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A native Californian, Jan Baumgartner is a writer and book editor dividing her time between Maine, Mexico, and California. Her essays on Mexico are included in two anthologies, Solamente en San Miguel Volume II (Parroquia Press, November 2010) available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Powells.com, and Lady Jane Miscellany (San Francisco Bay Press, 2009). She is a frequent contributor to Banderas News in Puerto Vallarta. Her background includes scriptwriting, comedy writing for the No. California Emmy Awards, and travel writing for The New York Times. She has worked as a grant writer for the non-profit sector in the fields of academia, AIDS, and wildlife conservation for NGO's in the U.S. and Africa. Her articles and essays have appeared in numerous online and print publications including the NYT, Bangor Daily News, SCOOP New Zealand, Open.Salon, Wolf Moon Journal, Media for Freedom Nepal, and Banderas News in Mexico. In addition to working on a memoir about her husband's death from ALS and how travels and living in Africa became her greatest sources of inspiration, she writes extensively about life observations in Mexico.
Thursday, April 3, 2008 Mugabe Party Seems Poised to Fight for Presidency
Despite losing control of Parliament, President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and his party were explicit on Thursday about their willingness to continue fighting for the presidency.
Thursday, April 3, 2008 New Signs of Mugabe Crackdown
Police officers loyal to Robert Mugabe, embattled president of Zimbabwe, raided opposition party offices on Thursday and arrested at least two foreign journalists covering the disputed elections.
Thursday, February 21, 2008 State of the Nation: Kenya
Why the Cote d'Ivoire disaster is echoed in the Kenya crisis
Monday, February 18, 2008 Turnout Low as Violence Mars Pakistan Vote
Fearful of violence and deterred by confusion at polling stations, Pakistanis voted Monday in parliamentary elections that may fail to produce clear winners.
Monday, February 18, 2008 The Photo-Op Raids in Paris
On Monday more than 1,000 French riot cops raided apartments in several housing projects north of Paris, arresting suspected leaders of ultra-violent rioting in the region last November
Friday, November 23, 2007 Courthouse Bombings Strike 3 Indian Cities
At least 10 people were killed and more than 50 injured today in as many as five nearly simultaneous blasts outside court houses in three cities in No. India.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007 Factbox - AIDS in Africa
More than 33 million people are infected with the AIDS virus globally. 22.5 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are living with the virus - over 60% are women.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007 Heavy Fighting Reported in Pakistan
In some of the heaviest fighting seen in Pakistan's northwestern tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, Pakistani fighter jets bombed villages for the third day as authorities battled pro-Taliban militants.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007 International Peacemaking Leaders Gather in Sudan
Nobel Peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former President Jimmy Carter arrived in Sudan on Sunday to discuss continued violence in Darfur
Monday, September 17, 2007 Iran Condemns French Remark on War (1 comments)
French Foreign Minister says the world should brace for war against Iran over its nuclear programs although he did not believe war was imminent
Wednesday, September 12, 2007 Sudan Bombs North Darfur Town
Sudanese government aircraft bombed rebel-held town in Darfur just days after UN Sec-Gen Ban Ki-moon said Khartoum had agreed to end attacks in the region
Wednesday, September 12, 2007 Congo-Kinshasa: Averting the Nightmare Scenario in Eastern Congo
The international community must launch a new initiate to prevent the breakout of Congo's third major war in a decade. Death tolls from the deadliest conflict globally since WWII will mount rapidly unless urgent diplomatic initiatives commence immediately.
Thursday, August 30, 2007 Third Execution in 3 Days Set for Texas (2 comments)
Today, Kenneth Foster Jr. will be executed by lethal injection under the Texas Law of Parties.
Friday, August 24, 2007 Khartoum "defying Darfur embargo"
Amnesty International has accused the Sudanese government of deploying weapons to Darfur in "breathtaking defiance" of UN arms embargo
Monday, August 20, 2007 Tourist influx to put Kenya game park in jeopardy
Kenya's Masai Mara game park faces a disastrous surge in tourism after a government decision to give away land around its borders
Sunday, July 22, 2007 Sudan says US, UK talk up Darfur to hide Iraq "failure"
Sudanese president Omar al-Beshir has accused president Bush and British prime minister Gordon Brown of exaggerating Darfur's problems in order to hide Iraq "failure"
Wednesday, July 18, 2007 Mandela Marks 89th Birthday by Launching Braintrust
Nelson Mandela marked his 89th birthday on Wednesday by launching an international group of elder statesmen, including fellow Nobel laureates Desmond Tutu and Jimmy Carter, to tackle the world's problems
Tuesday, June 19, 2007 Casual Lawbreaking at the White House
Karl Rove and many of his colleagues used RNC e-mail accounts for official business - even though White House policy is clear that doing so is a violation of the Presidential Records Act
Monday, June 18, 2007 Pakistan Condemns Rushdie Knighthood
Minister warns controversial author's honor may provoke suicide attacks and fuel extremist fire
Monday, June 18, 2007 At least 7 Afghan children killed in U.S. Airstrike (1 comments)
The American-led coalition forces in Afghanistan killed seven children during an air strike on a religious school thought to be an al-Qaeda safe house
Monday, June 18, 2007 Oxfam pulls out of Darfur
Oxfam has decided to permanently close down its humanitarian operation in the town of Gereida in Sudan's western region of Darfur, citing reluctance by authorities there to improve security and stop attacks on aid workers
Thursday, June 14, 2007 African Governments Reach a Consensus on Ivory Trade
CITES: 18 years after the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species banned the ivory trade, Ministers from elephant-range states today reached a compromise
Thursday, June 14, 2007 Mass lobbyists prepare for marriage vote
Boston: people on both sides of the debate about same-sex marriage made a last-minute push to sway lawmakers as the Legislature decides whether to ask voters to amend the state constitution to ban the practice
Tuesday, June 12, 2007 US Forces Mistakenly Kill 7 Afghan Police Officers
American led forces killed seven Afghan policemen and injured five more in an exhange of gunfire early this morning as a result of mistaken identity
Tuesday, June 12, 2007 Sudan accepts joint peacekeeping in Darfur
Sudan on Tuesday agreed to a combined United Nations and African Union peacekeeping force in the troubled region
Tuesday, June 12, 2007 Camp Lejeune Water Pollution, Cancer Link Investigated
Some 75,000 Marines and their families at Camp Lejeune in N. Carolina were exposed to toxic tap water that may have caused cancer and birth defects
Monday, June 11, 2007 U.S. Relies on Sudan
Sudan has become increasingly valuable to the U.S. since 9/11 because the Sunni Arab nation is a crossroads for Islamic militants enroute to Iraq and Pakistan
Monday, June 11, 2007 U.S. Chummy With Sudan Despite Darfur?
Even as the U.S. has condemned Sudan for its role in the mass killings in Darfur, Sudan has secretly worked with the CIA to spy on insurgents in Iraq
Sunday, June 10, 2007 Lieberman: U.S. Should Weigh Iran Attack (3 comments)
Senator Joseph Lieberman said Sunday the U.S. should consider a military strike against Iran because of Tehran's involvement in Iraq
Thursday, June 7, 2007 Africa: G8 Considers Reducing Antiretroviral Drug Targets
Leaders of the G8 group are considering reducing their commitment to providing universal access to life-prolonging HIV/AIDS medication by almost half (click on Africa link)
Thursday, June 7, 2007 Bush nominee worries Iraq can't do more
The general picked by President Bush to become his war advisor said Thursday he has serious concerns about the Iraqi government's ability to take control of its country, no matter how much pressure is applied by the U.S.
Thursday, June 7, 2007 Gunmen kill female journalist in northern Afghanistan
An Afghan journalist was shot to death in her home as she slept beside her 10-month old baby. The journalist was the director of a private local radio station
Thursday, June 7, 2007 US sanctions undermine Darfur peace: Sudan
Sudan on Wednesday accused the United States of playing politics over Darfur, claiming that tougher sanctions will only set back the deployment of UN peacekeepers in the blood-soaked region
Wednesday, June 6, 2007 EPA Makes it Harder to Protect Wetlands
The Bush administration made it harder on Tuesday for non-permanent streams and nearby wetlands to be protected under the federal Clean Water Act
Wednesday, June 6, 2007 Spat Over Missiles
Despite climate change officially topping the G8 agenda, George Bush steered toward a confrontation with Vladimir Putin
Tuesday, June 5, 2007 Broadcasters Win FCC Expletive Dispute
An appeals court said a new federal policy against accidentally aired profanities on TV and radio was invalid, noting that even president Bush has been heard using expletives
Tuesday, June 5, 2007 Democrats Fear a Wider Black Caucus-Pelosi Rift
Democratic leaders fear that Rep. William J. Jefferson's indictment, coming exactly one year after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi engineered his ouster from the Ways and Means Committee, could rekindle a dispute between the speaker and black lawmakers who were once pillars of her power.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007 U.S. Whole Foods Supersizes in London, Next Europe
Whole Foods Market Inc., the world's largest organic and natural foods chain, opens its first store outside North America in London on Wednesday and plans hundreds more in Britain and across Europe
