Friday morning dribs and drabs

- A clear-headed analysis of the challenges facing Hamas, here. Is it going to be one step forward and two steps back in the Middle East or will the world hold Hamas to task?

- A look at the upsides and downsides of globalization, here. On balance, it's a good thing, but I think that big labour needs to recognize and adapt to the new realities of the world's economy or else they are betraying their members by giving them false hopes.

- There is a new generation of black conservatives emerging in the United States, led by Pennsylvania's Lynn Swann, Maryland's Michael Steele, and Ohio's Ken Blackwell. The "up by the bootstraps" message of the Right is slowly starting to find resonance.