Michigan's 2015 football class already high-profile

FOX Sports Next Midwest regional manager Allen Trieu and national recruiting analyst Jamie Newberg share their insights on Michigan?s latest high-profile commitments ? 2015 Tarpon Springs (Fla.) East Lake wide receiver George Campbell and 2015 Berea (Ky.) Madison Southern running back Damien Harris:

Sam Webb: (Allen) you were the first analyst anywhere to talk to and to talk about Damien Harris. Tell us about Damien, his game, what he brings to the table, and where you figure he will be in the rankings when all is said and done.

Allen Trieu: He was one of those kids that just popped off the film. It really took the first play of his film for me to go, ?Wow, this is going to be a guy!? This was his freshman season when we first started watching him. Obviously, great speed. He has been timed as low as 4.36 in some places.

I think whether or not you believe the validity of some of those times, if you?ve seen the guy play you know he can run. So whether or not he is truly a 4.3 guy or a 4.4 guy doesn?t matter. The kid has breakaway speed. He is one of those kids who has that knack for making people miss and for finding lanes even when they?re not there. You watch him on film reverse field, he?ll stiff-arm a guy here, juke a guy there, and he is gone. He has that sixth sense for that kind of thing.

I think Damien is potentially is the No. 1 guy in the Midwest. Kentucky is part of the Midwest for (FOX Sports Next). There are a few guys vying for that top spot in the 2015 class. I think Damien is in the conversation. I think he will be a top-50 national guy. I don?t know exactly where he is going to fall yet, but I think he is truly one of the handful of guys in the Midwest that stack up with anybody in the country.

Sam Webb: (Jamie) let?s start off with the guy in your neck of the woods in George Campbell. Give us your expert analysis on him.

Jamie Newberg: Well, first of all, he is a first-class kid. Obviously, in today?s game of football you want to be well represented off the field with the microscope these programs and kids are under. He?s a phenomenal kid ? probably equal or better than his talent, and his talent is extraordinary. At (Nike?s) The Opening he was one of, I believe, four underclassmen there and was singled out by Trent Dilfer as one of the two best receivers out there, which speaks volumes.

We all know year in and year out what a talented position receiver is, not just in Florida but across the country. George is a guy that I?ve been watching for two years now. You look at him and he has got a unique skill set because he is huge, he is long, and he is a legit sub-4.4 (40-yard dash) kid.

I went to his playoff game last year when they hosted Vero Beach (Fla.). Everyone was talking about him as a wide receiver and here he was dominant at defensive end with two scoop-and-scores, one of which was 99 yards. This is a kid that has the athleticism to play defensive end at the next level, to be a safety, obviously receiver, and maybe tight end.

I?ve been doing this long enough to know you never know how a kid is going to ultimately mature physically. And let?s keep this in perspective; he still has two more years of high school football to play before he ever gets to Ann Arbor. That?s why when I wrote in my analysis piece when he committed that there is a possibility he could emerge and grow into another position. Having said that, right now he is a receiver with great ball skills, he can get behind the secondary, and I believe he is one of those five-star type of guys.

We?re coming out with a preliminary ranking for this 2015 class here in the next couple of weeks, so we?ll see where big George settles in, but I would certainly recommend five stars for him.

Sam Webb: Were you surprised first of all that he committed so quickly, and then when he did pick that Michigan was the school he committed to?

Jamie Newberg: Yeah, I?m always surprised when these kids commit a year-plus ahead of time. That?s the way this thing is headed. We?ve all seen the acceleration of the process over the last three, four, or five years. When there are more commitments in June and July then there are in December and January, something is amiss. But that?s where this thing is going. That?s where it?s headed. There?s a big emphasis with the spring and summer camps and getting kids on campus as early and often as possible. The unofficial visits become more important than the official visits. Anytime a kid comes up to campus, especially an out-of-state out-of-region guy like George Campbell up to the big barbecue in Ann Arbor last weekend there?s always the possibility.

Obviously his teammate Mason Cole, another exceptional prospect, is headed that way. So he has heard a lot of great things about Michigan and now he has seen them up close and personally. From that standpoint it doesn?t really surprise me. But you know what? I?ve always looked at it as the early commitment only signifies who the team to beat really is. It?s far from over, especially when you have Will Muschamp and the Gators and Jimbo Fisher at Florida State in-state. They?re not going to give up on this kid. And let?s face it ? every program in the country is going to want to get George Campbell on campus between now and his national signing day, which is 18 months away.

Sam Webb: Let?s move on to another 2015 prospect you got a chance to see last year. He committed (a few days) after George Campbell, and that?s Damien Harris. Tell me about Damien.

Jamie Newberg: My daughter lives up in the Lexington area, so I went up to see her. (Allen) said, ?Check out this kid Damien Harris.? So I made about an hour drive south of Lexington and watch him play Lynn Camp.

The only thing I would question in evaluating Damien on that night was the competition level. He was definitely a man among boys playing against Lynn Camp. Nonetheless, this is a kid that physically looks as impressive as anyone you?ll see in this class of 2015. I had a chance to see him at the All American combine a couple of months later in San Antonio. He is really put together, he runs exceptionally well, has a great burst and acceleration. He is a kid that has an exceptional lower body, can break tackles, runs behind his pads ? I was very impressed.

I really, really want to see him in a setting where he is playing more against his peers or players of his caliber. That would be the only thing I would question with Damien Harris. If everything falls the way I think it will with him, I think he has a chance to be an exceptional college player at Michigan.

Sam Webb: As far as running style, body type, a combination of the two ? does he put you in the mind of anyone? And the same thing with George Campbell. Is there anyone that he reminds you of or that his play is kind of reminiscent of?

Jamie Newberg: I hate to put analogies and stuff like that on kids because it puts those great expectations on them ? not that we don?t do it already. I just think at the end of the day those two kids are great building blocks for that next group. (Michigan) has already got (Philadelphia St. Joseph?s offensive lineman) Jon Runyan Jr. and (Massillon, Ohio, Washington kicker) Andrew David. So four commits out of the gate here with 18 months to go with this class, it?s shaping up to be (good). But you know what? This is Michigan and this is how they should always recruit. I look at them like you look at Ohio State, USC, and some of these national programs (like) Texas. They should always recruit players of this caliber across the country and be top-10 programs when it comes to recruiting. It looks like they?re off to a great start for next season.

Sam Webb: You?re in SEC country, so this level of recruiting consistently by top programs is typical where you are. It?s atypical of Michigan, at least of late. From a national perspective what?s the opinion of how Michigan has done on the recruiting trail over the last couple of years and in the 2015 class already?

Jamie Newberg: You nailed it on the head. To challenge for that trophy, and I?m talking the big one at the end of the year, you HAVE to recruit consistently well year in and year out. That is why you see Alabama at the top. No one has recruited better than Alabama since Nick Saban has taken over in Tuscaloosa. Look at Bobby Bowden?s run in the 90?s. If you look at that era of Florida State football, nobody recruited better than Bobby Bowden. Why were Pete Carroll and USC always on top? They out-recruited everybody by a mile when he was the Trojans? head coach.

To be great in college football you have to recruit consistently well. What we?ve seen with Hoke and his staff since he has been there is every year it gets a little bit better ? and now they?re recruiting really, really well. So they?ve got to keep that bar high hit every single year, and try to exceed it. Because let?s face it, Urban Meyer is just south in Columbus. That guy knows how to recruit. He is bringing that SEC recruiting mentality up to Columbus. They?ve got to stay on par or beat the Buckeyes in terms of recruiting because it?s going to be those two teams banging heads and battling for that Big Ten title. So I think Michigan is off to a great start with this class.

In the 2014 class you?re talking about guys like (Paramus, N.J. Catholic cornerback) Jabrill Peppers. They?re ranked in the top 10 and they?re obviously off to a wonderful start for next year with a long way to go for both of these groups.

Source: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130802/SPORTS0201/308020088/1131/rss17

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It?s tag football summer camp as NFL in America save the big hits for match day

BILL PENNINGTON

Pro football summer training camps once were filled with two practices a day, gruelling sessions that featured helmeted players clashing gladiator-style under a merciless sun. That was before the average NFL salary soared to more than $2 million, forcing coaches and owners to weigh the risk and cost of preseason injuries. At the same time, the athletic community has been changed by research outlining the cumulative, debilitating effects of recurrent head trauma, even in practice. What?s left is a training camp landscape that would have been unrecognizable 10 years ago.

As 32 NFL teams opened their camps in recent days, the new practice model virtually prohibits tackling and tolerates only nominal full-scale contact between the players, often no more than five minutes a week. At NFL training camps across the nation this week, it?s as if a bunch of touch football games have broken out. The trend against tackling and what is known in football parlance as ?live contact? began about five years ago, but it has been especially pronounced this summer.

This week, after season-ending knee injuries cost the Philadelphia Eagles two of their starters, coach Chip Kelly, in his first year with the team, banned tackling for the duration of training camp. Coaches for the Carolina Panthers have issued a similar edict and have been reprimanding any player who knocks someone to the ground.

Limited live contact
Six days into their training camp, the New York Giants on Thursday were expecting to wear full pads and engage in limited live contact for the first time. ?The amount of contact now is pretty minimal,? Giants co-owner John Mara said on Tuesday, standing near his team?s practice. ?I would contend it?s just not necessary. So this has been a good thing.?

But if the job of defensive football players is to tackle, don?t they need to practice it? And don?t the running backs and receivers need to practice avoiding tacklers? In spring training in baseball, the batters don?t hit off a tee and the pitchers don?t throw only to catchers. Giants coach Tom Coughlin conceded there was a challenge to preparing 300-pound players for a violent game without letting teammates turn their ferocity on each other.

?In this day and age, it?s a very fine line and it is not easy,? Coughlin said. ?You?ve got to get a team ready to play and they?ve got to be physical, but you can?t step over the line. It?s not worth it.? Philadelphia?s Kelly called it ?a dance that everybody?s got to dance,? adding that his players would have four preseason games with unrestricted tackling. Some teams also schedule scrimmages with other teams. ?They?ll get plenty of hitting in the games,? Kelly said. ?But we?ve got to get our guys to the games.?

At parts of every training camp practice ? sessions now conducted only once a day, as mandated by a new labour agreement ? there is contact between players. Linemen knock shoulders, although not often at full speed. Wide receivers and defensive backs jostle during pass routes, and running backs sprint through narrow gaps between linemen. But almost every time a ball carrier is encountered by a defensive player, that defender will feint a tackle, but instead just tap or tag the offensive player. Infrequently, there is a shoulder lowered to deliver a glancing blow, but in the new NFL, except in sporadic cases, defenders in training camp do not use their arms to wrap up a ball carrier and drag or thrust him to the ground.

Threat of injury

Source: http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/851/f/10849/s/2f741090/sc/13/l/0L0Sirishtimes0N0Csport0Cother0Esports0Cit0Es0Etag0Efootball0Esummer0Ecamp0Eas0Enfl0Ein0Eamerica0Esave0Ethe0Ebig0Ehits0Efor0Ematch0Eday0E10B14820A13/story01.htm

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Dorian regenerates into depression near Florida

Dorian has regenerated into a tropical depression just east of Cape Canaveral

By Ken Kaye Sun Sentinel

10:14 a.m. EDT, August 3, 2013

Tropical Depression Dorian, Saturday, 5 a.m. advisory

OUTLOOK: Dorian, the system that just won't go away, re-strengthened into a depression in the Atlantic off the coast of Cape Canaveral on Saturday morning.

The former tropical storm is projected to remain a depression, aim northeast out to sea and finally die early next week.

WHAT FLORIDA CAN EXPECT: Dorian continues to spread clouds over much of the eastern part of the state, increasing the rain chance to 50 percent in South Florida and to 40 percent in the Orlando area on Saturday.

PARTICULARS: Even if Dorian re-strengthens into a tropical storm, it's unlikely that any watches or warnings will be posted because the strongest winds are in its southeast quadrant, or over the ocean, said senior hurricane specialist Stacy Stewart of the National Hurricane Center.

Dorian initially grew into a tropical storm on July 24 in the eastern Atlantic and fell apart last Saturday, the result of wind shear and dry air.

LOCATION: 85 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral

STRENGTH: 35 mph sustained winds

MOVEMENT: North at 6 mph

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/sun-sentinel/news/weather/hurricane/blog/~3/WsuonoilnTc/story01.htm

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Alex Rodriguez homers in Double-A rehab game - KTTC Rochester ...

By TOM CANAVAN
AP Sports Writer

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Yankees fan Matt Kowalski made the short trip to Arm & Hammer Park, hoping to catch one more look at Alex Rodriguez.

Kowalski got to see what he wanted - Rodriguez homered Friday night for the Trenton Thunder, and many in the sellout crowd cheered as the embattled New York star rounded the bases.

"I live 20 minutes away, and it could be the last chance to see him play," said Kowalski, of Mount Laurel. "It's kind of hard to not come out. I'm afraid something's pending. That's the rumor, at least."

Major League Baseball is set to suspend 14 players on Monday in the Biogenesis drug case, with Rodriguez likely to get the stiffest penalty. The 38-year-old third baseman hasn't played in the majors this season while recovering from hip surgery and a strained quadriceps.

Rodriguez left Friday night after five innings. He later said the Yankees told him the tentative plan is for him to rejoin the big league team in Chicago for Monday night's game against the White Sox.

Rodriguez said he's confident that will happen "unless I get hit by lightning, and these days you never know."

"I am mentally prepared to play for five more years," he said. "It's not time for me to hang it up. I have a lot more left in me. I will keep fighting."

The Yankees have said Rodriguez will play for Trenton on Saturday. The Yankees are in San Diego this weekend.

"I wish they would come in a plane tonight. I wish I was in San Diego," he said. "I can't wait to see my teammates. I think I can help them. I think I can help them be a better team."

Rodriguez rejoined the Yankees' Double-A farm team earlier in the day, his second minor league rehabilitation assignment during this comeback. After drawing a walk in the first inning, he hit a long two-run homer in the third inning against Reading lefty Jesse Biddle, a No. 1 draft pick by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2010.

Rodriguez leisurely circled the bases to the cheers of the 8,080 fans, many who applauded in admiration of the shot. The three-time American League MVP pointed to someone behind home plate after touching it and headed to the dugout for congratulations by his temporary teammates.

There were some boos during the night.

"I think there were a lot of Phillies fans out there," he said. "A lot of people cheered when I hit the home run."

In the fifth inning, Rodriguez was called out on strikes. He talked to a couple of fans in the stands, signed a few autographs and gave away his bat, and exited the game.

Cheryl Dacey of Princeton Junction sat behind a couple of Philles fans who booed every time Rodriguez came to the plate. She totally enjoyed seeing him quiet them up with his home run.

"In my opinion, I'm 52, I think A-Rod is one of the best players I will see in my lifetime for baseball," said the longtime Yankees fan. "I think there is a witch hunt on for him."

She got a chance to tell Rodriguez that, too. She left the stadium after he was taken out with her No. 13 Yankees uniform autographed.

Earlier in the game, Rodriguez knocked down a hard grounder and threw the batter out at first by a half step.

Prior to the game, Rodriguez smiled a lot, met his teammates and shook hands with coaches after stepping on the field at 4:13 p.m. He did not field questions from a massive media contingent before taking batting practice, throwing and fielding grounder in a 30-minute preparation for the game against the Fightin Phils.

This was Rodriguez's second appearance with the Thunder this season, but the first one in New Jersey.

While there were a couple of A-Rod jerseys in the stands, there also were Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira tops sprinkled in along with some from Philadelphia players.

The 30-year-old Kowalski wore a Rodriguez uniform, and was somewhat forgiving when asked about A-Rod's problems.

"It's hard not to appreciate what A-Rod did for the Yankees," he said. "Anyone who turns a blind eye to 2009 is kidding themselves. They don't win a ring in 2009 without him, so it's hard to forget that."

Thunder Manager Tony Franklin did not think Rodriguez's presence would be a distraction.

"Our guys understand the circumstances around this," he said. "It's all about baseball for our guys. One thing about baseball players is when the game they have a unique ability to separate what's on the field from what's off the field."

It was hard not to notice Rodriguez's every step. Cameramen and reporters stared at him, and they looked over his shoulder as he signed autographs 20 minutes before the first pitch.

"I expect him to be productive in this lineup," Franklin said of a player with 647 career home runs in the bigs. "We're in a pennant race, and I say it jokingly, but I look for the same effort he always gives. He's the consummate professional when it comes to playing the game. The game means everything to him."

Franklin kidded Rodriguez could keep up the tradition of stars buying food spreads for the minor leaguers after the game.

On a more serious note, he said Rodriguez is "a regular guy" who can impart a lot to his players. He also wanted to see him in action.

"I love watching him play," Franklin said. "I am still a fan of baseball and watching him play on the baseball field is what I enjoy."

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.kttc.com/story/23034403/alex-rodriguez-arrives-in-trenton-for-rehab-games

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Existing cropland could feed four billion more by dropping biofuels and animal feed

[unable to retrieve full-text content]The world's croplands could feed 4 billion more people than they do now just by shifting from producing animal feed and biofuels to producing exclusively food for human consumption, according to new research.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/pZw1L1rPJnE/130801125704.htm

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APNewsBreak: Fla. education commissioner to resign

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) ? Florida's education commissioner will resign amid allegations that he changed the grade of a charter school run by a major Republican donor during his previous job as Indiana's school chief, a state education official said Thursday.

Tony Bennett will resign in the wake of the scandal surrounding Christel House Academy, the official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement was not yet authorized for public release.

Bennett, when reached by the AP, would say only that "no decisions have been made at this point." He has denied any wrongdoing.

Emails published by the AP this week show Bennett and his Indiana staff scrambled last fall to ensure Christel DeHaan's school received an "A," despite poor 10th-grade algebra scores that initially earned it a "C."

Bennett lost his re-election bid last November in Indiana. He was hired by Florida as its education commissioner, a non-elected post, in December.

Indiana uses the A-F grades to determine which schools get taken over by the state and whether students seeking state-funded vouchers to attend private school need to first spend a year in public school. They also help determine how much state funding schools receive. A low grade also can detract from a neighborhood and drive homebuyers elsewhere.

After Bennett learned about a likely low grade for Christel House, he fired off a Sept. 12 email to his chief of staff.

"This will be a HUGE problem for us," Bennett wrote. "They need to understand that anything less than an A for Christel House compromises all of our accountability work."

Bennett, who now is reworking Florida's grading system as that state's education commissioner, denied that DeHaan's Christel House Academy school received special treatment. He said discovering that the charter would receive a low grade raised broader concerns with grades for other "combined" schools ? those that included multiple grade levels ? across the state.

Bennett downplayed the emails on Tuesday, repeating his assertion that he took action because he was concerned there was a flaw in the formula.

"It is absurd that anyone would believe that I would change the grade of a school based on a political donor or trying to hide schools from accountability," Bennett said. "That's fictitious at best, and it's totally unfounded."

He acknowledged that the problem was identified and fixed prior to the release of school grades but maintained the change affected as many as 13 schools.

"We did nothing wrong. We did nothing covert. We did nothing secretive," Bennett said.

The revelations that Bennett and Indiana officials scrambled to change the grade of one school come amid a strong debate over Florida's grading system.

Bennett earlier this month pushed the Florida board that oversees education policy to adopt a "safety net" provision that prevented the grades of more than 500 schools from dropping more than one grade this year.

That provision was adopted by a 4-3 vote amid much debate and criticism that the move would "mask" the true performance of schools. Bennett's plan was even opposed by the education foundation set up by Bush. The grades released last week still showed a sharp drop in the number of A-rated schools and a jump in the number of F-rated ones.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/apnewsbreak-fla-education-commissioner-resign-132032483.html

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Japan's Aso refuses to resign over Nazi comment

Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso is surrounded by reporters at the ministry in Tokyo Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013. Aso has retracted a comment he made Monday, July 29 in Tokyo suggesting Japan should follow the Nazi example of how to change the country?s constitution, following complaints from neighboring countries and human rights activists. Aso drew outrage for saying Japan should learn from how the Nazi party stealthily changed Germany?s constitution before World War II before anyone realized it. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT

Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso is surrounded by reporters at the ministry in Tokyo Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013. Aso has retracted a comment he made Monday, July 29 in Tokyo suggesting Japan should follow the Nazi example of how to change the country?s constitution, following complaints from neighboring countries and human rights activists. Aso drew outrage for saying Japan should learn from how the Nazi party stealthily changed Germany?s constitution before World War II before anyone realized it. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT

Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso speaks to reporters at the ministry in Tokyo Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013. Aso has retracted a comment he made Monday, July 29 in Tokyo suggesting Japan should follow the Nazi example of how to change the country?s constitution, following complaints from neighboring countries and human rights activists. Aso drew outrage for saying Japan should learn from how the Nazi party stealthily changed Germany?s constitution before World War II before anyone realized it. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT

FILE - In this Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013 file photo, Japan's Finance Minister Taro Aso speaks during a press conference at the summit of financial ministers and heads of central banks of the G20 group of nations ahead of their meeting in Moscow, Russia. Aso has retracted a comment he made Monday, July 29 in Tokyo suggesting Japan should follow the Nazi example of how to change the country?s constitution, following complaints from neighboring countries and human rights activists. Aso drew outrage for saying Japan should learn from how the Nazi party stealthily changed Germany?s constitution before World War II before anyone realized it. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze, File)

TOKYO (AP) ? Japan's Finance Minister Taro Aso refused Friday to resign or apologize over remarks suggesting Japan should follow the Nazi example of how to change the country's constitution stealthily and without public debate.

Following protests by neighboring countries and human rights activists, he "retracted" the comments on Thursday but refused to go further.

"I have no intention to step down" as Cabinet minister of lawmaker, Aso, who is also the deputy prime minister, told reporters. The government also said it is not seeking Aso's resignation, which some opposition members have demanded.

Aso, who is known for intemperate remarks, drew outrage for saying Japan should learn from how the Nazi party stealthily changed Germany's pre-World War II constitution before anyone realized it. He also suggested that Japanese politicians should make visit Tokyo's Yasukuni war shrine quietly to avoid controversy. Such visits currently take place amid wide publicity and are a sore point for Southeast Asian nations, who suffered under Japanese occupation during World War II.

Aso said Thursday he was misunderstood and only meant to say that loud debate over whether Japan should change its postwar constitution, and other issues is not helpful.

In retracting his comments, he said it was "very unfortunate and regrettable" that his comments were misinterpreted.

On Friday, Aso said he stands by all his other remarks in the speech made earlier this week in Tokyo to an ultra-conservative audience.

Critics of the ruling Liberal Democrats are uneasy over the party's proposals for revising the U.S.-inspired postwar constitution, in part to allow a higher profile for Japan's military.

Japan and Nazi Germany were allies in World War II, when Japan occupied much of Asia and Germany much of Europe, where the racial supremacist Nazis oversaw the killings of an estimated 6 million Jews before the war ended in 1945 with their defeat. Japan's history of military aggression, which included colonizing the Korean Peninsula before the war, is the reason its current constitution limits the role of the military.

According to a transcript of the speech published by the newspaper Asahi Shimbun, Aso decried the lack of support for revising Japan's pacifist constitution among older Japanese, saying the Liberal Democrats had held quiet, extensive discussions about its proposals.

"I don't want to see this done in the midst of an uproar," Aso said, according to the transcript. Since revisions of the constitution may raise protests, "doing it quietly, just as in one day the Weimar constitution changed to the Nazi constitution, without anyone realizing it, why don't we learn from that sort of tactic?"

Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said that postwar Japan has consistently supported peace and human rights.

"Cabinet ministers should fully understand their role and make sure to avoid misleading remarks," Suga said Friday. He said Aso has already retracted the Nazi comment and doesn't have to resign.

Aso often speaks in a meandering style that has gotten him in trouble for off-the-cuff remarks in the past. He has apologized previously for accusing the elderly of being a burden on society, joking about people with Alzheimer's disease, saying the ideal country would be one that attracts "the richest Jewish people," and comparing the opposition Democratic Party of Japan to the Nazis.

On Thursday, Aso insisted that he was referring to the Nazis "as a bad example of a constitutional revision that was made without national understanding or discussion ...I just don't want (the revision) to be decided amid a ruckus."

The Nazis' rise to power in the early 1930s amid the economic crisis brought on by the Great Depression was facilitated by emergency decrees that circumvented the Weimar constitution. So was Adolph Hitler's seizure of absolute power after he was made chancellor in 1933.

It was not a matter of revising but of abusing the constitution.

Opposition leaders condemned Aso's remarks, saying they showed a lack of understanding of history and hurt Japan's national interest. Some demanded Aso resign.

Aso's comments "sounded like praise for Nazi actions and are totally incomprehensible," said Akihiro Ohata, secretary general of the Democratic Party.

"Minister Aso's ignorance about historical facts is so obvious," said Seiji Mataichi, secretary general of the Social Democratic Party. "I also want to remind him that praising the Nazis is considered a crime in EU nations."

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a group dedicated to keeping alive the history of the Holocaust, urged Aso to "immediately clarify" his remarks.

"What 'techniques' from the Nazis' governance are worth learning? How to stealthily cripple democracy?" Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said in a statement.

In South Korea, Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Tai-young said Aso's remark "will obviously hurt many people."

In China, which also suffered invasion and occupation by Japanese imperial troops before and during the war, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the comments showed that "Japan's neighbors in Asia, and the international community, have to heighten their vigilance over the direction of Japan's development."

Hong also objected to Aso's comments on visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, which commemorates Japan's 2.3 million war dead, including 14 wartime leaders convicted of war crimes.

Aso urged lawmakers in his speech to visit the shrine at times other than the closely watched anniversary of the end of the war on Aug. 15 to avoid diplomatic flare-ups.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-08-02-AS-Japan-Nazi-Comment/id-5cc456229e534fd39461750163804ef3

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