"Derek Lyons" wrote in message
...
Techno-geeks of all stripes however tend to ignore these unsexy bits.

According to a display at the National Atomic Museum many years ago, the US
decided to rent a Russian space reactor to study, since the SP-100 wasn't
working out.

So far, no problem. After thoroughly studying it, it was time to ship it
back. Big problem- can't export nuclear techology to the commies. The fact
that it came *from* them in the first place was irrelevant.

The reactor sat on the dock until a practical solution was arrived- the
guards were asked to take a coffee break while the reactor was loaded.

In short, rather than go through all the effort to create a special one-time
exemption to the law, the law was blatantly ignored. After all, since the
Russians invented the think, it's rather obvious that they won't learn
anything new from it upon its return, and it was their property.