From: No WARP! (Network Opposed to Weapons and Related Production)

Date: 15 September 2006

A reminder that nominations for the 2006 D.I.C.K (Destructive Industry Connected to Killing) NZ Awards and the 'Guided Missiles and Misguided Men' Awards for Government Politicians close on 29 September 2006.

The 2006 D.I.C.K NZ Awards are your opportunity to say what you think about the companies who profit from bloodshed and war, and the politicians who support it.

* Background to the Awards

Since 1998, the Defence Industry Committee of New Zealand has presented Awards for Excellence at the annual get-together of the NZ Defence Industry Association, the lobby group for companies that profit from bloodshed and war. The criteria for their awards are a mystery - are they for the company whose products have caused the most death and destruction? the company which has had the biggest public subsidy for private profit? the company which has contracts with the most oppressive governments and armed forces around the world?

There is no mystery about the D.I.C.K NZ Awards. They recognise the reality of the business of the NZ 'defence' industry. First held in 2001, the D.I.C.K NZ Awards returned last year and they are now an annual event.

And there is no mystery about the 'Guided Missiles and Misguided Men' Awards for Government Politicians either - they are awarded to those who by their words and/or actions support bloodshed and war. The name for these Awards is from a statement by Martin Luther King, Jr: "we have guided missiles and misguided men".

* Nominations for the 2006 Awards

We encourage you to make as many nominations as you like, providing you use a separate form for each. The closing date for nominations is 29 September 2006.

Criteria for the D.I.C.K NZ Awards - you can nominate any company that is involved in weapons related production, military supplies, or military contracts. The company can be NZ owned, an NZ subsidiary of an overseas company that is involved with weapons production or military contracts here in Aotearoa, or a company that is involved in weapons production or military contracts overseas and is involved in some other way in the NZ economy. The company nominated will have been involved in their offensive activity during 2005 or in 2006 before the closing date.

Please include as much supporting detail as you can with your nomination for each company - cuttings from newspapers or magazines, notes from a radio or TV programme, printed web pages, and so on. If you don't have much in the way of supporting information, please don't let that stop you from making a nomination.

Criteria for the 'Guided Missiles and Misguided Men' Awards for Government Politicians - you can nominate any government politician (including politicians from parties that are in coalition with Labour) who by their words and/or actions support bloodshed and war. The words or actions for which you are nominating the politician will have taken place during 2005 or in 2006 before the closing date. If you are nominating a politician for something they said, please include the direct quote together with the source of it. If you are nominating a politician for something they did, please include as much supporting detail as you can.

Sources of supporting information for the Awards - aside from the mainstream media, trade and business magazines and local papers are a great source of information about your neighbourhood weapons producer or military contractor. The No WARP! web page at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/nowarp.htm has information about some of the companies operating here and links to related overseas sites. For quotes from politicians, Hansard is online at http://www.clerk.parliament.govt.nz/Hansard/Hansard.aspx Parliamentary questions and answers can be searched from links on http://www.clerk.parliament.govt.nz/Publications/ The winners of the 2001 D.I.C.K NZ Awards are available at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/rob00252.htm and the 2005 winners are at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/nw231005.htm

* Nomination form for the 2006 Awards

The nomination form for the 2006 D.I.C.K NZ Awards and the 'Guided Missiles and Misguided Men' Awards for Government Politicians is available online at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/dick06.htm If you have difficulty accessing pdf files, please send your name and postal address to email and we will post you a copy.

* Judging of the Awards and announcement of the winners

The winners of the Awards will be chosen by public vote, details of how you can vote will be available in early October. The Award recipients will be announced at an event around the time this year's Defence Industry Forum takes place; it is scheduled for 17 and 18 October at Te Papa

The D.I.C.K NZ Awards and 'Guided Missiles and Misguided Men' Awards for Government Politicians are organised by No WARP! (Network Opposed to Weapons and Related Production), for more information write to No WARP! c/o Peace Movement Aotearoa, PO Box 9314, Wellington or email nowarp[at]xtra.co.nz

ENDS

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