bush_cheney2004

Canadian PM Mark Carney's name is listed dozens of times in the Epstein files too...so what ? Does that make him a pedophile too ?

Hanging around Epstein does not make someone a pedophile. Was Bill Clinton a pedophile ? How about Bill Gates ? Or maybe Sarah Ferguson ? As for the Stones and other bands with groupies:

I never got a job from a poor man (or woman). or this version:

And then there is this...Canadians have long been part of "America's" Times Square ball drop.

I don't view it as win/lose in business...just the agreed/desired outcome for both sides. Trust is earned through consistent actions and follow through. My friendships are not dependent on how useful a person is...this is not the same as a business transaction. People can be friends...prime ministers can be friends...nation states, not so much. Just pointing out that the label "friend" means little when adversaries join to defeat a common enemy (e.g. Soviets and U.S. were not "friends" even when allied during WW2.). I would posit that trust between Iran and the U.S./Israel is nonexistent, making it harder to make arms deals stick. They will certainly not be "friends".

Nope...I prefer not to "anthropomorphize" business relationships. That's why we have memorandums of understanding, contracts, NDAs, etc. Trust has to be earned on a consistent basis, and business circumstances can quickly unravel the best of relationships. Also, the "enemy of my enemy being a friend" is purely transactional and not deserving of the label.

hang back = get out of the way

It's not really...just more obvious. The business of America is...business. Canada pushes the feel good "friends" relationship at its own peril, discounting the true nature of sharks.

Not friends...business partners...who have interests.

Nation states do not have "friends"...they have interests.

JT and the Sunshine Band tried to screw Mexico with a unilateral NAFTA 2.0 side deal, but it looks like Mexico got the last laugh.

Meaning the "world" will just sit on its hands while complaining about it. "Lead, follow, or get out of the way".

The objective is to break things in Iran, up to and including regime change. Bonus points for getting IAEA inspectors back on the job. Financial beatings happen regardless of what happens to Iran. So what is the "world" doing about it ?

Hardly the first to do that....