Remember that on all those hands you bet minimum you loose 0.5% or so on average. So you are probably not burning that much money: it is not that you are losing it all, assuming of course you play enough hands that the statistics are coming out and luck is disappearing.
Making money of card counting in blackjack (and it's varieties) is nothing new to me, it happens, and I know there are quite some people making a living off of it in the real world. But you have to have nerves, discipline, concentration, and be willing to play for like 8 hours a day, every day.
Well then your chance should come soon... I don't know when you went, but the EUR is nearing all-time highs against the USD again. And has been rising for months on end now. So assuming your money is in EUR and you want to buy USD then it's getting pretty cheap by now.
Or of course you could consider Macau. Their currency (the pataca) is coupled to the Hong Kong dollar, which is coupled to the USD. And casinos there just use HKD all the time. No idea if it's as good as Vegas, it is at least very different. I like the city - especially it's historical Portuguese-looking centre.
Does anyone have a link to an actual copy of those e-mails Toyota allegedly sent? I am getting more and more curious how a "stalker" message could promote a car brand. Serious.
Also to give me an idea how serious this issue can be, really.
Are there links in it telling that this comes from Toyota? Opt-out links? Web page links?
This simply sounds too strange to be true to me. How can a stalking campaign promote a brand?
Then Apple do something terribly wrong as I have received payments from PayPal (people paid in my PayPal account and I had it deposited in my non-US bank account) and that was quite cheap, iirc no transfer fee, just a few % for the exchange rate. I'm sure at least my bank didn't charge me for it, and you bet I have to pay for receiving a T/T. Even for some local inter-bank transfers!
Then that is not proper two-factor authentication. The second factor should come in play every time you do something sensitive, such as making a transaction. Every single order a single code. Add some transaction information into the challenge-part of the code (e.g. part of the recipient account number) and MIM doesn't work so well anymore. Then the response you have to give your bank depends partly on the actual transaction...
Doing the two-factor part only upon login is not exactly secure indeed.
Not true. It's still not secure if you're using a compromised computer.
Unless a MIM attack is done, it's still secure. Just privacy is breached. And even MIM can be mitigated I think.
Use un/pw to log in to the bank account, allow to view past/pending transactions, etc.
When wanting to do a transfer, user enters details, sends those to the bank, then bank replies asking a security code based on their code. Enter that code in the keyfob, read the result, enter that in the web page, send it back.
A MIM attacker could of course intercept this and send their own transaction details. Now requiring the user to e.g. enter the last four digits of the recipient account of a transfer after the code sent by the bank would mitigate that very much. Then a MIM would only work if their account ends with the same four digits. Otherwise the bank would have a challenge/response mismatch. So this way I think it may be even possible to safely do transactions from fully untrusted computers.
If the ROM was opened, you (user) would notice your pad doesn't work anymore, and you ask your bank a new one.
If it is stolen, you will know as well, and unless the thief also knows your password and login ID (not likely - they would either have to force it from you or have your computer compromised to sniff the info beforehand) then it's useless to them.
It is even better than the two-factor ATM card plus PIN code. To successfully defraud the card has to be copied AND the pin sniffed. Yes it's been done (card reader on the slot and a camera) but it's hard.
MIM attacks it won't prevent of course. Nothing is 100% secure. But to say such a token is "marginal extra security at best" is silly. It's probably the best we have, and for sure it's pretty good.
For example my bank requires you to know a password, and to have a security token (e-cert they call that over here).
To log in, I have to first enter my account number (a 14-digit number), user ID and password.
The second step is the e-cert: this is a file stored on a USB stick (so not exactly secure, an attacker can access that just as easy as sniffing your password), and then enter a 16-digit hex code as "e-cert password".
This looks like two-factor but it isn't: this e-cert is something you "have" but as it resides on the same computer as the potential password sniffer it is easy to intercept and copy as well. Together with the e-cert password as well. And as this is something that is of course impossible to remember, and you have to enter it every time you "authorise" a transaction, of course I have no choice but to save it in a text file to make it somewhat convenient. So in effect, with that e-cert data (basically an cryptographic key) accessed by the same web page where you have to enter all information, it's still effectively one-factor. Oh and it only works in Windows (FF/Win is OK, FF/Linux not).
The "what you have" part should be TOTALLY separate. A device that gives you a one-time code through some challenge-response maybe (bank gives you some code, your device gives the reply code). A list of those one-time codes printed on paper (similar to the above mentioned device). A one-time code sent to your mobile phone is pretty safe as well (yes it can be intercepted but that is pretty hard - and requires a lot of information from the victim already).
So I do my e-banking from a VM running Windows under Linux, using that VM for nothing but my e-banking. And keeping my fingers crossed in the mean time... oh and as far as I know all banks in HK work like this, so switching to other bank is no use.
Not true. At least in The Netherlands there are state-owned casinos (the "Holland Casino" chain), that of course operate fully legally. That are the only legal casinos though. Besides that, there are numerous lotteries around, run by many private companies. And at least about 10 years ago there were still lots of slot machines all over the place in cafes and snackbars, quite sure they are still there. Haven't been back there in quite a while. The number of machines was regulated - no more than one or two per establishment.
Other countries in Europe are most likely different in that aspect, but quite sure many if not most of them will have some form of legal gambling.
You are talking about a system of about 10 years ago on hardware of about 2-3 years ago. It should run, and it should run pretty well and at least be fast. I'd not be too worried about that: this netbook is still way more powerful that even top-line PC's from when Win XP was released.
Shiny new computer, latest hardware, almost decade old software (and by now two generations behind what MS has on offer).
Sad, truly sad, from all sides. ASUS for not installing some up-to-date software on it, MS for not being able to write an operating system that runs on anything less than top-of-the-line state of the art hardware.
The way you keep the acceleration going is by having multiple explosions along the way.
I was thinking along those lines but then still the issue of the large empty barrel behind the projectile absorbing a lot of the explosive energy. Ah well just use a bigger explosive then, more power.
However, there are some thoughts on using a linear motor to achieve something similar.
Magnetic may work, as in maglev trains.
Launch loops sound interesting but I think the centripetal forces will still be an issue: at 6 km/sec in a loop 500 m diameter this will still be an issue. I don't remember the formulas so I'll leave it for someone else to give the g-force in such a case.
Maybe it's time for you to start looking into Erlang (and alternatives) NOW. Not when your demands get so high your current application breaks down. I suspect this is really complex stuff, very hard to get it right lest to understand what it is doing really in the first place.
So long story short it is time that we get some proper software running on those computers.
For 99% of the people a computer is an appliance, like the TV and the stereo. They do not get more maintenance other than being dusted off once in a while.
Defragging harddrives: is that still necessary in the Windows world? I stopped doing this more than 15 years ago, at the time running OS/2 and its HPFS.
Getting infected: yes that's an issue and I have honestly no idea how to really prevent this. Even a fully locked down O/S will always allow infections to take place, as long as there is a human factor present.
Computers should be considered low-maintenance appliances by the designers, and hardware and software should be designed and written with that in mind.
Others have calculated the g-forces to be about 1670 g. Not suitable for anything living.
You mention this is an explosion driven cannon (so very much a traditional one). What makes me wonder is with a 1 km barrel, how are they going to keep up the pressure to continue to accelerate the projectile all the way? That needs a really massive expansion of gases, for long time (0.37 seconds: explosions are normally way faster than that), the gases have to travel all the way to the nozzle together with the projectile, etc.
I do have the feeling that a rail gun kind of design would scale much better.
Don't see how it will work with anything but raw materials. Any structural entity would be reduced to a density stratum.
Well considering the vast majority of stuff we have to take with us when traveling falls under that (food, water, compressed air, fuel, clothes even) that should be no problem. Getting to LEO is the hard part (energetically), if you can launch the astronauts for a Mars mission to the ISS first, and separately shooting up the fuel and other supplies needed for the next stage using such a cannon, you will save a lot of cost. Assemble your interplanetary craft in orbit, stock up, and off you go. Sounds easier to me than launching from the Earth's surface with all you need in one go.
For leaving it idle for years, LEO is not good enough. There is still too much drag from the atmosphere there: in a matter of weeks or months (depending on altitude) it will fall back to earth. Those orbits are unstable and satellites need power to stay there.
Also the cannon as suggested would only get the spacecraft to the correct altitude, and rocket engines are still a necessity to get it to orbit.
Do you recall why Osama Bin Laden is a fugitive? He's not a fugitive between he failed to pay taxes or he mugged someone. He's a fugitive between he's responsible for somewhere around 4,000-5,000 deaths both in the US and elsewhere. The Taliban government both offered him refuge and employed Al Qaeda fighters as mercenaries. That crosses a line that in my view easily justifies their ouster in the way it occurred.
Libya was not invaded over the Lockerbie bombings. They were brought to their knees using economical and political sanctions. The suspects in that case were in the end arrested and found guilty and punished by a Scottish court after a reasonably fair trial.
Afghanistan has lost possibly tens of thousands of lives, maybe hundreds of thousands, since the invasion by the US army. Many billions of dollars have been spent there. Osama bin Laden has still not been captured. Way to go.
No country has the right to invade another country just because they do not like that government. There are more efficient ways these days to deal with that. Even North Korea is slowly being brought to its knees without using force.
And a final note: if you want to win this "war against terror" you have to be BETTER than the enemy. Morally better that is, not having more firepower or more troops on the ground, because they feed on that. The people (not necessarily the politicians) in countries like Iran have to start realising that the US is following its own rules. That they do not randomly attack other people, that they do not randomly kill, that they do not randomly put people in prisons forever without trial. That is the only way to stand a chance to win that war. What the US under Bush have done is the exact opposite.
I don't completely agree with this. Authors don't have the right to prevent people from lending books to their friends,
This falls under the "first sale doctrine". The book - the physical entity - can be freely sold or lent. This should also include renting out the book to someone.
and they don't have the right to stop people from quoting them
This I agree on, though it is definitely a matter of debate and falls under copyright laws and fair-use provisions, if any. This also accounts for reproductions of (part of) a work for journalistic purposes, e.g. a photo of a painting that was stolen or damaged or so. The main issue is of course to give a guideline on how much can be quoted: a sentence or a phrase is for sure OK, a complete chapter of a book not so - but what about in between parts? How much is too much?
Be careful, as soon as you say "creators have a right to get paid" you've left the free-market camp.
How about something in the lines of "creators have a right to ask for compensation from other people that want to access their work" - ranging from reproduction to looking at it in a museum. This can be monetary compensation, but of course the creator does not have to ask for compensation. They just have a right to ask for it. And in case they ask it, they have the right to get it when someone actually wants to access the work.
A musician should have the right to ask for money for playing of their song, or for sales of a CD carrying a copy of it, or for use in a commercial, or whatever.
A painter has the right to ask for money from anyone wanting to look at the painting (think entrance fees to a museum), or for someone who wants to buy this work - the first sale doctrine should remain in place of course. The painter also may ask money if someone wants to make a reproduction of the work.
The artist has for sure a right to ask to be paid - not a right to be paid outright of course. It is their creation, they should be able to do with it what they want. And giving it away without compensation is part of that right.
Well he could write a book, that sounds very cultural, no? And it's someone who obviously has had a serious taste of foreign cultures, no? Sounds that he fulfills at least some of the requirements of a CULTURE minister.
he hasn't even particularly changed foreign policy with Iraq and Afghanistan
I took this news as a sign that the Nobel committee determined that the ongoing lengthy engagements with Iraq and Afghanistan are a bloody means to a peaceful end.
More like they see his policies as a way to bring to an end these wars, or at least the presence of foreign troops in those countries. With an occupation power present there can never be peace and freedom.
I don't really share this opinion and I think a lot of people in the world would (similarly) support the removal of the Taliban but not whatever you want to call Iraq right now.
Well maybe I'm in the minority but I do not support the invasion of Afghanistan. Not that I support the Taleban, on the contrary, but I believe that one country should not invade another country just because they do not like the government there. Or because a fugitive is hiding there (this person, Osama Bin Laden of course, is probably not even a fugitive under Taleban laws). I was happy to see the Taleban go, but not with the way they were ousted.
And iirc the Taleban even got to power in a somewhat democratic way, after which they took full control of the country (in a similar way Hitler rose to absolute power: via the winning of democratic elections by the NSDAP). Though that is not a reason to invade them. I really didn't like President Bush, but would never have supported an invasion of the US by any country just because they don't like Bush - even though I'd be happy so see him go. Iraq is another example of that. Let those people please take care of themselves! Afghanistan, for better or for worse, was pretty stable under the Taleban. Now see what a mess this place has become again. Same issue. The Taleban is a horrible movement in my mind, but that is not a reason to start a war.
Just pulling out is a bad idea of course, now they're in they have to make sure they get out without causing too much more damage. Damage is done already and the best Obama can do is try to limit further damage. The staged withdrawal from Iraq is good as it comes together with training of police and armed forces there. Afghanistan is a much tougher one, but also there just leaving will only make matters worse. No idea what's best there, happy I'm not the president of the USA, and good luck to Obama. So far he appears to be a pretty wise man, lets hope these appearances will result in great deeds. In a few years we will know.
Hereby you imply president Obama is a small man, I bet that's what you want to say at least.
I say let's see what he's going to do in the upcoming years. He's got a hell of a task before him, but I do have hope: far far more than with W that something good for the world comes out in the end. I think Obama is a pretty great man - but only time will tell if this is true.
Oh and as many other commentators already said, the peace prize is highly political indeed. Let's hope that this is an encouragement for him to actually do bring more peace in this world.
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Remember that on all those hands you bet minimum you loose 0.5% or so on average. So you are probably not burning that much money: it is not that you are losing it all, assuming of course you play enough hands that the statistics are coming out and luck is disappearing.
Making money of card counting in blackjack (and it's varieties) is nothing new to me, it happens, and I know there are quite some people making a living off of it in the real world. But you have to have nerves, discipline, concentration, and be willing to play for like 8 hours a day, every day.
Well then your chance should come soon... I don't know when you went, but the EUR is nearing all-time highs against the USD again. And has been rising for months on end now. So assuming your money is in EUR and you want to buy USD then it's getting pretty cheap by now.
Or of course you could consider Macau. Their currency (the pataca) is coupled to the Hong Kong dollar, which is coupled to the USD. And casinos there just use HKD all the time. No idea if it's as good as Vegas, it is at least very different. I like the city - especially it's historical Portuguese-looking centre.
Does anyone have a link to an actual copy of those e-mails Toyota allegedly sent? I am getting more and more curious how a "stalker" message could promote a car brand. Serious.
Also to give me an idea how serious this issue can be, really.
Are there links in it telling that this comes from Toyota? Opt-out links? Web page links?
This simply sounds too strange to be true to me. How can a stalking campaign promote a brand?
I'm happy to live in a country where you can actually expect the police to work for you, not against you.
Then Apple do something terribly wrong as I have received payments from PayPal (people paid in my PayPal account and I had it deposited in my non-US bank account) and that was quite cheap, iirc no transfer fee, just a few % for the exchange rate. I'm sure at least my bank didn't charge me for it, and you bet I have to pay for receiving a T/T. Even for some local inter-bank transfers!
Then that is not proper two-factor authentication. The second factor should come in play every time you do something sensitive, such as making a transaction. Every single order a single code. Add some transaction information into the challenge-part of the code (e.g. part of the recipient account number) and MIM doesn't work so well anymore. Then the response you have to give your bank depends partly on the actual transaction...
Doing the two-factor part only upon login is not exactly secure indeed.
Not true. It's still not secure if you're using a compromised computer.
Unless a MIM attack is done, it's still secure. Just privacy is breached. And even MIM can be mitigated I think.
Use un/pw to log in to the bank account, allow to view past/pending transactions, etc.
When wanting to do a transfer, user enters details, sends those to the bank, then bank replies asking a security code based on their code. Enter that code in the keyfob, read the result, enter that in the web page, send it back.
A MIM attacker could of course intercept this and send their own transaction details. Now requiring the user to e.g. enter the last four digits of the recipient account of a transfer after the code sent by the bank would mitigate that very much. Then a MIM would only work if their account ends with the same four digits. Otherwise the bank would have a challenge/response mismatch. So this way I think it may be even possible to safely do transactions from fully untrusted computers.
If the ROM was opened, you (user) would notice your pad doesn't work anymore, and you ask your bank a new one.
If it is stolen, you will know as well, and unless the thief also knows your password and login ID (not likely - they would either have to force it from you or have your computer compromised to sniff the info beforehand) then it's useless to them.
It is even better than the two-factor ATM card plus PIN code. To successfully defraud the card has to be copied AND the pin sniffed. Yes it's been done (card reader on the slot and a camera) but it's hard.
MIM attacks it won't prevent of course. Nothing is 100% secure. But to say such a token is "marginal extra security at best" is silly. It's probably the best we have, and for sure it's pretty good.
While true, it is not that clip and clear.
For example my bank requires you to know a password, and to have a security token (e-cert they call that over here).
To log in, I have to first enter my account number (a 14-digit number), user ID and password.
The second step is the e-cert: this is a file stored on a USB stick (so not exactly secure, an attacker can access that just as easy as sniffing your password), and then enter a 16-digit hex code as "e-cert password".
This looks like two-factor but it isn't: this e-cert is something you "have" but as it resides on the same computer as the potential password sniffer it is easy to intercept and copy as well. Together with the e-cert password as well. And as this is something that is of course impossible to remember, and you have to enter it every time you "authorise" a transaction, of course I have no choice but to save it in a text file to make it somewhat convenient. So in effect, with that e-cert data (basically an cryptographic key) accessed by the same web page where you have to enter all information, it's still effectively one-factor. Oh and it only works in Windows (FF/Win is OK, FF/Linux not).
The "what you have" part should be TOTALLY separate. A device that gives you a one-time code through some challenge-response maybe (bank gives you some code, your device gives the reply code). A list of those one-time codes printed on paper (similar to the above mentioned device). A one-time code sent to your mobile phone is pretty safe as well (yes it can be intercepted but that is pretty hard - and requires a lot of information from the victim already).
So I do my e-banking from a VM running Windows under Linux, using that VM for nothing but my e-banking. And keeping my fingers crossed in the mean time... oh and as far as I know all banks in HK work like this, so switching to other bank is no use.
Not true. At least in The Netherlands there are state-owned casinos (the "Holland Casino" chain), that of course operate fully legally. That are the only legal casinos though. Besides that, there are numerous lotteries around, run by many private companies. And at least about 10 years ago there were still lots of slot machines all over the place in cafes and snackbars, quite sure they are still there. Haven't been back there in quite a while. The number of machines was regulated - no more than one or two per establishment.
Other countries in Europe are most likely different in that aspect, but quite sure many if not most of them will have some form of legal gambling.
Posting to undo mis-moderation... we really need a way to correct/undo a mod.
You are talking about a system of about 10 years ago on hardware of about 2-3 years ago. It should run, and it should run pretty well and at least be fast. I'd not be too worried about that: this netbook is still way more powerful that even top-line PC's from when Win XP was released.
Pretty much my thought.
Shiny new computer, latest hardware, almost decade old software (and by now two generations behind what MS has on offer).
Sad, truly sad, from all sides. ASUS for not installing some up-to-date software on it, MS for not being able to write an operating system that runs on anything less than top-of-the-line state of the art hardware.
The way you keep the acceleration going is by having multiple explosions along the way.
I was thinking along those lines but then still the issue of the large empty barrel behind the projectile absorbing a lot of the explosive energy. Ah well just use a bigger explosive then, more power.
However, there are some thoughts on using a linear motor to achieve something similar.
Magnetic may work, as in maglev trains.
Launch loops sound interesting but I think the centripetal forces will still be an issue: at 6 km/sec in a loop 500 m diameter this will still be an issue. I don't remember the formulas so I'll leave it for someone else to give the g-force in such a case.
Maybe it's time for you to start looking into Erlang (and alternatives) NOW. Not when your demands get so high your current application breaks down. I suspect this is really complex stuff, very hard to get it right lest to understand what it is doing really in the first place.
So long story short it is time that we get some proper software running on those computers.
For 99% of the people a computer is an appliance, like the TV and the stereo. They do not get more maintenance other than being dusted off once in a while.
Defragging harddrives: is that still necessary in the Windows world? I stopped doing this more than 15 years ago, at the time running OS/2 and its HPFS.
Getting infected: yes that's an issue and I have honestly no idea how to really prevent this. Even a fully locked down O/S will always allow infections to take place, as long as there is a human factor present.
Computers should be considered low-maintenance appliances by the designers, and hardware and software should be designed and written with that in mind.
Others have calculated the g-forces to be about 1670 g. Not suitable for anything living.
You mention this is an explosion driven cannon (so very much a traditional one). What makes me wonder is with a 1 km barrel, how are they going to keep up the pressure to continue to accelerate the projectile all the way? That needs a really massive expansion of gases, for long time (0.37 seconds: explosions are normally way faster than that), the gases have to travel all the way to the nozzle together with the projectile, etc.
I do have the feeling that a rail gun kind of design would scale much better.
Don't see how it will work with anything but raw materials. Any structural entity would be reduced to a density stratum.
Well considering the vast majority of stuff we have to take with us when traveling falls under that (food, water, compressed air, fuel, clothes even) that should be no problem. Getting to LEO is the hard part (energetically), if you can launch the astronauts for a Mars mission to the ISS first, and separately shooting up the fuel and other supplies needed for the next stage using such a cannon, you will save a lot of cost. Assemble your interplanetary craft in orbit, stock up, and off you go. Sounds easier to me than launching from the Earth's surface with all you need in one go.
For leaving it idle for years, LEO is not good enough. There is still too much drag from the atmosphere there: in a matter of weeks or months (depending on altitude) it will fall back to earth. Those orbits are unstable and satellites need power to stay there.
Also the cannon as suggested would only get the spacecraft to the correct altitude, and rocket engines are still a necessity to get it to orbit.
Do you recall why Osama Bin Laden is a fugitive? He's not a fugitive between he failed to pay taxes or he mugged someone. He's a fugitive between he's responsible for somewhere around 4,000-5,000 deaths both in the US and elsewhere. The Taliban government both offered him refuge and employed Al Qaeda fighters as mercenaries. That crosses a line that in my view easily justifies their ouster in the way it occurred.
Libya was not invaded over the Lockerbie bombings. They were brought to their knees using economical and political sanctions. The suspects in that case were in the end arrested and found guilty and punished by a Scottish court after a reasonably fair trial.
Afghanistan has lost possibly tens of thousands of lives, maybe hundreds of thousands, since the invasion by the US army. Many billions of dollars have been spent there. Osama bin Laden has still not been captured. Way to go.
No country has the right to invade another country just because they do not like that government. There are more efficient ways these days to deal with that. Even North Korea is slowly being brought to its knees without using force.
And a final note: if you want to win this "war against terror" you have to be BETTER than the enemy. Morally better that is, not having more firepower or more troops on the ground, because they feed on that. The people (not necessarily the politicians) in countries like Iran have to start realising that the US is following its own rules. That they do not randomly attack other people, that they do not randomly kill, that they do not randomly put people in prisons forever without trial. That is the only way to stand a chance to win that war. What the US under Bush have done is the exact opposite.
I don't completely agree with this. Authors don't have the right to prevent people from lending books to their friends,
This falls under the "first sale doctrine". The book - the physical entity - can be freely sold or lent. This should also include renting out the book to someone.
and they don't have the right to stop people from quoting them
This I agree on, though it is definitely a matter of debate and falls under copyright laws and fair-use provisions, if any. This also accounts for reproductions of (part of) a work for journalistic purposes, e.g. a photo of a painting that was stolen or damaged or so. The main issue is of course to give a guideline on how much can be quoted: a sentence or a phrase is for sure OK, a complete chapter of a book not so - but what about in between parts? How much is too much?
Be careful, as soon as you say "creators have a right to get paid" you've left the free-market camp.
How about something in the lines of "creators have a right to ask for compensation from other people that want to access their work" - ranging from reproduction to looking at it in a museum. This can be monetary compensation, but of course the creator does not have to ask for compensation. They just have a right to ask for it. And in case they ask it, they have the right to get it when someone actually wants to access the work.
A musician should have the right to ask for money for playing of their song, or for sales of a CD carrying a copy of it, or for use in a commercial, or whatever.
A painter has the right to ask for money from anyone wanting to look at the painting (think entrance fees to a museum), or for someone who wants to buy this work - the first sale doctrine should remain in place of course. The painter also may ask money if someone wants to make a reproduction of the work.
The artist has for sure a right to ask to be paid - not a right to be paid outright of course. It is their creation, they should be able to do with it what they want. And giving it away without compensation is part of that right.
Well he could write a book, that sounds very cultural, no? And it's someone who obviously has had a serious taste of foreign cultures, no? Sounds that he fulfills at least some of the requirements of a CULTURE minister.
he hasn't even particularly changed foreign policy with Iraq and Afghanistan
I took this news as a sign that the Nobel committee determined that the ongoing lengthy engagements with Iraq and Afghanistan are a bloody means to a peaceful end.
More like they see his policies as a way to bring to an end these wars, or at least the presence of foreign troops in those countries. With an occupation power present there can never be peace and freedom.
I don't really share this opinion and I think a lot of people in the world would (similarly) support the removal of the Taliban but not whatever you want to call Iraq right now.
Well maybe I'm in the minority but I do not support the invasion of Afghanistan. Not that I support the Taleban, on the contrary, but I believe that one country should not invade another country just because they do not like the government there. Or because a fugitive is hiding there (this person, Osama Bin Laden of course, is probably not even a fugitive under Taleban laws). I was happy to see the Taleban go, but not with the way they were ousted.
And iirc the Taleban even got to power in a somewhat democratic way, after which they took full control of the country (in a similar way Hitler rose to absolute power: via the winning of democratic elections by the NSDAP). Though that is not a reason to invade them. I really didn't like President Bush, but would never have supported an invasion of the US by any country just because they don't like Bush - even though I'd be happy so see him go. Iraq is another example of that. Let those people please take care of themselves! Afghanistan, for better or for worse, was pretty stable under the Taleban. Now see what a mess this place has become again. Same issue. The Taleban is a horrible movement in my mind, but that is not a reason to start a war.
Just pulling out is a bad idea of course, now they're in they have to make sure they get out without causing too much more damage. Damage is done already and the best Obama can do is try to limit further damage. The staged withdrawal from Iraq is good as it comes together with training of police and armed forces there. Afghanistan is a much tougher one, but also there just leaving will only make matters worse. No idea what's best there, happy I'm not the president of the USA, and good luck to Obama. So far he appears to be a pretty wise man, lets hope these appearances will result in great deeds. In a few years we will know.
Hereby you imply president Obama is a small man, I bet that's what you want to say at least.
I say let's see what he's going to do in the upcoming years. He's got a hell of a task before him, but I do have hope: far far more than with W that something good for the world comes out in the end. I think Obama is a pretty great man - but only time will tell if this is true.
Oh and as many other commentators already said, the peace prize is highly political indeed. Let's hope that this is an encouragement for him to actually do bring more peace in this world.