Kyle Brady: Blog

“Netflix’s DVD Agreement Sets Bad Precedent” [Self]

Kyle Brady — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:04:36 +0000

New column at Technotainment Revelations on True/Slant:

Netflix has singlehandedly destroyed any hope that forward-thinking consumers had for bringing Hollywood to heel, as far as movie distribution is concerned, by agreeing to a delayed-DVD delivery scheme for new Warner Bros. movies in exchange for the ability to stream from that studio’s catalog. While Netflix is obviously attempting to parade this as a “win” for its customers, do they not see the cascade of effects they’re now responsible for?

Go check it out.

“The Case For More Original TV Content” [Self]

Kyle Brady — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:05:29 +0000

New column at Technotainment Revelations on True/Slant:

As media consumption has progressed over the last decade, the amount of original and scripted, not to mention interesting, works on television have steadily decreased – game shows, “reality” TV, talk shows, and late-night talking heads have canvassed the airwaves, to the anguish of many.

Go check it out.

The Best Metal Albums of 2009 [Metal Band of the Week]

Kyle Brady — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:00:47 +0000

The following are the best metal albums of 2009, in no particular sorting order. No descriptions should be necessary for these bits of musical brilliance, but the links are to Amazon for album and song previews.

1. Mastodon – Crack the Skye

2. DevilDriver – Pray For Villains

3. Insomnium – Across the Dark

4. Dethklok – Dethalbum II

5. Megadeth – Endgame

6. For the Fallen Dreams - Relentless

7. Between the Buried and Me – The Great Misdirect

8. Blessthefall - Witness

9. August Burns Red - Constellations

10. Devin Townsend – Ki / Addicted

Smarter Military Engagements Of Terrorist Cells [OpEd]

Kyle Brady — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 08:05:48 +0000

Despite what many warhawks and the intellectually challenged, both citizens and within government, are saying at the moment, the United States will not be going to war in Yemen because of the new relevance of its terrorist organizations. While it’s true that Yemen houses a branch of Al-Qaeda that was behind the attempted underpantsbomber attack on Christmas, America, and its allies, simply cannot, and will not, have a full-scale military engagement with every large terrorist organization that makes itself relevant to national security, nor can the nation in need be provided financing and/or weapons for their own survival.

The reasons for entering Afghanistan were more legitimate than those for Yemen, but the operation was botched as the focus was shifted to Iraq – liberating a people from a dictator is a grand idea; however, the Iraqi mess has distracted the United States from the original goal. Modern terrorism, by definition, exists as a series of cells that vary in size and geographic distribution, making traditional war impossible and large-scale assaults difficult. If the guiding idea behind Afghanistan and future engagements is to address terrorism before a devastating attack can be executed or, perhaps more intelligently, to prevent the organization from flourishing in the first place, a better strategy is required.

Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq – the list of nation-states that are home to terrorist organizations and their training camps is a long one that does not stop where the mainstream loses the ability to recognize names. How is a country supposed to battle terrorism in a large number of locations worldwide, even if it is the largest and greatest military strength? The logistics, and cost, of such actions far outweigh whatever benefit may be achieved – it is for this very reason that the military, most especially its leaders, should draw inspiration from operations more common during the Cold War than during Vietnam.

The current military process in Afghanistan, and formerly in Iraq, is to allow small units of ground forces to move freely and pseudo-independently, with air support called in as needed. Why can this strategy not be taken to the obvious next step? Rather than move a significant number of resources to support such large operations, consideration should be given to a more covert and swift attack methodology that would use wholly independent ops units to achieve goals such as the assassination or capture of terrorist leaders. This sort of activity has been the cornerstone of much of America’s strength in the last few decades and still continues today – it needs only be expanded.

Since the rogue groups that wish harm to the Western World do not announce their intentions prior to their actions or “play fair”, there is no need for counterterrorist operations to follow the normal rules or procedures of warfare. Such operations would not target nations, but rather cells or groups within nations and therefore do not pose any threat to sovereign rule – operations could be planned, conducted, and recouped in a matter of days by a few small units of highly trained and specialized individuals, without the targets ever being aware of a Western military presence. The nation that was host to such operations would be briefed afterwards.

This does admittedly sound like something out of Jason Bourne, but Hollywood is often based on fact – there would be no James Bond lone wolf carrying out such missions, but, in any case, this scenario is far from fiction. In fact, there is no reason why such a strategy should not be carried out, as the military, financial, geopolitical, and national security benefits would be far greater than current multi-tier deployment. Striking fear into the hearts of organizations that claim this as their singular goal would go a long way to appease those consciences that do not appreciate the West’s overwhelming presence in certain modern arenas.

Other than a loss of income to the military industrial complex, there is no reason not to deploy smarter military engagements of terrorist cells to benefit citizens and nations worldwide – President Obama and the rest of the Western World’s leaders with vested interests should choose brains over brawn in the ever-more-worrisome terrorist situation.

Welcoming Peter Arrabal [Perfectly Persuasive]

Kyle Brady — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 17:44:36 +0000

As of today, we have a new columnist - Peter Arrabal will be writing "Perfectly Persuasive", a twice-weekly column on politics, news analysis, humor, and more.

Peter lives in Maryland, works in the healthcare industry, and has recently become a father.

You can follow Peter's column or author feeds, email him, or keep an eye on his column's page.

“Media Missing The Point On Music” [Self]

Kyle Brady — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:56:56 +0000

New column at Technotainment Revelations on True/Slant:

With all the hubbub surrounding the end of the year, which included many lists of bests/worsts/predictions, much was said about music and movies, especially with regard to digital piracy. The sad fact is, however, that a majority of the mainstream commentary either misinterprets the raw data or chooses to leave out certain details in order to present piracy in a light that is not necessarily correct or legitimate.

Go check it out.

Wishes For 2010 American Politics [OpEd]

Kyle Brady — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 08:05:16 +0000

The following is a list of ten wishes for American politics in the coming year (2010), in no particular sorting order.

1. Real Healthcare Reform w/ Public Option

The process of attempting to pass healthcare reform in America has taken a full year, and isn’t even complete yet – this needs to be completed in the early weeks of the new year, with a public option included. Since this isn’t healthcare reform, but instead health insurance reform, any measures that do less than fully regulate the industry, provide cost containment, and include a government-sponsored alternative is unacceptably weak.

2. Reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall Act

The Glass-Steagall Act separated investment institutions from savings banks in 1933 in order to better control the financial industry, and was repealed in 1999. This deregulation of financial institutions paved the way for the Great Recession of late – the only way to curb the behaviors of highly corrupt and self-interested “fatcats” is through regulation, and a reinstatement of this wonderfully foresighted piece of legislation would be a suitable start.

3. Reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine

In 1949, the FCC instituted a policy that governed media’s balance between opinion and facts, as well as biases; however, in 1987 it was repealed. Since its demise, FOX “News” and Rush Limbaugh have taken advantage of their ability to present opinions and/or lies as fact to the general public, much to the detriment of the nation. This degradation continues steadily with News Corp. exerting influence on their publications to present information only in certain lights, usually with a highly pro-business, anti-Obama, anti-people slant. With a reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine, the behaviors of Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, and their ilk would not only be illegal but land them in a world of trouble with consequences for their abhorrent behavior.

4. Less Partisanship, Grandstanding, and Generic Opposition

2009 was “The Year of ‘No’”, thanks to Congressional Republicans and the sheep-in-wolf’s-clothing known as Blue Dog Democrats – this default opposition to any progressive, liberal, or intelligent ideas resulted in gridlock and extreme partisanship where the two sides were so divided that compromise, at any level, was all but impossible. Shouting during a President’s speech, vitriolic name-calling, and grandstanding for self-interested purposes were all seen throughout the year and must not continue in 2010. It’s highly unlikely that such a corrupt and two-faced group of people, known as Congressional Republicans, can make such a turn around so quickly, but it would be welcomed with open arms.

5. A Return to Intelligence

The election of President Obama was meant to return intelligence to its rightful place within politics and government, but it’s taken the better part of a year to achieve this goal. Within the last few months of the year, the EPA has taken a stance, for the better, on climate change policy, the FCC is investigating the regulation of ISP’s, science is once again valued over generic halftruths – all wonderful in and of themselves. But the larger picture of intelligence within government is taking significantly longer to reappear, and it’s hard to believe change is happening behind the scenes when Congressmen are shouting at each other on national television over minute points – this trickles down to the people, resulting in teabaggers, Sarah Palin, climate change deniers, and Creationists.

6. Anti-Trust Prosecution

Promises have been made by the Obama Administration that Anti-Trust Law will be treated more respectfully than the previous Administration chose to, but the only results thus far have been initial investigations into Intel. If anti-trust immunity for insurance providers were removed, they would be ripe for prosecution, but until that happens there are far more candidates than could be addressed before the end of President Obama’s first Term of Office. Comcast, AT&T, and oil companies could be the start of a long list of companies and industries that come under fire for illegal actions in the realms of competition and collusion.

7. Legitimate News Coverage

American news media has been in a slow decline for at least a decade, and the Great Recession has only hastened the process – more entertainment topics, irrelevant issues, and pseudo-politicians are now covered than actual news, let alone politics. CNN, FOX “News”, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, and the rest of the networks, not to mention print publications, choose to exchange discussing real issues and their details for the latest celebrity gossip, 20-minute arguments over some embarrassing topic, and the highly questionable opinions of people formerly in the political arena. This lack of news and political coverage has lead to a decline in American understanding of the nation’s issues, as well as the world at large, and contributed to the rise of partisanship and irrational screaming. If some of the news outlets return, once again, to doing their jobs rather than seeking advertising money, the nation will be better off for it.

8. Climate Change Legislation

Since the recent climate change conference in Copenhagen was such an unmitigated disaster, thanks in large part to both America’s inaction and China’s grandstanding, the United States needs to do its part before the world decides the greatest nation in the world is now irrelevant. Rather than arguing over what has long been scientific fact, Congress must pass nationwide restrictions on emissions levels for all relevant gases, without loopholes, and forcefully emphasize the use of green, or at least partially green, energy over current favorites such as coal. Nuclear power is not the perfect long-term solution, but if the federal government chooses to immediately reinvigorate the near-dead industry, it will serve as an effective and efficient intermediary until the nation can become a fully environmentally friendly energy economy.

9. Collapse of the GOP By Their Own Hands

There are many in America that believe the GOP has been committing ritualistic suicide over the last year and a half, due to their abhorrent behavior, and the off-year election in a small, highly conservative, New York District proved exactly what many had predicted: the teabagger sect of the Republican Party passes arbitrary judgment on those within the party, and often finds individuals to be “not conservative enough”. The result in NY was that the conservative vote was split between a Republican candidate and a Conservative candidate, with the Democrat winning – this same behavior is likely to be seen in the midterm elections, essentially removing the GOP from power and allowing a more rational and viable conservative party to rise from the ashes.

10. Handling Rogue Countries

North Korea and Iran have been problematic for years, but 2009 was one of the most politically challenging with these two rogue countries, as Iran had fake Presidential elections that resulted in government assassinations of protestors (among other provocative behaviors and incidents), and North Korea inched ever-closer to actually launching an attack on a nearby Asian nation. Sanctions by both the UN and the United States for these two countries have failed, and a more drastic approach needs to be taken that does not involve American soldiers “on the ground”. Whether this action is in the form of strategic drone strikes within these countries, a corralling of their neighbors into an anti-state coalition, or some other method, Iran and North Korea must be dealt with, effectively, before the end of 2010, lest the problems continue and become something entirely more dramatic and deadly than the last decade has seen.

“The Value of Books” [Self]

Kyle Brady — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:12:16 +0000

New column at Technotainment Revelations on True/Slant:

With the new Christmas Day record for e-book sales, a question will inevitably rise over the next few weeks: what is the value of books, both printed and digital? There’s been a discussion over the price of e-books for at least the last year, especially regarding whether they should be cheaper than their printed counterparts – so determining the innate value of books, more appropriately defined as the innate value of reading-based longform entertainment, is becoming important.

Go check it out.

The Case for Real Airport Security [OpEd]

Kyle Brady — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 08:05:42 +0000

Recently, there was an attempted, but failed, bombing of a plane within America’s borders, that is obviously a case of terrorism and resulted in more stringent security measures almost immediately, especially from international flights inbound to the United States. The sad fact, however, is that these security measures are ill advised at best, and a translucent farce at worst – the time has come for real airport security that should have been implemented long ago.

The failure of the recent attack was dependent solely on passengers, flight attendants, and luck, not any of the current security measures in place. To board the plane, the hopeful attacker had to pass through metal detectors and have his baggage scanned, none of which accounted for his carrying the item on his person, much like the shoe bomber that is the reason shoes must now be taken off. If real security measures existed, such an attack would be impossible – focusing entirely on baggage or other items in a reactionary posture is neither acceptable nor appropriate.

To be fair, the federal government wished to implement more stringent methods of securing the aviation industry soon after 9/11, but various civil liberties groups chose to block the widespread use of devices like full-body scanners and particle detectors. What is more important: an individual’s prude sense of self remaining intact, or the security of a nation and its people? The answer is obviously the latter, and the lack of consistent use of either of these devices is an unintelligible response to irrational concerns – the full-body scanner would be monitored by individuals that would not be able to associate real people with their scans, and would only truly matter if one were to be carrying a weapon or explosive devices.

The time has come for Americans to give up a small amount of privacy in order to better secure the future of their people, as any good security measure requires. There has been no true innovation or change in airport security since at least the early 90’s, no matter what technologies have been created for this express purpose. Passing all travelers through particle detectors, metal detectors, and full-body scanners would be just as “quick” as the current security process, with only the occasional handling of fireworks the day before causing a small stir - security cameras and on-edge travelers can only go so far, and in this age of technology there is no longer an excuse.

Rather than a laughable process intended to placate the nervous consciences of travelers, the United States-bound world must now quickly transition to a system closer to that seen in Total Recall than in The 5th Element in order to better thwart attempted terrorist attacks and other would-be devastating acts of domestic sabotage.

“Tech and Entertainment Predictions for 2010″ [Self]

Kyle Brady — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:59:38 +0000

New column at Technotainment Revelations on True/Slant:

As the last in the pair of year-end lists, the following ten items are predictions for technology and entertainment for the coming year – in no particular sorting order.

Go check it out.