Daniel Balan

@Leo Gura Hi Leo, thanks a lot for creating these videos for free. They should be work at least 1000$. In case you haven't seen I've also did a summary of your latest video, The Psychology of conformity. Please check this out if you haven't and please leave me some feedback if you like the notes or not.

Bro, I've summarized a 3 hour long video in a relatively small chunk of information in comparison to the length of the video. Reading my notes takes 3 minutes. If 3 minutes worth of reading is too much, I give up any hope I've had on humanity. For me the 3 hour long video seemed to be too short. If Leo made that video 7 hours long I wouldn't have complained because on that very topic there could be written dozens of books. As I said, I lose all hope in humanity if 3 minutes worth of reading is TOO MUCH.

That's a staggering example of conformity.

When someone tries their best to be non conformist it is the most conformist thing ever. You don't get any more conformist than trying not to be conformist. Being non conformist means that you analyze all your behaviours and using your very mind, you decide what behaviour to keep or not, as opposed to blindly doing something just because you saw others doing. Also conformity isn't wrong. I'd say that in everyday life 90% of the cases, conforming to societal norms is the best thing one can do. Fastening your seatbelt while driving and many other conformist actions such as fastening the seatbelt are extremely beneficial and wise for one's survival. I work in construction and conforming to sound brick laying techniques is the most wise thing I could do rather than to be all non conformist and to improvise and not use a spirit level would make my wall to collapse over me. One has to be smart when deploying nonconformity. Nonconformity just for the sake of it is not wise. Non conformity should be only at an intellectual and thinking level. Having a mind that inovates thougth and participates in unique intellectual enquiry on various topics as opposed to running on the insights generated by the group-think is the most wise way to deploy non conformity.

Predicting the world - There will be blood I have a very pessimistic outlook on life in general, so take what I write here with a grain of salt. In my eyes, the 21th century will be the bloodiest century thus far. There will be a huge bloodbath and in the decades ahead the west will be at war. Either massive civil wars will erupt in the west or the west will be viciously attacked by the authoritarian world. The authoritarian world has already dealt the west a knockout blow. The minds of the western citizens have been sieged and completely conquered. On a daily basis the minds of the people in the west are besieged viciously by anti-western post-truth propaganda. This propaganda is so vile, so vicious, so mischievous, so cunning that only a highly developed, higly conscious mind can resist it and render the propaganda useless. Unfortunately the minds of the average folks are not equiped with propaganda detection mechanism, with enough awareness to realize how the mind is hijacked and weaponized against the liberal democracy that is the cornerstone of the west. The information war is lost. This will lead to catastrophic consequences in the decade ahead. MAGA is child's play compared to what kind of mind virus the Russians and the Chinese have poisoned European's minds. Europe, in the decade ahead will face a rise in authoritarain fascism never seen since 1940s. This will lead to the collapse of liberal democracy and civil war among countries from the EU. I predict that EU will collapse and civil war will erupt in each individual countries between liberals and authoritarian fascists. Russia will have conquered Europe without having to send a single soldier there. That's has been Russia's goal since the begining of the 20th century. Russia believes that it is entitled to its own sphere of influence which consists of the whole of Europe. Russia can't stand the United States meddling in Russia's back yard which Russia believes it is entitled to lord over Europe. I've never foreseen that what I learnt in the history class, I will get to live on my own skin. Time for jokes and fun has passed, this is deadly serious. Who is lazy and doesn't start to prepare for war now, will be blown away by the sheer violence and destruction of the storm that is about to unfold over Europe and the West, once again.

This is some low level propaganda, but most of the times it is really vile and mischievous in its forms. It tingles your reptile brain so much, it hits every corner of your brain. It is astonishing how well polished and how well crafted the anti-liberal democracy propaganda is working. There are multiple types of propaganda, it is low level propaganda that is very effective for dumb normies and there is also extremely sophisticated propaganda that works on the inteligent, the intellectuals like the guys we have here on this subforum. You can say many things about the guys that defend China and Russia on this subforum, but you can't say that they are not highly intelligent. This works precisely because the west has in deed many problems, it is also corrupt, in its past has done extreme damage to the world like the nuking of japan, the genocide in Iraq, the endless wars during the cold war and after, the backing of Israel of their ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, the attack on Iran this summer etc. The west is having tons of issues and is no saint at all, quite the opposite. But that being said, the west also leads in every metrics when it comes to freedom, safety for the individuals, education, healthcare, welfare, etc. TL;DR Basically the west takes the most care of its citizens, more so than any other side. Also the west isn't a monolith. I'd say Europe and its liberal democracy are the best in the world right now when it comes to human rights and how the government behaves to its citizens. Europe treats its citizens like an angel compared to how Russia and China are treating their citizens. Europe is heaven on earth for the individual citizen, compared to BRICS. Europe also hasn't been the architect of the wars and the atrocities that the west as a whole did, that was America, Europe nuked nobody and European countries were the only countries in the so called west that supported Palestine. Europe joined the US in its wars because the US has saved our backs 2 times in the 20th century and without America, Europe would have been either a soviet satelite or lebensraum for the nazis, so we Europeans don't have much say when it comes to helping the US in its stupid wars because if we don't help them, they won't help us when the Russians will come once again after us.

Finally someone sane and wise on this sub forum and not just anti west propagandists. I've yet to enounter on this subforum someone who I can criticize the west with, that hasn't a BRICS agenda and rhetoric. Because of these propagandists that so nonchalantly spew their iliberal agenda 24/7, I can't genuinely criticise the west because I have to defend it from the bullshit that comes from the ones that parrot the propaganda of the BRICS world. These people didn't exist like 6 years ago. 6 years ago the propaganda wasn't yet been instilled in their mind with all this garbage that these guys are now reciting day after day. Since the pandemic the western informational ecosystem has been hijacked by propaganda funded from the pockets of those who are very irritated by liberal democracies. I wouldn't mind if this was just propaganda, but this is actually electoral campaign because across the west in every western country there are illiberal puppets of the authoritarian world that will be voted precisely by those whose minds have been hijacked by this vile propaganda. I want to criticize the west so badly because it has so many flaws, so much corruption, i want to settle our disputes in the liberal democratic family, not with the enemies of liberal democracy. The zone has been flooded with so much shit and the worst part is that quite intelligent people on this forum have fallen for the foreign authoritarian propaganda. Such intelligent people are thinking and reasoning and speaking in the exact way the Kremlin and Beijing want. I'm 100% sure that if Putin or Xi would read this subforum they would smile to see how effective their propaganda apparatus works.

Also I have no problem that these countries have come together under the BRICS banner. BRICS is a blend of cultures and nations that are unique and have great culture which is kinda similar among each nation that is part of BRICS, by all means that is a good thing that they have their own ways of doing business and creating their own pathways for their own economic success. As I said, I have nothing against BRICS, let them be successful and economically whealthy. All I have to say is that my personal survival will be much worse if I'd live in BRICS. Brics is basically the losing side of the cold war and I grew up in the mess that was left behind after being on the lossing side of the cold war. Particular individuals are just cannon fodder and expendable lifes that must be milked to death for the "enrichment of the nation" while you are treated like a slave. Since integration with the west I feel so protected and I feel like I'm not just a cog that must slave its life away for the enrichment of the country that then the dictator can brag about. I feel like I can work for the benefit of myself, not for the benefit of the corrupt elites that slave me away so that they can latter brag that they have enriched the nation. That's why I hate BRICS, they want the old ways of exploitation and abuse to be mainstream again in the countries of the former warsaw pact block that they used to colonize and now want once again to colonize by first colonizing the information ecosystem with filthy propaganda like the video you shared.

This has to be a joke.🤣 BRICS is not trying to impose on the world its illiberal ideology yet you share a 40 minute piece of propaganda that is aimed to sway westerners against liberal democracy and to embrace the authoritarian illiberal model of governance that is exported in the west by these nationalist far right puppet parties and political actors. When the entire western information ecosystem is neck deep filled with propaganda that is aimed to do away with liberal democracy then you know that this is sponsored directly from the pockets of those who oppose the west. The west in comparison doesn't meddle in the information ecosystem in BRICS member states because there especially in total dictatorships like China and Russia, they don't even have access to world wide web. Recently I asked deepseek some questions about the chinese governance and he said that it is not allowed to discuss such things. 🤣🤣 The democratic people's republic🤣🤣🤣

Deleting Twitter I have decided that I will delete my twitter account right now. That place is infested with right wing propaganda, with blatant disinformation and fascist rhetoric, 0 epistemic standards and to sum it up briefly, twitter under Elon Musk has become a septic tank, a pool of shit. There are some bits of useful information but the amount of political propaganda, the amount of self deception and brain rot is staggering. Tonight I surfed twitter for a bit and I only encountered anti-west anti democratic, pro Russian, pro BRICS narratives that are so biased, so full of propaganda and falsehoods that made me want to vomit. For the first time I felt that the amount of shit that is now on twitter is too much to handle for me. I value sound epistemology the most and you can't have sound epistemology when you are consuming information from a pool of shit. Consuming information from the internet in this day and age is the same as consuming food from a public toilet. A public toilet is what Twitter and all social media have become in the last 5 years. From now on you can find my profile on blue sky at https://bsky.app/profile/danybalan7.bsky.social

The most wise thing I saw on this forum. Regardless of the system, bigger people will exploit smaller people. During the soviet era the big people exploited and milked the plebs out of their work in even worse ways than the capitalist system milks the plebs in capitalist societies. During the soviet times you had basic necesities for free, but you worked all your life for them, you paid for them with your lifetime being a slave to the ones that gave you that free cubical while eating chicken feet all your life. Now in capitalist systems you buy your own flat but you also have to pay all your life for it. The level of exploitation is basically the same, but in capitalist systems we have it better because we have more access to diversity of food, clothes, freedom to think and behave however you want, to watch whatever you want etc. Also in capitalist systems you can develop a business if you are ambitious and smart without being in bed with the communist party and paying bribes constantly. That's why the west although flawed, is light years ahead of the BRICS/Chinese governance model that @zazen is promoting day in and day out.

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I hope those notes are helpful to you guys, btw what are your thoughts on the video? For me this is the best video of all time.

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Because Leo has really good takes when it comes to politics.

Then you are God too. Lotta Gods here.

Even though, does this "God" care if a speck of dust, like me, believes in god's existence or worships "God"? I think this god couldn't care less whether I worship it or not.

Because her man is busy working his ass off in order to provide for his family and the children they have together. Because women need constant attention and she seeks that to whoever is offering the attention since her man is busy handling the survival of the family. Bro, you are the reason I loathe humanity. Y'all after only your own needs, Y'all so devilishly selfish, you don't care at all about others, Y'all are only after getting your dick wet. She told you in your face that he values her family the most and that she wouldn't risk it for a silly affair, yet you still act like a pussy deprived loser. Be a man and learn to find single girls, don't be a loser to keep flirting with married women.

Ok, I understood. Thanks a lot for the advice.

@Inliytened1 I have a mediation practice where I meditate 10 minutes everyday and I also try to observe and be conscious of my thoughts 24/7, like I'm trying to meditate non stop, but in regards to psychedelics I have a strong stigma against them. I have this stigma because I don't like to conform. Almost all the youngsters in my village are taking canabis and lsd and shrooms on a weekly basis and honestly they look like homeless and I am disgusted by them. I have a image of myself as being clean, well groomed and taking care of my life and myself and whenever I see the youngsters in my village spend all their money on psychoactive substances, seeing them how they let themselves go and become total zombies made me abhor psychedelics as much as I abhor religion. As I am the only atheist in my village I think I am the only one that has never taken any kind of drugs. All the people my age or below are drug addicts and precisely because I hate conformity with such a passion, I vowed to never ever touch any substances in my life.

I don't see any contradiction with my worldview. There is no bearded old man in the sky that lords over the universe as the Christians believe. There is no human magical otherworldly entity that lords over everything. There isn't some "other" larger than life figure hidden in a plane of existence of its own that controls and shapes the universe at his own whims as the Christians believe. This is pure insanity and atheists are right when they believe that no such god exists. As far as your teachings on god go, every instance of when you use the word "god" could be replaced with the word "universe" or "consciousness" or "infinity" and I doubt there is anyone alive that can say that these things don't exist.

@Leo Gura at 3 hours and 5 minutes you say that my atheism is just conformity. I strongly disagree. For me atheism means the lack of religion. I simply do not adhere to any religion. I haven't got that from other humans nor social media or you. I was born an orthodox Christian, I've gone to church every sunday and I prayed everyday, on my own volition till I was 17, then using my own mind I saw how barbaric and ugly those Christians behave towards one another and towards other beings, I saw how church is just a means for Christians to gather and find business and work among themselves. It is all just survival enhancement. I saw how corrupt and rotten the whole fundation of Christianity is, how they preach about love and kindness, yet at home they beat the fuck out of their children with the belt and horse whip. That's when I became an atheist, I dropped in the dustbin this religion, I dropped all the customs and rituals associated with it and become a man without any religion, and I feel so free and unchained now, I feel so light like a bird after throwing in the trash can that burden that is called Christianity. I am the only atheist I know on my county, I never meet another atheist IRL thus far. I do not adhere to any of the atheist dogma, hell I don't even know what scientific dogma atheists adhere to because I have never been on atheist forums or follow atheists on social media. Because I live in a rural village I started to form my own spiritual rituals, such as praying to the earth and nature to keep me alive and protect me from harm, I thank the earth for the food it grows for me when I sow seeds in the spring etc. I became very spiritual and connected to earth and nature. This is not something you ever preached. I tried to understand your spiritual teachings but I failed so I decided to go with the things that I can understand. I can proudly say that when it comes to the things I explained above, that I am not conformist in those endeavours, I can proudly say that I developed those using my very own mind and cognition.

@Leo Gura Next year in the USA will be another world cup, do you plan to go to a match if the match will be hosted in a venue near you like Los Angeles?

I haven't started watching yet but I know, Leo! Conformity and group-think is the reason I decided to be a total loner. I can't stand other people for this very reason. Everyone I talked to up until now has the same mind, believes the same conspiracy theories, follows the same social media content, like the same football team, vote for the same politician, talk about the same petty stuff, wear the same clothes etc. This made me contemplate deeply this topic, it baffled me to realize that no one is using their mind, they just copy each other like sheep. I've always been against the herd and it baffled me even more the sheer violence and determination they defended their worldview when challenged by me. The moment I rejected and laughed at their religion they almost torn me to shreds litteraly. Humans are merciless creatures to the "outsiders" like me that challenge their worldview. After all, why would I talk to a human? They all talk and think the same. That's why I know 100% that this video of yours will be my favourite to date. Your previous video is my current favourite but this one, I think it will surpass the previous.

Last month I finally had money to buy Leo's book list and the first thing on the page is a video of Leo where he makes an introduction for the book list, I could clearly see that the video was shot in like 2014 because Leo was so young. Having watched him weekly for the last 10 years I didn't realised how he aged, because he aged in front of me, together with me. Man I just realized that Leo is the human that I spent the most time with in my life.