The Federal Constitutional Court is the most important court in Germany. Its job is to protect the Basic Law. Its decisions are like laws. The court can cancel laws if they break the Basic Law.
The Federal Social Court is the Supreme Court of Appeal for cases about social security, pensions and health insurance
The Federal Labour Court is the Supreme Court of Appeal for cases about labour law. This includes contracts of employment, strikes and trade union agreements
The Federal Tax Court is the Supreme Court of Appeal for cases about tax and customs law
The Federal Social Court is the Supreme Court of Appeal for cases involving a government body. These may be because a person might feel they have been treated unfairly by government or because there is a dispute between two government bodies about which of them is allowed to do something.
This court is the Supreme Court of Appeal for cases all civil and criminal cases which are not heard by one of the other supreme courts
The legislative branch has two of the constitutional bodies.
Germany's upper chamber of parliament, the Bundesrat, represents the "Länder". It also shows that Germany is a federal state. Federalism is one of the "eternal clauses" of the constitution, that can never be changed..
The Bundestag is the part of the legislature chosen by election. The Chancellor must be a member of the Bundestag.
The Weimar Constitution had the Reichswehr outside of the control of the parliament or the public. The army directly reported to the president, and the president did not have to report to the parliament.
Under the Basic Law, the Defence Forces Bundeswehr are responsible to parliament, because
The chancellor is directly responsible to the parliament, the minister is indirectly responsible to the parliament because it can remove the government by electing a new chancellor.
The Basic Law also created a soldiers' ombudsman or "Wehrbeauftragter", reporting to parliament not to the government. Soldiers can write directly to the "Wehrbeauftragter" if they feel they have been treated unfairly or unlawfully, or if they think their commanders are acting illegally. Soldiers cannot be punished for writing to the "Wehrbeauftragter".
A number of Constitutional Court cases in the 1990s said that the Bundeswehr cannot be used by the government outside NATO territory unless the Bundestag first gives permission in a resolution. The resultion must describe where the Bundeswehr is to go, and for who long the mission will last.
The Basic Law only allows referendums about changing borders of the "Länder". There have been two referundums:
Important changes to the Basic Law were the re-introduction of conscription and the establishment of the Bundeswehr in 1956.
During reunification East Germany and West Germany decided not to write a new constitution, but to keep the old one, which had worked so well in West Germany. The constitution was amended to allow East Germany to join, and then changed again to strengthen the claim that Germany wanted no more territory. This was a promise made in the Final Settlement.
Oaxaca de Juárez
Oaxaca de Juárez is the capital city of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is called La'a in the Zapotec language. Ñuu Nunduva is its name in the Mixtec language. Since 1872, when Benito Juárez died there, the city is called "de Juárez", in his honour. Currently, 258,000 people live in the city.
Armadillo
A armadillo is in the Cingulata, an order of New World placental mammals. The living ones have a leathery armored shell. The word "armadillo" is Spanish for "little armored one".
There are about 10 living genera and about 20 species of armadillo. Their average length is about 75 centimeters (30 in), including the tail. The giant armadillo grows up to 100 cm (39 in) and weigh 30 kg (66lbs). All species live in the Americas. Most of the 20 species are found in open areas, such as grasslands, but some also live in forests.
Armadillos species are mostly found in South and Central America, especially around Paraguay. Many species are endangered.
The nine-banded armadillo has an unusual reproductive system, in which genetically identical quadruplets are born in each litter.
Because they are always genetically identical clones, the group of four young is a good subject for scientific, behavioural or medical tests. They provide the same biological and genetic makeup, and then get different treatment. This is the only regular case of 'polyembryony' in the class Mammalia, where one fertilised egg splits into four embryos. It only happens in the genus Dasypus, and not in all armadillos. Other animals which have this reproductive method are parasitoid wasps, certain flatworms and various aquatic invertebrates.
Order CINGULATA
† indicates extinct taxon
Niacin
Niacin is a vitamin. It is also known by the name nicotinic acid. It is Vitamin B. It can be dissolved in water. It plays a very important role in the metabolism of living cells.
Other functions of niacin include removing toxic chemicals from the body, and helping with the production of steroid hormones made by the adrenal gland. These hormones include sex hormones and stress-related ones.
Niacin was first discovered from the oxidation of nicotine to form nicotinic acid. When the properties of nicotinic acid were discovered, it was thought prudent to choose a name to dissociate it from nicotine, in order to avoid the perception that vitamins or niacin-rich food contain nicotine. The resulting name 'niacin' was made from nicotinic acid + vitamin.
Niacin is also referred to as Vitamin B because it was the third of the B vitamins to be discovered. It has historically been referred to as "vitamin PP". That name was derived from the term "pellagra-preventing factor", because the disease pellagra is due to a deficiency of niacin in the diet.
The recommended daily allowance of niacin is 2–12 mg a day for children, 14 mg a day for women, 16 mg a day for men, and 18 mg a day for pregnant or breast-feeding women.
Severe deficiency of niacin in the diet causes the disease pellagra. A mild deficiency will slow down the metabolism, causing decreased tolerance to cold.
Dietary niacin deficiency tends to occur only in areas where people eat corn (maize), the only grain low in niacin, as a staple food, "and" that do not use lime during meal/flour production. Alkali lime releases the tryptophan from the corn in a process called nixtamalization so that it can be absorbed in the intestine, and converted to niacin.
Octagon
An octagon or 8-gon is a shape with 8 sides and 8 corners.
All sides of a regular octagon are the same length. Each corner is 135°. All corners added together equal 1080°.
The amount of space a regular octagon takes up is
"a" is the length of one of its sides.
Another way to write it is
Registration
Registration is a method of officially recording something. Usually something is registered to claim more rights, or to protect ownership, or because the law says it must be registered to be used legally.
A register was a large book. It was used like a diary to record business dealings or other events.
Births, deaths, and marriages are registered to prove the date the event happened. In the United Kingdom these records are kept by the local registrar, who is in charge of the Register office.
Motor vehicles are registered to prove who owns the vehicle and to identify them. Those that not registered cannot be driven on roads. Aircraft not registered cannot be flown. Proof that a vehicle is registered is the vehicle registration plate. Vehicles must also be registered before they can be insured in case of an accident or theft.
Books might be registered to show the date when copyright protection starts. Usually this is done by sending a copy of the book to a special national library.