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KG

(28,753 posts) Wed Feb 7, 2018, 09:53 PM Feb 2018

John Perry Barlow, Grateful Dead Lyricist and Internet Pioneer, Dead at 70

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/john-perry-barlow-grateful-dead-lyricist-dead-at-70-w516487

John Perry Barlow, a lyricist for the Grateful Dead and cofounder of Electronic Frontier Foundation and Freedom of the Press Foundation, has died. He was 70.

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The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the non-profit digital rights organization Barlow cofounded, said in a statement on its website that Barlow died in his sleep on Wednesday.

When Barlow was 15, he attended Fountain Valley School in Colorado where he met fellow student Bob Weir and they became friends. Barlow began co-writing songs in 1971 with Grateful Dead founding member Weir, a teaming that would last until the Dead disbanded in 1995. "Cassidy," "Mexicali Blues," Black-Throated Wind" and "Looks Like Rain" are among the dozens of songs Barlow helped pen. He contributed four songs to 1989's Built to Last. The 2004 reissue included additional contribution, "We Can Run."

Barlow was also an advocate for civil liberties. In 1990, he cofounded the Electronic Frontier Foundation with John Gilmore and Mitch Kapor. He published a number of essays, most notably 1996's A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace, which advocated for an independent internet, void of government rule.

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John Perry Barlow, Grateful Dead Lyricist and Internet Pioneer, Dead at 70 (Original Post) KG Feb 2018 OP

r.i.p bigtree Feb 2018 #1

John Perry Barlow flew under my radar, I only knew of Robert Hunter Brother Buzz Feb 2018 #2

... 2naSalit Feb 2018 #3

bigtree

(86,006 posts)

1. r.i.p

Reply to KG (Original post)

Wed Feb 7, 2018, 09:56 PM

Feb 2018

...huge loss.

Brother Buzz

(36,478 posts)

2. John Perry Barlow flew under my radar, I only knew of Robert Hunter

Reply to KG (Original post)

Wed Feb 7, 2018, 10:14 PM

Feb 2018

FWIW, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) helped pull Democratic Underground's bacon out of the fire:

Democratic Underground Responds to Righthaven Copyright Troll Lawsuit

DECEMBER 8, 2010

Righthaven is attempting to make a business out of suing Internet websites for copyright infringement. It has filed 180 copyright actions so far —without ever first asking that a work be removed from the target website—in each case alleging “willful infringement” and attempting to extract settlements by threats of statutory damages (up to $150,000), attorneys’ fees and seizure of the domain name.

Democratic Underground -- represented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Fenwick & West LLP, and attorney Chad Bowers -- was sued by Righthaven on August 10 for a five-sentence excerpt of a Las Vegas Review-Journal news story that a user posted on the forum, with a link back to the Review-Journal website.

Democratic Underground, a political message forum, refused to be intimidated by Righthaven’s action. They retained counsel and responded with a counterclaim that joined Righthaven’ affiliate and funder, Stephens Media, LLC (publisher of the Review-Journal), and laid bare the numerous defects not only in Righthaven’s claims, but in its business model itself. Not surprisingly, Righthaven now wants out—so badly, in fact, that it has moved to voluntarily dismiss its claim with prejudice in order to avoid a decision on the merits. However, Righthaven pleads to be let off the hook for Democratic Underground's fees and costs defending the lawsuit.

Democratic Underground responded to Righthaven's motion yesterday. DU agrees that this case should be over—indeed, it should never have started. But it should not end until Righthaven is called to account for the cost of the defense it provoked. To allow Righthaven to avoid compensating innocent defendants who refused to be coerced would be unjust and unsupportable. Accordingly, Democratic Underground asked the Court to deny the conditions Righthaven wrongfully proposed for the motion for voluntary dismissal and instead grant summary judgment in its favor.

<more>

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/12/democratic-underground-responds-righthaven

2naSalit

(86,822 posts)

3. ...

Reply to KG (Original post)

Wed Feb 7, 2018, 11:32 PM

Feb 2018

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