The CIA today published a very interesting piece of its history, the once classified "Simple Sabotage Field Manual," which defines how the ordinary person could disrupt an ordinary environment, say an office "in such a way as to involve a minimum danger of injury, detection, and reprisal."
The booklet was at the time of its distribution, aimed at defining ways to "sabotage the US' World War II enemies," the CIA said.
MORE: Hot high-tech thingamajigs
"Many of the sabotage instructions guide ordinary citizens, who may not have agreed with their country's wartime policies towards the US, to destabilize their governments by taking disruptive actions. Some of the instructions seem outdated; others remain surprisingly relevant. Together they are a reminder of how easily productivity and order can be undermined," the CIA states on its web site.
Rather than dated, the "Five particularly timeless tips from the Simple Sabotage Field Manual" seem like they might be a screenwriters guide to penning a script for The Office TV show. From the CIA:
1. Managers and Supervisors: To lower morale and production, be pleasant to inefficient workers; give them undeserved promotions. Discriminate against efficient workers; complain unjustly about their work.
2. Employees: Work slowly. Think of ways to increase the number of movements needed to do your job: use a light hammer instead of a heavy one; try to make a small wrench do instead of a big one.
3. Organizations and Conferences: When possible, refer all matters to committees, for "further study and consideration." Attempt to make the committees as large and bureaucratic as possible. Hold conferences when there is more critical work to be done.
4. Telephone: At office, hotel and local telephone switchboards, delay putting calls through, give out wrong numbers, cut people off "accidentally," or forget to disconnect them so that the line cannot be used again.
5. Transportation: Make train travel as inconvenient as possible for enemy personnel. Issue two tickets for the same seat on a train in order to set up an "interesting" argument.
Follow Michael Cooney on Twitter: nwwlayer8 and on Facebook
Layer 8 Extra
Check out these other hot stories:
US spends $30 million to reinforce natural gas vehicle technology
The 7 most common challenges to cloud computing
Want to be part of the intelligence world? DARPA has a software project for you
Mach 20 and beyond? DARPA program to develop hypersonic flight vehicles
Quick look: The Higgs boson phenomenon
DARPA program targets 20-fold increase in robot range, endurance
NASA: Spacecraft fireworks on Mars will herald and ensure lab landing