A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace by John Perry Barlow. He passed Away on 2/9/2018. Co-Founder of EFF Electronic Frontier Foundation. Lyrics for The Grateful Dead.

Governments of the Industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind. On behalf of the future, I ask you of the past to leave us alone. You are not welcome among us. You have no sovereignty where we gather. We have no elected government, nor are we likely to have one, so I address you with no greater authority than that with which liberty itself always speaks. I declare the global social space we are building to be naturally independent of the tyrannies you seek to impose on us. You have no moral right to rule us nor do you possess any methods of enforcement we have true reason to fear.

Bob Weir and John Perry Barlow

Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. You have neither solicited nor received ours. We did not invite you. You do not know us, nor do you know our world. Cyberspace does not lie within your borders. Do not think that you can build it, as though it were a public construction project. You cannot. It is an act of nature and it grows itself through our collective actions.

You have not engaged in our great and gathering conversation, nor did you create the wealth of our marketplaces. You do not know our culture, our ethics, or the unwritten codes that already provide our society more order than could be obtained by any of your impositions.

You claim there are problems among us that you need to solve. You use this claim as an excuse to invade our precincts. Many of these problems don't exist. Where there are real conflicts, where there are wrongs, we will identify them and address them by our means. We are forming our own Social Contract. This governance will arise according to the conditions of our world, not yours. Our world is different.
Cyberspace consists of transactions, relationships, and thought itself, arrayed like a standing wave in the web of our communications. Ours is a world that is both everywhere and nowhere, but it is not where bodies live.
We are creating a world that all may enter without privilege or prejudice accorded by race, economic power, military force, or station of birth.

We are creating a world where anyone, anywhere may express his or her beliefs, no matter how singular, without fear of being coerced into silence or conformity.
Your legal concepts of property, expression, identity, movement, and context do not apply to us. They are all based on matter, and there is no matter here.
Our identities have no bodies, so, unlike you, we cannot obtain order by physical coercion. We believe that from ethics, enlightened self-interest, and the commonweal, our governance will emerge. Our identities may be distributed across many of your jurisdictions. The only law that all our constituent cultures would generally recognize is the Golden Rule. We hope we will be able to build our particular solutions on that basis. But we cannot accept the solutions you are attempting to impose.

In the United States, you have today created a law, the Telecommunications Reform Act, which repudiates your own Constitution and insults the dreams of Jefferson, Washington, Mill, Madison, DeToqueville, and Brandeis. These dreams must now be born anew in us.

You are terrified of your own children, since they are natives in a world where you will always be immigrants. Because you fear them, you entrust your bureaucracies with the parental responsibilities you are too cowardly to confront yourselves. In our world, all the sentiments and expressions of humanity, from the debasing to the angelic, are parts of a seamless whole, the global conversation of bits. We cannot separate the air that chokes from the air upon which wings beat.

In China, Germany, France, Russia, Singapore, Italy and the United States, you are trying to ward off the virus of liberty by erecting guard posts at the frontiers of Cyberspace. These may keep out the contagion for a small time, but they will not work in a world that will soon be blanketed in bit-bearing media.
Your increasingly obsolete information industries would perpetuate themselves by proposing laws, in America and elsewhere, that claim to own speech itself throughout the world. These laws would declare ideas to be another industrial product, no more noble than pig iron. In our world, whatever the human mind may create can be reproduced and distributed infinitely at no cost. The global conveyance of thought no longer requires your factories to accomplish.

These increasingly hostile and colonial measures place us in the same position as those previous lovers of freedom and self-determination who had to reject the authorities of distant, uninformed powers. We must declare our virtual selves immune to your sovereignty, even as we continue to consent to your rule over our bodies. We will spread ourselves across the Planet so that no one can arrest our thoughts.
We will create a civilization of the Mind in Cyberspace. May it be more humane and fair than the world your governments have made before.
Davos, Switzerland
February 8, 1996

~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~

Birthday Remembrance to John Perry Barlow (October 3, 1947 - February 7, 2018)

One of the best ways to honor Barlow (and other humans as well as yourself) is to remember his 25 Principles of Adult Behavior.

1. Be patient. No matter what.

2. Don’t badmouth: Assign responsibility, not blame. Say nothing of another you wouldn’t say to him.

3. Never assume the motives of others are, to them, less noble than yours are to you.

4. Expand your sense of the possible.

5. Don’t trouble yourself with matters you truly cannot change.

6. Expect no more of anyone than you can deliver yourself.

7. Tolerate ambiguity.

8. Laugh at yourself frequently.

9. Concern yourself with what is right rather than who is right.

10. Never forget that, no matter how certain, you might be wrong.

11. Give up blood sports.

12. Remember that your life belongs to others as well. Don’t risk it frivolously.

13. Never lie to anyone for any reason. (Lies of omission are sometimes exempt.)

14. Learn the needs of those around you and respect them.

15. Avoid the pursuit of happiness. Seek to define your mission and pursue that.

16. Reduce your use of the first personal pronoun.

17. Praise at least as often as you disparage.

18. Admit your errors freely and soon.

19. Become less suspicious of joy.

20. Understand humility.

21. Remember that love forgives everything.

22. Foster dignity.

23. Live memorably.

24. Love yourself.

25. Endure.

http://artsites.ucsc.edu/gdead/agdl/throwing.html

"Throwing Stones"
Words by John Perry Barlow; music by Bob Weir
Barlow has posted the lyrics to his songs.
Copyright Ice Nine Publishing; used by permission

Picture a bright blue ball, just spinning, spinnin free,
Dizzy with eternity.
Paint it with a skin of sky,
Brush in some clouds and sea,
Call it home for you and me.
A peaceful place or so it looks from space,
A closer look reveals the human race.
Full of hope, full of grace
Is the human face,
But afraid we may lay our home to waste.There's a fear down here we can't forget.
Hasn't got a name just yet.
Always awake, always around,
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Now watch as the ball revolves
And the nighttime falls.
Again the hunt begins,
Again the bloodwind calls.
By and by, the morning sun will rise,
But the darkness never goes
From some men's eyes.
It strolls the sidewalks and it rolls the streets,
Staking turf, dividing up meat.
Nightmare spook, piece of heat,
It's you and me.
You and me.
Click flash blade in ghetto night,
Rudies looking for a fight.
Rat cat alley, roll them bones.
Need that cash to feed that jones.
And the politicians throwin' stones,
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
[Bridge:]
Commissars and pin-stripe bosses
Roll the dice.
Any way they fall,
Guess who gets to pay the price.
Money green or proletarian gray,
Selling guns 'stead of food today.
So the kids they dance
And shake their bones,
And the politicians throwin' stones,
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Heartless powers try to tell us
What to think.
If the spirit's sleeping,
Then the flesh is ink
History's page will thus be carved in stone.
And we are here, and we are on our own
On our own.
On our own.
On our own.
[Instrumental]
If the game is lost,
Then we're all the same.
No one left to place or take the blame.
We can leave this place and empty stone
Or that shinin' ball we used to call our home.
So the kids they dance
And shake their bones,
And the politicians throwin' stones,
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
[Bridge two:] Shipping powders back and forth
Singing black goes south and white comes north.
In a whole world full of petty wars
Singing I got mine and you got yours.
And the current fashion sets the pace,
Lose your step, fall out of grace.
And the radical, he rant and rage,
Singing someone's got to turn the page.
And the rich man in his summer home,
Singing just leave well enough alone.
But his pants are down, his cover's blown...
And the politicians throwin' stones,
So the kids they dance
And shake their bones,
And it's all too clear we're on our own.
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Picture a bright blue ball,
Just spinnin', spinnin, free.
Dizzy with the possibilities.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.

I remember FM Radio Quadraphonic Broadcasts of the Grateful Dead New Years Eve Concert in 1976... I was lucky enough to Get in to the Cow Palace Show in 1975... Carlos Santana played Up Until Midnight... then Festivities/Celebration... The Dead Started Playing After Midnight...

They Broadcast the stereo Front-Left and Front-Right sound on ONE Radio Station... and they Broadcast the Rear Left and Right on a Different station... If you owned Two Stereo Radios you could listen to True Quadraphonic Sound at your Home... The Reason they did this was that Tickets for New Years Eve were very difficult to get and Many people could not get in... BUT... We had a wonderful time at Home with all our Friends...

~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~

I'm a big fan of Lyricist John Perry Barlow... He wrote "Estimated Prophet", "Throwing Stones" and "I Need a Miracle" and others... Great Meaningful Songs that Make you Think...

He also helped found the EFF, Electronic Frontier Foundation... an Internet Freedom of the Press Organization...

Here is a Newspaper Article about Him and Julian Assange... Founder of Wikileaks...
Julian Assange and John Perry Barlow in joint interview on NSA Prism leaks: "Snowden is a hero" https://boingboing.net/2013/06/11/julian-assange-and-john-perry.html

An Obituary...
Tech Utopianism And Our Walled Gardens: Is It Time For A Jailbreak? 

https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2018/02/12/585110447/tech-utopianism-and-our-walled-gardens-is-it-time-for-a-jailbreak 

John Perry Barlow, who died last Wednesday at 70, was one of those unusual figures whose obituaries find no point of common agreement. An Internet evangelist who once wrote song lyrics for the Grateful Dead, Barlow was also a poet, activist, cattle rancher and corporate consultant, whose peripatetic career defied easy summarization. Billboard wrote about his music career; Wired about his Internet activism; Wyoming's Casper Star-Tribune about his boyhood on the Bar Cross Ranch. Barlow, louche and charismatic, had an astonishing number of friends, and their testimonials suggest a man with a taste for the good life and a certain facility for bulls***. No one seemed certain of Barlow's place in history, or how to answer the tougher questions: Is Barlow's utopian futurism still relevant? Was his work as an activist defensible? Was his music any good? But as writers struggled with the complicated legacy of John Perry Barlow, most readers, I suspect, had a different question: Who? Don't worry: Unless you enjoy suing the government, or were in the tapers' pit at Fillmore in 1976, you are forgiven for not knowing who Barlow was. Born in Wyoming to a family of cattle ranchers, Barlow showed early promise as a writer, garnering a significant advance for his first novel shortly after graduating college. He never finished it, instead discovering LSD and living for a time on an Ashram. Although he retained, throughout his life, the laconic drawl of a cattle hand, Barlow's intellect and charisma permitted him access to an extraordinary range of acquaintances, including Bob Weir, the rhythm guitarist for the Grateful Dead. In the early '70s, when Weir was feuding with the Dead's primary lyricist Robert Hunter, Barlow was temporarily brought in to replace him.

A Review of his Top Ten Songs... 
 https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/02/08/john-perry-barlow-remembering-his-10-greatest-songs/ 

“Cassidy”: The Weir-Barlow duo was never better than on this memorable tune originally released on Weir’s first solo album, 1972’s “Ace,” and then on 1981’s “Reckoning,” 1990’s “Without a Net” and other Grateful Dead live efforts. The song was reportedly named after Cassidy Law, who was the daughter of legendary Grateful crew member Rex Jackson and Weir’s close friend Eileen Law. Also check out the great version Suzanne Vega does on the Dead tribute album “Deadicated.” 

 “Mexicali Blues”: It’s believed to be the first Weir-Barlow collaboration and it’s definitely a keeper — a rambling cowboy tune that owes a debt to Marty Robbins’ “El Paso” (which the Dead often covered). 

 “Throwing Stones”: One of the standout tracks from 1987’s “In the Dark,” “Throwing Stones” is a definite nominee for the best song the Dead created during the later part of its career — a powerful rocker addressing social concerns. 

 “Estimated Prophet”: The song provides a mesmerizing start to 1977’s “Terrapin Station,” kicking up a dust of psychedelia that still sounds satisfying to this day. 

 “Hell in a Bucket”: It’s another great rocker from “In the Dark,” which formed a great one-two punch with “Touch of Grey.” 

 “We Can Run”: Barlow collaborated with Grateful Dead vocalist-keyboardist Brent Mydland on a number of songs for the band’s last studio effort, 1989’s “Built to Last.” This passionate number addressing environment concerns might be the best of the bunch. 

“Black-Throated Wind”: Another keeper from Weir’s “Ace” album, which is thought of as de-facto Dead album since the rest of the band backed Weir on it. 

 “The Music Never Stopped”: This song from the Dead’s eighth studio album, 1975’s “Blues for Allah,” became an anthem for the band and, especially, its fabled fans – the Deadheads. 

 “I Need a Miracle”: Speaking of Deadheads, the title of this song became the ultimate catchphrase for anyone needing a ticket to a show (sold out or otherwise). 

 “Weather Report Suite”: Barlow contributed to this magical musical epic that brings the Dead’s sixth album, 1973’s “Wake of the Flood,” to a satisfying conclusion. 

 “Looks Like Rain”: Our final pick from “Ace,” which was a highlight of Grateful Dead shows for years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Perry_Barlow

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Perry_Barlow