As one of the official photographers for the Miami Fury, I have been close to Anita Marks during the last few months ("Bombshell," Adam Pitluk, November 8). There is more to this great lady than just an athlete with a terrific look. Anita has taken over the marketing of the team and, without any budget, has put the Miami Fury on the map. She has been on top of organizing team public appearances and making sure that the media pay attention to a sport that soon will be watched as much as the NFL or Major League Baseball. You won't very often find a person with so many abilities together: great look, strong athletic capabilities, and sharp intelligence.
If there is ever an election for Florida woman of the year, she would get my vote without hesitation. I am waiting to get my chance to do some artistic pictures of Anita. As soon as this happens, I would be pleased to send some to NewTimes.
Leo Reinfeld
via the Internet
Biting the hand...:
Ashley Fantz's article in the October 25 edition of New Times was an unprofessional abomination ("Babel in Boca"). The underlying tone of the piece caused a lot of trouble where only a little exists. To say I "dismissed" a meeting with Imam Ibrahim Dremali is not only factually incorrect but also treacherous. In fact, I complimented the Imam for meeting with us and for the seriousness with which he heard us out.
The comments about meetings being dangerous were taken out of context and related to the State Commission on Human Relations' ill-conceived and ill-timed call for a "Day of Dialogue" to be held statewide in individual towns and communities. It had nothing to do with Boca Raton.
To say by her own assessment that there is ill will and mistrust between the two communities is an exercise in gross overstatement, not able to be validated, and to no purposeful end. It also happens not to be true.
Fortunately, Muslims and Jews continue to rise above her gutter tripe, have met again, will continue to meet in a variety of ways, and will make our community a better place. If we can overcome Websites and politics, we certainly can overcome the Ashley Fantzes of the world.
William A. Gralnick,
Southeast Regional Director
The American Jewish Committee
Boca Raton
Ya gotta move on:
Bob Norman's article "Admitting Terror" (October 18) states that "for much of the past decade, [the U.S.] emphasized customer service and facilitation of air travel over enforcement." "Much of the last decade" -- was that not William Jefferson Clinton's watch? What is widely believed but not said is that the Clinton administration allowed thousands of "illegal immigrants" into the United States. The Clinton-Gore theory was that they would become Democratic voters once they were able to become "legal." So for votes, Clinton allowed terrorists to enter the country.
Let's look at the scorecard here. Under the Clinton-Gore watch, we had: Travelgate, Chinagate, Whitewatergate, Interngate, the largest attempted power grab in U.S. history (Hillary and her gang of 300 vs. medicine), the Beirut bombing (240-plus dead), the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole (19-plus dead), the barracks bombing in Saudi Arabia (19-plus dead), the embassy bombings in Africa (250-plus dead), the WTC bombing by virtue of the nonexistent immigration enforcement (6000-plus dead), the pardoning of 17 terrorists (who committed 160 bombings in three cities, resulting in six-plus deaths, one of which was a police officer), a cocaine kingpin, a traitor, a used-car swindler, a smuggler, and a money launderer.
The list goes on. Is there still any doubt that the Clinton-Gore administration was the most corrupt in U.S. history? It is an administration, I might add, that has the blood of thousands on its hands.
Andrew H. Williams
Miami
Keep your eye on the INS:
Thanks for the story on immigration and customs clearance at Miami International Airport -- scary. My mom is 61 years of age and has traveled between the U.S. and Honduras for 25 years. We applied for an extension of her I-94 in 1999 -- sent 100 bucks to the INS -- got it approved with a new date, left when she was supposed to leave, et cetera. She returned last October and was detained by immigration at MIA. The interrogation lasted four hours and centered on her staying past her original I-94 departure date. Yes, she was an easy target. Scare the decent folk, and let the real criminals go without questioning because they're loaded with cash. I have seen INS officials treat Latino immigrants as if they're criminals, when these poor Latin American immigrants are forced to come here to look for work because the corrupt Latin American governments do not provide any kind of social development structure for the people -- they are too busy wire-transferring money to Swiss banks (Salinas-Mexico-U.S.: $18-21 million!). Thanks for publishing my comments.
Iris Verdial
Miami
Jen-bashing, part 3,647,986:
Regarding Jen Karetnick's October 18 review, "Discomfort Food," it appears to me that one of several things happened when she visited Conca D'Oro: Either the service was bad (which does not mean the chef should bear the brunt of her negativity) or she has no idea what real Italian food tastes like.
Concerning the first point: Every restaurant has servers who have bad nights. From the five-star, $50-a-plate, private dining establishments down to IHOP, servers have good days and bad days. Maybe Karetnick just happened to get bad service that night, which does not speak badly of Conca D'Oro. All restaurants must deal with that from time to time. But even if she did have subpar service, she shouldn't take it out on the chef. Surely she is professional enough to understand that. Isn't she?
The food at Conca D'Oro is fabulous. It appears that Karetnick was just pissed off that her server left the table when the server's number began flashing -- indicating that food in the kitchen was ready. Get over it, Karetnick. Don't trash an establishment simply because the server might have given you some questionable service.
As to the second point: Italian food is not New York food! I get sick and tired of hearing New Yorkers constantly compare "their" food to others. New Yorkers believe that their pizza is better than Chicago's pizza and that Italians who don't live in New York don't know how to make authentic Italian food. Both are lies! Nothing could be further from the truth. There is New York Italian food, and then there is authentic Italian food. Conca D'Oro is not New York Italian food. It is authentic Italian. Mr. and Mrs. Deluca, owners and creators of Conca D'Oro, were born in Italy.
A.J. Fowinkle
Miami
Erratum:
Because of an editing error, the news story "Babel in Boca" in the October 25 issue incorrectly identified the American Jewish Committee in one instance as the American Jewish Council. New Times regrets the error.
