Director: Alexandra PelosiUSA 2016, 65 min, in the English original 

Lichtblick Kino at Kastanienallee 77 on Tuesday, October 13, 8 PM

Watch at the Lichtblick or at home.

Discussion at the theater and on Zoom at 9:15 PM.

Emmy-winning filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi takes viewers behind the scenes at top-dollar fundraisers and chats with dozens of ultra-rich mega-donors from both political parties to find out why they are pouring millions into the election. Armed with her hand-held camera and a sense of humor, she gains exclusive access to the donor class, and offers a peek into the lifestyles of the rich and political. Pelosi asks these billionaires and multi-millionaires about the extent of their contributions and giving philosophies. She also gives airtime to experts on lobbying and campaign financing reform.

Trailer link:https://www.hbo.com/documentaries/meet-the-donors-does-money-talk

→If you want to watch at home, click here any time: https://vimeo.com/387131809  Password: pelosi

→If you want to see this film in person at the Lichtblick, click on this link and buy your ticket: https://www.kinoheld.de/cinema-berlin/lichtblick-kino-berlin/show/2317874225#panel-seats. The Lichtblick will, of course, be following all of the required distancing rules. Members of the audience are invited to join the discussion that will follow the film at 9:15 PM. 

→If you want to join the discussion from home, click on this Zoom link at 9:15 PM Berlin time (3:15 PM EST) on Tuesday, October 13: https://zoom.us/j/4500108957?pwd=NVltckVJZGduOFhTZDdYRG9PbWowZz09  Meeting ID: 450 010 8957  Passcode: Wh0sh4 

Our own Doug Hillmer and Jon Oberg will be participating in the discussion from the United States. Doug worked at the Census Bureau for many years, especially on the American Community Survey, which helps local officials, community leaders, and businesses understand the changes taking place in their communities. Jon worked at the U.S. Senate and at the U.S. Department of Education for sixteen years. In retirement, he blew the whistle on the false claims of student-loan lenders, achieving settlements in 7 of 9 cases against them. 

→Our AVA voter registrar, Alan Benson, will be at the Lichtblick to advise anyone about last-minute voting problems. Alan is also available at alan.benson@web.de to answer your questions by mail.

“Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook“

Dear AVAers and Friends:   At the One World Berlin Human Rights Film Festival, in anticipation of the November elections, AVA is sponsoring    Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook (see below) Director: Michael Kasino, Writer: Timothy SmithUSA 2019, 79 min, in the English original. With: Stacey Abrams, Matt Angle, William Barber  |See full cast & crew »   at the Lichtblick Kino at Kastienallee 77 on Monday, September 28, at 8 PM    Trailer link:  https://vimeo.com/296045604    This documentary examines how, since 2008, right-wing groups have worked with certain states to make it harder to vote, particularly for minority groups and young people. 

→If you want to see this film in person at the Lichtblick, click on this link and buy your ticket: https://www.kinoheld.de/cinema-berlin/lichtblick-kino-berlin/show/2317874225#panel-seats. The Lichtblick will, of course, be following all of the required distancing rules. Members of the audience are invited to join the discussion that will follow the film at 9:15 PM. 

  →If you want to watch at home, click here any time: https://www.riggedthefilm.com/watch-at-home. 

  →If you want to join the live discussion at the Lichtblick, click on this Zoom link at 9:15 PM Berlin time (3:15 PM EST) on September 28: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89471897687?pwd=cEErZ3V4YnYyMlNQSUU0WUF0TzAzZz09. Password: rigged. No previous download necessary.    Our own Doug Hillmer and Jon Oberg will be participating in the discussion from the United States. Doug worked at the Census Bureau for many years, especially on the American Community Survey, which helps local officials, community leaders, and businesses understand the changes taking place in their communities. Jon worked at the U.S. Senate and at the U.S. Department of Education for sixteen years. In retirement, he blew the whistle on the false claims of student-loan lenders, achieving settlements in 7 of 9 cases against them.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST: Our AVA voter registrar, Alan Benson, will be at the Lichtblick to advise anyone about last-minute voting problems. Alan is also available at alan.benson@web.de to answer your questions by mail.

.    

American Voices Abroad Berlin is a group of Americans living and working in Berlin, Germany, who follow political events in the United States and vote from abroad in their home states. We would like to add our voices to the many that have been raised nationwide and internationally to protest the brutal murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis on May 25. We also want to protest the harsh and militaristic reactions of the federal government as well as some state and local governments.

We are heartened by the hundreds of thousands who have already raised their voices. We are encouraged by the many progressive organizations from whom we have heard. We are cheered to see police officers kneeling during demonstrations in several cities. As Americans living and working in Berlin, Germany, we want to add our perspective to these calls for an end to racism, injustice, and inequality in the United States.

All of us living in Germany have become familiar with German history, including the rise of fascism. We are living in a place where, in the middle of the last century, state-sanctioned murder was the rule in a ruthless dictatorship that drove the entire world into war. We have seen how Germany has tried to confront its criminal past, to acknowledge and in some cases make restitution for its Nazi crimes. Acknowledgement of this past and trying to learn from it are tasks undertaken by German citizens and at all levels of government.

Along with the Germans, we Americans living here have learned from this country’s history and have become more alert to the warning signs of fascism in the United States: dissent is called treason; the judiciary loses its independence; corporations are privileged over labor; religious symbols are mis-used; the press is vilified and propaganda is distributed by the authoritarian leader; science is held in contempt; lying by officials is commonplace; conspiracy theories run rampant; the military is expected to serve the leader rather than the Constitution; racial, religious, and sexual minorities are persecuted; and a militarized police force acts with impunity.

People around the world who protest the murder of George Floyd recognize that his death is just the latest of many such incidents, exposing not only police violence toward Black Americans but also wider tolerance of and complicity with such violence. The President’s responses to the protests and his condoning of the backlash against protesters are just a continuation of the shameless suppression of minorities. American society is permeated by racism and white privilege. The systemic character of racism and inequality in the United States is exemplified by African Americans’ disproportionately high rate of infection and fatality from COVID-19.

To stop the murders of Black Americans at the hands of police, we must rethink and restructure the police force in every community. Ultimately, the police must be demilitarized. More fundamentally and comprehensively, we need a process of reflection and education about our racist history, a process that can be initiated in communities across the country. Our experiences in Germany show us that change is possible, that people can move from ignorance to knowledge, and that they can take moral responsibility for their own future and the future of their country.

Many people in the United States know little, if anything, about the nature of slavery, Jim Crow, the great migration, urban renewal, redlining, mass incarceration, and the history leading to current events. We need a process of truth and reconciliation that facilitates looking at our history, talking about racism, and understanding how the concept of race has functioned institutionally throughout our history. We do not think we can solve these problems as individuals alone; we have to address them collectively.

We would like to encourage and be part of a process in which our country, the United States of America, confronts its own racist history and finally lives up to its democratic ideals.

American Voices Abroad Berlin
June 13, 2020

American Voices Abroad Berlin has created this MoveOn petition “Don’t Silence Voters: Let Everyone Vote from Home” and we are now asking everyone to sign it. The more support we can get, the better chance we have of MoveOn sending it out themselves. 
So please sign and share this petition with others. tiny.cc/j9zimz

RALLY: 11. Januar 2020 | 11 Uhr | Brandenburger Tor, Berlin

Some of our German friends (see below) are rallying at the Brandenburg Gate this Saturday at 11:00 AM  under the motto: KEIN KRIEG ZWISCHEN DEN USA UND DEM IRAN! Für gewaltfreie und zivile Konfliktlösung! Let’s join them! Look for the AVA-banner!

More information: https://peacewithiran.dfg-vk.de/peacewithiran-start

Come to Café Daddy, Kolonnenstrasse. 50 in Schöneberg, right near the Julius-Leber-Brücke S-Bahn station. We’ll be in the middle room from 8:00 to 10:00 PM.

If the past couple of weeks passed you by in a political blur, let’s catch up. If you’ve just decided to be more active in 2020, this is the time to start!

Title: December STAMMTISCH
Location: Cafe Daddy, Kolonnenstrasse 50, near the Julius Leberbrücke S-bahn station
Description: Meet with us and let’s share thoughts on the impeachment process, the democratic candidates and more.
Start Time: 8 pm
Date: 2020-12-05
End Time: 10 pm

The AVA-Berlin Stammtisch will take place, as always, on the first Thursday of the month, October 3. Yes, October 3 is a federal German holiday (Tag der Deutschen Einheit), but Café Daddy will be open and we’re meeting as usual.  

So come to Café Daddy, Kolonnenstrasse.50 in Schöneberg, right near the Julius-Leber-Brücke S-Bahn station. We’ll be in the middleroom from 8:00 to 10:00 pm. 

We’ve got a lot to talk about, perhaps more than usual this time: impeachment, Brexit, climate actions. Join us!

There was an exceptionally large crowed at the Fridays for Future’s Global Climate Action on September 20, 2019 in Berlin. See this 2 minute video by Karen Axelrad: https://flic.kr/p/2hifkf9

“Over the last year, youth around the world have led the way by walking out of class and demanding accountability from our elected officials. Now, they’re calling on people of all ages to join them in the streets. . . . “

WHAT:      Global Climate Action

WHEN:     Friday, September 20, 12:00 noon

WHERE:   Pariser Platz, near the U.S. Embassy

Three days before the UN Climate Summit in New York, and the actual day when the German government decides its ‘Klimaschutzpaket’! “Sie will die wichtigen Fragen Knacken: Ob wir ein Klimaschutzgesetz bekommen. Wie schnell der Kohlenausstieg geht. Ob ein CO2-Preis kommt—und in welcher Höhe.”

On September 11 at 19:00 AVA will be sponsoring a screening of Knock Down the House (USA 2019, dir. Rachel Lears, 87 minutes) at the Aquarium, Skalitzer Str. 6 at Kottbusser Tor. Admission free! The film is in English with German sub-titles. It will be followed by a discussion. (And our voter registrar Alan Benson has agreed to staff a table in the lobby before the film to inform people about voter registration in the various states. He will answer questions about registration and re-registration for each of the 50 states.) 

 The AVA-Berlin Stammtisch will take place, as always, at Café Daddy, Kolonnenstrasse. 50 in Schöneberg, right near the Julius-Leber-Brücke S-Bahn station. We’ll be in the middle room from 8:00 to 10:00 pm. Rich Rosen will tell us about the Green New Deal (GND), so come with your questions. 

Title: AVA Stammtisch
Location: Cafe Daddy, Kolonnenstrasse 50, near the Julius Leberbrücke S-bahn station
Description: So much to talk about! Come join us!
Start Time: 8 pm
Date: 2019-08-01
End Time: 10 pm

Read here below, or go directly to Jon Oberg’s blog:

http://view from three capitals.blogspot.com/2019/07/the-fourth-on-mall.html

Washington — Against the advice of many, I went down to the national mall on the 4th of July to attend the president’s speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial, to protest his transparent attempts to politicize our military and appropriate American history for his own purposes.

I am a U.S. Navy veteran, a patriot not a nationalist. I’m also a taxpayer who does not like to see wasteful spending on what can only be a called a Trump rally. The Defense Department had to come up with $1.5 million for a contrived air show; the Department of the Interior had to take $2.5 million from national park entrance fees to stage the event.

This year the first Thursday of July falls on the 4th. That means that our Stammtisch will also be our ‘celebration’ of Independence Day. We all know what there is to celebrate and what not. And on Thursday we can talk about everything – the atrocities at the U.S.-Mexico border, the Democratic candidates and the debates, Iran, the recent Supreme Court decisions regarding gerrymandering and the census. We’ve also got news about our participation in upcoming events: demonstrations, films, special Stammtische.  
So come to Café Daddy, Kolonnenstrasse. 50 in Schöneberg, right near the Julius-Leber-Brücke S-Bahn station. We’ll be in the middle room from 8:00 to 10:00pm. Café Daddy is a family-run Turkish café featuring homemade dishes like stuffed peppers and zucchini pancakes, and cake baked on the premises. There are a few new items on the menu.
And, for those of you who are in or near Washington, D.C., or have friends in the area:  AVAer Doug Hillmer has been organizing a group of Trump opponents to prevent the traditional July 4 celebration on the Mall from turning into a Trump rally.

at Friday’s for Future rally May 24th

There’s Fridays for Future, Scientists for Future, and even Artists, 
Parents, Grandparents, and Teachers for Future….and now there’s 
Freelancers for Future. On Friday, May 24, is Global Climate Strike 2, 
perhaps the largest worldwide demonstration ever. Its purpose is to 
change the course of the European elections and influence climate policy 
worldwide. A  group of us — freelancers of different stripes, writers, 
scholars, expats, pensioners, and anyone else who wants to join — is 
meeting at 11:45 in front of Dunkin Donuts on Pariser Platz. We intend 
to demonstrate together with the kids, in solidarity with them, which 
they have expressly encouraged adults to do. We will have a Freelancers 
for Future sign and will join the demo at 12:00 when it begins. If 
there’s interest, perhaps we can make more of Freelancers for Future 
in the future.

Rebecca Solnit: Unconscious Bias is Running for President

Title: April Stammtisch
Location: Café Daddy, Kolonnenstrasse 50
Description: Join us for an informal Stammtisch at Café Daddy in Schöneberg (Julius-Leber-Brücke on the S1 line).
Start Time: 20:00:00
Date: 2019-04-04
End Time: 22:00:00

by Carolyn Prescott

This essay is intended as a contribution to our ongoing discussion of issues.

In this opening season of the 2020 elections, with the entry of Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris and Cory Booker into the Democratic race, with Howard Schultz lurking as a potential third-party candidate, a lot is being written and spoken about the Democrats possibly moving “too far left.” Some warnings are implicit in journalists’ questions: “Is the Democratic Party losing its centrist base?” Others are more explicit and clearly intended to make discussion of the issues appear irresponsible or worse; witness Howard Schultz’s recent out-of-hand dismissal of Kamala Harris’s embrace of a Medicare-for-all type plan as “unaffordable” and even “not American.” Similar strategies have been employed to exclude discussions about climate change solutions: they have been preemptively labeled as economically infeasible, and numerous attempts have been made to discredit proponents as privileged elitists or unrealistic idealists.

Title: February 7 Stammtisch
Location: Café Daddy, Kolonnenstrasse 50
Description: Join us for an informal Stammtisch at Café Daddy in Schöneberg (Julius-Leber-Brücke on the S1 line).
Start Time: 20:00
Date: 2019-02-07
End Time: 22:00

At the December 6 Stammtisch we’ll be talking about the midterm elections both generally and very specifically – that is, state by state, including the down-ballot races. Some of you have expressed an interest in reporting the results from your home state and a few of you have sent us articles of general interest. Here are a few of the articles that we’ve received….

1.  The New York Times, ALL ELECTION RESULTS: House, Senate, Governors, with maps

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/06/us/elections/results-house-elections.html (more…)

After the Saturday viewing, there will be time to discuss major issues raised in the film.

Admission is only 6 euros for all three episodes on one evening.

Title: October Stammtisch
Location: Café Daddy, Kolonnenstrasse 50
Description: Join us for an informal Stammtisch at Café Daddy in Schöneberg (Julius-Leber-Brücke on the S1 line).
Start Time: 8:00 pm
Date: 2018-10-04
End Time: 10:00

Join us on October 13th—we will meet at Cubix Movie Theater, just off Alexanderplatz at Rathausstrasse 1, at 1 pm. Look for the AVA banner!

– Solidarität statt Ausgrenzung – Für eine offene und freie Gesellschaft

AVA-Berlin will have a contingent at the Unsere Erde brennt! protest in front of the Kanzleramt (the German Chancellery at Willy-Brandt-Straße 1) this Saturday, tomorrow, September 8. Look for the AVA banner at 1 pm.

Join us for our monthly Stammtisch at Café Daddy (Kolonnenstrasse 50) with a very special presentation: Carolyn Loeb, whose field is the history of art and architecture, will be discussing the conclusions she’s reached about how the Berlin Wall Memorial, although in many ways a success, “replicates a Cold War perspective….”  Here is Carolyn’s personal invitation to all AVAers and their friends: “Since 1999, I’ve been visiting and documenting the site where the Wall ran along Bernauer Strasse. Originally, I was interested in how Wall zone spaces outside the city center were being reconfigured architecturally and spatially to knit together formerly separated neighborhoods. Once work began on the official Memorial to the Berlin Wall at Bernauer Strasse, I followed its development. In addition to analyzing what it preserves and how it represents the history of the Wall, I explored the neighborhood context of the site, since one of the purposes of the Memorial is to provide insight into the Wall’s impact on the structure of the city.  (more…)

Join us for our monthly Stammtisch at Café Daddy ( Kolonnenstrasse 50)—no lecture or theme this month—but there is plenty to discuss! Turkish menu!

What would a sound, humane immigration policy look like? Ann Wertheimer’s speech to protest immigration atrocities (given at the demonstration on June 30 across from the American Embassy) lays out some principles and issues that Congress should consider. Click below for the full text of the speech.

(more…)

Kita Krise organized a rally in front of the US Embassy on June 22, 2018 joined by AVA-Berlin and Democrats Abroad Berlin to protest the separation of children from their immigrant parents in the US. In the photo below, Ann Wertheimer, chair of AVA is speaking.

Click here for more photos.

At our June 7 Stammtisch we will be having a special speaker, Rich Rosen, who will bring us up to date on the ever-hot topic of climate change policy and legislation, including the upcoming IPCC report on scenarios that might hold the global temperature increase to only 1.5 degrees Celsius, as hoped for in the Paris Agreement. 8 pm to 10 pm at Cafe Daddy at Kolonnenstrasse 50

Reverend Dr. William Emerson Downey (28.2.1931 – 24.3.2018) founded the Democrats Abroad Germany – Berlin Chapter and cooperated with AVA-Berlin in many joint activities.

Join us for our first-Thursday-of-the-month Stammtisch on April 5 at 8:00 pm at . Café Daddy, Kolonnenstrasse 50 in Schöneberg.

There’s lots to talk about: First, our solidarity rally in support for March for Our Lives last Saturday. Here are Florian Schiedhelm’s terrific Videos of the event.

And let’s also talk about today’s article in the New York Times by former Justice John Paul Stevens, who recommends the repeal of the Second Amendment. (more…)

In his Riverside Church speech almost 51 years ago, Martin Luther King connected racism, militarism, and extreme materialism, all of which, he said, ride on the tide of hate. He said that our loyalties must become “ecumenical rather than sectional,” meaning that racism, militarism, and extreme materialism intersect and reinforce each other.

What we are seeing in the United States today and to some extent, here in Europe, are
these same forces: racism, especially in online discourse and out of the mouths of elected (more…)

BBC’s lead photo for the worldwide March for our Lives featuring AVA’s own Ellen Brändle!

KCRW Berlin

Interview with excerpts from speeches.

On the afternoon of Saturday, March 17, Aufstehen Gegen Rassismus is organizing a protest march against racism and the radical right. AVA-Berlin will have a contingent carrying our banner from Potsdamer Platz to the AfD (Alternative for Deutschland) headquarters at Schillstrasse 9 near Lützowplatz. More information to come, especially about exact meeting time and place.

Join us for our first-Thursday-of-the-month Stammtisch on March 1 at 8:00 pm at Café Daddy, Kolonnenstrasse 50 in Schöneberg.

January 20 11 am: AVA is joining our German friends for the ‘Wir haben es satt’ demonstration. This is the day that Germany will host ministers of agriculture from around the world, and it’s the perfect time to try to influence agriculture policy. See this link for details: https://www.wir-haben-es-satt.de/informieren/aufruf/englisch/.

Where: Hauptbahnhof, on the north side (Europaplatz), at the Rolling Horse statue. Look for the American Voices Abroad Berlin banner.

For a food policy that promotes regional and sustainable food rather than industrial mass production! For an end to subsidies for big ag! For secure access to land, water, seeds, and food around the world! Ban glyphosate! FOOD IS POLITICAL!

Join us for our first-Thursday-of-the-month Stammtisch on January 4 at 8:00 pm at Café Daddy, Kolonnenstrasse 50 in Schöneberg.  Let’s talk!

September 6, 7:00 pm, at the CIEE Global Institute. American Voices Abroad Berlin has answered the call of the international literature festival Berlin (ilb) to participate in a worldwide reading of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on September 6, 2017. Among the many readings in Berlin, this is the only one in ENGLISH. The purpose of these readings is to reignite and strengthen the concept of human rights in the world today: http://www.worldwide-reading.com/archiv-en/06-09-2017-worldwide-reading-of-the-universal-declaration-of-human-rights.

The reading will begin shortly after 7:00 pm on Wednesday, September 6, in the  common room of the CIEE Global Institute (Gneisenaustr. 27 in Kreuzberg). Before the actual reading, Adam Wilkins will give a brief historical introduction to the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration. After the reading, all are welcome to join in a discussion of the relevance of this human rights document today. (more…)

More photos here

Meet in front of the US Embassy. AVA-Berlin is joining the solidarity demonstration (organized by The Coalition Berlin) on Wednesday, August 16, 6 pm, at Pariser Platz. We stand together in solidarity with activists in Charlottesville, Virginia, who bravely stood up to the racist and fascist “Unite the Right” demonstration last Saturday. The murderous attack on anti-racist activists demonstrates the deadly consequences of the right’s organizing, emboldened under a sympathetic president. Look for the AVA-Berlin banner! And here again is the Berlin Statement of Solidarity that AVA just signed:  (more…)

Join us for our first-Thursday-of-the-month Stammtisch on August 3 at 8:00 pm at RAAMSON in Schöneberg, Kolonnenstr. 48-49. It’s right at the S-Bahn station Julius-Leber-Brücke, right next to Café Daddy, which is on vacation for the month.

At the Stammtisch we’d like to make final plans about our participation in the Worldwide Reading of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights sponsored here in Berlin by the International Literature Festival on September 6, 2017. We’ll distribute copies of the Declaration and you can choose the section you’d like to read.

And here’s an article from fivethirtyeight.com about the four types of ‘constitutional crisis’ and which ones are most likely to come up during Trump’s presidency: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/constitutional-crisis/

Join us for our first-Thursday-of-the-month Stammtisch at Café Daddy, Kolonnenstraße 50, 10829 Berlin, 8 pm. At the Stammtisch we’d like to take some time to discuss our participation in the Worldwide Reading of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights sponsored here in Berlin by the International Literature Festival on September 6, 2017.  (more…)

Join us for our first-Thursday-of-the-month Stammtisch on May 4 at 8:00 pm at Kolonnenstrasse 50 in Schöneberg.

for more information: http://marchforscienceberlin.de/

• Q1: What exactly is The Coalition?
  A1: The Coalition is an English-language network that seeks to resist both the right-wing Trump agenda and the agenda of similar parties in Europe through nonviolent activism.
• Q2: Who is in The Coalition?
  A2: Early members whose names you might recognize include American Voices Abroad Berlin, the Berlin Global Forum, the Linke Internationals, and Pussy Grabs Back. Many unaffiliated individuals have also joined The Coalition. More members – both groups and individuals – are expected. (more…)

Come to our first-Thursday-of-the-month STAMMTISCH on February 2 at 8:00 pm. At the Stammtisch we would like to informally discuss our involvement in The Coalition. We will be at Cafe Daddy at Kolonnenstrasse 50 in Schöneberg right near S-Bahn Julius-Leber-Brücke.

http://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/trumps-praesidentschaft-angst-um-amerika-liebe-zu-deutschland-14762314.html?printPagedArticle=true#pageIndex_2

On JANUARY 5, our first Stammtisch of 2017 will focus on the Electoral College and the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact that has gained momentum in recent years. States in the compact are promising that, if enough of them ultimately join the bandwagon, they will give their electoral votes to the national popular vote winner. BEN JOHNSON will explain the most important elements of this project. Ben is a scientist in the fields of alternative energy and materials science, and some of you may remember him from the early days of AVA. Well, Ben is back!
So come to our first-Thursday-of-the-month Stammtisch on January 5 at 8:00 pm at Kolonnenstrasse 50 in Schöneberg.

So, what do we do now? What’s happening? Let’s talk! Come to our first-Thursday-of-the-month STAMMTISCH on December 1 at 8:00 pm. We will be at Cafe Daddy at Kolonnenstrasse 50 in Schöneberg right near S-Bahn Julius-Leber-Brücke.

13 years later we dug out our dusty, slightly ripped flag and took it to the Brandenburger Gate to protest again the direction politics in the US has taken.  We will be vigilant. Click on photo for the rest of the photos.

Come to our first-Thursday-of-the-month Stammtisch on November 3 at 8:00 pm. There’s no special event planned – so there will be time to talk about EVERYTHING. We will be at CAFE DADDY at Kolonnenstrasse 50. CAFE DADDY is a family-run Turkish cafe.  We always look forward to meeting new people.

MIGUEL VERDE gave us a well-prepared update on the trade treaties, especially TTIP and CETA. We had a lively discussion afterwards and a long question and answer period. Many thanks to Miguel.

Join us at the Lichtblick Kino at Kastanienallee 77 in Prenzlauer Berg on Monday, October 10, for a special screening of DJ Spooky’s REBIRTH OF A NATION, a remix of D.W. Griffith’s infamous 1915 film BIRTH OF A NATION (see below). The film begins at 9:00 pm, but don’t come at the last minute because the theater seats only 32 people. And, if you can, come early to discuss the up-coming election.

STARTING AT 7:00 pm, AVA will be offering urgent last-minute help for all those who have not yet registered to vote or who have not by then received their ballots. Alan Benson, our voter registrar, will be there to help with especially difficult cases.

Admission to see the film €6.50, reduced €5.50. (more…)

On Saturday, September 17, AVA took part in the anti-TTIP/CETA demonstration here in Berlin. We joined our German friends from Campact, the Berliner Wassertisch, the World Wildlife Fund, Brot für die Welt, Oxfam, Greenpeace, Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz, Attac, the DGB and many other organisations.

Come to our first-Thursday-of-the-month Stammtisch on September 1 at 8:00 pm. There’s no special event planned – so there will be time to talk about EVERYTHING. And we can definitely make plans for AVA’s participation in the big anti-TTIP demo on September 17. For anyone who needs them, we’ve got leaflets and posters, and maybe even door knob hangers,  explaining the treaties and advertising the demonstration.

WE WILL BE AT CAFE DADDY AT KOLONNENSTRASSE 50. CAFE DADDY IS A FAMILY-RUN TURKISH CAFE. They have a glass case with homemadeTurkish dishes like stuffed peppers and zucchini pancakes, and they also bake their own cakes. They do not serve alcohol. We always look forward to meeting new people

Our own RICH ROSEN will talk with us about mitigating climate change and common misconceptions about what will work followed by questions and discussion.Location: Cafe Daddy; Kolonnenstr. 50; Berlin-Schöneberg
Time: 20:00-22:00:  Raamson is on vacation–this is a Turkish cafe next door.
Remember: we love new people. So if you are new in town, or just haven’t been to an AVA event lately, join us.

Panel: Paul Edwards, Anjana Shrivastava, Prof. Dr. Martin Lüthe. Click on photo for more photos.

German Premiere of the film 3 1/2 Minutes/Ten Bullets directed by Marc Silver presented by the One World Berlin Human Rights Film Festival (organized by Natalie Gravenor) and AVA-Berlin. Introduction by Pam Selwyn. The film was followed by a panel discussion with Prof. Dr. Martin Lüthe (FU Berlin/John F. Kennedy Institute), Paul Edwards (DAAD Fellow), and moderated by Anjana Shrivastava.

click on photo for more photos

At the November 5 Stammtisch, Miguel Verde talked to AVA about the massive, and massively problematic, international trade treaty, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership or TTIP. Miguel gave an informative talk about a complex theme followed by a lively discussion. (For additional information from Miguel, see below.) (more…)

Dave Solomon’s friends are gathering to remember Dave and to mourn his loss tomorrow, Saturday, May 23, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.  Dave’s parents, Mark and Pauline, and his brother Bill invite you to join them in the courtyard behind Books in Berlin  at Goethestraße 69, 10625 Berlin. Feel free to bring memories to share. If you wish, you may donate in Dave’s memory to a cause that reflects his spirit, but the family prefers that you do not bring flowers.

Drawings by CP, made at an AVA business meeting, found recently in a sketchbook.

From the TAZ, January 17, 2015

Photos © Karen Axelrad