“distant water cannot put out a nearby fire.” how does this saying reflect the nature of village government under the tang and song dynasties?

This is a Chinese proverb, which mean that slow remedies can't help an emergency. This is used in village government to say that focus is important, finding the proper way to fix problems is crucial to maintain the village.

after defeating german forces in north africa allied leaders turned their attention to "italy," since this was the location that made the most geographic sense before invading northern europe via france. 

barrio is a spanish word meaning neighborhood. in spain, several latin american countries and the philippines, the term is also used officially to denote a division of a municipality while a ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, typically as a result of social, legal, or economic pressure. the term may have originally been used in venice to describe the part of the city to which jews were restricted and segregated.