As the series goes numbers everywhere start to get a bit skewed.  Especially with army sizes.  IN the BWB it described the empire as almost being in a constant state of rebellion and never really being at peace.

Rand mistrusted Aes Sedai, without the oaths he never would of trusted them enough to have them do anything worth while.  The oaths were a mistake from the point of he was never going to get all Aes Sedai to take the oath.  So sooner or later he was going to have to trust them.  He was punishing them.

Perrin didn't have a lot of choice but to accept them, with the fight looming he needed them and it's unlikely they would of listened to him had he told them to get lost.

I wouldn't say the DO wants freewill, if he won and remade the wheel he would remove from your mind that there is any other possibility.  So if the DO won, there would be no freewill in the DO only world.  I mean you saw with the forcing channelers to the shadow, he didn't really care if you came to his side willingly or not.  How many times was Rand told dead or alive you will serve the DO regardless?  

RJ said the DO never "won", but Rand at the end said why the DO has never won.  For him it's not just crushing the forces of light.  Victory to the DO is everyone giving up hope and begging him for mercy. He wants everyone to lose hope.  As you saw that was never going to happen, the forces of light were going to fight to the end.  So the DO might of destroyed his enemy, but to him that wouldn't of been a victory.

I always have said, the biggest issue with the weaker books was the amount of time you had to wait for them.  You wait two years and you get a book that doesn't advance the plot much and then two years later it seems like Perin is still hunting for Faile.  Sort of frustrates you.

If you found someone you really care about it should bother you some that they will only be with you if you agree to be in a relationship with their friend also.  Especially if you really don't like that friend very much.  I could see the threesome idea being fine if you just want to have fun, but since Gaul really likes Chiad I could see him being a bit annoyed that he also has to date this other lady also.

Any time they tried to rebuild, IShy was spun out and did everything he could to ruin the land.  Last thing Ishy wanted was a united technological advanced land waiting when the seals finally weakened.  So he ensured the land would be in chaos.  Randland is the result, weak nations, not enough people to even live in most of Randland., alot of open vacant land.

There was starvation, but not a lot of time was spent on it in the books, really who wants to read about all the suffering.  Min viewing in Tear about the child who would starve etc.  foreshadowed the suffering.  You also seem to forget in book 4 that Tear's granaries were overflowing.   The highlords were even complaining about how much grain  there was.  Even in book 6 things weren't that bad and the wonder girls fixed the weather with the bowl, it wasn't till the DO could really touch the world that things started to get bad.  Book one the winter was lingering but it's not like it was so bad that mass starvation was occurring at the beginning of the series.

Some of the embassy disaster was no one's fault, as the embassy couldn't  predict Verin and Alanna showing up or Kiruna and Bera arriving.  They didn't intentionally make it so 13 Aes Sedai were there thus making Rand so paranoid to where he would leave the city.  What made it worse was Alanna and Verin being there yet had no ties to the rebels or White tower so no one could really tell them what to do.  Kiruna taking charge was the biggest disaster as she was extremely arrogant and was pretty much the wrong person to try and deal with Rand.  She was much too I'm Aes Sedai show me respect and do what I say type to be the one to deal with Rand after what he had just been through.  Had Merana still been in charge she probably would of been a lot more diplomatic with Rand.  I don't necessarily blame all Aes Sedai for it, just Kiruna was already in a bad mood after traveling half way to the waste looking for Rand, she was a noble, and was a very blunt not very diplomatic type.  Once Merana allowed Kiruna to take over, the embassy was doomed.

Also have to remember Kiruna and Bera showing up also pretty much ruined things as Kiruna and Bera took over the embassy and were the ones who decided to make the embassy follow Rand.  Not to mention Merana (the embassy leader) found herself falling into the Aes Sedai habit of deferring to the Verin, because she was the stronger woman.  It shows the weakness of the Aes Sedai unwrtitten rule of strength in power meant that person was in charge.

That was the point Perrin was suppose to regin in Masema, no one had any idea he was so far gone.  Even Perrin was shocked to see the state Masema was in.  All Rand has coming to him was stories and rumors so there was no way for anyone to know how bad he had gotten, Nyn wasn't with Rand at the time he sent Perrin off so she was the only one who knew what Masema was like.  Also we now know at least part of the time he was being manipulated by a forsaken.

I suspect Samm attacked Mat.  After all Mat was on the way down to take command of the armies to fight Samm also Samm had dealings with the Shaido so he is the one who would have an interest in seeing Mat didn't make it to Tear alive.  Also a way to make Rand's forces mistrust the Aiell.  Sadly I can't find anything that states specifically who sent the aiel.

Companion does confirm Demira's attackers were actually Fain's whitecloaks

Ughhh Perrin and Faile and the non stop why is she angry with me and I don't want to hurt her. She smells hurt I don't understand why.   GAHHHHHHHHH

Pretty much as jack explained, he stummbled upon info on sealing the bore.  Something about clearing away rubble.

FYI RJ has said balefore doesn't destroy your soul forever, those killed by balefore will be reborn again.  Think of it as a fail safe to prevent soneone from balefiring everyone and ruining the pattern forever.

2. What exactly was Rand suppose to do about the wards Samm placed?

Depends on the book, the first few books I found Mat reall annoying, but as the series went on Mat became more likeable.  Rand I liked early on but never could really enjoy the dark angry Rand.  Perrin was just dull from start to finish.

I believe that sabio wrote this one a few years ago,rand is still touching the portal stone,attempting to reach toman head,everything that happens between the great hunt chapter 37 and the last book is part of rand's visions...flicker...

My post here is also part of rand's visions...flicker...

I still would of loved it had RJ of done that,

The wonder girls don't even feel any pain/loss that would be associated with being gentled/severed/ etc.  So it's not like he is feeling the loss like his arm and simply accepts it.

Few facts we know.

Channeling is tied to the soul

He could still channel after stepping back into reality

He didn't die since his connection to the wonder girls is still there, and they don't feel any loss that would be associated to losing him.

So whatever happened to him occurred after he sealed the DO and the big flash of light,.

The body swap was occurring as he carried Ishy out of the cave and was laying on the ground when the strange lady appeared.  But didn't seem like Rand was in any condition to be actively doing it. 

Rand's POV says the amount of the Powers he was holding would soon burn him away.  The sword was flawed so there was no buffer preventing him from drawing too much of the power.   Plus there were other ways to burn yourself out, channeling while exhausted for instance.

There was a post awhile back about so much time has passed now that spoilers were no longer an issue.

So the title of book 21 could be the Last Battle is getting really close now =)

I think the only thing that would of sped up his wanting to finish the WOT would of been his wanting to start on the outrigger series, and his desire to do a couple of prequel books.  I know he has wanted to do a book on Tam finding Rand.

I don't think he was being dishonest, but RJ did want to add a lot, draw stuff out etc..  Perin/Faile rescue was a good example.  Sure had he lived he would of finished it but wouldn't surprise me if it had gone at least one extra book.

Rand channled so much power he was going to kill himself, not just burn himself out.  COuld be something associated with the body swap.

They do, even being burnt out can make one simply want to give up.  A main reason why so few new weaves wre discovered because no Aes Sedai is willing to risk burning herself out experimenting.  

I don't see what's wrong with that passage, pretty sure since he was working with RJ's wife and had all his notes' etc he is aware of many things in the WOT.

There is nothing in depth about the creation of the BA, but as jack posted there are clues as to who did it.

I know RJ said the information in the BWB about forsaken and dreadlords was wrong.   In the BWB it mentions every Aed Sedai who went over to the shadow during the war of power was a dreadlord, and all the dreadlords called themselves chosen,  and were known as the Forsaken to all others.  The thirteen most powerful of the forsaken were caught and sealed in the bore.  And that throughout the years no dreadlord afte dared call themselves forsaken,  But RJ said the information in the BWB was wrong.  I think he said only the most powerful of the dreadlords were known as forsaken.