After reading the Salon article you mentioned, I filed FOIA requests regarding "Main Core" with NSA, FBI, DHS, DSS, NORTHCOM, STRATCOM, CYBERCOM, and DODIIS. All I got was responses saying that there were no responsive records. Of course, this is what happens when almost any information about classified programs is requested via FOIA, so I wasn't surprised (FOIA is really just a smokescreen to make people waste their time begging for records they're never going to get, and to promote the illusion that citizens have some sort of oversight over "their" government). I sent a letter to the editorial staff at Salon and Democracy Now, which both ran stories on this based on "anonymous sources", and pointed out to them that pretty much every intelligence agency is responding to FOIA requests saying the topic of one of their stories doesn't actually exist. Neither of them responded. --Jesse odinn wrote: /1) Who might have access to a list known as Main Core? This is such an old story that it would seem that some kind of list would now be available, but I haven't found it. Has it ever been leaked, FOIA'd, successfully released in partially redacted form in some other mechanism, or made searchable somewhere? // // //[[ Main Core notes / background: Salon reported on Main Core in July of 2008 with an article by Tim Shorrock. Apparently, William Hamilton, a former NSA intelligence officer who left the agency in the 1970s, had heard of Main Core at some point in 1992, according to the Salon article. Hamilton, who (was then, and still is) president of Inslaw Inc., a computer services firm that includes clients in government, indicated that the Bush administration's domestic surveillance operations used Main Core - it is not known if it is still used today in 2014. Main Core was first widely reported on in May 2008 by Christopher Ketcham and in July 2008 by Tim Shorrock, which included in July of 2008 an interview by Amy Goodman of Tim Shorrock. However, I am unaware of any release of names, e-mails, etc. which might be on this list, and it seemed kind of obvious that those who were reporting on it probably had never seen the Main Core list. This may involve use of PROMIS software, and according to Adm. Dan Murphy (a former military advisor to Elliot Richardson who later served under President George H.W. Bush as deputy director of the CIA, who 'died' shortly after his meeting in 2001 with William Hamilton), did not specifically mention Main Core. But he informed Hamilton that the NSA's use of PROMIS involved something "so seriously wrong that money alone cannot cure the problem." ]]/
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA512 Jesse, Thanks for sharing this. My sense is that Main Core existed but was never leaked (and certainly couldn't be obtained via FOIA) ~ some figures state that it had around 8 million names, and that was well before the most recent administration ~ so assuming something like it is still in use, and based on the source material that has been released to date, it would seem that everyone and their dogs, cats and guinea pigs are on some list or another. In a strange and unlikely occurrence, I recall that recently there was a court case of some kind where someone was able to convince a court to tell the TSA that they had to disclose if someone was on a no-fly list. I can't remember the name of the case but it was the first time I'd seen that happen. Not that I am advocating use of law and the force associated with it to solve vast societal problems, but apparently someone had some luck there against all odds. Well, now I am thinking I should just take a link to my posted request, as John Y. seemed to suggest and send it through socmedia to Firstlook / Greenwald and see if I get a reply. Cheers all Jesse Taylor wrote:
After reading the Salon article you mentioned, I filed FOIA requests regarding "Main Core" with NSA, FBI, DHS, DSS, NORTHCOM, STRATCOM, CYBERCOM, and DODIIS. All I got was responses saying that there were no responsive records. Of course, this is what happens when almost any information about classified programs is requested via FOIA, so I wasn't surprised (FOIA is really just a smokescreen to make people waste their time begging for records they're never going to get, and to promote the illusion that citizens have some sort of oversight over "their" government).
I sent a letter to the editorial staff at Salon and Democracy Now, which both ran stories on this based on "anonymous sources", and pointed out to them that pretty much every intelligence agency is responding to FOIA requests saying the topic of one of their stories doesn't actually exist. Neither of them responded.
--Jesse
odinn wrote:
/1) Who might have access to a list known as Main Core? This is such an old story that it would seem that some kind of list would now be available, but I haven't found it. Has it ever been leaked, FOIA'd, successfully released in partially redacted form in some other mechanism, or made searchable somewhere? // // //[[ Main Core notes / background: Salon reported on Main Core in July of 2008 with an article by Tim Shorrock. Apparently, William Hamilton, a former NSA intelligence officer who left the agency in the 1970s, had heard of Main Core at some point in 1992, according to the Salon article. Hamilton, who (was then, and still is) president of Inslaw Inc., a computer services firm that includes clients in government, indicated that the Bush administration's domestic surveillance operations used Main Core - it is not known if it is still used today in 2014. Main Core was first widely reported on in May 2008 by Christopher Ketcham and in July 2008 by Tim Shorrock, which included in July of 2008 an interview by Amy Goodman of Tim Shorrock. However, I am unaware of any release of names, e-mails, etc. which might be on this list, and it seemed kind of obvious that those who were reporting on it probably had never seen the Main Core list. This may involve use of PROMIS software, and according to Adm. Dan Murphy (a former military advisor to Elliot Richardson who later served under President George H.W. Bush as deputy director of the CIA, who 'died' shortly after his meeting in 2001 with William Hamilton), did not specifically mention Main Core. But he informed Hamilton that the NSA's use of PROMIS involved something "so seriously wrong that money alone cannot cure the problem." ]]/
- -- http://abis.io ~ "a protocol concept to enable decentralization and expansion of a giving economy, and a new social good" https://keybase.io/odinn -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- iQEcBAEBCgAGBQJUTI7jAAoJEGxwq/inSG8ChpQH/iiyS4gF3+ONdeG5y0sYmN+e eVhA/SW1fQlIUizjGKLeCEEhEwPoTE/L/vqaa9u33p2Ej1emMMCTF7zMlB1hYaMR /JFAK6ufoi9xRv85eGi07OjjTjnEqvOL5T8c6by5FPwpqBSzjSf0TAizGH2V+gfA RomJKfBW9azwoH1dK3dvcZRraf5mstgeF7YvZbZP3gaTHuJbjgPaLaY3hJiIgarl fE2xYBpqhtRQmamzGcpaD58xRWxL5DjKPIR2bJPr7mgz6vkQMZlAVovZ4eqcE2A9 sZHA86RZETG8W37XOSFSABVYvDHhBrZPwhWlypsHR6ONQIgW/lVsPh9tfsNUXKs= =92ar -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
participants (2)
-
Jesse Taylor -
odinn