I think you're missing the point that a weak Hamas and a unity deal with Abbas and popular demonstrations were the disaster. Afterwards with Hamas and Haniyeh more popular and the Palestinians believing that they made progress through "military performance" is the outcome that Netanyahu desires. Now he can continue to play on the security threat of Hamas. If the Israeli population believes that they 'lost' then there may be a temporary political price for him to pay personally, but it will clear the way for his repressive policies in the future. He may have wanted to be able to spin it better that they won and have taken fewer casualties, but most of the outcome that he really desired is there. Smashed Gaza, Hamas strengthened, the threat of Palestinian unity reduced, Israelis feeling fearful of Gaza, etc.
His 9-9-9 plan should have been rejected, it shouldn't have taken more than about a day to fact check the actual implications of that and arrive at the conclusion that it couldn't be taken seriously. It worked as a soundbite, though, and the media therefore loved him for it.
#5 (the thorium reactor idea) is expensive vaporware. countries build them, then figure out how impractical they are to generate commercial power, then abandon them. india and china are just the latest nations to join the club.
There is open debate over how global warming will affect hurricanes, but the current expectation is that while higher SSTs will increase intensification and severity, that increased wind shear over the Atlantic might act to prevent formation and reduce frequency (at least of Atlantic basin hurricanes -- the ones that hit the US, so the ones that 'matter' in the US-centric media). And the frequency question is the least well understood.
I think you're missing the point that a weak Hamas and a unity deal with Abbas and popular demonstrations were the disaster. Afterwards with Hamas and Haniyeh more popular and the Palestinians believing that they made progress through "military performance" is the outcome that Netanyahu desires. Now he can continue to play on the security threat of Hamas. If the Israeli population believes that they 'lost' then there may be a temporary political price for him to pay personally, but it will clear the way for his repressive policies in the future. He may have wanted to be able to spin it better that they won and have taken fewer casualties, but most of the outcome that he really desired is there. Smashed Gaza, Hamas strengthened, the threat of Palestinian unity reduced, Israelis feeling fearful of Gaza, etc.
His 9-9-9 plan should have been rejected, it shouldn't have taken more than about a day to fact check the actual implications of that and arrive at the conclusion that it couldn't be taken seriously. It worked as a soundbite, though, and the media therefore loved him for it.
#5 (the thorium reactor idea) is expensive vaporware. countries build them, then figure out how impractical they are to generate commercial power, then abandon them. india and china are just the latest nations to join the club.
Not quite perfectly accurate, Juan.
There is open debate over how global warming will affect hurricanes, but the current expectation is that while higher SSTs will increase intensification and severity, that increased wind shear over the Atlantic might act to prevent formation and reduce frequency (at least of Atlantic basin hurricanes -- the ones that hit the US, so the ones that 'matter' in the US-centric media). And the frequency question is the least well understood.