And the nominees for Best Picture are:
- Avatar” James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
- “The Blind Side” Gil Netter, Andrew A. Kosove and Broderick Johnson, Producers
- “District 9” Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
- “An Education” Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
- “The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier and Greg Shapiro, Producers
- “Inglourious Basterds” Lawrence Bender, Producer
- “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
- “A Serious Man” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
- “Up” Jonas Rivera, Producer
- “Up in the Air” Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers
Our money is on the Hurt Locker, it was a hard choice Precious is a serious contender too, we like both very much.
For those films with NZ twist: Avatar’s story is that of the indigenous Americans and has been told before but this time there are confusing NZ icons and Chinese Islands. It’s great to see District 9 up there though, ‘Alien’ adaptation issues: belonging, social inclusion and tolerance for those who are different is something that will strike a chord with the diaspora of many countries currently suffering from the effects of racism and xenophobia. There are little District 9’s all over.
See Also: The Cove wins best documentary link
Today’s posts – click here
E2NZ.org 
Kenneth Deer of The Indigenous World Association has called NZ hypocritical and said its claim to support Maori rights is “rhetoric” New Zealand has yet to support the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
“KENNETH DEER, of Indigenous World Association, said the Indigenous World Association was concerned that New Zealand had rejected a number of recommendations to ratify human rights treaties and ILO conventions, especially where ratification would be of benefit to Maori, as well as other New Zealanders, such as the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
There was also concern that New Zealand had not yet supported the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, an indication of the hypocrisy in New Zealand’s rhetoric that it gave effect to Maori rights. There was also concern that, by law, legislation that broached human rights could be enacted in New Zealand, and this resulted in Maori rights remaining vulnerable to the whim of majority Governments, which had often passed such legislation. The Council (UNHRC) should strengthen its call on New Zealand to provide robust constitutional protection of the rights in the Treaty of Waitangi and the Declaration, and apply pressure on New Zealand to fully meet its obligations.
Source: http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=125&LangID=E
The concept that the New Zealanders have treated their indigenous peoples “better than others” is widely expressed. Their indigenous people, however, are a dispossessed underclass as in other Western countries, with complaints that cannot be ignored. This group Upper Hutt Posse is famous for its bold, aggressive political statements and “Public Enemy” type rhythms:
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOuJVgTtZkY[/url]
New Zealand's record on women is slipping, too.As women around New Zealand prepare to celebrate International Women's Day on Monday, New Zealand is being embarrassed on the international stage by the Government’s report to the UN Committee on the Status of Women.“The report contains false information and shows the status of women has gone backwards in New Zealand since National came to power,” Labour's spokesperson for Women's Affairs Sue Moroney said. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1003/S00097.htmAnd "Today Mr Key placed New Zealand in the group of countries that are prepared to continue to hunt endangered species"http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1003/S00102.htm