Government

The feudal monarchies were complicated enough that more should be said of them. Some of them, such as England's, were limited by the fact that they had parliaments. Another limitation, which was very important because it was connected to the relations between England and France, is that the monarch of a country could also be a vassal of the monarch of another country. The English king was independent as far as his lands in England went, but he was also a vassal of the king of France. His English army could be raised for England, but his French counties and duchies theoretically would be called up to support the King of France. It hardly ever worked as planned, and was messy.

Feudal monarchies were also limited to some degree by the Church. The pope could excommunicate a monarch, and release all of the people who had oaths or treaties with that monarch from their obligations. Henry II of England, John Lackland, Emperor Frederick II of the Holy Roman Empire were among those who were excommunicated. Frederick II was prepared by having hired a group of Muslim bodyguards who did not care for the pope. But the effect was that limitations were placed on government from outside, and the nature of the limitations was only predictable based on the fact that they came from a Christian leader.

Some feudal monarchies had elected leaders. The kings of Scotland were elected by clan chiefs, through much of the Middle Ages, and the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire were elected by a council of four members of the nobility, who inherited their places on the council, and the bishops of three specific dioceses. This did not effect the structure of the feudal pyramid, but it did have an effect on how it was run.

There were other kinds of government in the Middle Ages besides feudal monarchy.

There were monarchies that were not feudal in nature. The manorial system, serfdom, and a feudal hierarchy based on land were not universal, but were primarily a system of Western Europe. They did not exist in parts of the far north, and feudalism had a separate nature in the East. Ireland was only feudal in those areas controlled directly by the English, and was more tribal elsewhere. Serfs had also been pretty much gone by the end of the Middle Ages in many places, such as England and Scotland. And, in fact, there were a number of small countries such as those in Spain, Wales, and others, where the full feudal pyramid was unnecessary, so a monarchy could have a strong central government instead of the weak central government that typified feudalism.

Another type of government was the republic, which varied from one place to another. A republic might have been run by a council of merchants or guild masters, or it might have been run by a council of representatives who were elected by qualified voters. Republics existed as cities within the Holy Roman Empire, and also as independent nations, such as Venice and Genoa. In the North, the Hanseatic League was made up of a group of cities both within and outside of the Holy Roman Empire, and they had their own military.

There were towns and cities called communes (commune meaning "walled together"), which might have been republican, but also might have had a government that was a sort of blend of feudal and republican features. Since the individual communes developed their own systems independently, they were different from one another. But it would be possible, for example, to have a city in which military treaties were drawn up and the defense was directed by a feudal lord, but those were the limit of his responsibilities, and the rest of the government was in the hands of a group of merchants.

Another republican government that was particularly interesting was that of Iceland. The government was run by a council that is sometimes referred to as a parliament, but differs quite a lot from most parliaments. Seats in the council were inherited or purchased.

It is probably best also to consider the history of government in the Middle Ages. The Germanic tribes that settled in the Roman Empire had their own laws, which were carefully memorized by judges, and customs. The development of government in Western Eurpoe was largely a matter of reconciling Roman law with Germanic law. In Spain, for example, the Visigoths enforced Roman law on the local Spanish population they had conquered, and Germanic law on Visigoths. They enforced a strict separation of the two, and did not allow marriages between members of the separate populations for a long time. In Gaul, the Franks ruled part of the country according to Frankish law, and part according to Roman. Eventually, these systems were combined into new legal codes, and larger, more unified, countries formed. France and the Holy Roman Empire were the eventual products of this development, and it was also imported to a large degree in other places such as England.

Please see the links below.

Japan does not have presidents. Japan is a constitutional monarchy. They have an emperor, who is the head of state, and a prime minister, who is the elected chief executive of the country.

The current Prime Minister is Shinzo Abe, whose term started on the 26th of December, 2012.
Akihito is the current emperor which is more like a president

-There is no President in Japan. There is an Emperor, who used to be treated as part God until WWII, and now after the war, the Emperor lost most of his power and is now just a figurehead.

Prime Minister is the closest to "president". As of now (Nov 2012), it is Yoshihiko Noda.

The Emperor is currently Emp. Akihito, and as of 2012, he is in his 24th year of reign.

The plan is mainly:

• ensuring human rights
• ensuring democracy
• ensuring medical insurance
• minimizing unemployment
• ensuring high education standards
• ensuring high standards of industry and cultivation
• ensuring good world relations and cooperation
• respecting international treaties
• ensuring justice withing the country

Why would you want to work when you have every excuse to sit at home, eat anything, watch Oprah, and buy unnecessary devices off infomercials? Better yet, take your bed rest to a spa and let a masseuse rub the workaholic right out of you!

Still not with me? Then let's get to the thrust of your question and jump right into things kind of like you did 20 weeks ago.

While the late 20-century technology revolutionized the workplace, the 21-century workplace is evolving even further with computers, remote connectivity, voice and electronic communications, paperless work processes, HDTV - OK this doesn't belong in the list but I had to mention how cool it is - and other innovations make information and work increasingly mobile. However, this does not mean your supervisor has evolved along with the technologies, especially if he/she is a throw back to the days of punch cards, and by that we mean time cards not pregnant chads in South Florida...I did not make up that term just for you, I swear.

For over a decade, laws addressing telework (under various names - "work at home," "flexible work," "telecommuting," etc.) have been in effect for federal employees. The main legislative mandate for telework was established in 2000 (§ 359 of Public Law 106-346). This law states that "each executive agency shall establish a policy under which eligible employees of the agency may participate in telecommuting to the maximum extent possible without diminished employee performance."

Remember, each agency has its specific policies for telework, but typically, they fall into two types of telework arrangements, "regular and recurring" and "ad hoc," based on the recognition that organizational and employee needs may vary considerably and should be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Some situations require occasional or infrequent arrangements, while situations like yours are more conducive to longer periods or regularly scheduled arrangements. The intent in offering two types of telework is to provide supervisors, managers, and employees the maximum flexibility to establish an arrangement that is responsive to their particular situation. However, regular and recurring telework of at least one day per biweekly pay period usually receives the most support and approval from managers.

Unlike "ad hoc," regular and recurring telework requires an approved work schedule where eligible employees regularly work at least one day per biweekly pay period at an alternative worksite.

Reasons for regular and recurring telework arrangements include:

• the recruitment and retention of high-quality employees;
• improved employee morale and a better balance of work and personal lives;
• reductions in commuting related stress and costs;
• improvements in access or as a reasonable accommodation for disabled employees;
• reductions in office space and associated costs;
• the need for convalescence from a short-term injury or illness;
• periods when the work office is not usable (e.g., during office renovation); or
• assignment to a special project.

It is important to note that telework is not a substitute for dependent care and is not to be used to replace care arrangements.

Specific to your situation, a pregnancy is regarded as a serious health condition; however, it does not automatically qualify you for telework. When an employee has medical documentation that states that the employee should not commute to work, should be confined at home, or is hospitalized during the pre and post-delivery periods, then the employee should be approved for a medical telework arrangement for those periods in which the employee is able to work (if requested) and the tasks to be performed are appropriate for a telework arrangement.

This means that if your job entails answering phones at your agency or dealing with people on a face-to-face basis, teleworking is not for you.

While the polices that establish telework are on your side, it is important to remember that all leave and flexible work schedules are a privilege and not a right. Talk to your supervisor armed with this information, remembering that it is ultimately his or her decision.

If all else fails, you can cry, curse, or flip out in your supervisor's office and blame your behavior on the hormones.