The only procedure we have for removing an elected government is if it fails a Vote of No Confidence (usually called by the official Opposition) twice in 14 days, that is very unlikely to happen however. 

The last time an elected government was removed without a General Election was in 1924. The Conservatives won the Election in December 1923, but with a vastly reduced majority and formed an administration just before Parliament adjourned for Christmas. When it reassembled in January 1924 it lost a Vote of No Confidence and the Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, resigned. The second largest party, Labour under Ramsay MacDonald, was called upon to form a minority government with Liberal support. It limped on for just nine months before the Liberals withdrew their support and Labour itself lost a Vote of No Confidence and called a General Election which saw the Conservatives returned to office.  

A ruling party can replace the leader and therefore the Prime Minister at any time without the need for a General Election, but getting rid of an entire government without one is almost impossible.

I can't speak for the Island people but one of the big differences is our senates. Yours are elected while are are appointed for life. For a bill to be passed here it's first goes through the lower house and then is passed on to the Senate for approval. There they may also add amendments, checks and balances etc. to conform to our laws before passing it back to the house. The senate can suggest changes but it's the house that represents the people and they have the final say. In your system to say that your leader or President is above the law and can't be prosecuted just wouldn't be excepted here. I have seen senaters here kicked out for bad expense claims or anything that puts them in the eye of the public. Is our system perfect, no, but it seems to work and is a bit less confusing to the average Joe to understand than yours.

Your house can say all it wants but it's your senate that has to pass it and since the Republican are choosing to sit on their hands and not even allowing a reading of it then who will be blamed for their inaction when the walls finally cave in like they soon will on Trump.

Further to the last: Convicted in a federal court is criminal, Impeachment is more political.

They are talking about at least two criminal charges on Trump and Mueller has probably farmed them out to other courts already. Trump fells if he is convicted of anything and removed from office that his replacement Mike Pence will pardon him anyway. Even though the Demo's are talking impeachment out loud I doubt if they will go through with it.

The son-in- law apparently has been talking to the Crowned Prince (an awful lot) and telling him to lay low and what to say if asked questions about the murder which leads me to believe him and Trump have on going business deals with the Saudi's. They aired parts of the audio tape and it appears they were cutting him up long before he was dead. I quess the screaming was so loud that the saw man said to others in the room if the noise is bothering you then put on ear plugs and listen to music like I am.

There is some controversy on the above the law thingy, Pete. As it stands some say a sitting President cannot be tried until after he leaves office. That does not eliminate impeachment for committing high crimes & misdemeanors which is mainly a political ploy. He is impeached by the House of Representatives & convicted in the Senate & can be removed from office. No President has been successfully impeached so far. Andrew Johnson & Bill Clinton but neither was convicted in the Senate. Nixon resigned before that could happen.

So if a President commits murder he can only be arrested once he's been impeached?

I was a bit surprised to hear today that there were at least 16 people in the Trump administration that had had either talked to or meet with Russians during the run up and even after. The very odd part is not one of them reported it to the FBI which is manitory or security reasons. Most when first asked said they hadn't talked or discussed anything with the Russians but Mueller has proof they all did.

Well lets take a closer look at your allegations Pete. People in the Trump administration most likely had some kind of affiliation with Trump prior to his running. Trump was a businessman conduction transactions world-wide including Russia. Talking with Russians was just part of business dealings eh? Never draw conclusions until the investigation is complete is the mantra of the Reid interrogation system of which I am a graduate of.

I thought the US cop code was "shoot first ask questions later".

Well lets take a closer look at your allegations Pete. People in the Trump administration most likely had some kind of affiliation with Trump prior to his running. Trump was a businessman conduction transactions world-wide including Russia. Talking with Russians was just part of business dealings eh? Never draw conclusions until the investigation is complete is the mantra of the Reid interrogation system of which I am a graduate of.

Trump during his run up and even after said numerous times he had no dealing with Russia so your second sentence doen't hold water I'm afraid Tommy. Good try though eh! lol

Today Trump told the world on TV that he would be proud to shut the Government down if he doesn't get his wall. That must be very reassuring to all military families and anyone else relying on that money at Christmas time.

Don't be suck holeing to me Tommy.

VANCOUVER - A top executive at Chinese tech giant Huawei who was arrested in Vancouver has been released on $10 million bail and must agree to wear an electronic tracking device.

Meng Wanzhou, 46, is wanted by the United States on allegations that the company skirted trade sanctions against Iran.

Justice William Ehrcke of the Supreme Court of British Columbia said Tuesday he is satisfied Meng, a well-educated businesswomen with letters of reference, does not pose a flight risk.

He placed 16 conditions on her release, including that she remain at her home in Vancouver between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless she gets prior written permission from her bail supervisor or from the court or for medical reasons, and that she surrender her two passports and any travel documents.

Ehrcke set bail at $10 million, with $7.5 million of it in cash.

Meng was arrested on a warrant that alleges she committed fraud because Huawei used unofficial subsidiary Skycom to do business with Iranian telecommunications companies between 2009 and 2014 in violation of international sanctions.

The chief financial officer of Huawei has denied the allegations through her lawyer in court, promising to fight them if she is extradited to face charges in the United States.

After Meng's release, Huawei released a statement saying it has "every confidence that the Canadian and U.S. legal systems will reach a just conclusion."

"As we have stressed all along, Huawei complies with all applicable laws and regulations in the countries and regions where we operate, including export control and sanction laws of the UN, U.S., and E.U."

Meng's lawyer, David Martin, found a number of friends and associates to vouch for his client's character and to offer financial guarantees that she will not flee.

Additional sureties were needed after Ehrcke questioned whether her husband, Liu Xiaozong, could sign a guarantee.

Court heard Liu is living in Vancouver on a six-month visitors visa and Ehrcke said the form to provide a financial guarantee must be provided by a resident of B.C.

John Gibb-Carsley, a federal prosecutor representing the attorney general of Canada, asked the judge to deny Meng's request for bail, saying she has the financial means to flee and has no connection to Vancouver, despite owning two homes in the city.

Martin said although Liu's visa is set to expire in February, he has come and gone from Canada over the last 15 years, has a record of compliance and could apply for an extension to stay in the country.

"He's a rich capitalist, he can do his functions anywhere he is," said Martin.

Along with the independent sureties, Martin also proposed his client be monitored by a firm that employs former police and military personnel and by another company that monitors people with electronic bracelets.

Ehrcke said Meng is being held on a provisional warrant and the United States has 60 days to make an extradition request. She has been ordered to appear in court on Feb. 6 to fix a date for further proceedings.

Huawei was founded by Meng's father, Ren Zhengfei. The company has projected 2018 sales of more than US$102 billion and has overtaken Apple in smartphone sales.

The bail hearing began Friday with Gibb-Carsley outlining the allegations against Meng. According to court documents filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, Meng faces "multiple criminal charges" and each charge carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, if she were convicted.

None of the allegations has been proven in court.

Gibb-Carsley said Meng is alleged to have said Huawei and Skycom were separate companies in a meeting with an executive of a financial institution, misleading the executive and putting the institution at risk of financial harm and criminal liability.

Gibb-Carsley said Reuters reported in 2013 that Huawei was operating Skycom and had attempted to import U.S.-manufactured computer equipment into Iran in violation of sanctions. The story caused concern among banks that did international business with Huawei, he said.

Executives, including Meng, then made a series of misrepresentations about the relationship between the two companies to the banks, inducing them to carry out transactions linked to Iran they otherwise would not have completed and which violated sanction laws, he alleged.

The company has said it is not aware of any wrongdoing by Meng and Martin said no charge or indictment has been filed against his client, just a warrant.

Martin said Meng's 2013 presentation to an executive at HSBC was prepared by numerous employees at Huawei. The presentation did assert that Huawei operates in Iran in strict compliance with applicable laws and sanctions, he said.

Huawei sold its shares in Skycom before the sanctions became law in the United States under president Barack Obama in 2010, he added.

Trumps exact works were, I am proud to shut down the government for border security. You can say things like that if you are a billionaire and are getting waited on hand and foot, day and night in a big white heated house.

He won't go without a Christmas tree this year like everyone else will. 

The Demo's were offering 1.3 billion and Trump wants at least 5. He started playing my way or the highway with Nancy and Chuck and they took enough and pounced on him from both side stating facts that he couldn't answer. 

Actually Pelosi threw me back and here's me thinking all the time that she was a quiet older lady. She wasn't today. 

They did manage to get Trump to say that first sentence above and it may come back to haunt him.

Well well, no sooner does Mark fill us in with the niceties of stabbing an incumbent PM in the back, than we have an incumbant  PM stabbed in the back and not a moment too soon, might I add. The necessary 48 letters from her fellow Tory MP's has been reached, which naturally triggers a vote of confidence on her tenure at Number 10. It will take place in secret tonight and we could have a new Prime Minister very soon. I'm only surprised it didn't happen sooner, as she's weak in the face of Europe. Twice now she's embarrassingly hawked herself around Europe on a lost cause and it's unseemly. British Prime Ministers do not get up in the night and go dashing around Europe begging for concessions from the various wops, it simply isn't done old chap, bad show and all that, what? Who are you going for Mark? I'd like to see Moggy but I don't know if he'll stand.

With unaccustomed urgency the Conservative party is holding it's vote of no confidence in Mrs May as we speak, she need 159 votes to win. If she does she's safe from another challenge for a year. If she loses then she's out and a new leader (and therefore Prime Minister) will be elected from Tory ranks. She could also choose to resign if her victory is a narrow one.

I think she'll win. She's rather like Donald Trump - much talk in his own party about getting rid but damned difficult to shift when it comes to the crunch.

We do the biding of the American Government for them as good neighbours and then Donald comes along and makes it look like it's our fault.

What a "D" Head.

OTTAWA - Donald Trump's declaration that he might intervene in charges against a top Chinese corporate executive who was detained in Vancouver is raising new questions about Canada's role in the growing tensions between two superpowers.

The U.S. president told Reuters in an interview that he could step into the case against Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou if it would help him forge a trade deal with China.

"Whatever's good for this country, I would do," Trump said in Tuesday's interview. "If I think it's good for what will be certainly the largest trade deal ever made — which is a very important thing — what's good for national security — I would certainly intervene if I thought it was necessary."

Trump's comments will intensify the scrutiny of Canada's role in the U.S.-China standoff.

Canadian authorities arrested Meng at the request of the U.S., which alleges she tried to bypass American trade sanctions on Iran and lied to U.S. banks about her actions.

Ottawa has repeatedly stated the arrest, which has enraged China, is keeping with international laws on extradition and was a response to a lawful request from U.S. law enforcement.

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland has stressed that politics, or doing the U.S.'s bidding, had absolutely nothing to do with it.

Canada already appears to be paying a price.

This week, China detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig in a move that came days after Beijing warned Ottawa of severe consequences for Meng's arrest.

China's Foreign Ministry insisted Wednesday it had no information about Kovrig and declined to confirm his detention.

But ministry spokesman Lu Kang says the International Crisis Group, where Kovrig has been a Hong-Kong-based analyst since February 2017, is not registered in China and alleges its activities in the country are illegal.

All Canadian males, hockey players, girls, & Billy Ray Cyrus had mullets. Where was yours Pete?

Never had or wanted such a thing as a Mullet cut. I did have brush cuts and crew cuts when I was younger but never a mullet cut like you probably had. Crazy mustaches though.