President’s underwear

Long underwear once worn by slain US President John F. Kennedy was a big draw at the controversial Kennedy memorabilia auction in New York, as a collector snapped it up for sale in a catalogue with Marilyn Monroe’s panties and bra. Maryland memorabilia collector Richard Wilson shelled out 3,350 for the wool-and-cotton top and trousers.

“I’m so thrilled to get them,” Wilson said. “They are something unique, special.” Wilson will display the underwear in his mail-order catalogue Norma’s Jeans, which features items that once belonged to Monroe, Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Grace Kelly, Elvis Presley, Liz Taylor and Frank Sinatra. “I think it would be great, perfect, to display the presidential longjohns next to Marilyn’s panties…or her bra and nightgown,” Wilson said, adding “I have Marilyn’s baby dolls pyjamas, 40 personal belongings.”

Monroe was reputed to have been one of Kennedy’s mistresses.Elton’s art

Veteran pop singer Elton John has been askedto return a piece of an ancient Roman sarcophagus which he bought at an auction after it was found to have been stolen, a report said on Friday.

John bought the third century piece at Sotheby’s in London four years ago for around 13,000 believing its provenance to be sound, The Independent said. But late last year the auction house discovered the piece had been stolen and the sale was not lawful, according to the paper. The Independent reported that Sotheby’s was now searching for an alternative to present to John. It was not known from whom or where the piece was taken.

Not for teenagers

Titanic may be the biggest box-office hit of all time, but the American Lung Association complains the Oscar-nominated movie sets a bad example for youth because leading lady Kate Winslet lights a cigarette as a sign of rebellion. In its annual Hackademy Awards’ announced on Thursday, the association commended As Good As It Gets because its heroine asks a friend not to smoke in thepresence of her asthmatic son. But, citing the scene in which Winslet’s character, Rose, lights a cigarette at the dinner table as a sign of rebellion, the lung association said Titanic was “the biggest disaster in the war against teenage tobacco use”. Other favourable films cited by the lung association were Liar, Liar, The Lost World and the James Bond movie, Tomorrow Never Dies. My Best Friend’s Wedding was given a thumbs down because its leading female character always has a cigarette, along with Men in Black, a science-fiction flick suggesting the only thing worth saving on Earth is a pack of cigarettes.

More pie for Gates

Microsoft Chief Bill Gates, the richest man in the world, was met by protesters and a pie on Friday during his one day visit to the Philippines. Gates, who is here on the last leg of an Asia-Pacific tour including Australia, Malaysia and Singapore, was met by a handful of protesters charging the computer tycoon with seeking to “monopolize”the Philippine market with his software products.

One of the protesters from the civil group, Philippine Greens, sported a Bill Gates mask, while another threw a pie in the face of the Gates impersonator. Tight security reportedly prevented protester’s from targeting the real thing. Last month, in Belgium Gates got a face full of pie thanks to a notorious practical joker.