Update October 2015

Hello everyone.

I am not currently blogging, but I have started up again on Twitter. So follow me there!

@the_ali_gator

Update

I've been trying to come back and continue blogging about the Middle East, but honestly, my heart just isn't in it anymore.  For the most part, I'm only listing the Top Stories every Monday.  If that's all I'm going to do, then there's no reason to continue this blog.  I sincerely hope that one day I'll be able to return and make a contribution to blogging about the Middle East.  Until that time, thank you for reading my blog.  One day I will return, insha'allah.

Hiatus

I'm back in town now, but I'm so busy studying for exams that I won't be blogging much (if at all).  I hope to start back up again later in May.

Update

Sorry - out of town.

2012: A New Year

It's now 2012 in the Western calendar, and generally we try to make resolutions for the New Year.  Here are some of mine:

1) Blog more consistently.  I have had several hard years, but things have been looking up recently.  I will try to stay on top of news and blogging.

2) I hope to add some more analysis and not just be a news aggregate.  In some areas that won't be possible, because I don't have the necessary background.  But where I do have the background, I'd like to use it more.

Believe it or not, this blog is now 5 years old!  I've taken a hiatus here and there, but overall I love blogging and do plan to continue!

Update

Sorry about the dearth of postings.  I'm a little bogged down with the approaching Christmas holiday.

Sick

I've been ill and without Internet for a few days.  Should be back by Monday.

Busy

Hello everyone.  I'm still here, just incredibly busy.  I've barely been keeping up with Monday Top Stories (and obviously missed this week).  I'm taking a break now, before school starts at the end of August, but I should be back then.

I'm still here

I'm moving apartments and may be without internet for a bit.

Bad Advertising

I realize that some of the ads on this site are strange or even offensive.  I am trying to change that.  Unfortunately, if you use Google AdSense and have topics like Middle East or Israel or Palestine, you often get advertisements like "Save Israel from the evil Palestinians," etc.  My apologies.

New Blogger Stuff

Blogger has added some new views to its system.  You can check out how this blog looks with them here.  It's set for "sidebar" view, but there 4 other ways to see the blog.  Some of them are quite interesting!

Welcome New Readers

Welcome to my new readers!  I usually post every day, but I've had a few health problems recently and I'm still working back up to my daily postings.  I try to cover the entire Middle East, which is especially chaotic right now.  I also look more in depth at Yemen.  I hope you find my blog useful and informative.

Update

My health issues have been popping up some, and I'm distracted by trying to keep track of all the protests.  So don't be surprised if I'm not blogging every single day for a bit.

If you're tired of reading about dead protesters, how about some Happy News:  read about Abu Dhabi's new art district.

Update YemenWatch

I'm running a little behind on YemenWatch, which is bad, because there's a lot going on.  I'm a bit busy at the moment but should have the update posted tomorrow.

Update

Will update on Yemen soon.  I've been snowbound and addicted to Al-Jazeera and Twitter, watching Egypt.

Christmas Update

I'm taking a few days off for Christmas.  I'll be back for the Top Stories on Monday morning.

Update

I'm a little under the weather.  Will try to update YemenWatch on Wednesday.

I'm Back

And trying to get caught up on all the news.

Holidays

I'll be out of town a few days, and Thursday is Thanksgiving Holiday here in America.  So I probably won't be posting as much as I normally do this week.

My Very Own Bookstore

Thanks to Amazon, and some help from a friend, The Ali Gator Blog now has its very own bookstore on Amazon:  http://astore.amazon.com/aligat-20  It's an affiliate store, so if you buy something from there, they'll send me a kickback....er...affiliate bonus or something like that.  (Apparently the world does run on baksheesh!)  You can also click through my store to Amazon.com and I think they'll send me money for those purchases as well.  Enjoy!

edit:  It's still a bit small right now, but I'll be adding to it over time.