Opinion

By Vinay Menon Entertainment Columnist Tues., Sept. 25, 2018 It’s been 42 years since the Philadelphia Flyers had a mascot. It was a good run. That ended this week when the team’s brain trust, in apparent consultation with Pennywise and Chucky, unveiled Gritty, a slack-jawed, googly-eyed, orange-bearded, seven-foot abomination that looks like it keeps human organs in mason jars, in a lair that smells like Claude Giroux’s jockstrap after an overtime loss. A good mascot brings a sense of fun. Gritty brings a sense of imminent doom. It’s a mystery, really. NHL mascots are cuddly ambassadors designed to engage young fans. That’s it. That’s why Toronto’s Carlton the Bear is as threatening as a Care Bear. It’s why Carolina’s Stormy is a grinning pig with disarming blue eyes. Article Continued Below To skim the names of other NHL mascots — Mick E. Moose, Harvey the Hound, SJ Sharkie, Tommy … [Read more...] about Flyers’ new mascot Gritty takes the ice and skates right into your nightmares

The whole episode exposes the ugly truth of Thai politics, where key appointments reek of lobbying and nepotism that override meritocracy and ignore the public interest. And where people in power demand gratitude and loyalty for something they were supposed to do anyway. Former prime minister Thaksin tweeted that Deputy PM Prawit was no longer the man who had humbly “clung to my table and begged for the top Army post”. The media went into overdrive, which escalated to a frenzy when the former Army chief shot back that he wasn’t the one who had caused a national rift and that Thaksin should focus on his own failings. Missing from the coverage was any mention of the longstanding scourge of appointments based on nepotism, dubious connections and lobbying. Prawit did indeed become Army commander-in-chief when Thaksin was prime minister. Only the two of them know for sure whether the general actually did “beg” for the top job and in what manner exactly. Thai … [Read more...] about Thaksin-Prawit showdown just a taste of things to come

Outsiders might have been confused on Monday when Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha declared his interest in a political career. A naive observer might believe that a general whose military coup toppled an elected government four years ago would have no interest in politics.  But while Prayut claimed that the coup was needed to maintain civil order and reconcile deep national divisions, in fact political agitators, military elements and elite interests had been protesting on the streets since late 2013 in what turned out to be a precursor for military takeover. Once in office, Prayut and his crew have done everything to secure and extend their political power. Every order he has made as junta chief, every law passed by the rubber-stamp assembly, and every gagging or jailing of opposition voices has been aimed to secure Prayut’s political status and future. But while his actions are clear, his words have been consistently inconsistent. Sometimes Prayut has said he … [Read more...] about Prayut must quit as junta chief, premier

It has been six months since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with the help of the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), came to power for the first time in the northeast Indian state with a promise of building a new Tripura. However, it seems that all is not well in the state, especially in the tribal areas. There have been reports of a lack of work resulting in a food crisis in the state’s Dhalai district. It is true that this hasn’t happened all of a sudden. The tribal areas were lagging behind in development during the Left era too, especially the remote areas. Although the previous Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPM, government tried to develop the region, its efforts were insufficient. The dailyReport Must-reads from across Asia - directly to your inbox However, the Left government successfully implemented the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Since the introduction of the program in 2006, the state’s … [Read more...] about Tribal Tripura battles unemployment and food crisis

By Rosie DiManno Star Columnist Mon., Sept. 24, 2018 One dresses to the right. One dresses to the left. The hair. We’re talking about the signature hip-hop hair: A high fade with voluminous quiff, finger-combed into a fan-tail of spikes. Un-gelled, we think. Or at least it felt soft and supple when Lourdes Gurriel Jr. once allowed us to run our own fingers through his coif. Yulieski Gurriel insists he came up with the widely admired tresses — as popular a topic in Houston as Toronto — first, if by chance. “One morning I woke up and my hairs was like that, (runs hands through the stick-out flip), and people just started liking it. When his hair grew out, he started doing it too. ‘’ Well of course Lourdes emulated Yuli. He’s always followed in the footsteps of his decade-older ‘bro, both followed in the footsteps of their oldest brother Yunieski (Yuni), and all three sons — mis tres hijos — followed in … [Read more...] about Brothers Gurriel love their baseball, and each other