Riot police look on as fire rages through a building in Tottenham, north London Aug. 7, 2011.
The pics look like they came from 1940, I would almost expect to hear Edward R Murrow.
The Chinese (and any other country) are entirely right in wondering if whether or not their athletes would be safe in London. If things get out of control during the games and their athletes are assaulted, that would be horrific for diplomatic relations and horrible for the athletes to represent their country and then end up getting assaulted by thugs. Even in the US, rioters would have been getting shot and rounded up by now.