ACOMSDave, Author at ACOMSDave

Austin Armacost Looks Hot And Naked In His Calendar Photoshoot

29/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Hot to trot, Austin Armacost looks incredible in his new Calendar as this video shows..

Okay we’re officially in love with and not just in a superficial way. Okay maybe in a little bit of a superficial way. But come on look at that body. Anyway check out the video from the making of his 2016 Calendar.

Armacost who is currently starring in Celebrity Big Brother has said that he’s making up for Perez Hilton’s bad behaviour in the last series of the show saying,
“I have come to redeem gay American men and America as a whole. Speidi were a disaster too. I didn’t see their season but I hate them as everyone in America does. I have come to redeem the tarnished brush that Perez has painted us all with”

Pope Francis shows support for LGBT children's book writer with private letter

29/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

By Umberto Bacchi | International Business Times

Pope Francis has expressed solidarity to an Italian author and LGBT activist whose work was recently banned by the conservative mayor of Venice over its purported seditious content in favour of gay rights. Francesca Pardi said she has received a written reply from the pontiff to a letter she sent earlier this summer, complaining about the continuous attacks she received from hard-line Catholics. The writer had become a target of campaigners against same-sex-marriage, after she created an independent publishing house printing children’s books that also depict gay couples.
Piccolo Uovo
Earlier this summer, several of her titles – including the award-winning book Piccolo Uovo (Little Egg), the tale of a lonely egg who meets straight and gay animal couples in its quest for a family – were listed among 49 publications ordered for removal from public libraries by Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro, who said they corrupted the local youth. After an international outcry the list was reduced to two books, the subversive Piccolo Uovo being one of them.
In June, Pardi – who has four children with her partner, Maria Silvia Fiengo – wrote to the Pope to denounce what she said was a hate campaign launched against her family by Catholic associations. She also attached a copy of Piccolo Uovo, inviting Francis to read it. The Argentinian pontiff replied with a letter in his named written by Peter B Wells, the assessor for general affairs at the Vatican secretariat of state.
“His holiness is grateful for the thoughtful gesture and for the feelings that prompted it, hoping for an always more productive activity in the service of young generations and the spread of true human and Christian values,” the letter read. It also contained Francis’ personal blessing to Pardi and her partner. Pardi published its contents on Facebook, causing a stir in Italy.
“I was very touched by it,” Pardi told IBTimes UK. She explained that the letter was not supportive of gay rights but nevertheless marked an important change in the Church attitude towards homosexuals. “Obviously he [Francis] doesn’t agree with homosexuality and if he ever was to make such an opening he would never do so in a private letter to me!” she said. “However, only to consider me as an interlocutor worth respect is a tremendous step forward. I read it as an opening towards people and dialogue, a message of tolerance.”
Later, the Vatican said the Pontiff’s secretariat routinely replied to mail, adding that under no circumstances was the letter received by Pardi intended to endorse behaviours inconsistent with Catholic teachings.
Pope Francis letter to LGBT author
The letter came as the Pope faces a revolt from the conservative fringes of the Catholic Church over his open stance towards gay people. Five cardinals and more than 100 bishops were among the signatories of a worldwide petition urging the pontiff to clearly voice his and the Vatican’s opposition to same-sex marriage.
“This prayerful petition asks Pope Francis to clear up the moral confusion that’s been spreading against Natural and Divine Law,”said John Ritchie, director of Tradition Family Property Student Action group which launched the campaign. “If the enemies of the family continue to chip away at holy matrimony, the future of the family and civilization itself will be in even more serious peril.”
Francis has not expressed approval for gay marriage but has steered the Holy See in the direction of a more tolerant position, maintaining that homosexuals should be integrated and not marginalised with his famous “who am I to judge?” quote.

The letter also fuelled Italy’s heated debate over gay rights ignited by a recent government pledge to introduce a law on civil unions. The Mediterranean country is currently the only one in western Europe not to have any such regulation and thus considering same-sex marriage illegal.

57% in Co Antrim support same-sex marriage, says poll

29/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Thousands of people took part in the annual Belfast Gay Pride event in Belfast city centre on August 1, celebrating Northern Irelands LGBT community. Organisers claim there was a larger than normal turnout in the wake of the recent same-sex marriage referendum in the Republic of Ireland. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

By Stephen Kernohan – 12:50Friday 28 August 2015

A majority of Co Antrim people support equal marriage rights for same-sex couples, a new poll claims.
Campaigners have welcomed the opinion poll, conducted by Ipsos MORI, one of the world’s biggest polling companies, which shows that 57% of adults living in Co Antrim agree that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.
Only 38% of people polled here disagreed with the idea, with the remaining 5% declaring they did not know, indicating a ratio of 2:1 support for same-sex marriage rights across the county.
Ipsos MORI says polling was undertaken to “establish a deeper understanding of public attitudes towards same-sex marriage across each of the counties in Northern Ireland”.
Overall, the survey found that 68% of adults in Northern Ireland think that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry – a figure even higher than the 62.1% figure who voted Yes in the recent marriage equality referendum in the Republic.
By political affiliation, support ranged from 80% of Sinn Féin voters, to 79% of Alliance voters, 61% of SDLP voters, and 49% of Ulster Unionist voters. Among voters for the DUP, whose MLAs have repeatedly blocked equal marriage in the Northern Ireland Assembly, the poll shows that just fewer than half (49%) back the party’s stance, while 45% of DUP voters support a change in the law to allow same-sex couples to wed.
The publication of the poll results follows a marriage equality rally in Belfast in June when an estimated 20,000 people marched to demand a change in the law to allow same-sex marriage in the region.
The Northern Ireland Assembly has voted against marriage equality on four occasions since 2012. Campaigners say the figures show that Northern Ireland’s politicians are now out of step with ordinary people on the issue and are calling on the Northern Ireland Executive to bring forward marriage equality legislation without further delay.
Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland programme director, said: “We welcome the positive support from the people of Co Antrim for civil marriage rights for same-sex couples. The people have spoken and it’s clear they don’t want Northern Ireland to be left behind on marriage equality.
“Northern Ireland’s politicians are badly out of step with the people on marriage equality and we would encourage those MLAs who have so far voted against or abstained on the issue, to think again and to better represent the views of voters across Antrim.
“Following the introduction of marriage equality in the rest of the UK and the overwhelming Yes vote in the Republic, it’s high time Northern Ireland said a big ‘we do too’ to equality.”
John O’Doherty, the Rainbow Project director, said: “Northern Ireland is increasingly isolated in western Europe as a region where marriage equality is not a reality. This is a shameful injustice which cannot be allowed to continue. Politicians can’t simply ignore figures like those in the Ipsos MORI poll. The tide of public opinion has shifted decisively and there can only be one outcome.
“We will continue our campaign to ensure that equality becomes a reality for all the people of these islands”
Clare Moore of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions also welcomed the poll findings: “Through this poll, we see clearly that the people of Co Antrim, like people all across Northern Ireland, now back legislation for marriage equality.
“Everyone should have equal rights and opportunities including the right to marry. It is a simple matter of equality. People have a right to expect that their politicians will promote and defend equality for all.”

He's Football Crazy, he's football mad

28/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

By The Gay UK, Aug 25 2015 03:41PM

Oh those cheeky chappies at East End Phoenix Football Club have asked Premiership footballer Joey Barton if he wants to transfer to their team.

CREDIT: East End Phoenix

Tweeting the star footballer, lads from the East End Phoenix Football Club said that as part of the transfer package, Joey Barton, 32, could enjoy free pints at the Old Ship each Sunday and that he wouldn’t need to wash out his gym bag.
Club Chairman, and stand-in goalkeeper Niall Dumigan, said he was “cautiously optimistic” of a quick response from Barton’s representatives.

East End Phoenix FC

I can only say that I wish them every success with their bid, and in support I give them a well know song sung b Robin Hall & Jimmy Macgregor, ‘He is Football Crazy’:

Serial killer dubbed 'The Pusher' is killing city's gay men by pushing them into canals

28/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

20:45, 25 AUGUST 2015
BY AMY GLENDINNING

Thomas Sheridan is convinced some of the 60 plus deaths in Manchester’s canals since 2004 are the work of a psychopath or “extremely disturbed individual”

Thomas SheridanWarning: Author Thomas Sheridan has made fresh claims that there is a serial killer stalking Manchester’s canal network

An author specialising in psychopaths is convinced a serial killer is killing gay men in Manchester by pushing them into canals.
Thomas Sheridan visited Manchester to investigate rumours of ‘The Pusher’ – a killer stalking the city’s waterways.
He is convinced some of the 60 plus deaths since 2004 are the work of a psychopath or ‘extremely disturbed individual’ with excellent knowledge of the streets around canals.
And like notorious 1980s London murderer Dennis Nilsen, Mr Sheridan believes the killer could be targeting gay men, or those he believes are gay, in a bid to assuage his own homosexual guilt.
Mr Sheridan, 51, from Northern Ireland, visited Manchester to research the deaths in canals and rivers and says he was followed by ‘a tall man wearing a hood’ into a poorly lit area of the Rochdale Canal towpath.

Castlefield Basin

He described the experience as ‘terrifying’ and says Greater Manchester Police must act ‘before the killer strikes again’.
He also suggests GMP may have denied the existence of a serial killer while they pursue a covert investigation in case publicity provokes the killer to strike again.
GMP has always maintained that there is no serial killer and that all the deaths in the past nine years are suicides or accidents.
Officers have again refuted the claims and say young or gay men do not make up the majority of the deaths.
To prepare for a conference in Manchester on psychopathology, Mr Sheridan spent May walking around the canals in the early hours of the morning.

Canals

In a video made of his experiences, he said: “Walking along the Rochdale Canal, I was followed by a tall man wearing a hood into a poorly-lit area.
“The sense of isolation and vulnerability at the location were quite frankly terrifying.
“I’m convinced foul play is a point concerning some of the bodies.
“I concur with the people of Manchester that ‘The Pusher’ is almost certainly the cause of some of these deaths.
“I believe the killer is targeting gay men or men the killer is assuming to be gay – following them from a night out or more worryingly, picking them up in bars.

Rochdale Canal

“We may be dealing with a psychopath or extremely disturbed individual.
“Something very similar could be afoot in Manchester to the case of Dennis Nilsen.
“The police need to take this very seriously.”
Mr Sheridan has also speculated that ‘The Pusher’ has an excellent knowledge of the streets around the canals and public transport to slip away.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, he added: “Manchester is probably a great place to be a serial killer because it’s got great transport links and a very transient population.
“When speculation about the ‘Son of Sam’ killer [David Berkowitz] in New York in the 1970s started the NYPD were very negative that there could be a serial killer at large.
“That’s common for police forces around the world.
“If acknowledged, it can start an effect where the serial killer sees it as a challenge to try to out-fox the police.
“Media and public pressure mounts as the body count rises and the police are in a no-win situation unless they catch the killer.
“The fact water is involved [in the deaths in Manchester] suggests the killer could be cleansing themselves of their guilt over their homosexuality – we see these Freudian patterns all over life.”
The idea of a serial killer stalking Greater Manchester’s canals was first raised last year by Birmingham City University Professor Craig Jackson .
He has maintained that canals are not normally chosen as places for people to commit suicide and there were too many deaths for it not to be suspicious.

Rafael Nadal

28/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

It would seem that ‘Rafa’ is promoting various bits of clothing, here are a few vids which show off is attributes:

By MATTHEW SCHNEIERAUG. 26, 2015

It was 90 degrees in the sun, the spectators were wilting in the heat, and there on the court, Rafael Nadal was slicing and lobbing balls back over the net — in a full tailored suit.

The United States Open tennis championships begin next week. But for Mr. Nadal and many of the blue-chip athletes whose lucrative side business is endorsing and representing brands, the week leading up to the Open is one part practice, one part celebrity commitments.
“I’m working very hard and working well, I think,” he said of his Open preparations. But before then, there’s business to attend to.
Mr. Nadal, 29, has just been announced as a global ambassador for Tommy Hilfiger, the maker of that new, stretchier suit, and will be the face of its tailored clothing and TH Bold fragrance and the body wearing its underwear collection.
So it was that, before Arthur Ashe Stadium, Mr. Nadal found himself playing on Tuesday on a red, white and blue Tommy Hilfiger court in the middle of Bryant Park, in a game of strip tennis (lose a point, lose an article of clothing) against a bevy of Hilfiger models.
Constance Jablonski takes off an article of clothing after “losing” a point against Rafael Nadal. Credit Damon Winter/The New York Times
Had he ever done anything like this before? “I never did,” he said with a laugh after the match, at which he had sacrificed a few accessories (a tie, a pocket square) and his shirt, but stayed generally besuited. “It was special, and we had some fun, I think.”
Stripping down is becoming old hat for Mr. Nadal, who had previously appeared in various states of undress in ads for Emporio Armani. Coinciding with the Bryant Park match, the new Hilfiger campaign (featuring Mr. Nadal, sinuous and muscle-bound in his boxer briefs) began appearing everywhere — on bus shelters, billboards and the back page of sections of this newspaper.
An accompanying video shows Mr. Nadal striding into a locker room, taking off his jeans and then his underwear, with a flirtatious wag of the head.
“You saw the video of him taking the underwear off in the locker room?” Mr. Hilfiger asked. “That was fun.”
Rafael Nadal keeps his suit on as Akin Akman and Chanel Iman undress, point by point. Credit Damon Winter/The New York Times
Mr. Hilfiger is aiming, unapologetically, for sex appeal. His underwear business had been big in the 1990s, selling boxers to “college kids, skaters, all the young people in the ’90s,” Mr. Hilfiger said. “Then it sort of quieted down. We started selling white underwear briefs. White underwear briefs are usually sold to middle-aged guys. And they weren’t sexy anymore.”
Mr. Nadal became not only the model, but a focus group of one. “I talked to him at length about what kind of underwear would you wear,” Mr. Hilfiger said.
Mr. Nadal professed to be unconcerned about being a sex symbol on such public display.
“I feel lucky to have the chance to be the ambassador of such a great brand as Tommy Hilfiger,” he said. “I don’t think much, I don’t pay much attention if I’m the backdrop of the newspaper.”
For the rest of the world, attention is likely to be paid.
“We’re doing reverse sexism here,” said Jane Lynch, the “Glee” actress and comedian who is gay and served as the match’s umpire. “This is great. Especially the part about Rafa in his underwear. Because that could turn a girl straight, if you know what I mean.”

Gay Rugby World Cup documentary SCRUM to open Iris 2015

28/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

By The Gay UK, Aug 26 2015 03:00PM

Organisers of the Iris Prize Festival have confirmed that the Cardiff based LGBT film festival has adopted a rugby theme for their opening night to coincide with the Rugby World Cup. Supported by the Welsh Rugby Union, who allowed the festival team to film their cinema advert at the Millennium Stadium, the 2015 festival will open with the rugby documentary Scrum.

Directed by Australian film maker Poppy Stockell (pictured left), who will be in Cardiff for the screening, the documentary focuses on the 2014 gay rugby world cup – The Bingham Cup.
“I’m thrilled that Scrum has been selected to open the 2015 Iris Prize Festival,” said Scrum’s director Poppy Stockell.
“Wales is known throughout the world as a rugby loving nation and I just can’t wait to see what they think of the film. Gareth Thomas has already made a huge contribution as the first openly gay rugby union player. Coupled with the pioneering work of out gay ref Nigel Owen, you get the impression Wales is a progressive country,” she added.
“If this was not enough we also have the added thrill of screening during the Rugby World Cup – I’m obsessed with hearing the Welsh crowds sing and hoping to get a chance to see some games, especially the Ireland v France match on the closing night of the Iris Festival,” she concluded.
Festival Director and feature film programmer, Berwyn Rowlands says, “As the eyes of the world focus on the 2015 Rugby World Cup, I’m delighted to open the 2015 festival with this powerful documentary which is about more than just rugby. This is the first time for a doc to open Iris and it confirms Poppy’s talents as a film maker who can tell a story.”
The full feature programme includes 14 amazing feature films, representing the very best of LGBT film making, including: Award winning Fourth Man Out, (US) director Andrew Nackman will be attending the screening; lesbian comedy Floating (Germany) director Julia Kaiser is also scheduled to be in Cardiff for the festival and Darker Than Midnight (Italy) whose director Sebastiano Riso is also visiting Iris to introduce his film.
“I honestly believe we have this year the best of the best. Many of the films in this year’s programme arrive in Cardiff with awards for best film, best performance from festivals all over the world. One of them will leave Cardiff with the Iris Prize Best Feature Award and two awards for performances in a feature will also be distributed. I think the juries have a difficult task ahead of them,” said Berwyn Rowlands.

Gay teens aren’t getting tested for HIV because they’re scared of being outed

28/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

GT – 27th August 2015 by Dean Eastmond

Only 20% of under 18s get tested

Young gay men are not getting tested for HIV nearly as much as their older counterparts according to a new study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
The research concludes that only 20% of 14 to 18 year olds have ever been tested.
The study — conducted in conjuction with the Centre of Innovative Public Health Research — unearthed the statistics in comparison to a 92% testing rate of those over the age of 18.
In a statement, Dr. Brian Mutanski, an associate professor of medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine added: ”Rates of new HIV infections to continue to increase among young gay and bisexual men.”
“Testing is critical because it can help those who are positive receive lifesaving medical care. Effective treatment can also help prevent them from transmitting the virus to others.”
As part of the study, gay teens were asked why they had not been tested in the past. The two biggest reasons were the fear of being outed to their friends and family and not seeing themselves at risk from HIV.
Dr. Gregory Phillips II explained that “understanding the barriers to testing provides critical information for intervening, so we can help young men get tested.
“Providing in-school testing would normalise the process. If there is a constant presence of on-site testing at schools, testing would seem less stigmatised. It would also increase knowledge about the testing precess and make it less scary,” he continued.

Gayby Baby: Australian education minister bans schools from showing documentary about LGBT families

28/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Gaybe Baby wants to dispel the myths surrounding LGBT parents

An Australian education minister has come under fire for banning every public school in his area from screening a film about children with gay parents.
New South Wales Education Minister Adrian Piccoli refused to let around 50 schools around the country screen the documentary ‘Gayby Baby’, which was going to be shown as part of the nationwide ‘Wear It Purple’ day, an event that supports the inclusion of LGBT pupils in schools.
Piccoli told 2GB Radio that the documentary, which looks at the lives of families with same-sex parents and was given a PG rating in Australia, wasn’t being shown because it wasn’t on the school curriculum.
“During school hours we expect them to be doing maths and English and curriculum matters. This movie is not part of the curriculum and that’s why I’ve made that direction.”

The move has been criticised by the Sydney-based anti-homophobia group behind Wear It Purple day, who aim to stop “ignorance, bullying and suicides” caused by discrimination towards LGBT people.
The director of Gayby Baby, Maya Newell, told The Guardianthat the film is less concerned about the sexualities of the parents and more about the development of the children.
“The film is so innocent. It’s actually much more about four kids who are traversing oncoming puberty, who are dealing with the trials and tribulations of growing up. The fact they have gay parents is really minor.”
Sydney MP Alex Greenwich called the decision “absurd and deeply disappointing”.

New Documentary Claims Both Kray Twins Were Bisexual

28/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Kray Bros

The Krays: Kill Order reveals secrets about the Kray twins from the people in their lives.

Reprinted from Out, written BY GLENN GARNER

AUGUST 27 2015 4:00 PM EDT

The Kray brothers are the subject of a new movie, Legend, starring Tom Hardy in both roles. Although Ronnie Kray was said to be openly bisexual (some even say he was gay), his twin brother Reggie was known to be straight. In the trailer for The Krays: Kill Order, a documentary about the notorious East End gangsters, a close connection to the twins claims that both of the brothers liked men.
“They were both bisexual,” says Maureen Flanagan, a hairdresser who had Violet Kray, Ronnie and Reggie’s mother, as one of her clients.
Flanagan also points out Ronnie’s hatred for Reggie’s wife, Frances Shea. According to the documentary, Ronnie was suspected of staging Frances’ murder to make it seem like a suicide. Witnesses claim that Reggie’s marriage was a lie, and that he was actually in love with her brother. Talk about some family drama!
Watch the trailer for the documentary below:

Click here to watch the trailer for Legend with Tom Hardy as both Kray twins.