Comments on: The FBI file of Steven Paul Jobs

By: petsounds

petsounds — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:49:00 +0000

So the first part is U.S. form SF-86. This is a form you fill out to provide background information when you are applying for a “sensitive position” within the U.S. government. I assume Jobs filled this out to be considered for a Presidential cabinet role. But it’s possible that Ross Perot, who was a major investor in NeXT (which Steve was President of at the time), was trying to convince Jobs to run with him on his ticket for the 1992 campaign. I’m not sure whether Presidential candidates have to fill out SF-86 or not.

Form SF-86 is still in use today, albeit much longer: http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf86.pdf

Interesting to note: question 30a on the SF-86 form Jobs filled out asks, “Have you ever been a member, officer, or employee of the Communist Party?” The version of the form Jobs used was last revised in 1987, so I suppose Communists were still the villian du jour. In the latest version of the form this question is gone, but instead there are questions about involvement in hacking systems and involvement in terrorist groups. I imagine soon they’ll revise it to include protesting.

By: void_ptr

void_ptr — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:43:00 +0000

Uh, Jobs’s SSN is visible for 10 pages on the bottom of the “Questionnaire for Sensitive Positions” form (page 8-17). Not exactly expertly redacted.

By: IamInnocent

IamInnocent — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 13:47:00 +0000

Still doesn’t feel very nice.

By: Michael Smith

Michael Smith — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:17:00 +0000

I wonder what the FBI file on Woz said? Probably Mostly Harmless.

By: Cowicide

Cowicide — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:02:00 +0000

“One owes respect to the living. To the dead, one owes only the truth.”

Well, one thing’s for certain; Hearsay within an FBI dossier certainly contains nothing but truth.

By: Cowicide

Cowicide — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:54:00 +0000

It’s sad to see such an emphasis put on only the negative things said by disgruntled employees who didn’t received stock options they felt they were entitled to.

In reality, the opinions conflicted. Xeni failed to mention that another person said Jobs possessed “high moral character and integrity.”

Also, how did you guys miss the part about the extortion attempt with bombs?

UPDATE:

By the way, I converted the PDF with OCR, etc. to a searchable PDF, so you too can find words like “bomb”, “horrible person”, etc. within the dossier.

Get it while it’s hot:
http://www.mediafire.com/?nvjo2ok8oyrgahp

By: flux5000

flux5000 — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:44:00 +0000

Oh, the irony…

By: theophrastvs

theophrastvs — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:41:00 +0000

yesss, that’s very nearly “the truth”

By: flux5000

flux5000 — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:39:00 +0000

Voltaire was right about everything, of course…..

By: jackbird

jackbird — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:37:00 +0000

Rat? The guy was being vetted for a presidential appointment, not targeted by COINTELPRO.

By: angusm

angusm — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:29:00 +0000

“One owes respect to the living. To the dead, one owes only the truth.” — Voltaire

By: Dan Hibiki

Dan Hibiki — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:16:00 +0000

I believe this was started because Jobs wanted to meet George Bush.

By: Palomino

Palomino — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

And that’s O.K., some toes even need chopping off, maybe a hobbled politician or two.

By: Palomino

Palomino — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:59:00 +0000

Wait, was Jobs headhunted or actively seeking this role? There’s a huge difference.

By: Palomino

Palomino — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:57:00 +0000

Likewise:

~Just because someone doesn’t take drugs does not mean they are immune from being an arse.~

Works both ways, it’s a great excuse for people who do stupid things to say they were on drugs or drunk at the time, it’s a socially accepted defense to assery.

By: Palomino

Palomino — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:53:00 +0000

So a guy has to have kids to defend his name? Really? No wonder heteros are so screwed up. A man without children or a wife can wield a sword too.

By: Palomino

Palomino — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:49:00 +0000

Not true in all cases, look at poor Margaret Thatcher, still alive yet senile, and a movie about her life on the big screen, how disgusting is that? Thankfully, it’s getting poor ratings, maybe because people feel the way I do.

Flux may be as irritated as me, so much stuff about Jobs surfaced within just a few days after his death. Now he’s not around to defend himself, his honor, his name.

By: idiosynchronic

idiosynchronic — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:48:00 +0000

Don: s-t-e-v-e-w-o-z-n-i-a-k ?

I think Woz walks on water – I doubt he was an informant. He simply complied with an FBI request to be interviewed, like most of us would. I suppose I could ask next month when he’ll be in town for a lecture.

By: flux5000

flux5000 — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:22:00 +0000

Like I said, its about respect, you know, for him AND his family. ffs

By: bklynchris

bklynchris — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:13:00 +0000

Irony:take out Steve Jobs’ name and insert the name of any politician. Of course, odds are politician’s are more prone to sexual pecadilloes than drug use. The only difference being, I doubt Jobs had designs on any political appointment.

By: Jer_00

Jer_00 — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:02:00 +0000

He’s dead. It isn’t like anything anyone can say can hurt him. Not that things people said about him hurt him much when he was alive either, really.

Now if you wanted to say “the guy left behind four kids – leave his memory alone for a while ’cause they’re still mourning” that’s an argument I could get behind.

By: Don

Don — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:57:00 +0000

The informant’s name has 12 letters, for those who want to narrow the field of suspects.

By: Ambiguity

Ambiguity — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:55:00 +0000

Smoked dope, dropped acid, and bent truth a bit to his own ends?

I had no idea that Steve Jobs was so… normal.

By: robuluz

robuluz — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:30:00 +0000

I think he was a massive arse, but his contribution to our current use of technology is pretty hard to ignore. I was just making a pithy comment about the war on drugs. Pithy, I say.

By: Kai Nikulainen

Kai Nikulainen — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:21:00 +0000

Page 54: He concluded by saying that although he does not consider the Appointee to be a personal friend, he believed the Appointee has what it takes to assume a high level political position within the Government, which in his opinion, honesty and integrity are not prerequisites to assume such a position.

By: Raum187

Raum187 — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:16:00 +0000

I knew that would come up! Just because someone takes drugs does not mean they are immune from being an arse.

(I want the government out of my head as much as the next boingboinger)

By: robuluz

robuluz — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:06:00 +0000

Young people, look away! Obviously most people who do marijuana and LSD end up dead on the street after being shanked by their pimp. Only occassionally do they go on to fundamentally influence technology and contemporary culture.

By: PeterKVT80

PeterKVT80 — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:58:00 +0000

Ways to write Macintosh:
Page 47. “Mackintosh”
Pages 54/89. “MacINTOSH”

By: Raum187

Raum187 — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:37:00 +0000

Nah. Live by the Reality Distortion Field, die by the Reality ~~Distortion~~ Field

By: IamInnocent

IamInnocent — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:29:00 +0000

Interestingly, the rat’s name and reputation are preserved…