Every new news bulletin from England seems more unbelievable — not to mention the news flashes from Philadelphia and Chicago about curfews being imposed there to prevent rioting.

As I read the latest comprehensive story, I can’t help thinking of comparisons with Vancouver: the media fascination with the Twitter/Blackberry-led revolutions; the immediate jump to all kinds of theorizing about the whys (alienated youth, demoralized police, etc.) and the consequences (political, Olympics); the search for someone to blame.

All the flip side of the optimism from Western media pundits about the Twitter-propelled protests of the Arab spring (and now summer).