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I decided to create a topic as far away from what we've been doing as possible... he it is...

For those of you who don't know The Halifax Explosion was the biggest non-nuclear explsion in history to date. The explsion occured at in Halifax (duh) December 6th, 1917. Halifax was a major wartime port during W.W.I. What basically happend is that the Mont Blanc, a French cargo steamer, was heading towards the Narrows out of Halifax Harbour. At the same time the Imo, a Norwegian ship, was also heading out of the Harbour. The two ships collided... no big deal... only the Mont Blanc was loaded with 2,400 tonnes of high explosives. At 8:55 am the Mont Blanc exploded, deastroying a huge section of the city of Halifax. The blast was heard up to 300km away and the explosion itself killed 2000 people and injured another 9000. As if that wasn't enough 3 natural disasters followed. A tidle wave, an earthquake and a snow storm the next day. The snow strom was no pushover, it is one of the strongest Halifax has ever had, and they've had some killers. The following you may wish to skip over (onto the next paragraph) as it is unpleasent. People caught in the blast were burned alive trapped in their houses, had stakes of wood protruding out of their bodies (in worse cases face and eyes) and some were trying to hold their severed head together for 5 seconds before they died. Not the way I would want to go that's for sure.

How can you possibly discuss this? Well here's my question, do you think the Halifax Explosion was more devestating than 9/11 (only because I don't want to describe another tragedy and I'm sure you know at least a little about it)? Keep in mind that death tolls are reletive, 2000 dead then was incredibly devestating.

Please, keep this topic devoid of religious beliefs, I can see no benifit to discussing them in this topic, as the only thing I can possibly see people refering to is souls and other things not everyone belives in.

So there you have it, which do you think is more tragic based on economic losses, timing and brutalness of it.

ooo ooo I got the anwser!
9/11 beccause Bush used it as grounds to fight a war without any idea of what he's doing, and so far, spent 200 billion dollars on another country instead of our own. 200 billion + actual losses from the wtc is more than some city I've never heard about, I'm sure.

First off... it's sad you didn't know Halifax is a city. Second the war was for oil, you got your oil, stop crying.

i think it would be 9/11 because we actually experienced the horror. People died from fright, and from the collapse which was at least 10 seconds. So think of this: Drop Zone for 10 seconds but 4 times as high with no seat belts...

That is kind of freaky. Halfax was in a war. 9/11 started one. That is technically why i would say 9/11 is scaryier. We didnt know it would happened.

Off topic: On bowling for columbine (a movie Duh?) they said that the diaries of the two students had something about hijacking planes and crashing them in NYC... hm... sounds familiar....

Addition


But i mean its war. Now in Iraq, if you stay outside a bit too long, you may be shot... I mean cmon it was in the middle of the war... And since it was snow storm i infer that it should have been in the winter, that snow storms occur regularly. However i may be wrong but we were minding our own business. Then wam first plane then second then third. Then the biulding collapsed. I was about to go to school then my dad called back and said that the stocks were dropping... Then we turned on the news and then ya. the rest you kno. The snow storm probably claims a lot of lives if they have no house or glass in their eyes... But it wouldnt truly be a disaster done by man. I mean terrorists are against America (for some wierd reason). ya

The only natural disaster was the snow storm. The "mini" tidal wave and "mini" earth quake was created by the explosion. The snow storm killed just as much people as the explosion afterwords, since the explosion knocked down everyone's home. Many people also became blind because of flying glass.

I think the Halifax Explosion was just as devastating as 9/11. It is just less popular.



ADDITION:
idsa> The people of Halifax never knew it would happen, and dying from an instant explosion or freezing at night is pretty horrifying. The only reason you don't understand is because you barely know about the halifax explosion, and you actually watched 9/11 on TV. That's what influences your opinion. Everyone in and near Halifax thought Germany bombed them, so it was probably pretty scary for them.

Yeah, we so "got our oil" and that's why all us little people are paying ever increasing amounts for it... just raised another 15 cents / gallon two days ago.

idsa, 9/11 didn't start the war on Iraq http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/4354269.stm
It just got a bunch of sheep like people to support it. Unless you really want to I'd rather keep the war on iraq out of this. Everyone with a brain knows it was a bad idea by now.

Death, I know they were caused by the explosion. A natural disaster isn't necessarilly not man made, it's just "nature" doing most of the work

The Tidal wave flooded Halifax, I don't know what you consider mini. The earthquake is what toppled the houses (just saying). The snow storm was caused by the explosion, a shit load of warm air rising above a very cold place isn't going to be pretty (at least I think that's why, I've never really been very good at Science).

ADDITION:
Haha, the reason me and Death know more about Halifax is because we take the same course (in Canada). It's kind of one of the more interesting things I've learned in History Class.

Still, the only things we really need to know are

wot about 9/11 lets compare it

Can I say Dresden, even though that is not technically an explosion (firebomb instead)? Roughly 150,000 German civilian fatalities... 0 German military fatalities... and the Allies bombed it.

For those who don't know about Dresden, there's some stuff on it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Dr...in_World_War_II
Debate away =D
EDIT: Stuff about Halifax too http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_explosion

So does Dresden count? The undefended German city with 150,000 civilians occupying it, dying a horrible death as the jellied gas is poured on them and the flames are lit. Yes, the Wehrmacht had abandoned that, we knew about it, and we bombed them yet merely because of some transportation ordeal. It sickens me.

I also think that the Halifax incident did not have to kind of affect 9/11 had due to the fact that during those times i would be considered 'just another casualty of war'. Some that happens during a war usually does not have to affect of something that starts a war. And Templar, you opened it for discussion, dont immediately shoot someone down for discussing it.

I was only correcting a false assumption. 9/11 only rallied a terrified nation to support the war, it wasn't the reason for the war. Loss of life is never just a causualty of war, you take it too lightly. Halifax wasn't just a city built for war (I'm pretty sure), it was a thriving community back when Canada was still making a name for itself and becoming it's own country (as apposed to being dependent on Britain, I know we were a country before then but we were still growing).
Dresden was also full of nazis, it's up for discussion. Personnally I don't think it was right to bomb them, they were brought up that way, we would probably been able to change their minds after the war... it wasn't like they were a threat to us.

Two boats crashing is not an act of war, it is an incident.

It did not start a war, that was just stated.

They just did.

Doesn't have much to do with deadly events.

Horrible knowledge of nature. The tsunami claimed more lives than a group of 1000 well armed terrorists can do in 5 years.


Addition: I made an understatement, sorry, I meant 5000 terrorists.

Yet had nothing to do with the war.

Terrorists = terrorism. That is why they are called "terrorists" and not "peace lovers".