Yeah, no worries.
I was about to post here and ask if everyone was ok. Apart from global pandemic, it seems our American friends are facing an awful mess as well.
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To be fair it is everyone's mess.
The pandemic exists because of Trump's actions. When he removed the American Pandemic Defense team he not only put America at risk, he effectively removed the firewall on a global hub of world travel- America's vulnerability is the world's vulnerability. When thousands of Americans returned from China without quarantine or testing because Trump's racism overruled science, those infected exposed not only America, but the American transportation system, with flights leaving daily for Italy, Japan, Australia, the entire globe. We became the center of the infection because we abdicated our responsibility to the global community, as well as our own defense, through Trump's actions and by electing Trump.
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Please, no talking of mundane politics on these boards. We are already innundated by it in the news, and here is not an appropriate place for it.
I do apologize but I cannot agree. Silence is violence. We are on the verge of omega level world crisis.
Or maybe Lambda level at least 
People gotta vent when and where the emotion surfaces. Free speech is sacrosanct.
I am not going to soap box here. I do that on Facebook. But I shall not use my moderator powers to silence anyone, nor will I join in social pressure to accomplish the same.
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No need to apologize. I am just asking for everyone to keep politics out of the discussions. I too find the current situation and events abhorrent and unconscionable.
I am not asking to refrain from discussing the current events, or flaws in society (american or otherwise), even though these are mostly off topic. We are all human, and our feelings about what is going on has to be expressed. And though this is a games forum, so a certain amount of talk about society is both understandable and sane.
But I draw the line at laying out blame at an individual politician, a political party, or a group. However much I may dislike the said individual is irrevelant. As is how warranted it would be to blame him or not. This is just not an appropriate forum to do so.
Hi people.
Hope everything's all right. As much as it can be.
I don't know what to say. I don't want to drive a wedge, and I fear that this may grow sour. Yet, I am tired of politicians and powerful figures never being held accountable for their acts (David Koch, anyone?), despite having countless death on their hands. I am tired of money, of power, meaning that a man gets undue respect and attention, far more than on his words and deeds. To get back on blame, as I said on our President-Savior: "He has no obligation of results. He may fail, or be blindsided. But I expect him to do his best, which he didn't for a while, despite getting numerous advance warnings. I do not blame him fot the deaths. I blame him for the ones he could have easily avoided"
Posted for Roberto. With a "Previously on"!
Also, some of you may be interested in reading Arachne's journal, or not.
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There was a "not" missing at the end of my previous message, which completely changed what I wanted to state.
Ugh. Now I’m almost afraid to say I was referring to the other mess in the US...
I mean, we all have pandemic, and suffer the ensuing economic challenges.
BTW I am not a citizen of the USA, nor do I live there. I am in Canada's most affected province, Quebec.
We are all affected by the pandemic. The health issue and the resulting economic impacts are severe, and much worse for those who were already vulnerable to either fronts, or both. 
It is all related. A perfect storm. On inept individual has caused the epidemic here to explode, and it will affect the rest of the world. But a more pressing point is police violence and the rise of fascism. In all seriousness, the Donald wants to declare me a terrorist because of my Antifa sympathies. That is some serious shit guys.
There is no such thing as an inappropriate forum when it comes to speaking out against injustice and cruelty.
Silence is Violence.
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I have Quebec ancestry! I like to brag on and on about being half Greek. My parents were divorced and I was raised by my mother's side of the family.
But Faulkner ancestry can be traced back to 1797, where Charles Faulkner weds Marie Gilmore at the Anglican Church of Montreal. They had several children, and after Charles dies, Marie converted the kids to Catholic. Then one sone named Henry changed his name to Henri and started carousing with the fine French ladies. The Faulkners became so French that my grandfather only spoke French until he went to school. And that guy grew up in Chicago! Back in the day I suppose there was a French Quarter.
I’ll admit I have no idea where anybody other than Mark is from or where they live, in detail. I just as the idea that a couple of people were American.
Interesting story Mark.
I’m just Danish. Nothing I’ve ever heard points to anything remotely exciting
Speech in the wrong place can also be violence.
While I agree the the individual in question has a lot to answer for, I repeat my request that real-world politics not pollute our Ars forum.
Well, that is pretty exciting in and of itself. You got Vikings, Little Meremaid, WWII resistance, and much more. Interesting thing is, though I boast so much about being Greek, outside of some philosophy and math, I kinda think there were idiots and the mythology is boring. I am a Norse mythology affectionado. That begins with Thor comic books from the silver and bronze ages. But I have studied up on the legit sources. My other epic ArM4 saga was Ultima Thue, set in Denmark on Zealand. The part of Denmark that was carved out by a giant.
The most I can agree to is to keep it out of the game. Table Talk is the only place where we get to socialize with each other. I know Ray on facebook. But otherwise, this is it. I woud ove to hang out for drinks, take a trip to France or Canada once a week or so. But until I get rich, this is it.
And mind you, I am trying not to say much of anything. I mainly wish to defend and advocate for the rights of others to do so. But, as a side note, this is exactly the very reason why I dropped the game for over a year after the disaster of 2016. I have a hard time keeping to myself. After all, I am that Flambeau guys 
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Genealogy is a much better topic of discussion! 
As a French canadian, I can trace most of my ancestry to Normandy, with a bit of native american blood (about 3/32th parts, Abenaki and Innu if I remember correctly).
I can dig on that. I am curious about those DNA test kits at the store. Not sure how much faith I would put in one, but my cousin and sister have each done the 23 & me version. What fascinates me is not the things I might already know. It is the possible tangential connections I do not know about. How African or Asian am I> What percentage of Neandethal do I carry? Stuff like that.
My sister and I have the same mother, different fathers. My cousin, her father is my mother's brother. So the common thread between the three of us is the Maimonis family. I suspect that, whatever results they had in common will likely show up in my sequence. I barely remember their details they had posted on their FB pages. But I do remember that they each had a tiny bit of Spanish and my cousin had a touch of Turkish.
And with that Marie Gilmore ancestor I mentioned. The name and religion both strongly suggest Irish. Presuming she was 100% Irish and that no one else had any Irish ancestry (both of which are unlikely), I am about 1.5% Irish.
Which ain't much.
But the amusing thing is that my roommate from back in Chicago, a blalck man with very dark skin, his grandmother was Irish and thus he is 25%, much more than I am.
In Chicago, however minor one's connection to being Irish may be, it is often a point of pride.
His dad went by the nickname Red. Lighter skin, red hair, and total old school gangster of thr 60's & 70's.
I am more curious about... let's call it social genealogy. What did my ancestors see, do, live through? Their experience of the world was so completely different from ours, it is almost unbelievable.
Our existence is the result of their choices and the events of their lives. Much as ours will impact that of our children and grandchildren.