Baghdad WebCam
March 22, 2003 12:28 PM   Subscribe

A WebCam in Baghdad The BBC are streaming live pictures from an unmanned camera in the centre of Baghdad, complete with sound. (RealPlayer required.)
posted by Mwongozi (12 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
The quiet voices you may sometimes hear in the background are crosstalk from the BBC's news broadcast. They're not supposed to be there.
posted by Mwongozi at 12:32 PM on March 22, 2003


Not sure what the point is - are you supposed to just sit there for a few hours and wait for the flashboom? kinda weirdo and voyeuristic, like those webcams of naked ladies in their bedrooms.

I'd call it war porn.
posted by pots at 1:36 PM on March 22, 2003


more war voyeur: CBS' live baghdad skyline (link center right).
posted by steef at 2:40 PM on March 22, 2003


I'd call it war porn

I don't believe you would.
posted by ed\26h at 4:30 PM on March 22, 2003


Hmm..

I would not be surprised if the Government starts asking 19.95 for there version of reality T.V.
posted by Jessy at 5:45 PM on March 22, 2003


This is cool. I've got both streams going at the same time, and I'm watching the sun rise over Baghdad now.

Seems like a nice place.
posted by Jonasio at 7:30 PM on March 22, 2003


I'd be interested in knowing what the huge phallus-shaped tower in the distance actually is. Just out of curiosity.
posted by Jonasio at 7:31 PM on March 22, 2003


You know, I did not even catch that.
posted by Jessy at 8:37 PM on March 22, 2003


wow this is cool. It looks like the same street corner but the are not synchronized...I think the bbc one might be about 20 seconds behind. Or ahead.
posted by jacobsee at 9:46 PM on March 22, 2003


well now they're the exact same view almost...
posted by jacobsee at 10:33 PM on March 22, 2003


But if we have to install RealPlayer, then the terrorists will have won.
posted by wendell at 11:19 PM on March 22, 2003


I don't believe you would

I did and I would now.

Since I posted that comment (which I'll admit was a little frivolous) I've become even more confirmed in my view that the coverage of the war, at least here in the UK, is totally inappropriate. It's voyeuristic, hysterical and sensationalist.

BBC1 and BBC2 (the only terrestrial BBC channels) seem to be doing a tag-team effort to keep the war on 24-7 - why? Granted the war is THE story of the moment, but so much live coverage carries risks. For newsreaders sitting there for hours on end, there's the inevitable tendency to make every scrap of news into big news before they know the full picture. I'm not advocating censorship just the use of time to allow judgement.

I'll give an example. This morning on BBC1 they were showing live pictures of British soldiers taking cover in Umm Qasr as Iraqis put up 'fierce resistance'. That to my mind is completely wrong. Seeing a family member in that situation would be terribly frightening. The BBC is making possible the live broadcast of soldiers being wounded or killed 'Live on BBC!'. The webcam in Baghdad is of a similar ilk - it's not news it's war porn.
posted by pots at 3:14 AM on March 23, 2003


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