Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

James Baillie @jubalbarca.bsky.social · 3d

I'd also go with BG3 in my list. I think The Exile Princes has to be in there because it's a game I made so by definition it's a solid get-to-know-me game. Wildermyth needs to be in there, too, and the last slot is a competition between Witcher III, Roadwarden, Arco, and DAO?

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James Baillie @jubalbarca.bsky.social · 3d

I'm planning to give Janey first preference for the LD Federal Board vote - I've worked with her in the past pushing for restorative justice in our policies, she's a great liberal with a good sense of where the party needs to go and someone who's willing to stick her neck out for progressive change.

Janey Little 🔶 @janeyislittle.bsky.social · 3d

Delighted to share my Federal Board manifesto! It was such a pleasure to serve on Federal Board as Young Liberals Chair and I am incredibly grateful to have support from a number of brilliant people

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James Baillie @jubalbarca.bsky.social · 3d

The difference made by Reform in government wouldn't really be in most policy areas: look at Italy where migration has been going somewhat up under a hard-right government!

Reform's changes would IMV be in hard-line social policy and a much more aggressive approach to controlling the narrative.

Jonn Elledge @jonnelledge.bsky.social · 3d

I do think the media is giving too much attention to the possibility of Farage winning an election that's nearly four years away. I also think it's underplaying the extremely high possibility that, even if he does, he immediately drowns in the same mire that swallowed Starmer and Sunak before him

Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 4d

Reform likely to raise Kent council tax after cost-cutting drive falters on.ft.com/4pTvJ62

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James Baillie @jubalbarca.bsky.social · 4d

Lib Dem friends: internal party elections going on, here's my manifesto for Federal Council. Boosts welcome, if you can vote please vote for me, if you know a Lib Dem then please ask them to do so!

And please feel free to ask questions (whether you're a voter or not) about what all this is about :)

Federal Council Manifesto

Why am I running?
- Because I think good scrutiny makes for great leadership and I'm the right person to hold party leaders accountable
- Because I want Federal Council to be an effective and unafraid scrutiny body and would support constitutional changes to empower its role
- Assessing evidence is core to my work and core to this role

What sort of party do we want?
- Open to everyone, especially focusing right now on immigrants & trans folk who are under threat and on working class people who are very underrepresented in politics.
- Better internal communications and giving the microphone to more people more of the time, especially specified associated organisations
- Looking after campaigners and staff better to reduce burnout

Who am I?
I'm a professional historian, living and working in Austria. I'm outside the bubble of Westminster politics but engaged with what needs doing: that's the right perspective from which to be the good critical friend our party leaders need to get things right.

I'm from a rural community in Norfolk, and whilst | now live abroad I've kept my membership with the Breckland & South West Norfolk Liberal Democrats. | want to make sure Federal Council properly represents the rural communities that make up so much of our voting base across the country.

I've helped run digital communities for over half my life, chairing the Exilian creative society and being co-convenor of the Medieval Caucasus Network among other roles. Building spaces, working with constitutions and volunteers, and designing the right social rules and tools for the job is something I've spent my life doing. That gives me a wealth of experience that | can apply to party governance as well.

How do I find out more?
My blog, https://thoughtsofprogress.wordpress.com; @jubalbarca.bsky.social; @JubalBarca@Scholar.Social; james@wavcott.org.uk.

I'm happy to answer any questions - and hope you'll support me for our Federal Council.

Endorsements follow from former Lib Dems in England chair Alison Rouse, and former Federal Board member April Preston.

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James Baillie @jubalbarca.bsky.social · 5d

Sending much solidarity and love to the protestors in Tbilisi, especially those friends who are out there or whose loved ones are. The authoritarian nightmare will not win forever: freedom for Georgia and its people cannot come soon enough.

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James Baillie @jubalbarca.bsky.social · 17d

Netanyahu recently called for Israel to become a "super-Sparta" in a speech.

Whilst he probably meant it in quite limited (and inaccurate) ways, looking at Spartan historical reality, it's... an awkward comparison, to say the least:
thoughtsofprogress.wordpress.com/2025/09/23/n...

Netanyahu and the Spartan Mirage

I’ve just seen a mention on BBC news reporting that Mr. Netanyahu has called in recent comments for Israel to become a, quote, “super-Sparta”. This has been considered a big enoug…

thoughtsofprogress.wordpress.com

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James Baillie @jubalbarca.bsky.social · 18d

The UK petition against payment processors censoring services has reached 10,000 signatures! That's the point at which the government produce a platitude about how they're not going to do anything useful about the problem, but it's a good marker nonetheless.

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...

Petition: Ban payment processors stopping services based on objections to legal content

Government should legislate that payment processing companies may not place stipulations on use of their services regarding sales of otherwise legal content and, if they do so, must face legal penalti...

petition.parliament.uk

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James Baillie @jubalbarca.bsky.social · 22d

Thanks, this is useful. Would I (as absolutely Not A Lawyer) be right in reading that "that the Member Content is not sold to a third party" excludes works derived from the member content? Which is to say, they couldn't sell a paper verbatim but they could sell an AI-regurgitated summary thereof?

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Reposted by James Baillie

Dr. Nick Posegay @nposegay.bsky.social · 22d

I'm sorry, worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable permission to my voice and likeness? For what now? In any manner for any purpose???

This is in academia/.edu's new ToS, which you're prompted to agree to on login. Anyway I'll be jumping ship. You can find my stuff at hcommons.org.

By creating an Account with Academia.edu, you grant us a worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable license, permission, and consent for Academia.edu to use your Member Content and your personal information (including, but not limited to, your name, voice, signature, photograph, likeness, city, institutional affiliations, citations, mentions, publications, and areas of interest) in any manner, including for the purpose of advertising, selling, or soliciting the use or purchase of Academia.edu's Services.

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Reposted by James Baillie

James Holloway: monsterman.org @gonzohistory.bsky.social · 28d

Patreon backer @jubalbarca.bsky.social brings you this special episode all about what communities do with the monsters they can't get rid of!

monsterman.libsyn.com/special-epis...

Monster Man: Special Episode: Propitiation

Patreon backer James brings you this special episode all about what people do with the monsters they can't fight! If you're enjoying the show, why not consider ? You'll get access to lots of new ...

monsterman.libsyn.com

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James Baillie @jubalbarca.bsky.social · Sep 9

Unure how many Lib Dem members read my BSky but: I'm planning to run for the Federal Policy Committee and Federal Council in this year's internal party elections.

If any party member would like to nominate me, please do: I need a minimum of twenty nominations for each position.

#UKPol #LibDems

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Reposted by James Baillie

⌠🔞⌡ BeoWynn 🦌🍃 @beowynn.art · Sep 9

Even if immigrants WEREN'T a net good, immigrants are still humans and that should be enough 💚

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Reposted by James Baillie

Cllr Brian Wernham 🔶 C.Eng. MA History @brianwernham.bsky.social · Sep 1

"Bluesky: growing status as social media platform of choice for world’s scientists...

...more engagement and original scrutiny than on X"

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Science research gets more engagement on Bluesky than X, study finds

Bluesky posts referencing scholarly articles ‘find substantially higher levels of interaction’ than on Elon Musk’s platform

www.theguardian.com

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James Baillie @jubalbarca.bsky.social · Aug 30

I've been working on some code for projectiles in my @godotengine.org testing project that I'm using to learn the system. They're now mostly working, but last night and earlier today I had a few minor hiccups including the one below...

#ScreenshotSaturday

www.youtube.com/watch?v=crrO...

When Axes Became Lemmings

YouTube video by James Baillie (Jubal)

www.youtube.com

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James Baillie @jubalbarca.bsky.social · Aug 27

I've written a UK parliamentary petition against payment processors using their near-monopoly power to dictate what legal content can and cannot be purchased. This is a worryingly fast-growing problem.

Please sign it and share widely, UK friends!

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...

Petition: Ban payment processors stopping services based on objections to legal content

Government should legislate that payment processing companies may not place stipulations on use of their services regarding sales of otherwise legal content and, if they do so, must face legal penalties and must remunerate platforms and individuals for lost income until service is restored.

petition.parliament.uk

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James Baillie @jubalbarca.bsky.social · Aug 24

I wrote a thing! This is the fifth of my "Unexpected Bestiary" articles, in each of which I take seven curious creatures and discuss their lore, biology, and using them in fiction or RPGs. There's some great birds and beasts in this one - let me know what you think:
exilian.co.uk/article.php?...

A cormorant sitting on a tree branch. It is a black and grey bird with a yellow face, a large head and a slightly hooked end to the beak, and a vivid green eye.

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Reposted by James Baillie

Laurence Broers @laurencebroers.bsky.social · Aug 23

oc-media.org/opinion-my-f... Gulnara Mehdiyeva hits the nail on the head: "If Armenia & Azerbaijan have initialled a text that condemns intolerance & racial hatred, then jailing a researcher whose work has been about refusing hatred is an error that must be corrected." Bahruz Samadov must be freed.

https://oc-media.org/opinion-my-friend-bahruz-is-in-prison-for-advocating-peace-now-thats-state-policy/"If

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Reposted by James Baillie

Andy Foster (Heresy Miniatures) @heresyminiatures.com · Aug 12

Right first of the limited offers, 33% off the Sharclon Brutality Squad - £20 instead of £30 for what are some very heavy metal figures!
heresyminiatures.com/shop/index.p...
Or Etsy (🇪🇺/🇳🇴/Guest Checkout):
heresyminiatures.etsy.com/uk/listing/1...
Offer ends once I clear the £580 I need!

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Reposted by James Baillie

Exilian @exilianofficial.bsky.social · Jul 22

Updates from the Forge 58 is now out! You can discover new #GameDev and creative writing projects and resources in each issue of these community newsletters. And if you'd like your project featured for autumn, just drop by and post it on Exilian sometime :)

Read on:
exilian.co.uk/forum/index....

Updates from the Forge 58: Summer 2025

exilian.co.uk

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