Stock Markets Exposed

What are the best online tools for stock trading and investing? I want to start investing on my own. Does anyone know of a GREAT online investing tool or tools that will help make this a success?

Who offers best 3rd party stock trading tools? Like real time quotes, Nasdaq Level II, professional clean GUI layout, streaming quotes etc. I moved from TD Ameritrade to Questrade. I was happy with TD's tools, but Questrade does not have any valuable tools quite bad layout & very expensive also. The only one' they offer are in beta stage. So looking for some 3rd party tools I could use, if you know any that offer it for free that would be nice otherwise who offers the "best set of tools" for trading with reasonable prices. I should have rephrased it, tools for Active Trader or Day Trader. Trying to look for 3rd party tools like Paid Yahoo finances etc or some other site.

Stock trading - Technical analysis tools for analyzing KLSE (Bursa Malaysia) stocks? What's the technical tools/software you use to analyze KLSE stocks? Does it include 'rules composer', 'stock screener' and 'back tester'? What's the price for the software?

Stock Investors, what are your favorite trading tools? What online best helps you to spot potential market opportunities, manage info, and make trading decisions, etc? Ty Thank you all. I absolutely in awe of Ameritrade trading tools daily. Most fascinating, when they make a change to the site (use), instead of feeling annoyed, one flows prefectly into the new better way and sees the perfect logic behind it. I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something. TY all!!

What is the most useful tools for making profit from trading stock options?

Do stock trading programs like Teach Me To Trade or Invest Tools really work?

what is the best online stock trading tool? ( Etrade, fidelity, ameritrade etc)?

What should you do after studying buisiness to start investing in stock, what tools are helpful? What are some steps after you study buisiness that you should physically do after learning about stock to start investing, and trading, as well as some things to buy, tools, and other useful things to help you ?

I need help with a stock trading risk mgmt tool called ATR? Here the question (it's actually 2 parts): Part 1) How many shares of a $50 stock should you buy per $10,000 if you want to have 1% risk per ATR? Can you please break down the calculation in a teaching method? Part 2) Can you please let me know what the 6 parts of a complete system are? I would really appreciate an answer to both questions but even a partial answer to just 1 of them would be helpful. Thank you very much in advance. I look forward to rating your answer as the best!! Good answer to first part. Do you know anything about the "6 part system"? Good answer to first part. Do you know anything about the "6 part system"?

Which stock trading book is right for me? Hi everyone, I'm very new to trading. I've started studying how to trade stocks and am already looking forward to reading a second book. I'm looking for an intermediate level book that emphasizes how to analyze companies, what tools to use to analyze them, and if possible, sites that are good for such analysis. What book do you recommend for me? Tx in advance.

Day Trading Nasdaq, Nyse, Amex BB Stock markets; What are the main Trading Differences From The London Markets Are the London stock exchange markets just as easy to Level 2 Day Trade as the American Markets using News feeds, intra day charts with Brokerages such as Etrade Pro or Ameritrade. Are the London Markets as fast on Level 2 and are there any extra obstacles such as minimum Day Trading account balances or maximum round trips per day? I use Yahoo News and charts on the American markets as a secondary back up tool but on the London markets their service is sub standard. I also use Knobias for News feeds. What tools are needed for Day trading success on the London markets Any info, advice or experiences are much appreciated.

stock trading with mathematics? Guys... we use dif. method in stock trading. some text book and website claim that mathematics is a perfect tool to select a right scrip and earn good money. I put this question for get to know all ur valuable view and the question raise in my mind is.... For a stock move based on demand and supply, so that how a mathematical formula identify a stock price movement? is any of you try that and get any meaningful result... valuable comment helps many stock traders to earn good sum. thanks a lot for join with my question.

Day Trading London Nasdaq, Nyse, Amex BB Stock markets, Why is London Not as Good as The USA for Day Trading? Are the London stock exchange markets just as easy to Level 2 Day Trade as the American Markets using News feeds, intra day charts with Brokerages such as Etrade Pro or Ameritrade. Are the London Markets as fast on Level 2 and are there any extra obstacles such as minimum Day Trading account balances or maximum round trips per day? I use Yahoo News and charts on the American markets as a secondary back up tool but on the London markets their service is sub standard. I also use Knobias for News feeds. What tools are needed for Day trading success on the London markets. Iearned today of a 0.5% Duty on all share purchases In London so that is one reason it is not as good, Any others? Any info, advice or experiences are much appreciated.

Virtual Stock Trading? Eventually I want to do some investing (not professionally). But before I dare actually risk any real money, I've been spending a lot of time reading and educating myself about it. I've still got a good deal of learning to do, but I thought that something great might be a virtual trading arena, a simulated stock market, if you will. Are there any such tools where you can invest virtual money in a virtual market and experiment with different investing strategies? How similar is the Investopedia simulator to actual online trading with a discount broker? The more realistic the simulation is, the better I'll be able to learn.

I am looking for a site good stock research tool.? Anyone knows of a site or a tool that would allow me to see the top 50 (or more) most actively traded stocks for a day with a given price range? Yahoo does something imiliar on their finance home site but it doesn't allow a price range nore can you get more than top 15 or so stocks. It just lets you see most actives regardless of the price.

Is (stock signal pro) Trading software any good.? Iam looking for a progam that has signals as well as many charts and other tools to evaluate timing the trade.Ive heard that stock signal pro is limited on charting as well as other tools. Is this true? Can any one recomend a good software to use and tell me why. Thankyou very much

Are there any free share trading games/ practice tools on the internet???? One that preferably uses the real time stock markets thanks.

WellsTrade? Any information on their stock screening tools? I am considering moving my accounts over to Wells Fargo and WellsTrade, but I can't find that much information on their available tools. I would like to know what tools they have available for researching stocks and ETFs, I saw they have a 'Mutual Fund Screener', but I don't trade mutual funds. So does anyone have experience conducting research on WellsTrade? What research tools do they offer? Can you customize charts and stock screeners? What can you do on their site? Any help is appreciated. Thanks. Hey idiot with the first answer, WellsTrade is the cheapest brokerage available; it's free for me! Most all online brokerages are cheap now, so the variables are things like research and tools. A lot of the information you get from your brokerage firm would cost you money elsewhere. So I am basing my decision partly on the research made available to me. Dumbass. What loss of income, I get 2.65% on my savings, which isn't that bad and I don't see ING or HSBC being able to beat that. What are you talking about? Besides, it's my savings account, my biggest concern with that is that it be available to me ASAP. By free, I was talking about the trades, I get 100 free a year if I make the move, I make about 35 trades a year so that saves about $300. So what is this loss of income you're talking about? Or were you just talking about something you know nothing about?

what is the best site for trading stocks? I dont need a lot of tools. I just want to find a good simple innexpensive site that has a low minimum balance. I'm new to stocks and I just want to see how it works.

What is the best web site for trading stocks online? I am a beginner and don't want to risk a lot of money. Also, don't want to pay high commission fees. Is there something that I can use as a start up and learning tool, but at the same time with real potentials to grow? Thank you for your input.

Can I make money, day trading on the stock market? I am a teenager about to graduate high school. I am very interested in the medical field but don't know if I am smart enough to join in on it. My dad is in the stock market and is the day trading type. He gets a hold of a Forbes recommended stock every month and then sells and makes a little "side money" which I know means quite a bit of money to a teenager at least. But what I really want to know is if he teaches me how to use all the tools with Fidelity, and assuming he gives me a substantial amount of money in the fidelity account, can I become a long term stock holder and not even have to go to college to make a very good annual income? What's the likelihood of this? Please help. Ten points for the best answer. Professionals only please. Revised: Can I make a substantial annual income day trading or holding a stock for long periods? My dad has over $500,000.00 in the stock market if this is important.

When using the MACD as a trading tool, why are the defaults 12- and 26-day moving averages? Thanks? My firm are beginning to make use of technical analysis for trading purposes, and the MACD is one of them. The thing is, the default exponential moving averages (EMA) are 12- and 26-day, which doesn't work for all the stocks I cover. My main questions are, why are 12- and 26-days the defaults, and also, how do you decide which trading day EMA to use when the defaults don't work for a particular stock? Thanks!!

Other than London Stock Exchange website, where should I look for investment advice such as buying shares? Looking for investment advice including trading tools and buying shares

Invest Tools Users and Administrators? I would to start investing, "buying and "selling" stocks/ money/trades in the most cost effective way possible; I don't have much to start with. Is Invest tools right for me? What do you think of Invest Tools overall? I'm planning to join a seminar really soon. Please suggestions and feedback is needed. Thank you in advance.

Around the end of Nov this year GTL Resources stock plummeted to 2.5p and then shoot back up to £1.90. Why???? At around the end of November this year I was watching the GTL resources stock and it plummeted to around 2.5p (see link of the share price chart and select 3 month time period: http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=GTL.L&t=3m.) I use a fantasy stock trader tool and I purchased £3500 worth of the stock. I made a 'fantasy' profit of around £300k. I wanted to know why this share plummet occured as there is no news related to this and yahoo finance has not even logged the drop on the 52 week range of the GTL stock. Could someone help explain? Somthing this dramatic should have some news associated with it!? If its any help I use bullbearings.co.uk to fantasy trade stocks etc. Some info would be greatly appreciated as this isnt the first time Ive seen spikes like this in stocks. Thanks!

Why is oil traded on the stock market? Or any other commodity for that matter. Whats the benefit of having oil or any other commodity be under the influence/value of spectators? If its used as an investing tool, how can people expect the price to ever go down.

how should i go about building a stock market simulation web software? its a web application and will have interaction with many DB servers, web servers. a trading s/w where every 5 secs all pages need to be refresh to reflect new stock quotes...performace is an imp issue to be used by 100-200 traders. Please suggest. what best languages, tools, technologies should be used?

I want to learn all about stock option,including strategies, the risk, analysis, how to trade etc? I don't know nothing about stock option, but i'm really interesting in this. I've found a lot of seminar that offer how to gain high profit from stock option & the testimonial the success people from stock option. Could you share what is the risk & benefit entering stock option market? How to analysis?How to manage the risk?& what is the strategies? How to trade & the step to enter this market? What's the tools? What's the different between the usual stock market? Thanks a lot

Stocks, online trading? I would like to know how can I invest in stocks, or online trading. Are there any teaching tools? I know nothing about either one. I am looking to supplement my income.

whats the best online stock broker for me? Im new to stocks i haven't ever traded online. However i have used many virtual trading programs and i have a good concept on how trading works. I believe i am ready to start the real thing. Im attracted to brokers like zecco because they say they have 10 free monthly trades and about 4 dollars for each trade after that. However it leads me to believe that they must not have many good services for customers. Then i looked into trade king. Because they seemed to have better trading tools and service, still with a low commission fee. However since i haven't ever traded online im not familiar with the problems im going to face. Please recommend me a internet broker i should use. Thank you for your help. PS. I have $5000 USD to invest, loosing this investment isn't that big of a deal to me. My main goal is to learn. and excuse me for my spelling errors I typed this fast. =)

Looking for the cheapest online brokerage firm? I am looking for the cheapest online stock broker. I have all the tools I need for research so I am just looking for the cheapest overall for just regular stock trades. Any ideas?

Are you aware of Stock Market Game or Quiz where Everything that’s taught in the tutorials to real-world trade Are you aware of Stock Market Game or Quiz where Everything that’s taught in the tutorials to real-world trading, effectively making the software equal parts game and equal parts educational tool. the game does a better job of teaching stock market basics than many books do and watching the performance of your shares being affected by real data is really interesting.

Canning tomatoes on a glass cooktop range? I would like to start canning my garden tomatoes and would like to use my large Tools of the Trade Belgique stock pot (to avoid purchasing & storing another large pot just for canning and also because the heavy aluminum bottom heats more evenly on my glass cooktop range). My question is this: could I purchase a canning rack to put inside my large stock pot and use that as a water bath canner for my tomatoes?

Best software/book/educational tool for learning how to trade stocks? I know there's a lot out there but I'm looking for one that is the least vague, most cost-efficient, most comprehensive and of course, most effective. Please be specific. I need something beyond just the vague basics.

InvesTools is a learning tool on how 2 buy/sell stocks based on red/green arrows, are there others who do also I recently attended a seminar on how to buy stocks, the InvesTools company method, is based upon Trends, MACD, Stocastic analysis and News reports displayed by a chart on a computer screen. The analysis reveals to the investor as to when to buy (green arrow) or when to sell (red) arrow a stock. Are there other stock trading companies who offer similar instructions? And are these systems reasonably reliable?

Trade PENNY Stocks online. Best tool please? Need OTC BB, Pink Sheets...Real time ...looking for the best... online broker... Please provide link...and advice on Penny stock trading if you'd like also! That'd be ...greatt.... Thanks in advance! -The Blue mushroom. I have very VERY special reasons. I'm looking for tools, and, not so much discouraging advice: "When you want to sell, they will lower the Bid, where you will lose your A##, unless some other person comes in after you. " you are correct here, someone WILL come after me, I have VERY SPECIAL reasons to be peddaling penny stocks. I will be screwing people...and I will be making all the money. it's all legal, so don't get on my back, but it's taking advantage of weaker people 100%. I don't want to explain, and I do not want to give up my process. I'm a rich jap kid with tons of money and time, and I'm about to become a millionaire, simply because I feel like it. Now please, TOOLS?

What broker should I use? Novice Investor! Not alot of money.? I have around 500 dollars to invest in the stock market and was wondering what the best online broker would be use? I am not around much during the day and was wondering what would after market trading and NEED no fees and low commissions. Some trading tools would be nice too. Please help! Thanks for the info. Both of the sites in the blog have minimums for 2k. Not for me

Online Trading? What are the websites available where online trading (stocks) can be done? I know scottrade and they charge $7, and ShareBuilder charges $4. Which one of these two are better, based on the tools they provide? Also are there any other sites available for cheaper price per transaction or better service? Thanks in advance!!

What is the best tool (hardware or software) to protect people who do lots of financail transactions online? For people who trade stocks online, how do you protect your assets? I've heard of encryped hard drives and softwares to encrype your existing hard drives, but I think that's more like protecting data being stored into the drives. Since financial transactions involves sending and receiving data online, the encryption hardware and software don't really help, am I right? If yes, what are the right tool that we should use? I heard there are malicious software that record your key strokes, gather similar information and send it back to identity thieves. How can we protect ourselves?

Can someone tell me how to find the basis fundamentals on valuing and analyzing a stock . I want to buy? GRMN and get rid of MOT But want to make sure it won't tank right after I buy it . I see there's a few insider trades , But how do you know its there's going to be upside momentum using the yahoo finance investment tools, any help would be grateful , Thanks in advance

are there any educational dvds on how to trade stocks? i so badly want to learn how to trade stocks. i get the concepts of how it works but i want to be able to see exactly what im looking for when i buy my stocks. is there some kind of dvd learning tools out there that can show me and teach me how to trade. i really want to learn option trading. if there are any out there, which one is a good one to buy

What is a good website that features a ticker and timely financial news? One with a good stock research tool would be a plus. I am a novice, small money investor looking to make a well timed trade today. Thanks in advance!

In Canada I am paying $9.95 + ecn fees for each stock trade, does your discount broker do better? My broker charges a flat rate of $9.95 + ECN for any trade up to 1000 shares and $.01/share for each share over 1000. I want to know if this is actually any good, I could not find a better deal anywhere else in Canada. Also my broker has a good little technical analysis tool that lets me view several classical technical analysis events as they happen. But this is pretty much the only tool they give me. I just want to know if other brokers are offering better stuff out there. Thank you

I want to trade in options and needs a tool to pick my shares? There are shares you trade in options when they meet a specified criteria as I understand it. Are there any tool(s) that will do the necessary download of the optionable shares/stock and do the calculation to recommend the shares to trade on for the day?

would it be a good idea for me (a first time invester) to do trading online? i opened an acount at scottrade yesterday and have been wondering whether i should consult a broker first any suggestions? i don't know many of the terms but they have many great online tools like s&p stock suggestions etc. I DO HAVE A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF MONEY. should i buy a few lower price stocks or even less higher priced ones? maybe some stocks to keep an eye and some to avoid

Stock Market Report xxx funny or not xxx? Helium was up, feathers were down. Paper was stationary. Fluorescent tubing was dimmed in light trading. Knives were up sharply. Cows steered into a bull market. Pencils lost a few points. Hiking equipment was trailing. Elevators rose, while escalators continued their slow decline. Weights were up in heavy trading. Light switches were off. Mining equipment hit rock bottom. Diapers remained unchanged. Shipping lines stayed at an even keel. The market for raisins dried up. Coca-Cola fizzled. Caterpillar stock inched up a bit. Sun peaked at midday. Balloon prices were inflated. Scott Tissue touched a new bottom. Birds Eye Peas Split. Stanley Tools filed for Chapter 11. And batteries exploded in an attempt to recharge the market.

who is the easiest online stock brokerage co. to use? one that has helpfull simple to use tools that are free with an account and has 1 fee per trade, not hidden fees attached to everything.

Are there any good software for options trading in nse? Futures and options are derivative items of any stock market. Although i found good softwares for options trading in foreign market, i am unable to find a good software for options trading in NSE (National stock exchange of India). The software must be comprehensive with analysis tools like premium, discount, Simple Moving Average and particularly with strategies like butterfly, straddle, strangle etc. It must download real data and give us strategies mentioned.

Any free stock analysis sites? I really like the tools on yahoo finance, but I was wondering if there are any similar or better ones out there. I checked out INO, but it was extremely expensive for someone just starting to look into short term trading ($150 a quarter). Thanks!

Stock Market..? It's been a rocky week for the Stock Market. Here's a summary: Helium was up, feathers were down. Paper was stationary. Ticonderoga Pencils lost a few points. Though Elevators rose, escalators continued their slow decline. Weights were up in heavy trading. Light switches were off. Mining equipment hit rock bottom. The market for raisins dried up. Pampers remained unchanged. Caterpillar stock inched up a bit. Sun peaked at midday. Birds Eye Peas Split. Stanley Tools filed for Chapter 11 and Scott Tissues touched a new bottom. smila YOU have mail.

Can you help me with signing up for scottrade (margin borrowing vs. options trading privileges)? I am in the process of opening a scottrade account. During one step of the process a screen came up with two options: "margin borrowing privileges" and "options trading privileges." I do not fully understand what either means, but what I want is a simple account--I am not ready to implement more sophisticated tools. Do I have to choose one of the two "privileges?" I have a basic understanding of what options trading entails, but I really do not understand margin borrowing. I see that the interest rate for margin borrowing on scottrade is at 8.75%, but I do not see how this works. Is it that scottrade lends money for the purposes of buying a stock, and then charges an interest rate on the money that was borrowed? I do not see myself borrowing money to buy stock...

Are there any online stock portfolio tracking sites that automaticaly account for splits and spinoffs? I'm looking for an online tool/portal that would calculate the present day value of a portfolio based on a list of stocks in which I enter the historical trade date and the holdings and value are updated based on the splits, spin-offs and cash distributions. As an example, if I purchased 100 shares of AT&T on a particular day in 1996, what would be my current holdings and present day value taking into account the splits, spin-offs and cash distributions. Note some stocks/companies may no longer exist, so the tool should be able to account for that.

What company is this T.V. commercial for? The commercial involves 4 guys on the screen in seperate boxes talking about trading stocks online? The guy in the top left box is Asian and keeps calling the guy in the bottom right box a tool. They made the guy in the bottom right box grow a mustache as punishment from backing out of their stock trading competition? I want to find the video . . .

What are the best online brokers for a Self-Directed Roth IRA??? I expect to NOT make more than 20 trades a year. I am mostly interested in company stocks, but would like the option of a few mutual funds. I also do not need any fancy investment tools or a broker to hold my hand. I would like fast reliable trades, and a decent interest on my cash. I have $5,000 to start investing with. Thank you!

Online brokerage accounts? I'm looking to open an online brokerage account for trading stocks and buying mutual funds. I would only be making a small number of trades. What are some good sites with regards to fees, commisions, and research tools?

I need help with a stock trading risk mgmt tool called ATR? Here the question (it's actually 2 parts): Part 1) How many shares of a $50 stock should you buy per $10,000 if you want to have 1% risk per ATR? Can you please break down the calculation in a teaching method? Part 2) Can you please let me know what the 6 parts of a complete system are? I would really appreciate an answer to both questions but even a partial answer to just 1 of them would be helpful. Thank you very much in advance. I look forward to rating your answer as the best!!

I wann know where i can download Software (freeware) for Analysis of STOCKS traded in BSE & NSE? I would like to use certain tools like candlesticks, Ascending triangle and many more techenical analysis

Technical Analysis? 1-Can some one please tell me what time periods to use for macd, stochastics, relative index and moving average. 2-Does anyone know what is swing trading. I heard it is the best tool in the stock market for making money.

selling a business help? My dad is self employed and is getting to the point of retiring. He runs a very successful business and is always in demand. I'm trying to find out if it's possible for him to sell his business. The problem is that aside from a few tools and stock he doesnt have any assets or an office or staff or anything. So essentially what he would be selling is his large customer database, his phone number and the name he trades under so the reputation he's built up. Is this even possible? If anyone has any experience i would be very happy to hear it. i have checked on google but the advice i found related to selling big businesses! thanks so much for your help

anyone wanna come tattoo a handicapped woman for trade (in mass.) i already have 14 1/2..thats not near enough i am 50 going on 21 i am pierced 12 times i love the blues i am a BIG mamma, and don't give a ratz azz who doesn't like it. i love my body. i have very short hair. 14 tats and one almost finished broke but friendly as heck dont drink or drug smoke like a chimney dig harleys am a great cook when i can cook(have fibromyalgia) have 700+ cds collect art have a biker bathroom; complete with two indian larry lithos (big il freak) speakin a freaky.... in boston no cah orig from da bronx wanna be a bounty hunter when i grow up (i cant operate heavy machinery any more or do social work) yeah-its ME guys. your biggest nightmare and i got more tools than home depot can stock and i know how to use them- even the tool hd doesnt stock heh heh heh

Best place to buy stocks online? There are dozens of online trading sites nowadays and I am curious as to which one's are the best. I have a banking account at Wells Fargo in California and they some investment options, but I've never heard anything about their investment accounts. I have checked out the websites of Etrade, Ameritrade, Merrill Lynch, Charles Schwab, etc. What company offers the best format? I invest heavily in start-ups and penny stocks, what site offers the best research capabilities for these types of stocks? I'm investing about $100,000 and I prefer to do all my own trading, is there any reason I would want to go with a full service firm? I would like to stay at Wells Fargo with all my money for the simplicity, but do they stack up against the competition? Bottom line, what do you feel is the best place to trade online and why? Who has the best tools, charts, interface, advice, etc? Thanks. I am not giving up trading penny stocks, I started investing two years ago in penny stocks with about $8000, now I have well over $100k. I plan to buy other, safer stocks, mutual funds, etc. But a large part of my portfolio is made up of penny stocks and that wont change. Is TD Ameritrade the only brokerage that offers the same price on large and low-price orders?

Should we give money to poor ppl? ZAKAAT (Alms) Ramadan is the month of giving and benevolence, the Messenger was more benevolent than a falling rain. Muslims are encouraged to emulate the Messenger of Allah (saas), to assess and pay their Zakaat during the month of Ramadan, thus combining the two pillars of Islam at the same time. Zakaat (alms) is the name of what a believer returns out of his or her wealth to the neediest of Muslims for the sake of the Almighty Allah. It is called Zakaat because the word Zakaat is from Zakaa which means, to increase, purify and bless. Who Should Give Zakaat The obligation of Zakaat is mandatory on every Muslim who possesses the minimum Nisaab, whether the person is man, woman, young, old sane or insane. Because the proof of Zakaat in Al-Qur`an and Sunnah is general and does not exclude young or insane. Allah (SWT) stated that: "Of their goods take alms so that thou mightiest purify and sanctify them..." (Al-Qur`an, 9: 103) Imam Ibn Hazim said that every Muslim young or old sane or insane needs to cleanse his or her wealth with Zakaat because of generality of the evidence. Anas bin Malik reported that the Messenger of Allah (saas) said: "Trade with the money of the orphan, lest it is eaten up by Zakaat." (At-Tabraani) In another Hadith `Amru bin Shuaib related from his grandfather that the Messenger of Allah said: "Whoever is entrusted with money of an orphan should trade with it and should not leave it sitting to be used up by charity." (Tirmidhi) The point of reference in these reports is that the Messenger (saas) urged the trustee on the estate of people who due to age or other reasons cannot manage their own financial affairs, to invest it in a business that will yield a return and make it grow until they are in a position to do so themselves. For, if proper investment is not made with an ophan's inheritance, it will be depleted by charity, thus leaving the orphan with little or nothing. The Nisaab The Lawgiver, Allah has prescribed the minimum amount that is obligatory for Zakaat in different ranges of properties, and that minimum amount is known as nisaab. The reason for nisaab is to ensure that no one is forced to give Zakaat out of what he or she does not have, and that no wealth goes without Zakaat. Nisaab is also an insurance against the tyranny of the state to tax the poor and or the neediest as is the case in many countries. Nisaab is a reference point for the average Muslim who is not sure whether he possesses the minimum wealth on which Zakaat is obligatory. The wealthy need not worry about the Nisaab. Zakaat is obligatory on their entire wealth and must be paid out at the end of financial year that they set for their Zakaat. The Nisaab will not be valid unless it fulfills two conditions: 1) The amount that has reached Nisaab must be the excess or surplus known as "faadil" from one's essential needs such as food, clothing, housing, vehicles, tools and machinery that is used in business. The essentials for living are exempted from Zakaat. Although what constitutes nisaab may change from one country to another, the amount that is needed for the basic needs of living in different countries is very similar, because the market place determines the prices, whether it is an official market or a non-official market. In the poorest countries people do without or live below the poverty standard, and that is why many go hungry or without basic essentials. However, we must realize that Zakaat is an act of worship (ebadah) like Salaat. The element of intention (niyyah) is necessary, and we should not overly rely on state agencies to determine for us the requirements of our religious duty. The so called the "consumption basket" (that is poverty level as determined the social security administration which are updated every fiscal year) may not be the same as what Islam considers minimum Nisaab. In the industrialized countries, the consumption basket may include items that are not necessarily essential, such as entertainment, extra clothing, variety of food, eating in restaurant or eating at home, owning more than one car as opposed to having three cars in the driveway, drinking water as opposed to juices, eating regular food or special "health" food. This is why I believe it is essential that we do not lose site of the fact that Zakaat is ebadah of wealth, like salaat and fasting. Non Muslims may consider all the things mentioned above as essentials while Muslims will not. Indeed, no Muslims in good standing will attempt to hide behind the label of consumption basket so as to evade Zakaat. Nisaab eliminates the possibility of injustice or unfair treatment of the Zakaat payer. To suggest that if we do not follow the rules of International Monetary Fund or the arbitrary figures of social security administration or department of agriculture we will be doing injustice to the Zakaat payer is ludicrous. 2) Nisaab must mature, that is the money is not liable for Zakaat unless it has remained a full year in the possession of a person. This is the understanding of the majority of the scholars. Imam Abu Hanifah (raa) said: "What should be considered is the existence of nisaab at the beginning and the end of the Zakaat year set by the payer". It does not matter if the nisaab money increases or decreases during the calendar year, as we will explain later. This condition does not include farm produce, for it is due on the day it is harvested. Allah (SWT) stated: "... But render the dues that are proper on the day that the harvest is gathered..." (Al-Qur`an, 6: 141) According to Imam Al-`Abadi, (raa) Zakaat money is of two kinds: one that by its nature can not be invested and Zakaat of this category is due on the day of harvest. This includes all the farm produce that is liable for Zakaat. The other is wealth that can be invested in the hope of a good return, like cash, gold or silver, because the opportunity is there that cash in one's hand can be invested for a good return. This includes currency investment, merchandise and livestock. Their Zakaat is not due until they have matured in one full year. The proof of this condition is the Hadith related by Ibn `Umar that the Messenger of Allah (saas) said: "He who acquires property is not liable for Zakaat on it till a year passes." According to Ibn Rushd (raa) this is the understanding of the majority of scholars, including the four rightly guided Khalifahs. Zakaat Of Salaries The condition of yearly term maturity applies to the commodities on which the Lawgiver said Zakaat is due, and this includes silver, gold, modern paper currency and livestock. Paper currency is analogous to silver, therefore, it takes the case of silver. There is no Zakaat on salary, earned income from wage earners or professionals or independent contractors until such money matures in a full year. There is no such thing as paying your Zakaat on the day you receive your paycheck. What the wage earner must know is that he or she can purify that money with charity (sadaqah) anytime they cash the paycheck. Allah (SWT) states: "And in their wealth and possessions (was remembered) the right of the needy, he who asks and he who (for some reason) was prevented (from asking)." (Al-Qur`an, 51: 19). We can deduce from the concept of "yearly maturity" of wealth on which Zakaat is due as encouraging, among other things, saving on the part of the Zakaat payer, and enhances the chances for eradicating poverty, because if the poor receives his rightful share of Zakaat there will be the possibility that he can take Zakaat money and invest it and become a Zakaat payer instead of recipient. This possibility will be lost if he receives few Zakaat dollars every month. To say that the wage earner just brings his check home and spends everything on necessities and lives from check to check with nothing left over means the person is eligible for Zakaat. Using farm produce as analogous to salary for Zakaat is wrong analogy. As Imam Al-`Abadi said, these are two different categories of money. $2, 500.00 cash can be invested by the person and expect a good return whereas it will be difficult to invest a bushel of corn. It can be traded as a commodity, which is what it is. This why we must know that analogy has rules that must be followed before it is applied. Certainly the jurists are unanimous that earned income, known as almal al-mustafadah, should either be added to existing money and wait until that amount reaches maturity and then give their Zakaat; or if there is no money on hand the time one possesses this money, he or she should wait one full year before assessing it for Zakaat. Zakaat is one of the five pillars of Islam and a vital element in the religion of Islam. It is the twin sister of Salaat. In Al-Qur`an, Allah (SWT) stated: "So establish regular Prayer and give regular Alms; and obey the Messenger; that you may receive mercy." (Al-Qur`an, 24: 56) Also, "...Establish regular Prayer and give regular Alms, and loan to Allah a beautiful loan...." (Al-Qur`an, 73: 20) "And they have been commanded no more than this: to worship Allah, offering Him sincere devotion, being true (in faith); to establish regular Prayer and to practice regular charity; and that is the religion right and straight." (Al-Qur`an, 98: 5) In a famous Hadith reported by `Umar Bin Khattab (raa), the Messenger of Allah (saas) responded to Jibreel (as) and said: "... Islam is to testify that there is no deity but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, to perform the prayer, to pay Zakaat, to observe fasting in Ramadan, and to make pilgrimage to the house of Allah if you are able to do os...." (Bukhari, Muslim) There is consensus among Muslim scholars that it is mandatory on every believer who is financially able. Whoever knowingly denies this obligation, while he possesses the minimum amount, would be considered a disbeliever and a renegade from Islam. Whoever is stingy, or tries to cheat, is considered among the wrongdoers. Zakaat is mandatory on four categories of items. 1. Farm produce of seeds and fruits, such as wheat, barley, rice, dates, raisins, cocoa, pistachios, coffee, cashews. Allah (SWT) stated: "O you who believe, give of the good things which you have (honorably) earned, and of the fruits of the earth which We have produced for you..." (Al-Qur`an, 2: 267) Also: "... But render the dues that are proper on the day that the harvest is gathered..." (Al-Qur`an, 6: 141) Thus, these two verses and many others indicate that Zakaat is due on farm products that reached the minimum amount (nisaab). No farm product is liable for Zakaat unless it is a product that is considered as food and can be stocked or saved naturally without refrigeration. If the produce is perishable fruit, such as grapes, there is no Zakaat. But if one sells them they will pay their Zakaat on the profit earned when it matures. The nisaab is 612 kilos, which equals 1,346.40 lb. There is no Zakaat on produce that is less than this amount. If the farm produce or crops grow dependant on rainwater, or without any man's labor or irrigation, Zakaat due is one-tenth of the total. If it is grown by irrigation, then the Zakaat due is half of one-tenth of the total produce. There is no Zakaat on fruits like apples or oranges or vegetables which are perishable and need refrigeration for long storage, but they should be considered as any income if the profit earned from their sale reaches the amount of Zakaat, then Zakaat should be given. 2. Cattle, including camels, cows, sheep and goats, that are freely graze and are raised for trade and production. For Zakaat to be obligatory, the number must reach the nisaab. The nisaab of camels is five, of cows 30, of sheep and goats, 40. By freely grazing is meant the animal goes out to feed without the owner buying or bringing it feed or hay. If it is not a grazing animal, there is no Zakaat in the stock by itself. The stock will, however, be considered as articles of trade, then will be assessed for Zakaat as articles of trade when the profit earned from their sale reaches the amount by itself or in combination with other articles of the trade. 3. Merchandise and goods of trade and commerce. This includes anything that is obtained for the business of buying and selling: land, animals, food provisions, fabric, cars, spare parts, etc. This inventory is evaluated annually and assessed for Zakaat, whether the value is the same as the amount spent on it, more, or less. The owners of grocery stores, like any other business, must evaluate every item and give their Zakaat. Simple bookkeeping of inventory, orders, cash on hand, and credits, that is non-delinquent loans, will give one a good picture of the zakaatable assets. But if one is unable to account for everything in the store or shop, he should assess it according to his ability until he is sure that his conscience is clear. There is no Zakaat on what is within one's dwelling or property which includes food, drinks, furniture, houses, animals, cars, clothes and shoes. The only exception is gold and silver. There is no Zakaat on assets from rentals or lease, whether they are apartment units, taxi cabs, etc. That is, there is no Zakaat on the apartment units, buses or cars for rental like yellow cabs company or trucks for rental or equipments. But there is Zakaat on the proceeds or incomes from these rental assets if these assets reach the executable amount, either by themselves or in combination with other assets. Business Activities Many scholars are of the opinion that any business activity that brings any return to the entrepreneur or investor should be assessed for Zakaat. If the activity has a prescribed nisaab, such as gold, silver or paper currency, that nisaab is applied for Zakaat. But if the business has no declared nisaab, its nisaab is the nisaab of commerce, one reason being that most business activities are considered as commerce and because, in actual fact, it is not factitious business name, such as GM, Apple or GE that is taxed for Zakaat, it is the individual investor. We do not tax cooperations such IBM, Apple, GM or Rajihy Bank but the individual investors, share holders and owners of these corporations. Indeed, there are enough rules in Zakaat books to cover all types of business activity, be it cash or risk investment. If the business activity is analogous to commerce, it should be assessed the same rate as commerce. To subject the business to a different Zakaat rate of 10%, which is the rate of farm products instead of its correct rate of 2.5%, the rate of commerce, is unfair and unjustified. Besides, there is no proof, even a weak one, to justify this unfair arbitrary taxation. The difference between 2.5% and 10% is high. The Zakaat system is not like a state revenue collection, but Allah's `ebadah. However, if a business person decides to give more than 2.5% after deducting all the expenses including depreciation, Allah (SWT) will accept it from him. 4. Gold and silver, whether used for commerce or jewelry. Allah (SWT) states: "...And there are those who bury gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah: announce unto them a most grievous penalty. On the day when heat will be produced out of that (wealth) in the fire of hell, and with it will be branded their foreheads, their flanks and their backs. This is the (treasure) which you buried for yourselves: taste you, then, the (treasures) you buried." (Al-Qur`an, 9: 34-35). By hoarding is meant refusal to give it in the path of Allah, which includes Zakaat. In a hadith reported by Abu Hurairah (raa), the Messenger of Allah (saas) said: "For the owner or possessor of gold and silver who does not fulfill its obligation, on the Day of Resurrection it will be cast into sheets of fire and be branded on his forehead, side and back. Whenever it cools it is to be repeated for him in a day whose length is the length of fifty thousand years, until the judgement is rendered among the people." (Muslim). By its obligation is meant assessing it for Zakaat. In another version: "No possessor of a treasure who does not give its Zakaat." Zakaat is mandatory in gold and silver, irrespective of its form: in coins, raw or nugget, or jewelry for wearing, or for rent, because of the generality of evidence of Zakaat without any detail. In a report by Abdullah bin `Amr bin `Aas (raa), he related that a woman came to the Messenger of Allah with her daughter. On the daughter's wrist were two heavy gold bracelets. The Messenger asked her, "Do you pay Zakaat on this?" She replied, "No." The Messenger said: "Would it please you that Allah will encircle you with two bracelets of fire?" The reporter commented that she took them off and threw them down in front of the Messenger, and said: "They are for Allah and his Messenger." (Ahmed, Tirmidhi). The Messenger's wife reported that: "The Messenger entered into my house and saw in my hand a huge ring made of silver, so he asked, `What is this?' I replied, `I made them to beautify myself for you, O Messenger of Allah.' He inquired, `Do you give their Zakaat?' I said, `No,' or `Allah willing.' He said: `It will suffice you in the hellfire.'" (Abu Dawuud). Zakaat is due on gold when it reaches the amount of (nisaab), which is 20 Dinaar. According to a hadith, the Messenger said: "No Zakaat on you is due until it reaches 20 dinaar." (Abu Dawud) The Islamic dinaar (currency) is one mithqal, a unit of weight which weighs four and one quarter of a gram. Thus, the nisaab is 85 grams. This is equal to $30.00 US dollars. Similarly, there is no Zakaat on silver until it reaches five oqiyah, because the Messenger said: "There is no Zakaat on less then five oqiyah." (Muslim/Bukhari) Oqiyah is equal to forty Islamic dirhams. The nisaab is 200 dirhams. One dirham is equivalent to 595 grams. The zakaatable amount in both the gold and silver is a quarter of a tenth only. Paper Currency There is Zakaat on modern paper currency because it is equivalent to silver. During the early days of Islam, silver and gold were the currency of exchange minted into dirham for silver and dinaar for gold. Silver, not gold, had a larger circulation. Thus many scholars are of opinion that silver should be the standard for the paper currencies of today because that is more advantageous to the Zakaat payer, as it raises the minimum nisaab whereas gold lowers it. Although both metals are no longer circulated, they are still considered as a security against ever fluctuating paper money. Silver should be used as a standard to assess Zakaat annually, not paper currency, even if the currency is hard currency like the US dollar, Yen and Deutch Mark or Pound Sterling. Because these currencies are backed by political decisions that may not have anything to do with the economy, the value and strength of this paper money depends largely on all haram usury system of interest rates. Thus, the Zakaat payer should look up in the local newspaper's financial or business section for the price of silver which is currently about $3.82. per ounce. The nisaab, then, is 596 x .04=28.80 ounce multiplied by$3.82= 90.91. therefore. The nisaab is about $100.00, as of December 17, 1991. The nisaab should be based on the market value of the currency. If the money is hard currency, there will be no problem, but if the money is a non-marketable currency, like most currencies in the third world countries, the nisaab should be based on the black market, which realistically reflects the value of the currency on the money market. In any case, the silver rate should be used to assess the Zakaat. If the nisaab is determined, the zakaatable amount is 2.5%, or .025 multiplied by the amount. For instance, if the zakaatable amount is $56,000.00 it will be 56,000. x .025 = $1,400.00. Zakaat is due on gold, silver, and or paper currency, whether it is cash in hand or credit in the hands of borrowers. Zakaat is due on debts or cost of merchandize or rental money. If the borrower is a wealthy person that you know will pay back the debt, the lender (that is Halaal lending free of usury) should include that money in the assessment and give its Zakaat. However, one can delay Zakaat on a loan until he receives payment, then return its Zakaat for the past years that he was unable to assess for Zakaat. If the borrower is poor or is refusing to pay the debt, there will be no Zakaat on the money until the lender receives the money. Then he will assess it for Zakaat of one past due year, but there will be no Zakaat in the years before that. There is no Zakaat on precious stones such as diamonds, or metals such uranium, regardless of their value. Gold and silver, of course are assessed for Zakaat. However, if a person possesses any of these stones or metals, he should give their Zakaat like any other articles of trade. If a person possesses diamonds or any other precious stones as an edge against inflation or for ornaments, there will no Zakaat on these. How To Give Zakaat Zakaat may be assessed and returned in two ways: a) Make a record of all money earned, either daily or monthly, which has reached the nisaab and remains in the treasury. The Zakaat of that money would be due one year later on the same day the money was earned and reached nisaab. This means every month's income must be set aside and assessed for Zakaat and so will be the case for the rest of the months. For instance, the income of January, 1991 will be assessed for Zakaat in January, 1992, and the income of February, 1991 will be assessed for Zakaat in February 1992, etc. This method of assessing Zakaat is very difficult because it entails complete bookkeeping of daily or monthly earnings. b) The best way is to set a day or a month, preferably Ramadan, for your annual Zakaat return calendar, say Ramadan 1st, 1412. One year later on the same day Ramadan, 1413, your Zakaat is due and payable. Whatever is in the savings is due for Zakaat, regardless of whether all the amount in the savings reaches a year or not. For instance: if you have $20,000.00 in the savings account on the 1st of Ramadan, 1412 and one year later by the 1st of Ramadan, 1413 there is $50, 000.00, your Zakaat will be assessed for $50,000.00, that is: $50.000.00 x .025= $1,250.00. If, on the other hand, by the 1st of Ramadan, 1413 the amount in the savings is $15,000.00, your Zakaat will be for the amount in the savings, that is $15,000.00 x .025= $375.00. This method is the best because it is easy to assess, meets one's obligation and relieve one's conscience. The Recipient Of Zakaat Knowing who qualifies as recipient of Zakaat is an important aspect of Zakaat collection in Islam. Fortunately, Allah (SWT) has been merciful to us in that He Himself spelled out the people eligible to receive Zakaat. In Surah Tawbah He stated: "Alms are for the poor and the needy; and those employed to administer (the funds); for those whose hearts have been (recently) reconciled (to truth); for those in bondage and in debt; in the cause of Allah; and for the wayfarer: (thus is it) ordained by Allah, and Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom." (Al-Qur`an, 9: 60) In this verse Allah enumerated the people who deserve this divine welfare, and they are as follows: The poor and the needy. These are individuals, and those under their care, to live on. By the poor and needy is meant the people whose income or salaries, or whatever material goods they have, fall short of the cost of living in a given environment and economy. The poor and the needy should be given what will suffice them and their families for one full year. The needy who want to get married and have no means should be given enough for this purpose, and so, too, the student who needs money for tuition, rent, food, and books. The working poor should be given supplementary Zakaat. But the wealthy, or any person with enough income to live on should not be given Zakaat, even if they asked for it. Instead, they should be warned and admonished for asking for what does not belong to them. In a hadith reported by Abdullah bin `Umar, the Messenger of Allah (saas) stated: "A man keeps on asking others for something till he comes on the day of Resurrection without any piece of flesh on his face." (Bukhari/Muslim). This hadith indicates a humiliating appearance before Allah (SWT) that awaits a person who asks illegally. Some said: this hadith implies Allah will punish a person with the very limb, the face, that he used to impress on others to give him their money unlawfully. In another hadith reported by Abu Hurairah, the Messenger of Allah said: "Whoever asks people for their money so as to get rich, he is asking for flames of fire. It is up to him to ask for more or less (he should beware)." (Muslim) This hadith indicates the severity of the punishment, the more one asks the more punishment, the less one asks the less the punishment. In another hadith, reported by Hakeem bin Hizaam said: I begged the Messenger of Allah and he gave me. I begged again, and he gave me. I begged again and he gave me. He then said: "This money is green and sweet; he who receives it from people with a cheerful heart, Allah will bless him in it; he who receives it, with an avaricious mind would not be blessed in it. He will be like the person who eats without being satisfied; and the upper hand is better than the lower hand" (Muslim) This hadith gave an analogy between money and green, ripened fruit that people love to eat. Thus, it indicates that both are greatly loved but easily finished. For money that is easy come easy go, one must be careful about the punishment that awaits the illegal eater. If a person asks for Zakaat and there are no signs of wealth, and he does not know that he should not ask, or a person who is well and able, who can work, but does not; if these people do not know that it is not permissible for them to ask, it may be given anyway. In a hadith reported by Ahmed, Abu Dawud, and Nasa'e, two men came to the Messenger of Allah (saas) and asked for Zakaat. He looked at them closely and found them strong and able, he said, "If you want I will give you. But you should know that the wealthy or an able person who can work has no share in Zakaat" (Ahmad) Those who administer the Zakaat department, assigning people for collecting, bookkeeping, making lists of people eligible for Zakaat, and a financial calendar. These people will receive Zakaat as compensation for their work, even if they are wealthy. This does not include a person who works as an agent for one or two wealthy people to take Zakaat for himself. They should donate their time for Zakaat disbursement and do it with honesty and truthfulness. If they can not, they should be paid or rewarded for their time. In a hadith related by Abu Musa Al-Ashi`ari (raa), the Messenger of Allah said: "A trustworthy Muslim executor is the one who executes completely what has been entrusted to him of Zakaat money in good faith." (Bukhari) That is, he will give the Zakaat money to any of the eligible recipients of Zakaat. He should carry on the duty voluntarily, but if he can not distribute the money without being paid, the Zakaat payer should pay him for his work. The payment for the service of distributing Zakaat should not come out of Zakaat money. The new converts to Islam whose hearts we want to harmonize into the fold of Islam, either because their faith is weak or we are afraid of their being harmed, should be given Zakaat to strengthen their Iman or until we no longer fear their harm. The bonds person who has contracted with his master to buy himself out of bondage deserve Zakaat and should be given enough to pay off their debt to the master and be freed themselves; similarly, Muslim prisoners of war if their freedom is tied to monetary payment, deserve Zakaat sufficient enough to secure their release. On the other hand, if a pearson accidently killed someone and have no means to pay off the blood money, he should be helped from Zakaat funds. The people in debt are of two kinds: (A) The guarantor, who takes the responsibility of someone else's debt so as to reconcile the two warring parties, to extinguish the fire of fitnah between them. If the person requests Zakaat money to pay off this debt he should be given it, which will encourage him to continue in this noble cause. In a hadith reported by Qubaysah Al-Hilaaly (raa), he said I was under debt (hamaalah) and I came to the Messenger (saas) and begged him to help me pay it off. The Messenger told him: "Wait until we receive charity, so we will command that it be given to you." However, the Messenger stated: "O Qubaysah, begging is not permitted except for one of three categories of people: A man who has incurred debt (as guarantor to reconcile blood wit) for him begging is permissible till he pays that off, after which he must stop it; a man whose property has been destroyed by calamity which has smitten him; for him begging is permissible till he gets what will support life or will provide him reasonable subsistence; and a man who has been smitten by poverty, the genuineness of which should be confirmed by three knowledgeable members of his people; for him begging is permissible till he gets what will support him, or will provide him subsistence. Besides these three, Qubaysah, begging is forbidden for every other persons, and one who engages in such consumes that which is forbidden." (Muslim) (B) Whoever incurs debt and has no money to pay it back will be given from Zakaat to help pay his debt, whether the amount is large or small; or his creditor should be paid directly on his behalf, so long as it is paid off. Zakaat can be given in the path of Allah. By this is meant to finance a Jihad effort in the path of Allah, not for Jihad for other reasons. The fighter (mujahid) will be given as salary what will be enough for him. If he needs to buy arms or some other supplies related to the war effort, Zakaat money should be used provided the effort is to raise the banner of Islam. The wayfarer. This is the traveller who in a strange land runs out of money. He or she deserves Zakaat, enough money to take him back to his country, even if he is wealthy and can find someone to loan him the money. On his part, he should take with him on his trip sufficient money, if he is wealthy, so that he will not need Zakaat. Zakaat money can not be used to pay off other obligations, such as giving Zakaat money to people you are obligated to take care of by law; or Zakaat money can not be used to pay for hotel and food expenses. It is, however, permissible to give Zakaat to a wife or family member, provided it is not part of their daily living expense money, but is needed to pay off a debt for one's wife if she can not pay it. So is the case for one's parents if they can not pay their debt. Zakaat money may be given to members of the family for their expenses if one is not obligated to take care of them financially. The wife can pay off a debt of her husband with Zakaat money, because he may be among the eight eligible recipients and she is not obligated to spend on him as he is on her. The eight eligible recipients of Zakaat can be denied their right to Zakaat without proof from Al-Qur`an or Sunnah. In a hadith reported by Ibn Mas`ud, his wife Zaynab heard the Messenger of Allah order women to give Zakaat, so she asked the Messenger (saas): " O Messenger of Allah, you commanded us to give Zakaat, and I have jewelry that I wanted to assess for Zakaat, but my husband Abdullah bin Mas`ud claimed that his son deserves it more than anyone." The Messenger replied: Your husband Ibn Mas`ud is right. Your son deserves your charity more than anyone." In another hadith reported by Salman bin `Aamir, he said the Messenger of Allah said: " Charity to the poor is only charity, but charity to the rest of kind is charity and maintenance of relations (sillah)." (Nisaee) No loan should be written off as Zakaat because Zakaat is taken and given. Allah (SWT) said: "Of their goods take alms...." (Al-Qur`an, 9: 103) And in a Hadith the Messenger has been reported as saying: "Allah has mandated on you Zakaat to be taken from the wealthy and to be given to the poor." Thus, writing off debt is not taken. For instance, If you loan a person money, you can not write off that loan as a Zakaat. However, it could be written off as sadaqah charity. Furthermore, loan, delinquent or not, is considered an absent money, therefore, it should not be transacted in Zakaat. for Zakaat is assessed only in cash in hand. Besides, debt money is valued less than cash in the hand, and using that money for alms is like exchanging good money for bad. The assessor of alms should try to give his Zakaat to an eligible person, but if he makes a mistake and gives it to an ineligible person it is accepted. In a hadith related by Abu Hurairah, he said the Messenger said: "A man expressed his intention to give charity, so he came with his charity and placed it in the hand of an adulteress. In the morning the people were talking and saying charity was given to an adulteress last night. The donor said: O Allah, to thee be the Praise - charity to an adulteress! He then again expressed his intention to give charity, so he went out with it and placed it in the hand of a rich person. In the morning the people were talking and saying charity was given to a rich person. The donor said, O Allah to You be the praise - charity to a rich man! He then expressed his intention to give charity, so he went out with his charity and placed it in the hand of a thief. In the morning the people were talking and saying charity to the thief. So the man said, O Allah to You be the praise (what a misfortune that charity has been given) to the adulteress, the rich and the thief! Then someone came to him and told him your charity has been accepted. As for the adulteress the charity might become the means whereby she might restrain from fornication. The rich man might perhaps learn a lesson and spend from what Allah has given him, and the thief might thereby restrain from committing theft. (Muslim/ Bukhari) http://www.islamfortoday.com/beliefs.htm

Did Marvin Bush work hand in hand with Larry Silverstein to blow up the WTC? People who refuse to accept the fact that the U.S. Government had their hand in the Terror Attacks of 911 are ignorant. It's impossible for Jet fuel or Kerosene to melt iron. Also if the floors collapsed causing a chain reaction it would have taken well over 90 seconds for the buildings to come down. They came down at free fall speed....9 seconds. There is no logical argument here. Explosives were pre-planted in the building. Some will argue that the fires were raging hot inferno’s...however if that was the case then why were there people standing in the holes where the planes impacted waving for help? Their clothes weren’t even burnt. Here we are talking about the biggest crime scene in the history of the United States...and what did Guilani do? He scooped up all the evidence and got rid of it as fast as he possibly could. Sent overseas to be recycled? I doubt it...my guess is they dumped it all in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. If people would for one second look at the evidence...it's a common tactic for a country to injure or attack itself and then blame it on the enemy. Then we can go get em. There is even a name for it...it’s called.. “Pretext for Military Intervention” Why doesn’t someone tell me why NORAD didn't scramble any fighters to escort the hijacked planes down? They didn't miss 1, but all 4!! Anytime a commercial airline goes off course without explanation, within 10 minutes, fighter jets are supposed to escort them down. Especially the air space over the Pentagon! Hmmm. How convenient. You think it was because Bush ordered Cheney to take control over NORAD the same morning of the attacks? Did you also know that the WTC changed owners about six months prior to the attacks? Did you know that the buildings were worth more if destroyed than standing? That Larry Silverstein is the man who cashed out on the scam...walking away with billions? Did you know that there was a flurry of activity on Wall Street prior to the attacks, and the majority of the trading was “Put options” on the doomed Airlines stock? Did you know that there were multiple explosions heard inside the buildings from all kinds of firefighters, police officers and witnesses? Did you know that WTC Building 7 fell at approximately 5:30 p.m.? That the building did not suffer any major damage, but it somehow blew up into a fine pile of dust? Does anyone know what propaganda is? Do you know that it is also a well known and effectively used tool for the government to pull the wool over your eyes? Well, don't say we didn't warn you when your asking yourself 5 years from now "How could this happen?" Educate yourself and open your eyes folks. This is real, and there are more than just a couple of us who think so. Go to Google and type in Terror Attacks of 911...have yourself a look at all the choices there are to choose from.

How blind do you have to be to not see the truth about 911?? People who refuse to accept the fact that the U.S. Government had their hand in the Terror Attacks of 911 are ignorant. It's impossible for Jet fuel or Kerosene to melt iron. Also if the floors collapsed causing a chain reaction it would have taken well over 90 seconds for the buildings to come down. They came down at free fall speed....9 seconds. There is no logical argument here. Explosives were pre-planted in the building. Some will argue that the fires were raging hot inferno’s...however if that was the case then why were there people standing in the holes where the planes impacted waving for help? Their clothes weren’t even burnt. Here we are talking about the biggest crime scene in the history of the United States...and what did Guilani do? He scooped up all the evidence and got rid of it as fast as he possibly could. Sent overseas to be recycled? I doubt it...my guess is they dumped it all in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. If people would for one second look at the evidence...it's a common tactic for a country to injure or attack itself and then blame it on the enemy. Then we can go get em. There is even a name for it...it’s called.. “Pretext for Military Intervention” Why doesn’t someone tell me why NORAD didn't scramble any fighters to escort the hijacked planes down? They didn't miss 1, but all 4!! Anytime a commercial airline goes off course without explanation, within 10 minutes, fighter jets are supposed to escort them down. Especially the air space over the Pentagon! Hmmm. How convenient. You think it was because Bush ordered Cheney to take control over NORAD the same morning of the attacks? Did you also know that the WTC changed owners about six months prior to the attacks? Did you know that the buildings were worth more if destroyed than standing? That Larry Silverstein is the man who cashed out on the scam...walking away with billions? Did you know that there was a flurry of activity on Wall Street prior to the attacks, and the majority of the trading was “Put options” on the doomed Airlines stock? Did you know that there were multiple explosions heard inside the buildings from all kinds of firefighters, police officers and witnesses? Did you know that WTC Building 7 fell at approximately 5:30 p.m.? That the building did not suffer any major damage, but it somehow blew up into a fine pile of dust? Does anyone know what propaganda is? Do you know that it is also a well known and effectively used tool for the government to pull the wool over your eyes? Well, don't say we didn't warn you when your asking yourself 5 years from now "How could this happen?" Educate yourself and open your eyes folks. This is real, and there are more than just a couple of us who think so. Go to Google and type in Terror Attacks of 911...have yourself a look at all the choices there are to choose from.

How can I do the US stock trading in Malaysia? Online or through broker, I want to know my options. I know OSK Malaysia has this service but I want to know if there is cheaper way, as well as more independant way (online trading usually gives more tools for analysis).

Complete Draft Grades? 49ers = B - Willis will learn from Mike Singletary, 'Nuff said! Staley will learn from Larry Allen. Hill is a big WR with a nose for the end zone. McDonald will contribute at DT as long as his knees hold up. Moore is a small DE with a high motor. Goldson has no NFL position as a DB and will have to make it on special teams. Cohen is the 2nd DT with bad legs drafted, not good! Brown is a smart, but unspectacular CB. A poor mans Randall Gay. Clayton is a selfish head case who never utilized his potential at RB. A wasted pick. Bears = A - Olson will be a nice pass catching TE. Bazuin is a blue collar guy who adds depth for run support. Wolfe is a 3rd down back to spell Benson. OLB Okwo will learn while playing special teams for a few years. Beekman is an explosive run blocker better suited as a C. Payne played HB, WR, P, CB and S in college. A incredible athlete still learning the FS position, he could be a star in a few years. Graham is a top flight kick returner who will team with Hester to give them a deadly duo. McBride is a small CB who will have to make it on special teams. Brant is a reach who may be a big sized guard. Bengals = B Hall is a great pick who will team with Joseph to give them a solid, young CB tandem. Irons is a confusing pick considering they just resigned Watson to a big multi-year deal. Is this their way of saying Perry is done? White can play both S positions and adds depth. Rowe is like Palmer. Big arm, tall, but not a scrambler. Unlike Carson, his decision making is questionable. Toeaina has an inconsistent motor, but good tools to be a run stuffing DT. Santucci can play C and both guard spots. Ndukwe will try to make it on special teams. Bills = A Hall of Famer Marv Levy pulls out a steal! Lynch is seen as a mix of Thurman Thomas/ Ken Davis and a better fit for their offense than McGahee. A real steal is Posluszny, who will either try to fill Spikes or Fletchers spot and is solid. Many had Edwards the 2nd rated QB behind Russell and he will provide a nice push for the improving Losman. Wright will push Thomas for short yardage carries. Wendling can play either S position and always seems to make plays. Schouman is a FB who catches the ball extremely well. Ah You is a oft-injured, finesse DE who will have a hard time making the team. They didn't draft a CB or WR, so it wasn't a perfect draft, but good. Broncos = B - As usual, they trade. This time it is a gamble. Moss will either be a solid edge rusher or miss completely. Crowder is solid, but unspectacular and a reach. Harris was a smart pick to learn from his aging O line mates. You can't blame them for gambling on DT Thomas. If it works out, they get a perennial Pro Bowler. Browns = A - Thomas was a no brainer who now helps give the Browns a good looking offensive line. They paid way too much for Quinn, who was rated the 5th best QB by me, but he is a hometown kid who wants to play at home. Just don't be surprised if Frye or/and Anderson beat him out now that they have blockers finally. Wright is a great gamble. If he really has cleaned up his act, he might end up being the best CB to come from this draft. An immediate starter if just in nickel packages. McDonald is best suited to play FS. Purcell is a DE who may end up a DT. Pittman needs to bulk up in the weight room if he wants a roster spot as a DE. Steptoe will have to make it as a returner. Buccaneers = A+ Bucs had a fantastic draft top to bottom! Adams is the best DE in the draft and will learn from the aging Rice. Sears was a great pick who will help protect whoever the QB is and open a hole or 2 for Cadillac. Piscitelli is a great athlete who can play SS or OLB in the Bucs cover 2 scheme. Their next John Lynch. Black has a chance to be a star and gets to learn from Brooks. Fastest LB in the draft. Jackson is a prototypical cover 2 CB and intelligent. Peterson is a big pass rushing DE who needs time to be groomed. Rice will teach him a few moves. Hayward is a perfect fit as a WLB on a cover 2 D. Denman is a huge OT with a long reach who needs maybe a season to develop. Hamilton played the cover 2 a lot at Virginia and may fit right in on dime packages as an extra CB. Darby will spell the Cadillac from time to time. The futures looking brighter in the Bay. Cardinals = B+ They needed any type of lineman on offense, but Brown may be a bit too high. He's more a guard than tackle. Branch fell right into their laps and may even inspire ex-Wolverine team mate McBride to play up to his potential. If that happens, the Cards will have a duo on par with the Jags 2 All Pro DT's. Davis is short and battles with his weight, but is a over achiever and will help somewhere. Special teams perhaps. Breaston will have to make it as a returner. Patrick may be a real steal. The intelligent TE is a natural leader and gives the Cards 2 young TE's with Pope, but plays H-back as well. Chargers = A - The theme today was that the rich got richer. Davis will put Parker on the bench by years end maybe. Weddle is a perfect pick who can cover the TE or WR. Waters was a 1st rounder last year until he blew out his knee. He will help on special teams as he learns. Chandler is a huge TE at 6 '7' 270, but doesn't block at all. Naanee is a physical, unpolished specimen who will be given time to develop at WR while he plays special teams. Siler stock dropped more than any other prospect. Going from a possible first rounder to almost undrafted. He is a leader and makes plays, but won't dominate at ILB in the pros. Stiff in the hips, he is strictly a run support type who must make it on special teams on a team deep in LB's. Chiefs = D They amazingly did not address their offensive line woes. Johnson should last about 4 games. Think a small Earl Campbell getting burned out too fast. Bowe fills a need as far as the WR corps is aging and he can block well too. McBride is a hard worker at DE who will fill in for Allen while he serves his suspension. Tyler was on many mocks 1st round and may be a DT than can be useful in KC finally after all the busts. Smith is a poor mans Kimble Anders and will play that role. Medlock was a confusing pick with OT Frye on the board. Tynes has a much stronger leg, but Medlock may be more accurate. If they go with Medlock, don't expect a FG longer than 45 yards in a dome, much less windy KC. Taylor is versatile and can play C or T, but is not strong and is mainly an average pass blocker. Allan is athletic at TE, but will he be able to jump from Div - III to the NFL? Crazy they didn't draft more O lineman! Colts = A + Remember how the rich got richer? The Colts got 4 guys who were 1st round picks on many mock drafts! Gonzales replaces Stokely without blinking. Ugoh will learn as he is groomed to replace Glenn in a few years. Hughes won the Lott Award and was maybe the best fit as a CB for a cover 2 D in the draft = A REAL STEAL who starts day 1! Pitcock will rotate with Booger and help solidify the run support. Condren is a self made gym rat who will pay his dues on special teams a few years. Session can play all LB positions, but may be best suited as a SS. Hall is an H-back type who may stick. Coe can play S or CB, which Dungy likes, but will have to stick on special teams. Dawson could be a sleeper. At 6 foot 270, he is quick, can run and will line up at DE. Cowboys = A - Jerry missed wheeling and dealing. Spencer adds depth to a deep, talented LB corp. Martin is a solid offensive lineman who needs a year or 2 to learn. Stanback is a gifted athlete who Dallas may envision as a Hines Ward type. Free is an athletic OT who may start right away. Folk is a good kicker who can also punt great. Anderson is a special teams monster who also happens to block and catch well at FB. Brown is a lock down CB who will allow Henry to move to FS to shore up the deep hole in the D. Ball adds depth at CB and special teams. Dolphins = B Ginn has speed. Point blank. He needs to learn how to be a better WR, but maybe after watching Hester, the Fins think Ginn will win a few on special teams? A reach that is a grand slam if it works out. Beck was rated the 2nd best QB by many and comes from a system than grooms NFL ready QB's. He may end up starting sooner than expected if Lemon is..well...a lemon. Satele can play guard or center and will start day 1. Booker will be a 3rd down back to spell Brown. Now...what to do with Ricky? Soliai is a 2 gap DT who will stuff the run. Mauia is a solid guard who needs time to polish his skills. Mormino is a C who can play guard too. Smith is a cerebral LB who plays all LB positions OK, but may need to make his bones on special teams. Fields is a P with a slow release, but strong leg. Wright is a tweener at DE who may need to move to OLB and make it on special teams. Eagles = A + I'm no Iggles fan, but even I recognize Andy Reids unpredictable genius. Kolb will be the first QB he can groom since Donovan and can take his sweet time with Feeley and Holcome as back ups. It's a hit or miss that won't hurt if it misses, but don't bet against Reid. Abiamiri is a solid DE who will lend to the rotation. Bradley could be a real steal if his knee stays healthy. At the least, he helps on special teams. Hunt is a real steal here! Finally they can sit Westbrook on short yardage and relieve him of about 10 carries per game to lengthen his career. Gaddis has all the FS tools, but needs developmental time. He gets to learn from future Hall of Famer Dawkins. Celek is a good clutch receiver at TE. Barksdale was on every scouts sleeper list. He is a big CB who may be a pleasant surprise or a special teams contributor. Ilaoa is one of my favorite sleepers. He is 5 8' 250lbs with good speed and ultra soft hands. He may flop or he may end up being an integral part of the offense. Style of running is compared to Emmit Smith. Falcons = A + The Petrino era starts out STRONG! Anderson was the best defensive player on the board and helps them day 1. Blalock was a 1st rounder who fell to them and will be a solid guard for a decade. Houston is another 1st rounder who allows Williams to go to FS and gives Atlanta a young secondary that may soon be the best in the NFL! Robinson is a big, fast WR who will push the 2 former #1 WR's to either play to their potential or sit. Nicholas will be a blitzer and special teams star. Milner is a fast TE who must learn to catch the ball consistently. Lewis is a run stuffing DT who can also play guard. He'll be tried at both. Irons was a nice pick up and should contribute on dime packages and special teams. Datish can play all line positions, but C may be his calling. Stone is an athletic freak of nature and their future SS. A REAL STEAL! Snelling also qualifies as a steal. He will replace Duckett as the short yardage back, can play fullback, blocks and catches well also. He will be used often. Maybe the best draft in Falcons history and all should make the squad. Giants = C CB Ross was a fine pick up. WR Smith will push the aging Toomer. Alford is a pass rushing DT who fits right is with the pass rushing happy DE's. DeOssie is a LB who can line up anywhere, as well as long snap. Boss is a huge TE with great hands. Koets in now the ONLY LT on the roster! He is solid in technique, but needs to hit the weight room. Eli should be on his back often! Johnson is a possible prospect at FS who will need to stick on special teams. Bradshaw is a small RB who the G-men hope can catch some passes that were intended for Tiki this year. Best move still appears to be made by Tiki retiring. Amazing they didn't address their O line woes with more vigor! Jaguars = B + Nice, solid draft! Nelson gives them a top flight FS who can cover WR's easily. Durant is a perfect fit for their scheme and gets to learn from Del Rio. Versatile too. Walker came off a torn ACL to catch over 90 balls. A nice possession type of WR. Podlesh is a big, athletic P who some think is the next Ray Guy. Smith is a leader, but a tweener DE who will have to move to OLB and prove his hip is healthy. Nwaneri is a project still learning how to play guard, but could be a real find in a few years if he develops. Gattis is always around the ball and a special teams star. Landri is an undersized lunch pail type who may find a niche as a pass rushing DT. Broussard is a big WR lacking much speed. Nkang is a project who will either be a LB or SS, but will have to stick thru special teams. Carnahan is a big OT whose knee may not have healed yet and might need a year on the practice squad. Jets = B+ Mangini took a cue from his mentor and ran his draft room like a mad scientist. Revis was the top rated CB by many and starts now! Harris is very solid and starts day 1 as well at ILB. Bender is a huge T who will be given time to develop. Stuckey has all the tools to be a special WR, but is inconsistent. Coles will be a good mentor. Gave up a lot for 2 starters. Which may be just fine! Lions = A - Matt Millen was wheeling and dealing. Johnson was a no brainer. Furrey goes to the slot and Roy Williams may be the #2 WR for the first time in his life. Stanton may of been a reach. Time will tell, but Martz needs to groom a replacement for Kitna within 2 years. Alama- Francis is a awesome athlete who could help Detroit for a decade at DE. Alexander can play CB or FS. A solid pick. Davis should start at CB day 1. Ramirez should start right away and make several Pro Bowls at guard. Baldwin will be a solid WLB who can play MLB as well. Robinson started at CB for 3 years at 'Bama and is a leader. Packers = B - A gambling type of draft. Harrell should be solid for years, but Jackson came out too early and Jones was a huge reach. He's big, but not fast or consistent. A 4th WR type at best. Rouse can play LB or SS and is either going to be great or have a bum knee that will prevent him from going to the next level. Barbre is a unique talent who will take a few years to develop as a guard. Clowney is a speedy, undersized WR who works the underneath routes well, but has inconsistent hands. Hall will have to make it via special teams. Bishop is a run stuffing LB. Crosby was a curious pick, considering Rayner had an excellent rookie year. Crosby could be better than any Packer kicker ever though. Rayner won't be unemployed long. The Pack is gambling Wynn finally stays healthy and realizes his potential, which could be several thousand yard seasons. Harris is a big TE who isn't fast and needs to improve his blocking. Panthers = A Fox had a good draft. They had to settle for Beeson, but he will be fine at LB. Jarrett will learn from Keyshawn in his last year in the NFL. Kalil is a small C, but the best in the draft and expert at zone blocking. Johnson is a solid DE who will rotate in to spell the starters. Robinson is much in the mold of Steve Smith. The tiny WR should return kicks day 1 while learning his way into the offense. Rosario is a top notch athlete who is seen a Shannon Sharpe type and also loves playing special teams. Shaw is a consistent run stopper and may replace Morgan at MLB. Wilson was a top college CB who is best suited as a FS in the pros. Patriots = A + Evil Bill is at it again! Randy Moss for just! a 4th rounder is a joke and Moss returning to Pro Bowl form in his quest for a ring is practically a guarantee. Next year, 2 first rounders await! Merriweather is a proto typical Pat. He can play CB or either S position. He won't whack out up in NE either, the vets will keep him on a leash. Brown is a run stuffing DT who will spell Woolfolk. Oldenberg is the typical Pat pick. A huge OT they will take their time developing. Rogers is a big, speedy OLB Vrabel will groom to replace him. Richardson is smart and versatile, able to play CB or S. A Bellichek type of player. Hairston is big and fast at RB. A Patrick Pass clone who will play that role. Hilliard is a leader and is huge and versatile enough to play guard or OT. A cerebral type. Lua is a strong MLB with good pass rushing skills. Elgin is a hard worker and is versatile enough to play C or guard, but is small. Raiders = A+ Da Raiders might just win, baby! Russell will be throwing deep because he has the arm to. Miller will open up the middle because he is a huge TE with good hands. DE Moses was in the top 10 of most pre season mock drafts and will only help make an excellent D stronger. Henderson is a project at OT and will learn from the great Jackie Slater. Higgins is an enigma. The fastest WR in the draft, Al envisions him as the next Cliff Branch. He just may be right. Bush is a big back who has played small thus far. He may stick as a 3rd HB behind Jordan and Rhodes. Bowie will be forever known as the guy traded for Randy Moss. He is a speed merchant at CB and may be given time to develop while on special teams. Richardson is a tall DE with good upside and will need time to develop. Frampton is a hard working SS who will need to stick via special teams. O'Neal is a boom or bust type at FB whose stock has dropped the past few years. Holland is a 4.4 WR. Al loves speed. Great draft by the Maestro! Rams = B Carriker can play anywhere on the D line and excel. Leonards pick signifies a new wrinkle on the O. He may spell Jackson in the 1 back set on occasion, but the 2 set system will be there now with both backs excellent at catching passes. Wade will push for nickel back at the least day 1 and may soon start. Fry has a nasty streak in him at C or guard. Ryan was a DE at Michigan, but will probably move to DT in the NFL. Shackleford is big and can play either guard or T positions. Jackson is a solid DT that doesn't do anything particularly special. Stanley is a tiny WR with 4.4 speed who will have to make it by returning kicks. Ravens = A Ozzie Newsome is probably the best GM in the NFL. He just drafted 2 starting guards after watching his line get depleted a few weeks ago. Grubbs has All Pro potential, while Yanda plays with a nasty streak that will be embraced by McGahee and McNair. Figurs will return kicks and learn how to run routes from a former returner in Mason. Barnes is a pass rush specialist who will help on special teams. McClain starts a FB day 1. Smith will be given every opportunity to replace Boller as McNairs replacement. Burgess will have to make it via special teams. Redskins = A+ Credit them for not withering to Chicago's demands. They'll just get Briggs next year. They held pat and got the best safety since Ed Reed. Landry and Taylor will play off each other perfectly. This pick may insure Taylor staying in DC longer too. Count the trail of bodies they scrape off the turf the next decade as Taylor and Landry may form the best Safety duo in the history of the NFL. Imagine 2 Jack Tatums! Sartz is a tall, thin athlete who may work out as a WLB in time. He should be on the special teams a few years for now. Blades should do fine as a run stuffing SLB who comes out on passing downs. Palmer is another Joe Gibbs project (Jay Schroeder, Stan Humphries, Mark Rypien), a late draft pick given years to learn. Ecker is a huge TE drafted to block, much like a Don Warren. Saints = A - Meachum was rated the best WR in the draft by many. Alleman upgrades the O line and should be a solid guard a long time. Young should start day 1 at CB. Pittman adds depth at RB, a good move and value pick. Bushrod is a real sleeper at OT who may be blocking for Duce and Reggie for years. Jones is a play making ball hawk CB who upgrades the Saints poor secondary. Mitchell is a LB who needs to stick on special teams. Seahawks = A Did great with little to work with. Wilson is the fastest CB in the draft, cerebral and a dangerous returner. He should be a nickel back and return all their kicks day 1. Mebane plays with excellent leverage and will help out in the DT rotation. Atkins can play anywhere on the D line. Wrotto is the ultimate team player, who played DT as a junior due to injuries on the team. He is raw as a guard, but may be valuable in time. Has the tools. Herring is a WLB who may need to stick on special teams. Taylor is strictly a possession type of WR. Kent lettered in 3 varsity sports in one year! A rare achievement! He is raw, but a prospect worth grooming at WR. Vallos is a guard prospect. Steelers = B Tomlin seems to have a plan that we will have to wait and see what it is. Timmons is envisioned to replace Porter. Woodley is a tweener who is a decent pass rusher. Spaeth is tough, smart, big and has great hands for a TE. Sepulveda a huge punter with a huge leg. McBean is a huge DE who can rush the passer. Stephenson is a good guard who will help them in a few years. Gay is a CB who will have to make it on special teams. Baker has the bloodlines, but will need to bulk up to make it at WR. Texans = A I liked their draft! Okoye will team with Williams, Ryans, and a young and up and coming defense that will be respected league wide sooner than you think. Jones is a possible sleeper from little Lane college, who is huge and fast. He and Johnson may form a fantastic WR duo. Bennett is a big CB who will push for a starting job on a team deep in quality CB's. Harrison is a big, athletic SS who needs to get more aggressive. Frye will be a solid RT. Studdard is best suited to play C. Diles is an intelligent tackling machine who might have to play special teams a few years at first. Titans = C + Griffin was drafted ahead of Nelson, which was curious, considering Nelson can cover WR's and Pacman is gone. Still, a solid safety who should help on run support. Henry was a reach, but he is a big, athletic back. Williams will probably be a wasted pick. He plays with no heart and rarely showed his full speed on the field. He plays like he doesn't want to be there. I'd be surprised if he made the team and shocked if he lasted more than a season, but pray he gets into football because he has all the tools. Harris is a C who also can play anywhere on the O line. Davis is a small WR with the knack for the clutch catch. He will return punts in Pacmans absence. Johnson is a quick 2 gap DT. Filani is a big WR who runs the underneath routes with precision. Ford is a tall tweener who needs time to develop a position. Either OLB or a pass rushing DE. Special teams may be his way on to the roster. Smith is a small, but speedy CB who may stick as a nickel back because of Pacmans absence. Otto is an intelligent, mistake free LT did not give up a sack his last 2 years at pass happy Purdue,. Needs more weight room time. Vikings = A Peterson lengthens Taylors career and will give them a devastating 1-2 punch behind that huge O line. A VERY SMART PICK! Rice would've been a top 10 pick next year if he stayed one more year with the ol' ball coach. Lets hope he's not the bust fellow Gamecock Williamson is. McCauley has all the tools at CB and could be special, but has not played the same since suffering a major concussion. Robison is a blue collar type at DE. Allison could be a sleeper at WR. Alexanders stock dropped from a possible 1st rounder to the 6th. A small OLB but he is not short of desire. Thigpen is the 1st player ever drafted from Coastal Carolina. He started all 4 years at QB and might make the roster and given time to develop. Williams is a slight WR who will have to make it as a returner.

The coon caricature? The coon caricature is one of the most insulting of all anti-Black caricatures. The name itself, an abbreviation of raccoon, is dehumanizing. As with Sambo, the coon was portrayed as a lazy, easily frightened, chronically idle, inarticulate, buffoon. The coon differed from the Sambo in subtle but important ways. Sambo was depicted as a perpetual child, not capable of living as an independent adult. The coon acted childish, but he was an adult; albeit a good-for-little adult. Sambo was portrayed as a loyal and contented servant. Indeed, Sambo was offered as a defense for slavery and segregation. How bad could these institutions have been, asked the racialists, if Blacks were contented, even happy, being servants? The coon, although he often worked as a servant, was not happy with his status. He was, simply, too lazy or too cynical to attempt to change his lowly position. Also, by the 1900s, Sambo was identified with older, docile Blacks who accepted Jim Crow laws and etiquette; whereas coons were increasingly identified with young, urban Blacks who disrespected Whites. Stated differently, the coon was a Sambo gone bad. The prototypical movie coon was Stepin Fetchit, the slow-talking, slow-walking, self-demeaning nitwit. It took his character almost a minute to say: "I'se be catchin' ma feets nah, Boss." Donald Bogle, a cinema historian, lambasted the coon, as played by Stepin Fetchit and others: Before its death, the coon developed into the most blatantly degrading of all black stereotypes. The pure coons emerged as no-account niggers, those unreliable, crazy, lazy, subhuman creatures good for nothing more than eating watermelons, stealing chickens, shooting crap, or butchering the English language.1 The coon caricature was born during American slavery. Slave masters and overseers often described slaves as "slow," "lazy," "wants pushing," "an eye servant," and "trifling."2 The master and the slave operated with different motives: the master desired to obtain from the slave the greatest labor, by any means; the slave desired to do the least labor while avoiding punishment. The slave registered his protest against slavery by running away, and, when that was not possible, by slowing work, doing shoddy work, destroying work tools, and faking illness. Slave masters attributed the slaves' poor work performance to shiftlessness, stupidity, desire for freedom, and genetic deficiencies. The amount of work done by a typical slave depended upon the demands of individual slave owners and their ability to extract labor. Typically, slaves worked from dawn to dusk. They were sometimes granted "leisure time" on Saturday or Sunday evenings; however, this time was spent planting or harvesting their own gardens, washing clothes, cooking, and cleaning. A slave owner wrote: "I always give them half of each Saturday, and often the whole day, at which time...the women do their household work; therefore they are never idle."3 Slave owners complained about the laziness of their workers, but the records show that slaves were often worked hard -- and brutally so. Overseers were routinely paid commissions, which encouraged them to overwork the slaves. On a North Carolina plantation an overseer claimed that he was a "'hole hog man rain or shine," and boasted that the slaves had been worked "like horses." He added, "I'd ruther be dead than be a nigger on one of these big plantations."4 After the closing of the African slave trade, the price of slaves went up, thereby causing some slave owners and their hired overseers to be more careful in their use of slaves. "The time had been," wrote one slave owner, "that the farmer could kill up and wear out one Negro to buy another; but it is not so now. Negroes are too high in proportion to the price of cotton, and it behooves those who own them to make them last as long as possible."5 Slaves are generally associated with the harvest of cotton; however, slaves worked in many industries. Almost every railroad in the ante-bellum South was built in part by slave labor. Slaves worked in sawmills, fisheries, gold mines and salt mines. They were used as deck hands on river boats. There were slave lumberjacks, construction workers, longshoremen, iron workers, even store clerks. Slaves monopolized the domestic services. Some slaves worked as skilled artisans, for example, shoemakers, blacksmiths, carpenters, mechanics, and barbers. These artisans were generally treated better than the slaves in the cotton and tobacco fields; therefore, it is not surprising that the artisans did better work. They included "many ingenious Mechanicks," claimed a White colonial Georgian, "and as far as they have had opportunity of being instructed, have discovered as good abilities, as are usually found among [White] people of our Colony."6 The supporters of slavery claimed that Blacks were a childlike people unequipped for freedom. Proslavers acknowledged that some slave masters were cruel, but they argued that most were benevolent, kind-hearted capitalists who civilized and improved their docile Black wards. From Radical Reconstruction to World War I, there was a national nostalgia for the "good ol' darkies" who loved their masters, and, according to the proslavers, rejected or only reluctantly accepted emancipation. In this context, the conceptualization of the coon was revised. During slavery almost all Blacks, especially men, were sometimes seen as coons, that is, lazy, shiftless, and virtually useless. However, after slavery, the coon caricature was increasingly applied to younger Blacks, especially those who were urban, flamboyant, and contemptuous of Whites. Thomas Nelson Page, a White writer wrote this in 1904: Universally, they [White Southerners] will tell you that while the old-time Negroes were industrious, saving, and when not misled, well-behaved, kindly, respectful, and self-respecting, and while the remnant of them who remain still retain generally these characteristics, the "new issue," for the most part, are lazy, thriftless, intemperate, insolent, dishonest, and without the most rudimentary elements of morality....Universally, they report a general depravity and retrogression of the Negroes at large in sections in which they are left to themselves, closely resembling a reversion to barbarism. 7 At the beginning of the 1900s many Whites supported the implementation of Jim Crow laws and etiquette. They believed that Blacks were genetically, therefore permanently, inferior to Whites. Blacks were, they argued, hedonistic children, irresponsible, and left to their own plans, destined for idleness -- or worse. It was not uncommon for Whites to distinguish between Niggers (Coons and Bucks) and Negroes8 (Toms, Sambos, and Mammies), and they preferred the latter. Racial caricatures are undergirded by stereotypes, and the stereotyping of Blacks as coons continued throughout the 20th Century. The pioneer study of racial and ethnic stereotyping in the United States was conducted in 1933 by Daniel Katz and Kenneth Braley, two social scientists. They questioned 100 Princeton University undergraduates regarding the prevailing stereotypes of racial and ethnic groups. Their research concluded that Blacks were consistently described as "superstitious," "happy-go-lucky," and "lazy." The respondents had these views even though they had little or no contact with Blacks.9 This study was repeated in 1951, and the negative stereotyping of Blacks persisted.10 The Civil Rights Movement improved Whites' attitudes toward Blacks, but a sizeable minority of Whites still hold traditional, racist views of Blacks. An early 1990s study conducted by the National Opinion Research Center found that the majority of the White, Hispanic, and other non-Black respondents displayed negative attitudes towards Blacks. For example, 78 percent said that Blacks were more likely than Whites to "prefer to live off welfare" and "less likely to prefer to be self-supporting." Further, 62 percent said Blacks were more likely to be lazy; 56 percent said Blacks were violence-prone; and 53 percent said that Blacks were less intelligent than Whites.11 Stated differently: the coon caricature is still being applied to Blacks. Martin Gilens, a Yale University political scientist, argued that many White Americans believe that Blacks receive welfare benefits more often than do Whites and that "the centuries old stereotype of blacks as lazy remains credible for a large number of white Americans." He claimed that opposition to welfare programs results from misinformation and racism, with Whites assuming that their tax money is being used to support lazy Blacks. Gilens blames, in part, the media. "Pictures of poor blacks are abundant when poverty coverage is most negative, while pictures of non-blacks dominate the more sympathetic coverage."12 The coon caricature was one of the stock characters among minstrel performers. Minstrel show audiences laughed at the slow-talking fool who avoided work and all adult responsibilities. This transformed the coon into a comic figure, a source of bitter and vulgar comic relief. He was sometimes renamed "Zip Coon" or "Urban Coon." If the minstrel skit had an ante-bellum setting, the coon was portrayed as a free Black; if the skit's setting postdated slavery, he was portrayed as an urban Black. He remained lazy and good-for-little, but the minstrel shows depicted him as a gaudy dressed "Dandy" who "put on airs." Unlike Mammy and Sambo, Coon did not know his place. He thought he was as smart as White people; however, his frequent malapropisms and distorted logic suggested that his attempt to compete intellectually with Whites was pathetic. His use of bastardized English delighted White audiences and reaffirmed the then commonly held beliefs that Blacks were inherently less intelligent. The minstrel coon's goal was leisure, and his leisure was spent strutting, styling, fighting, avoiding real work, eating watermelons, and making a fool of himself. If he was married, his wife dominated him. If he was single, he sought to please the flesh without entanglements. Hollywood films extended the brutalization inherent in the coon image. The first cinematic coon appeared in Wooing and Wedding of a Coon (1905), a stupendously racist portrayal of two dimwitted and stuttering buffoons. Several notable slapstick "coon shorts" were produced in 1910-1911, including How Rastus Got His Turkey (he stole it) and Chicken Thief. In the blackface comedy Coon Town Suffragettes (1914), a group of domineering mammies organize a "movement" to keep their good-for-nothing husbands at home. These early coons laid the foundation for the "great" movie coons of the 1930s and 1940s. In the 1929 Fox film Hearts in Dixie, Chloe is married to Gummy, a "languid, shiftless husband whose 'mysery' in his feet prevents him from being of any earthly good as far as work is concerned, although once away from his wife's eye he can shuffle with the tirelessness and lanky abandon of a jumping jack."13 Chloe dies of swamp fever, and Gummy remarries. The new wife is portrayed as a shrew because she tries to force Gummy to work. This movie was a comedy, and most of the humor centered around Gummy's attempts to avoid work and his coon dialogue, for example, "I ain't askin you is you ain't. I is askin you is you is." The actor who played Gummy was Stepin Fetchit, the "greatest" coon actor of all time. Stepin Fetchit was born Lincoln Theodore Perry on May 30, 1892. A medicine show and vaudeville performer, he arrived in Hollywood in the 1920s. Perry claimed that he got the name Fetchit from a racehorse that won him money. However, he also told an interviewer that he came to Hollywood as a member of a comedy team know as "Step and Fetch It," and later adopted a variant of the name. His first featured movie role using the name Stepin Fetchit was in MGM's In Old Kentucky (1929). Whether as Gummy, Stepin Fetchit, or other names, he essentially performed the same role: the arch-coon. Daniel J. Leab, a cinema historian, said this: Fetchit became identified in the popular imagination as a dialect-speaking, slump-shouldered, slack-jawed character who walked, talked, and apparently thought in slow motion. The Fetchit character overcame this lethargy only when he thought that a ghost or some nameless terror might be present; and then he moved very quickly indeed.14 Fetchit was the embodiment of the nitwit Black man. As with the Zip Coon and Urban Coon, this old-fashioned coon character could never correctly pronounce a multisyllabic word. He was portrayed as a dunce. In Stand Up and Cheer (1934), he was tricked into thinking that a "talking" penguin was really Jimmy Durante. Fetchit, scratching his head, eyes bulging, portrayed the coon so realistically that Whites thought they were seeing a real racial type. His coon portrayal was aided by his appearance. According to Donald Bogle, a film historian: His appearance, too, added to the caricature. He was tall and skinny and always had his head shaved completely bald. He invariably wore clothes that were too large for him and that looked as if they had been passed down from his white master. His grin was always very wide, his teeth very white, his eyes very widened, his feet very large, his walk very slow, his dialect very broken.15 Fetchit's coon characters were racially demeaned and often verbally and even physically abused by White characters. In David Harum (1934) he was traded to Will Rogers along with a horse. He was traded twice more in the movie. In Judge Priest (1934), he was pushed, shoved, and verbally berated by Will Rogers; even worse, his character was barely intelligible, scratched his head in an apelike manner, and followed Rogers around like an adoring pet. In Black communities, Stepin Fetchit remains a synonym for a bowing and scraping Black man. In 1970 he sued CBS unsuccessfully for $3 million, charging defamation of character for the way he was portrayed in the television documentary Black History: Lost, Stolen, or Strayed. "It was Step," he claimed, "who elevated the Negro to the dignity of a Hollywood star. I made the Negro a first-class citizen all over the world...somebody it was all right to associate with. I opened all the theaters."16 That statement is hyperbole; however, Stepin Fetchit was a talented actor who added depth -- albeit, slight -- to the movie coon's portrayal. What is his legacy? He was the first Black actor to receive top billing in movies, and one of the first millionaire Black actors. He spawned imitators, most notably, Willie Best (Sleep 'n Eat) and Mantan Moreland, the scared, wide-eyed manservant of Charlie Chan. In 1978 he was elected to the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. But he will always be remembered as the lazy, barely literate, self-demeaning, White man's Black. He attempted a comeback in the 1950s, but it was unsuccessful; his coon caricature then seemed merely embarrassing. In the late 1960s he converted to the Black Muslim faith. In 1999 Fetchit's name was again in the headlines. Star Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace included a character named Jar Jar. Critics claimed that Jar Jar, a bumbling dimwitted amphibian-like character, spoke Caribbean-accented pidgin English, and had ears that suggested dreadlocks. Wearing bellbottom pants and vest, Jar Jar looked like the latest in Black cinematic stereotypes. Newspaper editorials and internet chat room discussions repeatedly invoked Stepin Fetchit's name. For example, Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal described Jar Jar as a "Rastafarian Stepin Fetchit on platform hoofs, crossed annoyingly with Butterfly McQueen."17 This incident suggests that Fetchit's legacy is to be remembered as a coon caricature: lazy, bewildered, stammering, shuffling, and good-for-little except buffoonery.

Which is the best online stock-trading company? Please advise me for chosing a stock-trading company. Which is the best online stock-trading company? I'm living in NZ and goint to invest $1000 first. Maybe I'm gonna invest about twice a month. I want to get some good information about stock from the online. And I want to use the useful trading tools.

Is anti-Americanism a new phenomenon. Or did the WOT just bring out the haters that were always there? http://www.travelbrochuregraphics.com/extra/the_falseness_of_antiamericanism.htm

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