Ronda Rousey - Too Sexy, Damn Near Fully Clothed

Photo of Ronda Rousey,  Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion

Let me preface this by saying I really don't care if they don't put the damn photos on the cover, and I am in no way outraged/upset by it, or anything of the like. But my question is, what makes them think it is too sexy, and why do they even think that, or why are they worried about it?

As if this hasn't been covered by thousands of other media outlets over the last few days, I figured I would give a quick take on Ronda Rousey's photo from above, being deemed "too sexy" for the cover of Oxygen Magazine.

No really, any excuse to post the photos here on MetalThug.com would have been good enough for myself.

But com'on - too sexy? I know being politically correct is the proper way to ensure you aren't sued, or labeled a sexist/racist/socialist/insertlabelhere, but really - How the fuck is the above picture too sexy? Furthermore, what the fuck does too sexy even mean?

Too much skin showing, or something like that? Provocative gesturing, maybe?

I don't really get it, and I am not sure what age group Oxygen's magazine targets, but ESPN and their body issue clearly didn't feel the same. Look at the picture above, then compare them to the photos of Rousey for that ESPN publication, as pictured below:

I'm a fan of these photos.

I'd have to say, that the ESPN pictures at the very least, show quite a bit more skin. I'd also have to say, someone else might even find them "more sexy" than the photos shot for the Oxygen cover.

Out of everything ESPN does, I have always particularly liked being able to see star athletes basically naked in the ESPN "Body" issues. I'm a simple man, and hey look - I'll admit it - simple things like a hot-ass naked woman, please me just fine. Rousey as a good example, is beautiful. It also helps, being a supporter of combat sports as I am, that she can break about 99 percent of the human populations arms at any given moment, if she were in a confrontation.

Rousey doing what she does best - Breaking arms. The unfortunate recipient of the broken arm you see above was Meisha Tate. Unsurprisingly, the picture still makes me uncomfortably shift in my seat while squinting, just as the scene did live on TV.

Not sure what else there is to say about the oxygen photos being too sexy for a magazine cover, other than I disagree, and I think it is fucking stupid. Another example of too much political correctness in society. Too sexy indeed.

Well, one thing you can count on - They aren't too sexy for MetalThug.com, this low rent parking lot of a website. But you know what, I like that environment, I like it just fucking dandy, and as a matter of fact - I'll probably find somewhere on the site to put them - permanently. 

Good luck to Rousey on her next fight, and congratulations to her, on becoming the face of women's MMA. Everyone else enjoy the photos, fights and armbars.

Jimmy Hoffa - FBI Thinks They Found Him (Again).

Hoffa - Saying "Hello" to Robert Kennedy

37 years after the "mysterious" disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa, a new lead has appeared. Apparently, some guy called the FBI and proceeded to tell them that some dead body was buried at some house; located in Michigan - During the same timeframe that Hoffa pulled his great disappearing act. 

Thanks for the amazing, in-depth information, informant A.


The FBI, during preliminary testing, has found anomalies under a concrete slab beneath the house, or driveway, (details are sketchy - surprise) and they have made plans to drill - to look for, well what else, a dead body. 

Not much is known about the informant, as I would imagine being anonymous is important in matters like these. However, I find it hard to believe that anyone whom cares enough to kill the informant is still alive today, or still willing to murder over the location Jimmy Hoffa's dead body. It was damn near 40 years ago, after all.

Jimmy Hoffa

Jimmy Hoffa was a friend of the masses, and a champion of organized labor, in particular the trucking industry. Unfortunately, his disappearance gets more attention than his actions and life, which is most likely the true pity here.

Hoffa rose at a time when someone like himself was needed as a leader in the organized labor movement. Though not as powerful these days in any industry, (thanks to not having leaders like Jimmy Hoffa) unions where on the way to - or at their peak during Hoffa's tenure, who lead the Teamsters for a short time but was involved with the labor movement for several years, both before and after his time as boss.

Charismatic, intelligent, but still rough around the edges, Hoffa battled the pretty boys of the 60's & 70's - The Kennedy's. From the 1960's onward, he dealt with endless investigations and hearings as Robert Kennedy seemingly had a personal vendetta against him. Some people have a different stance, but to hell with all the nonsense, it's compatible to JFK's battle with Castro, and I was never much a fan of the Kennedy's to begin with - So I'm good with the vendetta stance.

Eventually, Hoffa was charged with taking money from the union's $300 Pension Fund, found guilty and sentenced to 13 years in prison. He was pardoned by Nixon in 1971, but with conditions; one being that he could not be involved with the organized labor movement until 1980.

Obviously, this caveat caused a bit of trouble, as Hoffa was none too pleased that he would be unable to once again lead the Teamsters organization that he himself had built. To make matters worse, the confidantes that Hoffa had left in power, were not so anxious to give that power up, once he was released from Prison. In fact, they liked the conditions just fine. As it went, they also liked being the boss. 

HIs past dealings with organized crime, and the just mentioned "Ah, shit" situation, all likely played a part in his death.

You may have noticed in the first paragraph, "mysterious" is in quotations. This is because really, everyone already knows why - and what - happened to Jimmy Hoffa. He was murdered, most likely by people he considered at the very least associates, and then either ran through a wood chipper or hacked up with an axe, before being buried in pieces or dropped off in a lake.

A wood chipper. Jimmy Hoffa is not pictured, that is in fact - a tree.

The only mysterious things here are who chopped him up, and finally what location they chose when they dumped his body (what was left of it).

Jimmy Hoffa is the alternate to someone like Robert Kennedy, and should be remembered for how he was able to lead the people from outside of the typical political structure. His ways were not always clean, as shown by his ties to the mob, however he had the best interest of those he lead at the forefront of his thoughts, and his actions show this. He made lives better for those he served - And that is the mark of a good leader.

He should be remembered more for these things, and less for getting hacked up, and most likely murdered by those who were at one time, considered friends or loyal supporters. The middle class needs another man like Jimmy Hoffa.

And how come the FBI can find everyone else, but not Hoffa? Another article, I suppose.

RIP Jimmy Hoffa, a man of the people.

Update - It has been confirmed that said body might be under the driveway, not under the home itself.

N K E - Pakistani Government and Religious Laws Still Fucking Up Life for Pakistani Citizens (N)

Blasphemous, evil, hypno-magician and criminal (allegedly), Rimsha Masih

A 14 year old Pakistani girl, Rimsha Masih; was locked up in August of this year after "allegedly" burning a copy of the Qur'an. A wonderful life one must live under religious law. 

The frightening part, is that the broken law in this case - can net the godless, sinning-warmonger of a child some hefty jail time, or worse as punishment. By being accused of burning the good book, she is accused of committing "blasphemy" - For a basic, not fucking-nuts definition; see doing anything religious people don't really like, or seemingly saying "mean things", about whichever book said religion props up-above reality.

The law in the nation of Pakistan treats blasphemy as a "capital offense" - For a comparable crime/punishment which you might be familiar with, see things like, oh I don't know, MURDER, in the United States.

So, this child is facing something like the rest of her life in a Pakistani prison, or some type of god awful execution, such as being hung or having rocks thrown at her face until she dies* - for burning a book.

One of the biggest issues I take with the religious, is that it is seemingly impossible for clearer minds to prevail. That is another article, or maybe 100 articles, however the key terms in this write up are "accused" and "allegedly". Apparently, law enforcement officials actually did a proper investigation, and found out that there is no evidence proving Rimsha burnt the Qur'an in the first place.

It isn't really fair to only pick out Pakistan for the terrible religious laws of middle eastern states, however, one of the points of this article is that against all odds, CLEARER MINDS PREVAILED. As fucking odd as it is, it looks like they might NOT beat this poor kid to death with a rock, or lock her up in a stone cell for all eternity. 

As it goes, looks like some neighbor accused her of this dastardly act, screaming that she had burnt the book until an angry mob showed up, followed by police and the good ol' "Put your little baby hands behind your back" speech.

I know you are 7, but burn one more fucking page, bitch.

Turns out, after receiving death threats - among other terrible things (for again, burning a book), Rimsha was blessed by Prop Mo so to speak, and the police showed the matter its due diligence and figured out that the  opportunistic, sex starved, middle eastern, Islamic law taught-chauvinistic-dickhead next door, in all probability set the girl up. And for what? Well, for what amounts to her not fucking him. And shocker - Looks like he himself actually burnt the pages of the sacred tome. 

The poor girl is is now hiding after being released on bail, but her chances of getting on with her life went from 0, to like 39 percent, thanks to just a little, tiny, pie slice of sanity. Sanity not commonly found in societies ran with laws fueled by religious beliefs. 

I don't want to give the Pakistani authorities too much credit here however - Just as earlier I did not want to put the whole onus of religious tyranny on Pakistan (As truth be told, other nations are much worse in the "Fuck you, God is angry" department). The fact of the matter is this: someone is still going to have a fucked up day (see: life) thanks to the burning of a book. Now the dick head in this case deserves more than a slap on the wrist. However, what about when a 14 year old does burn the Qur'an?

Isn't there a better solution?

You can see just how dire the situation is from her speaking with CNN in the excerpt below - Even though keep in mind, due to all accounts it has been proven that the girl is in fact innocent.

She and her family spoke to CNN in early September from an undisclosed location, in hiding after Rimsha was released on bail -- a move that appeared to be in reaction to the global condemnation of her jailing. The teen said she was happy to be with her family, but feared for her life. "I'm scared," she said by phone. "I'm afraid of anyone who might kill us. "The teen spoke in short sentences, answering "yes" or "no" in a shy and nervous voice. 

Got that? Here is the really friendly part: 

In CNN's interview with her, Rimsha said, "No, no," when asked if she burned pages of the Quran. In Pakistan, people accused of blasphemy are often attacked and sometimes killed by vigilantes.

Angry, religious, Islamic vigilantes. Awesome.

A frightened little girl, is saying "no no" when asking about burning a book, while hiding with her family due to the fear of death, all stemming from the accusation of burning some paper bound together.

It is still paper people. I Understand the words are important- To some. And they should be respected - To a certain degree. But let's say she did burn the damn book (which she did not) - It's a fucking book, and she is 14. Enough of the murdering or life sentences over book burnings.

It challenges the mind when I think of entire nations putting punishments like the above into law. But in many ways these extremes have been ingrained into all of us through society, though to varying degrees. On some levels, I understand it. I believe in things. We all do. But if a kid burns a copy of the Bill of Rights, or "Quotations from Chairman Mao" is it really the proper course to jail them for life, or chop off their head?

(Islam will dominate the world! Freedom can go to hell!) - Nice. Sign me up. (Not really)

I understand that majority of the religious, be it Muslims or Christians; are not as radical. But the fact is if you follow these religions to the last letter, they don't leave a way out for the non-believer. Or for the other religion. Outside of converting, the other side is fucked. Banished to eternal damnation as it were. And if you aren't radical, does that make you moderate? Because if you are "moderate", according to the various good books and teachings, you yourself are breaking religious code - Whether you see it that way or not. 

I'm all for religion being in someones private life, but let's leave it out of law. Just like in the US, we have legislation being imposed on marriage, and abortion - Enough. Leave it out. These ideas are backed by religion and have no place being written into the law of the land.

I know political movements and beliefs have killed millions in the past, but these beliefs at least can have an evolution. These ideas can evolve, move on, change and alter with time. There is no option for evolution in holy texts or scriptures. Creationists and followers of religion for the most part don't believe in evolution - And why should they after all, since they already have all the answers, and their life path has been pre-determined.

It all goes back to this basic point - Fact is they are putting the idea/book/belief over the well being of innocent people (not to mention children). If you are willing to ruin a childs life, or execute them, over a book, then what is that book really worth to humanity? When ideas, religions, and political beliefs stop moving civilization forward, and helping the people of the world, that is where the disconnect is with reality. 

What's the point?

Turns out that the godless communists might have been more fair after all, with things like re-education camps. I know that life isn't always fair, and that is the rebuttal of the greedy few. 

Well, no thanks then. No thanks to the books answer, I'll pass. I'll take re-education about 1000 times out of 1000 if the alternative is you know, death, or the probable but not-likely wish you have for me; that is never-ending, un-countable years burning in hell and screaming like a skinned dog.

Let's hope for all of our sakes that the next large scale war isn't a religious one - The ugliest actions imaginable can be under taken with glee, if someone thinks god is on their side.

Pass me a red book. And good luck to Rimsha.


*(Note - The only legal form of execution in Pakistan is Hanging).

Boxing Busts out of Coffin, Brushes Dirt off Shoulders

According to people who don't know what the fuck they are talking about,  the state of the sport of boxing was comparable to the state of Ricky Hatton, in this photo.

After years of being called "dead" by many mainstream media outlets, as well as new age UFC fans, boxing has pulled a Fat Joe - Busting out of the falsely created coffin, and brushing the dirt off it's mother fucking shoulders.

The common thought is that the popular combat sport is now the UFC. This means that there is no room for boxing, as the percentage of fans that combat sports receives from the sports fan pie; is a small one. I'm a fan of both MMA, and Boxing, and can tell you the former thought is a false one.

While the implied death most likely never really happened, (PPV's featuring Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao have continuously sold at higher rates than most comparative UFC cards, for example), it is nice to also finally brush away the eager MMA trainee or "UFC is fucking awesome, I watch it at the bar" crowd.

One of the counter points from these type of people, (Which doesn't make any fucking sense anyways) has been "Well, if it isn't Manny or Floyd boxing is dead". The reason I say this doesn't make any fucking sense, is because it doesn't. The very selling of 1,000,000 PPV's proves it is not dead. You can't qualify it by saying "OH IT IS MANNY/FLOYD", as if it is no longer boxing itself. It's also boxing and It's a fucking million PPV's, qualify that.

Sergio Martinez, being a Baus. Also, collecting a gigantic paycheck, and bursting boxing-gloves-first, from the depths of the underground.

Moving on to the real news, and that is the 475,000 PPV's sold for the Martinez VS Chavez Jr. fight, just this last weekend.

Credit to BloodyElbow.com, let's put that number into perspective:

This fight did better on PPV than UFC 149 and 150 combined and outdrew all but three 2012 UFC PPVs (145, 146, and 148). It's the best selling PPV for boxing this year not involving Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather Jr. The three major PPVs by HBO in 2012 (this card, Mayweather/Cotto, and Pacquiao/Bradley) have done a combined 2,875,000, which is a benchmark the UFC didn't even reach until it's 7th PPV of the year, UFC 148.

Hold on to your open finger MMA training gloves people - Those are some interesting numbers to sink your teeth into.

At the end of the day, the half a million PPVs really just proves that boxing was never "dead" to begin with. It also proves that just because the UFC is successful, that fact doesn't mean boxing can't also be successful at the same time. Granted, the days of Muhammad Ali are long gone, however the days of Manny Pacquiao came long after those days had ended. Boxing and MMA can co-exist, and any true combat sports fan is going to appreciate both.

Finally, the Martinez VS Chavez Jr. card shows that boxing has more than Floyd and Manny. Just like it had more than Ali, Tyson, and De La Hoya. Much like the UFC and MMA in general, boxing needs it's stars. But to say another star won't ever be born, is discrediting the two sports in general, and further more; it spits in the face of all up and coming fighters currently busting their ass in training as I write this.

Personally, I'm looking forward to more from both of the fighters (Martinez/Chavez Jr.), and I am glad that such an excellent fight card got so much attention. 

Next up, Jon Jones beating the ever-living-Mumm-Ra shit out of Vitor Belfort - Can't say I am expecting to be as impressed with this match up. 

Fuck Glenn Beck

Hey guy! 

That's him. Capitalist sympathizer, or maybe Capitalist wanna be, the one, the only, the fag, Glenn Beck.

For those of you who are not familiar (I'll assume everyone is), he does columns and writings for CNN, and probably various combinations of other media which in total amount to the cesspool which is his current career. Books, a buncha of shit, a lot of money, apparently. Fucker might even be retired these days. (And to be fair, cesspool is a bit harsh - Mother fucker has a Scrooge McDuck money bin out back).

Maybe he is hanging out with Rush. You know. Two bitch ass guys, just swimming around in a giant vault, filled with empty prescription pill bottles and gold bars.

As he writes, or talks, whatever the dick is doing, he goes on; normally writing about subjects which are also the mass media's topic of the week, and then tries to put his personal spin on it. Only problem is, his personal spin is shitty and his show sucks. How is it popular? I would say good question, but hey I have even watched it just to scream at my TV like a jack ass and call him a fucking moron.

Several months ago, this also accompanied all of his writings on CNN.com:

Life is great. God damn great. Join me, will you?

That's right. This son of a bitch does his "Hi, 1950's life is great" department store promo smile. Not only does he act like life in every home in America is a great big dream complete with virgins, copious amounts of alcohol and video games, he adds insult to injury by posting his big gay ass smiling face next to his four paragraphs which basically illustrate with words him blowing capitalist Americas dick. I guess it worked out for him - So he owes it to current system, or something.

He is another example of why capitalism doesn't work. Basically preaching self serving to the fullest, while talking about how much he "donates to charities" when arguing with adversaries. Hey asshole - Thanks for donating to a charity of your choosing, but not wanting to pay more taxes. 

Dick.

In a more recent show of bitch ass-ness and naïveté, the asshole actually complains because people treat him differently than they treat some others - Due to his words, actions, and political stances.

Nice job jackass, way to spout off about "personal responsibility" and the like.

It's the same fucking shit with all of these upper echelon people on the right - Everything they talk about it all fine and fucking dandy, until it fucks up their day as it generally fucks up everyone elses.

Hey, I get it. It's easy to be pro-private health care - when you can afford that health care, a nice house, the BMW out front AND long vacations, after all.

Guess what bitch - You get treated a certain way if people don't like you, or agree with you. Much like you treat people on your very own show, whom you disagree with. Welcome to the real world, Lord Beck.

One thing I agree with, is that yes, Che Guevara was a fuck up revolutionary.  Still a great man Che was, but hey - It didn't work out in Bolivia. As far as what me and Glenn Beck agree on, that's about it.

In closing a message for Glenn Beck (And I do hope this gets to you):

Fuck you.

N K E - What the fuck is that? (Must be a top-secret Nazi super-weapon) (N + E)

While studying history, politics, and technology as I often do, I sometimes run across new seemingly "unexplainable" objects or occurrences. Inevitably, a counter article always appears to declare that the occurrence or object was most likely the work of Adolf Hitler and his group of maniacal super scientists.

For example, recently some object has been found in the depths of the Baltic Sea. I say some fucking object, because I do not know what it is, and neither does anyone else. In fact, as some have suggested, it basically looks the crash site of the Millennium Falcon.

                





Left: Sonar image of the Baltic Sea Object, Right: The Millenium Falcon

I'll be god damned. I have to be honest; I will be less surprised if it were in fact the Millennium Falcon, as opposed to a Nazi super weapon.

Of course, as of right now there really isn't any information on this thing, outside of the fact that it is strange, shouldn't be on the ocean floor, and blocks cell phone signals. But I don't really give a shit what it is, the article is more about questioning why someone has already jumped out from behind a tree, and screamed "IT WAS THE NAZI'S!!" before anyone knows what the fuck is even going on.

The whole problem with calling everything a Nazi super weapon is really compounded into two points - First, are we really that pathetic - that we have to assume anything we find basically anywhere, is probably a Nazi super weapon? Before we even know what the fucking thing is made of, or the most basic information on the object in question? I mean we have to call it a fucking object, since we don't know what else to call it - So why is it the Nazi's?

Secondly, (and most importantly I might add) why do we have to keep giving the Nazi's and Der Fuhrer so much credit?

Found something interesting? Don't know what it is? Ask this guy, he probably had something to do with it.

I mean sure, sure, they were very good at sweet-talking the Tories in the the early days, and they did start the construction of the Autobahn. And it would not be fair to mention something which can only be seen as an accomplishment such as the Autobahn, without bringing up the bad and saying that they also figured out a way to quietly and ruthlessly exterminate or deport an entire religious community in the millions, while creating some notable firsts in military technology (Such as the V2 rocket)- firsts that were all intended to continue and prolong a war which killed tens of millions.

They covered ruthless extremism and technological innovation fairly well, overall. But really, the height of the Reich was over 70 years ago; let's stop acting like any type of previously undiscovered object is probably Hitler's. As nice as the Panzer Tank was, I am using a laptop, and they didn't have laptops in a Panzer Tank. Also, they did not have the Keurig Coffee Machine. These glorious pieces of human achievement were not in a Panzer, or anywhere else for that matter in 1940. 

I understand that of course things sink, and disappear in the world's great oceans, however can we at least give ourselves enough credit to know some entity other than the Nazi's can clearly make shit (and by shit I mean bat shit amazing shit - Say the United States for example, or Japan). I mean fuck it, throw technology out the window. Since in the most basic sense we don't even know what the hell this thing is yet, call it the discovery of a secret Roman Empire era battleship instead of Hitler's last hurrah?

And why is the credit given, if this can be seen as a credit? That might be bad wording. The better question is, why are people so quick to say "Hitler"? 

Really, I suppose it speaks to how well off the world has been overall, the last several decades. No giant wars, no Hitler-esque figure, no faggoty mustache.  Even at this point, the biggest boogeyman, and most evil bastard ever created - Is still Hitler. When shit hits the fan, or some object that could have been designed for use in a dastardly military program, (Or anything else for that matter) gets dredged up off the ocean floor, it must even today; have been the work of Hitler - As if he is still being an asshole from the grave.

In the end, I suppose we should all be thankful. This is a short write up, so not to ignore those who have had rougher lives - Thankful that if you lived in majority of the world, a bigger "EVIL" has not jumped up and smacked us in the mouth at any point in the last half century or more. 

UPDATE- No one has yet figured out what the fuck this thing is, but people still think it is a Nazi Super Weapon.

Mao - Comrade Chairman: A Historical Summarization on the Legacy of Mao Zedong

Opening

This is a brief work of mine, on the late Chairman Mao Zedong. Factual for the masses, and short enough to not fill a book. It is needed, with all of the slandering, and comparisons of Mao these days to terrible leaders and mass murdering dictators, such as Hitler.

Before I go forward comrades, I will let you know off the get right, I am mildly biased. My political alignment is to the left (though not radically, of course if I were born earlier this could be different as you will soon read), and I do not shy from the label of a communist. Now, that does not mean I do not have an open mind, (as you may have realized from reading my works) as I do fault leaders, institutions, and parties of the past, for the mistakes they have made. As a matter of fact, if I were in China circa 1970, I would probably have been called a Capitalist roader. However, on the other hand, I would not have learned from the mistakes that the comrades in question have made, if I were alive at the time. Now it is easy for me to look back and say "Well, they should have done this or that", after reading texts and standing on the shoulders of others. I do not like to do that often, but it is almost natural.

I think, given the circumstances, China is doing what needs to be done. Essentially, there are many reasons why a Soviet style economy did not work, and will no longer work (though with the right modifications it could very well in my opinion, I am no economist).

 I hope this brief introduction will help everyone begin to understand this view on Mao,  a more balanced and realistic view; as opposed to what the current western world tries to shovel toward you.

Mike Dolan, sums up the "popular" western viewpoint these days in a review he wrote up a few years ago on Mao: The Unkown Story (An excerpt below):

"When I watched the second Addams Family movie, I knew there'd be a "blockbuster biography" of Mao coming soon. The key scene comes as the Addams are trying to decide what to name their baby. Rejecting other, overexposed dictators like Stalin and Hitler, they pick "Mao."

That was it, the writing on the sten-gazeta: time for some enterprising literary entrepreneur to grind out a big fat book showing us all what a monster the Great Helmsman really was.

Even so, it's a shock to see how mechanically Jung Chang and her husband, Jon Halliday, have carried out their assignment -- and how eagerly the reviewers have endorsed the product. Every critic from Santa Barbara to Glasgow has joined the "Down with Mao!" chant, waving this big green book in an elbow-destroying parody of the Red Guards who used to whack capitalist roaders with Mao's little red one."

Ladies and Gents, a quick note: You will notice I say "Possibly", or "It is probable" etc., when talking about Mao. This is due to the fact that I do not like to say what another was thinking or what the reasons were for their actions often; although with this type of writing it is difficult. You will note a good example of someone doing this too often, when I speak on Jung Chang's book later in this writing. Also, this text may seem running into nothing at times, but it all falls together. I'm by no means a fantastic writer, though I'm above average, clearly.

Chairman Mao

Knowledge of Mao

I would not call myself a historian; however politics and history are my "forte". As far as Mao is concerned, I have read and studied tens of thousands of pages of text regarding him (paper and online sources included), or subjects closely relating to Mao. I have read the flattering (Red Star over China), to the obviously biased (Mao: The Unknown Story), and have formulated thoughts and opinion's by compiling all sources, and then analyzing them. As well, I have studied the obvious military, political, and poetry works Mao himself had penned. In my opinion, the most informative; and "closest to the truth" total work that has been done on Mao to date, is Dr. Li Zhisui's "The Private life of Chairman Mao".

Cover of Mao: The Unknown Story

Thoughts on Chang's Book Mao: The Unknown Story

This must be added due to the controversy this book has brought. No offense to Chang, as the book makes for a good story, but the book is shitty and has some glaring fallacies and blatant bullshit portions.

She claimed to have studied Mao for 10 years, and to have researched XXXX pieces of text. The problem is, as you probably know, she went around getting interviews from people who had something against Mao, and this is the kicker - people who no one else can seem to find after the fact.

She also has a tendency to try and tell you what Mao was thinking - constantly. (How the hell she was able to receive transcripts of Mao's thoughts, I am not sure, but the critics liked it).

Some of the lines in her book almost read like this: "As Mao looked up to the sun from a street in Changsha, he was thinking about how he would conquer China, then the world, and enslave the entire population of earth". A little exaggerated, but not much and you see the picture I am painting. Some how I doubt the soviet records she and her husband accessed had anything to do with what was on Mao's mind, at such and such points in time.

Another issue I have is the fact that in her book Wild Swans, she talked of how horrible pre-1949 China was, and how some of her family had their feet broken and bound and then were sold to warlords as concubines. All the while Warlords where fighting across the country, foreign powers stepped upon the Chinese and she even mentioned body's strewn about the country side. During the writing of this book apparently she did an "about face". She now spoke of pre-Communist China as a place where one could live in complete bliss, occasionally jumping out of the path of an incoming bullet or piece of shrapnel here and there. In other words, this fantastic author lied in one of her stories, which are both true.

A scene in which Jung Chang was a participant in many times over, long before she wrote her long winded story book.

Simply put, I have read and researched a good amount of chinese & Mao works as well. She tried way too hard to turn Mao into a something he most likely was not, so she could sell books. I see no problem with books or authors listing his faults, or informing of the catastrophes from some of the policies Mao was involved with; but to use some of Phillip Short's words, turning Mao into a two-dimensional card board cut out of Satan is unnecessary and ridiculous.

Ending on this note, I give her props for writing another good story. I could not have written it. Bitch can write a book. However, be careful with what you take from this story, because I think that is exactly what it is, a story, not history.

Thoughts on Mao, as well as His Historical Achievements and Mistakes

Generally, I comply with the "7 parts good, 3 parts bad" line that the PRC has put forth. However, I go much deeper. I think those 3 "bad parts” included exceptionally large mistakes. What we have next, in general, is fairly usual when people argue about Mao. They look at the total number of deaths in a country over a period from anything and then say he was a power hungry maniac, and everyone who died during his reign must have been murdered by Mao directly.

Well, it is obvious that he did want personal power, which I see as something that happens quite often. SHOCK - He wanted some of this glory, and power.

However, how can those people say his goal, along with that personal power, was not to make China strong and assist the people to a better life, and a stronger country? The Great Leap Forward was a huge disaster, and this is now obvious. The reasons the GLF should be placed on his shoulders are 4 fold.

A) It was his plan
B) He was the leader of China
C) He did not like dissent from his opinions
D) He believed the positive lies of the comrades under him far to often.

From what I know, I can say Mao's goals for the GLF were most likely the ones always stated. To catch up to Great Britan, feed the masses, and make China strong in a short amount of time. I will give you a quote from Li Zhisui regarding Mao's actions during the great leap forward (Who as you know did not paint a very flattering picture of Mao):

'"But I do not think that when he spoke on July 2, 1959, he knew how bad the disaster had become, and he believed the party was doing everything it could to manage the situation".

Of course, he was horrible in the field of economics, this was a horrible plan, and many people died. Mao was not aware just how bad the situation was, until it was out of control (as noted in the quote above), and it took another year before he "bit the bullet", stopped the GLF and imported grain. The fact that he gave up meat whether it may be small to some, is huge to myself, a man of the people. 

Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai, during the waning days of the Cultural Revolution.

For example - Would Stalin ever give up meat in private because others had none? I think not. That right there should make naysayers stop the comparisons. While the disaster can surely be put on Mao depending on how you place responsibility, the reasons above are also the reasons I do not find Mao directly responsible for every single death during the GLF. The bottom line is, he did not want, or intend for so many to perish, and all of the blood is obviously not on his hands (In this case there was not actually much blood, we are talking starvation, though that does not make the deaths any less tragic).

I think another huge problem Mao faced was his eventual dedication to orthodox Marxism-Leninism. It would seem he eventually came to think, that an answer to any real world problems could come from applying Marxist theory (and later with his own theory's as well) without any modification. This is a problem of course. The world changes, the economy changes. You must make changes to succeed, and I am not sure he understood that. Revisionism was needed at the time. And, after the Sino- Soviet spilt, he most likely saw himself as the champion of orthodox Marxism-Leninism. He saw Krushchev's changes and secret speech about Stalin as a blow to the communist movement, and he decided to pick up the flag and continue to tow the old line. This would increase his (and China's) power internationally, and adhere to Lenin's version of Marxism. In these ways, his pride, desire for power, and dedication got the best of him.

Next, comes the the Cultural Revolution. Mao did not want to lose power, and at the same time he possibly wanted China to be the next Soviet Union in the world (The leading country in the communist bloc). A powerful country that could apply Marxist theory to its government, and lead the masses to a high standard of living. As you know, the "Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution" led to many tragic occurrences. The economy came to a stand still, half the country was criticizing the over half and many lives where ruined. The GPCR also led to his "personality cult" being put into over drive. Although Mao many times said he did not want to be revered, of course he most likely enjoyed reaping those benefits. Who would not, really?

A large difference here compared to other countries was the actual adoration for Mao that the people had for him. People can argue the fact all they want, the adoration was a legitimate one for many. Even Jung Chang was a Red Guard, and I can tell you she was probably not forced to put the armband on at gun point. She was caught up in the revolution and Mao, and followed suit like so many others. The idea of the GPCR was obviously ridiculous and grand. How many other "dictators" would have dared to put so much power in the hands of the people? Mao knew it would not affect his power, but it would definitely affect the power of his establishment.

I am sure not one Red Guard was displeased by the new found power and benefits that came along with the title. (Free train rides all around the country, free lodging, etc). Like other movements Mao had introduced, it was all too late when he decided to stop it (or when he thought about stopping it). He probably thought he would die, China would be built from the ground up, strong, united, completely dedicated to Marxism-Leninism as an ideology, and he would go down in history like the emperors he loved to read about in the past, as a great leader, or at least a powerful one who is respected.

Mao, on display for viewing at his wake; before he was enclosed in a crystal coffin and enshrined inside his memorial at Tiananmen Square.

Final

Mao was one of the greatest political leaders to have lived - Although it sounds like rhetoric (sadly), I really do believe that his achievements outweigh his mistakes; and that he had China's best interests almost at the top of his list, next to his interests. He may have been a dictator, but as far as I am concerned I like to apply the term "enlightened despot" to Mao. You must look at the situation he was placed in. This was not America, this was China. Broken apart by foreign powers, and being invaded by another at the same time. He used communism as a way to unite the country, and he paved the path (albeit a rocky one) to where China is today and that is most likely the closest country to becoming the next world super power.

He began to think he was infallible, due to his personality and the sometimes blind dedication of those around him. Being dogmatic, which he said he reviled, was one of the main factors that led to some of his biggest mistakes. If you take away the starvation deaths in the GFL, Mao is nowhere close to anyone like Hitler or Stalin. I do not take them away, but I do not attribute every single one to him; as I mentioned earlier. The thing is, he did not sign death orders and steal food from the masses like many others. I will argue rigorously against any claims that Mao was a mass murderer for that and other obvious reasons I have stated here previously. He did not expect the people to follow the state, he expected the people to follow communism, which while it may have been a lesser offense, it was another mistake. I myself am torn by my admiration for Mao, and the fact that some of those mistakes are unforgivable.

Mao once said that China never had a man in it's history comparable to George Washington. 

Mao was China's George Washington, in a different context. Not even George Washington was selfless in his duties. All too often others seem to forget, for lack of a better term, people are people. In my opinion the biggest problem most have with Mao is that he was a communist and he was one of the few who ended up doing a great deal of good for his country to go along with the bad, and people want his image to fall along with communism's and Lenin's. Then, they try to turn him into Hitler or Stalin. The Third Rich lasted a decade, and was run on dubious beliefs; I do not even see how it is comparable to Mao's China. The Soviet Union is gone, too many purges, and to much hold onto an outdated system. 

Mao's Communist Party is still kicking, and at least making it seem like they are helping the people (a good example is, they recently abolished the 1200 year old agricultural tax - But boy are they taking what Mao labeled the "Capitalist Road"). 

Mao united a fractured country, which was backwards and overrun by foreiners, and turned it into a united major regional power, now on the verge of becoming the only other superpower next to the US. He ended the prostitution and foot binding of the previous centuries, while literacy rates and GDP per capita rose substantially.

Really, once all of the bullshit is put aside, ask yourself this: Was Mao really the worst thing that could have happened to China? And who could have done better? If Mao did not unite China, and stand atop Tiananmen Square in 1949, where would that great country be today? Would it even be one country, better, ruled by foreigners or an even more corrupt Chinese government? Indeed, we will never know.

I guess the only thing left to say is Mao Zhuxi Wensui.