Michael Slezak

2.6K Followers
480 Following
163 Posts

Environment reporter for ABC in Australia, doing a mix of news and investigations.

+ Co-chair ABC MEAA House Committee
+ Federal President Media, MEAA

Opinions mine.

✍️ https://www.abc.net.au/news/michael-slezak/9641812
https://www.meaa.org/about-us/

Not usually here. More often on Bluesky.
🦋 @mikeyslezak.bsky.social

WorkplaceAustralian Broadcasting Corporation
LivesOn Gidigal land
Job titleNational Science and Environment Reporter
Bad birdHTTPS://Twitter.com/MikeySlezak

New investigation from me: How a small mining club funnelled money from Gina Rinehart’s company to the Liberal Party

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-10/hancock-prospecing-to-liberal-party-sydney-mining-club/101915486

Deal sees payment flow from Gina Rinehart's company Hancock Prospecting to Liberal Party

Gina Rinehart's company, Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd, was behind a $150,000 payment to the Liberal Party, transferred via a third party, and not declared by the mining giant.

ABC News
Converting from gas to an electric induction stove? Here are some tips and tricks

A chef, a cooking enthusiast, and an electrician give advice on what to consider if you're switching from gas to electric induction cooking.

ABC News

It’s January 9, and I just read the best article I will read all month.

“Social Quitting” by @pluralistic

“Once a platform has its users and business customers locked in, it can enshittify its service to the point of near uselessness without losing either, allocating all the useful surplus in the business to its shareholders.”

“The important thing about the Fediverse isn’t that it’s noncommercial or decentralized—it’s that its design impedes surplus harvesting.”

https://doctorow.medium.com/social-quitting-f049b33ad3f6

Social Quitting - Cory Doctorow - Medium

In “Social Quitting,” my latest Locus Magazine column, I advance a theory to explain the precipitous vibe shift in how many of us view the once-dominant social media platforms, Facebook and Twitter…

Medium

As he should, this was shameful: “Former ABC Media Watch host Jonathan Holmes has taken aim at Australia’s #media regulator and its capacity to oversee #JournalisticStandards, slamming its adverse ruling against the public broadcaster for an investigation into cable TV network #FoxNews and its coverage of the US 2020 election.” Via The Age

https://www.theage.com.au/business/companies/journalistic-cluelessness-ex-media-watch-host-roasts-regulator-20230103-p5ca37.html?btis

‘Journalistic cluelessness’: Ex-Media Watch host roasts regulator

ABC Alumni chair Jonathan Holmes slammed the media watchdog for “needlessly” damaging the reputation of Four Corners over Sarah Ferguson’s Fox News report.

The Age

#introduction

Happy #EarthDay everyone!

I am a #paleoclimate #scientist who also is an expert on #biomarkers as #ClimateProxies. In other words, I study past #climate using #molecular #fossils.

I am currently a @CNRS_INSU researcher at the Centre de Recherche et d'Enseignement en Géosciences de l'Environnement (CEREGE, France).

In addition to boosting toots of interest, I will essentially toot my new #scientific #publications and other #scientific content.

#ECR #WomenInSTEM 👩‍🔬

Daniel Andrews and Dominic Perrottet call for reforms to Australia’s ‘broken’ primary care system

Victorian premier says state-run hospitals should not be acting as safety nets because people ‘cannot find a bulk-billing doctor’

The Guardian

“Hydrogen is a climate-heating gas, with a 100-year global warming potential that is about 11 times greater than carbon dioxide.

“Unlike carbon dioxide, hydrogen does not have a direct effect on climate. Instead, it affects other pollutants.

“Increased hydrogen in our air means that methane, the second-most important global warming gas, would stay in our air for longer and have more impact.”

#hydrogen #climate

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/17/pollutionwatch-hydrogen-power-climate-leaks

For hydrogen power to be a climate solution, leaks must be curbed

Unlike carbon dioxide, hydrogen does not have a direct effect on climate – it affects other pollutants

The Guardian
Just a reminder to say that in 2023 we must continue to smash the fuck out of the patriarchy. As you were.

#Bacteria and #Fungi Can Walk across the Surface of Our Teeth https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bacteria-and-fungi-can-walk-across-the-surface-of-our-teeth/

Interkingdom assemblages in human saliva display group-level surface mobility https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2209699119

Conglomerations of #Streptococcus bacteria and #Candida fungi work together to walk, leap across the surface of #teeth. Small bacteria cluster around the core of each clump, forming a sticky binding. Larger, rod-shaped fungi join on the outside to propelled the structure forward.

Bacteria and Fungi Can ‘Walk’ across the Surface of Our Teeth

Clusters of bacteria and fungi seem to be capable of complex movement, setting tooth decay in motion

Scientific American

PSA to all admins: I highly recommend a #FediBlock of #mastinator (ie. the entire mastinator.com domain).

Mastinator is a service that allows a person to anonymously follow people on the fediverse. No big deal you think? Your public posts are probably already anonymously viewable from your public profile anyways and all it is doing is aggregating public info? That is what its creator claims---it is just a convenience service!

Well no, it is mode concerning than that. It does this aggregation by following any account a mastinator user types into its service then replicating *all* your non-DM posts into a sort of "proxy inbox" in the mastinator.com domain that is completely out of your control and viewable by everyone!

In other words, if you are followed by mastinator.com it effectively turns your follower-only posts into public posts and lets people you have blocked keep following you by following the mastinator replica of your posts!

Innocent intentions or not this violates user consent.