Julia Gillard's new pal Rhianna

They seem like the most unlikely of pairings – a former Prime Minister and one of the biggest pop stars on the planet. And yet since first meeting in 2016, Julia Gillard and Rihanna have formed an unlikely friendship based on their shared passion for promoting education in developing countries around the world.

Read more at Australian Vogue. 

Meanwhile: spotted in New York by one of our eagle-eyed readers -on the Promenade along the East River and Carl Schurz Park filming for an HBO series : Nicole Kidman.

Prime Minister Update

 We like to keep tabs on the Prime Ministers of the world. They're very busy. In the above snap former Oz PM Kevin Rudd interviewed- as he called him..the Comeback Kid of Malaysian politics, 93 year old PM Mahathir Mohamad.

In New York where New Zealand PM Jacinta Arden is wowing the United Nations, former Australian PM Julia Gillard interviewed her for the New York Times.

Ms Gillard gets about- she was in Berlin yesterday meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

 And last but not least, our newly minted Oz PM Scott Morrison partied this week with celebrity hairdresser Joh Bailey at the beautiful Southern Highlands' property of David & Skye Leckie.
And Malcolm Turnbull?. We'll let you know shortly as we are sure to encounter him next week somewhere around the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney.

Bowie Stuns Paris !

Bowie Wong that is - the Australian fashion designer has been featured with some of the world's top designers like Schiaparelli, Chanel and Versace in this feature of OTT (over the top) designs. They describe the gown as This Round Dress.
 What fun !

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The Australia Day honours have featured two of Whisper's favourite characters.
Popular show business publicist Bruce Pollack (below right) who has handled some of the biggest stars in the world has been awarded a Member of the Order of Australia “for significant service to the community in the areas of social welfare and public health.” Pollack is also an LBGT activist who helped make the  Sydney Mardi Gras one of the most famous street events on the planet.


 Meanwhile in the snooty Southern Highlands young newspaper executive Cristian King  (pictured with former PM Julia Gillard) who publishes the LatteLife group of newspapers has been awarded a Certificate of Appreciation for his "outstanding contribution to the community of Wingecarribee Shire". Pretty heady stuff for a lad of just 20 years old who recently defended himself in court when a local councilor attempted to obtain an AVO order against him. The councilor sensibly dropped her request. King also broadcasts on local FM radio.

Malcolm Turnbull is not who you think he is !

Whispers has come across all manner of odd tales but this one really caught our eye. The Internet is awash with conspiracy rumours and we love this one : our newly minted prime Minster Malcolm Turnbull is not who you think he is. 'Crisis actors' is one of the weirder conspiracy claims of the "truther " movement (they also say the Earth really is flat & the Moon Landing was faked) : these are actors who pretend to be 'victims' of the so-called 'false flag' events where the truthers claim every terrible action is a staged secret government plot as they lead us onto the New World Order, take away every citizen's gun in the USA and so on. Part of the grand conspiracy is that actors play the part of world leaders.
Our favourite was the claim that HM Queen Elizabeth was actually the Golden Girl star Betty White (they do look similar in a low light) but now it has been revealed : Malcolm Turnbull is in fact the star of Hannibal Lecter films Anthony Hopkins. Not only that, former PM Julia Gillard is in reality the Hollywood actress Jodie Foster !
Whispers has encountered all 4 of these personalities in person including being a guest at a dinner at Turnbull's Point Piper mansion, a book launch hosted by Julia Gillard, a small reception at Sydney's Fox Studios for Jodie Foster and 2 movie premiers with actor Hopkins.
Crucially : we have never seen all four at the same time in the same room !. We report, you decide.

Away from the drama in Canberra, former PM Julia Gillard dines with pals in New York

Rupert Noffs* Julia Gillard* Matty Bennett

While Tony Abbott was being removed by his own MPs in Canberra and replaced by Malcolm Turnbull, former prime minister Julia Gillard dined with friends in New York as our exclusive snap shows. Pictured above with Julia are comedian Mark Trevorrow and Gideon Shoes' boss Rupert Noffs. The trio joined friends from the "gumleaf mafia" and Noffs partner Matty Bennett for dinner at Noff's & Bennett's apartment.
Noffs and Bennett are soon to open their own eatery, Lucky Bee in Soho's Broome Street (the street only had factories when Whispers lived there) specialising in South East Asian food and they have the New York Times buzzing with excitement. Ironically Malcolm Turnbull's first act as PM was to sign the two most populous states Victoria and NSW up to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) considered one of Gillard's most important pieces of legislation and one which she is justly proud of.

Everything Old is New Again :The Daily Mail

The Daily Mail : It's been described as the very worst and the very best of tabloids. Certainly their online version MailOnline is the most read newspaper website on the planet. The printed version has for decades had the most pleasing layout and graphics of any of the British tabloids and an excellent mixture of news, newsy tales and celebrity, society and show biz gossip.
So it's always a great compliment when the Mail takes a cue from Whispers at thesocialshuttle (as is their wont) to bring the public a tale as they did with this piece on 2nd June 2015  : about former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard with a fab pic of Julia jiving on stage to accompany the late Victorian premier Joan Kirner at the microphone.
The fact our tale with a similar headline appeared on June 29th 2013 is neither here nor there

JUNE 2015                                                                                       JUNE 2013

Hey a good story is always worth recycling and the Mail are experts at it. We reckon the later Peter Allen may have had them in mind when he penned this song:

Birthday News

Did anyone know that former Treasurer and Deputy PM Wayne Swann was an old rocker at heart?.
We knew he was a surfer in his young days living in sunny Queensland and still regularly hits the waves with his board and wetsuit but we have pleasure in outing the backbencher as a card carrying & bandanna wearing Bruce Springsteen fan.
Yesterday Wayne celebrated his 60th and as our exclusive snap shows  good pal and former Prime Minister Julia Gillard dropped by to celebrate and bop away to Wayne's surprise gift from friends, a concert by The Springsteen Experience.

We think bandanna wearing should be encouraged to loosen up the House of Reps and have forwarded a communique to our pal Speaker Bronwyn Bishop MP. Failing that we may lobby Clive Palmer MP . He should be up for it.

Below is a video of The Springsteen Experience in action. Gosh, aren't they good!

( although we think a few drinks beforehand may help aid that experience)

Misogyny in Modern Australia

You have to love YouTube and the way it has become an outlet for creativity from the much maligned Justin Bieber (must say that-my niece adores him) to our Hill Billy dance vid below. Here is the latest operatic offering from Brisbane based composer Rob Davidson and choir Australian Voices with Julia Gillard's famous misogyny speech put to music : Not Now, Not Ever .

It's Rudd by a Whisker

In all matters astrological we usually turn to Britain's up and coming top stargazer Victor Olliver but so busy is he with his new book Lifesurfing: Your Horoscope Forecast Guide 2014 , now an Amazon bestseller, we have turned to another expert, Marjorie Orr  for a forecast on the September 7th General Election.
It doesn't look too hot for either Tony Abbott or Kevin Rudd but Marjorie seems to see Rudd holding on. Another 'hung' parliament ?. Both leaders have said they won't deal with the minor parties- well they would say they wouldn't they - personally, the Shuttle reckons hung parliaments are all the rage and keep our politicians on their toes as exampled by Julia Gillard's tenure where she managed to negotiate over 300 pieces of legislation.
Over to Ms Orr :

Australian Election - hums and haws  From: Marjorie. (07 Aug 2013 17:48): 
The Australian Election on 7 September will now be two days before the bad tempered Mars in Leo square Saturn rather than a few days after when it was set by Julia Gillard for 14th Sept. So not a generally happy result. Indeed the Australia country chart has tr Pluto conjunct the Sun/Saturn midpoint then so feels like a real drear. Aussies not in chipper spirits.

There's the usual mixter maxter on both charts with no birth time for Tony Abbot.

Marjorie Orr

Kevin Rudd, 21 Sept 1957 12.07pm, has the strongest influence of tr Pluto trine Jupiter/Uranus which helped oust Julia Gillard tho' it disappears briefly in the days following the election. Aside from that he has tr Saturn conjunct his Venus which can denote unpopularity and conjunct his Solar Arc Mercury which can be discouraging; a couple of droopy tr Neptune trine Saturn midpoints which don't look reassuring; and tr Saturn moving to conjunct Jupiter/Saturn a few days later which again is minorly downbeat.

Tony Abbot has tr Neptune trine one Mars midpoint and tr Saturn conjunct Sun/Neptune, neither of which look cheerful. But he does have tr Jupiter trine and sextile Jupiter/Saturn and Jupiter/Uranus. And he may have useful aspects to Ascendant and Midheaven which we don't know with no birth time.
He is certainly running into major problems within a year as his Solar Arc Pluto is then conjunct his Mars/Neptune midpoint. But the same is true of Rudd since he has Solar Arc Neptune square Sun Mars within a year as well. 
Rudd was elected on the party switch round on a Sun Jupiter conjunction trine Neptune trine Saturn which should stand him in good stead. Abbot's opposition party is just ahead in the polls but I wouldn't be surprised if Rudd hung on. But it isn't a clear cut call at all even given the normal uncertainties of election charts."

Julia As You Have Never Seen Her

Dancing on stage in the early 90s at a birthday party for fellow Emily Lister and premier of Victoria Joan Kirner who is at the microphone.

Below : those naughty Madame Tussaud's mob today placed their Julia Gillard waxwork outside a dole office.

Superman Fails Julia

In the end, the pleadings of superstar Russell Crowe couldn't save Australia's first female Prime Minister Julia Gillard from the combined attacks from Kevin Rudd and the chorus line of media hacks at News Ltd, Fairfax and the ABC.
Here is Julia Gillard's elegant resignation speech. But following is her real speech- the one she wanted to say channeled by comedienne Jackie Loeb.

Superheroes For Gillard

Following our Gladiators For Gillard report on Russell Crowe's twitter support for Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Superman's dad has appeared on the ABC lamenting the lack of gallantry in politics.

Gladiators For Gillard !

She may be taking flak left right and centre but Prime Minister Julia Gillard has a new hero in her corner : Russell Crowe. Crowe hasn't minced words and while he Tweeted today that he admired Malcolm Turnbull MP he said : Julia G is my choice though...Leader through tough times. And cricketing legend Allan Border said on ABC radio today that he admired Gillard as a strong leader. So there!


    

The Merry Wives Of Murdoch, the Gardener & the Crooner

Patricia Booker               Anna Torv                 Wendi Deng

Whilst the rest of the media is still reeling after having been caught on the hop by the announcement of the Rupert Murdoch divorce : unlike Social Shuttle readers who read 2 months ago that the marriage was on the rocks and the end was pending, a former Murdoch confidante has come up with an insightful article on Rupert Murdoch and his former wives including Patrica Booker, Anna Mann (nee Torv) and the soon to be Wendi Deng.

Most of the media have turned to Michael Woolf's excellent biography  The Man Who Owns the News: Inside the Secret World of Rupert Murdoch for details but Rodney E.Lever was Rupert Murdoch's right hand man and a News Ltd executive for many years, a friend of the family and someone intimately involved in Rupert's personal and business affairs. He even accompanied Rupert and Anna on their honeymoon.

His series on Murdoch and his empire on the informative website Independent Australia are well worth reading.

One piece shines out as a previously unknown detail is revealed : In Adelaide when Rupert first set up home with his first wife Patricia, the gardens were tendered by a dusky hued handyman. And who was this gardener?.Step forward our favourite Malaysian import Kandiah Kamalesvaran , the late Queen Mother's favourite singer and now known as Kamahl !. Kamahl has certainly come a long way from the Adelaide Hills. He now lives in a large mansion on Sydney's elite North shore and drives a gleaming Rolls Royce. Last week we encountered Kamahl at an America Australia Association awards dinner attended by Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

What a small world we live in.
Here is a clip of Kamahl (hiding in the foliage) singing his 1975 hit The Elephant Song which won the heart of HRH Queen Mother who invited Kamahl to share a few G&Ts at Clarence House.
trivia : He first used the name Kamal but after an MC introduced him as 'Camel' he became Kamahl.

Julia's Terminator Ally

Still reeling from the great MenuGate scandal , Julia Gillard at least has a friend in former California governor Arnie Schwarzenegger who was in Canberra this morning and met with the PM.

Although a Republican Arnie implemented a carbon pricing scheme in California to reduce emissions, in almost identical fashion to the one imposed by Labor.

Ellen Day 2

Ellen deGeneris and wife Portia di Rossi plus crew dined last night at Neild Avenue in Rushcutter's Bay.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Julia Gillard met the Easter Bunny AKA shock jock Kyle Sandilands. Which is scary.

exclusive video: Kevin Rudd stalks Julia Gillard

Miriam Margolyes Becomes An Aussie and annouces : I'm A Dyke!

Actress Miriam Margolyes has had a long associtation with Australia : her partner is a local and when not travelling the world to appear in films and stage plays, Miriam retreats to a magnificent property in the Southern Highlands of NSW.

Today she formerly became an Australian citizen and was presented with her citizenship certificate by prime minister Julia Gillard at a ceremony in Canberra. Miriam spoke about her long time Australian female partner and as an after thought announced to the assembled dignitaries :"if anyone doesn't know, I'm a dyke"

Update : Mayan End of The World Confirmed

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has confirmed that the End of the world is nigh !. Flee...

Old Pals Party

FORTY years ago this Sunday, hero of the left and Labor Party icon Gough Whitlam ended 23 years of Liberal Party rule when he became Prime Minister.

Lulworth House resident Jeanne Little

On Friday the current Labor PM Julia Gillard survived the News Ltd led onslaught about...well no-one knows quite what except for the Opposition's repeated claims, echoing Rupert Murdoch's The Australian  that she "had questions to answer".
In her closing speech to Parliament for the year Ms Gillard paid tribute to Gough and his triumphs :ending Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War, free university education, universal healthcare and the recognition of China, now out biggest trading partner.
As the Shuttle revealed in early 2011, 96 year old Gough, who Sir David Frost described as "the most intellectual political leader he had interviewed"  is now living in the luxury nursing home  Lulworth House in Elizabeth Bay.
On Sunday the Whitlam clan will join Gough to celebrate his remarkable win in '72.

Gough, Neville & Harry M.

Perhaps Gough's fellow residents will pop in for a drink. The entertainer Jeanne Little who sadly is suffering from altheimers but still recognises people, and his fellow Labor great Neville Wran who was NSW Premier for 10 years, and the promoter Harry M.Miller . Our spy says Harry greatly enjoys breakfasting with Neville, despite the fact it was Wran's government that jailed Harry for 10 months in 1982 over the Tickertek fraud.