"This has been a challenging year."

So Marie Harf of the Dept. of State said at a press briefing on December 23. What else did she say on topics, that is of interest to me?

If you look at something like Ukraine, I mean, a year ago I’m not sure any of us could have predicted what would happen, Russia’s actions. 

Are you serious, Ms. Harf? If none of you could have predicted what would happen in and around Ukraine, just fire all your analytics and advisers on the Ukrainian matters, they are a pure loss of money!

I am absolutely sure the country that invested 5 billion dollars in 'democratization' of Ukraine (well, this is the amount officially admitted; thus, the true total can be definitely triple as much, if not more) should be able to afford some smart people who know their job. Who know what is Russia and Ukraine, what is Russia to Ukraine and vice versa. Who know that Ukraine historically IS Russia, and is not just a part of Russia, but an integral part (well, except for Galician lands annexed to the USSR by Stalin in September, 1939, but only after Hitler destroyed Poland as a state).


Who finally know that the borders between ex-Soviet republics were drawn by the government of the USSR sometimes quite unreasonably, in many cases without any historical grounds, and when the USSR desintegrated and next morning these formerly virtual borders became real, it was a deep shock for all people and a tragedy for many.

In response, we’ve put in place sanctions. The Russian economy is tanking, in part because of those sanctions, in part because of other things. And we’ve put increased pressure on them, and today I think the Russians know they have a choice. They can drive their economy further into a hole, or they can take a step back and live up to their international obligations.

Funny, isn't it? Your country, Ms. Harf, is unable to predict following steps of other world chess players, and Russia is to blame for that.

The real question is like that: how could you expect any other reaction of Russia (whoever be its leader) after the sponsored coup d'état in Ukraine in a desperate attempt to extract Ukraine from, say, the Russian sphere of interests?

Ms. Harf said further:

... the longer sanctions are in place, the more effect they have, and that’s what we’ve seen. I mean, two months ago people were saying, oh, the Russian economy is still fine, the Russian – it hasn’t taken a hit. And then all of a sudden, because of oil prices, their mismanagement, and our sanctions, their economy is in a pretty steep downward spiral. So there’s always a diplomatic off-ramp, and we’re going to keep imposing costs. And he can either keep accepting those costs, and more importantly putting those costs on the Russian people, or he can take the diplomatic off-ramp.

First of all I do hope he [evidently, Vladimir Putin] will never take this off-ramp.

Then, I just like to draw your attention to her statement, that I marked with yellow. At this very briefing Cuba was dicussed. And the very same Ms. Harf said, that the former US policy of 50 years long sanctions against Cuba failed.

And the final peace of fat.

I don’t think any reporter in that room or in this room would have said ISIL, Ebola, and Crimea, right.

She says about the press briefing in the end of 2013 and predictions of the biggest challenges for 2014. Following her President, she says the biggest challenges for the world in 2014 were the ISIL, Ebola and Crimea.

If this is not a total bullshit, than what is it? How can one equal the ISIL (leading a transnational terroristic war) and Ebola (well, a bad disease, yet as for mankind, all kinds of cancer and the CVS diseases took away many more lives, both relatively and absolutely) to (re)incorporation of the Crimea in Russia, done in an absolutely peaceful and quite democratic way?

Though, when they call coup d'état a 'Revolution of Dignity' and do not see democracy where it really is (have you ever compared Kosovo and Crimea procedures?), there's nothing to be surprised of.

If one wants to know what hypocrisy is — just analyse the US policy. That they say and that they do.