SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:51 P.M. ET: 

MAJOR HEALTH NEWS – From UPI:  PLYMOUTH, England, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Playing the block-stacking video game Tetris can ease cravings for food and drugs by about one-fifth, researchers found in a study of people in natural settings outside a laboratory.  Previous research had found that Tetris effectively reduced cravings in a lab setting. Most studies also were focused on food cravings, but researchers from Plymouth University and Queensland University of Technology found the method to be effective for smoking, alcohol, coffee, sex and sleeping, as well.  "We think the Tetris effect happens because craving involves imagining the experience of consuming a particular substance or indulging in a particular activity," said Dr. Jackie Andrade, a professor of psychology at Plymouth University, in a press release. "Playing a visually interesting game like Tetris occupies the mental processes that support that imagery -- it is hard to imagine something vividly and play Tetris at the same time."  I think they used to call that distraction.  Was this a government-funded study?

SUCH WARMTH – From Reuters:  HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba's lead negotiator in talks with Washington told Reuters on Friday that the island's internal affairs would never be on the table and Havana would never move "one millimeter" to placate enemies in the United States.  "Decisions on internal matters are not negotiable and will never be put on the negotiating agenda in conversations with the United States," Josefina Vidal, director of U.S. affairs for the Cuban Foreign Ministry, said in an exclusive interview.  This is what happens when Washington flashes weakness.  This means Cuba will never discuss with us the treatment of its own people.  I doubt if Obama and Kerry really care.

JAPANESE NOTE V-J DAY – From AP:   Japanese and U.S. cities, together with the U.S. Navy, are holding a memorial service in Pearl Harbor to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.  Mayors and city council members from Honolulu and Nagaoka are coming together with the U.S. Pacific Fleet commander for Friday's event.  They plan to lay wreaths and float lanterns. Fireworks resembling white chrysanthemum flowers will be launched at the end of the ceremony. White chrysanthemums are often presented at memorial services in Japan.  Nagaoka is the hometown of the late Japanese Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto, the architect of the attack on Pearl Harbor that launched the U.S. into the war in 1941. It is one of Honolulu's sister cities and is famous for fireworks. The city in Niigata prefecture was bombed by U.S. planes during the final stages of the war.  Japan has emerged as a major ally and vital democracy, thanks in part to the enlightened U.S. occupation of the nation after World War II.

YUCH – From Breitbart:   Friday, at the U.S. embassy in Cuba flag-raising ceremony celebrating the re-establishment of diplomatic relations, Secretary of State John Kerry said he felt “very much at home” in the country ruled by the authoritarian Castro regime.  Maybe he should visit the prisons where they keep the political prisoners and tell us how homey the atmosphere is.

August 14, 2015