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England complete series whitewash Posted: 22 Aug 2011 08:27 AM PDT India's Sachin Tendulkar (left) is dismissed by England's Tim Bresnan during the fourth test cricket match at the Oval August 22, 2011. — Reuters pic LONDON, Aug 22 — England completed a series whitewash over India when they won the fourth test by an innings and eight runs on the final day at the Oval today. India, following on in their second innings, collapsed to 283 all out in the second session after Sachin Tendulkar had been dismissed nine runs short of a 100th international century. Tendulkar added 144 for the fourth wicket with nightwatchman Amit Mishra, who compiled a test best 84 before he was bowled by Graeme Swann. Seven wickets fell for 21 runs, including Tendulkar who was lbw for 91 to the first ball of Tim Bresnan's second spell. Off-spinner Swann, who had Tendulkar dropped on 70 by Alastair Cook at short-leg and Matt Prior behind the stumps on 85, finished with six for 106. England took over from India as the world's top-ranked nation when they won the third test at Edgbaston. — Reuters

Talks continue over Spanish football strike Posted: 22 Aug 2011 07:10 AM PDT MADRID, Aug 22 — The Spanish football league (LFP) and the players' union (AFE) are to continue talks after failing to agree an end to strike action today that has halted the start of the season. "The problem isn't resolved," AFE spokesman Luis Gil told reporters after the fourth meeting between the sides over the last week. "I understand people want to see football but you have to think about the players who are having a bad time. I would like to be more optimistic, but I can't." Last weekend's first round of fixtures for the new season were postponed because of the strike, which has also been called for the second round of games in the top two divisions. The union is demanding greater protection for players' wages that have not been paid at clubs that have gone into financial administration. The AFE say around €50 million (RM200 million) is owed to 200 footballers from the end of last season. The president of the LFP, Jose Luis Astiazaran, said: "We have detailed some proposals and the negotiating teams will continue working." The union and the league, who represent the 42 professional clubs in the top two divisions, will meet again tomorrow. — Reuters

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TRX: versatile workout forged from slapdash beginnings Posted: 22 Aug 2011 09:30 AM PDT A TRX instructor putting a trainee through the paces at 24 Hour Fitness club in San Ramon, California, in this handout photo. — Reuters pic NEW YORK, Aug 22 — TRX, hatched when a US Navy Seal improvised a fitness tool from his parachute webbing, has become the workout darling of personal trainers, group fitness instructors and home exercisers alike. "It's a nylon strap with two handles," said Frank Salzone, a trainer with the Equinox chain of fitness clubs who has been using TRX on himself and with clients for three years. "You can do over 200 exercises with it," he said. "I think it's one of the best pieces of equipment in the gym." Part of the beauty of TRX (for Total body Resistance eXercise), according to Salzone, is its adaptability. "It started with a Seal stationed away from home, so the idea is you can work out anywhere. You can hang it from a door in your hotel room, a tree or a jungle gym," he said. "You're using your own body weight to do the lifting." Salzone said the full-body workout works across body angles and easily adjusts to different skill levels. "When your body is lower, there's more weight to pull. When you get tired you can easily step back a little, or stand up to pull less," he said. Once you master the basics, he said, you could incorporate countless other workouts, such as lunges, or tools such as dumbbells or medicine balls. "Or you can stand on one leg, one arm. There's always something to make it more difficult." Salzone loves something called the atomic push-up, which is accomplished with hands flat on the floor and feet suspended in straps six to 12 inches above the ground. "As you come up you pull knees into chest, so you're working the whole upper body as well as your abdominals." No end to the workouts with the TRX. — Reuters pic There are TRX workouts geared specifically to surfers, golfers, and tennis players. What makes TRX so popular with athletes, according to Salzone, is the unrelenting emphasis on core strength. "On TRX, no matter what exercise you're doing you're engaging your core," he said. "It's training the other muscles to keep your body balanced and to move in different directions with or against resistance." Josh Lyon of the 24 Hour Fitness chain of gyms, encourages clients to use a trainer to get started in TRX. "TRX is an innovative piece of equipment that takes the concept of lifting a weight but focuses you on performing a movement," he said. "But it's not as intuitive as some other workouts. It's really easy to do wrong, but if you do it right it's a great way to challenge your body." Rather than go through an entire TRX workout, Alice Burron, a Wyoming-based exercise physiologist and spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise, likes to fit some TRX into her clients' routines. "Instead of a regular push-up I might use TRX," she said. "Clients think it's hilarious because I can pull another hat out of the bag. TRX is fun, interesting, and it incorporates great usage of muscles." Burron said the TRX package sold online came with an instructional DVD, and she encourages people to go to YouTube, where even more TRX options abound. "It's trendy and as in all things trendy it will probably trend out for a while, and then come back," she said. "That's just the nature of this business. I like it. I think it's fun, but it's not the end all. Nothing is." — Reuters

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Cyber squatter foiling Winehouse charity plan Posted: 22 Aug 2011 07:14 AM PDT Confiscated bags of cocaine labelled with photographs of Amy Winehouse are seen at a police station in Rio de Janeiro, August 9, 2011. — Reuters pic LONDON, Aug 22 — Amy Winehouse's father Mitch said his plans to set up a charity in his late daughter's name had been frustrated by a cyber squatter who had stolen the organisation's intended address on the internet. Mitch, a former taxi driver who launched his own musical career on the back of Amy Winehouse's success, plans to set up a foundation to help young people suffering from substance abuse, and has already received donations from the public. Winehouse, a chart-topping singer whose album "Back to Black" helped her win five Grammy awards and international fame, was found dead in her London home on July 23 aged 27. She had a long history of drug and alcohol abuse. "Instead of concentrating on allocating funding, I am having to send cheques back cos (because) we don't haven't got bank ac (account) in that name," Mitch Winehouse wrote on micro blogging site Twitter. "We all have to bombard the tabloids websites to put pressure on this dick head who stole our foundation name. "Our solicitors are all over this, but it takes time. Meanwhile we can't get on with foundation." According to the Guardian newspaper, the internet address Amywinehousefoundation.org.uk was registered to a "sghuk" who bought it on August 16. Amywinehousefoundation.com had also been purchased, and amywinehousefoundation.org was registered by someone on July 31 2011. According to Mitch Winehouse, one of the cyber squatters thwarting his plans allegedly contacted his daughter's ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil. Fielder-Civil and Winehouse were married between 2007 and 2009, but their families bickered publicly about the influence the couple had over each other during a tumultuous relationship. Fielder-Civil was jailed in 2008 after pleading guilty to attacking a pub landlord and then trying to cover it up. Since his daughter's death, Mitch Winehouse has urged politicians to do more to help young people struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. — Reuters

Death toll at Belgian pop festival cut to four Posted: 22 Aug 2011 04:04 AM PDT A teenager places flowers near the entrance of outdoor Belgian pop festival Pukkelpop near Hasselt August 19, 2011. - Reuters pic BRUSSELS, Aug 22 — The deathtoll at a Belgian pop festival struck by a fierce storm that knocked down screens and tents has been cut to four from five, officials said today. A further eight festival-goers were seriously injured after the storm ripped through the event attended by 60,000 to 65,000 mainly young people. Officials could not say why five deaths had initially been reported. Belgian media said that in the chaos of Thursday night, a man who died in a local hospital was included in the figure even though he had not attended the festival. The three-day Pukkelpop festival was set to have featured rapper Eminem and US bands Foo Fighters and The Offspring. — Reuters

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Lapan tuntutan Bersih 2.0 jadi rangka panel khas Parlimen Posted: 22 Aug 2011 02:36 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR, 22 Ogos — Jawatankuasa pilihan khas Parlimen yang ditubuhkan untuk meneliti sistem pilihan raya akan membentuk rangka kerjanya berdasarkan pada lapan tuntutan Bersih 2.0. Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz (gambar) berkata, perkara itu dipersetujui selepas mengadakan pertemuan dengan wakil dari Dewan Rakyat, Jabatan Peguam Negara dan kedua-dua pengerusi dan timbalan pengerusi Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR). "Kami bersetuju dengan apa yang disyorkan dalam memorandum daripada pertubuhan bukan kerajaan," kata beliau merujuk kepada Bersih 2.0 yang dianggotai 62 pertubuhan bukan kerajaan. Walaupun beliau enggan menyebut nama Bersih, 2.0, Nazri mengakui apabila ditanya sama ada merujuk kepada "pertubuhan bukan kerajaan sah" yang membentuk gabungan tersebut. "Tiada guna kita adakan jawatankuasa pilihan  khas jika kita tidak lihat pada kesemua ini. Kami tidak mahu, sebagaimana (parti-parti pembangkang) mendakwa, dijadikan pembuka tirai," kata beliau. Nazri juga berkata jawatankuasa itu akan bertemu selama enam bulan. Usul pembentukan jawatankuasa pilihan khas akan dibawa ke Parlimen 3 Oktober ini - hari pertama sidang akan datang dan ia juga tertakluk kepada kelulusan Kabinet. Nazri juga berkata SPR juga akan mengemukakan satu memorandum kepada Kabinet untuk pertimbangan pada mesyuarat 7 September ini.

Naib Canselor UUM: Perpecahan Melayu makin parah Posted: 22 Aug 2011 01:45 AM PDT SINTOK, 22 Ogos — Naib Canselor Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) berkata perpecahan masyarakat Melayu dilihat semakin parah meliputi segenap lapisan termasuk parti politik dan pertubuhan bukan kerajaan kerana terlalu mengejar agenda masing-masing. "Saya melihat sekarang ini dengan penuh kebimbangan perpecahan yang sedang berlaku dalam masyarakat Melayu sangat parah. Mereka bukan sahaja berpecah daripada kelompok parti politik, malah dalam pertubuhan bukan kerajaan juga berpecah dan dalam organisasi pun turut berpecah. "Tidak sepakat dalam hal-hal yang menyentuh mengenai kepentingan rakyat... agenda perjuangan kita yang sebenar pun kita sudah lupa," kata Prof Datuk Dr Mohamed Mustafa Ishak dipetik Bernama Online. Terdahulu beliau menghadiri Majlis Sambutan Bulan Kemerdekaan di sini hari ini. Beliau berkata kalau pemimpin dan orang Melayu masih tidak insaf, mereka terpaksa menerima hakikat bahawa mereka mungkin akan hilang kemerdekaan. "Merdeka ialah penentuan nasib diri sendiri. Jika kita tidak boleh menentukan nasib diri sendiri dan nasib ditentukan oleh orang lain, apa ertinya kita merdeka. Inilah yang berlaku sekarang," katanya. "Jadi saya harap supaya gologan intelektual Melayu, ahli-ahli politik Melayu dan pemimpin-pemimpin Melayu semua insaf. Kita perlu mula bekerja bersama-sama," kata beliau sambil menambah, "jangan sampai kita telah hilang semuanya baru kita nak berpeluk-peluk dan menangis." "Itu semua buang masa. Jangan sampai nasi menjadi bubur," kata Mohamed Mustafa. Beliau berkata sehingga kini ahli-ahli politik tidak boleh mengambil pendirian bersama dalam isu-isu yang menyentuh kepentingan agama, bangsa dan negara kerana mereka masing-masing terlalu meterialistik hendak mendapatkan kuasa, ganjaran dan pangkat yang akhirnya mereka lupa apa perjuangan mereka yang sebenar. Katanya, sesiapa yang memberi pandangan akan terus dikecam sehinggakan jika ada ulama yang menghentam sesuatu perkara akan dikatakan "ulama upahan, ulama pengampu." "Jangan kita terlalu terdesak sehingga kita sanggup gadai masa depan bangsa dan negara hanya semata-mata untuk kuasa," katanya.

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The story of true jihad (Part 1) Posted: 21 Aug 2011 06:04 PM PDT AUG 22 — Being a lover of books particularly on politics and history I have always yearned for the Muslim equivalent to Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King — inspiring modern examples of superior moral leadership that touched the world for their selflessness and benevolence. After all Islam had always emphasised the idea of justice and mercy. This is especially needed in Malaysia, a country where racial and religious tensions are being pushed to a boiling point by irresponsible parties. The closest I could think of before is al-Hajj al Malik Shabazz, otherwise known as Malcolm X who abandoned his anti-white views after seeing the sheer unity of Muslims from different colours during the Haj. But he did not live long after the turning point at his pilgrimage. Yet his autobiography was compelling enough to a 14-year-old me that it shaped my basic premise in politics that justice is Islamic while racism is not.  Of course, anyone who studies the life of the Prophet Muhammad, the Rightly Guided Caliphs and Salahuddin al-Ayubi would realise that they were the real thing when the West was still consumed in their dark ages. But what does it say of the Muslim world when Mandela, Gandhi and King are found outside the Muslim world today? Yet most Muslims would at least learn about the Prophet and the four Caliphs — Abu Bakar, Umar, Uthman and Ali — where the idea of justice and mercy predominates. Even as I get exasperated at ignorant hate emails being sent about the Christian plot and the Chinese agenda, I however forget the common stories we take for granted and which we forget in dealing with our situation today. How ironic that many Muslims keep being nostalgic about returning to the time of Pious Predecessors (as-Salaf as-Saleh) today yet become perverted versions that forget these basic lessons that the Prophet and the Pious Predecessors lived and breathed by. I was so touched by the story of the Prophet feeding the blind Jew. I heard the story from Dr Muhammad Nawar Ariffin, a Muslim activist with Persatuan Pemuda Masjid Malaysia who himself as my constituent, I know to be living example of a Muslim whose action speaks even louder than his wise words. But Alhamdulillah this Ramadan is indeed a blessed month. As I sought to answer the slander and lies being spread I delved more into various sources which proves Islam is a blessing to all mankind, not merely to Muslims (or Malays as some would have it in Malaysia!). I was eating after my tarawikh prayers in a surau when I encountered a constituent I know. When he started to complain about the Malays in Penang, I could sense where it was going but I waited for him to say it out loud. I merely stated that "Penang Malay problem" was not new and has been so when Umno-BN was in charge for over 50 years. But he said he was concerned about the playing of Quranic recitations before Subuh prayers. I explained to him this was the Islamic position as the Prophet prohibited reciting the Quran loudly in the mosque for fear of disturbing people who are praying or reciting the Quran on their own. This was the position taken by the Shafie school which rules that it is disliked (makruh) and Muslims will be rewarded for not doing it. This was the same position taken by the Penang mufti. My constituent argued that this is something normal in Malaysia. Why now, he asks? I said it's the mufti's decision, not Lim Guan Eng. He persisted that it has been accepted in Malaysia and never an issue. I merely state that while that may be the case, surely religious law is superior to tradition? Even then, I have received complaints from both Muslims and non-Muslims in my constituency but only because of the Penang decision did I realise the real Islamic position on the matter. He eventually asked why was it done without the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's knowledge. Caught unawares, I merely state that while I accept that the mufti should have informed the King, surely religious law takes precedent again after protocol? (The mufti's clarification later proved it was much ado about nothing — it was merely an advice that did not need to be gazetted by the King and was not meant to be enforced but an advice to mosques and suraus in Penang). I have stated my position on the Jais-Damansara Utama Methodist Church raid which earned me to be included in a list of supposed Pakatan representatives who interfered with the MBPJ action to seal the church by some irresponsible bloggers. While encountering more ignorant people than me and being slandered by those, who were never sincerely concerned about Islam but merely about politics, was irritating, God is indeed great. The alleged MBPJ document was proven fake when it emerged that there was no way a Damansara Utama resident could complain about "an illegal church in his residential area" as DUMC is located in Section 13, Petaling Jaya. The MBPJ enforcement director Mohd Fauzi Maarop has also lodged a police report on the forged minutes. Indeed, it has been a blessing in disguise. I have been able to retrace the beautiful stories that reflect Islam as a blessing to all mankind (rahmatan lil alamin) that I learnt over the years but either took for granted or forgotten. I have also been reluctant to say much as I used to have a holier-than-thou attitude in spite of the little that I knew when I was at school. I preferred working at being a better Muslim myself rather than saying much about how others should be. I have never taught much about being part of a religious scholar's family other than making me curious about even if not properly educated in the religious sciences. I would read through countless books and engage in discussions with my father and the learned scholars who I have been blessed to know. But as I seek to remind my friends about the little that I know (and learn from them what they know), I also realised how this Ramadan is an opportunity for me to become a better person in recognition of Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali's famous dictum that I quote at the beginning of my book, "Moving Forward": "Knowledge without action is madness, action without knowledge is void." I will share a beautiful story that I read last year but becomes so pertinent in the latest craziness not only for Muslims but Malaysians in general in part 2. God knows best. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

Reds put Wenger under pressure Posted: 21 Aug 2011 05:04 PM PDT AUG 22 — Oh dear; here we go again. The new Premier League season is only a week old, and already I'm getting onto Arsene Wenger's case. It feels as though I'm always criticising Arsenal's manager, which is extremely unfair because I admire and respect him greatly. The Frenchman possesses so many admirable qualities, such as his ability to develop young players and produce free-flowing passing teams, and has overseen so many achievements over the last 15 years, who on earth am I to question him? Yet that's probably precisely the problem: because we all know he's so intelligent, insightful and driven, it makes his failings all the more infuriating. If Wenger was a lesser manager, we wouldn't have such high expectations of him and would feel less frustrated when success eludes him. To be fair to Wenger, we should also acknowledge that it's probably unrealistic to even expect his team to compete for trophies as they did earlier in his reign, because the financial resources currently at his disposal are simply incomparable to those available at Chelsea and the two Manchester clubs. Arsenal just don't have the money to invest the same level of transfer fees and player wages as their leading Premier League rivals. Even though Wenger accepts that his squad needs strengthening, there's no way he could expect to compete in the transfer market for the likes of Sergio Aguero, Wesley Sneijder or Luka Modric. The money just isn't there, so Wenger instead is forced to make do with developing his own youth team players and recruiting young, unproven talent that either nobody else has spotted or is quite ready to take a gamble on. However, it's impossible to escape the conclusion that Arsenal have been underachieving for the six years since they last won a trophy, and Saturday's 2-0 home defeat against rapidly improving Liverpool exemplified everything that's been going wrong for the Gunners in recent years: chances created but not taken; player sent off; own goal scored; late goals conceded... there was nothing new. The result is that Wenger is under real pressure like never before, with former Arsenal players and managers lining up to question the manager's running of the club and suggest what action he should take to improve matters. Particularly galling to Gooners is the fact that the new season has begun with Cesc Fabregas departed, Samir Nasri seemingly departing, and no immediate reinforcements recruited during the summer. Wenger's defiant response to criticism of his recent transfer market moves — insisting that the young players he has signed will prove their quality in due course — is symptomatic of the stubbornness he has displayed over the last couple of years. Arsenal don't need players who will be good in the future; they need players who can be good straight away, and Wenger should never have allowed the situation to develop where they are starting the season without two of their best players and nobody signed to take their places. If Fabregas and Nasri had to go, they should have gone much more quickly, allowing more time for the money received from their sales to be spent on replacements before the season got under way. Wenger's reaction to the defeat against Liverpool was also familiarly disappointing, with the result being attributed to "scandalous" luck and suggesting that "every single decision in the last three or four months" has gone against his team. Really? If something happens once, or even twice or thrice, I can concede that it might be unlucky. But if it keeps on happening, time after time, over a sustained period, as it has done with Arsenal (for longer than three or four months), then surely wider forces are at play. Why does such "bad luck" never seem to happen to Manchester United, for example? I'd suggest there's a fundamental flaw within Arsenal's collective mentality that allows, even encourages, bad things to happen. There's a saying in football that the best teams can find a way to win, even when they don't deserve it. Arsenal currently have the unhappy habit of finding a way to lose, even when they don't deserve it. Successful teams also operate with a culture of "no excuses." When something bad happens, they take responsibility and look for answers and causes that can be remedied, rather than blaming uncontrollable external forces such as luck. At Arsenal, conversely, it seems that a culture of "any excuse will do" currently prevails. Before the start of the season I predicted that Arsenal will finish outside the top four, and nothing we've seen so far — no goals scored and one point gathered in their opening two games — has done anything to change that notion. And the bad news for Arsenal fans is that things might get worse before they get better. With a slender 1-0 first-leg lead to protect in their midweek Champions League trip to Udinese followed by a meeting with Manchester United at Old Trafford, this could be a very difficult week indeed for the Gunners. It's often said that the best test of a man is his ability to respond to adversity. In which case, the next few weeks will present an opportunity to Arsene Wenger to rise to the challenge and prove once again what a wonderful manager he really is. If he doesn't, Arsenal could enter into serious decline. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

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