title: October 2017 Kenyan presidential election

text: Presidential elections were held in Kenya on 26 October 2017 following the Supreme Court's annulment of the results of the presidential vote in the August 2017 general elections. The election was won by incumbent president Uhuru Kenyatta of the Jubilee Party, who won 98.3% of the popular vote to defeat Raila Odinga of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).


text: General elections were held in Kenya on 8 August 2017. Incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta was declared the winner of the presidential contest with 54.17% of the vote, whilst his main rival Raila Odinga finished second with 44.94% of the vote. The opposition claimed that it had won and that the government had rigged the elections. The opposition appealed to the Supreme Court. Citing a breach of the technical processes required by the constitution and the law, the court returned a verdict (by a margin of 4–2) that the election had not been "conducted in accordance with the constitution", cancelling the results and ordering fresh elections to be held within 60 days. In a television address Kenyatta complained that the decision was tantamount to overturning the "will of the people". He nevertheless stated that though he disagreed with the Supreme Court's decision, he would obey that decision. Raila Odinga on the other hand welcomed the court's verdict, saying "This indeed is a very historic day for the people of Kenya and by extension the people of the continent of Africa."


text: The President of Kenya is elected using a modified version of the two-round system: to win in the first round, a candidate must receive over 50% of the vote nationally and 25% of the vote in at least 24 of Kenya's 47 counties.


text: In early October, Odinga announced that he was withdrawing from the election. Following his withdrawal from the presidential race, there was heated debate among lawyers as to the legality of IEBC continuing with the elections. Proponents of the elections argued that the court ruled a repeat election to be conducted within 60 days and this must happen no matter what the main opposition decides to do. Additionally, they argued that it was not possible to reform the IEBC as he was demanding due to constitutional limitations. Moreover, pulling out of the race required him to fill out a form 22a, which he refused to do, saying that it was an unnecessary formality. This means that he intentionally wanted to remain ambiguous and hence had not officially withdrawn. As such, his name would be in the ballot papers.


text: On the opposite end, opponents of the elections argued that the cancellation of one nominee means that there can no longer be an election as provided for in the Kenyan constitution following the 2013 Supreme Court ruling that such an event necessitated the cancellation of an election. Additionally, they argue that as this is not a fresh election but a repeat election, there is no need for any candidate to withdraw to do so by filling any form. This means that Raila's withdrawal through a letter was enough to prove that he is out of the race. Earlier, the Third Way Alliance presidential candidate Ekuru Aukot had appealed against the IEBC decision to exclude him from the vote citing a breach of the law. As it turned out, the court of appeal ruled that the IEBC decision to exclude the candidate had no basis in law since the October 26 election was a fresh election. The court also ruled that all presidential candidates in the October 26 election were free to contest as presidential candidates in October 26, 2017.


text: On 18 October, recently resigned IEBC Commissioner Roselyn Akombe issued a statement declaring that the second presidential election wouldn't be a fair election. Akombe also fled to the United States of America out of fear for her life.


text: On 18 October, IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati expressed skepticism about a fair election as well, claiming the IEBC commissioners were partisan-minded and that he would resign unless certain conditions are met to reform the IEBC.


text: On 20 October, the IEBC's chief executive officer Ezra Chiloba announced that he will not be monitoring the election and that starting 23 October, he will take a three-week vacation. Chiloba's departure has created more uncertainty over who will monitor the election.


text: On 24 October, the IEBC announced that it would now count back-up paper ballots and not rush to announce the official results based only on numbers sent from the polling stations like in the first presidential election as well. The same day, Chebukati appointed IEBC Vice Chair Consolata N.B. Maina as the IEBC Deputy National Returning Officer.


text: Two petitions were filed at Kenyan Supreme Court challenging the results of the 26 October 2017 election. The six judge bench unanimously decided that the petitions had no merit and upheld Uhuru Kenyatta's win for a second term.


text: As per the constitutional timelines Kenyatta's second inauguration was conducted on 28 November 2017.


title: Tempest (codename)

text: TEMPEST is a U.S. National Security Agency specification and a NATO certification referring to spying on information systems through leaking emanations, including unintentional radio or electrical signals, sounds, and vibrations. TEMPEST covers both methods to spy upon others and how to shield equipment against such spying. The protection efforts are also known as emission security (EMSEC), which is a subset of communications security (COMSEC).


title: Tempest (codename)

text: The NSA methods for spying on computer emissions are classified, but some of the protection standards have been released by either the NSA or the Department of Defense. Protecting equipment from spying is done with distance, shielding, filtering, and masking. The TEMPEST standards mandate elements such as equipment distance from walls, amount of shielding in buildings and equipment, and distance separating wires carrying classified vs. unclassified materials, filters on cables, and even distance and shielding between wires or equipment and building pipes. Noise can also protect information by masking the actual data.


title: Tempest (codename)

text: While much of TEMPEST is about leaking electromagnetic emanations, it also encompasses sounds and mechanical vibrations. For example, it is possible to log a user's keystrokes using the motion sensor inside smartphones. Compromising emissions are defined as unintentional intelligence-bearing signals which, if intercepted and analyzed (side-channel attack), may disclose the information transmitted, received, handled, or otherwise processed by any information-processing equipment.


title: Tempest (codename)

text: During World War II, Bell Telephone supplied the U.S. military with the 131-B2 mixer device that encrypted teleprinter signals by XOR’ing them with key material from one-time tapes (the SIGTOT system) or, earlier, a rotor-based key generator called SIGCUM. It used electromechanical relays in its operation. Later Bell informed the Signal Corps that they were able to detect electromagnetic spikes at a distance from the mixer and recover the plain text. Meeting skepticism over whether the phenomenon they discovered in the laboratory could really be dangerous, they demonstrated their ability to recover plain text from a Signal Corps’ crypto center on Varick Street in Lower Manhattan. Now alarmed, the Signal Corps asked Bell to investigate further. Bell identified three problem areas: radiated signals, signals conducted on wires extending from the facility, and magnetic fields. As possible solutions, they suggested shielding, filtering and masking.


title: Tempest (codename)

text: Bell developed a modified mixer, the 131-A1 with shielding and filtering, but it proved difficult to maintain and too expensive to deploy. Instead, relevant commanders were warned of the problem and advised to control a 100 ft (30 m) -diameter zone around their communications center to prevent covert interception, and things were left at that. Then in 1951, the CIA rediscovered the problem with the 131-B2 mixer and found they could recover plain text off the line carrying the encrypted signal from a quarter-mile away. Filters for signal and power lines were developed, and the recommended control-perimeter radius was extended to 200 feet (60 m), based more on what commanders could be expected to accomplish than any technical criteria.


title: Tempest (codename)

text: A long process of evaluating systems and developing possible solutions followed. Other compromising effects were discovered, such as fluctuations in the power line as rotors stepped. The question of exploiting the noise of electromechanical encryption systems had been raised in the late 1940s, but was re-evaluated now as a possible threat. Acoustical emanations could reveal plain text, but only if the pick-up device was close to the source. Nevertheless, even mediocre microphones would do. Soundproofing the room made the problem worse by removing reflections and providing a cleaner signal to the recorder.


title: Tempest (codename)

text: In 1956, the Naval Research Laboratory developed a better mixer that operated at much lower voltages and currents and therefore radiated far less. It was incorporated in newer NSA encryption systems. However, many users needed the higher signal levels to drive teleprinters at greater distances or where multiple teleprinters were connected, so the newer encryption devices included the option to switch the signal back up to the higher strength. NSA began developing techniques and specifications for isolating sensitive-communications pathways through filtering, shielding, grounding, and physical separation: of those lines that carried sensitive plain text – from those intended to carry only non-sensitive data, the latter often extending outside of the secure environment. This separation effort became known as the Red/Black Concept. A 1958 joint policy called NAG-1 set radiation standards for equipment and installations based on a 50 ft (15 m) limit of control. It also specified the classification levels of various aspects of the TEMPEST problem. The policy was adopted by Canada and the UK the next year. Six organizations, Navy, Army, Air Force, NSA, CIA, and the State Department were to provide the bulk of the effort for its implementation.


title: Tempest (codename)

text: Difficulties quickly emerged. Computerization was becoming important to processing intelligence data, and computers and their peripherals had to be evaluated, wherein many of them evidenced vulnerabilities. The Friden Flexowriter, a popular I/O typewriter at the time, proved to be among the strongest emitters, readable at distances up to 3,200 ft (about 1 km) in field tests. The U.S. Communications Security Board (USCSB) produced a Flexowriter Policy that banned its use overseas for classified information and limited its use within the U.S. to the Confidential level, and then only within a 400 ft (120 m) security zone – but users found the policy onerous and impractical. Later, the NSA found similar problems with the introduction of cathode-ray-tube displays (CRTs), which were also powerful radiators.


title: Tempest (codename)

text: There was a multi-year process of moving from policy recommendations to more strictly enforced TEMPEST rules. The resulting Directive 5200.19, coordinated with 22 separate agencies, was signed by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara in December 1964, but still took months to fully implement. The NSA’s formal implementation took effect in June 1966.


title: Tempest (codename)

text: Meanwhile, the problem of acoustic emanations became more critical with the discovery of some 900 microphones in U.S. installations overseas, most behind the Iron Curtain. The response was to build room-within-a-room enclosures, some transparent, nicknamed "fish bowls". Other units were fully shielded to contain electronic emanations, but were unpopular with the personnel who were supposed to work inside; they called the enclosures "meat lockers", and sometimes just left their doors open. Nonetheless, they were installed in critical locations, such as the embassy in Moscow, where two were installed: one for State-Department use and one for military attachés. A unit installed at the NSA for its key-generation equipment cost $134,000.


title: Tempest (codename)

text: Tempest standards continued to evolve in the 1970s and later, with newer testing methods and more-nuanced guidelines that took account of the risks in specific locations and situations. But then as now, security needs often met with resistance. According to NSA's David G. Boak, "Some of what we still hear today in our own circles, when rigorous technical standards are whittled down in the interest of money and time, are frighteningly reminiscent of the arrogant Third Reich with their Enigma cryptomachine."


title: Tempest (codename)

text: Many specifics of the TEMPEST standards are classified, but some elements are public. Current United States and NATO Tempest standards define three levels of protection requirements:


title: Tempest (codename)

text: The NSA and Department of Defense have declassified some TEMPEST elements after Freedom of Information Act requests, but the documents black out many key values and descriptions. The declassified version of the TEMPEST test standard is heavily redacted, with emanation limits and test procedures blacked out. A redacted version of the introductory Tempest handbook NACSIM 5000 was publicly released in December 2000. Additionally, the current NATO standard SDIP-27 (before 2006 known as AMSG 720B, AMSG 788A, and AMSG 784) is still classified.


title: Tempest (codename)

text: Despite this, some declassified documents give information on the shielding required by TEMPEST standards. For example, Military Handbook 1195 includes the chart at the right, showing electromagnetic shielding requirements at different frequencies. A declassified NSA specification for shielded enclosures offers similar shielding values, requiring, "a minimum of 100 dB insertion loss from 1 KHz to 10 GHz." Since much of the current requirements are still classified, there are no publicly available correlations between this 100 dB shielding requirement and the newer zone-based shielding standards.


title: Tempest (codename)

text: In addition, many separation distance requirements and other elements are provided by the declassified NSA red-black installation guidance, NSTISSAM TEMPEST/2-95.


title: Tempest (codename)

text: The information-security agencies of several NATO countries publish lists of accredited testing labs and of equipment that has passed these tests:


title: Tempest (codename)

text: The United States Army also has a Tempest testing facility, as part of the U.S. Army Information Systems Engineering Command, at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Similar lists and facilities exist in other NATO countries.


title: Tempest (codename)

text: Tempest certification must apply to entire systems, not just to individual components, since connecting a single unshielded component (such as a cable or device) to an otherwise secure system could dramatically alter the system RF characteristics.


title: Tempest (codename)

text: TEMPEST standards require "RED/BLACK separation", i.e., maintaining distance or installing shielding between circuits and equipment used to handle plaintext classified or sensitive information that is not encrypted (RED) and secured circuits and equipment (BLACK), the latter including those carrying encrypted signals. Manufacture of TEMPEST-approved equipment must be done under careful quality control to ensure that additional units are built exactly the same as the units that were tested. Changing even a single wire can invalidate the tests.


title: Tempest (codename)

text: One aspect of Tempest testing that distinguishes it from limits on spurious emissions ("e.g.", FCC Part 15) is a requirement of absolute minimal correlation between radiated energy or detectable emissions and any plaintext data that are being processed.


title: Tempest (codename)

text: In 1985, Wim van Eck published the first unclassified technical analysis of the security risks of emanations from computer monitors. This paper caused some consternation in the security community, which had previously believed that such monitoring was a highly sophisticated attack available only to governments; van Eck successfully eavesdropped on a real system, at a range of hundreds of metres, using just $15 worth of equipment plus a television set.


title: Tempest (codename)

text: As a consequence of this research, such emanations are sometimes called "van Eck radiation", and the eavesdropping technique van Eck phreaking, although government researchers were already aware of the danger, as Bell Labs noted this vulnerability to secure teleprinter communications during World War II and was able to produce 75% of the plaintext being processed in a secure facility from a distance of 80 feet. (24 metres) Additionally the NSA published "Tempest Fundamentals, NSA-82-89, NACSIM 5000, National Security Agency" (Classified) on February 1, 1982. In addition, the van Eck technique was successfully demonstrated to non-TEMPEST personnel in Korea during the Korean War in the 1950s.


title: Tempest (codename)

text: Markus Kuhn has discovered several low-cost techniques for reducing the chances that emanations from computer displays can be monitored remotely. With CRT displays and analog video cables, filtering out high-frequency components from fonts before rendering them on a computer screen will attenuate the energy at which text characters are broadcast. With modern flat panel displays, the high-speed digital serial interface (DVI) cables from the graphics controller are a main source of compromising emanations. Adding random noise to the least significant bits of pixel values may render the emanations from flat-panel displays unintelligible to eavesdroppers but is not a secure method. Since DVI uses a certain bit code scheme that tries to transport a balanced signal of 0 bits and 1 bits, there may not be much difference between two pixel colors that differ very much in their color or intensity. The emanations can differ drastically even if only the last bit of a pixel's color is changed. The signal received by the eavesdropper also depends on the frequency where the emanations are detected. The signal can be received on many frequencies at once and each frequency's signal differs in contrast and brightness related to a certain color on the screen. Usually, the technique of smothering the RED signal with noise is not effective unless the power of the noise is sufficient to drive the eavesdropper's receiver into saturation thus overwhelming the receiver input.


title: Tempest (codename)

text: LED indicators on computer equipment can be a source of compromising optical emanations. One such technique involves the monitoring of the lights on a dial-up modem. Almost all modems flash an LED to show activity, and it is common for the flashes to be directly taken from the data line. As such, a fast optical system can easily see the changes in the flickers from the data being transmitted down the wire.


title: Tempest (codename)

text: Recent research has shown it is possible to detect the radiation corresponding to a keypress event from not only wireless (radio) keyboards, but also from traditional wired keyboards, and even from laptop keyboards. From the 1970s onward, Soviet bugging of US Embassy IBM Selectric typewriters allowed the keypress-derived mechanical motion of bails, with attached magnets, to be detected by implanted magnetometers, and converted via hidden electronics to a digital radio frequency signal. Each eight character transmission provided Soviet access to sensitive documents, as they were being typed, at US facilities in Moscow and Leningrad.


title: Tempest (codename)

text: In 2014, researchers introduced "AirHopper", a bifurcated attack pattern showing the feasibility of data exfiltration from an isolated computer to a nearby mobile phone, using FM frequency signals.


title: Tempest (codename)

text: In 2015, "BitWhisper", a Covert Signaling Channel between Air-Gapped Computers using Thermal Manipulations was introduced. "BitWhisper" supports bidirectional communication and requires no additional dedicated peripheral hardware. Later in 2015, researchers introduced GSMem, a method for exfiltrating data from air-gapped computers over cellular frequencies. The transmission - generated by a standard internal bus - renders the computer into a small cellular transmitter antenna. In February 2018, research was published describing how low frequency magnetic fields can be used to escape sensitive data from Faraday-caged, air-gapped computers with malware code-named ’ODINI’ that can control the low frequency magnetic fields emitted from infected computers by regulating the load of CPU cores.


title: Tempest (codename)

text: In 2018, a class of side-channel attack was introduced at ACM and Black Hat by Eurecom's researchers: "Screaming Channels". This kind of attack targets mix-signal chips — containing an analog and digital circuit on the same silicon die — with a radio transmitter. The results of this architecture, often found in connected objects, is that the digital part of the chip will leak some metadata on its computations into the analog part, which leads to metadata's leak being encoded in the noise of the radio transmission. Thanks to signal-processing techniques, researchers were able to extract cryptographic keys used during the communication and decrypt the content. This attack class is supposed, by the authors, to being already known since many years by governmental intelligence agencies.


title: Polish names

text: Polish names have two main elements: the given name, and the surname. The usage of personal names in Poland is generally governed by civil law, church law, personal taste and family custom.


title: Polish names

text: The law requires a given name to indicate the person's gender. Almost all Polish female names end in a vowel "-a", and most male names end in a consonant or a vowel other than "a". There are, however, a few male names that end in "a", which are very old and uncommon, such as Barnaba, Bonawentura, Boryna, Jarema, Kosma, Kuba (a diminutive of Jakub) and Saba. Maria is a female name that can be used also as a middle (second) name for males.


title: Polish names

text: Since the High Middle Ages, Polish-sounding surnames ending with the masculine "-ski" suffix, including "-cki" and "-dzki", and the corresponding feminine suffix "-ska/-cka/-dzka" were associated with the nobility (Polish "szlachta"), which alone, in the early years, had such suffix distinctions. They are widely popular today.


title: Polish names

text: Minor regional spelling differences also exist depending on whether the surname originated in Polish, Czech or Slovak ("-sky/-ský").


title: Polish names

text: A child in Poland is usually given one or two names; Polish registry offices do not register more than two. Among Catholics, who form the vast majority of the population, it is customary to adopt the name of a saint as an informal, third given name at confirmation, however, this does not have any legal effect. (This is reminiscent of the pre-Christian rite of the "first haircut" (), which also involved giving the child a new name.)


title: Polish names

text: The names of Slavic saints, such as Wojciech (St Adalbert), Stanisław (St Stanislaus), or Kazimierz (St Casimir), belong to both of these groups. Slavic names used by historical Polish monarchs, e.g. Bolesław, Lech, Mieszko, Władysław, are common as well. Additionally, a few names of Lithuanian origin, such as Olgierd (Algirdas), Witold (Vytautas) or Danuta, are quite popular in Poland.


title: Polish names

text: Traditionally, the names are given at a child's baptism. Non-Christian, but traditional, Slavic names are usually accepted, but the priest may encourage parents to pick at least one Christian name. In the past, two Christian names were given to a child so that they had two patron saints instead of just one. At confirmation, people usually adopt yet another (second or third) Christian name, however, it is never used outside church documents.


title: Polish names

text: In Eastern Poland, as in many other Catholic countries, people celebrate name days () on the day of their patron saint. On the other hand, in Western Poland, birthdays are more popular. Today, in Eastern Poland, birthdays remain relatively intimate celebrations, as often only relatives and close friends know a person's date of birth. Name days, on the other hand, are often celebrated together with co-workers and other less-intimate friends. Information about whose name is associated with a given day can be found in most Polish calendars and on the Internet.


title: Polish names

text: The choice of a given name is largely influenced by fashion. Many parents name their child after a national hero or heroine, or a character from a book, film, or TV show. In spite of this, a great number of popular names have been in use since the Middle Ages.


title: Polish names

text: Diminutives are popular in everyday usage and are by no means reserved for children. The Polish language allows for a great deal of creativity in this field. Most diminutives are formed by adding a suffix. For male names it may be "-ek" or the more affectionate "-uś"; for female names it may be "-ka", or "-nia" / "-dzia" / "-sia" / "cia" respectively. For example, Maria (a name which was once reserved to refer to the Virgin Mary; now the archaic form "Maryja" is used for this), has diminutives Marysia, Maryśka, Marysieńka, Mania, Mańka, Maniusia, etc.


title: Polish names

text: Alternatively, augmentative forms (Polish: "zgrubienie") may be colloquially used, often with scornful or disdainful intention. For example, Maria may be called Marycha or Marychna.


title: Polish names

text: As in many other cultures, a person may informally use a nickname ("pseudonim, ksywa") or instead of a given name.


title: Polish names

text: In 2009, the most popular female names in Poland were Anna, Maria and Katarzyna (Katherine). The most popular male names were Piotr (Peter), Krzysztof (Christopher) and Andrzej (Andrew).


title: Polish names

text: Surnames, like those in most of Europe, are hereditary and generally patrilineal, being passed from the father to his children.


title: Polish names

text: A Polish marriage certificate lists three fields, the surnames for the husband, wife, and children. The partners may choose to retain their surnames, or both adopt the surname of either partner, or a combination of both; the children must receive either the joint surname or the surname of one of the partners. However, a married woman usually adopts her husband's name, and the children usually bear the surname of the father. The wife may keep her maiden name ("nazwisko panieńskie") or add her husband's surname to hers, thus creating a double-barrelled name ("nazwisko złożone"). However, if she already has a double-barrelled name, she must leave one of the parts out—it is illegal to use a triple- or more-barrelled name. An exception is when one of the surnames is composed of a surname proper plus agnomen ("przydomek"), e.g., Maria Gąsienica Daniel-Szatkowska, where "Gąsienica Daniel is her husband's surname. It is also possible, though rare, for the husband to adopt his wife's surname or to add his wife's surname to his family name (an example is businessman Zygmunt Solorz-Żak, who did both, taking his wife's name on his first marriage, and later appending his second wife's name to it). Polish triple-barreled surnames are known to exist; an example is the one borne by , a university professor and writer, living in Canada.


title: Polish names

text: "Ski" (also "Sky" in other regions) is a formative adjective, from the Proto-Slavic "ьskъ", which defined affiliation to something. It was also used with names of territories and settlements to denote possession or place of origin. The suffix, "-ski" (feminine: "-ska"), has been restricted to the nobility in eastern Europe and some parts of central Europe since the High Middle Ages. It was the equivalent to nobiliary particles appearing in the names of nobility, such as in the Germanic "von" or "zu". Almost all surnames borne by the nobility with the "-ski" (or "-sky") suffix are preceded by a place name (toponymic) or other territorial designation derived from their main court, holdings, castle, manor or estate. For example, the Polish nobleman Jan of Tarnów whose name in Polish is "Jan z Tarnowa" was equally known by the name "Jan Tarnowski"; this highlighted his nobility unlike the preposition of "z" alone which could be construed as a regular prepositional particle.


title: Polish names

text: In the 19th century, a wave of seemingly noble sounding surnames began to appear among the common population, where a significant number of the bourgeoisie class, and even the peasantry, began to adopt or bear the noble "-ski" suffix. The "-ski" suffix was thus attached to surnames derived from a person's occupation, characteristics, patronymic surnames, or toponymic surnames (from a person's place of residence, birth or family origin). This caused a blur between the "-ski" bearing territorial toponymic surnames once a characteristic only borne by the nobility. As such, and contrary to a popular modern-day misconception, the fact of a person simply bearing the "-ski" suffix in their family surname or merely sharing the same toponymic surname as members of Poland's nobility, does not in itself denote that person too is a member of the nobility, of noble origin, or indeed connected to that particular family.


title: Polish names

text: When referring to two or more members of the same family and surname, the suffix "-ski" is replaced with the plural "-skich", "-scy" or "-ccy" (plural masculine or both masculine and feminine) as well as "-skie" or "-ckie" (plural feminine).


title: Polish names

text: The "-ski" ending and similar adjectival endings ("-cki", "-dzki", "-ny", "-ty") are the only ones in Polish that have feminine forms, where women have the feminine version ending in "-ska" ("-cka", "-dzka", "-na", "-ta") instead. Historically, female versions of surnames were more complex, often formed by adding the suffix "-owa" for married women and "-ówna" for unmarried women. In most cases, this practice is now considered archaic or rustic.


title: Polish names

text: Family names first appeared in Poland around the 13th century and were only used by the upper social classes of society. Over time the Polish nobility became grouped into heraldic clans (Polish "ród herbowy") whose names survived in their shared coats of arms. Members of one clan could split into separate families with different surnames, usually derived from the name of their holdings or estates. Sometimes the family name and the clan name (associated with the arms) would be used together and form a double-barrelled name. The opposite process happened as well: different families may have joined a heraldic clans by the means of heraldic adoption.


title: Polish names

text: To explain the formation of a particular Polish nobleman's name, e.g. Jakub Dąbrowski, Radwan coat of arms, the process might be the following. In Polish "dąb" means "oak", "dąbrowa" means "oak forest" and "dąbrówka" means "oak grove". Then, by analogy with German surnames associated with noble provenance using von, the equivalent Polish preposition is "z", which means "from", followed by the name of the patrimony or estate. In Polish the expressions, "z Dąbrówki" and "Dąbrowski" mean the same thing: hailing "from Dąbrówka". More precisely, "z Dąbrówki" actually means owner of the estate, "Dąbrówka", but not necessarily originating from there. Thus "Jakub z Dąbrówki herbu Radwan" translates as "Jacob from Dąbrówka, with the Radwan coat of arms". But with the later addition of his cognomen or nickname, "Żądło", he would become known as, "Jakub z Dąbrówki, Żądło, herbu Radwan" - or he could be called just plain, "Jakub Żądło".


title: Polish names

text: The most striking concept of the Polish heraldic system is that a coat of arms may originate from a single family, but come to be carried by several non-related families of the Polish "szlachta" (nobility). Unrelated families who have joined the nobility by heraldic adoption can share the same coat of arms, even though that coat of arms bears the surname of the family who created it. Thus the total number of coats of arms in this system was relatively low — about 200 in the late Middle Ages. One side-effect of this unique arrangement was that it became customary to refer to noblemen by both their family name and their coat of arms/clan name. For example: Jan Zamoyski "herbu" Jelita means "Jan Zamoyski of the clan Jelita".


title: Polish names

text: From the 15th to the 17th century, the formula seems to copy the ancient Roman naming convention with the classic "tria nomina" used by the Patricians: praenomen (or given name), nomen gentile (or gens/Clan name) and cognomen (surname), following the Renaissance fashion. Thus, "Jan Jelita Zamoyski", forming a double-barrelled name (nazwisko złożone). Later, the double-barrelled name would be joined with a hyphen: "Jan Jelita-Zamoyski".


title: Polish names

text: Gradually the use of family names spread to other social groups: the townsfolk ("burghers") by the end of the 17th century, then the peasantry, and finally the Jews. The process ended only in the mid-19th century.


title: Polish names

text: After the First and Second World Wars some resistance fighters added their wartime "noms de guerre" to their original family names. This was yet another reason for creating double-barrelled names. Examples include Edward Rydz-Śmigły, Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, and Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski. Some artists, such as Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński, also added their "noms de plume" to their surnames.


title: Polish names

text: A Polish citizen may apply to the registry office ("Urząd Stanu Cywilnego") with a request for a change of name or surname alongside the payment of a small administrative fee. If the change of surname is not linked to marriage, the family surname is also changed in the successful applicant's documents. A note is added to the applicant's birth certificate in the system, informing of the subsequent change of name.


title: Polish names

text: The request is not always successful. Certain types of request are certain to be refused: for example, the surname of a famous historical figure (where the applicant cannot demonstrate a close family connection to the surname), or where there is concern that the applicant is applying with the aim of evading criminal or civil responsibility. Every application must give a motivation for the change of name; for example, the existing name being offensive or funny, the desire to revert to a previous name, a close attachment to family members (e.g. parent, step-parent) bearing a different surname, or being commonly known in unofficial contexts by a different name.


title: Polish names

text: When Polish individuals emigrate to countries with different languages and cultures, the often-difficult spelling and pronunciation of Polish names commonly cause them to be misspelled, changed, shortened, or calqued.


title: Polish names

text: For example, in English, "w" is often changed to "v" and "sz" to "sh". Similar changes occur in French. Changes in Spanish can be even more extreme; a "Spiczyński" may become simply "Spika", for example, where a more rigorous transcription would produce "de Spichiñ".


title: Polish names

text: Another typical change is the loss of the gender distinction in adjectival surnames, especially visible for those ending in "-ski" (fem.: "-ska"), "-cki" (fem.: "-cka") and "-dzki" (fem.: "-dzka"). Western languages do not distinguish between male and female surnames, even if the language has gender-specific adjectives (like German, French or Spanish). As the surname is, in most cases, inherited from the father (or accepted from the husband), the Western registries of birth and marriage ascribe the masculine form (the one ending in "-i") to the female members of the family. Slavic countries, in contrast, would use the feminine form of the surname (the one ending in "-a"). So the form "Anna Kowalski" would never be met within Poland, whereas it is commonly found in the US, Germany or Argentina.


title: Polish names

text: However, as an exception, feminine endings like "-ska" even apply to some women from non-Slavic countries, not just outside Poland or English-speaking ones, who have Polish parentage or are half-Polish, namely Britain's Ella Balinska, whose father has the masculine Balinski(-Jundzill), and Australians Mia Wasikowska and her sister Jess, who have the same ending as their mother's.


title: Polish names

text: Another change is changing the final vowel "-i" of the endings "-ski", "-cki" and "-dzki" into "-y". These endings are common in Czech, Slovak and Ukrainian languages, as well as in English, but they never occur in Polish.


title: Polish names

text: When transliterated into languages that use the Cyrillic alphabet, such as Russian or Ukrainian, alterations are usually much less drastic as the languages involved are Slavic and less difficult for the natives, and feminine forms are preserved, although the "-ski/-ska" ending is altered slightly to the corresponding ending in Russian (-ский/-ская) or Ukrainian (-ський/-ська). Similar alterations occur to Polish names in Belarus, Lithuania, and Latvia.


title: Polish names

text: Adjectival names very often end in the suffixes, "-ski", "-cki" and "-dzki" (feminine "-ska", "-cka" and "-dzka"), and are considered to be either typically Polish or typical for the Polish nobility. In the case of '-ski', it holds true if the surname contains the name of a city, town, village or other geographical location.


title: Polish names

text: Based on origin, Polish family names may be generally divided into three groups: cognominal, toponymic and patronymic.


title: Polish names

text: A Polish cognominal surname ("nazwisko przezwiskowe") derives from a person's nickname, usually based on his profession, occupation, physical description, character trait, etc. The occupational surnames often would come from the Medieval Polish serf-villages, where a whole village serving the prince, township or lord, or a few streets in a town block would be inhabited by the same kind of specialized workers, often a guild of professionals. These areas would often be separate from the rest of the town due to the danger of fire (bell-makers and smiths), area ownership by the guild, or due to unpleasant pollution (tanners, wool-workers). Such serf areas would bear the plural form of the profession name, such as Piekary (bakers), Garbary (tanners), Winiary (winemakers). Furthermore, the suffix -czyk, -yk, -ek was used to describe a profession as a diminutive, often, but not always, indicating a trainee - the learning assistant before achieving a full job title or seniority.


title: Polish names

text: Toponymic surnames ("nazwisko odmiejscowe") usually derive from the name of a village or town, or the name of a topographic feature. These names are almost always of the adjectival form. Originally they referred to the village owner (lord). In the 19th century, however, surnames were often taken from the name of a person's town.


title: Polish names

text: A patronymic surname ("nazwisko odimienne") derives from the given name of a person, and usually ends in a suffix suggesting a family relation.


title: Polish names

text: Adjectival surnames, like all Polish adjectives, have masculine and feminine forms. If a masculine surname ends in "-i" or "-y"; its feminine equivalent ends in "-a".


title: Polish names

text: The feminine form is not just a common usage form, it is also the form of the surname that appears in all official records, such as birth, death and marriage certificates, identity cards, and passports. A female first name coupled with a male surname or vice versa sounds incongruous and wrong to the Polish ear.


title: Polish names

text: Surnames ending with consonants usually have no additional feminine form. In the past, when the masculine form ended in a consonant, the feminine surname could have been derived by adding the suffix "-owa" (possessive form) for married women and the suffix "-ówna" (patronymic form) for maiden surname. For example, Cezaria Baudouin de Courtenay, after her marriage to Janusz Jędrzejewicz, was named Cezaria Baudouin de Courtenay Ehrenkreutz Jędrzejewiczowa. The unmarried daughter of Jędrzejewicz would have the official surname Jędrzejewiczówna. In modern times, Jędrzejewicz may be both a masculine and a feminine surname.


title: Polish names

text: Another pair of archaic feminine forms are these derived from the masculine surname based on a nickname ending in vowel: "-ina" for married (Puchała –> Puchalina) and "-anka/-ianka" for unmarried (Przybyła –> Przybylanka).


title: Polish names

text: Still another archaic feminine forms are for surnames ending in "-g" or syllables starting with '-g': in this case the unmarried feminine form would use the suffix "-żanka": Fertig -> Fertiżanka, Szeliga -> Szeliżanka.


title: Polish names

text: The neuter form ("rodzaj nijaki") may be used in reference to neuter nouns such as "dziecko", "child." For example, when talking about a child of the neighbours one may say "To małe Kowalskie jest bardzo spokojnym dzieckiem" ("That Kowalski little one is a very quiet child"), or in plural: "Wasilewskie wyjechały do babci" ("The Wasilewskis children went away to see their grandma"). Unlike the feminine form, this form is never used in official documents; it is an informal form used mostly in spoken language.


title: Polish names

text: Nominal surnames may or may not change with gender. Like other Slavic languages, Polish has special feminine suffixes which were added to a woman's surname. A woman who was never married used her father's surname with the suffix "-ówna" or "-'anka". A married woman or a widow used her husband's surname with the suffix "-owa" or "-'ina" / "-'yna" (the apostrophe means that the last consonant in the base form of the surname is softened). Although these suffixes are still used by some people, mostly the elderly and in rural areas, they are now becoming outdated and there is a tendency to use the same form of a nominal surname for both a man and a woman. Furthermore, the forms "-anka" and "-ina/-yna" are going out of fashion and being replaced by "-ówna" and "-owa" respectively.


title: Polish names

text: Plural forms of surnames follow the pattern of the masculine and feminine forms, respectively, if such exist. For a married couple or a family where there is a mix of males and females, the masculine plural is used. Plural forms of names rarely follow the patterns of regular declension, even if the name is identical with a common name.


title: Polish names

text: The table below shows the full declension of adjectival surnames ending in -ki (-ski, -cki, -dzki), using the surname "Kowalski" as an example.


title: Polish names

text: Poles pay great attention to the correct way of referring to, or addressing other people, depending on the level of social distance, familiarity and politeness. The differences between formal and informal language include:


title: Polish names

text: "Pan" and "Pani" are the basic honorific styles used in Polish to refer to a man or woman, respectively. In the past, these styles were reserved for hereditary nobles, and played more or less the same role as "Lord" or "Sir" and "Lady" or "Madame" in English. Since the 19th century, they have come to be used in all strata of society and may be considered equivalent to the English "Mr." and "Ms." or the Japanese "san" suffix, while nobles would be addressed "Jego/Jej Miłość Pan/Pani" (His/Her Grace Lord/Lady). There used to be a separate style, "Panna" ("Miss"), applied to unmarried women, but this is now outdated and mostly replaced by "Pani".


title: Polish names

text: "Państwo" is widely used when referring to a married couple (instead of using "Pan" and "Pani") or even a whole family.


title: Polish names

text: When addressing people, scientific and other titles are always used together with "Pan" and "Pani" and the name itself is dropped. However, when a person is spoken of but not addressed directly, then both the title and the name are used and the words "Pan"/"Pani" are often omitted.


title: Polish names

text: The given name(s) normally comes before the surname. However, in a list of people sorted alphabetically by surname, the surname usually comes first. Hence some people may also use this order in spoken language (e.g. introducing themselves as "Kowalski Jan" instead of "Jan Kowalski"), but this is generally considered incorrect or a throwback to the Communist era when this order was sometimes heard in official situations. In many formal situations, the given name is omitted altogether.


title: Polish names

text: On the other hand, it is not common to refer to public figures, while not addressing them, with "Pan" or "Pani". This is true for politicians, artists, and athletes.


title: Polish names

text: In such circumstances, preceding a name with "Pan" or "Pani" would usually be seen as being ironical.


title: Polish names

text: In situations of frequent contact, like at work, people who do not change their status from formal to familiar levels may remain for years at a semi-formal level, using the formal "Pan"/"Pani" form followed by the given name. That way of calling people is used not only to address them but also to refer to them to a third person with whom one remains at the same level of semi-formal contact.


title: Polish names

text: If two people do not have the same status, such as an employer and employee, a subordinate person is addressed by his or her given name by their superior, but the subordinate never uses the given name of the superior but instead uses the title.


title: Polish names

text: If a superior wants to behave more politely or show a friendly attitude towards the subordinate, a diminutive form of the given name may be used: "Panie Włodku!", "Pani Jadziu!". That, however, is usually not practised when the subordinate is much older than the superior, as it may be felt by the subordinate as being overly patronised by the superior.


title: Polish names

text: It is rude to call a person by a surname in the presence of unknown people. In a random crowd, for example, a person calling another person should use a form of "Proszę Pana/Pani" ("I'm asking you, Sir/Madam") or use the semi-formal form with first name, like "Panie Włodzimierzu" ("Mr. Włodzimierz"). That comes from a general rule that one has the right to be anonymous in a crowd of unknown people, and the rule is observed in most Western countries. To disclose one's given name does not fall under that rule, as many people are "Włodzimierz", for instance.


title: Polish names

text: Informal forms of address are normally used only by relatives, close friends and co-workers. In such situations diminutives are generally preferred to the standard forms of given names. At an intermediate level of familiarity (for example, among co-workers) a diminutive given name may be preceded by formal the "Pan" or "Pani" (semi-informal form of address):


title: Polish names

text: Using the honorific style with a surname only, if used to refer to a given person directly, is generally perceived as rude. In such case, it is more polite to use just the form "Pan", without given or family name.


title: Polish names

text: It is very rude to address someone whom one does not know well without using "Pan" or "Pani", and with the second person singular instead of the polite third person singular pronouns and verb forms. Traditionally, the act of moving from this form to a friendly "you" must be acknowledged by both parties and it is usually a mark of a close friendly relationship between the two people. The change can only be proposed by the older or more respected person; a similar suggestion initiated by the younger or less respected person will usually be perceived as presumptuous and arrogant.


title: Polish names

text: Although a remarried woman who takes the new husband's surname does not formally retain the surname(s) from the previous marriages, on biographical occasions all her surnames may be listed as follows: "Maria Piłsudska, "de domo" Koplewska, "primo voto" Juszkiewicz, "secundo voto" Piłsudska", where ""de domo"" literally meaning "of house" is basically the same as "née", """" marks the surname by the first marriage, ""secundo voto"" marks the surname by the second marriage, etc.


title: Hotels.com

text: Hotels.com is a website for booking hotel rooms online and by telephone. The company has 85 websites in 34 languages, and lists over 325,000 hotels in approximately 19,000 locations. Its inventory includes hotels and B&Bs, and some condos and other types of commercial lodging. Hotels.com was established in 1991 as the Hotel Reservations Network (HRN). In 2001, it became part of Expedia, Inc. and in 2002, changed its name to Hotels.com. The company is operated by Hotels.com LP, a limited partnership subsidiary located in Dallas, Texas, in the United States.


title: Hotels.com

text: Hotels.com was established in 1991 by David Litman and Robert Diener as the Hotel Reservations Network (HRN), providing hotel booking via a toll-free phone number in the United States. In 2001, the company was acquired by USA Networks Inc (USAI) which also acquired a controlling interest in Expedia, the online travel booking company.


title: Hotels.com

text: After buying the domain name for approximately US$11m, HRN changed its name in 2002 to Hotels.com and launched the offline brand 1-800-2-Hotels as well as allowing hotel bookings on line. There followed a period of rapid international expansion with 29 sites added over the next two years. In 2003, USAI was renamed InterActiveCorp (IAC). In 2005 IAC separated its travel business under the name Expedia Inc. Hotels.com then became an operating company of Expedia Inc.


title: Hotels.com

text: International growth since 2002 has included web sites for North, Central and South America, Europe, Australia, Japan, China and the Pacific Rim, the Middle East and South Africa. Web sites for Indonesia and Vietnam launched in 2011. Customers in all countries can book online or by phoning one of the multilingual call centres. Calls are both toll-free and paid, depending on the country of booking.


title: Hotels.com

text: In 2011, the site launched an iPad application and updated its mobile phone product on iPhone and Android.


title: Hotels.com

text: In May 2007, Hotels.com was subject to a class action complaint ("Smith v. Hotels.com L.P.", California Superior Court, Alameda County, Case No. RG07327029) brought against them for “ongoing discrimination against persons with mobility disabilities who desire to, but cannot, use Hotels.com’s worldwide reservation network to make reservations for hotel rooms”. The company denied the accusation and opposed the action, but was found guilty on one count of infringing California's Unruh Civil Rights Act, and on one count in violation of Unfair Competition Law. Thesite then agreed to provide suitable accessibility information about hotels sold on its website.


title: Hotels.com

text: In February 2019, TechCrunch reported that the Hotels.com mobile app in the iOS App Store was using session-replay functionality from Israeli firm Glassbox, to record users' activities and send the data to Expedia servers without users' informed consent, compromising users' privacy and contravening the rules of the iOS App Store.


title: Hotels.com

text: Like its competitors (such as Agoda), Hotels.com has a loyalty program. This allows customers to claim discounts on most, but not all, hotels, regardless of hotel chain or type. The program is called "Hotels.com Rewards" (formerly "Welcome Rewards") and launched in the US, Canada and much of Latin America in 2008. It then extended to the UK and Australia in 2010, and to more than 40 additional countries in 2011.


title: Hotels.com

text: Starting 2004, the site has published a twice-yearly review of international hotel room price trends called the Hotels.com Hotel Price Index based on the prices paid per room by its customers using a weighted average based on the number of rooms sold in each of the markets in which it operates. Information includes notable price changes and comparisons between destinations, hotel types, and other price-related analyses for the previous six months. The Hotel Price Index is published both digitally and in print, and is aimed at journalists, the media, and hoteliers as part of its public relations.


title: Hotels.com

text: Ed Helms voiced the character "Smart" in Hotels.com advertisements. In 2012, the character was changed from clay animation to CGI. The company's advertising slogan was originally "Smart. So Smart" before being changed to "Be Smart. Book Smart".


title: Hotels.com

text: In 2014, the site introduced the character "Captain Obvious" who is portrayed by actor Brandon Moynihan. Captain Obvious makes self-evident comments with the aim of communicating that Hotels.com is the obvious choice. The campaign was devised by the ad firm Crispin Porter + Bogusky. Moynihan said in an interview "Hotels.com has a great self awareness and they're not afraid to push the envelope with the crazy stuff I get to do as Captain Obvious". Notable advertisements include one where he runs for president, a "La La Land" inspired ad and an ad where Captain Obvious meets his future self. In 2018, Captain Obvious featured in Channel 4's ad blocking campaign. In 2019, Captain Obvious appeared as a DJ in an episode of "Four Weddings and a Funeral".


title: Hotels.com

text: The character has since entered popular culture. In one such example, during a 2018 interview at State College, Pennsylvania, famed lesbian feminist social theorist Marilyn Frye pointed to the time that she personally edited her own Wikipedia page in July 2011. Frye admitted that she removed an entire paragraph. The paragraph claimed that she compared the alleged misogyny and theatrical mockery of women in the works of C. S. Lewis to underground male prostitution rings in her published works. Frye quipped, "While what was said could easily be extrapolated from my work, I have never written a word linking C. S. Lewis to male prostitution before. I am not Captain Obvious from Hotels.com!"


title: Hotels.com

text: Starting in the 2018-19 season, Hotels.com became the official global sponsor of UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup along with Expedia.


title: Limited liability

text: Limited liability is a legal status in which a person's financial liability is limited to a fixed sum, most commonly the value of a person's investment in a corporation, company or partnership. If a company that provides limited liability to its investors is sued, then the claimants are generally entitled to collect only against the assets of the company, not the assets of its shareholders or other investors. A shareholder in a corporation or limited liability company is not personally liable for any of the debts of the company, other than for the amount already invested in the company and for any unpaid amount on the shares in the company, if any, except under special and rare circumstances permitting "piercing the corporate veil." The same is true for the members of a limited liability partnership and the limited partners in a limited partnership. By contrast, sole proprietors and partners in general partnerships are each liable for all the debts of the business (unlimited liability).


title: Limited liability

text: Although a shareholder's liability for the company's actions is limited, the shareholders may still be liable for their own acts. For example, the directors of small companies (who are frequently also shareholders) are often required to give personal guarantees of the company's debts to those lending to the company. They will then be liable for those debts that the company cannot pay, although the other shareholders will not be so liable. This is known as co-signing. A shareholder who is also an employee of the corporation may be personally liable for actions the employee takes in that capacity on behalf of the corporation, in particular torts committed within the scope of employment.


title: Limited liability

text: Limited liability for shareholders for "contracts" entered by the corporation is not controversial because this could and probably would be agreed to by both parties to the contract. However, limited liability for shareholders for "torts" (or harms not agreed to in advance) is controversial because of concerns that such limited liability could lead to excessive risk taking by companies and more negative externalities (i.e., more harm to third parties) than would be produced in the absence of limited liability. According to one estimate, negative corporate externalities on an annual basis are equal to between 5 and 20 percent of U.S. GDP.


title: Limited liability

text: An issue in liability exposure is whether the assets of a parent entity and the sole owner need to be subject to the subsidiary’s liabilities, when the subsidiary is declared insolvent and owes debt to its creditors. As a general principle of corporate law, in the United States, a parent entity and the sole owner are not liable for the acts of its subsidiaries. However, as a caveat, they may be liable for its subsidiaries’ obligations when the law supports "piercing the corporate veil".


title: Limited liability

text: Provided that the parent entity or the sole owner do not maintain separate legal identities from the subsidiary (through inadequate/ undocumented transfer of funds and assets), the judgment is likely to be in favor of the creditor. In the same regard, if a subsidiary is undercapitalized from its inception, that may be grounds for piercing the corporate veil. Further, if injustice/fraud to the creditor is proven, the parent entity or the owner may be held liable to compensate the creditor. Thus, there is not one characteristic that defines the piercing of a corporate veil - a factors test is used to determine if piercing is appropriate or not.


title: Limited liability

text: If shares are issued "part-paid", then the shareholders are liable, when a claim is made against the capital of the company, to pay to the company the balance of the face or par value of the shares.


title: Limited liability

text: By the 15th century, English law had awarded limited liability to monastic communities and trade guilds with commonly held property. In the 17th century, joint stock charters were awarded by the crown to monopolies such as the East India Company. The world's first modern limited liability law was enacted by the state of New York in 1811. In England it became more straightforward to incorporate a joint stock company following the Joint Stock Companies Act 1844, although investors in such companies carried unlimited liability until the Limited Liability Act 1855.


title: Limited liability

text: There was a degree of public and legislative distaste for a limitation of liability, with fears that it would cause a drop in standards of probity. The 1855 Act allowed limited liability to companies of more than 25 members (shareholders). Insurance companies were excluded from the act, though it was standard practice for insurance contracts to exclude action against individual members. Limited liability for insurance companies was allowed by the Companies Act 1862. The minimum number of members necessary for registration as a limited company was reduced to seven by the Companies Act 1856. Limited companies in England and Wales now require only one member.


title: Limited liability

text: Similar statutory regimes were in place in France and in the majority of the U.S. states by 1860. By the final quarter of the nineteenth century, most European countries had adopted the principle of limited liability. The development of limited liability facilitated the move to large-scale industrial enterprise, by removing the threat that an individual's total wealth would be confiscated if invested in an unsuccessful company. Large sums of personal financial capital became available, and the transferability of shares permitted a degree of business continuity not possible in other forms of enterprise.


title: Limited liability

text: In the UK there was initially a widespread belief that a corporation needed to demonstrate its creditworthiness by having its shares only partly paid, as where shares are partly paid, the investor would be liable for the remainder of the nominal value in case the company could not pay its debts. Shares with nominal values of up to £1,000 were therefore subscribed to with only a small payment, leaving even a limited liability investor with a potentially crushing liability and restricting investment to the very wealthy. During the Overend Gurney crisis (1866–1867) and the Long Depression (1873–1896) many companies fell into insolvency and the unpaid portion of the shares fell due. Further, the extent to which small and medium investors were excluded from the market was admitted and, from the 1880s onwards, shares were more commonly fully paid.


title: Limited liability

text: Although it was admitted that those who were mere investors ought not to be liable for debts arising from the management of a corporation, throughout the late nineteenth century there were still many arguments for unlimited liability for managers and directors on the model of the French "société en commandite". Such liability for directors of English companies was abolished in 2006. Further, it became increasingly common from the end of the nineteenth century for shareholders to be directors, protecting themselves from liability.


title: Limited liability

text: In 1989, the European Union enacted its Twelfth Council Company Law Directive, requiring that member states make available legal structures for individuals to trade with limited liability. This was implemented in England and Wales in the Companies (Single Member Private Limited Companies) Regulations 1992, which allowed single-member limited-liability companies.


title: Limited liability

text: Some argue that limited liability is related to the concept of separate legal personality bestowed on the corporate form, which is promoted as encouraging entrepreneurship by various economists, enabling large sums to be pooled towards an economically beneficial purpose.


title: Limited liability

text: Limited liability has been justified as promoting investment and capital formation by reassuring risk averse investors.


title: Limited liability

text: An early critic of limited liability, Edward William Cox, a lifelong member of the Conservative Party, wrote in 1855:


title: Limited liability

text: Others argue that while some limited liability is beneficial, the privilege ought not to extend to liability in tort for environmental disasters or personal injury because this leads to excessive risk taking and negative externalities by corporations. Others argue that limited liability should be permitted, but should be taxed more heavily to offset the harm limited liability causes. Such taxes could be structured to generate information for regulators about how risky the activities companies are undertaking are to third parties.


title: Limited liability

text: Anarcho-capitalist Murray N. Rothbard, in his "Power and Market" (1970), criticized the need of limited liability laws, observing that similar arrangements emerge upon mutual and voluntary agreement in a free market.


title: Limited liability

text: The 1957 Brussels Convention and the 1976 London Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims permit the charterer, manager, operators and salvors of a ship, and the master and members of the crew, to limit their liability for damage caused by events occurring “on board or in direct connection with the operation of the ship, or with salvage operations" and for "consequential loss resulting therefrom”.


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: Ahl-i Hadith or Ahl-e-Hadith (, , , "people of hadith") is a Salafi reform movement that emerged in North India in the mid-nineteenth century from the teachings of Sayyid Ahmad Shahid, Syed Nazeer Husain and Nawab Siddiq Hasan Khan. It is an offshoot of the 19th-century Indian Tariqah-i-Muhammadiya movement tied to the 18th-century traditions of Shah Waliullah Dehlawi and the Wahhabi movement. The adherents of the movement described themselves variously as ""Muwahideen"" and as ""Ahl e-Hadith"".


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: Initially coterminous with the so-called (Indian) "Wahhabis", the movement emerged as a distinct group around 1864, having claimed the appellation of ""Ahl-i Hadith"" to highlight its commitment to the body of "ḥadīth"—statements attributed to Muhammad, validated through chains of transmission—and its political quietism. The movement was noteworthy for its robust opposition to practices associated with the veneration of saints, which they regarded as a breach of the doctrine of "Tawḥīd" (Islamic monotheism). Its adherents profess to hold the same views as those of the early Ahl al-Hadith school. They reject "taqlid" (following legal precedent) and favour "ijtihad" (independent legal reasoning) based on the scriptures. Today, the terms ""Salafi"" and ""Ahl-i Hadith"" are often used interchangeably, the movement shares doctrinal tendencies with the Hanbali school prevalent in the Arabian Peninsula, and many of its members have identified themselves with the Zahiri school of thought. Some believe it possesses some notable distinctions from the mainly Arab Salafis.


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: Holding considerable influence amongst the urban Islamic intellectual circles of South Asia, the "Ahl-i Hadith" consolidated themselves into the All India "Ahl-i-Hadith" Conference in 1906 and, in Pakistan, formed a political wing in the Jamiat Ahle Hadith in 1986. The movement has drawn support and funding from Saudi Arabia.


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: Imam Shah Waliullah Dehlawi (1703 - 1762 C.E) is considered as the intellectual fore-forefather of the "Ahl-i-Hadith". After his Pilgrimage to Mecca, Shah Waliullah Dehlawi spent 14 months in Medina, studying "Qur'an", "Hadith" and works of the classical Hanbali theologian Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728 A.H/ 1328 C.E) under the "hadith" scholar Muhammad Tahir al-Kurani, the son of Ibrahim al-Kurani. Upon return to India, he preached "Tawhid" and a return to the "Sunnah", and claimed "Ijtihad" just like Ibn Taymiyya. Shah maintained that "Ijtihad" is essential for Muslim scholars for all ages since cognizance of Divine injunctions related to the novel issues of each era is obligatory. He also opposed various rituals of saint veneration and customs at saint's tombs which he held to be idolatrous. Shah's campaigns against "bid'ah" (religious innovations), emphasis on "Ijtihad" as well as his political activities were immensely influenced by Ibn Taymiyya. His precepts for reviving an Islamic Caliphate modelled on the "Khulafa al-Rashidun" as elucidated in his treatises like "Izalat al-Khifa", "Qurrat al-'Aynayn", etc. echoed the doctrines propounded by Ibn Taymiyya during the 14th/7th century.


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: After the death of his father, Shah 'Abd al-Aziz continued the works of Shah Waliullah. He was a "Muhaddith" who emphasized the importance of "Hadith" with students all across the subcontinent. As a teacher, preacher and social religious-reformer, Shah 'Abd al-Aziz was closely monitoring the socio-political developments in the subcontinent. British were gaining ascendancy in India by capturing power in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. In 1799, British defeated the Kingdom of Mysore in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War. When the British armies entered Delhi in 1803, the Mughal empire was turned into a protectorate of British East India Company, thus gaining political supremacy in the subcontinent. Upon this, Shah 'Abd al-Aziz declared a decisive "fatwa" declaring India to be "Dar-al Harb" (abode of war). This was the first significant "fatwa" against colonial rule in the subcontinent that gave an indirect call to South Asian Muslims to fight colonial occupation and liberate the country. This decisive "fatwa" by Shah Waliullah's eldest son and successor, Shah 'Abd al Azeez, calling upon Muslims to strive to restore India back to Islamic rule, would greatly inspire his student Sayyid Ahmed Shahid and motivate him to plan for future "Jihad". After a brief period as a mercenary, Sayyid Ahmad would further pursue his religious studies and re-appeared as an eminent religious scholar and a visionary leader, gaining many disciples. He came to be widely identified as the inheritor of Shah Waliullah's mantle and numerous Sunni Muslims volunteered to join his cause.


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: Under these circumstances the call to "Jihad" against British rule began becoming popular amongst the Muslim masses. Shah Ismail Dehlvi, the nephew of Shah 'Abd al-Aziz and grandson of Shah Waliullah, would lead a religious revivalist movement. In addition to being an excellent orator, he was also a soldier and military commander. Shah Muhammad Ishaq, the grandson of Shah 'Abd al-Aziz would continue his religious reform after Abdul Aziz's death in 1823. Maulana Abdul Haie, son-in-law of Shah 'Abd al-Aziz was also a reputed scholar. These three theologians prepared the spadework of "Tariqah-i-Muhammadiyya", the reform movement that would be known as the Indian "Wahhabi movement". During his last years, Shah 'Abd al-Aziz would give his cloak to Syed Ahmed Bareilly appointing him as his successor. Sayyid Ahmed would campaign against the corruption of various Sufi orders, and initiate his disciples into Tariqah-i-Muhammadiya ("the Muhammadiyya Order"). The disciples in this order were required to make a vow that they will strictly abide by "Sharia" and would not follow anything not proven by "Qur'an" and "Hadith".


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: One of the prominent disciples of Sayyid Ahmed was Wilayat Ali Khan, a student of "Hajji" Abdul Haq of Benares; popularly known as the "Nejdi Sheikh". Abdul Haq was an Islamic scholar who spent years studying in the remote Central Arabian Province of Nejd, the seat of the Wahhabi movement. Upon his return, he preached many of its militant ideals and had already established Wahhabi doctrines in South Asia before Sayyid Ahmad's pilgrimage in 1821. 'Abd al-Haqq would later become a member of "Tariqah-i Muhammadiya" and join Sayyid Ahmad's "Hajj" to Hejaz in 1821 along with his disciple Wilayat Ali. Unlike other members of the group, 'Abd al-Haqq travelled to Yemen to study under the theologian Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-Shawkānī (d. 1834) and would become greatly influential in shaping the teachings of "Ahl-i Hadith". Meanwhile Wilayat Ali Khan, being a disciple of both Sayyid Ahmad and the Najdi Sheikh, emerged as an important leader of Indian "Wahhabi" movement and its military campaigns of "Jihad".


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: In 1821, Syed Ahmad embarked on a journey for Hajj in Hejaz accompanied by Shah Ismail Dehlvi and Maulana Abdul Haie with 400 disciples. They performed Hajj in 1823 (1237 A.H) and stayed in Hejaz for 8 months. Shah Ismail and Abdul Haie authored the Arabic book ""Sirat e Mustaqim"" to call Arabs to their reformative movement. They returned home in 1824. The three scholars then charted a strategic plan to wage Jihad against the colonial occupation across India. Many parts of the subcontinent became recruitment centres for the "Mujahideen". When his Pathan disciples offered him territory, Syed Ahmed set-up the North West Frontier Province as the operations headquarters for the future "Wahhabite" Jihad in 1826 to re-take the subcontinent from the British. However this put the "Mujahideen" into conflict with the Sikh empire. In January 1827, Syed Ahmed was elected as Imam and "Amir-ul-Mu'mineen" (commander of faithful) by religious scholars and tribal chiefs. Soon war broke out between Sikhs and "Wahhabi" Mujahideen.


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: On 24 February 1828, one of the three leaders of Jihad, Maulvi Abdul Haei, the chief advisor to Syed Ahmed died as an old and ailing person. In his letters to Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh, Syed Ahmed clarified that he didn't seek a confrontation with Sikhs, but only their help in defeating the British. Ranjit Singh, for his part, respected Syed Ahmed as a "courageous, bold and determined person". By 1830, many Pathan tribal chiefs rose against the Wahhabi "Mujahideen" and committed massacres against the Wahhabi emigrants. Disillusioned by this, Syed Ahmed lost interest in the movement and made plans to migrate to Arabia. However, senior advisors such as Shah Ismail opposed the idea and sought to complete the objectives of the movement, despite the setbacks.


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: On 17 April 1831, Syed Ahmed set out on his last journey for Balakot with the aim to capture Kashmir, accompanied by Shah Ismail. A Pashtun chieftain named Zabardast Khan who made a secret deal with the Sikh commander Sher Singh withheld promised reinforcements. On 6 May 1831, an ill-equipped army of 1,000 "Mujahideen" faced a 12,000 strong force of Sikh gunmen ("Banduqchis") led by Sher Singh. On that day Syed Ahmed, Shah Ismail and prominent leaders of the Wahhabi movement fell fighting in the battlefield. Out of the 1000 "Mujahideen", 300 died and Sikh casualties were 700 deaths. Sikh victory at Balakot arose jubilation in Lahore. The British government also congratulated Ranjith Singh in his victory. The defeat at Balakot made a devastating blow to the Wahhabi movement.


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: After the death and defeats of both Sayyid Ahmed Shahid and Shah Ismail Dehlwi; many of his followers continued the Jihad movement across South Asia. Others became the followers of Shah Muhammad Ishaq (1778–1846 C.E), the grandson of Shah 'Abd al-Azeez and head of the "Madrasa Rahimiyya" in Delhi. Some of the disciples of Shah Muhammad Ishaq would formally establish the "Ahl-i Hadith" movement.


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: In the mid-nineteenth century, an Islamic religious reform movement was started in Northern India that continued the "Tariqah-i-Muhammadiyya" movement. It rejected everything introduced into Islam after "Qur'an", "Sunnah", "Hadith" and the early eras. This was led by Nawab Siddiq Hasan Khan of Bhopal (1832–1890) whose father became a Sunni convert under the influence of Shah 'Abd al-Aziz (1746–1824) and Syed Nazir Husain (1805–1902) who was a student of Muhaddith Shah Muhammad Ishaq (1782–1846), the grandson of Shah 'Abd al-Aziz and his "Khalifa" (successor). With the aim of restoring Islamic unity and strengthening Muslim faith, they called for a return to original sources of religion," "Qur'an and Hadith"" and eradicate what they perceived as "bid‘ah" (innovations), "shirk" (polytheism), heresies and superstitions.


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: Siddiq Hasan’s father Sayyid Awlad Hasan was a strong supporter of Sayyid Ahmad Shahid and had accompanied him to Afghanistan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to participate in his famous "Jihad" movement. Another major source of influence on Khan was the "Najdi Sheikh" 'Abd al-Haqq Benarasi who had returned from Yemen and became the first scholar to teach the doctrines of Yemeni theologian Al-Shawkani in South Asia. Benarasi was Khan's Hadith master in Delhi; teaching him doctrines such as rejection of "shirk", "bid'ah", "Taqlid", etc. and became influential in laying the doctrinal foundations of the later "Ahl-i Hadith". Khan also had studied under the tutelage of other notable students of Shawkani such as Nāṣir al-Ḥāzimī, ʿAbd al-Qayyūm Buḍhānawī and the Bhopali scholar Ḥusayn b. Muḥsin al-Yamanī.


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: Syed Nazeer Husain from Delhi and Siddiq Hasan Khan of Bhopal drew primarily on the work of hadith scholars from Yemen in the early years of the movement, reintroducing the field into the Indian subcontinent. Their strong emphasis on education and book publishing has often attracted members of the social elite both in South Asia and overseas. Alongside the Yemeni reformers, the teachings of Shāh Muḥammad Ismāʿīl Dehlvi (1779–1832 C.E) also became highly important in "Ahl-i Hadith" circles. Shah Muhammad's ground-breaking theological works like "Taqwiyat al-īmān" (Strengthening of the Faith), "al-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm" (The Straight Path), "Yak Rūzī" (One Dayer), etc. elucidated the core doctrines of the "Ahl-i Hadith" movement. All these works called upon the believers to uphold the principle of "Tawhid" (montheism), and condemned various practices associated with saint-venerations, visitations to tombs, Sufi rituals, etc. as "shirk" (polytheism).


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: Following the teachings of Shah Ismail, "Ahl-i Hadith" also rejected "Taqlid" to works of classical Sunni "Fiqh" (jurisprudence) and believed in direct understanding of "Qur'an" and "Hadith". Due to their connections with Shah Ismail and Sayyid Ahmad's "Jihad" movement, "Ahl-i Hadith" were considered as "Wahhabi" conspirators by the British administration. The anti-colonial activism of "Ahl-i Hadith" religious reformers as well as their sympathies for Jihad made them the primary target more than any other reform movement. For the British imperial statesmen, their endeavours were part of a wider "Wahhabi" conspiracy. Apart from the British, many Hanafite scholars also were critical of Sayyid Ahmad and his followers. Throughout the 19th century, "Ahl-i Hadith" scholars were persecuted under various pretexts during the "Wahhabi trails" (of 1850s–1870s). Eventually the leaders of the movement sought pragmatic accommodation with the British Raj in order to stop the repression campaign against Wahhabis. Upon the petition of "Ahl-i-Hadith" scholar Muhammad Hussain Batalvi to the British Indian Administration, the government of India issued a notification in 1886, stopping the use of the term "Wahhabi" in official correspondence. In a victory to reform movement, the government conceded to referring the community as ""Ahl-i Hadith"".


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: University of Paris political scientist Antoine Sfeir has referred to the movement as having an elitist character which perhaps contributes to their status as a minority in South Asia. Folk Islam and Sufism, commonly popular with the poor and working class in the region, are anathema to "Ahl-i Hadith" beliefs and practices. This attitude toward Sufism has brought the movement into conflict with the rival Barelvi movement even more so than the Barelvis perennial rivals, the Deobandis.


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: In the 1920s, the Ahl-i Hadith opened a center for their movement in Srinagar. Followers of the Hanafi school of law, forming the majority of Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir, socially boycotted and physically attacked "Ahl-i Hadith" followers, eventually declaring such followers to be apostates and banning them from praying in mainstream mosques. From the 1930s the group also began to be active in the political realm of Pakistan, with Ehsan Elahi Zaheer leading the movement into a full foray in the 1970s, eventually gaining the movement a network of mosques and Islamic schools. Following other South Asian Islamic movements, the "Ahl-i Hadith" now also administer schools and mosques in the English-speaking world. In the modern era, the movement draws both inspiration and financial support from Saudi Arabia, now being favoured over the rival Deobandi movement as a counterbalance to Iranian influence.


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: Its adherents oppose "taqlid". They reject being bound by the four mainstream Islamic jurisprudential "mad'habs", and the four "Imams". Hence they are known as ghair muqallidīn (non-conformists). They repudiate the traditions of the schools of jurisprudence and consider it permissible to seek guidance directly from "Qur'an" and authentic "hadith". This set them in opposition to the Sufi sects of the subcontinent with whom they often have arguments, and they disagree with followers of the Hanafi school of thought due to jurisprudential differences. Classical treatises of Hanbali theologian Ahmad ibn Taymiyya constitute one of the most important doctrinal references of the "Ahl-i Hadith". These works were introduced to them under the influence of prominent Yemeni traditionalist scholar Muhammad Al-Shawkani.


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: "Ahl-i-Hadith" movement continues the reform tradition of Shah Waliullah Dehlawi (1703–1762) whom the adherents regard as its first modern member. They also draw upon the teachings of his son Shah 'Abd al-Aziz Muhaddith Dehlavi, his follower Syed Ahmed Barelvi, and the Yemenite "Qadi" Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Shawkani (whom they regard as Shaykh al-Islam). Siddiq Hasan Khan's father studied under Shah Abd al-Aziz and Syed Nazir Husain was a student of the Muhaddith Shah Muhammad Ishaq, a grandson of Shah Waliullah Dehlawi. Due to their reliance on the "Qur'an" and "Hadith" only and their rejection of "Qiyas" (analogical reasoning) in Islamic law, the modern-day "Ahl-i Hadith" are often compared to the older Zahirite school of "Fiqh" (Islamic law), with which the Ahl-i Hadith consciously identify themselves.


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: Shah Ismail Dehlvi's book ""Taqwiatul Eiman"" is viewed as the manifesto of the "Ahl-i-Hadith" movement. In it he emphasised on the pristine monotheism of Islam and condemned what he viewed as heretic un-Islamic customs that violated "Tawhid". Such customs included celebration of death anniversary of "Awliyaa" (saints), asking their mercy or invoking Allah's blessing through them. "Ahl-i Hadith" condemned practices such as visiting the Prophet's grave and various customs related to saint veneration fervently, in a tone which rivaled in intensity to that of the Arabian "Muwahhidun" movement.


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: While their educational programs tend to include a diverse array of Muslim academic texts, few adherents of the movement ascribe themselves to one school of Muslim jurisprudence, placing a greater emphasis on personal responsibility to derive judgments and ritual practice. While the movement's figureheads have ascribed to the Zahirite legal school, with a great number of them preferring the works of Yemeni scholar Shawkani, the generality of the movement is described as respecting all Sunni schools of Islamic law while preferring to take directly from the Qur'an, prophetic tradition and "'Ijma" (consensus) of the early generations of Muslims. While the movement has been compared to Salafist movement in Arab nations and been branded as Wahhabist by the opposing Barelwi movement, the "Ahl-i Hadith" remain similar to yet distinct from Salafists.


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: According to Islamic scholar Muhammad Asadullah Al-Ghalib, the aim and objective of the "Ahl-i Hadith" movement is: "To earn the satisfaction of Allah by preaching and establishing unmixed Tawheed and by following properly the "Kitab" and "Sunnah" in all spheres of life. The social and political aim of Ahle hadeeth movement is to make all out reforms of the society through the reforms of "Aqeedah" and "Amal"."


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: Like other Islamic reform movements, the "Ahl-i Hadith" are distinguished by certain common features and beliefs. The men tend to have a particular style of untrimmed beard often considered a visual indicator. In regard to ritual acts of "'Ibadah" (Islamic acts of worship), the movement's practices are noticeably different from the Hanafi "madh'hab" (legal school) which predominates in South Asia; the men hold their hands above the navel when lined up for congregational prayer, raise them to the level of their heads before bowing, and say "Ameen" out loud after the prayer leader. "Ahl-i Hadith" call for a return to the first principles and for a revival of "the original simplicity and purity to faith and practices." They are also opposed to foreign customs and beliefs that crept into Muslim societies as well as foreign philosophical thoughts and Sufi mystical concepts such as "Ma'rifat". The movement also distinguished itself from the Wahhabi movement, which followed the Hanbali legal school and its rulings, while the "Ahl-i Hadith" adherents considered themselves as following no single "madh'hab" (legal school).


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: Breaking with the dominant Hanafi and Sufi customs, they also emphasise the fraternity and equality of all Muslims; such as permitting Muslim women to pray in "Masjids", addressing the "Khutbah" (Friday sermons) to both villagers and city-dwellers in the native languages, making divorce procedure easy and accessible to women, rejecting "triple Talaq", authorising marriage contracts between poor and affluent classes of the society, etc. Other key themes include living a pious and disciplined life by working hard; and attainment of "Ihsan" (spiritual perfection) through virtuous deeds. While the movement became popular amongst the affluent urban classes, it also has considerable sway in the rural regions.


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: According to Professor Abdul Ali, former chairman and Director of the Department of Islamic Studies, Aligarh Muslim University:"The "Ahl-i- Hadith movement" was inspired by the school of thought of Shah Wali Allah of Delhi, who in the eighteenth century, imparted renewed emphasis on the study of "Hadith", and raised his voice against the principle of "taqlid" in legal matters by justifying the principle of "ijtihad", which gave Hadith the right of primacy over the rulings of the juristic schools. This particular trend in Shah Wali Allah's thought became the starting point of "Ahl-i- Hadith" movement... The "Ahl-i- Hadith" movement which was started in India in the nineteenth century was quite different from that of Wahhabism, because it drew its inspiration not from Muhammad bin 'Abd al-Wahhab of Najd but from his Indian contemporary Shah Waliullah of Delhi. At the same time... both these movements had some elements of religious purification in their rejection of "taqlid" and innovation."


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: The early "Salafiyya" reformers of the Arab World would influence and impart influence on "Ahl-i-Hadith" scholars. The Iraqi Salafi scholar (d. 1317 A.H/ 1899 C.E) corresponded with "Ahl-i-Hadith" scholar Siddiq Hassan Khan and praised him as a religious reformer. Influenced by "Ahl-i-Hadith", Salafi scholars like Sayyīd Rashīd Ridá (d. 1354 A.H/ 1935 C.E) would call for a non-"madhab" or pre-"madhab" approach to "Fiqh" (Jurisprudence). 'Abd al-Baqi al-Afghani (d. 1905) who was influenced by "Ahl-i-Hadith" in the subcontinent would also be active the reform movements in Syria. Syrian Islamic scholar Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani too would be highly influenced by "Ahl-i-Hadith" and would be known as an excellent "Muhaddith". The "Salafiyya" "ulema" shared with the "Ahl-i-Hadith", a common interest in opposing various Sufi practices, denounce "Taqlid" (blind following), reviving correct theology and "Hadith" sciences.


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: Leading proponents of the movement joined forces against the opposition they faced from established "ulama" (religious scholars) and in 1906 formed the All India "Ahl-i-Hadis" Conference. The "Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadees" was represented in the All India Azad Muslim Conference, which opposed the partition of India. One member organization of the All India Ahl-i-Hadis Conference is the "Anjuman-i-Hadith", formed by students of Sayyid Miyan Nadhir Husain and divided into Bengal and Assam wings. After the 1947 separation of India and Pakistan, the Pakistani "Ahle-Hadith" center was based in and around Karachi.


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: In 1930 "Ahl-i Hadith" was founded as a small political party in India. In Pakistan, the movement formed a political party, Jamiat Ahle Hadith, which unlike similar Islamic groups opposed government involvement in affairs of "sharia" law. Their leader, Ehsan Elahi Zaheer, was assassinated in 1987. The "Ahl-i Hadith" opposes Shi'i doctrines.


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: Millions of dollars in Saudi funding has also been given into Indian and Pakistani Ahle Hadith madrassas, militant organizations and educational institutions.


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: During the rule of the British Raj, no accurate census was ever taken of the movement's exact number of followers. The group itself claims 22 millions followers in India and 10 millions in Pakistan as well 25 millions in Bangladesh with strongholds in 40 districts of the country.


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: In the United Kingdom, the Ahl-i Hadith movement maintains 42 centers and boasts a membership which was estimated at 5,000 during the 1990s and 9,000 during the 2000s. Although the movement has been present in the UK since the 1960s, it has not been the subject of extensive academic research and sources on the movement are extremely limited and rare.


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: The relations of "Ahl-i Hadith" with other Islamic sects and movements in the subcontinent is complex. The "Ahl-i Hadith" is opposed to practices associated with Sufi "Awliyaa" (saints) and god-men. In Pakistan, although majority of Salafis shun violence, some "Ahl-i Hadith" organizations advocate militant actions. The Ahl-i Hadith militant organizations such as Lashkar e-Taiba, an armed wing of Markaz al-Dawah Irshad (MDI), have targeted Indian security forces as well as Barelvis, Shias and Ahmadis. Another organisation, Tehreek e-Mujahideen (an armed Wing of Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadith), has targeted Indian security forces in the contested state of Kashmir. During the Afghan Jihad of 1980s, the Pakistani state encouraged madrassas to fight the Soviet forces, militarizing many organizations including Salafi/Ahle Hadith groups. In sharp contrast, Indian Salafists have been regarded as being “peaceful” and “non-violent.” The Indian Ahle Hadith movement has largely remained apolitical, focusing primarily on religious issues and also encourage participation in the democratic process. While the organization Lashkar-e-Taiba has recruited followers of the "Ahl-i Hadith" movement in the past, the organization's views on jihad alienate the mainstream adherents of the "Ahl-i Hadith" movement. Lashkar e-Taiba is also accused by the Indian government for conducting various attacks on Indian soil including the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed more than 160 people.


title: Ahl-i Hadith

text: When the Deobandi Taliban first came to power in Afghanistan in the 1990s, they had suppressed Salafist trends. However, after the post-9/11 US Invasion of Afghanistan, Taliban was forced to ally with Salafists. Many Salafist footsoldiers and "Ahl-i Hadith" organisations joined the Taliban insurgency (2001–2021) under the Afghan Taliban's command. After Taliban victory in the War in Afghanistan and Restoration of the Islamic Emirate, hundreds of "Ahl-i Hadith" "ulema" would gather to announce their "Bay'ah" (pledge of allegiance) to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Number of "Ahl-i Hadith" clerics and their representatives held gatherings across various provinces of Afghanistan to re-affirm their backing of the Taliban and officially declare their support to the Taliban crackdown on IS-K.


title: Matrix similarity

text: In linear algebra, two "n"-by-"n" matrices and are called similar if there exists an invertible "n"-by-"n" matrix such that


title: Matrix similarity

text: Similar matrices represent the same linear map under two (possibly) different bases, with being the change of basis matrix.


title: Matrix similarity

text: A transformation is called a similarity transformation or conjugation of the matrix . In the general linear group, similarity is therefore the same as conjugacy, and similar matrices are also called conjugate; however, in a given subgroup of the general linear group, the notion of conjugacy may be more restrictive than similarity, since it requires that be chosen to lie in .


title: Matrix similarity

text: When defining a linear transformation, it can be the case that a change of basis can result in a simpler form of the same transformation. For example, the matrix representing a rotation in when the axis of rotation is not aligned with the coordinate axis can be complicated to compute. If the axis of rotation were aligned with the positive -axis, then it would simply be


title: Matrix similarity

text: where formula_3 is the angle of rotation. In the new coordinate system, the transformation would be written as


title: Matrix similarity

text: where and are respectively the original and transformed vectors in a new basis containing a vector parallel to the axis of rotation. In the original basis, the transform would be written as


title: Matrix similarity

text: where vectors and and the unknown transform matrix are in the original basis. To write in terms of the simpler matrix, we use the change-of-basis matrix that transforms and as formula_6 and formula_7:


title: Matrix similarity

text: Thus, the matrix in the original basis, formula_9, is given by formula_10. The transform in the original basis is found to be the product of three easy-to-derive matrices. In effect, the similarity transform operates in three steps: change to a new basis (), perform the simple transformation (), and change back to the old basis ().


title: Matrix similarity

text: Because matrices are similar if and only if they represent the same linear operator with respect to (possibly) different bases, similar matrices share all properties of their shared underlying operator:


title: Matrix similarity

text: Because of this, for a given matrix "A", one is interested in finding a simple "normal form" "B" which is similar to "A"—the study of "A" then reduces to the study of the simpler matrix "B". For example, "A" is called diagonalizable if it is similar to a diagonal matrix. Not all matrices are diagonalizable, but at least over the complex numbers (or any algebraically closed field), every matrix is similar to a matrix in Jordan form. Neither of these forms is unique (diagonal entries or Jordan blocks may be permuted) so they are not really normal forms; moreover their determination depends on being able to factor the minimal or characteristic polynomial of "A" (equivalently to find its eigenvalues). The rational canonical form does not have these drawbacks: it exists over any field, is truly unique, and it can be computed using only arithmetic operations in the field; "A" and "B" are similar if and only if they have the same rational canonical form. The rational canonical form is determined by the elementary divisors of "A"; these can be immediately read off from a matrix in Jordan form, but they can also be determined directly for any matrix by computing the Smith normal form, over the ring of polynomials, of the matrix (with polynomial entries) (the same one whose determinant defines the characteristic polynomial). Note that this Smith normal form is not a normal form of "A" itself; moreover it is not similar to either, but obtained from the latter by left and right multiplications by different invertible matrices (with polynomial entries).


title: Matrix similarity

text: Similarity of matrices does not depend on the base field: if "L" is a field containing "K" as a subfield, and "A" and "B" are two matrices over "K", then "A" and "B" are similar as matrices over "K" if and only if they are similar as matrices over "L". This is so because the rational canonical form over "K" is also the rational canonical form over "L". This means that one may use Jordan forms that only exist over a larger field to determine whether the given matrices are similar.


title: Matrix similarity

text: In the definition of similarity, if the matrix "P" can be chosen to be a permutation matrix then "A" and "B" are permutation-similar; if "P" can be chosen to be a unitary matrix then "A" and "B" are unitarily equivalent. The spectral theorem says that every normal matrix is unitarily equivalent to some diagonal matrix. Specht's theorem states that two matrices are unitarily equivalent if and only if they satisfy certain trace equalities.


title: Gonville Bromhead

text: Major Gonville Bromhead VC (29 August 1845 – 9 February 1891) was a British Army officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for valour in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to members of the British armed forces. He received the medal for his part in the defence of Rorke's Drift in January 1879, in which a small British garrison of 139 soldiers successfully repulsed an assault by some 4,000 Zulu warriors. Bromhead was portrayed by Michael Caine in the film "Zulu", which depicted the battle.


title: Gonville Bromhead

text: Born into a notable military family, Bromhead was brought up in Thurlby, Lincolnshire. He entered the 24th Regiment of Foot as an ensign in 1867 and was promoted to lieutenant in 1871. Bromhead's battalion was deployed to southern Africa in 1878 and subsequently served in the Ninth Cape Frontier War and the Anglo-Zulu War. He spent most of the remainder of his career in south Asia, where he was promoted to major in 1883 and saw service in the Third Anglo-Burmese War. He died in 1891 in Allahabad, India, at the age of 45.


title: Gonville Bromhead

text: Gonville Bromhead was born on 29 August 1845 in Versailles, France. He was the youngest child born to Maj. Sir Edmund de Gonville Bromhead, 3rd Baronet, and his wife Judith. He came from a notable military family: his great-grandfather, Boardman Bromhead, fought under Major General James Wolfe at Quebec; his grandfather, Sir Gonville Bromhead, was a lieutenant general who fought in the American Revolutionary War; his father was a veteran of the Battle of Waterloo; and his three older brothers were officers in the British Army.


title: Gonville Bromhead

text: His family resided at Thurlby Hall in Thurlby, Lincolnshire, and he was educated at Magnus Grammar School in Newark-on-Trent. After purchasing an ensign's commission he entered the 2nd Battalion 24th Regiment of Foot on 20 April 1867, and was promoted to lieutenant on 28 October 1871. Nicknamed "Gunny" by his colleagues, Bromhead was an accomplished boxer and cricketer for the regimental team, and was popular with the men under his command. During his career he developed hearing problems which became progressively worse. However, according to historian Ian Knight, contrary to popular belief, Bromhead's deafness did not affect his ability to command his men. Nevertheless, Bromhead was not highly regarded by his commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Henry James Degacher, who privately described him as "hopeless".