The American exception dates back to a highly technical 1939 federal court decision, one that Congress has never overturned, in large part because the nation's broadcasters have reliably lobbied against any such change.
With the exception of an all-too-obvious technical glitch during an Olympics video (some poor page got the ax for that, no doubt), the pitch was smooth and, well, actually made sense this year.
The European Council carved out an exception in its sanctions against Syria on Thursday to allow for the transfer of nonlethal equipment and technical assistance for civilian protection only.