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Australian Prime Minister's Spoof "Apocalypse" Speech Goes Viral In China

Posted by samzenpus on from the believe-it-or-not dept.

brindafella writes "Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, recorded a spoof speech about the Mayan calendar apocalypse several days ago, for radio station "Triple J". Gillard said in part, 'Whether the final blow comes from flesh eating zombies, demonic hell beasts or from the total triumph of K-pop, if you know one thing about me it is this: I will always fight for you to the very end.' The speech has been picked up in China on Sina Weibo (China's Twitter) and has achieved well over 23,000 repeats, without anyone picking up the irony." This comes on the heels of the online version of China's Communist Party newspaper picking up an Onion story about North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un being named the "Sexiest Man Alive."

22 of 225 comments (clear)

  1. K-pop? by Platinumrat · · Score: 5, Funny

    Then the apocalypse is already upon us and I for one welcome our Korean overloads.

    1. Re:K-pop? by somersault · · Score: 5, Funny

      Op, op op, OP is correct.

      --
      which is totally what she said
    2. Re:K-pop? by samoanbiscuit · · Score: 5, Informative

      Korean pop has been called K-pop (and Japanese pop called J-pop) long before Gangnam Style was a twinkle in PSY's sunglasses.

  2. Stupid People by Nyder · · Score: 5, Insightful

    will believe anything on the interwebs.

    --
    Be seeing you...
  3. Shit by Intrepid+imaginaut · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why did nobody tell me demonic hell beasts were an option. Why am I always last to get the memo? I'm all geared up for zombies, vampires, ice ages, meteorite strikes, pandemics and alien invasions. Now I have to go study Alice Cooper videos for vulnerabilities. Is salt good or is that just ghosts? Damn!

    1. Re:Shit by ciderbrew · · Score: 4, Informative

      Too much salt will make you a ghost and or zombie. High blood pressure is a killer!

    2. Re:Shit by Mindcontrolled · · Score: 5, Funny

      Don't worry. Demonic hell beasts are handled like fast zombies. Firepower is key. Just don't rely on your anti-zombie shotguns. You want armor piercing capability. Minor upgrade to your gear, no big thing. Wait, don't you have at least one M82 for anti-alien action?? I thought you were prepared...

      --
      Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.
    3. Re:Shit by Intrepid+imaginaut · · Score: 5, Funny

      Wait, don't you have at least one M82 for anti-alien action?? I thought you were prepared...

      Please, my shit is next gen. I've got a powerbook running windows 95 on a virtual PC that I left exposed to the internet for a couple of days.

      Welcome to earth!

    4. Re:Shit by gman003 · · Score: 4, Funny

      But you're completely ignoring the variety of special strengths and weaknesses demons have. You can't just treat them like a subtype of zombie.

      For instance, zombies are generally flammable, and can be dispatched en masse with a flamethrower. Demonic hellbeasts, however, regularly withstand immense temperatures (theologians agree that Hell normally maintains a temperature of 666 degrees, although there is disagreement as to whether this is Celsius or Fahrenheit). Likewise, you should avoid incendiary ammunition, WP grenades, napalm, etc. for similar reasons.

      However, they also have certain vulnerabilities. Like vampires, they are vulnerable to religious symbols and holy water (although contrary to popular belief, demons have a non-denominational hatred of religion - even your Pastafarian symbols should work). And like lawyers, they can be bound by contracts, although (like lawyers) they generally get the better end of the deal.

  4. Sarcasm by AK+Marc · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Just like a sufficiently advanced parody can't be distinguished from a zealot, sarcasm doesn't translate. I'm sure they thought it funny and entertaining, but for completely different reasons than intended.

    --
    Learn to love Alaska
    1. Re:Sarcasm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      From my experience working with Chinese people, and I don't mean people of Chinese decent, but actually born, raised and lived in China most of their lives; they don't get sarcasm. Most of them, anyway. They don't.

      My boss is Chinese, and will stare blankly when I make a sarcastic remark about something, and most of the Chinese people around me are the same. They just have a different sense of humor, I guess it's a cultural thing. ...and it's not like I can write [SARCASM] on a notebook and hold it up like a sign. They won't get the reference either.

  5. A spoof by, not of, the leader by aNonnyMouseCowered · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This is on a different level from the Onion spoofs of world leaders like Obama or Kim Jung'Un. This is the real Australian Prime Minister doing the spoof. US presidents have been known to pardon Thanksgiving turkeys and part of running for public office in any democratic country is to show your "lighter side" in front of the media, but Gillard's "speech" goes beyond the realm of a simple practical joke. That or the producers of the show have done some nifty CGI work worthy of a Hollywood disaster movie.

    1. Re:A spoof by, not of, the leader by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 4, Funny

      Don't forget Julie Bishop's effort in outstaring a garden gnome.

      --
      Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
  6. Erm.. by philmarcracken · · Score: 5, Funny

    As an aussie. This was not funny the first time. And not funny the second on /.

    Im just glad she listened to the right people when it comes to fiber.

    1. Re:Erm.. by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 5, Funny

      Im just glad she listened to the right people when it comes to fiber.

      Indeed, the last thing you want is a constipated PM.

      --
      Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
  7. Re:Stupid People by Spottywot · · Score: 5, Funny

    I believe you.

    --
    In a cybernetic fit of rage she pissed off to another age...
  8. Re:What I would like to know... by somersault · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Hmm.. could be that all that stuff about the Great Firewall is just a practical joke. And North Korea is actually a real paradise with real unicorns. They just pretend to be a horrible, insane dictatorship to keep us out..

    --
    which is totally what she said
  9. 23,000 repeats by lucmove · · Score: 5, Insightful

    23,000 repeats shouldn't mean much in China.

  10. Re:Humour and irony by Simon+Brooke · · Score: 4, Funny

    Living in China, I found that people here really don't seem to know about irony. They just don't use it and therefore don't notice it. At least that's what I got from the various misunderstandings I've expererienced. I found that being true for Koreans and Malaysians as well, so it might be applicable to whole East Asia.

    I hate to tell you this, but all over Europe it is well known that Americans don't understand irony.

    No, it isn't anything like silvery or coppery....

    --
    I'm old enough to remember when discussions on Slashdot were well informed.
  11. aussie pm isn't the only one by etash · · Score: 4, Funny

    medvedev also recently trolled a bit, in a seemingly "i don't know i'm off camera" moment.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHCSpm2kepo

  12. Who is missing whose sarcasm? by guanxi · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Humor can be hard to translate. Maybe instead of the Chinese speakers missing the Aussie's sarcasm, it's visa-versa.

  13. Re:Humour and irony by Jawnn · · Score: 5, Funny

    I hate to tell you this, but all over Europe it is well known that Americans don't understand irony.

    No, it isn't anything like silvery or coppery....

    I hate to tell you this, but all over the U.S.A. it is well known that Europeans are prone to over-generalizing when it comes to Americans.