Hello friends! Some of you may have seen our post a couple of days ago in support of our friends Josh and Rebecca Tickell, who were scammed into a meeting with a fake sheik. Weve received a variety of opinions about this situation. For the record, we acknowledge that our friends engaged in less than integral dialogue- AND, they were clearly set up for the worse. What I know to be true is- James OKeef targeted the Tickells directly as they are among the most visible and productive activists against big oil and fuel. Im not convinced that OKeef isnt being paid to harass them. He actually called their office to tell them that he was out to ruin their lives. This is a hard working couple with a two month old baby. This is not cool! The people who side with OKeefe tend to be haters of Hollywood. I get it. I left Tinsel Town well over a decade ago to pursue honest and meaningful filmmaking. The actors and filmmakers Okeefe has targeted are anything but Hollywood. They too have sacrificed much more lucrative careers to remain independent and in service to environmental causes. James OKeefe tried the same scam on Josh Fox, the filmmaker who create the Academy Award nominated anti-fracking film Gas Land. Because Fox had already been set up and harassed by conservatives he was wise enough to record phone calls directed by OKeefe. These recordings expose the slippery ways he leads conversations to trap people into saying things he can use against them. The FBI is currently investing OKeefe and he will likely face charges once again. Yes, he as already served time for violated peoples rights to privacy. To allow this guy to work this way opens the flood gates for other wanna-be journalists to record your phone calls and meetings. How do you feel about that? I believe these things arise as an opportunity for us to get clear on where we stand as a community. I created the following hypothetical scenario for someone who commented on on this post and would like to hear more responses on this. Consider the following scenario with an open and honest heart: A very wealthy person reaches out to you expressing his desire to direct his familys dirty money to doing something good in the world. He says all the right things to convince you that he is sincerely doing his best to rebuild the reputation of his people and to fulfill his own lifes mission to change the course of his bloodline. He expresses that he is a fan of your work, then offers you 9 million dollars to build your wildest dream. He has one condition- in fear of his own shady family he cannot let them know where hes directing his inheritance. The money is yours so long as he can remain anonymous. Honestly, would you consider this offer? For another angle of James OKeef please take a moment to peruse these links: hollywoodreporter/news/fbi-urged-investigate-james-okeefes-706353?mobile_redirect=false salon/2014/05/22/james_okeefes_anti_fracking_scam_backfires/ Thank you! Mikki Willis
Posted on: Fri, 23 May 2014 18:02:37 +0000