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September 19, 2022: Aaron Sachs, author, "Up from the Depths" – on Melville, Mumford, and difficult times

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Up From The Depths: Herman Melville, Lewis Mumford, and Rediscovery in Dark Times, by Aaron Sachs, published by Princeton University Press.

Today: Aaron Sachs, author, “Up from the Depths”

• Aaron Sachs at Cornell

• Quoting Lewis Mumford in Technics and Civilization (1934): “Against the convenience of instantaneous communication is the fact that the great economical abstractions of writing, reading, and drawing, the media of reflective thought and deliberate action, will be weakened. . . . As with all instruments of multiplication the critical question is as to the function and quality of the object one is multiplying.”

• At eBay, Lurid Crimes and the Search for Punishment (by David Streitfeld in NYT, September 18, 2022): “Ina and David Steiner are suing eBay, [and former eBay CEO Devin] Wenig, who is no longer chief executive, and many others, saying the campaign against them was not the activity of a rogue team but something closer to official company policy.”

“Mr. Wenig, according to their suit, gave eBay security employees ‘carte blanche authority to terminate the reporting of the Steiners by whatever means necessary.’”

“The phrase ‘take her down’ is being taken out of context, Mr. Wenig, a former executive at the news agency Reuters, said in a court filing. He acknowledges writing it to Steve Wymer, the director of communications. Mr. Wymer followed up by writing a series of texts to the security chief, Jim Baugh, eBay’s top safety and security executive.”

Wenig “left ‘without cause,’ which meant he qualified for an exit package of $40 million. General Motors, where he serves on the board of directors, describes him as ‘retired’ from eBay. ... Mr. Wymer, who is currently president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley, declined to be interviewed.”

• Fury as Senate Poised to Delay Antitrust Vote: (Common Dreams, Sept 16, 2022): “Let’s make one thing clear: this is not about a ‘busy legislative calendar’ or ‘competing priorities’ or ‘not having the votes,’” responded Evan Greer, director of the digital rights group Fight for the Future. “This is about corruption, plain and simple, and the nauseating influence of Big Tech money in D.C.”

“Two days after taking the photos of his son, Mark’s phone made a blooping notification noise: His account had been disabled because of ‘harmful content’ that was ‘a severe violation of Google’s policies and might be illegal.’ A ‘learn more’ link led to a list of possible reasons, including ‘child sexual abuse & exploitation.’”

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