Amazing social media

Posted inGeneral11 Comments
Social media is amazing. Click on a few buttons, like a page, follow a friend, and, voila!, you know everything that's going on around you. To politicians, that knowledge is invaluable. It allows them to hear the people, to listen to them, to feel their pulse. But social media has an even bigger gift for politicians. It facilitates communication. It allows politicians to interact continuously with people, easily and directly. Yes, social media is amazing. That's why I, as a politician, am active on Twitter and Facebook. That's also why I'm on Youtube and Bambuser and Linkedin and Instagram.…

Democratic parties

Posted inDemocracy19 Comments
Bhutan joined the world in celebrating International Democracy Day over the weekend. In Thimphu, a panel discussion was held to promote a better understanding of democracy, and to talk about why it is especially important for citizens to enjoy their rights but also to fulfill their responsibilities in a young democratic country. There's no doubt that such discussions are important. They will go a long way in educating our people; in building strong foundations for our democracy; and in making sure that, through democracy, the promises of peace, liberty and prosperity are fulfilled. So we must have more of…

Clear to run(?)

Posted inDemocracy, Political parties82 Comments
About 6 weeks ago, at a press conference, the prime minister claimed that the Election Commission of Bhutan should disqualify the opposition party from taking part in the next round of elections for failing to clear its debts by the 30 June deadline. Remarkably, the prime minister also suggested that the two members in opposition should not be permitted to run in the next elections … not as members of their current party, not by starting a new party, not by joining another party. As it turned out, the election commission, having reviewed the status of the two existing…

Aiming for gold

Posted inSports8 Comments
Our population base is small. And we lack the resources. That’s why it’s almost impossible to bring home medals in any sport from any recognized international competition. But what if we had about 1500 sportsmen, spread across the country, all using the latest equipment, and all putting in long training hours to compete in one national tournament? If that were to happen, we would then surely achieve the best international standards at that sport. In fact, that did happen, very recently. A record-breaking 260 teams, consisting of 1,560 archers, took part in the Yangphel Open Archery Tournament. The tournament,…

Comments rule

Posted inMiscellaneous22 Comments
This blog has enjoyed tremendous success. That success – measured by the number of readers who visit this blog every day – is not just because of my posts. Instead, it’s driven mainly by your comments. Many of your comments are informative. They are thoughtful. And they are insightful. In fact, many of them are better than the original post. That’s why they generate so much attention. And that’s why there’s such vibrant debate. So naturally, I am deeply grateful for your comments. That said, some of the comments have also been spiteful. They’ve been written with the sole…