Ebony Bennett (@ebonybennett.bsky.social)

@ebonybennett.bsky.social Oct 9, 2026, 6:04 AM

Someone call Kevin Bacon and Reba McIntyre #Tremors
www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2...

@aw-sylwester.bsky.social Oct 8, 2026, 3:17 PMReposted by @ebonybennett.bsky.social

@grogsgamut.bsky.social Oct 9, 2026, 2:29 AMReposted by @ebonybennett.bsky.social

The "Kudelka Climate Cartoon Award announces 2026 longlist" thepoint.com.au/new/261009-k...

@cathywilcox.bsky.social Oct 9, 2026, 4:05 AMReposted by @ebonybennett.bsky.social

thepoint.com.au/new/261009-k...

@meidastouch.com Oct 8, 2026, 8:06 PMReposted by @ebonybennett.bsky.social

The U.S. re-joins an exclusive club

Screenshot of a list citing human rights organizations such as Amnesty International identifying four countries that have recently or historically carried out public executions: Iran, Afghanistan, North Korea, and Saudi Arabia. The text describes public hangings in Iran, executions under Taliban rule in Afghanistan, reported public executions in North Korea, and Saudi Arabia’s historical use of public beheadings.

@ebonybennett.bsky.social Oct 8, 2026, 10:50 PM

Just when you think things can't get more dystopian

@jamellebouie.net Oct 8, 2026, 10:32 PMReposted by @ebonybennett.bsky.social

a livestreamed execution is just a lynching

Phil Lewis@phillewis.bsky.socialOct 8, 2026, 9:27 PM

The Pentagon says it will livestream the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan

apnews.comPentagon says the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan will be livestreamedThe Pentagon says the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan will be livestreamed after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the execution would be “public.”

@ebonybennett.bsky.social Oct 7, 2026, 6:34 AM

>Declining public spending on higher education
>Unis rely more on international students for revenue
>Cuts to international students numbers
=Unis starved of funding

Bleak indeed
www.afr.com/politics/fed...

@australiainstitute.org.au Oct 7, 2026, 6:02 AMReposted by @ebonybennett.bsky.social

For many younger Australians, the prospect of sharing in Australia's prosperity is slipping out of reach.

@barbarapocock.bsky.social joins @ebonybennett.bsky.social to discuss the impact of the housing crisis on younger Australians & her proposals to turn the situation around.

🎧 theaus.in/4y9JHDV

Photo of Senator Barbara Pocock in a senate inquiry.
NEW EPISODE | Younger Australians “locked out” as intergenerational housing divide grows
Listen to Follow the Money now via the link or wherever you get your podcasts.

@ebonybennett.bsky.social Oct 7, 2026, 2:46 AM

Incredible outcome so soon after NSW approved the massive Hunter Valley Operations coal mine expansion.

Congrats and thank you to the community group that fought this, hopefully this helps kickstart Australia's fossil fuel phaseout.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

@ebonybennett.bsky.social Oct 6, 2026, 9:52 PM

Fake spring gets me every year 🥶

@ebonybennett.bsky.social Oct 6, 2026, 8:06 PM

Australia’s chief security partner.

@dieworkwear.bsky.social Oct 6, 2026, 5:03 AMReposted by @ebonybennett.bsky.social

incredible this will get little to no coverage

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.comOct 5, 2026, 11:44 PM

Trump: "With the war, it's just artificial. It's a little bit high. It's a small price to pay ... let them take out Los Angeles, let them take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay."

@australiainstitute.org.au Oct 2, 2026, 12:47 AMReposted by @ebonybennett.bsky.social

A Northern Territory body with ZERO full-time staff is the de facto national regulator for online gambling.

Last year, Australians lost $36 billion gambling.

@justinedavismla.bsky.social tells @ebonybennett.bsky.social about this extraordinary situation on Follow the Money 🎧 theaus.in/4jhnKz9

@yungenchee.bsky.social Oct 2, 2026, 8:59 AMReposted by @ebonybennett.bsky.social

The many & varied ways carbon offset projects worldwide continue to repeatedly fail integrity tests

Adrien Tofighi-Niaki investigates #CarbonMarket auditors & '3rd-party verification' for @carbonmarketwatch.bsky.social

"what are auditors actually auditing & approving if failure is so widespread?"

Screenshot of post from Adrien Tofighi-Niaki

Our latest research for Carbon Market Watch finds that carbon market auditors and 'third-party verification' are not ensuring integrity for carbon offset projects. We assessed 15 of the largest carbon offset projects worldwide and found:

• 13 different auditors reviewed the 15 projects between 2012-2026.
• 88 validation and verification audits were conducted by these auditors
• 1,641 findings were raised across the 88 audit reports, 483 of which were 'non-conformities' or 'corrective action requests', the most severe category of findings. Nearly all of the findings were subsequently resolved, leading to project approval.

Some of these major auditors include DNV / SCS Global Services / Aster
Global Environmental Solutions / TV SÜD / AENOR / Earthood.

However despite intense and repeated auditing (in some cases, up to 3 audits per year), we find that every single project actually failed our comprehensive project integrity assessment. This assessment combines:

X three ratings agency scores: 13/15 projects failed the ratings agency scoring from Calyx Global, BeZero Carbon, and/or Sylvera.
X two methodological assessments: 15/15 projects failed both the academic and Oeko-Institut's CCQI assessments.
X project developer claims of harm: 12/15 developers had notable and publicly known claims of harm or wrongdoing, such as land grabs, community evictions, sexual abuse, and controversial financial and lobbying practices.

So what are auditors actually auditing and approving if failure is so widespread? We find that project failure is basically written into the voluntary carbon market rulebook. Some examples of these poor rules include:

• Consultation vs. consent: Verra's REDD+ permanence risk tool treats a project as low risk if only half of the people living in and relying on the project area are 'consulted'. The tool, which is used to determine a forestry project's overall permanence, does not ask if a supermajority actually consent to or agree to the project. In fact, the tool doesn't even address FPIC at all

• Conflict of interests by design: Under the "select and pay" model, project developers get to choose and pay the auditors they like, creating problematic and dependent professional relationships. On Verra's side, roughly 90% of its revenue historically came from carbon project levies
and fees. So more project approvals = more revenue for Verra's "non-
profit" model.

• Old data for new offsets: Major projects like Pacajai and Kulera were last verified by auditors in 2020, and those audits are based on project monitoring data that predates 2020. Yet, credits were still being retired between 2023-2026, meaning buyers are currently purchasing credits from forestry projects but nobody seems to be legally required to even check if those forests are actually still standing today.

Do you think VCM audits work?

@angrywaterman.bsky.social Oct 1, 2026, 9:21 PMReposted by @ebonybennett.bsky.social

@leftocorangehater.bsky.social Oct 2, 2026, 3:34 AMReposted by @ebonybennett.bsky.social

@australiainstitute.org.au Oct 1, 2026, 12:41 AMReposted by @ebonybennett.bsky.social

Australia’s multibillion-dollar online gambling industry is effectively regulated by a NT body with no full-time staff.

@justinedavismla.bsky.social joins @ebonybennett.bsky.social to discuss how the NT became the de facto national regulator & her proposal to lift standards.

🎧 theaus.in/4jhnKz9

Photo of Justine Davis speaking into a handheld microphone
NEW EPISODE | How the NT won Australia’s race-to-the-bottom on online gambling regulation
Listen to Follow the Money now via the link or wherever you get your podcasts

@chaser.com.au Sep 29, 2026, 10:05 AMReposted by @ebonybennett.bsky.social

"We hope women know we take their safety seriously. It's a top priority, just below protecting the reputation of ourselves and our male students." chaser.com.au/general-news...

Cornell to take rape allegations more seriously: introduces 'naughty corner' punishment - The Chaser

@spokanerising.com Sep 29, 2026, 4:37 AMReposted by @ebonybennett.bsky.social

Send Stephen Miller to The Hague.