Russia’s weird mixture of feudalism and capitalism is worrying, along with its dizzying array of legal restrictions. Compared to its strange institutional arrangements, the words of Russia’s politicians are less important.

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I think people hate and kill each other simply because they do not know each other. The root of ethnic hatred is always a lack of understanding. Palestinians accuse Jews of committing many wrongs, and vice versa. I am sure that if a Jew and a Palestinian had to work together to achieve something they both required and could not do so effectively without the other, they would quickly grow to empathize with each other.

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London has no problems that are entirely London’s alone. Neither has New York, Paris, Berlin, Budapest or any other city in the world. No man or woman with a working brain would think that the latest bomb threats are only worrisome for the people who actually live in London.

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There are no dangerous countries, only dangerous people. Who are these dangerous people? Those who hold powerful offices. The higher the post, the more dangerous they are.

Unfortunately, I have no specific knowledge of the people who lead Pakistan, so I cannot agree or disagree. But what’s the point? What if we dubbed Pakistan the newest Evil Empire? What would that achieve?

If we must stick to the notion that countries themselves are dangerous, I believe superpowers always represent a greater danger than smaller countries. There are a great number of those ahead of Pakistan on the Dangerous list.