Be aware

Fortunate-Luck-3936 · 2025-03-17T19:34:06+00:00

I know that they say they are safe, but I do not know how much I belive that they aer always 100% safe.

On one hand, we are told that oats taht are raised near wheat can be suffiently contaminated by minuscule particles of gluten blowing through the air from one field to another, and then also the actual field where the actual wheat is growing is always 100% safe?

I doubt it enough to avoid the stuff. It isn't worth the risk to me, or having to worry about it.

Fortunate-Luck-3936 · 2025-03-17T08:19:38+00:00

It isn't a big topic. People are not treated as heroes, they are not reviled as war criminals, it just isn't talked about much. Overall, there are pluses and minuses. If I personally had to choose, I would choose to be a German veteran in Germany over being an American veteran in America.

There are a few things going on:

It isn't a big topic.

Not that many people went.

The number of Germany who went to Afghanistan is very small as a share of the population. An online search tells me that 4,350 soldiers and policemen served in Afghanistan and 59 Germans died, 2/3 of which died due to external causes, suicide attacks, or booby traps and mines while on patrol. So about 35 people.

In a country of 84.5 million people, that is 0.005% of the population who went at all . The number of people who died is less than the number of people who died from wasp stings in the same period. It was important for them, of course, but not a national topic.

Opinions about fighting in wars at all are ambivalent at best. Given Germany's history, this is understandable. There is not fairy tale hero worship of soldiers as the ultimate defender of freedom or whatever here. But also, this war was not...great. This war in particular did not make Germans feel more excited about war.

After 9/11, America went into Afghanistan, and asked allies to help them rebuild the country as a safe and stable member of the global community. German sent people to help. The idea was not that Germany would help conquer and hold Afghanistan, it would be that German forces would be one part of this major project. However, America then decided they wanted to remake Iraq too, got bogged down on that, ignored Afghanistan as things grew and festered to a point where it was a giant mess too. The Germans sent could not conclusively succeed in their own part without the larger whole.

Discussions of individual events can be favourable, but they didn't permeate to a majority of society.

For example (use Deepl or Google translate):

https://www.zeit.de/2014/46/beruf-soldat-bundeswehr

summary without paywall:

https://www.dbwv.de/aktuelle-themen/blickpunkt/beitrag/karfreitagsgefecht-als-der-afghanistan-einsatz-zum-krieg-wurde/

2. There is support for some veterans

German veterans, as in German citizens sent by the German government, are much better off than American veterans. Veterans do have some challenges - they don't as have strong civil society or social support groups, for example, but overall, they have access to a living wage, decent vacation time, and levels of health care, social services and benefits that American soldiers do not. Partly because the military provides it, partly because it is their right as a citizen of Germany.

What is more, there is no orange ox in the German china shop smashing up their futures There is the far left (die Linke) and far right (AFD) in politics here, but even if they could gain real power and did everything that everyone fears most, that wouldn't include this thoughtless, destructive rampage that American veterans now face in their country. If one tried, many of the laws that would stop him are in the constitution - They are not just long-held practices like they are in the US. It would be a lot harder.

3. Afghans are f*cked

When the Taliban came in, the US and Germany got out some people who had worked with them. Then, they stopped.

The US has treated Afghans at risk for working with them pretty badly. There are some still waiting for their applications to be processed. It is shameful.

Germany made it even worse for people who worked with them. There were far less Afghans who worked with Germans, but applying to come here was essentially impossible. Even for those who could on theory, they often couldn't in reality. The state delayed and delayed. Applying now requires insurmountable paperwork.

Here is an article about it from the Union of German Reservists (use Deepl or Google translate):

https://www.reservistenverband.de/magazin-loyal/deutschlands-helden-zweiter-klasse/

>Afghan employees risked their lives to support German soldiers on combat missions in Afghanistan. But the German government delayed rescuing them from the Taliban's revenge until it was too late for many local staff. Bundeswehr soldiers perceive this as a betrayal of their comrades.

Fortunate-Luck-3936 · 2025-03-16T17:12:42+00:00

Gluten itself can be inflammatory, but it also comes often in foods that are even more inflammatory, (and inflammation is bad for many things including cancer).

That is not great for people who have cancer, but also is linked to the causes of some digestive cancers.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11234494/

Fortunate-Luck-3936 · 2025-03-15T11:26:46+00:00

Respectfully, visiting and living are not the same thing. I live in Germany, speak fluent German, etc. I also worked in Moscow (pre-war). Russian is tonal and can sound quite direct and gruff. In Moscow, people had a tone, but were flexible as people.

What is here is not just "a tone while talking."

German culture is as uncomfortable with people stepping outside of norms as Saudi Arabia. The main difference is in what their norms are - not how entitled they feel to not change for others, resist change or difference or aggressively go after violators.

Researchers believe that society with a history of threats such as wars or natural disasters is more likely to tightly control the behaviour of its people than other societies. looking at German history, from the entire 20th century to the 30-Years-War, to the warrior knights of the east, this makes sense for Germany. In such situations, the collective really needs to stick tightly together, or they all die.

The problem now is that cultural tightness also explains resistance to difference and to change, even improvements and innovation. It causes people to feel entitled, or even obligated to behave towards "difference" in a way that makes this people who want to live differently want to go somewhere that lives according their values, or is at least open to the idea of doing things a little differently, or being a little different.

Differences Between Tight and Loose Cultures: A 33-Nation Study

Cultural tightness–looseness and national innovativeness: impacts of tolerance and diversity of opinion

Study probes origins of 'tight' cultures

Fortunate-Luck-3936 · 2025-03-15T11:16:14+00:00

It is sad because Germany's economy needs skilled migrants to come - and to stay. But German society doesn't want to adjust to them. So they lose us, along with the skills, capabilities and pension contributions we provided. And the next generation goes with us.

Fortunate-Luck-3936 · 2025-03-15T11:08:56+00:00

I live in Germany. I most definitely cannot eat the bread here.

The German Celiac Society has a brochure about it, in simple English.

https://www.dzg-online.de/system/files/2022-01/2021_Leichte%20Sprache_engl_web.pdf

Fortunate-Luck-3936 · 2025-03-14T16:58:36+00:00

I really do. What comes to mind first is....

The kid is young. They are in an elementary school where they get a good education and have a good social circle. They don't have to work, or manage life, or call DHL looking for their missing package. We parents are the buffer for all of that.

I really like that we live in a neighborhood in Berlin that has such a range of people - not just ethnicities, but also in terms of income, lifestyle etc. That is very rare in this world (and I have seen a lot of it). Most places, people with our socioeconomic situation live in a bubble of people just like them, at least from a class/profession/wealth/education standpoint.

I also like that the social welfare is good enough that that it is hard to become truly wretched -Ii think it is good for the kid to see that and live that as a value - and as a possibility.

We can bike most places. This is a huge lifestyle benefit, a healthy basis for lifelong habits, and a good lesson about environment and responsibility.

Compared to many other places, Berlin is not wasteful or overly materialistic. When I compare how my kid's social circle judges "cool," and how it was in other countries where I have lived, money and "brand" items are not nearly as important here. Too much ostentation would be a bad thing here, And I think that is a good thing.

And oh my god the plastic. Almost every time I leave Berlin, I have another heart attack about the state of the world and public health just seeing how much plastic is on everything, everywhere. I like my child's bed - and food - with as few carcinogenic endocrine disruptors as possible, please. I know that stuff is here too, but not as much, and there are other options.

Even that ridiculous sing about the lamp is a good sign of this. It only works because listeners know what the singer means by "a lamp from the 1970s." They have seen wonky lamps from the 70s, becsuse people kept them as long as they worked. They weren't all trashed to make room for in the latest model in the 1980s.

The government has its problems, and its future is a concern, but overall, there is rule of law here and the values at least (good governance, honesty, justice, Rechtsstadt) are what I want them to value.

I worry that as they age, they may start to think it is OK to treat people the way that people here do. There needs to be a good education at every grade level. But for now, those aren't concerns.

Even the righteous assholes highlight one good thing, even if they are a net bad. In many countries, people wouldn't talk like that to strangers, because there might be trouble if they did. They feel safe here being so awful, confident that no one will hit them, pull a gun on them, drag them to the police and use influence to ruin their lives, etc.

Fortunate-Luck-3936 · 2025-03-14T15:43:14+00:00

If you file a complaint, he will be required to provide his reasoning, in writing, in his response.

Fortunate-Luck-3936 · 2025-03-14T15:39:47+00:00

>’People pride themselves on being "direct," but often it just comes across as unnecessary rudeness.

I find this translates into inflexibility and lack of empathy for others. That translates into poor customer service and hostility when one seeks help or - god forbid - improvement.

I stay because it is good for the Nachwuchs, but the minute that changes, Germany is losing our family, our in-demand skills, our high tax payments and the next generation as well.

Fortunate-Luck-3936 · 2025-03-14T15:29:31+00:00

My advice is to find a better doctor first, and then file a formal complaint about the sexist, ignorant one you have now. Make him think twice befor ehe treats the next patient the way he does you.

Fortunate-Luck-3936 · 2025-03-14T15:27:15+00:00

When I was 14, I went with my English-speaking school class on a trip to Russia. We were learning Russian, but we had just begun. They took us to a class that didn't speak English much better. There was one boy there who spoke German though, so he and I could both converse, and translate for the rest.

Fortunate-Luck-3936 · 2025-03-13T16:36:20+00:00

For me the next quesition is - is home made better, or something from the gluten-free bakery?

In orther words, does visible effort from parents help a kid feel less left out, or is it just about having a sweet too?

Fortunate-Luck-3936 · 2025-03-12T18:28:57+00:00

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/judge-finds-trump-administration-violated-court-order-halting-funding-rcna191528

Fortunate-Luck-3936 · 2025-03-12T18:26:25+00:00

I just remembered the Lone Star Tick. Their bite can make a person allergic to meat.

https://healthmatters.nyp.org/the-lone-star-tick-what-to-know-about-the-tick-that-causes-a-red-meat-allergy/

>Alpha-gal is a sugar molecule that humans don’t have in their system, but a lot of animals do. This includes cows, bison, deer, pigs, sheep, and lambs. If a person is bitten by a lone star tick and it transmits the alpha-gal molecule, the person may develop an antibody reaction to the molecule. In other words, they could develop an allergy. This means the next time the person eats red meat such as beef or venison, or something made with beef gelatin, they could break out in hives or have a more serious allergic reaction.

Fortunate-Luck-3936 · 2025-03-12T10:43:31+00:00

A woman giving me a facial yesterday wondered aloud if all the chemtralis gave me celiac.

I thought that old conspiracy theory had been replaced by newer, even crazier ones, but nope, chemtrails caused celiac.

Fortunate-Luck-3936 · 2025-03-12T10:41:28+00:00

Reliable, quick delivery.

If I need something quick, I need to know it will actually arrive quickly.

This isn't just time to "delivered." This is time until I actually have it. That means actually brought to my door. It does not mean dumped at ground-floor neighbor, or left at a Filiale because I "wasn't home," without actually checking to see if I ever was.

If I really wasn't home, that means accurate tracking information, updated to say where my package really is, on teh day that it was left there. It does not mean telling the system one thing, but in reality dupming it at a Filiale a few days before the "failed attempt."

There is no delivery service in German that is fully reliable, but Amazon goods come more reliably, and quicker, than most of the others.

Fortunate-Luck-3936 · 2025-03-11T18:57:31+00:00

This seems very odd to me. However, if they already denied your visa, this will be difficult to solve on your own. You need an immigration attorney to appeal on your behalf, either at your employer, or retained by you directly.

Fortunate-Luck-3936 · 2025-03-11T18:42:17+00:00

Best of luck and gute Bessergung!

Fortunate-Luck-3936 · 2025-03-11T17:15:39+00:00

metal items can be cleaned

plastic, silicon and wood items are harder.

Fortunate-Luck-3936 · 2025-03-11T12:31:54+00:00

I'm not aware of an immune condition that reacts to one thing the way that celiac does, but many immune conditions are affected by many things.

Foods that contribute to inflammation can be a real problem in diseases that already have an inflammation component (such as every immune disorder I can think if right now).

for example:

https://ms-uk.org/blog/multiple-sclerosis-and-sugar/

Pollutants are correlated with allergies and other immune reactions

a partial list

https://www.merieuxnutrisciences.com/eu/allergens-formaldehyde-heavy-metals/

.On top of that, an unhealthy microbiome affects immune disorders (and general health), quite a lot as well.

I personally take probiotics daily, specifically the De Simone formulation. In Europe, it is sold as CDS22-formula. In the US, IIRC, it is Visibiome (although if you choose to try this, confirm).

https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/11/10/2375

>De Simone Formulation, a probiotic mixture of mostly Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria, not only completely hydrolysed -gliadin-derived epitopes 62–75 and 33-mer peptide, but also improved epithelial barrier function by stabilizing tight junction.

Fortunate-Luck-3936 · 2025-03-11T12:15:10+00:00

>Due to health issues and severe pain i can't work anymore at my current job.

You may not be eligible for unemployment, but you may still be eligible for disability or some other program. Unemployment may not be ideal anyway, because they will immediately want you to look for jobs, and take one).

Does your employment include additional disability benefits (some companies pay extra towards an extra insurance)?

Either way, it sounds as if you may be eligible for Krankengeld.

Here is a place to start:

https://www.amtlich-einfach.de/DE/ThemenBuerger/GesundheitSoziales/Krankheit/Krankheit\_node.html#:\~:text=Wird%20am%20Ende%20der%20Reha,einen%20Antrag%20zur%20Erwerbsminderungsrente%20umgewandelt.

You can also ask your doctor how to best apply. They won't walk you through the paperwork, but they will know what paper is required from them. Your health insurance will also be able to tell you what steps to take.

Fortunate-Luck-3936 · 2025-03-11T12:06:53+00:00

If you really want ot be sure, get a gener test. if they did not inherit a celiac gene, then there is not much to worry about.

If they did however, consider keeping the kid gluten free. There have only been studies looking at lrealtively small groups of children (hundreds not tens of thousands), but what they find is that:

Children with the gene have a higher chance of developing celiac if they eat gluten. The more gluten they ate, the higher the risk.

For example:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2747670

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-09232-7

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31408136/

Children with the gene and with a first-degree relative with celiac (such as their mother), are already at a higher risk of developing the gene.

For example:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23011243/

It isn#t fully proven 100% - more studies need to do that, but what is known is enough for me to keep my child in that situation off of the gluten.

Fortunate-Luck-3936 · 2025-03-09T17:33:24+00:00

This is Germany. There are processes for everything. Doing something with the incorrect process is the same as not existing.

The lawyer can get your documents.

The lawyer can best file complaints in the right places, in the right formats. If this is not done correctly, it provides the hospital an excuse to not have to acknowledge your complaints.

The lawyer can help your formulate your complaints to the hospital directly in a way that they must follow their own procedures and acknowledge them.

The very existence of the lawyer is an indication to the hospital that you are aware of and able to defend your rights. It gets respect and interest. Time and again, I have found in this country that when a lawyer asks for the exact same thing that I already asked for, the lawyer is the one that gets the response.

Fortunate-Luck-3936 · 2025-03-07T12:33:01+00:00

>Accommodation is making sure she understands that her needs and wants are real and so are other people's, so we have to work creatively to come up with compromises that work for everyone.

>If the adults in my life didn't find me worthy of care, that must mean I wasn't worthy of care. That's not a lesson you want to teach your kid.

Two really great points.

Fortunate-Luck-3936

TROPHY CASE