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This looks like a caricature of Ed. So does the guy in Tex Avery's Field and Scream.
It's amazing to me that a guy with such a crusty exterior can make drawings this cute!
Well I have some really sad news today. Ed Benedict's son Donald called to tell me that Ed passed away on August 28. He was 94.
Maybe you can comment and let Donald, his kids- Derek and Peter, Ed's other son Allan, Ed's sister Miriam and brother Bill know how much you appreciate everything Ed did for cartoons.
Ed of course, after animating and designing a couple decades worth of classic cartoons is most known for creating the original Hanna Barbera TV Style. Ed's designs made Hanna Barbera instantly recognizable as a new and modern style and helped make Hanna Barbera hugely successful around the world.
These frame grabs are from the original 1960 season of the Flintstones. Ed did all the character and background layouts. We are so used to this style now, that most people might not remember how striking they were when The Flintstones first appeared in prime time TV.
By the way, these background paintings are great, aren't they? I think they are painted by Art Lozzi. I wish I knew more about the guy. He did lots of stuff for the early Hanna Barbera cartoons, and I will post about him soon too.
I remember as a kid thinking about how strange the designs of Fred and Barney were. They were futuristic even though they were cavemen. Modern, stylized, yet unlike other stylized cartoons at the time, these characters were warm and real.
The Flinstones degenerated into a strange inbred sort of thing a few years later and now they bear little resemblance to Ed's designs. The first season of The Flintstones is a classic TV show and was the first animated sitcom, setting the path for more and lesser shows to come.
I have a million funny stories about Ed. I first met him in the mid 80's when Lynne Naylor, Bob Jaques and I went on a trek to northern California to meet him. He was a super curmudgeon who couldn't believe anyone even knew who he was, let alone loved his cartoons. We brought up tapes of his work for Tex Avery, his Hanna Barbera cartoons and he was completely disgusted by them! But then he demanded copies of them all so he could write me letters telling me everything that was wrong with them.
Over the last couple decades I kept visiting him and rifling all his files of fantastic cartoon drawings he did for cartoons, commercials and comic strips. He also would show me lots of photos he took of the MGM studios in the 1950s. He would point to an animator and tell me all about him. "See that guy with the suave mustache? That's Ken Muse, a nice guy, a real slick operator. Couldn't draw worth a crap! Hanna loved him cause he could really 'pump out the footage'! But a good guy to go bowling with, one of the guys." (By the way the animation in this clip is by Ken Muse! Ken really watered down Ed's designs and poses-I remember recognizing his style as a kid and thinking of him as the 'bland animator'.)
Ed had a great collection of Golden Books and magazine illustrations and we would pour over them and he'd give me all kinds of design theories.
Every time we visited we would watch old cartoons. Ed loved UPA and Disney (he pronounced it "Dissney".) He didn't think anyone else did anything else worthwhile and we had some great arguments. He would sometimes put his fists up and threaten to beat some sense into me. He had a huge pointy tuft of grey hair sticking out of his chest and it would stand erect and fill with blood when he was in scrapping mode.
It's funny, 'cause he would crab all weekend about everything and then when we'd leave he'd be all choked up, which would always kill us. He was the soft-hearted curmudgeon.
I showed him a bunch of Clampett cartoons and he was amazed at how wild and inventive they were. "Damn ugly though!"
He could still draw really well into his eighties and I got him to do many background layouts for Boo Boo Runs Wild and Day In The Life Of Ranger Smith. After we finished the cartoons and brought them up to show him, he stared at me for about five minutes getting madder and madder. He said, "Well there was some funny stuff and really inventive things in there, but why in Hell can't you draw on model?!"
Ed and his wife Alice (who passed away a few years ago) used to watch Ren and Stimpy together and actually became big fans of it to my surprise and delight.
Ed is one of the true giants of animation. I think he was the greatest character designer in the whole history of the medium.
He was a wonderful guy to boot and always lots of fun to hang out with. I had an awful day yesterday after I got the news. I sure am gonna miss him.
Uploaded by chuckchillout8
I have lots of interviews I did with him on tape. I need someone to transcribe them though. Anyone out there do that? Preferably in LA.
Uploaded by chuckchillout8
I have lots of interviews I did with him on tape. I need someone to transcribe them though. Anyone out there do that? Preferably in LA.


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NEW YORK (AP) — Too much drama, boredom and scads of irrelevant information are just some of the reasons Facebook users give for taking a break from the world's biggest social networking site for weeks at a time, according to a new study.
A report from the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project found that some 61 percent of Facebook users had taken a hiatus of at least several weeks for a myriad of reasons, whether they were weary from an onslaught of gossip, or for the more pious, the arrival of Lent.
Yet the use of Facebook, whether constant or not, is pervasive in America.
Of the American adults who use the Internet, 67 percent are on Facebook, Pew found. That compares with 20 percent who use LinkedIn and 16 percent who are on Twitter.
But users do come and go, some temporarily, and some for good. Twenty percent of those with Internet access said they used the site at one point, but no longer do. By its own count, Facebook Inc. has 1.06 billion users worldwide who check in at least once a month. This includes millions of duplicate and fake accounts. More than 150 million users are in the U.S.
The largest slice of users, 20 percent, said that they were simply too busy with their own lives to follow the constant stream of status updates, George Takei quotes and baby photos.
Privacy and security concerns, which have received plenty of media coverage, were low on the list. Only 4 percent of people gave these reasons, combined with concerns about ads and spam, as their "Facebook vacation" motivation.
Lee Rainie, director of the Internet and American Life Project said privacy is more of a big policy question that people do not concern themselves with day-by-day. Rather, people are contemplating how they spend their time and allocate their attention.
"People are making interesting calibrations and recalibrations" about how they spend their time, and the worth of constantly staying connected to friends, family and others on line, Rainie said.
And while people do take Facebook breaks, Internet users are logging in more frequently than ever, the study found.
Among other interesting tidbits:
— 59 percent of Facebook users said that the site is about as important to them as it was a year ago;
— 12 percent said Facebook is more important to them than it was a year ago and 28 percent said it has become less important.
— 8 percent says they took a break from Facebook because they were spending too much time using it.
— 69 percent said they plan to spend the same amount of time on Facebook in the coming year. Twenty-seven percent plan to spend less time on the site and 3 percent, more time.
Responding to the report, Facebook said that its growth and user engagement remains strong.
"As we announced last week, Facebook has grown daily active users across all regions, ending the year with more than 1 billion monthly active users, 618 million daily active users and 680 million people accessing Facebook from mobile devices," according to a company statement. "Our announcement came on the heels of independent analyst reports which concluded that Facebook is the most downloaded mobile app in the U.S., and that time spent on Facebook accounts for over 20 percent of all time spent on mobile apps in the US."
The Pew study of 1,006 U.S. adults was done in December. It has a margin of error of 3.6 percentage points.

subset: commoncrawl


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Motorola Moto G4 Cell Phone Screen Repair Light Problem Solution Jumper Ways
This post is all about Motorola Moto G4 fix phone screen problem solution. If mobile phone scree display is not working good or the screen light is not working. Motorola Moto G4 cracked screen repair is only possible with phone screen replacement. But if the screen is not broken then replace phone screen is not required.
[caption id="attachment_21112" align="alignnone" width="1317"] Motorola Moto G4 Cell Phone Screen Repair Light Problem Solution Jumper Ways[/caption]
If Motorola Moto G4 screen is blinking or dim light having blank scree. In all these case we have to disassemble the smart phone and check screen jack if there is any rust carbon or damages of screen jack pins.Motorola Moto G4 phone repair tutorials are given in a few more posts so you can search other repairing problem solutions here.
If screen jack have no any fault then the above mobile screen repair diagram will help you to find out tracks that are used in screen function of Motorola Moto G4 replace phone screen with new one for testing.
All tracks are indicated in different colors so that you can find out the points where you can apply jumpers to repair phone scree.Broken phone screen can not be repaired. And solution is only possible with phone screen replacement.
For more information and new tips and tricks on this problem solution continue to visit this page, we will update if there will be new updates. Some related messages are also given below, you can read more about the mobile phone.
Please note that although each diagram and solution posted on our website has been tested by one or more members of our team before posting, we will not be liable for any loss or damage, including personal injury .
Motorola Moto G4,LCD Display Light,Display Light Problem,Display Light Solution,Display Light Jumpers,Display Light Ways,White Display ,Blinking Display,Blank Display,Keypad Light
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The Little Sisters of the Poor are an international congregation of Roman Catholic women religious founded in 1839 by Saint Jeanne Jugan. Together with a diverse network of collaborators, we serve the elderly poor in over 30 countries around the world.
Continuing the work of Saint Jeanne Jugan, our MISSION is to offer the neediest elderly of every race and religion a home where they will be welcomed as Christ, cared for as family and accompanied with dignity until God calls them to himself.
Our VISION is to contribute to the Culture of Life by nurturing communities where each person is valued, the solidarity of the human family and the wisdom of age are celebrated, and the compassionate love of Christ is shared with all.
Our VALUES
REVERENCE for the sacredness of human life and for the uniqueness of each person, especially those who are poorest and/or weakest. This is reflected in care that is holistic and person-centered.
FAMILY SPIRIT: a spirit of joyful hospitality embracing all with open arms, hearts and minds; fostering participation in the life of the home and rejecting all forms of discrimination.
HUMBLE SERVICE: the desire to raise others up and to put their needs before our own; an appreciation of simple, everyday tasks and experiences and humble means in accomplishing our work.
COMPASSION: empathy for sharing the weaknesses and sufferings of others; eagerness to relieve pain in all its forms and to make the elderly happy.
STEWARDSHIP: the recognition that life and all other goods are gifts from God and should therefore be used responsibly for the good of all; trust in God's Providence and the generosity of others to provide for our needs; just compensation for our collaborators; a spirit of gratitude and sharing.


text:
Navito UK Shopping Directory |
Main Site:Home | Latest Offers | News | Newsletter | Help Us | Link to Us | Contact Us | Search |Site Map |
Other Toshiba Laptop LinksIf you run a quality Toshiba Laptop site, you may request a link to appear in the section above. Firstly, please place a link to this page on your site as follows: Toshiba Laptop page at Navito UK Shopping Then contact us to request your link. Please note placing a link to us is no guarantee that we will reciprocate - we will only place a link to you if we deem your site to be appropriate (i.e. has suitable Toshiba Laptop related content). |


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The United Nations Security Council has unanimously called on Syria to immediately allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to millions of needy people in the war-torn country.
Veto-wielding Russia and China, which have been strong supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime in the past, joined other members on the council in passing the resolution.
The move doesn't threaten sanctions, but it does warn of "further steps" if Syria doesn't comply.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, speaking after the vote, welcomed the resolution.
"We are all keenly aware of the profound and prolonged desperation of the Syrian people," he said. "If this resolution is implemented quickly and in good faith, at least some of the suffering can be eased."
"Syrian Government and allied militias have been responsible for countless killings, disappearances, the horrendous use of barrel bombs and torture on a massive scale," he said, adding that opposition groups also "have carried out summary executions, the recruitment of children for combat and the use of terror tactics in civilian areas."
Najib Ghadbian, special representative to the United Nations from the Syrian [opposition] Coalition, called Saturday's resolution "a modest but necessary first step towards addressing the dire humanitarian needs of the Syrian people."
"But at this point, it is only a text," he said. "It is crucial that the resolution is implemented immediately and in full. If the Syrian regime fails to fulfill its obligations rapidly, the Security Council must be ready to take further action to compel the regime to comply."
Update at 3:30 p.m. ET:
Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement on Saturday calling the resolution "long overdue."
"After three years of slaughter and savagery, people rightfully will question whether progress is possible, but this resolution holds the promise of something real," he said.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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A Home Office That Fuels Productivity
One of the biggest mistakes businesspeople make is assuming that working from home will automatically result in a higher level of productivity. Unless you carefully construct your home office environment, you may find that working from home is less productive than you anticipated.
Staples, the world's largest office products company and a trusted source for office solutions, offers the following tips for setting up your home office to help maximize your productivity:
The ideal working environment
Home office setup is an exercise in knowing yourself. Before you make any decisions, make a list of the things you need to spur productivity. Some people can work at a desk in a common area of the house with the television running. Others want a closed-door environment where distractions are minimized. For some people, a home office is a place to finish up work from a regular day job. For others, a home office is a primary workspace where they spend eight or more hours of the day. Before you start rearranging the furniture, decide what you need as an absolute minimum to encourage you to use the space as intended.
The right office furniture, equipment and supplies
Once you have decided whether you're going to segregate an area of the living room, convert a spare bedroom or set yourself up in the basement or garage, you should start thinking about home office furniture. The type of office furniture you pick and the way you organize your space will significantly impact your productivity.
Whatever your preferences are, investing money up front in the style of office furniture that makes you comfortable will naturally lead to greater productivity. At the very least, this ensures that you won't be tempted to relocate to the bedroom instead of working at your desk. Likewise, an upfront investment in office supplies and equipment will help you get your work done faster and avoid distractions.
The cost of outfitting a home office
A basic home office setup can cost you under $500 if you already have a computer that you can relocate to your new space. There are a number functional office furniture options that look expensive but are actually quite affordable, especially if you are willing to put the furniture together yourself. A printer and a phone with voicemail can round out a basic home office setup.
A more advanced home office setup would include a fax machine and a photocopier. Fortunately, there are 3-in-1 office machines that combine a printer, fax and copier all in one piece of equipment for less than $300, saving you money and space. Keep in mind, however, that a machine that does many things often offers fewer features for each specific function. For example, if your work at home requires more than the occasional photocopy, it can be more efficient to buy a dedicated copy machine that has special functionality to handle a heavier workload.
Don't forget to set aside money in your home office budget for office supplies. From paper to paper clips, you will have to buy all of the little things that you took for granted when you worked for an employer.
A home office is sometimes considered the holy grail for people who work. Who wouldn't want a comfortable home oasis where commuting is a foreign concept and the work just gets done? To achieve home office nirvana, make a plan that is specifically designed to meet your individual needs.
This article is courtesy of Brandpoint.


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This site is the archived OWASP Foundation Wiki and is no longer accepting Account Requests.
To view the new OWASP Foundation website, please visit https://owasp.org
Appendix A: Testing Tools
From OWASP
This article is part of the new OWASP Testing Guide v4.
Back to the OWASP Testing Guide v4 ToC: https://www.owasp.org/index.php/OWASP_Testing_Guide_v4_Table_of_Contents Back to the OWASP Testing Guide Project: https://www.owasp.org/index.php/OWASP_Testing_Project
Open Source Black Box Testing tools
General Testing
- The Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) is an easy to use integrated penetration testing tool for finding vulnerabilities in web applications. It is designed to be used by people with a wide range of security experience and as such is ideal for developers and functional testers who are new to penetration testing.
- ZAP provides automated scanners as well as a set of tools that allow you to find security vulnerabilities manually.
- OWASP WebScarab
- WebScarab is a framework for analysing applications that communicate using the HTTP and HTTPS protocols. It is written in Java, and is portable to many platforms. WebScarab has several modes of operation that are implemented by a number of plugins.
- CAL9000 is a collection of browser-based tools that enable more effective and efficient manual testing efforts.
- Includes an XSS Attack Library, Character Encoder/Decoder, HTTP Request Generator and Response Evaluator, Testing Checklist, Automated Attack Editor and much more.
- OWASP Pantera Web Assessment Studio Project
- Pantera uses an improved version of SpikeProxy to provide a powerful web application analysis engine. The primary goal of Pantera is to combine automated capabilities with complete manual testing to get the best penetration testing results.
- OWASP Mantra - Security Framework
- Mantra is a web application security testing framework built on top of a browser. It supports Windows, Linux(both 32 and 64 bit) and Macintosh. In addition, it can work with other software like ZAP using built in proxy management function which makes it much more convenient. Mantra is available in 9 languages: Arabic, Chinese - Simplified, Chinese - Traditional, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish.
- SPIKE - http://www.immunitysec.com/resources-freesoftware.shtml
- SPIKE designed to analyze new network protocols for buffer overflows or similar weaknesses. It requires a strong knowledge of C to use and only available for the Linux platform.
- Burp Proxy - http://www.portswigger.net/Burp/
- Burp Proxy is an intercepting proxy server for security testing of web applications. It allows intercepting and modifying all HTTP(S) traffic passing in both directions. It works with custom SSL certificates as well as non-proxy-aware clients.
- Odysseus Proxy - http://www.wastelands.gen.nz/odysseus/
- Odysseus is a proxy server, which acts as a man-in-the-middle during an HTTP session. A typical HTTP proxy will relay packets to and from a client browser and a web server. It will intercept an HTTP session's data in either direction.
- Webstretch Proxy - http://sourceforge.net/projects/webstretch
- Webstretch Proxy enable users to view and alter all aspects of communications with a web site via a proxy. It can also be used for debugging during development.
- WATOBO - http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/watobo/index.php?title=Main_Page
- WATOBO works like a local proxy, similar to Webscarab, ZAP or BurpSuite and it supports passive and active checks.
- Firefox LiveHTTPHeaders - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/live-http-headers/
- View HTTP headers of a page and while browsing.
- Firefox Tamper Data - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tamper-data/
- Use tamperdata to view and modify HTTP/HTTPS headers and post parameters
- Firefox Web Developer Tools - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/web-developer/
- The Web Developer extension adds various web developer tools to the browser.
- DOM Inspector - https://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/DOM_Inspector
- DOM Inspector is a developer tool used to inspect, browse, and edit the Document Object Model (DOM)
- Firefox Firebug - http://getfirebug.com/
- Firebug integrates with Firefox to edit, debug, and monitor CSS, HTML, and JavaScript.
- Grendel-Scan - http://securitytube-tools.net/index.php?title=Grendel_Scan
- Grendel-Scan is an automated security scanning of web applications and also supports manual penetration testing.
- OWASP SWFIntruder - http://www.mindedsecurity.com/swfintruder.html
- SWFIntruder (pronounced Swiff Intruder) is the first tool specifically developed for analyzing and testing security of Flash applications at runtime.
- SWFScan - http://h30499.www3.hp.com/t5/Following-the-Wh1t3-Rabbit/SWFScan-FREE-Flash-decompiler/ba-p/5440167
- Flash decompiler
- Wikto - http://www.sensepost.com/labs/tools/pentest/wikto
- Wikto features including fuzzy logic error code checking, a back-end miner, Google-assisted directory mining and real time HTTP request/response monitoring.
- w3af - http://w3af.org
- w3af is a Web Application Attack and Audit Framework. The project's goal is finding and exploiting web application vulnerabilities.
- skipfish - http://code.google.com/p/skipfish/
- Skipfish is an active web application security reconnaissance tool.
- Web Developer toolbar - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/bfbameneiokkgbdmiekhjnmfkcnldhhm
- The Web Developer extension adds a toolbar button to the browser with various web developer tools. This is the official port of the Web Developer extension for Firefox.
- HTTP Request Maker - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/kajfghlhfkcocafkcjlajldicbikpgnp?hl=en-US
- Request Maker is a tool for penetration testing. With it you can easily capture requests made by web pages, tamper with the URL, headers and POST data and, of course, make new requests
- Cookie Editor - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/fngmhnnpilhplaeedifhccceomclgfbg?hl=en-US
- Edit This Cookie is a cookie manager. You can add, delete, edit, search, protect and block cookies
- Cookie swap - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/dffhipnliikkblkhpjapbecpmoilcama?hl=en-US
- Swap My Cookies is a session manager, it manages cookies, letting you login on any website with several different accounts.
- Firebug lite for Chrome"" - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/bmagokdooijbeehmkpknfglimnifench
- Firebug Lite is not a substitute for Firebug, or Chrome Developer Tools. It is a tool to be used in conjunction with these tools. Firebug Lite provides the rich visual representation we are used to see in Firebug when it comes to HTML elements, DOM elements, and Box Model shading. It provides also some cool features like inspecting HTML elements with your mouse, and live editing CSS properties
- Session Manager"" - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/bbcnbpafconjjigibnhbfmmgdbbkcjfi
- With Session Manager you can quickly save your current browser state and reload it whenever necessary. You can manage multiple sessions, rename or remove them from the session library. Each session remembers the state of the browser at its creation time, i.e the opened tabs and windows.
- Subgraph Vega - http://www.subgraph.com/products.html
- Vega is a free and open source scanner and testing platform to test the security of web applications. Vega can help you find and validate SQL Injection, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), inadvertently disclosed sensitive information, and other vulnerabilities. It is written in Java, GUI based, and runs on Linux, OS X, and Windows.
Testing for specific vulnerabilities
Testing for JavaScript Security, DOM XSS
- BlueClosure BC Detect - http://www.blueclosure.com
Testing AJAX
Testing for SQL Injection
- OWASP SQLiX
- Sqlninja: a SQL Server Injection & Takeover Tool - http://sqlninja.sourceforge.net
- Bernardo Damele A. G.: sqlmap, automatic SQL injection tool - http://sqlmap.org/
- Absinthe 1.1 (formerly SQLSqueal) - http://sourceforge.net/projects/absinthe/
- SQLInjector - Uses inference techniques to extract data and determine the backend database server. http://www.databasesecurity.com/sql-injector.htm
- Bsqlbf-v2: A perl script allows extraction of data from Blind SQL Injections - http://code.google.com/p/bsqlbf-v2/
- Pangolin: An automatic SQL injection penetration testing tool - http://www.darknet.org.uk/2009/05/pangolin-automatic-sql-injection-tool/
- Antonio Parata: Dump Files by sql inference on Mysql - SqlDumper - http://www.ruizata.com/
- Multiple DBMS Sql Injection tool - SQL Power Injector - http://www.sqlpowerinjector.com/
- MySql Blind Injection Bruteforcing, Reversing.org - sqlbftools - http://packetstormsecurity.org/files/43795/sqlbftools-1.2.tar.gz.html
Testing Oracle
- TNS Listener tool (Perl) - http://www.jammed.com/%7Ejwa/hacks/security/tnscmd/tnscmd-doc.html
- Toad for Oracle - http://www.quest.com/toad
Testing SSL
- Foundstone SSL Digger - http://www.mcafee.com/us/downloads/free-tools/ssldigger.aspx
- O-Saft - https://www.owasp.org/index.php/O-Saft
- sslyze - https://github.com/iSECPartners/sslyze
- TestSSLServer - http://www.bolet.org/TestSSLServer/
- SSLScan - http://sourceforge.net/projects/sslscan/
- SSLScan windows - https://github.com/rbsec/sslscan/releases
- SSLLabs - https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/
- High-Tech Bridge ImmuniWeb SSLScan - https://www.htbridge.com/ssl/
Testing for Brute Force Password
- THC Hydra - http://www.thc.org/thc-hydra/
- John the Ripper - http://www.openwall.com/john/
- Brutus - http://www.hoobie.net/brutus/
- Medusa - http://www.foofus.net/~jmk/medusa/medusa.html
- Ncat - http://nmap.org/ncat/
- HashCat - http://hashcat.net/hashcat/#features-algos
- fgdump - http://foofus.net/goons/fizzgig/fgdump/
- Password Dictionary - https://crackstation.net/buy-crackstation-wordlist-password-cracking-dictionary.htm
Testing Buffer Overflow
- OllyDbg - http://www.ollydbg.de
- "A windows based debugger used for analyzing buffer overflow vulnerabilities"
- Spike - http://www.immunitysec.com/downloads/SPIKE2.9.tgz
- A fuzzer framework that can be used to explore vulnerabilities and perform length testing
- Brute Force Binary Tester (BFB) - http://bfbtester.sourceforge.net
- A proactive binary checker
- Metasploit - http://www.metasploit.com/
- A rapid exploit development and Testing frame work
- OWASP WSFuzzer
- Wfuzz - http://www.darknet.org.uk/2007/07/wfuzz-a-tool-for-bruteforcingfuzzing-web-applications/
- Bishop Fox's Google Hacking Diggity Project - http://www.bishopfox.com/resources/tools/google-hacking-diggity/
- Foundstone Sitedigger (Google cached fault-finding) - http://www.mcafee.com/us/downloads/free-tools/sitedigger.aspx
- Google Hacking database - https://www.exploit-db.com/google-hacking-database/
Slow HTTP
- Slowloris http://ckers.org/slowloris
- slowhttptest https://github.com/shekyan/slowhttptest
Commercial Black Box Testing tools
- NGS Typhon III - http://www.nccgroup.com/en/our-services/security-testing-audit-compliance/information-security-software/ngs-typhon-iii/
- NGSSQuirreL - http://www.nccgroup.com/en/our-services/security-testing-audit-compliance/information-security-software/ngs-squirrel-vulnerability-scanners/
- IBM AppScan - http://www-01.ibm.com/software/awdtools/appscan/
- Trustwave App Scanner (Formerly Cenzic Hailstorm) - https://www.trustwave.com/Products/Application-Security/App-Scanner-Family/App-Scanner-Enterprise/
- Burp Intruder - http://www.portswigger.net/burp/intruder.html
- Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner - http://www.acunetix.com
- Sleuth - http://www.sandsprite.com
- NT Objectives NTOSpider - http://www.ntobjectives.com/products/ntospider.php
- MaxPatrol Security Scanner - http://www.maxpatrol.com
- Ecyware GreenBlue Inspector - http://www.ecyware.com
- Parasoft SOAtest (more QA-type tool)- http://www.parasoft.com/jsp/products/soatest.jsp?itemId=101
- MatriXay - http://www.dbappsecurity.com/webscan.html
- N-Stalker Web Application Security Scanner - http://www.nstalker.com
- HP WebInspect - http://www.hpenterprisesecurity.com/products/hp-fortify-software-security-center/hp-webinspect
- SoapUI (Web Service security testing) - http://www.soapui.org/Security/getting-started.html
- Netsparker - http://www.mavitunasecurity.com/netsparker/
- SAINT - http://www.saintcorporation.com/
- QualysGuard WAS - http://www.qualys.com/enterprises/qualysguard/web-application-scanning/
- Indusface WAS- https://www.indusface.com/products/application-security/web-application-scanning
- Retina Web - http://www.eeye.com/Products/Retina/Web-Security-Scanner.aspx
Linux Distrubtion
- PenTestBox https://tools.pentestbox.com/
- Samurai https://sourceforge.net/p/samurai/wiki/Home/
- Santoku https://sourceforge.net/projects/santoku/
- ParrotSecurity https://sourceforge.net/projects/parrotsecurity/?source=navbar
- Kali https://www.kali.org/
- Matriux https://sourceforge.net/projects/matriux/?source=navbar
- BlackArch http://www.blackarch.org/downloads.html
- Cyborg Hawk Linux http://cyborg.ztrela.com/tools/
- PenToo http://www.pentoo.ch/download/
- bugtraq http://bugtraq-team.com/
Source Code Analyzers
Open Source / Freeware
- Owasp Orizon
- OWASP O2 Platform
- OWASP WAP-Web Application Protection
- Boon - http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~daw/boon
- FindBugs - http://findbugs.sourceforge.net
- Find Security Bugs - https://find-sec-bugs.github.io/
- FlawFinder - http://www.dwheeler.com/flawfinder
- Google CodeSearchDiggity - http://www.bishopfox.com/resources/tools/google-hacking-diggity/attack-tools/
- phpcs-security-audit - https://github.com/FloeDesignTechnologies/phpcs-security-audit
- PMD - http://pmd.sourceforge.net/
- Microsoft's FxCop
- .NET Security Guard - https://dotnet-security-guard.github.io/
- Oedipus - http://www.darknet.org.uk/2006/06/oedipus-open-source-web-application-security-analysis/
- Puma Scan - https://pumascan.com
- Splint - http://splint.org
- SonarQube - http://sonarqube.org
- W3af - http://w3af.sourceforge.net/
- RIPS Open Source - http://rips-scanner.sourceforge.net/
- RIPS - https://www.ripstech.com/product/
- Armorize CodeSecure - http://www.armorize.com/index.php?link_id=codesecure
- Parasoft C/C++ test - http://www.parasoft.com/jsp/products/cpptest.jsp/index.htm
- Checkmarx CxSuite - http://www.checkmarx.com
- HP Fortify - http://www.hpenterprisesecurity.com/products/hp-fortify-software-security-center/hp-fortify-static-code-analyzer
- GrammaTech CodeSonar - http://www.grammatech.com
- ITS4 - http://seclab.cs.ucdavis.edu/projects/testing/tools/its4.html
- Appscan - http://www-01.ibm.com/software/rational/products/appscan/source/
- ParaSoft - http://www.parasoft.com
- Puma Scan Professional - https://pumascanpro.com
- Virtual Forge CodeProfiler for ABAP - http://www.virtualforge.de
- Veracode - http://www.veracode.com
- Armorize CodeSecure - http://www.armorize.com/codesecure/
- Peach Fuzzer - http://www.peachfuzzer.com/
- Burp Suite - https://portswigger.net/burp/
Acceptance Testing Tools
Acceptance testing tools are used to validate the functionality of web applications. Some follow a scripted approach and typically make use of a Unit Testing framework to construct test suites and test cases. Most, if not all, can be adapted to perform security specific tests in addition to functional tests.
- BDD Security - https://github.com/continuumsecurity/bdd-security
Open Source Tools
- WATIR - http://wtr.rubyforge.org
- A Ruby based web testing framework that provides an interface into Internet Explorer.
- Windows only.
- HtmlUnit - http://htmlunit.sourceforge.net
- A Java and JUnit based framework that uses the Apache HttpClient as the transport.
- Very robust and configurable and is used as the engine for a number of other testing tools.
- jWebUnit - http://jwebunit.sourceforge.net
- A Java based meta-framework that uses htmlunit or selenium as the testing engine.
- Canoo Webtest - http://webtest.canoo.com
- An XML based testing tool that provides a facade on top of htmlunit.
- No coding is necessary as the tests are completely specified in XML.
- There is the option of scripting some elements in Groovy if XML does not suffice.
- Very actively maintained.
- HttpUnit - http://httpunit.sourceforge.net
- One of the first web testing frameworks, suffers from using the native JDK provided HTTP transport, which can be a bit limiting for security testing.
- Watij - http://watij.com
- A Java implementation of WATIR.
- Windows only because it uses IE for its tests (Mozilla integration is in the works).
- Solex - http://solex.sourceforge.net
- An Eclipse plugin that provides a graphical tool to record HTTP sessions and make assertions based on the results.
- Selenium - http://seleniumhq.org/
- JavaScript based testing framework, cross-platform and provides a GUI for creating tests.
- Mature and popular tool, but the use of JavaScript could hamper certain security tests.
Other Tools
Runtime Analysis
- Rational PurifyPlus - http://www-01.ibm.com/software/awdtools/purify/
- Seeker by Quotium - http://www.quotium.com/prod/security.php
Binary Analysis
- BugScam IDC Package - http://sourceforge.net/projects/bugscam
- Veracode - http://www.veracode.com
Requirements Management
- Rational Requisite Pro - http://www-306.ibm.com/software/awdtools/reqpro
Site Mirroring
- wget - http://www.gnu.org/software/wget, http://www.interlog.com/~tcharron/wgetwin.html
- curl - http://curl.haxx.se
- Sam Spade - http://www.samspade.org
- Xenu's Link Sleuth - http://home.snafu.de/tilman/xenulink.html


text:
Okay. The movies "Argo" and "Life of Pi" and the actors Daniel Day Lewis and Jennifer Lawrence were among the winners at last night's Academy Awards. NPR's Mandalit Del Barco was backstage.
MANDALIT DEL BARCO: It wasn't a Hollywood star who announced this year's Best Picture. That honor went to First Lady Michelle Obama via satellite from the White House.
MICHELLE OBAMA: And the Oscar goes to "Argo."
BARCO: The three producers of the Iranian hostage crisis movie bounded onstage to accept their golden Oscars. George Clooney, Grant Heslov and director Ben Affleck, who reminded the audience he once won a screenplay award for the movie "Good Will Hunting."
BEN AFFLECK: I was here 15 years ago, or something, and I had no idea what I was doing. I stood out here in front of you all, really just a kid and I went out, you know, and I never thought that I would be back here, and I am.
BARCO: Affleck's was the story of the comeback kid, a sort of sweet turnabout for his not being nominated in the Best Director category.
AFFLECK: Can't hold grudges. It's hard, but you can't hold grudges.
BARCO: Though Affleck and his film had swept other award shows, not getting an Academy nod for directing still loomed. Backstage, he joked about it with Clooney.
AFFLECK: Naturally, I was disappointed, and a lot of people said, oh, something was going to happen. But when I look at the directors who were, you know, people who weren't nominated as well - I look at Paul Thomas Anderson or Kathryn Bigelow, it's just amazing, you know, or Tom Hooper and Quentin Tarantino, you know, these are all directors who I admire enormously. So it was just a very tough year.
GEORGE CLOONEY: You were in good company not to be nominated.
AFFLECK: Exactly. The five on the bench.
BARCO: Quentin Tarantino also hadn't been nominated for directing "DJango Unchained," but he did get an Oscar for writing the best original screenplay.
JAMIE FOXX: (As Django) Kill white folks and they pay you for it. What's not to like. I like the way you die, boy.
LEONARDO DICAPRIO: (As Calvin Candie) He is a rambunctious soul.
CHRISTOPH WALTZ: (As Dr. King Schultz) What's your name?
FOXX: (As Django) Django - the D is silent.
BARCO: Backstage, Tarantino acknowledged his story about a freed slave turned bounty hunter was controversial for its subject matter and the use of the N word.
QUENTIN TARANTINO: All that criticism that came out, it ended up being kind of a good thing, because one of the things that I wanted to do is I wanted to actually start a conversation about slavery, about America's role in it and to actually take an audience member from the 21st century and stick them in the Antebellum South. And that back and forth is really what I really wanted for the end of the day of this movie, and I...
BARCO: "Django Unchained" also earned a Best Supporting Actor win for Christoph Waltz. The man who did win for its directing, Ang Lee, looked skyward when picking up his award.
ANG LEE: Thank you, movie god.
BARCO: Lee thanked his actors and the team who made his film "Life of Pi" come to life. Backstage, he said the expensive movie was made in Taiwan. The Oscar-winning visual effects house that created the CG tiger in the movie went bankrupt.
LEE: I think it's a miracle that I could make this movie, and then I carried the anxiety for a very long time, for four years. It's a philosophical book and an expensive movie so that's one of the worst combinations, most scary one, and to see how it was played out in the world. so coming in tonight, I just thought everything is good, it's all good.
BARCO: It was all very good for Best Actor Daniel Day Lewis who won his third Best Actor Oscar for playing the U.S.'s 16th president. He thanked three men, including the film's screenwriter and director.
DANIEL DAY LEWIS: Tony Kushner, our beloved Skipper, Steven Spielberg; and the mysteriously beautiful mind, body and spirit of Abraham Lincoln.
BARCO: The British actor told reporters that portraying the American president was somewhat intimidating.
LEWIS: It certainly had a paralyzing quality, the thought that if we got it wrong, which was, you know, perfectly possible, quite likely even, that I might never be able to show my face in this country again.
BARCO: "Lincoln" had been nominated for 12 Oscars, but ended up getting only two for Day Lewis and for the film's production design. "Silver Linings Playbook" won only one award, but a big one.
JEAN DUJARDIN: Jennifer Lawrence.
BARCO: The year's Best Actress winner was genuinely shocked when her name was announced and on her way up the stairs to accept the award, she spectacularly tripped on her pale pink Dior dress and got a standing ovation.
JENNIFER LAWRENCE: You guys are just standing up 'cause you feel bad that I fell and that's really embarrassing, but thank you. This is nuts.
BARCO: Backstage, a reporter asked the 22-year-old if winning the award so early in her career was really such a good thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: You're not worried about peaking too soon?
LAWRENCE: Well, now I am. God.
BARCO: After winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, Anne Hathaway shared an emotional moment backstage.
ANNE HATHAWAY: I had a dream - and it came true and that can happen. And that's wonderful and so that was all I was saying, was that it can and it did.
HATHAWAY: (As Fantine) (Singing) I dreamed a dream in time gone by when hope was high and life worth living...
BARCO: During the telecast, Hathaway and the cast of "Les Miserables" joined onstage to sing. In fact, this year's show was filled with music, Barbra Streisand, Jennifer Hudson and Nora Jones. And in tribute to 50 years of James Bond movies, award-winner Adele and Shirley Bassey sang the "007 theme."
SHIRLEY BASSEY AND ADELE: (Singing) Goldfinger, he's the man, the man with the Midas touch, a spider's touch.
BARCO: This year's host, Seth MacFarlane also came out with a few musical numbers, including one celebrating actresses' cleavage and he delivered more than a few jokes at Hollywood's expense, like this one about "Django Unchained."
SETH MACFARLANE: This is the story about of a man fighting to get back his woman who's been subjected to unthinkable violence, or as Chris Brown and Rihanna call it, a date movie. Oh, oh no.
LINDA HOLMES, BYLINE: The jokes were terrible, the patter was terrible.
BARCO: NPR blogger Linda Holmes says she thought this was worst Oscars show she's ever seen.
LINDA HOLMES: There have been certainly some hosts in the past who've been boring. There have been some hosts in the past who have been awkward. But I think nobody has previously brought this combination of unfunny and, sort of, offensive to lots of different people.
BARCO: Even Star Trek's William Shatner came onscreen to make fun of MacFarlane's hosting.
WILLIAM SHATNER: Your jokes are tasteless and inappropriate and everyone ends up hating you. Why couldn't they just get Tina and Amy to host the show?
BARCO: He was, of course, referring to Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who successfully hosted this year's Golden Globes Awards, but that's another story entirely. Mandalit Del Barco, NPR News, Hollywood.
ADELE: (Singing) Let the sky fall, when it crumbles, we will stand tall... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


text: Express is the must-have sexy, sophisticated fashion brand for work, the weekend, or going out. It's what's new and what's now for young fashion-forward women and men. We started more than thirty years ago as an experiment – an offshoot of another successful retail concept. There was nothing but opportunity in front of us and we took it. We aren't inventors – there are so few of those in the world of fashion today – nor are we imitators, that is far too easy. At Express, we are innovators. We find inspiration and trends from all over the world and interpret them in a way that is uniquely Express. And we have become the preferred destination for the latest trends. Express is a specialty apparel and accessories retailer of women's and men's merchandise, targeting the 20 to 30 year old customer. The Company has over 30 years of experience offering a distinct combination of fashion and quality for multiple lifestyle occasions at an attractive value addressing fashion needs across work, casual, jeanswear, and going-out occasions. The Company currently operates more than 600 retail stores, located primarily in high-traffic shopping malls, lifestyle centers, and street locations across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico; and also distributes its products through the Company's e-commerce website, www.express.com.


text:
Make your weeknight meals mouthwatering with this easy, Asian-inspired chicken and rice dish with only basic ingredients! A healthier and more delicious twist on takeout. You're gonna love it!
Last Friday my hubby stumbled home from a weeklong business trip, tired of working and traveling, and wanting home cookin'. Poor guy had to eat steaks and sushi all week on the company dime. It's a hard knock life.
That day, I whipped up this deliciousness in the Crock Pot only to forget that I, in fact, from work home and had to sit in my swivel chair, seduced by its aroma for hours on end. The air, tangy-sweet and savory, had just about convinced me to gnaw on my arm when – ding! – done. Four hours to finished perfection in a pot! And I didn't have to do a dang thing but whip up a marinade and flip a switch.
This Asian-inspired take on tasty, slow-simmered comfort food is so easy and absolutely delish! Plus, sometimes there's no time for anything more than setting it and forgetting it. Forgetting it is a little tough when it smells this good, though.
Try this scrumptious honey sesame chicken and keep dinner simple, folks. All you need are a bunch of basic ingredients and a patient sense of smell!
Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken
- 6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs or 4 chicken breasts , (2 lbs. total)
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 packets minute rice, optional
- 1/2 tablespoon (or more) sesame seeds
- 3 scallions, chopped
- Place chicken in Crock Pot and lightly season both sides with salt and pepper.
- In a medium bowl, combine onion, garlic, honey, ketchup, soy sauce, oil and red pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3-4 hours, or high for 2 hours.
- Remove chicken to a cutting board, leaving sauce. Shred chicken into bite-sized pieces; set aside. Prepare rice according to package instructions.
- In a small bowl, dissolve 4 teaspoons cornstarch in 1/3 cup water; add to crock pot. Stir to combine with sauce. Cover and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes, or until slightly thickened.
- Add cooked rice to 4 plates, top with chicken and spoon sauce over top. Sprinkle evenly with sesame seeds and chopped scallions.
- Enjoy!


text:
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
There are many mysteries in the world of whiskey, but this is one of the biggest for me. Brown Forman is a hugely successful company. Why does their whiskey almost universally suck? I'm generally not a fan of Jim Beam, the other huge player in US whiskey, but there are products in their portfolio that I can enjoy, such as Old Grand-Dad 114, and they put out some great Scotch from Laphroaig and Ardmore. But with Brown Forman, their whiskey is just terrible. What's the deal?
If you're not familiar with the company, Brown Forman is one of the biggest selling whiskey producers in the United States. They own three whiskey distilleries (Brown Forman, Woodford Reserve and Jack Daniel's). They also own Canadian Mist, Finlandia Vodka, El Jimador and Herradura Tequila and Southern Comfort.
They clearly know spirits and marketing, so why does their whiskey suck so much? It's easy to reflexively answer that they are just too big, but Diageo is an even bigger company, and it owns some distilleries that are making excellent whiskey.
The three Brown Forman whiskey distilleries are very different. Jack Daniel's is their cash cow. I can understand it sucking, and I don't complain about it. It doesn't need to taste good because it sells on its well crafted mystique. Rock stars, bikers and hipsters all agree that the black bottle of Old No. 7 is cool, and they'd like a t-shirt and some barbecue sauce to go with it. I've never met a Jack product I liked, but given the role the brand plays, that's okay.
Woodford Reserve is the polar opposite of Jack. It's a small distillery making pot still whiskey which does a limited experimental release each year. It's essentially a corporate owned microdistillery. The only problem is, their whiskey runs from mediocre to terrible. Experimentation is all well and good but if you don't start with good whiskey, you aren't going to end up with good whiskey. Garbage in, garbage out.
The eponymously named Brown Forman distillery is mid-way between Jack and Woodford, an industrial distillery but not one that produces on anywhere near the scale of Jack Daniel's. This is where they make Old Forester, a mediocre mid-range bourbon and Early Times, a lower end American Whiskey (bourbon stored in used barrels) which now also has a bourbon label. These whiskeys are boring, boring, boring. Some whiskey fans do like the annual Old Forester Birthday Bourbon. While that is undoubtedly the best bourbon that comes out of Brown Forman, I've never been as excited about it as some others. It just never seems that distinctive.
While Brown Forman has some special releases, one notable thing is that they never seem to release anything at barrel strength. In fact, their only regular higher proof offering is the Old Forester Signature at 50% abv (last year saw a Jack Daniel's special release, the Holiday Select, also at 50%). I'm not one of those people who thinks nothing under cask strength is worthwhile, but I am suspicious about a distillery that never releases anything at cask strength. It's as if they don't believe in the quality of their whiskey in its purest form.
The tragic thing is that Old Forester used to be lovely stuff. For last week's Dusty Thursday, I tasted a bottle from the 1970s that was just wonderful, with more complexity than anything they are doing today. I've had bottles from the 1950s that have an intense, chewy, cigar butt note that reminds me of a well aged Zinfandel. It saddens me that this once great bourbon is a shadow of its former self.
I suppose there is no use in encouraging one of the most successful whiskey companies in the country to change its game, but success is more than balance sheets. I want to see Brown Forman do more than succeed. I want to see them make whiskey worth drinking.
34 comments:
- Thirsty South said...
I tend to agree with you - not a fan of Woodford or Jim or Jack... with one exception. I've had a couple of very good bottles of the single barrel Jack Daniel's that prove that there is something good in those warehouses in Lynchburg. In fact, I tasted from a range of single barrels when I was in Lynchburg, and one stood out from the rest as much better - more balanced, more nuanced, simply better all around - even though there were three barrels that were all from the exact same "batch" and same barrel date. Proves that the place in the warehouse and the specific barrel itself do play a major role in the final product.
- January 10, 2012 at 6:16 PM
- AaronWF said...
The Brown Forman distillery also makes Rittenhouse Rye for Heaven Hill. The Bottled in Bond Rittenhouse is pretty universally heralded as a delicious bargain. The BiB Mellow Corn is also supposed to be a treat at less than $15, and is again made for Heaven Hill. Are you a fan, Sku?
I haven't had Woodford in ages, but I did very much enjoy the 2010 Old Forester Bday Bourbon; I thought it was worth its $40 sticker price.
You bring up an interesting point about the lack of a cask strength release... Come to think of it, do they do any single barrel offerings at all? I don't think I've ever seen any hand-picked retail barrels like I see for most Buffalo Trace whiskeys, a few Heaven Hill products, and of course Four Roses. - January 10, 2012 at 8:13 PM
- sku said...
ThirstySouth and Aaron, great comments. Thanks!
I have no doubt that BF can make good whiskey and I've had some good Brown Forman whiskeys that were independently bottled. And I do like Rittenhouse (but that was a contract job made to Heaven Hill's specs).
The real question is why do they put out mostly crap. The fact that there is some good whiskey in there makes it all the more odd that so much of what they release is so bad.
Aaron, the only single barrel I know of is the JDSB. I haven't liked the ones I've had, but with single barrels there is always variance. I don't think I've ever seen retail bottles.
It will interesting to see what the new Woodford Double Oaked will be like, but based on all the other Woodfords, I'm not holding my breath. - January 10, 2012 at 8:24 PM
- Florin said...
Sku, I second Aaron that the OFBB 2010 is a really special whiskey -- in my books better than most or all bourbon I've had, and that includes the entire Jim Beam range. I have a few stashed away, to be opened at strategic times. I've also found JD green very drinkable, on its own terms. Never had the Woodford yet, and it sounds like I shouldn't hurry.
- January 10, 2012 at 10:50 PM
- Ryan said...
Sku, I understand that some people don't like Jack, and as a whole I kindof agree with your post, but I'm not sure it's fair to say that Jack sucks, and that it's just an advertising trick. Old No. 7 is a tad underage and also a tad thin, but otherwise I think it's a high quality and enjoyable whiskey. Personally, I like Jack more than I like George Dickel (8 or 12), and I assure you it's not just because of advertising: I actually dislike all the large corporations and their advertising and try to avoid them. So, is there really a reason you think Jack sucks, or do you just not like it?
- January 11, 2012 at 6:23 AM
- SteveBM said...
Agreed on JD and JB being something that I avoid in all situations except when stuck on an airplane and JD or JBBlack are the only options. I do like the JB small batch bourbons though.
As for Woodford, if the flagship brand is what you label as "mediocre" and their experimentals as "terrible" than I might agree with the exception being that I really enjoyed the Seasoned Oak Finish experimental that they did a few years back. The flagship Woodford is one of those bourbons that I can drink on the rocks and not really have to think about which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
I also just tried OFBB (paid $32 which I thought was a good deal) and really enjoyed it. Nice flavor and smooth sippin' sauce for sure.
You do raise a good question about why BF has never released anything barrel strength or even single barrel (JDSB being the exception). But I think the answer to your question is pretty simple - MONEY. It's a large corporation that's made bank on releasing product with flavor profiles that paint a broad stroke for the consumer and sell at a relatively low price point. That's the business model and since it seems to be successful for them, there is probably little desire for change. Why compete in the premium market when you don't really need to? - January 11, 2012 at 7:20 AM
- sku said...
I do not like Jack Daniel's.
I would not drink it in a boat.
I would not drink it with a goat.
I would not drink it in a tree.
I do not like JDSB.
I may not run with the pack,
but I don't even like Gentleman Jack.
Okay, even if (unlike me) you like some of BF whiskeys, have they made anything you would consider great? - January 11, 2012 at 7:52 AM
- Regular Chumpington said...
@SteveBM - Seasoned Oak was the only Woodford I've ever liked. They say Double Oaked is supposed to have been inspired by that - let's see if it holds. However, at $50 for a standard offering, that's one I'm going to split way before I would ever buy a bottle. If way too many bottles of Master's and a standard WR bottle that refuses to die have taught me anything, it's that if it's got Woodford on the label, it'll probably be a disappointment.
@Ryan - I don't think Jack sucks, but the last few I've had have been so utterly forgettable and bland... much like Devil's Cut I think I just nothing Jack. Don't like, don't hate, because there's nothing much there to begin with. - January 11, 2012 at 7:54 AM
- Ryan said...
Conceded: Nothing great. But, I really do like JDSB. It's a truly good sippin' bourbon: 47% abv, non chill filtered. I think its flavorful and enjoyable. If it were $5 or so cheaper it would be a regular for me.
RC: Agreed not much going on with Old No. 7, but that is remedied with the single barrel.
Old Forester does suck (haven't tried the Birthday, though), and Woodford doesn't suck but it's way too expensive for what you get. - January 11, 2012 at 8:35 AM
2010 Old Forester Birthday Bourbon smells gross. "It's a formidable scent... It stings the nostrils." And tastes like, "it's made with bits of real panther." Remains the only bourbon that I've immediately poured down a sink after one sniff/sip.
- January 11, 2012 at 8:54 AM
Brown Forman has figured out the dirty little secret of the American whiskey industry:
Quality has little effect on sales.
You can't get rich in the American whiskey market by making a higher quality product. - January 11, 2012 at 9:00 AM
- SteveBM said...
@Sku I'd have to agree that they've produced nothing that I down and out love to drink.
@RC Agreed on the dollar for Double Oak. I passed on trying the ryes they put out this year because of the ridiculous price of what is a total experiment. Truth be told, I think the same of Buffalo Trace's experimentals - waste of $$ that could be spent on something much better at likely a lower cost.
@Tim I'd probably add the word "mass" into your statement so it read - Quality has little effect on mass sales. - January 11, 2012 at 11:12 AM
- BMc said...
Oh great, I just bought a bottle of Old Forester Signature as a bottom-shelfer to replace my Evan Williams Single Barrel. So this sucks, too? I haven't tried it yet.
- January 11, 2012 at 11:20 AM
- Ryan said...
BMc: Sorry bud, Old Forester is a big step down from Evan Williams Black Label... let alone single barrel.
- January 11, 2012 at 11:54 AM
- BMc said...
Your hate just nourishes BF. They spice their whiskey with the hateful tears of whiskey enthusiasts.
- January 11, 2012 at 12:36 PM
- Ryan said...
Must be why it tastes so bad :-P
- January 11, 2012 at 12:54 PM
- BMc said...
I did, I believe, pick up on a sour taste in the Woodford Reserve :)
- January 11, 2012 at 2:04 PM
- Regular Chumpington said...
Yeah, the sour taste is just from the yeast they use. The tears are what give Woodford its signature Old Fashioned Suckin' On A Ha'penny Just Like Yer Granpappy's Granpappy Usedta metallic tang.
- January 11, 2012 at 3:10 PM
No one has yet offered any sort of answer to your primary question, Sku, "Why does B-F whiskey suck so much?"
I'll head in this direction. Every distillery brags about the breadth and depth of the experience of their master distiller, many of them having come of age under the tutelage of their father and his father before him. It's my understanding that the MD at B-F had been in marketing and sales for the better part of his career before being appointed "master distiller."
I have absolutely nothing against Chris Morris, but he did not grow up enmeshed in the distilling culture and does not appear to have any sort of practical distilling (or chemistry, or fermentation science) pedigree, so what, exactly, are his qualifications for that crucial position?
And if it isn't a crucial position, why does every other distillery, almost unilaterally, treat it as such?
I would think that this may more accurately reflect the corporate culture at B-F, which would make TWO reasons that they consistently underachieve in their pursuit of mediocrity.
I'll say again that I remember when every print ad for JD used to read "90 proof by choice." The current status of that make reflects a mindset of money over substance that I can't support in good conscience.
Maybe they should hire a Beam, like damn near everyone else. - January 11, 2012 at 4:49 PM
- sku said...
Great point Sam! Thanks, as always, for your thoughtful comments.
- January 11, 2012 at 4:52 PM
- Jason Pyle said...
Great post as always SKU. I think your post would be better titled as, "Why Does Brown Forman not release great whiskey", but that's a crap title I realize. These guys have to have great whiskey in their stocks - just have to. It's not possible they do not. I find Woodford a Very Good whiskey. I find Jack Daniels Old No. 7 on the good/very good bubble. Jack Daniels Single Barrel, as you mention, is something with variance, but the bottles I've had have been very good.
BUT BUT BUT, to your point however, they do not have a GREAT whiskey out there. Not even close. Old Forester 2010 after 3 years of absolute mediocrity at best, was an excellent whiskey. It's the only one I can think of in years. Aaron's point on Rittenhouse is well taken, but clearly that was too good for them to put their name on it (I kid, but you get my point).
So, to summarize, your post title is quite bold, but your point is right on. Release the great shit Brown Forman! You have it. I know you do. The people want it. Raise the proof, age the shit barrels longer and see what happens, or keep them out of the blend entirely. Just give us something that holds its head up with the likes of what Four Roses, Buffalo Trace, and others are doing.
Make your money on the stuff you need to, but don't disregard those of us that want to taste the best of what you have. Can you answer that call? - January 11, 2012 at 6:40 PM
- BMc said...
"Yeah, the sour taste is just from the yeast they use. The tears are what give Woodford its signature Old Fashioned Suckin' On A Ha'penny Just Like Yer Granpappy's Granpappy Usedta metallic tang."
Oh, that Gramps, always losing teeth! - January 11, 2012 at 6:48 PM
- BMc said...
Well, for a glorified PR firm, they've made an odd choice by owning a "microdistillery" with pot stills. Sure, they can pitch its uniqueness, but why in the world would they have picked that unless they knew something about whiskey?
Or maybe they had their business meetings with Mr. Jameson and that's ALL they knew about whiskey.
I don't like the Brown Forman stuff I've had, and I see your points. But you could say (almost) the same about Heaven Hill - other than the Parker's Heritage line, which is recent, what prestige whiskey do they make? Their web site opens with a bunch of girls getting wasted on Hypnotiq vodka. - January 11, 2012 at 7:00 PM
Jason, great points. I think you hit the nail on the head (though I'm not so sure there is great whiskey at Woodford).
BMc, I don't think Heaven Hill is at all comparable; in fact, I think Heaven Hill is one of the distilleries (along with BT and Four Roses) that is really doing right by whiskey lovers(though as with all of them, there is some variability in their lineup and things I wish they'd do better).
Parker's Heritage releases ranges from very good to excellent. Elijah Craig and Rittenhouse are great whiskeys as well. I even like the $13 Pikesville Rye quite a bit and enjoy Bernheim Wheat as well. These are whiskeys far better than anything coming out of Brown Forman. Heck, I would choose Old Heaven Hill BIB over most Brown Forman whiskeys. - January 11, 2012 at 7:22 PM
I agree with your opinions. If you look at www.thewhiskyexchange.com, a store in London, you'll see versions of JD that you'll never see in the US. I think I read somewhere that 60% of JD is sold outside the US. I think they keep these versions out of the US because they don't want to ruin the brand name for the bulk of the JD customers. Remember clear pepsi? what if everybody in India loved it. It would be smart for pepsi to sell it in india and keep it out of the US.
Anyway, a friend is getting me a bottle of JD Silver Select from europe to try. I'll let you know if its a "honey barrel". - January 11, 2012 at 7:56 PM
- BMc said...
Sku, do you think those are great whiskeys, or good whiskeys that are great for the money? Would you pay double for them?
- January 12, 2012 at 5:45 AM
- Connoissaurus said...
I have to agree Brown Forman whiskeys are absolute crap. The main thing I can't get over is the fruity banana aroma that basically kills any chance of me every liking anything they make.
The new WR Ryes were probably the biggest letdown in recent history. There are only a handful of whiskeys out there I actually consider to be trash and those were two of them! - February 6, 2012 at 1:20 PM
I seem to recall from a Chuck Cowdery post that Evan Williams Single Barrel 1998 and 1999 were made at Brown-Forman. However I'm going to assume that like Rittenhouse, those two were also made to Heaven Hill's specs.
- April 27, 2012 at 1:38 PM
Didn't B-F sell Southern Comfort (and Tuaca) to Sazerac some months back?
- April 27, 2016 at 1:30 PM
- sku said...
Yes. This post is from 2012.
- April 27, 2016 at 1:37 PM
- sku said...
Dude, this post is more than six years old.
- March 3, 2018 at 3:53 PM
- Unknown said...
Yeah, Jason, this is long ago. Their rye hadn't even been released, let alone the single barrel. They've really brought their A game in the last couple years with the rye and the whiskey row series.
- December 10, 2018 at 6:25 AM
This post hasn't aged well
- April 28, 2020 at 3:58 PM
- Sku said...
The post was very true at the time (see the comments - not much disagreement), and it shows how much BF has gotten their ass in gear since then. Good for them!
- April 29, 2020 at 4:47 AM


text:
June 15, 2003
This is the prologue to the book The Bullet or the Bribe: Taking Down Colombia's Cali Drug Cartel by Ron Chepesiuk, the story of the rise of the powerful Cali Cartel and the long and often frustrating campaign that U.S. and international law enforcement waged to take it down. The book details the cartel's rise to international prominence and the lifestyles of its godfathers, its efforts to buy Colombia, its death struggle with legendary Colombian drug trafficker Pablo Escobar, its brilliant strategy to portray itself as the kinder, gentler drug cartel from Colombia, and the mistakes that ultimately led to the crumbling of its well-oiled organization. The book will be published by Praeger, a member of the Greenwood Publishing Group, in the fall of 2003.
"It's similar to, maybe, baking a cake."
— David Karasiewski, Forensic Chemist, DEA
The call that launched the biggest drug trafficking investigation in New York State Police (NYSP) history came on April 12, 1985. Bob Sears, a DEA agent in the Albany office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), groped for the switch on the bed lamp and squinted at the alarm clock on the end table. It was a little past 2 a.m. Sears fumbled with the phone and blurted: "This better be important."
The caller was Ken Cook, a friend for years, but Cook was also an investigator assigned to the Major Crime Units of Troop Six, NYSP, and he had worked with Sears on many joint investigations. This was no social call.
"There has been an explosion at a farm house in Minden," Cook explained. "We don´t know what happened. It could be a bomb factory...a meth lab. Barrels of chemicals are all over the place. It´s a mess. Maybe the DEA needs to go out and take a look." 1
Sears yawned and rubbed his warm bed. He had a better idea. "Come on, Ken, it´s almost morning. Can´t we sleep on it ´til tomorrow?" 2
But Cook persisted. "No, we need to go out there tonight while the scene is still hot." Sears knew well what Cook meant. Often, he would go out to a crime scene only to find that some young cop fresh out of the academy had left his hoof and paw prints all over the place. 3
Sears dragged himself out of bed, got dressed and drove out to the State Police Barracks in downtown Albany to rendezvous with Cook. During the one-hour drive to the farm, Sears and Cook speculated about what had happened. A bomb explosion did not make much sense, but neither did the meth lab theory. Minden was a small, sleepy hamlet of a few thousand inhabitants in upstate New York that seldom gave law enforcement much trouble. In fact, Cook could not recall when an incident in the Minden area looked serious enough to have an officer forsake his sleep and come out in the dead of night to investigate. Yeah, it was some other kind of accident, all right, but what? 4
At the scene, the bitter smell of chemicals permeated the air and almost singed the hair in their nostrils. About 50 to 75 yards away from their car, a house or some kind of dwelling was on fire, and firemen were still trying to hose it down. It was mass confusion, and none of the professionalism they hoped to see was in evidence. The firemen, Cook and Sears learned, where volunteers from the local county. Sure enough, the cops, who looked close to auditioning for a remake of a Keystones Cops movie, had not yet secured what could be a crime scene. Meanwhile, no crime scene investigators, akin to those seen on the popular TV series "CSI" had yet arrived to find the cause of the chaos and to see if there had been any loss of life. 5
Sears and Cook began poking around for themselves. In the wooden shed adjacent to the farmhouse they saw dozens of 55-gallon drums filled with chemicals they did not recognize. They took a quick peek inside a couple of the drums. Sears pulled out a pen and began to write down the names of the labels on his notepad. Some labels said acetone; others ether. Several drums had no labels. Nearby, they found case after case of what was labeled hydrochloric acid. There were also fire extinguishers, filter paper, gas masks, and bunches of hoses. They checked around the back of the shed and spotted a forklift.
They inspected the single-wide trailer about 50 yards away and observed a pot burning on the stove. The pot was hot and the liquid inside, still steaming. Something had been cooking within the last couple of hours. When the two investigators reached the farmhouse, they found walkie-talkies, drying racks, and what looked like financial ledgers. 6
What the hell do we have here?" Sears asked Cook. "It´s time I call the lab back at headquarters to see if they can tell us what the chemicals are." Sears marched back to the car and made the call. He described the scene and read off the names from his note pad. "What is it? What are we dealing with?" he asked. The answer made Sears wish he had not left his warm bed that night: " Jesus Christ, you´re in a cocaine-processing lab! Don´t touch anything or smell anything! Get the hell out of there! You can die!" 7
Sears and Cook lived. Later in the day, the NYSP got a search warrant. During the next several days, the NYSP and DEA worked closely together and began an extensive, professional investigation. DEA lab analysts examined the hundreds of pounds of the brown, burnt sludge found in the double-wide trailer, as well as the several pounds of the white, snowy looking material made soggy by the water from the firemen's hoses. They had a pretty good idea what it was, but it always good procedure to be thorough. 8
Their conclusion stunned the two law enforcement agencies. They had uncovered a massive cocaine-processing lab right in their back yard. Based on the amount of chemicals present, the lab could process about 250 kilos of cocaine, but as David Karasiewski, supervisory chemist at the DEA Mid Atlantic Laboratory in Washington, D.C., later testified, "Ether and acetone, the organic solvents used in the cocaine manufacturing process, can be used more times or several additional times. What I mean by this... if you have the proper glassware, you can continue to recycle these organic solvents." 9
But who was responsible for the cocaine lab? Who had the nerve, the organization, the know-how, the distribution network, the criminal enterprise to radically change the way drug trafficking is done? Cocaine, after all, is processed at labs in Colombia where the big drug trafficking syndicates known as cartels operated, not in rural USA. Traffickers had set up an extensive set of labs in the plains and jungle regions of Columbia, which they used to convert cocaine base to cocaine hydrochloride, or powdered cocaine. 10 The realization that the drug traffickers, wherever they came from, had transported cocaine paste to upstate New York to manufacture cocaine was mind blowing. Don't they have it backwards? Should they not first make the cocaine in Colombia and then ship the finished product to the U.S.?
That was the way it had been traditionally done, but in 1984, as the investigation following the Minden lab explosion revealed, the Colombian drug traffickers were changing their strategy, the result of intense pressure from the Colombian and U.S. governments. Rodrigo Lara Bonilla, the Colombian justice minister, had authorized a spectacular raid on a major cocaine processing plant known as Tranquilandia, located in Colombia´s barren southeast Llanos area in the Amazon Region and run by the powerful and violent Medellin Cartel. 11 The DEA had heard of a major shipment to Colombia of ether, a solvent like acetone and one of the essential ingredients in cocaine production. They secretly attached radio transmitters to two of the drums in the shipment and followed the signal via satellite from Chicago to Tranquilandia. The raid caught the traffickers by surprise. Forty workers were arrested and 10,000 barrels of chemicals and a billion dollars worth of cocaine confiscated. Soon afterwards, the price of cocaine on the street shot up, a sweet indication that the Tranquilandia operation had hurt the drug lords. 12
The Medellin cartel leadership was furious, and it ordered sicarios, hired Colombian contract killers, to murder Lara Bonilla. Colombian President Belisario Betancourt Cuertas declared a state of siege in Colombia and a "war without quarter" on the criminals. The Medellin Cartel, with its swagger and high profile, was the obvious target of Colombian government action, but the Cali Cartel's operations were disrupted as well. The leaders of Colombia´s two biggest drug trafficking organizations went into hiding and began moving their drug processing operations to neighboring countries. The DEA received information that Jose Santacruz Londono, one of the founding members of the Cali Cartel, and, as the DEA had learned, a key figure in the cartel´s distribution network, was in Mexico, where he was trying to establish new cocaine processing laboratories. 13
The U.S. government attacked the cocaine supply by placing restrictions on the number of chemicals used in cocaine manufacturing process that could be exported outside the U.S. The Colombian drug traffickers adapted when they realized the chemicals were easier to get in the U.S. than to smuggle to Colombia. In 1985, ether was selling for approximately $400 to $600 per 55-gallon drug in the U.S. In South America, the price was somewhere between $1,000 and $2,000. The U.S., moreover, had no reporting requirements for chemicals that were manufactured in the U.S. and stayed there. U.S. businesses that made shipments to foreign countries, on the other hand, had to report them. 14
In early June 1984, the Santacruz Londono organization sent a team to the rural town of Gibsonville, N.C., about 20 miles from Greensboro, to build a cocaine-processing lab. A lab in the Eastern U.S. would work out nicely because the biggest market for cocaine was in New York City and Santacruz and his associates in Cali, Colombia, controlled the distribution in the city. Like any good businessman, Santacruz treated the Gibsonville lab project as experimental to see if it could work.
The Santacruz Londono organization put Freddie Aguilera in charge of the project, who, in turn, sent underling Carlos Gomez and his associate Pedro Canales, a car salesman at the Rosenthal Chevrolet Dealership in Alexandria, Va., to see Al Ditto, a farmer in Gibsonville in February, 1984. Julio Harold Fargas, a petty drug dealer, had introduced Canales to Gomez. In early 1983, Fargas came by the Chevy dealership to look at cars. He could not speak good English, but that was no problem. He was introduced to Pedro Enrique Canales, one of the car salesmen who spoke fluent Spanish. Canales sold Fargas a car; they chatted some more and became friends. Eventually, Fargas persuaded Canales to help him sell a "little" cocaine. Canales would give Fargas the keys to a car on the lot, and he would put the cocaine in the trunk. A customer would "test drive" the car, and the cocaine disappeared when the car was brought back to the lot.
One day, Fargas was at the dealership when a farmer named Al Ditto from North Carolina came by to see his nephew and sell a few tee-shirts, moonshine, and other odds and ends he had in his truck. Fargas began to ask a lot of questions about Ditto and the area where he lived. Is North Carolina a farming place? Did Ditto have a farm? Did he grow his own vegetables? 15
Not long after the Ditto interrogation, Fargas offered Canales $3,000 to arrange a meeting between Al Ditto and Carlos Gomez so they could discuss a business deal. Canales agreed, and in February 1984 he and Gomez hopped a plane in Washington, D.C., and headed to see Ditto. Gomez toured Ditto´s entire farm, checking every detail out thoroughly. "This is perfect for the lab, but we'll need to install an exhaust fan to carry away the fumes made by the chemicals," Gomez told Canales. 16
Gomez did not speak English, so he asked Canales to tell Ditto up front what the farm was going to be used for. "No problem," said Ditto, and he agreed to do the work that had to be done to install the fan and convert the outbuildings into a cocaine-processing lab. Aguilera paid $110,000 in cash for the property, no questions asked. Two to three weeks later, Carlos drove to Allentown, Pa., to pick up the acetone for the lab.
In the summer, Gomez, his mistress Evelyn Dubon, and Fargas, who acted as the interpreter for the group's non English-speaking members, journeyed to Gibsonville to set up the lab and do a trial run. They were joined by two other Americans: John Wesley Martin, a handyman who was hired to make improvements to the barn and outbuildings, and Thomas Warren Hall, Ditto´s brother-in-law, who had brought in seven keys of cocaine paste from Miami for processing. The lab was not sophisticated, but it could get the job done. Later, Karasiewski told a court that an elaborate lab isn't needed to manufacture cocaine. "It´s similar to, maybe, baking a cake," was how the forensic chemist described the process. 17 Once the farm was readied, the lab was set to go. Workers wrapped the processed cocaine in plastic bags and carried it to a U-haul trailer, where it was hidden behind a wooden panel. The cocaine was then moved to New York City and sold for $6,000 a kilo. 18
The amount of cocaine processed and sold was small, but the cartel knew the lab concept could work. They had caught the cops asleep. In no time they would be flooding New York with thousands of kilos of snow. By January 1985, a larger team of at least 15 workers from Colombia and the U.S. were working at the Gibsonville lab and manufacturing 200 kilos of cocaine paste that was sold in the Big Apple. 19
The Cali Cartel was now convinced the project should go big time, and Freddie Aguilera began looking for a location closer to New York City. Why not near his sister, Consuelo Donovan, who lived with her American husband, Thomas, in Amsterdam, N.Y.? Aguilera recruited Thomas Donovan, and he arranged a meeting with Aguilera´s point man, Carlos Gomez, and a local real estate agent to look at farms in the area around Amsterdam. Shortly afterwards, Gomez settled on a 220-acre farm and gave $2,000 to Dubon, instructing her to make the deal. Before the closing, Aquilera gave Gomez an additional $110,000 in cash to pay off the property. Thomas Hall would act as the front man, and the cartel officially registered the farm in his name. 20 Hall was an U.S. citizen and his ownership of the property would raise little suspicion. Besides, the arrangement would also help shield Aguilera from potential evidence against him should the operation be exposed. He planned to use the farm to raise horses, Hall told his neighbors. 21
The Hauber family, who lived in Staten Island, owned the farm and had used it as a summer home, but they were ready to sell it. Fred Hauber met with Evelyn Dubon, who claimed to be an exile from Nicaragua, and Thomas Warren Hall, who posed as her infirm gringo uncle from North Carolina. The transaction took place in the second floor office of an Amsterdam lawyer. The meeting went smoothly until it came time for Dubon to make the payment. She pulled out $110,000 out of a cheap-looking airline travel bag and stacked the small denomination bills on the lawyer´s desk. Not the brightest of ideas. "At that point everything went out of the window because it was definitely out of the ordinary for that area," Huber later explained. 22
Huber hesitated and then refused to leave with the cash, fearing he might be robbed by the group or somebody outside working for it when he was leaving the office. "Relax," Duhon said. I´ll deposit the money in an Amsterdam bank and write you (Huber) a cashier´s check." 23
The cartel could not have settled on better place to run a clandestine and illicit operation involving many Hispanic workers, almost all of whom did not speak English. The Minden locals kept to themselves, minded their own business and did not normally contact authorities, if something suspicious happened.
"I know it's kind of unusual to have people who looked Hispanic and did not speak English to show up in a small town like Minden," said Pat Hynes, a NYSP police officer, who investigated the Minden lab. "The strangers from the farm would show up at the local hardware store and nobody paid them any attention. So yes, it was a perfect place for a cocaine processing lab." 24
After the closing in December 1984, the drug traffickers rented a big Ryder truck in Burlington, N.C. They loaded it with the chemicals, instruments, equipment, the cooking racks, and some processed cocaine and took it to Minden. They built a shed to store the chemicals and a double-wide trailer to house the workers and brought 230, 55-gallon drums of ether, acetone, and other highly hazardous precursor chemicals used in cocaine manufacturing. 25 Aguilera directed his workers to buy the building supplies needed to convert the farm into a lab. He called Bralda International and World Consultants Documentation, the storage company in New York City, where the organization stored the cocaine base and huge barrels of precursor chemicals. The gang outfitted a white 1985 Chevy van with false paneling and began transporting the materials and supplies from the storage companies to the Minden farm. 26
One day Aguilera called a meeting at the New York City apartment of his mistress, Elizabeth "Nena" Andrade-Londono, and told his associates that the police had followed him on the highway on one of his trips to Minden hauling cocaine base. He was lucky not to get caught, Aquilera told the gathering. In the future, we have to be careful what we say and where we say it, he warned. Always use pay phones; the cops could be tapping our lines. 27
On April 1, 1985, the Minden lab was ready. For nine days Aguilera and his associates processed about 1,539 kilograms of cocaine, which, in 1985 value, was worth more than $100 million before being cut or otherwise diluted for street sales. DEA chemists later determined that enough chemicals remained at Minden to produce 5,000 kilograms without restocking 28
The Cali Cartel believed it had hit the drug traffickers´ pot of gold. It could be months, or even years, if ever, before law enforcement would be on to them. But they never factored in bad luck. On its tenth day of operation, an electrical short sparked a fire. The workers frantically tried to put it out, but the extinguishers failed to operate. In a panic they fled on foot into the countryside. When the fire spread to some of the precursor chemicals, the lab exploded. Luckily, only a small portion of the 230, 55-gallon drums was in the lab at any one time. Most of the chemicals were stored in a nearby shed, which the firemen managed to reach just ahead of the flames. 29
"It could have been a disaster," revealed Craig A. Benedict, assistant U.S. attorney general for the Northern District of New York. "The chemicals at the lab had the explosive power of 63, 000 sticks of dynamite. Had they exploded, the workers, firemen, and anybody else in the area would have died." 30
The police picked up three of the workers trying to flag down passing motorists for a ride. All had cocaine residue on their clothing. Gomez fled on foot to Aguilera´s sister´s house, and from there, he drove to his apartment in Queens, N.Y. Aguilera had left minutes before the fire to call his bosses in Cali and report on how well the lab was doing. Returning to the farm, he spotted the fire and immediately headed for the big city. 31
A fire, an explosion and cops crawling around their former cocaine lab was not going to deter the Cali Cartel. Go ahead and find a good place for another lab, Santacruz instructed Aguilera. The lieutenant gathered the remnants of his Minden team and met in Gomez´s apartment. He paid off the members and began making plans for another lab. He directed Fargas to find a new farm. Within two-and-half-weeks of the Minden disaster, Aguilera had bought another site in rural Orange County, Va., for $160,000 under the name of an American, Robert Michael Cadiz. As with the Gibsonville and Minden farms, the traffickers made renovations on the Virginia property. This time workers installed sophisticated surveillance cameras at the farm´s entrance, as well as cut exhaust fans into the barn´s roof to release the ether and acetone fumes. They installed a large metal building to store the 55-gallon chemical drums. 32
From mid May to mid January, the Virginia lab ran smoothly, producing about 3,864 kilos of cocaine, but now the authorities were hot on Aguilera´s trail. The traffickers left plenty of evidence behind at Gibsonville and Minden for the authorities to analyze. Investigators found Santacruz Londono´s Cali phone number in the records. 33 They had confiscated record books and computer disks containing the names and addresses of dealers and customers and revealed how the product was being distributed. Evidence at Minden led authorities to Gibsonville. In analyzing the evidence found at the two places, the authorities were able to deduce that another lab was being built somewhere in Orange County, Va. 34
The DEA and the NYSP tipped off police in Orange County, telling them to look for Colombian individuals who had bought a farm in their county between the time period of May and early June, 1985, probably in the name of an American. Local police investigated and quickly discovered that a farm fitting the profile had been sold on May 22. They checked out court records to determine who had bought the property and flew over the property to take photographs. They found changes had been made to the property. It looked as if the new property owners had installed two air vents on the roof of the large metal shed.
The police set up surveillance from a fire tower close to the farm and began using binoculars and 30 and 60-power spottoscopes to observe activity on and about the farmhouse and metal shed. One day, they spotted workers taking boxes out of the shed and putting them in the back of a pick up truck.
The police had seen enough. On July 1, they obtained a search warrant and the next morning raided the farm. A Virginia State Police armored vehicle sped up to the farmhouse, police men jumped out and everyone in the house was ordered to get out. When only three people obeyed the order, police used tear gas to force out three others. The police later learned that one person escaped. Inside, police found a computer, telephone, typing equipment, weapons, including a shot gun, MM-1 rifle, a .9mm pistol, a 25-automatic pistol, and a telescope pointed in the direction of the farm´s front entrance. In the shed they discovered 86 barrels of ether and acetone, more than 55 pounds of cocaine base, and a small amount of processed cocaine. Police later learned that shortly before the raid, the most recent batch of processed cocaine — about 1000 pounds, had been delivered to Aguilera. 35
As the investigation continued, the authorities discovered other processing labs. Two days later, they arrested 10 Colombian nationals in clandestine cocaine labs in New York State and Virginia: a 47-acre tract at 6805 Sound Avenue in Baiting Hollow, Long Island; a 66-acre site in Fly Creek, N.Y., which is located about 90 miles west of Albany; and another property in Gordonsville, Va. The labs all fit the same pattern, and the authorities seized another pile of records, 147 pounds of cocaine, 100 pounds of cocaine base, more than 5,000 gallons of chemicals, and sophisticated equipment criminals use to monitor DEA and police activities. All 10 suspects were charged with conspiracy to import and sell cocaine and faced a maximum of 15 years in prison. 36
Authorities continued to search for Aguilera and Gomez. Ten months later, DEA agents spotted Carlos Gomez and Elizabeth Dubon during surveillance in the Whitestone area of Queens. Using a search warrant, they arrested the two in their home at 1905 Clintonville Street. Inside the house, they found 33 pounds of cocaine, which the police later gave a street value of $20,250,000, a wing-master shotgun, equipment for making bricks of cocaine, a machine gun threaded with a silencer, a short-barrel shotgun labeled "law enforcement use only," a New York City police lieutenant´s badge, and fake passports and drivers licenses. 37
In January 1987, Gomez and Dubon pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of New York to distributing and manufacturing narcotics. The following May, Gomez pleaded guilty to the same charge in the Middle District Court of Eastern District of New York. Fred Aguilera, the Colombian mastermind of the biggest cocaine lab manufacturing operation ever uncovered in the U.S., fled and became a fugitive. 38
In busting the labs and keeping thousands of kilos of cocaine off the streets, U.S. law enforcement had won a victory in the War on Drugs. Aguilera and Gomez, however, were two small, irreplaceable parts of a well-oiled criminal enterprise. Jose Santacruz Londono, the mastermind of the labs, would find new foot soldiers and new ways of getting his product to the streets of America. Meanwhile, law enforcement had another unsettling glimpse of the enemy that authorities were now calling the Cali Cartel. By now, many of the veteran investigators tracking the cartel had concluded it was unlike any criminal organization they had investigated: one combining the best management and marketing strategies of multinational corporations with a Mafia's ruthlessness and a terrorist organization's secrecy and compartmentalization.
"Minden reinforced our belief that cocaine was overrunning New York State," said Tom Constantine, who served as director of the NYSP from 1985-1992 and later as DEA Administrator from 1994 to 1997. "The Cali Cartel was running their operation like a legitimate business — getting as close to the market as possible. We stepped up our efforts to go after the cartel." 39
The labs opened everybody´s eyes," said Bill Mante, a former NYSP detective who worked on the post-Minden investigation. "Here they are now right on top of us," Mante recalled. "The balls. We felt the Cali Cartel had a good 10-year start on us. We saw a huge potential for disaster if we didn´t hit them hard and aggressively." 40
During the next decade, law enforcement would use everything in its arsenal to take down this powerful and enterprising Mafia. Indeed, the Cali Cartel would prove to be the most formidable adversary in the history of international drug trafficking.
- Interviews with Bob Sears, March, 2002, and Ken Cook, March 2002
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Minden is about 60 miles from Albany, N.Y.
- Interviews with Sears and Cook, ibid.
- Interview with Sears and United States v. Fred Aguilera-Quinjano, Juan Aldana and Carlos Gomez, 87-CR-255, United States District Court. Northern District of New York, 1989, Trial Transcript, Trial Testimony of David Karasiewski, p. 79. Karasiewski accompanied DEA agents to Minden because its DEA policy is that a DEA chemist must accompany agents to a crime scene because of the hazardous nature of the chemicals.
- Ibid.
- United States v. Fred Aguilera-Quinjano and Others, ibid. Trial Testimony of Bob Sears, p. 40
- Ibid., Trial Testimony of Karasiewski, p.79
- Riley, Jack, Snow Job, The War Against International Drug Trafficking, New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 199, p. 184.
- Spanish-speaking people use three names, such "Rodrigo Lara Bonilla." The second name, the mother's maiden as in "Lara," is used as the last name.
- See Guy Gugliotta and Jeff Leen, The Kings of Cocaine, New York, Simon and Schuster, 1988, 1989, pp. 127-132 plus, for a good discussion about the bust at Tranquilandia.
- "Case Status and Disposition of Non-Drug Evidence," Report of Investigation, DEA, March 1, 1985
- Interviews with Bob Sears, March, 2002, and Ken Cook, March 2002
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Minden is about 60 miles from Albany, N.Y.
- Interviews with Sears and Cook, ibid.
- Interview with Sears and United States v. Fred Aguilera-Quinjano, Juan Aldana and Carlos Gomez, 87-CR-255, United States District Court. Northern District of New York, 1989, Trial Transcript, Trial Testimony of David Karasiewski, p. 79. Karasiewski accompanied DEA agents to Minden because its DEA policy is that a DEA chemist must accompany agents to a crime scene because of the hazardous nature of the chemicals.
- Ibid.
- United States v. Fred Aguilera-Quinjano and Others, ibid. Trial Testimony of Bob Sears, p. 40
- Ibid., Trial Testimony of Karasiewski, p.79
- Riley, Jack, Snow Job, The War Against International Drug Trafficking, New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 199, p. 184.
- Spanish-speaking people use three names, such "Rodrigo Lara Bonilla." The second name, the mother's maiden as in "Lara," is used as the last name.
- See Guy Gugliotta and Jeff Leen, The Kings of Cocaine, New York, Simon and Schuster, 1988, 1989, pp. 127-132 plus, for a good discussion about the bust at Tranquilandia.
- "Case Status and Disposition of Non-Drug Evidence," Report of Investigation, DEA, March 1, 1985
- United States v. Fred Aguilera-Quijano and Others, Trial Testimony Bob Sears, p. 40, and United States v. Fred Aguilera Quinjano, United States Court of Appeal for Second Circuit, Docket Number 89-1422, n.d., p. 2
- Docket number 89-1422, ibid. p. 6
- United States v. Fred Aguilera-Quinjano, ibid., Trial Testimony of Pedro Canales, pp. 381-383
- Ibid., Trial Testimony of David Karasiewski, p. 80
- Cathy Woodruff, "Ex-workers Say Aguilera Head of Two Cocaine Labs," Schenectady Gazette, May 25, 1989, p. 17
How is cocaine processed? First, the drug traffickers buy coca plants from coca growers in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Colombia, pick the flowers and buds off the plant, which is then mashed and ground into a thick mesh. The paste is extracted and taken to special hidden processing labs, such as the ones at Minden and Fly Creek, where the mesh is combined with other chemicals and cooked until it becomes the highly potent white power known as cocaine. During the process, the paste is dissolved in a solvent like acetone and ether, and a precipitate, such as hydrochloric acid is added, which causes the cocaine to crystallize and fall out of solution. Heat fans and microwave ovens are used to dry the precipitant. After the cocaine is processed, it is turned into large bricks called kilos. One brick is equal to 1000 grams of cocaine. See also, Jack Riley, Snow Job: The War Against International Drug Trafficking, ibid. , p.185.
- Cathy Woodruff, "Ex-workers Say Aguilera Head of Two Cocaine Labs," Ibid., p. 17
- Docket Number 89-1422 p. 4.
- Ibid., p. 5
- "2 Billion Cocaine Trial to End for Mastermind of Upstate Lab"Syracuse Herald-Journal, August 16, 1989, p. 12A
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Interview with Pat Hynes, May 2002
- Docket Number 89-14522, ibid., p. 5. Precursor chemicals are chemicals such as acetone and ether, which are essential to the cocaine manufacturing process.
- United States v. Freddie Aquilera-Quintano and Others, Transcripts, ibid. p. 71
Editor's Note: The prologue appearing on Crime Magazine is an uncorrected proof of the prologue that will appear when the book is published. As a result, this version of the prologue may differ slightly from the printed version.
About the Author
Ron Chepesiuk, a Rock Hill, S.C., freelance journalist, has been reporting on international drug trafficking since 1987. He is the author of Hard Target; The U.S.'s War on International Drug Trafficking , 1992-1997 (McFarland, 1998) and The War on Drugs: An International Encyclopedia, ABC--CLIO, 1999), which contains a forward by former Colombian President (1998-2002), Andres Pastrana Arango. He is the author of 16 other books and more than 2,700 articles that have appeared in such publications as USA Today, The National Review, New York Times Syndicate and Woman' World. In 2003, Chepesiuk was a Fulbright Scholar and visiting professor at Chittagong University in Chittagong, Bangladesh.
Click here for the Greenwood Publishing Group's page on The Bullet or the Bribe: Taking Down Colombia's Cali Drug Cartel by Ron Chepesiuk.