I Wrote This Quiz for a Commission

Answer: Latin - "with sending"

Initially, the meaning of a commission was a sending - an order combined with a grant of authority. A sovereign or other person of authority chose someone to act in their name and provided them with an official document or just a verbal order in which the purpose of their sending was declared along with the definition of which powers normally reserved for the ruler the recipient of the commission was allowed to use in fulfilling the task.

Answer: Sergeant

Armed forces generally distinguish between commissioned officers and non-commissioned personnel. Non-commissioned personnel, in turn, are separated into warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and common soldiers. The difference is that all fully commissioned officers directly derive their authority from the commander-in-chief or sovereign and a certificate of commission will typically bear the (usually facsimile) signature of the head of state. Warrant and non-commissioned officers typically have duties and responsibilities similar to those of low to middle echelon commissioned staff, but their authority derives from a sub-delegation issued by a high-ranking commissioned officer.

Answer: Each member state sends one commission member.

The European Commission is unique among governments in that it wields not only executive power but is also the only institution who can prepare legislative proposals to be decided upon in the European Parliament. In this function, it serves as a pre-parliamentary stage of legislation.

The commission consists of currently 27 members, one appointed by each of the member states. Its president can serve for a maximum of 10 years (two terms of five years each).

Answer: As a percentage of the sales volume

The classic commission on sales is a percentage of the sale price, often to the order of one percent of each sale made, for the successful salesperson, thus each payment reflects the total sales volume in the period it is given for. Commissions are particularly often employed in industries where a salesperson makes comparatively few sales (100 or fewer per month) but each sale represents a significant amount. Car and insurance sellers often operate on a contract that is purely based on commissions or has a very low base salary supplemented by commissions.

Answer: An electric high-speed locomotive

Commissioning in this sense of the word takes place only when the product in question is a custom-built one, designed and configured as a one (or few) of a kind item to meet a very specific purpose. Broadcasting systems and robotic construction units need to be integrated into an enterprise workflow and cruise ships are built and equipped to the exact specifications of their operator and often optimized for a specific route and audience. Locomotives, on the other hand, are built in series of near-identical vehicles to make them exchangeable between individual trains. Thus, a single locomotive will be just like all others in the series and commissioning will not be required.

Answer: A portrait painting

Portraits, whether photographed or painted, depict people in an identifiable way and can thus only be created and sold with the permission of the person so depicted (there are certain exceptions for persons of public interest). Also, because most portraits are of interest only to the person depicted and their direct friends and relatives, artists do rarely invest the time and material needed to create one unless they know beforehand that their work will sell.

Answer: Securities and Exchange Commission

Established in 1934 under the full title of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the SEC (as it is usually abbreviated) is the ultimate regulating agency for the stock market in the United States. Its primary goal is to prevent corporate abuses and create an open and transparent market for securities of all kinds as well as to prevent the undermining of the market with fraudulent investments.

The authority of the SEC is based on seven major federal laws, the two most important ones of which are the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Its current chairperson as of 2010 is Mary L. Schapiro who assumed office on January 22, 2009.

Answer: Lieutenant-Governors

The Canadian commissioners are the formal heads and chief executives of the three territories - Nunavut, Yukon and the Northwest Territories. As such, they serve the same purpose as and hold rank equivalent to a lieutenant-governor of one of the twelve provinces.

The main difference between the two types of office is that a lieutenant-governor is considered a viceroy, a direct and personal representative of her Majesty the Queen of Canada, while a commissioner is appointed by the Federal government without this special status.

Answer: An on-base or on-ship general/grocery store

The development of this word from the original meaning of an office-holder to today's use as the term for a store was a slow and gradual one. It came about through the fact that, throughout the Renaissance and following periods, the title "commissary" was gradually narrowed down to such officers entrusted with provisioning - the supply officers of the time. With the most important provision to the soldier being food, it has from there taken on the meaning of the person or place from where a soldier would get food - good food, not the standard fare provided in the general mess hall.

In the film industry, "commissary" is used to mean the dining place where the crew goes for a quick bite during breaks in filming.

Answer: The (U.S.) Mafia

The Commission was the Mafia's answer to the mob wars that devastated its various American families in the 1920s and early 1930s. Instead of openly attacking each other, losing valuable members both to the fights as well as to the ensuing police raids, they formed The Commission to resolve conflicts of interest and overlaps in influence spheres in a more peaceful way.

The Commission consisted of initially seven, later nine bosses from the most influential American Mafia families. It still exists as of today even though its role has declined and its operations have become much more clandestine.

The last known chairman of The Commission was Vincent Gigante, who held the position up to his natural death in 2005.