Daisey and Apple: Blaming the "Translator"

In the ongoing scandal surrounding Mike Daisey’s assault on Apple, Daisey is now blaming his “translator” [sic]. From CNET:

Mike Daisey made a name for himself by taking on mighty Apple but is now challenging the credibility of a little-known Chinese translator.

The actor and Apple critic is putting his word against hers. The woman who assisted him during a trip to China in 2010 disputes many of his claims about witnessing inhumane working conditions at factories where iPads and iPhones are assembled. Daisey does this though he has recently acknowledged making up numerous facts about what he saw during his visit. An Apple spokesman declined to comment for this story.

Daisy [sic] created the one-man show “The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs,” which helped whip up public condemnation of Apple and Foxconn Technology Group, the company that makes products for Apple as well as other consumer-electronics companies. During his monologues, Daisey describes plants in Shenzhen factories where he says he spoke to workers who were underage, poisoned by toxins, and disfigured by iPod-making machinery.

We know now that much of this did not occur or was embellished. During last night’s show at The Public Theater here, Daisey informed the audience he removed material he couldn’t stand behind any longer, according to members of the audience who spoke to CNET. He also added a couple of lines where he informs the crowd that his recollection of events at the factories differs from his translator’s.

Amazing that The Public Theater is still presenting this reactionary trash. Maybe they’re waiting for The New York Times to review it again and bless the script changes. It would be right in the spirit of Walter Duranty. Meanwhile, someone should inform all concerned about the definitions of “interpreter,” which I assumer was meant here, and “translator“. Of course, that’s the least of their problems. A lie, whether interpreted or translated, is still a lie.