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Antony

Zack Polanski, The New Leader of The Green Party Is Someone I Would Like Add To My Influential Gay Men Article

By Political, ThinkingNo Comments
Image From & Copyright © The Green Party UK.

In Early 2025, I released an article titled Influential UK Gay Men, which you can download for free as a PDF document here.

In the article, I listed all the UK gay men that I thought were influential, by profession, including Politicians.

I spent many hours researching and writing my Influential UK Gay Men article. I was really happy with it.

I concluded the article by writing that I didn’t think we’d get a Prime Minister that identifies as a gay man in my lifetime.

Well, my conclusion might have been wrong.

Indeed, I am starting hope that I was completely wrong about that.

Back in March 2025, when I researched, wrote and published my Influential UK Gay Men article, I had never heard of  Zack Polanski, who is the new leader of The Green Party UK and happens to be a gay man.

Zack has seemingly appeared from nowhere to become the leader of the party and is already making a massive impact on the political world here in the UK.

Zack has expanded The Green Party UK‘s agenda to include the things that ordinary people are worried about such as the ongoing cost of living crisis, the dire state of our public services (schools, NHS, social care, local authorities, Police, etc.), the problems with our sold-off utilities (with Zack advocating for bringing them back into public ownership) and uncontrolled immigration.

What really appeals to me about Zack, from the information I read and the interviews I’ve seen, is that unlike most other politicians, he actually answers questions asked. In a straight-forward manner, displaying honesty, integrity and with an opinion backed by data.

Zack’s approach to talking politics and leaning into his values is something very rarely seen in UK politics today. I think it’s both an amazing and fresh approach that is desperately needed in UK politics. Using this approach Zack comes across as being his authentic self. Zack displays great confidence and charisma in the interviews I’ve seen and is never flummoxed by any question asked. He never fluffs an answer or avoids answering the question. Zack doesn’t use interviews as an opportunity to parrot a pre-prepared speech.

My Influential UK Gay Men Article
I have a rule about my creative works: Once they are done, they are done. I never go back and edit or change them once they’re released/published. I feel that if I started editing my work, it would be a never ending task. That I’d never have the time to create new work. It would become a quest for perfection. All creative people will know that perfection is impossible and unachievable.

But if I were writing my Influential UK Gay Men article now, Zack Polanski would definitely be included among the influential gay men. I’d also remove my conclusion that there will never be a Prime Minister (PM) that identifies as gay in my lifetime. As from what I’ve seen so far, I really think Zack Polanski could become our next PM.

But who exactly is Zack Polanski and what’s his story?
I decided to do a little research and this is what I found:

Zack Polanski, was born in Salford (North West England) in 1982 (making him 42 years old at the time of writing this article). His name at birth was David Paulden. His parents are Jewish and actually chose to change their family’s surname. They did this to avoid being identified as Jewish and potentially discriminated against. Zack’s parents divorced when he was a young child.

Zack’s education years were generally unremarkable, he attended both private and public schools at different points in his life.

At 18 years old, Zack changed his name. It is reported that he felt that he didn’t want to hide his Jewish roots and wanted to find a sense of pride in this part of his identity.

In Zack’s working life, he has previously been involved with theatre and the arts. Zack has previously also worked as a Hypnotherapist, which caused him some controversy when The Sun sent an undercover reporter for a session with him.

In Zack’s political life, he started off associated with The Liberal Democrats, before becoming involved in The Green Party. In The Green Party he has held a number of different roles, but most recently and most notably he was the Deputy Leader of the party in the years 2022-2025. This leadership role no doubt gave him the experience and skills that he is now using to lead the party.

Zack is an openly out gay man, who is in a relationship with a man. He currently resides in London, UK.

What to Know More? Check out these links.
His website: www.zackpolanski.com
The Green Party UK – Our People: www.greenparty.org.uk/about/people/

Hope
In a world that is ever increasingly on the right side of the political spectrum, it is great to see a political party that is proudly left wing. That has values and wants to make every person’s life better, not just the ultra wealthy.

This can be evidenced in The Green Party UK‘s desire to implement a 1% wealth tax on the ultra wealthy. I personally think a 1% wealth tax, for ultra wealthy people, is far too low and should start at 5% at the minimum.

What are you thoughts on Zack Polanski and The Green Party? Feel free to let me know by getting in touch or leaving a comment on this post.

Write soon,

Antony

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Friday 31 October 2025

The Dangers of Emotional Support from an AI (Artificial Intelligence) App

By Technology, The Web, ThinkingNo Comments

I’ve recently seen an advert on social media for an AI that provides emotional support on demand 24/7. It appeared to target vulnerable people, which I find highly unethical.

Here are some of the dangers of these sort of services:

No Empathy
Machines can’t empathise with you. They may read like they can, from how the structure their responses, but it is false.

Empathy is defined as:

the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

This leads to a perceived connection, which eventually you will realise is a false connection. You will be left feeling hurt and deeply disappointed.

False Connection
In the early stages of this false connection, you will likely disconnect from real people. This is deeply emotionally and mentally unhealthy.

Emotional Dependence
Emotional dependence and the decreased emotional resilience that follows will not be good for you if you use one of these apps. Having an app that is available 24/7 that claims to be emotionally available to you, appears to be so, will lead to you becoming emotionally dependent on it. Being emotionally dependant on any person or thing isn’t healthy.

Bad Advice
AI has been known to give incorrect information and bad advice. At worst, this advice could be extremely harmful.

Can Reinforce negative thoughts, feelings or behaviours
AI apps will repeat back to you what you’ve just said. This is to check understanding, but in these emotional support apps is also to validate what you’ve typed. This repetition can reinforce negative thoughts, feelings or behaviours.

This is especially important as part of the role of a good therapist is to challenge negative thoughts, feelings or behaviours.

No Safeguarding
Should you go into crisis and become suicidal, the app won’t take actions to keep you safe.

A role of any therapist is to safeguard you and others from harm.

Lack of Emotional Growth
AI won’t be able to help you grow emotionally. But a therapist may make suggestions that help people to grow emotionally.

Data Privacy Breeches
Your data maybe hacked or not kept safe and secure.

Blog soon,

Antony

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Monday 20 October 2025

Vasculitis Treatment: Rituximab

By HealthNo Comments

The Vasculitis flare ups had been getting more and more frequent. More painful. So when my blood test results can back abnormal, I can’t say that I was surprised.

In the next month, I’ll be having two infusions of Rituximab, two weeks apart.

Let’s be clear about the aim of this treatment:

It’s to try to slow down the progress of the Vasculitis. Not to treat it or cure it. Just to slow it down.

What is Rituximab?
Rituximab is a drug that essentially kills certain white blood cells that make up the immune system.

Side Effects of Rituximab Treatment Include:

  • Fatigue
  • Nausea / Vomiting
  • Gastro Issues – loose bowels or constipation
  • Rashes / Hives
  • Hair Loss
  • Headaches
  • Swelling caused by a build up of fluid
  • Allergic Reaction – causing a high temperature and potentially difficulty in breathing
  • Weight loss
  • High blood sugars
  • Anxiety / Agitation
  • Dizziness
  • Mouth Ulcers
  • Sweating

But the big one is an increased risk of getting an infection. Infections that the body would usually be able to fight off, it won’t be able to. This means that any infection could become quickly life threatening and potentially kill me (if not treated promptly or if I am just unlucky).

It’s a scary time. But whatever I think and feel about it, its got to be done.

Hopefully write soon,

Antony

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Tuesday 30 September 2025

The Brit Digital ID Card – Creating A Dystopian UK

By Political, Rants, Technology, The Web, ThinkingNo Comments

According to the mainstream media, the Brit Digital ID Card is coming. See today’s articles in: The Guardian & The BBC. The talk is that they are going to be compulsory for anyone who wants to work, meaning the majority of the working age population.

The UK Government (or those really in power) have wanted an ID card system since the days when Tony Blair was Prime Minister. The only difference between now and then is the addition on the the word ‘Digital’ which represents how much more connected and capable technology now is. Connected via the Internet.

Capable in terms of being able to automatically monitor the activity of a population and flag anything suspicious or that doesn’t attune to the desires of those who have power in the UK.

The UK population didn’t want a ID Card when it was first suggested decades ago and we certainly don’t want a Digital ID Card now.

I recently blogged about The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, detailing my concerns and ways it could go horribly wrong. But it passed through into law without seemingly any objection. Looking back now, I think The Data (Use and Access Act) 2025 was a fundamental change to the law to allow for the introduction of Brit Digital ID Cards and for the data that they hold to be expanded on and used more over time.

In the UK it seems we are well on our way to creating a Dystopian society. And I don’t like it. Not at all.

A dystopian society is one that is deeply unjust, where the general population are controlled and manipulated by those in power (usually through abuse of power). Hallmarks of a dystopian society include: constant surveillance and monitoring of the general population, a complete loss of freedom of opinions and choices for individuals and dehumanising/alienation of those that speak up against corruption and abuse of power.

Now this sounds like a story of fiction doesn’t it? But just imagine the UK adopted just half of these dystopian society characteristics in the future. Imagine being monitored by AI, 24/7. Not just were you go and what you do but everything: What you buy, who you spend time with the content of intimate and private conversations.

Just imagine not being able to stand up and call out injustice and unfair treatment out of fear of loosing everything: your home, access to your money (including food, fuel, heat, etc.), your job, communication/contact with loved ones and even things like health and education services.

There really are no limits as to what could happen if a UK Digital Brit Card is introduced.

If we look at the past, we know that those who get power (whether that be financial, political, militaristic, legal, etc.) tend to abuse it. This will be no different. It will be too tempting to use the Brit Digital ID Card to enforce compliance and control the narrative.

It’s fundamentally about trust. Do the UK population trust those in power to be fair and just in using this system? How could we possibly trust those in power, when everyday there are more reports of abusive of the power that they already have. Think about tax avoidance. Think about big companies that have raided their employees pension pots. Think about the number of corruption cases we see everyday.

Both the UK’s past and current circumstances (such as The Cost of Living Crisis) have been driven by the greed of those in power. Always wanting more: More money. More power. More influence. It’s like a never-ending hunger. Like an unquenchable thirst.

We’ve all played the board game Monopoly and know how it ends: The rich becoming super rich and owning everything, whilst the middle-class and poor own nothing. Greater financial inequality. More poverty. More misery middle-class, working-class and poor. Part of this isn’t just a UK problem, but a global one.

But our UK Politician’s can make Britain a better place. They could tackle tax avoidance by the super rich, break up monopolies, make the public sector strong, make society feel fairer and more just.

But they don’t. Instead they continue to offer manifestos that they throw out the window the minute they get into power. They are dishonest with the public and often outright lie. They don’t listen to the people they are supposed to represent. They don’t listen to the experts who try and advise them on ill-informed policy decisions. They don’t seem to have any bit of integrity or good values.

Of course not all Politicians are bad. Some have good intentions, but these intentions are drowned by a bureaucratic system that is run by the super rich for the super rich.

But I’m not without hope. I’ve recently joined Your Party, a UK political party set up by Jeremy Corbyn and others who want to change society for the better. Whilst their members are still in discussions around policies and the direction of the party, I hope will all of my heart that this will be a place where I can claim I am politically home.

Take Care,

Antony

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Thursday 25 September 2025
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