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#1

Off the Record / Re: Iran War?

Last post by jimmy olsen - Today at 12:33:44 AM

Let's get some enjoyment out of this tragedy.

My score 14 nukes, 21k casulties.
https://nuke-canal.vercel.app/

"Iran blocked the Strait. Very bad, very unfair. Gas is nine dollars. I called MBS - he's not picking up. I called Modi - "please hold." Nobody helps us. So I said to my generals, I said, 'what if we just nuked a canal through the UAE? Boom, boom, boom - new waterway.' They said 'sir, that's insane.' I said 'you're fired.' The new guy loves it. It's gonna be beautiful. Biggest canal ever built. We're gonna do it in an afternoon." - Presidential address ot the nation, 3 hours ago.

Objective: Carve a navigable waterway from the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman. Choose your ordnance wisely.

SecWar Memo: "For the love of God, try to avoid Dubai. And the airports. You know what, just try not to kill too many people."

#2

Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...

Last post by Tonitrus - Today at 12:23:32 AM

Hard to invoke when half the cabinet is equally/more nutty.

#3

Off the Record / Re: Iran War?

Last post by The Minsky Moment - Today at 12:21:05 AM

Yeah we aren't seeing hubris here. Hubris is a tragic flaw.  This is a fantastic ignoramus taking the Dunning-Kruger effect to its most extreme point.  It is black comedy not tragedy.  Iannucci at his most biting couldn't dream up this crap.

#4

Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...

Last post by The Minsky Moment - Today at 12:14:33 AM

25th Amendment

[Notorious UK rights group launches legal action against Valve for distributing music in games on Steam without a license]

#5

Gaming HQ / Re: News from the lovely world...

Last post by Syt - Today at 12:07:20 AM

https://www.pcgamer.com/games/notorious-uk-rights-group-launches-legal-action-against-valve-for-distributing-music-in-games-on-steam-without-a-license/

Notorious UK rights group launches legal action against Valve for distributing music in games on Steam without a license

The Performing Right Society says a license to use music in a game does not constitute the right to distribute that music, via the game, to the public.

Valve is facing a new legal headache in the UK, and this one is definitely not like the others. The Performing Right Society, a rights management organization that collects royalties on behalf of musicians when their work is played publicly, has launched legal action against Valve over its use of PRS members' music on Steam without permission.

The PRS says that many of the games available on Steam feature music made by its members, and that by making those musical works available to the public via streaming or download, "Valve is communicating these works to the public without a licence."

"Our members create music that enhances experiences and PRS exists to protect the value of their work with integrity, transparency, and fairness," PRS for Music chief commercial officer Dan Gopal said.

"Legal proceedings are not a step we take lightly, but when a business's actions undermine those principles, we have a duty to act. Great videogames rely on great soundtracks, and the songwriters and creators behind them deserve to have their contribution recognised and fairly valued."

I initially assumed that this lawsuit was specifically about game soundtracks on Steam, which struck me as odd because surely no major game publisher would release an official soundtrack without the proper licenses in place. But a PRS spokesperson clarified that the action is related to any music, in games as well as soundtracks, that Valve hasn't separately licensed for distribution.

So, for instance, Rockstar will have obtained licenses to use PRS members' music in Grand Theft Auto games, but the PRS says those licenses do not allow for the separate act of making the game, which contains the music, available online.

"Copyright law gives rights holders control over certain acts, including copying, public performance, broadcast, and making available online," the spokesperson explained to me. "When someone wishes to use a copyright work like music in this way, permission from the rights holders is required, which is normally done via a licence. PRS represents songwriters, composers and music publishers, and licenses these uses of their musical works.

"In this case the relevant act which has not been authorised is the making available of the music online. The composer or publisher of the music may have cleared the rights for the work to be used by the developer in the relevant game, but there is a separate act carried out by the platform operator when the game (or its soundtrack) is made available to consumers for streaming or download .

"Valve operates the Steam store and is responsible for the downloads and streaming delivered to customers via its platform. Valve therefore plays an essential role in giving the public access to that music."

It all seems very odd to me, and a real reach too, although I readily acknowledge that I'm not familiar with the intricacies of UK copyright law and licensing requirements. The PRS does have a history of aggressive behavior with this sort of thing, though. In 2007, for instance, it took an auto repair shop in Scotland to court because its employees were listening to radios at work, which the PRS said constituted public performances of music. In 2009 it went after a woman who played classical music to help soothe her horses; that same year, it told a woman working at a grocery store that she wasn't allowed to sing while she stocked shelves unless she obtained a public performance license. In that case, at least, the backlash was so furious that the group withdrew the demand and apologized.

As for why it's launching this legal action now, the PRS said it's sought the required licenses "for many years without appropriate engagement from Valve." It also noted that Valve is facing a roughly $900 million lawsuit in the UK for overcharging gamers and "abusing a dominant market position," so maybe it just decided to strike while the suing Valve iron is hot.

What is the point of licensing the music if you can't sell the product afterwards?

Also, shouldn't they go after Netflix & Co, too?

#6

Off the Record / Re: Iran War?

Last post by HVC - Today at 12:04:16 AM

More likely that a dementia addled septuagenarian doesn't know how NATO works.

#7

Off the Record / Re: Iran War?

Last post by Zanza - March 15, 2026, 11:57:00 PM

Maybe the Russian asset wants to use NATO countries not joining this folly as his narrative to leave NATO. But that would suggest some kind of plan.

#8

Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...

Last post by Syt - March 15, 2026, 11:24:36 PM

#9

Off the Record / Re: TV/Movies Megathread

Last post by Sophie Scholl - March 15, 2026, 08:33:44 PM

Adam Baldwin is involved. 

#10

Gaming HQ / Re: The Miscellaneous PC & vid...

Last post by Oexmelin - March 15, 2026, 08:22:19 PM

As someone who's been on those roads with my dad, a truck driver... yeah, that's pretty much it. Seventh picture actually looks a lot like a place my dad delivered lumber to, in fact (though it was in Utah).

In a lot of these places, you end up sleeping in the truck for the night, in the gigantic parking lots of some Walmart (which we did in Nebraska and Iowa) or humongous truck stops, where you despair about the environmental costs, as in Nevada or Arizona, where you have to have truck run all night, to keep the A/C on.