July 03, 2007

On Dowsing Rods & Bomb Detectors

I do not watch TV very often; lack of interest. I watch Lebanese TV even less. Not because of a lack of interest, but because I command the ‘common version’ of Arabic, the spoken version, or colloquial dialect, whereas the news is read in the classical version.

So what I saw this morning on a Lebanese channel may be old news to you, but it sure got my attention. It starts off as the latest Hollywood blockbuster; a fantastic display of exploding cars and houses that are blown to smithereens. You expect Bruce Willis to show up in DieHard number 5.
No such thing. It’s an advertisement, reminding you that if you really want to protect your loved ones from car bombs, you have to buy their explosive detector. Requires no batteries or electricity, and detects bombs up to 300 meters! I kid you not.
They are a common sight in Beirut these days when entering parking lots of malls and cinemas, or the private grounds of hotels, beaches and the likes.

I must say, they do not instill much hope, as they look decisively like dowsing rods, those odd little devises you use to find water. Or so some people believe. I think spotting a car bomb is pretty much in that field of science anyway. In London they spot two in one night. In Lebanon they spot that many in two-and-a-half years. Most of them we miss though.

I noticed that several buildings in my neighborhood have invested in a ‘security guard’. Nothing serious, not a guy in uniform, but someone who watches over who parks their car in front of the building and then walks away. I am not sure what the profile of a car bomber is.
I’d be interested to know though.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why not park your car in front of the next building then walk away? You already have a terrorist SUV, maybe on foot you match the profile as well. Just try. Greetings, Y.

Anonymous said...

yes, it's only on national tv, the poor and small tv...
but u're right, it's an incredible sign.
let's hope this kind of advertising and product won't reach the big channels...
would be a serious sign of total apocalypse.

Riemer Brouwer said...

hehe, our office now has a security guard and the famous 'do not cross' plastic tape all in front of the building. I asked one of my colleagues if they have received specific threats. "Nah", she answered, "it's a fashion thing these days".

Amazing how cool the Lebanese handle all of this.

Anonymous said...

yeah, specially when u remember that the last "terrorist group" arrested by the lebanese army in the beqaa valley had in its garage a car ready to explode, but the main terrifying thing was that it seems they managed to put a special product round the engine of the car, designed to pass through these detectors...

adiamondinsunlight said...

On my way to work this morning I watched a guard at the Clemenceau Medical Center teaching another guard how to use the dowser. how to hold it, how to walk - it was fascinating to watch them.

Anonymous said...

The guys outside my local supermarket (near Kaslik) originally had the mirrors-on-sticks to look under cars with. Only, mainly they seemed to use them for checking out their reflections... I also saw one trying out a detector on his colleague's head a couple of weeks ago. Nope, no bombs in there.

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