CL The fire code inspectors arrived at Wang Fuk this week with clipboards and the particular seriousness of people whose report will be read by lawyers. The inquiry found misstep on misstep, and property insurers have adjusted accordingly: eight percent up across the board. Every Kowloon landlord already knew the conclusion before the official findings ran a single paragraph.-- CL

MB The Congress vote and the Senate reversal landed within hours of each other, less a sign of democratic deliberation than a pressure system finding its shape, and the Fujian carrier in the Taiwan Strait on the same afternoon the Europeans issued their China warning is scheduling that needs no conspiracy to explain. The institutions held, bent, then held again. That is the pattern now.-- MB