The coverage in Britain keeps coming back saying the riots seemed organized on the second and third nights. People arriving in groups in cars etc.

I suspect that we're seeing a kind of Twitter riot, as news gets out immediately that there's unchecked looting in a particular area then people descend on particular neighborhoods or specific stores knowing beforehand that the situation is uncontrolled.

Ugh, London. So upsetting.

The heat has become a weight. Everyone is just exhausted and there is still no sign of it breaking.

Bleh.

Another angle the press are taking (and I'm seeing it in the pictures they're showing) is that despite the racial aspect of the initial riot, they're emphasizing that teenagers are descending en mass in various areas to do the looting. Looks like lots of poor, white Council flat teens swooping in to do a little looting, a little havoc.

In short: ::cues up Sonic Youth's "Teenage Riot"::

And again I think this is not disagreeing with anyone. But one of the comments at Hullabaloo:

Spontaneous uprisings almost always appear to be less political than opportunistic. Rarely is there much sophisticated political consciousness. Looting is in part about taking advantage of a situation to get yourself stuff. But ask yourself this-- under what conditions do the perceived pros of engaging in opportunistic looting and anarchy-- the confusedly mixed motives of venting unfocussed anger and getting free stuff-- outweigh the percieved cons-- fear of arrest, of losing a job, etc? 1) When you don't have a job or much else to lose. 2) When you don't see a prospect of getting a job or a future worth protecting, 3) When people in power are also perceived to be criminals with impunity, and 4) when the state and the forces of order have lost both some of their operational effectiveness and some of their moral authority. Looking at these 4 points, we can see that Cameron's austerity, unpunished bankster fraud, and the impact of the Murdoch scandal on the police, all have a very real impact on this turn of events. In short, even if most of the rioters are apolitical looters out for free stuff, this is still totally political.

I think that comment only makes sense if we distinguish "Political cause" from "political motive".

don't know London particularly well. Here is a map of the confirmed rioting areas:

[link]

I think that's an accurate assessment, Typo. The political equivalent of "freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose."

The posturing by the politicos is so rote and tone deaf:

"Those responsible for the violence and looting will be made to face the consequences of their actions. Many have been arrested and further arrests will be made.

"Londoners have made clear that there are no excuses for violence, and I call on all members of local communities to work constructively with the police to help them bring these criminals to justice."

This is just ridiculous. The vast majority of people doing looting will not be brought to justice. It's really mistaking a riot for simple crime. They're completely different beasties.

Okay, here's a little confirmation on the social media angle:

The local chief superintendent, when she went away, actually handed over to a senior officer … and had two superintendents working on the borough constantly.

"She's now coming back because she is very committed to that borough."

He admitted there were too few officers in Tottenham on Saturday night, but blamed Twitter for fuelling looting and violence, saying: "Social media and other methods have been used to organise these levels of greed and criminality."

If you're on the tenth floor, I guess it doesn't matter

Unless the toilet above you overflows.

Ugh. The political stances will dictate the narrative going forward. Here's a commentator on the right:

This has nothing to do with a local gang member criminal who was shot while shooting at police, this is sadly just the typical sort of excuse adopted to try and add some shred of credibility to the actions of the unemployed lawless criminal low-lifes who, when they're not stealing — and now apparently looting — are swindling honest hard working people out of their taxes through the benefits system.

I really wish anybody could step away from their scripts for ten seconds and address the situation in a thoughtful and original and genuinely helpful way. But it will never happen. Never no how no way.

They want to make sure that they make no connection between the unrest in say, Greece, with what is happening in London.