Kabe

In reality, the bitrate doesn’t make all that much difference past a certain point. If you blind test it, you’re hardly going to be able to hear any difference between a 160, 256, 320, or even a 1,000 kbps MP3/FLAC whatever. That’s just not how it works.

The things that do have a big, noticeable effect on sound quality are primarily:

1. different master recordings – this is often what people mistake for “better quality” when comparing digital copies versus streams, or this streaming platform versus that streaming platform. In fact, it’s because version A is based on a different master/remaster than version B.

2. loudness. A difference in volume can have a big impact, even if the tracks and sources are identical.

3. psychology. The placebo effect cannot be understated stated in terms of its impact on audio enjoyment. If your brain is expecting, either consciously or unconsciously, there to be a difference or an improvement in some area when comparing two sources, then you will most likely hear one (whether it actually exists or not).

The long and the short of it is: just enjoy the music in the way that feels most enjoyable! Once you start fussing over audio formats and bitrates, the whole thing can easily descend into silliness very quickly.

In the audio world, psychology plays a huge role in everything. It’s far more likely to be this than the difference in bitrate, imo.

And outlets like The Guardian and The BBC are responsible for covering up and whitewashing the crimes against humanity committed by Israel and its Western allies.

Does that make every article written for them fundamentally untrue?

You may not be a fan of the source, but the facts in the article speak for themselves

1. Parent went from being a fashion journalist to an Iran “expert” in a suspiciously short space of time
2. She has published multiple articles making bold claims about the violence perpetrated by the Iranian regime that no other outlet has verified
3. She has pushed 30,000 death toll figure based on little to no evidence
4. Her articles often cite unknown or unverified sources, e.g. “a student in Tehran said …”

Other outlets that challenge the alleged death toll numbers, include Zeteo [link], just FYI.

Deepa Parent at The Guardian has been churning these articles out at a steady pace, often pushing out inflated death tolls of Iranian civilians and citing unconfirmed sources. Any story from her should be considered highly suspect at best and consent-manufacturing propaganda at worst.

https://thegrayzone.com/2026/02/01/guardian-iranian-death-toll-concocted-monarchist-doctors/amp/

The irony is that this current conflict has made it more, not less, likely that Iran actually develops their own nukes. Well done Trumpanyahu, you played yourselves.

In this instance, it’s a perfectly reasonable comparison. Both Trump and Biden are/were deeply connected to the Zionist project of Israel and support it unequivocally.

To try and somewhat mitigate backlash from voters, they leak or hint that they are furious with Netanyahu behind the scenes but nevertheless continue to approve a never-ending stream of money and military equipment to Israel to continue their destruction, mass killing and ethnic cleansing.

This time it might actually be genuine progress. Why? Because Iranian officials are acknowledging it.

Via Dropsitenews on Twitter an hour ago:

NEW: A senior Iranian official tells Drop Site News that Tehran believes it is “very close” to signing an agreement to end the war, and says Israel is mounting a last-ditch effort to sabotage the negotiations.

In a statement shared with Drop Site reporter Jeremy Scahill, the official said “today’s constructive negotiating approach” had made “the prospect of peace in the region highly attainable,” signaling what appears to be the strongest public indication yet from Tehran that a framework agreement may be nearing completion.

The official said Iran recognizes Trump is facing a major political decision that must balance U.S. interests, regional stability, and “respect for Iran’s fundamental rights.”

The senior official added that “Israel is currently undertaking its final extensive efforts and applying considerable pressure” to derail the agreement during its final stages, while expressing hope that the White House would make decisions “independently of external influence.”

Of course, this could all end up being another false claim from Trump, but he desperately wants out and bucking the Israelis and their demands is his least bad option at this point.

Yes, although for me it’s 2049 rather than the original.

Propaganda or not, do you have any substantive criticisms of what he’s saying here? FWIW, I’ve found his commentary during the current conflict to be pretty reliable.

Yeah, well renewable energy is for communists so what you gonna do.

No matter what the outcome at this point, this administration is fucked.

If the war continues, more US service members die while oil prices continue to surge and Trump’s favorability ratings continue to tank.

If the US pulls out, the Strait remains closed with Iran in full control of which ships can go in and out. They still have the majority of their drone and missile stockpiles intact and can leverage the flow of oil for years to come, meaning they can continue to put pressure on the US economy. Plus they now have a regime who is markedly more hardline than it was before the US and Israel assassinated all the moderates who might be willing to negotiate.

This has to go down as one of the most mind bogglingly stupid self-owns and worst foreign policy blunders in US history.

www.nokings.org

Iran be like

deleted by creator

I also wonder whether or not grapheneos, or open source Linux OSs in general, will face any repercussions for failing to comply to these regulations due to the relatively low user count.

Putting the US fighting against Hitler in WW2 alongside US regime change in Iraq and Iran is an odd comparison, ngl.

• 14 dead US service members
• A couple of thousand dead civilians in Iran and Lebanon

Well this two-year-old exchange certainly aged like a fine wine

I’m no great fan of Hillary Clinton, but she gave a hell of an opening statement:

Transcript here

And to this bit

Mr. Chairman, your investigation is supposed to be assessing the federal government’s handling of the investigations and prosecutions of Epstein and his crimes. You subpoenaed eight law enforcement officials, all of whom ran the Department of Justice or directed the FBI when Epstein’s crimes were investigated and prosecuted. Of those eight, only one appeared before the Committee. Five of the six former attorneys general were allowed to submit brief statements stating they had no information to provide.

You have held zero public hearings, refused to allow the media to attend them, including today, despite espousing the need for transparency on dozens of occasions.

You have made little effort to call the people who show up most prominently in the Epstein files. And when you did, not a single Republican Member showed up for Les Wexner’s deposition.

This institutional failure is designed to protect one political party and one public official, rather than to seek truth and justice for the victims and survivors, as well as the public who also want to get to the bottom of this matter. My heart breaks for the survivors. And I am furious on their behalf.

I have to say fookin’ aye.