There was good, frequently funny, debate between bat020 and Tory MP Patrick Mercer on Radio 5 Live over the weekend. It was predictably about whether 'violence' was justifiable in the service of protests. The government has just cleared the way for the use of water cannons, using the excuse of the mysterious 'contact' between Camilla and an unknown prole. But Mercer's moronic blithering suggests that the government's ideological position is weak, and they know it. It's worth listening to the whole thing - you know the Tory's in trouble when he strolls blithely into the minefield of the Northern Ireland civil rights struggle. Listen here.