Trump: China is raping U.S.
Trump: 'We can't continue to allow China to rape our country'
Story highlights
- Donald Trump said China is getting the better of trade deals
- He pledged to reverse that as president
(CNN)Donald Trump on Sunday compared the U.S.'s trade deficit with China, which he regularly laments and vows to tackle as president, to rape."We can't continue to allow China to rape our country, and that's what they're doing," Trump said during his second rally Sunday in Fort Wayne, Indiana, referring to China's high number of exports relative to the U.S.Trump has repeatedly accused China of manipulating its currency to make its exports more competitive on the global market and has claimed that China is "killing" the U.S. on trade.'We have the cards'
What Obama thinks about Trump coverage 08:36Sunday marks the first time this campaign that Trump has used the term "rape" to refer to what he views as China's dominance in trade with the U.S."We're going to turn it around. And we have the cards, don't forget it. We're like the piggy bank that's being robbed. We have the cards. We have a lot of power with China," Trump said Sunday before referring to China's relationship with the U.S. as rape.Trump added that he is not "angry at China," but with U.S. leaders whom he accused of being "grossly incompetent."Trump previously claimed in 2011 that "China is raping this country" as he toured a defense manufacturer in New Hampshire.Trump's use of the analogy come as Trump is under fire for remarks he made about Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton that critics are calling sexist and for touting the endorsement of boxer Mike Tyson, who was convicted of rape in Indiana.Trump has claimed that Clinton -- a former secretary of state, senator and first lady -- is using "the woman card" to get elected and that she would not have a shot at the presidency if she were not a woman.Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Trump's main competitor in the Indiana GOP primary, slammed Trump for touting Tyson's support, whom Trump referred to as a "tough guy.""I don't think rapists are tough guys. I think rapists are weak, they're bullies and they're cowards," Cruz said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation."
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Trump: China is raping U.S.
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Mountain climbers frozen in time 16 years ago found
Body of climber found in ice?
Body of world-class climber may have been found 16 years later
Alex Lowe was a world-class climber.
Story highlights
- Climber Alex Lowe and cameraman David Bridges were presumed dead after avalanche in 1999
- Their bodies may have been found in a Tibetan mountain, says Lowe's widow and friend
(CNN)Sixteen
years after Alex Lowe, a world-class climber, and David Bridges, a
cameraman, were struck by an avalanche in a Tibetan mountain, their
bodies may have been found encased in blue ice.
Alex
Lowe was a world-renowned alpinist -- many regarded him as the world's
best climber at the time. He climbed Mount Everest twice, the Matterhorn
and also scaled El Capitan in Yosemite 16 times.
In
October 5, 1999, Lowe and Bridges were on a hike to check out a
possible location they had hoped to ski on Shishapangma, the 14th
highest mountain in the world, according to Outside Magazine.
But
that day, a massive avalanche struck and swept them away. Their
companions on the hike, including climber Conrad Anker, searched for the
pair, but never found them.
Sixteen
years had passed when last Wednesday, Anker received a call from two
climbers who were on the south face of Shishapangma. The climbers, David
Goettler and Ueli Steck, had come across the frozen remains of two
people that were "beginning to emerge from the glacier," according to a
statement from the Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation.
Climber: Avalanche victim was my equal 03:42
One
of the climbers described the clothing and the pack on the two bodies
to Anker, who "concluded that the two were undoubtedly David Bridges and
Alex Lowe," according to the statement.
Anker
had married Lowe's widow, Jenni Lowe-Anker in 2001 and adopted Lowe's
three sons. He said in a statement that the discovery "brings closure
and relief for me and Jenni and our family."
Lowe-Anker said the whole family planned to make a pilgrimage to Shishapangma.
"Alex
and David vanished, were captured and frozen in time. Sixteen years of
life has been lived and now they are found. We are thankful," she said
in a statement.
Lowe-Anker
established the Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation in 1999 in the memory of
her first husband. The foundation fosters projects such as the Khumbu
Climbing Center that offers technical training for local Himalayan
mountain workers.
Compassion and Longevity
Having compassion for yourself and others might be one of the only keys to longevity that is universal among all mankind. Because if you don't have compassion for yourself, then you cannot have compassion for others. Because if you don't understand yourself first, how can you understand anyone?
So, Know thyself might be one of the first things everyone needs to know about. It isn't about obedience to others (others might just get you killed knowingly or unknowningly).
It isn't about rules in any society or religion on earth.
It is about feeling kindred both with yourself and others so they are all your family. You help them in practical ways and often they will help you too. This is the way all societies continue to exist worldwide.
When societies lose this "helping others" civilizations collapse and die.
Likewise when people don't have compassion for themselves or others, the die young.
This I have witnessed as people died all my life.
So, compassion for oneself and all others is one of the keys to longevity and this longevity then also leads to longevity of cultures and traditions worth keeping in civilizations around the world.
So, for hundreds and for thousands of years, this is the basis of both human longevity and the longevity of all cultures, civilizations and religions.
You may not have a religion in the world the way it presently is. However, we all are a part of families, cultures and civilizations worldwide. And for our longevity to happen the longevity of the civilization we are a part of also has to happen for us to prosper and live a long life within that culture and civilization.
So, Know thyself might be one of the first things everyone needs to know about. It isn't about obedience to others (others might just get you killed knowingly or unknowningly).
It isn't about rules in any society or religion on earth.
It is about feeling kindred both with yourself and others so they are all your family. You help them in practical ways and often they will help you too. This is the way all societies continue to exist worldwide.
When societies lose this "helping others" civilizations collapse and die.
Likewise when people don't have compassion for themselves or others, the die young.
This I have witnessed as people died all my life.
So, compassion for oneself and all others is one of the keys to longevity and this longevity then also leads to longevity of cultures and traditions worth keeping in civilizations around the world.
So, for hundreds and for thousands of years, this is the basis of both human longevity and the longevity of all cultures, civilizations and religions.
You may not have a religion in the world the way it presently is. However, we all are a part of families, cultures and civilizations worldwide. And for our longevity to happen the longevity of the civilization we are a part of also has to happen for us to prosper and live a long life within that culture and civilization.
If you like to write
I first entertained myself with writing because I could. I started writing like most kids do in first grade or around there. I found I was good at memorizing things so I was good at giving speeches in front of class or assembly. Though I was shy, somehow I overcame my shyness to be a good speaker in front of people. And in college I got an A in Public Speaking.
So my approach to writing is through the eyes of a story teller (in order someone who recounts their own experiences or stories told to that one by friends or relatives). Both my father and my grandfather were good at this. Of telling stories in such a way that they were entertaining. They were all true stories but there are ways of telling these stories so they are more enthralling to people who might be listening. Often you tailor how you write to your audience. Because as a story teller (in the old days) you were speaking right to them. So, often you knew who you were telling a story to. So, in the moment you might modify a story so it would be better for those in front of you because you knew their religions, their politics often, and also their likes and dislikes. So, unless you knew you were among friends one might be careful in the ways you told stories so you wouldn't be hurt or killed by what you said. In the 1950s and before getting beat up for what you said or did was much more common than now because people are much more dishonest with each other because of political correctness which has made most people liars in our society and in Europe.
And this is dangerous to the survival of all free world societies. Without enough honesty governments and peoples collapse through confusion.
So, finding a way to present truth as a writer that will be both palatable and survivable both for the writer and the reader is always a challenge for any writer whether they are paid or not.
So, I guess what I'm saying here is that I began writing around age 6 which would be 1954 in southern California in San Diego and Tujunga and Glendale (the last two are in Los Angeles County in California).
I have a much different perspective that most young people (under 50 do now) because I saw the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s 2000s and now the 20 teens. And the world now isn't the world I grew up in at all. Most people then might beat up or kill most people now for a variety of reasons. So, it is strange for me to see all the differences and to navigate the changes and to prosper in all ways in this society in comparison to the one I grew up in.
Is the world better than I grew up in? I would say no at least for me. But, for other people of all nationalities and creeds and ethnic groups, for many people I would say the world is better for them.
I sort of liked things the way they were in the 1950s and 1960s and 1970s the best. After that, it all seemed to get so crazy that just surviving in the world psychologically seemed to be more and more a problem for everyone.
However, the values I was taught to live with helped me by giving me values that are worth living for.
And in that sense I feel sorry for people of today because often they are bereft of these kinds of values that will actually keep them alive for a lifetime.
So, it is obvious many more people are going to die before 30 in the world we live in than did while I was growing up. But, it is important to note also that so many many people I knew died from reasons that they shouldn't have that don't even make any sense to me now in many ways that I knew from childhood on.
People are mostly dying because of different reasons than they once did. That is what is most strange about the present. So, is the world better than the 1950s. No! It's just different. That's all.
In fact it is so different that it sometimes seems we are living on a different planet than I grew up on.
So my approach to writing is through the eyes of a story teller (in order someone who recounts their own experiences or stories told to that one by friends or relatives). Both my father and my grandfather were good at this. Of telling stories in such a way that they were entertaining. They were all true stories but there are ways of telling these stories so they are more enthralling to people who might be listening. Often you tailor how you write to your audience. Because as a story teller (in the old days) you were speaking right to them. So, often you knew who you were telling a story to. So, in the moment you might modify a story so it would be better for those in front of you because you knew their religions, their politics often, and also their likes and dislikes. So, unless you knew you were among friends one might be careful in the ways you told stories so you wouldn't be hurt or killed by what you said. In the 1950s and before getting beat up for what you said or did was much more common than now because people are much more dishonest with each other because of political correctness which has made most people liars in our society and in Europe.
And this is dangerous to the survival of all free world societies. Without enough honesty governments and peoples collapse through confusion.
So, finding a way to present truth as a writer that will be both palatable and survivable both for the writer and the reader is always a challenge for any writer whether they are paid or not.
So, I guess what I'm saying here is that I began writing around age 6 which would be 1954 in southern California in San Diego and Tujunga and Glendale (the last two are in Los Angeles County in California).
I have a much different perspective that most young people (under 50 do now) because I saw the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s 2000s and now the 20 teens. And the world now isn't the world I grew up in at all. Most people then might beat up or kill most people now for a variety of reasons. So, it is strange for me to see all the differences and to navigate the changes and to prosper in all ways in this society in comparison to the one I grew up in.
Is the world better than I grew up in? I would say no at least for me. But, for other people of all nationalities and creeds and ethnic groups, for many people I would say the world is better for them.
I sort of liked things the way they were in the 1950s and 1960s and 1970s the best. After that, it all seemed to get so crazy that just surviving in the world psychologically seemed to be more and more a problem for everyone.
However, the values I was taught to live with helped me by giving me values that are worth living for.
And in that sense I feel sorry for people of today because often they are bereft of these kinds of values that will actually keep them alive for a lifetime.
So, it is obvious many more people are going to die before 30 in the world we live in than did while I was growing up. But, it is important to note also that so many many people I knew died from reasons that they shouldn't have that don't even make any sense to me now in many ways that I knew from childhood on.
People are mostly dying because of different reasons than they once did. That is what is most strange about the present. So, is the world better than the 1950s. No! It's just different. That's all.
In fact it is so different that it sometimes seems we are living on a different planet than I grew up on.
The problem with the Government wanting to take away encryption
--Is that if you take away all encryption you end all financial and physical security for everyone on earth which will lead eventually to the collapse of all governments on earth. This is inevitable.
The argument of Snowden in a debate I watched between Fareed Zacharia and Snowden on Fareed Zacharia GPS today spoke about this problem.
Hayden the former head of the NSA by the way agrees with Snowden about this one point.
The problem being that if the government (any government) has access to ALL information financial and otherwise there is NO WAY POSSIBLE to keep that information (sooner or later) from getting into the hands of Major Criminals (or at least enemies of that state) or both.
So, with the key to accessing all financial and physical information about everyone governments will collapse eventually one by one leaving mostly chaos and mayhem behind.
So, I will say this even more simply:
"Computerization and the Internet will lead at present (the way things are presently going) to the end of all governments on earth."
This is inevitable because of the nature of the Internet and computers being what they are.
The only real solution is if you want governments to exist you have to give up computerization. Or, you have to find another solution that presently doesn't exist.
There are two examples of this problem in action right now.
I think you would agree with me that Military drones (at present) are keeping the free world safe.
I think you would also agree with me that Tesla cars are one of the most remarkable inventions on earth as well.
However, what do they have in common?
They have computerized AI autonomy programmed in.
Therefore eventually both will be compromized by enemy nations and by criminals against all civilized societies. It is only a matter of time.
If you can make a car (without anyone on board) travel by itself somewhere with a A-Bomb on board you have just created the end of a city or military base.
If you can take a predator or other drone device on sea, land or air and fit it with a nuclear weapon you can literally send it anywhere on earth and nuke anyplace possibly without anyone knowing who did this?
You can see the problem with physical examples. Mathematics is not most people's subject but if you see physically the problem demonstrated by these two examples. It is logical that the mathematics of computerization and AI and Drones and self driving cars could end human civilization and may already be doing that as we sleep at night or any and all times.
Remember, we have never been where we are now before in human history. We have no experience regarding what happens next.
Be Careful!
The argument of Snowden in a debate I watched between Fareed Zacharia and Snowden on Fareed Zacharia GPS today spoke about this problem.
Hayden the former head of the NSA by the way agrees with Snowden about this one point.
The problem being that if the government (any government) has access to ALL information financial and otherwise there is NO WAY POSSIBLE to keep that information (sooner or later) from getting into the hands of Major Criminals (or at least enemies of that state) or both.
So, with the key to accessing all financial and physical information about everyone governments will collapse eventually one by one leaving mostly chaos and mayhem behind.
So, I will say this even more simply:
"Computerization and the Internet will lead at present (the way things are presently going) to the end of all governments on earth."
This is inevitable because of the nature of the Internet and computers being what they are.
The only real solution is if you want governments to exist you have to give up computerization. Or, you have to find another solution that presently doesn't exist.
There are two examples of this problem in action right now.
I think you would agree with me that Military drones (at present) are keeping the free world safe.
I think you would also agree with me that Tesla cars are one of the most remarkable inventions on earth as well.
However, what do they have in common?
They have computerized AI autonomy programmed in.
Therefore eventually both will be compromized by enemy nations and by criminals against all civilized societies. It is only a matter of time.
If you can make a car (without anyone on board) travel by itself somewhere with a A-Bomb on board you have just created the end of a city or military base.
If you can take a predator or other drone device on sea, land or air and fit it with a nuclear weapon you can literally send it anywhere on earth and nuke anyplace possibly without anyone knowing who did this?
You can see the problem with physical examples. Mathematics is not most people's subject but if you see physically the problem demonstrated by these two examples. It is logical that the mathematics of computerization and AI and Drones and self driving cars could end human civilization and may already be doing that as we sleep at night or any and all times.
Remember, we have never been where we are now before in human history. We have no experience regarding what happens next.
Be Careful!
After 2 days my computer resurrected itself
I went to an apple store yesterday to make an appointment to see if they could actually fix my macbook pro laptop from it's zombie state where I couldn't turn it off or on where it stayed in this strange state where the little white light didn't go up and down in brightness but stayed on all the time when the laptop was closed but then when I opened the laptop it went off and the screen was completely black and off.
Finally yesterday after making this appointment my laptop when I opened it up was back and I just turned it on and ran an Anti-virus, so it had reset itself after being a zombie a couple of days. So, I emailed the apple store to cancel the appointment.
So, I guess my laptop had resurrected itself after 2 days of being basically dead.
Finally yesterday after making this appointment my laptop when I opened it up was back and I just turned it on and ran an Anti-virus, so it had reset itself after being a zombie a couple of days. So, I emailed the apple store to cancel the appointment.
So, I guess my laptop had resurrected itself after 2 days of being basically dead.
Longevity
At present the main factors in longevity here on earth are genetics, diet, exercise, what you do with your mind and body, and how you cultivate your health and life and recreation.
Also, there are different types of people. Some people thrive on work and burn out and die by 30 to 50. Other people do less strenuous work and thrive on this type of work and work out in ways having fun exercising their bodies and minds.
But, mostly you have to want to be alive and have good reasons for being alive whether that is religious or spiritual or just a love of nature and wild things. So, there are many custom made ways to longevity worldwide. And many of them are very individualistic by nature and others are group ways to longevity.
But, in the end we are all very different and in other ways we are all very much alike in what keeps us alive to 80 or 100 or more.
Also, there are different types of people. Some people thrive on work and burn out and die by 30 to 50. Other people do less strenuous work and thrive on this type of work and work out in ways having fun exercising their bodies and minds.
But, mostly you have to want to be alive and have good reasons for being alive whether that is religious or spiritual or just a love of nature and wild things. So, there are many custom made ways to longevity worldwide. And many of them are very individualistic by nature and others are group ways to longevity.
But, in the end we are all very different and in other ways we are all very much alike in what keeps us alive to 80 or 100 or more.
Buffet says GDP per capita has gone up 6 times in his life
| Yahoo Finance | - |
Warren
Buffett is an Obama supporter, but he is still bullish on America even
if Trump becomes president. He cited the fact that in his lifetime, GDP
per capita has gone up six times.
Buffet says GDP per capita has gone up 6 times in his life
Some
Americans are so upset about the prospect of a President Donald Trump
that they’re threatening to inundate Canada with a wave of U.S. refugees
come November. But Warren Buffett won’t be one of them.
When asked at the Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A)
annual meeting if Donald Trump might harm his company's interests if
elected president, the famous CEO said, "this won't be the main
problem," as thousands in attendance guffawed. Then he reflected on the
way his business and many others have survived all manner of regulation,
meddling and turmoil.
“In my
lifetime," Buffett continued, "GDP per capita in real terms has gone up
six for one ... I’m confident that 20 years from now there will be far
more output per capita than there is now. No presidential candidate or
president is going to end that. They can shape it in ways that are good
or bad, but they can't end it."
Buffett
is a Democrat who supports Hillary Clinton for president and opposes
Trump. But Buffett is also famous for taking the long view and
dismissing many of the here-and-gone controversies that dominate social
media and the 24-hour news cycle. Buffett, born in 1930, has lived
through World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War, the Vietnam War,
Nixon’s resignation, the double-digit inflation of the 1970s, the 9/11
terrorist attacks and much more. Not counting the 1930s, Buffett has
lived through 12 recessions.
Trump has proposed policies that some economists think could cause Buffett’s 13th
recession, especially steep tariffs on some imports, which could send
prices soaring. But Buffett surely understands that the political system
has a way of killing the worst ideas, and even if it doesn’t, American
businesses usually innovate their way to success. That’s why he’s a huge
fan of America.
“For 240
years, it's been a terrible mistake to bet against America, and now is
no time to start,” Buffett wrote in his latest annual letter to
shareholders. “America's golden goose of commerce and innovation will
continue to lay more and larger eggs.”
Watch Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting live, exclusively at Yahoo Finance .
Yen surge 'extremely worrying' warns Japan's finance minister
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Yen surge 'extremely worrying' warns Japan's finance minister
| Telegraph.co.uk | - |
Japan's finance minister has warned the recent sharp rise in the yen is "extremely worrying", adding Tokyo will take action when necessary.
Yen surge 'extremely worrying' warns Japan's finance minister
Japan's finance minister
has warned the recent sharp rise in the yen is "extremely worrying",
adding Tokyo will take action when necessary.
The remarks, which suggest Tokyo's possible market intervention, came
after the Japanese unit surged to an 18-month high against the dollar
in New York on Friday.
It extended the previous day's rally, which was boosted by a surprising monetary decision made by the Bank of Japan (BoJ).
On Thursday, the central bank shocked markets by failing to provide more stimulus, confounding expectations it would act after a double earthquake and a string of weak readings on the world's number three economy.
The dollar tumbled to 106.31 yen in New York at the end of last week, its lowest level since October 2014, from 108.11 yen.
The greenback had bought 111.78 yen in Tokyo before the BoJ announcement on Thursday.
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It extended the previous day's rally, which was boosted by a surprising monetary decision made by the Bank of Japan (BoJ).
On Thursday, the central bank shocked markets by failing to provide more stimulus, confounding expectations it would act after a double earthquake and a string of weak readings on the world's number three economy.
The dollar tumbled to 106.31 yen in New York at the end of last week, its lowest level since October 2014, from 108.11 yen.
The greenback had bought 111.78 yen in Tokyo before the BoJ announcement on Thursday.
"The yen strengthened by five yen in two days. Obviously one-sided
and biased, so-called speculative moves are seen behind it," said
Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso.
"It is extremely worrying," he said.
The finance minister left on a trip, which will also take him to an annual Asian Development Bank meeting in Germany.
"Tokyo will continue watching the market trends carefully and take actions when necessary," he added.
A strong currency is damaging for Japan's exporting giants, such as Toyota and Sony, as it makes their goods more expensive overseas and shrinks the value of repatriated profits.
Aso has reiterated that Japan could intervene in forex markets to stem the unit's steep rise, saying moves to halt the currency's "one-sided, speculative" rally would not breach a G20 agreement to avoid competitive currency devaluations.
Japan last intervened in currency markets around November 2011, when it tried to stem the yen's rise against the greenback to keep an economic recovery on track after the quake-tsunami disaster earlier that year.
"It is extremely worrying," he said.
The finance minister left on a trip, which will also take him to an annual Asian Development Bank meeting in Germany.
"Tokyo will continue watching the market trends carefully and take actions when necessary," he added.
A strong currency is damaging for Japan's exporting giants, such as Toyota and Sony, as it makes their goods more expensive overseas and shrinks the value of repatriated profits.
Aso has reiterated that Japan could intervene in forex markets to stem the unit's steep rise, saying moves to halt the currency's "one-sided, speculative" rally would not breach a G20 agreement to avoid competitive currency devaluations.
Japan last intervened in currency markets around November 2011, when it tried to stem the yen's rise against the greenback to keep an economic recovery on track after the quake-tsunami disaster earlier that year.
Experts claim the universe is 'littered with dead alien civilisations'
The Sun -
They WERE out there: Experts claim the universe is 'littered with dead alien civilisations'
Scientific paper's authors claim the chance we are alone is just one in 10 billion trillion
comments
2
Scientists believe that space may have been populated by a vast number of alien communities in the past after analysis showed that as many as one fifth of all stars are orbited by planets that could sustain life.
The scientists behind this theory are Adam Frank and Woodruff Sullivan, who work at the astronomy department and astrobiology program at the University of Washington.
Startlingly, they argue that there is a minute probability of just one in 10 billion trillion that there has never been any extra-terrestrial life in space.
READ MORE:
If there's life in our Solar System here's where it'll be
Astronomy expert claims he's cracked the mysterious alien 'WOW signal'
Europe to build Moon town by 2030 in bid to discover alien life
However, whilst they are certain that there are - or were - aliens out there, space is so vast that there is almost no chance we will ever come across them.
The researchers also worked out how long the average civilisation lasts, to get a sense of the lifespan of alien societies.
They reach the conclusion that, over the 13-billion-year lifespan of the universe, it’s likely that any other civilisations out there have already gone extinct.
“The other cases are likely to include many energy-intensive civilizations dealing with their feedback onto their planets as their civilizations grow.
“That means we can begin exploring the problem using simulations to get a sense of what leads to long lived civilizations and what doesn’t.”
Scientists have spent years obsessing over the quest to find alien life, with astronomers raising as many questions as they answer with every new theory.
However, NASA are hopeful that they can lead the charge to find alien life, and there are high hopes for the probe they are set to soon launch to Jupiter.
Grown-up Bran Stark returns to HBO's 'Game of Thrones'
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| USA TODAY | - |
LOS
ANGELES - Welcome back, Bran Stark. Where have you been? The Stark
youth (Isaac Hempstead Wright), absent for a full season of HBO's Game
of Thrones, returns Sunday (9 p.m. ET/PT) after a year of honing his
supernatural skills. The most ...
Bill Keveney, USA TODAY The Stark youth (Isaac Hempstead Wright), absent for a full season of HBO’s Game of Thrones, returns Sunday (9 p.m. ET/PT) after a year of honing his supernatural skills.
The most dramatic visual change is that Wright, 17, has grown up since Bran’s last appearance nearly two years ago at the end of Season 4.
“What’s nice about Bran missing the season was that it’s a (substantial) change rather than just a gradual, ‘Oh, he’s an older kid now.’ He’s an adult now and he’s got all these adult responsibilities,” the English teen tells USA TODAY.
Thrones left Bran, who has been unable to walk since Jaime Lannister pushed him off a window ledge in the series premiere, as he completed a long, perilous trek by meeting the mystical Three-Eyed Raven, who can train him, in a tree cave.
In the Season 4 finale, the Raven told Bran that he would not walk again, but that he would fly. (In Season 6 photos, Bran, who has often been carried by the faithful giant Hodor – played by Kristian Nairn – is seen standing, an occurrence that has yet to be explained but could be part of one of his visions.)
“This destiny had been calling Bran the whole way through and he hadn’t really known what it was,” Wright says. “He had glimpses of his power, but nothing particularly deep and nothing that exposed the audience to what these powers might be able to do.”
“Season 5 would have been quite dull if Bran had been in it, because it would have been just him training,” says Wright, who focused on school during the time away but missed his colleagues on set. “When he first arrived at the cave, he was a real novice, so it’s a lot more exciting to see him come back in Season 6 as a very changed character.”
Bran, new to controlling his abilities, needs the tutelage of the Raven (Max von Sydow).
“Bran is very much still a teenager. There’s an enormous amount of hubris with his power,” Wright says. “He needs the Raven to guide him and go, ‘You’ve got to stay on the right track and master this power and then you’ve got to use it.’ ”
As Bran learns from the sage Raven, Wright had a similar experience working with the renowned von Sydow (The Seventh Seal, The Exorcist, Hannah and Her Sisters).
He marvels at von Sydow's command. “There are certain lines that aren’t of enormous magnitude in the grand scheme of Westeros, but Max will say one and it will suddenly turn into the most important line you've thought you heard in Game of Thrones.”
For the Seven Kingdoms’ sake, Bran had better be paying good attention to the Raven, because his skills will be sorely needed in a world where war is commonplace and a likely larger threat, White Walkers and an army of zombie wights, looms in the North.
“Now, we have Bran right in the middle of what he’ll be able to do for Westeros," Wright says. "We’ll see him make some interesting decisions about what that might entail.”
Cruz Again Bests Trump at Most Weekend Delegate Contests
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Cruz Again Bests Trump at Most Weekend Delegate Contests
| Bloomberg | - |
Even
as his campaign struggles for survival, Senator Ted Cruz dominated
weekend delegate selection contests that he and other Republicans hope
could block Donald Trump from winning the party's nomination at their
national convention.
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Cruz Again Bests Trump at Most Weekend Delegate Contests
From Virginia in the east to Arizona in the west, the Texan nearly ran the tables at state party conventions where delegates were picked to attend the July meeting in Cleveland.
Trump has won the most state primaries, including a sweep of five northeastern states on April 26, and has gained over 10 million votes from primary and caucus voters so far, to Cruz's 6.9 million. Yet Cruz's campaign has repeatedly shown superior organization and understanding when it comes to the arcane delegate-selection process and his quest to secure people loyal to him at a possible contested convention.
"It is going to be a contested convention," Cruz said Sunday on ABC's "This Week" broadcast. "I believe at the convention, the highest total Trump gets, it will be the first ballot and that we are seeing the party unite behind our campaign."
Cruz's delegate wins could be merely symbolic, though, if Trump secures the 1,237 delegates needed win the party's presidential nomination. The real estate developer could still do that on June 7, when California, New Jersey and three other states hold the final set of Republican primaries, offering a total of 303 delegates.
There were also some signs this weekend that Trump's campaign is getting better at grass-roots organizing. He scored delegate victories in Massachusetts and held his own in Arkansas.
Arizona was a Cruz blowout, even though Trump won the state's March 22 primary with 47 percent of the vote to Cruz's 25 percent. A slate backing the Texan won virtually all of the 28 at-large delegate slots and roughly split the 27 selected by congressional district, according to the Associated Press.
The outcome prompted anger from Trump supporters, including former Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. "I got cheated," the AP quoted her as saying as the results became known.
The campaigns for Cruz and Ohio Governor John Kasich offered nearly identical slates of candidates and the combined votes helped lead to wins for the Texas senator.
State Treasurer Jeff DeWit, who chairs Trump's Arizona campaign, told reporters that a challenge to the delegate selection process is possible after the party rejected re-vote calls.
"The Trump campaign is very unhappy with the results," DeWit told the AP and others. "We don't feel that this was a fair process. The Trump button got checked more than any other, so why do we have so few delegates?"
Cruz's campaign pushed back by saying there was no malfeasance involved, and that the delegate victories were simply a matter of adding their supporters with those who don't want Trump.
In Virginia, Cruz supporters won 10 of 13 delegate slots selected at a state convention, the Washington Post reported.
Cruz finished a distant third in Virginia's March 1 primary behind Trump and Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who has since dropped out of the race. Cruz supporters dominated the party's convention on Saturday at James Madison University in Harrisonburg. The Texan was helped by Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia's former attorney general and a campaign aide on the delegate front nationally.
Delegates from Virginia, Arizona and many other states will be required to vote for Trump on the first ballot in Cleveland because he won their primaries and state party rules often require loyalty to the winner on the initial round.
It's mathematically impossible for Cruz or Kasich to win enough delegates for the nomination before the convention. Instead, the remaining Republican candidates, pared from an initial slate of 17, hope to prevent Trump from winning enough delegates for the nomination.
Tuesday's Indiana primary will be a critical test for stop-Trump forces. Even Cruz has acknowledged that a Trump win there could make it impossible to block the front-runner from winning the nomination. A Wall Street Journal/NBC News/Marist poll on Sunday showed Trump 15 points ahead of Cruz, a wider margin than other recent surveys compiled by RealClearPolitics.
In Massachusetts, at least 23 of the 27 delegates picked Saturday were supported by the Trump campaign, the Boston Globe reported. Trump easily won the state's March 1 primary.
At congressional district conventions in Arkansas, where Trump narrowly beat Cruz in the March 1 primary, the front-runner won half of the 12 delegates selected Saturday, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Five others supported Cruz.
After Trump's dominant wins this week he has 996 delegates, according to an AP tally. Cruz has 565, followed by a distant Kasich at 153.
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