Madame White Snake: East Asian Femme Fatale of Old The Chinese legend of Madame White Snake, the snake demon that takes human form and becomes the wife of a man, has exerted a lasting influence over East Asian folktales and fiction for centuries. Two quintessential novellas, "The Lust of the White Serpant" from Ugetsu Monogatari by the Japanese author Ueda Akinari and "Eternal Prisoner under Thunder Peak Pagoda" a traditional Chinese story, are both relatively complex and demonstrate not only the evolution of the White Snake figure to become a more believable human, but also what aspects may have given her enduring appeal. While both these stories are ostensibly morality tales about the dangerous beauty of this femme fatale, the true source of pleasure from these narratives is the femme fatale's transgressive behavior, not her eventual punishment for it. Early tales of Madame White Snake appeared in China as early as the Song Dynasty, and initially her portrayal was fairly direct, as a villainous demon who drains the life force out of her human husband. But over time, characterizations of her became more complex, and the persona of Madame White Snake became more sympathetic, and perhaps even a model of the ideal Confucian wife, particularly in "Pagoda". Whalen Lai notes, "She was a loving wife, a caring mother, rescuer of her family from the first flood, and, at that point, a general benefactor of man. She took on the virtues of a traditional Chinese female, particularly forbearance". But if she were really an ideal wife, why could she not live happily with her human mate? Her dangerous sexuality is the key. Femme fatale might seem an unusual term to apply to a character from pre-modern Chinese and Japanese literature who may exemplify the virtues of an ideal Confucian wife, since it is primarily associated with film characters, particularly those of the film noir genre. But this term, which is relatively speaking, a neologism (The earliest uses were around the beginning of the 20th century

Question: "Whose dangerous sexuality is key to understanding why she could not live happily with her husband?"

Answer: "Madame White Snake"

Response: yes

Reducing resource use means just what it says using fewer resources. There are lots of ways to reduce our use of resources. Buy durable goods. Choose items that are well made so they will last longer. Youll buy fewer items in the long run, so youll save money as well as resources. Thats a win-win! Repair rather than replace. Fix your bike rather than buying a new one. Sew on a button instead of buying a new shirt. Youll use fewer resources and save money. Buy only what you need. Dont buy a gallon of milk if you can only drink half of it before it spoils. Instead, buy a half gallon and drink all of it. You wont be wasting resources (or money!) Buy local. For example, buy local produce at a farmers market, like the one in Figure 2.20. A lot of resources are saved by not shipping goods long distances. Products bought at farmers markets use less packaging, too! About a third of what we throw out is packaging.

Question: "What are two examples of repair rather than replacing?"

Answer: "Fix your bike rather than buying a new one, and sew on a button instead of buying a new shirt"

Response: yes

Recommendation: Congressional oversight for intelligence-and counterterrorism-is now dysfunctional. Congress should address this problem. We have considered various alternatives: A joint committee on the old model of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy is one. A single committee in each house of Congress, combining authorizing and appropriating authorities, is another. The new committee or committees should conduct continuing studies of the activities of the intelligence agencies and report problems relating to the development and use of intelligence to all members of the House and Senate. We have already recommended that the total level of funding for intelligence be made public, and that the national intelligence program be appropriated to the National Intelligence Director, not to the secretary of defense. We also recommend that the intelligence committee should have a subcommittee specifically dedicated to oversight, freed from the consuming responsibility of working on the budget. The resolution creating the new intelligence committee structure should grant subpoena authority to the committee or committees. The majority party's representation on this committee should never exceed the minority's representation by more than one. Four of the members appointed to this committee or committees should be a member who also serves on each of the following additional committees: Armed Services, Judiciary, Foreign Affairs, and the Defense Appropriations subcommittee. In this way the other major congressional interests can be brought together in the new committee's work. Members should serve indefinitely on the intelligence committees, without set terms, thereby letting them accumulate expertise. The committees should be smaller-perhaps seven or nine members in each house-so that each member feels a greater sense of responsibility, and accountability, for the quality of the committee's work. The leaders of the Department of Homeland Security now appear before 88 committees and subcommittees of Congress. One expert witness (not a member of the administration) told us that this is perhaps the single largest obstacle impeding the department's successful development. The one attempt to consolidate such committee authority, the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, may be eliminated. The Senate does not have even this. Congress needs to establish for the Department of Homeland Security the kind of clear authority and responsibility that exist to enable the Justice Department to deal with crime and the Defense Department to deal with threats to national security.

Question: "What would be the results of reducing intelligence committee sizes?"

Answer: "The cost to run the committees would be less"

Response: no

{ { Plot } } Tom plays pool in a deserted pool hall , pocketing two balls by lowdown means and then wakes Jerry up by shooting the 10-ball into the pocket where he is sleeping . Jerry awakes just in time to avoid the 10-ball and is carried out to the ball return , where the 10 and the 13 smash the mouse between each other . Jerry is mad and walks up through the pocket , first sees nothing , but after a few steps back to the pocket , he spots Tom perched behind it . Jerry tries to jump into another corner pocket , but Tom aims a cue ball with so much force that it roll's into the pocket , and spins back out of it and it rolls Jerry backwards to Tom , who has made a ramp with his cue stick for the mouse to slide up . Jerry stops at the top of the stick and is then blown down by Tom , who then shoots a stream of balls to make the mouse flat . The whole train rebounds back towards the cat and the balls stack up at Tom's end of the table . Tom shoots all the balls in succession with his cue , and then tries to shoot Jerry , but the mouse hangs onto the cue tip . The cat , as if he were saying '' Have it your way '' , chalks up and shoots the 8-ball using Jerry . The mouse drops off the cue tip and then is upended by the 8-ball rolling in circles , and Tom forces Jerry to jump through the ball rack as if he were a circus performer . Tom then sets it on fire to add an additional level of torment , and when Jerry accomplishes this with poise , Tom discards the flaming rack and shoots the 8-ball across the table and back .

Question: "How does Tom up the ante when he makes Jerry jump as if he were a circus performer?"

Answer: "He lights the rack on fire"

Response:
yes