A comparison to China would be more appropriate. As you point out, Europe built up their rail network over 150 years, whereas China's high speed network was built over the past 10-15 years.

You assume the seller is in the same country as the buyer. If the IRS tried to audit a non-resident they wouldn't get too far without a lot of extra investment.

Because pruning removes the state data but not the hash, a user can simply check that the block (aka record) has a valid hash. So checking authenticity doesn't require trusting the archival node.

Looks like they are pushing for mask use to remain well after COVID is gone.

Trump would rather bring the conflict back to America instead.

You pay less, but you also don't get healthcare paid for as part of your taxes. I'm not certain you come out ahead financially on that one.

Wind actually has a fairly ordinary safety record as maintenance is typically undertaken by a limited number of workers high above the ground. Unfortunately, people "forget" to wear their harnesses because it is inconvenient, leading to falls.

Most of the world's pharmaceutical opium production is from Tasmania, Australia. Given how popular China is in Australia right now, I think it would be easy for the UK to source.

Ever since parking sensors have become available, the number of minor scrapes I see on cars has been falling. So yes, things are different now.

I'm not sure that is a point of difference, given that conscription is still on the books in the States.

Maybe in residential construction, but absolutely not in construction for heavy industry. Just look at some of the overruns on nuclear power plants that are years behind schedule.

Development times for battery chemistries are completely different to the development times in medical research. Commercialisation of a new battery process can realistically occur within a few years.

You can actually charge different prices for users from different countries.

That's why the UK has a train system. They don't need big trucks like the US.

You might not be aware that China fought a defacto war against the USSR back in the 1960's.