My "mispelling" of America as "Amerika" was a deliberately altered spelling of the word, Don, in order to make a political point about the USA's present role on the world stage. I don't think I need to explain that further, do I?

Yes, I think that the fix was most likely in at the Academy to award "Hurt Locker" the prize instead of Avatar...and for political reasons of keeping up wartime morale and not questioning the basic ethos of America during a war...but I do not think for a moment that the iniative to do that came from Mr Obama. I think it came from other sources. There are a variety of sources who could have exerted pressure of one kind or another. It wouldn't be the first time that politics has been played at the Academy Awards.

However, I don't know that for sure. I merely think so. I think it's probable. That's an opinion about probability, not a statement of total certainty. It's my opinion that a number of powerful people with much influence on the Academy felt that Avatar was essentially very subversive in its values, very anti-war, and very anti-establishment, therefore it suited them that it should not win Best Picture at that time when the USA was occupying 2 foreign nations, but that Hurt Locker should instead in order to boost fighting spirit and "patriotism", and they pulled strings.

It may have happened. I'm not saying I KNOW that it happened, I just think it probably did, that's all.

As you say, there are times when a cigar is just a cigar. Sure. And this might have been one of those times, I just think it probably wasn't. Avatar was such an extraordinary movie that to not give it Best Picture that year strikes me as ridiculous.