 2 Hurricane Force.

We’ve also had torrentional rain, and a good dump of snow. All of which has made the ground fragile and tree roots vulnerable.

This brings me to this image:

originally posted on this railfan forum:
Port Alberni sub rail line of the Esquimalt & Nanaimo (E&N) Railway. Around mile 30.5

This rail line is currently not used. The last freight traffic ran through over 5 years ago. Fortunately there are plans to bring a tourist train back to the rails starting next year with hopes that it will spur interest and eventually lead to the full reactivation of rail service for both freight and commuter traffic.

No doubt, this damage will throw a wrench in those plans. Much cleanup will be done, and by the looks of it, a new culvert, tracks, and possibly a bridge will have to be installed to bring this section back to life. And that doesn’t even account for the rest of the line which is basically in an unknown state after the storms.

The storms were of course the main culprit for this damage. But how much of a role did poor forest practices by owners of the Private TimberLands surrounding the tracks (likely owned by TimberWest or Island Timberlands). Certainly the washout looks suspect. And were the rails still owned by a private company (formerly RailAmerica) no doubt, a lawsuit against the other private interet would be possible.

Instead, the railline is in the hands of the Island Corridor Foundation. A group flush with promise and good intentions, but certainly not cash for a legal battler.

That said, the list of people, groups, and organizations with a bone to pick with Private forest practices is growing.

How long before a class-action lawsuit becomes possible?

Perhaps only as long as the next Pineapple Express or El Nino inspired sudo-Typhoon. (edit: Pineapple Express is On the Way for New Years)

There are also Videos of the destruction on YouTube:
Here
and Here
Update:

A Bit of good news… for those who grew up or have lived in Nanaimo recently. Remember the Caboose at the McDonalds in Nanaimo? It was used for parties and things?

Well… here it is… back on rails! The Alberni Pacific Railway and Island Corridor Foundation have picked it up and it looks like it will be reborn:
Here it is at the APR Station

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From the CBC

“We are getting some reports of customers getting aggressive with our crews because they want their power restored,” Moreno said.

“Please be patient with us, we need our space to work and to work safely. We understand that you’re frustrated right now. But we are trying the best we can to get the power restored quickly.”

3 days?, 2 weeks?…

Imagine 3 years without reliable power.. how frustrated would YOU be??

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Jade loved the Concert! Grandma sang so well!!

The first one is very short.

The 2nd one is the full song, Jade loved every minute! And didn’t say a word for the whole time!!

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I just came across an incredible little video thanks to a post on a local web forum.

It shows some very very early images (starting late 1800s) of Port Alberni, showing schooners, horse-drawn mail coaches, horse logging, the first steam train in Port Alberni, and many images of buildings and hotels that are still in Port Alberni today (but don’t look anything like the pictures!!)

It’s well worth watching the entire thing, so please do:

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This is courtesy of Treasure of Baghdad.

Civil war in Iraq has reached its peak. Everyday a new aspect of life dies.

…

After the U.S.-led occupation to Iraq, education deteriorated form its steady situation where students and professors were able to exchange knowledge despite the oppression of the former regime and the U.S.-U.N. sanctions against the Iraqi people.

…

Last week, a friend of mine told me that the former chair of the English Department in my university in Baghdad fled to northern Iraq. She told me he became miserable after armed men kidnapped his son, beheaded him and sent his head in a box.

…

In today’s edition, Azzaman newspaper reported that an “unknown group distributed leaflets to university students in Adhamiya and Yarmouk neighborhoods banning them from going to schools.” The paper added that the same group “excluded the elementary and high school students” from this campaign and “promised not to hurt them.”

….

A university professor who spoke to Azzaman on condition of anonymity said he was shocked when he saw one of the leaflets at the footstep of his house. He said fear haunted him and made him decide not to go to school fearing these groups’ threats.

….

The Higher education ministry sources did not comment on most of these incidents, Azzaman said. The source didn’t say much but told the paper that the “government promised to increase the security measures in the universities and institutes.”

I’m sure whatever the Iraq Study Group has to say tomorrow will fix Iraq right up.

and if it doesn’t, I’m sure some of Instapundits’ readers will have the solution.

At Posse Incitatus, a suggestion that we change our approach:
The key is a regional solution. We cannot wall off Iraq from the nations around it, nor should we wish to. Instead, we should be exporting Iraq to the rest of the region. This having been said, it has long been clear that the US plays by one set of rules, and its rivals use a far more effective and different set.
This needs to change.

Or maybe this!

Texas Scribbler writes:

As for Syria, why not financially undermine Baby Assad the same way we do the mullahs, in fact the whole Syrian Bathhist elite? We certainly have the means, and with Iraq drawn down to a 30,000 or so ground troop advisory effort, we’d again have the forces for outright war with Syria. The terrain there is very inviting.

How can people be this…. disconnected.. from reality.

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