Hot Docs: Eliminating Nuclear Weapons, Happy Suburbs

Eliminating Nuclear Weapons: A new series of papers by the Henry L. Stimson Center aims to show nuclear powers that the "elimination of nuclear weapons [is] a realistic and viable option." The papers, by the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization devoted to international peace and security, are assessing the disarmament question as it relates to a dozen countries, including the nuclear powers of Russia, the United States, and Israel; aspirants, such as North Korea; and those that could be future weapons states, such as Japan and Brazil. The first set of papers looks at Britain and France. The assessment finds that Britain is "best placed to abandon its nuclear status," while such a move by France "would require extraordinary circumstances." However, the papers "make clear that if the US and Russia make significant progress toward deep reductions in their own arsenals . . . the two West European nuclear powers are likely to come to the table, as well."

Happy in the Suburbs: America's suburbs are ridiculed in song and story (think Revolutionary Road) as sterile, mind-numbing, soul-sucking places that should be fled as soon as possible. However, those who actually live in a suburb are far more satisfied with their location than those who live in cities, small towns, and rural areas, a new survey finds. The Pew Social and Demographic Trends Project asked people to rate their location based on nine factors, including such things as jobs, cost of living, raising children, recreation, and shopping. Suburban areas came out on top, with 42 percent of suburbanites giving their location high marks, compared with 34 percent of city dwellers, 29 percent of rural folks, and 25 percent of those from small towns. The survey also showed the bad rap the suburbs get. When asked to name the ideal place to live, small towns headed the list with 30 percent, followed by suburbs with 25 percent, cities with 23 percent, and rural areas with 21 percent.

Barred but Still Doing Business: Businesses barred from government contracting for such offenses as national security violations and tax fraud nonetheless continued to receive federal money, a Government Accountability Office report reveals. The report, "Excluded Parties List System: Suspended and Debarred Businesses and Individuals Improperly Receive Federal Funds," found that the companies continued to receive government work because either agency officials failed to check whether the company was on the Excluded Parties List, their searches failed to turn up the exclusions, or the businesses changed names. One case noted in the report involved a German company excluded from government business after its president "attempted to ship nuclear bomb parts to North Korea." The U.S. Army paid the company about $4 million on a previously written contract, although Pew said there were "several options for terminating the contract." In another case, an individual managed to continue doing business with the government after pleading guilty to Medicare fraud by transferring ownership to his wife, then selling the business to a neighbor, who in turn sold it back to the wife. She had legally changed her name back to her maiden name, Pew said.