This way when the country bursts into flames it won’t bring the rest of the world with it.

The interconnected nature of the world these days means that it would be inevitable that everyone else would be embroiled in whatever it is that happens.

Plus the military doesn’t want to show the full extent of their intelligence capabilities right off the bat. They would much rather be underestimated.

Is there a cheesy black market?

There is, like there is for olive oil, or maple syrup. Especially if it’s authentic. Olive Oil infamously has multiple fakes floating about, where it’s something else passed off as olive oil.

It’s kind of bizarre that if I pay 7 bucks in the US for a pastry and coffee I might need to sign the receipt.

You half-expect them to pull out the old card-roller and carbon paper at that point.

No. Tap to pay only requires a PIN for large purchases ($100 or so), or if you turn on the setting to ask for a PIN for small purchases too.

I’ve only needed to enter my PIN for small purchases when inserting and using debit/EFT@POS functions.

Ah, that’s unfortunate, but understandable.

1. Naked wrestling…

That just sounds like a euphemism for sex, not an alternative.