What The Hell, London?!

Last night, just as I was about to go to bed, my various feeds began erupting with with images from another night of rioting in London and some of the images -- like the one above from the Times of London of a woman leaping from a burning building -- were just ridiculous. I have to admit, I don't really understand what's going on over there -- I mean, I understand the roots of the civil unrest part of it all -- but I don't understand why the authorities don't seem to be doing much to squelch it all. It's like they're just hoping that the rioters will tire themselves out or something. I'm not saying that they need to start beating the shit out of people, but a little tear gas can go a long way in times like this, you know what I'm saying? For instance, check out this amazing video someone posted to YouTube last night of a mob attacking a group of cops with whatever they could find on the streets...

The British are way too polite. The NYPD would be busting skulls right now, and the New Orleans police would probably be straight-up shooting people. Their restraint is admirable, mind you, but at some point I think they've got to be more aggressive in protecting the city and its people. They may well offer tea and crumpets to the famished rioters at the rate they're going now. Anyway, a few stunning photos from the riots that I gathered from the wire services are after the jump.