distort telegrams so that additional ones need to becomposed sometimes simply bychanging a letter from minimum tomiximum then they wont know ifminimizing or maximizing is at stakea letter a punctuation mark to move acomma from access denied, control toaccess, denied control

2014

MIXIMUM CA CANNY THE SABOTAGE MANUALS:

YOU CUTTA DA PAY, WE CUTTA DA SHOB

Ida Brjel

TRANSLATED BY JENNIFER HAYASHIDA

Miximum Ca' Canny

The Sabotage Manualsyou cutta da pay, we cutta da shob

Ida Brjel

TRANS. JENNIFER HAYASHIDA

originally published in Swedish as Miximum Ca' Canny Sabotagemanualerna

you cutta da pay, we cutta da shob

COMMUNE EDITIONSPURVEYOR OF POETRY & OTHER ANTAGONISMS

Oakland2014

communeeditions.com

3I. Etymology

sabotage is an internal, industrialprocess

The word is taken from the French sabot,wood clog, and the French mill workersmanner of protesting against the newautomatic looms by hurlingtheir clogs into them. So they removed andaimed, took off their only pair of shoes andthrew them into the machines opening and walkedbarefoot through naw

4E T Y M O L O G Y

The word is taken from the Dutchfourteen-hundreds when impoverished workersthrew their clogs far intothe future because they had lost hopefor a better life for their childrenor since they had just begun to hope for one*

The word is taken from the act, fromthe verb saboter, stomp with clogs,slap together, neglect. Asaboteur is someone who dragstheir feet

The word is taken from the lateeighteen-hundreds, from the Frenchslang sabot for someone with their headin the clouds, all thumbsand shitty shoes. So saboteur doesnt reallyrhyme with amateur which etymologically isshe who loves something.

The word the shoes thrown at an old circus lion during the international peace conference in Copenhagen and simultaneously inMoscow

*No longer would oppressed people be sure that history was on their side. No longer could they therefore be satisfied with creeping improvements, in the belief that these would see fruition in the lives of their children and grandchildren. No longer could they be persuaded to postpone present complaints in the name of a beneficent future. In short, the multiple producers of the capitalist world-economy had lost the main hidden stabilizer of the system, the optimism of the oppressed.

Immanuel Wallerstein

5COMMUNE E D I T I O N S

II. the sabotage manual

In nineteen-sixteen

Industrial Workers of the World

(IWW) publishes the handbook Sabotage:

The Conscious Withdrawal of the Workers

Industrial Efficiency authored by

Elisabeth Gurley Flynn

In nineteen-fourty-four

The American Office of Strategic

Services (OSS) publishes The Simple Sabotage

Field Manual, de-classified

in the year two-thousand-and-eight

The human factor. To widen a

margin of error.

Intentional stupidity goes against

human nature. The saboteur may

need to reverse her thinking. If

before she made sure to keep her

tools sharp, she can now let them grow

dull. What was brightly polished will now

be scratched; what was carefully tucked away can

now be left out. The assiduous grows full

of indolence. The keen grows torpid,

the firm begins to give way. When the saboteur

starts to think backwards about herself and hers

she does not let the opportunity slip

6T H E S A B O T A G E M A N U A L S

out of her hands. Anything might be sabotaged.

What was firmly rootedlies rotted. What was cast solidis perforated. Into those openings thesaboteur sticks her fingers.

A certain measure of humor in the following

proposition helps the tension andfear dissipate.

Commit acts for which a large numbercan be held responsible. So that it could havebeen anyone.

Do not be afraid to commit actsyou can personally be heldresponsible for, as long as you do not do ittoo often and assuming that you have aplausible excuse dropped the wrenchthere there by that circuit the little one criedand kept me awake all night Imust have been half asleep well soI dropped the key

7COMMUNE E D I T I O N S

Toolsthe saboteurs weapons are the things shetypically walks around with like thematerfamilias she is like theworkforce she is the arsenalthe kitchen shelf the trash heapchildrens gear the ordinarytool belt the primary targets ofthe act of sabotage are objects she hasdaily contact with nothingstrange at all

another variant is presented by universalgeneral eternal opportunities to makebad decisions to adopt an un-cooperative attitude and inthe blink of an eye make others do the samein secret alone buttogether

so simple to place something in one

spot instead of anotherone control key instead of another

8T H E S A B O T A G E M A N U A L S

Water and Other Thingsreduce the steamers effect in allpossible ways pour in too much waterso they are slow to startkeep the fire beneath them turned low let themboil dry happen to turn up the heat aparticularly good trick is torepeatedly place lime fruitor lime water in the steamer whereby adeposit forms on the bottom and the sides this offers very goodinsulation against heat with enoughbuild-up the steamer becomesentirely useless

place crumpled paper hair and

other things in the toilet

soak a sponge in a thickstarch or sugar solution wringit out wrap a string around it letdry remove string the sponge isnow a compact hard ball flush itdown

during the day place a coin behind

light bulbs in public buildings press paper chewing gumhair pins into the locks of unguardedentrances

9COMMUNE E D I T I O N S

Firetear a three- or four-centimeter widestrip off an A4 page and wrap twoor three times around the base of awax candle wind more paper into loosecords placed at the foot of the candle twistand tape mobius strips for the investigators

a clean factory is not receptive to firebut a dirty one

make sure it starts to burn only afteryou have walked away

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T H E S A B O T A G E M A N U A L S

By the Machinesand other industrial activitysuch as the silk factory where womenmen and children work ten hours aday for six seven dollars a week

week after week everyone has been thereforever and done it the way it has alwaysbeen done life in the factory is like somestrange religious sect all the first and second cousins once or twice removed after being therefor ten years I am still thenew guy

scratch the tools used to cut

unravel

clean the files by knocking againstthe vice or the work itself

a hole-puncher is made uselessby being fed more material thanintended two metal discsinstead of one two pages two chips twoboxes

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COMMUNE E D I T I O N S

metal dust or filings fine sandshattered glass materials for polishinghard gravely substances

stick in the tip of a pen and benda small amount of corrosive acid lacquerlinseed oil regular spit

knotted balls of human hairthreads dead insectsa fistful of hard grains such as rice or wheat

sawdust or hairrubber crumbs from old rubber bandsor erasers

and if you can get a hold of sugar pour it intothe fuel tankhoney and molasses work just as well

when the machine is paused you can make asmall hole in the fuel linecover it with wax

a small cut in the wire insulationloosen or remove rings and screw nutspress in some grease spill dust and dirtmake a small hole in the tank

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T H E S A B O T A G E M A N U A L S

after a turn by the machines thatproduce the desirable at a cost of afinger every now and then a hand an entire life we would watch a film maybe sounds fun we watch motivational films one that sticks out isTouching the Void with two friends whoclimb a mountain but things go wrongone is forced to leave the other behindunconscious he continues the descent alonedown the mountain breaks his leg severely affected bythe cold all he needed to do to quicklyend his misery was let gorelease ten fingersall of us wanted him to die because ofthe suffering but in the end he survived the moral is no matter how tough it gets

dont give up I hope it wasnt

meant to be a prediction of life inthe factory

a piece of fine sand paper the size ofhalf a stamp

sand mixed with grease oiltar or paint that is smeared that is

poured out between them

water salt

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coal or metal dust

an additional part tar

the entire system goes SOS and we get to walk out into the courtyard and the sun

as the engine starts up the wax willmelt as it burns with the gasa sticky goo forms and spreads

as it swells the steam is blockedthe air bubbles the circulation itwill need disassembling and

repair soft scraped finishesengines will gradually swell andchoke break burn

14

On the Roadssomething to be sent expressfrom Paris to Le Havre ended up inMarseille after three daysthe rail system was completely demoralized

make train travel uncomfortable make mistakeswhen you issue tickets print twofor the same seat just before departurethey are slowly written by hand

announce arrivals as departuresand vice versa

make life disagreeable forthe travelers make sure the food is badcheck tickets after bedtimeshout out station names in the loud speaker atnight handle luggage as loudly aspossible

mix up sprinkle plenty of rock salt ortable salt over the power switches and onthe ground nearby

peel off labels

loosen nails all around

T H E S A B O T A G E M A N U A L S

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COMMUNE E D I T I O N S

add a half liter of soft soapreplace or rotate signs at intersections

when asked for directions give the wrong answer

bus drivers can drive past stopstaxi drivers can take the longest routebetween A and B

turn on the lights in parked cars

pour one-hundred to one-hundred-and-fiftycubic centimeters of vinegar in each cell

put a nail in a match box andplace vertically in front of the rear tirewhen the car starts the nail will quietly puncture the tire

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T H E S A B O T A G E M A N U A L S

Transportation Waterincrease time wasted

hide a large piece of steel or iron up againstthe compass

while loading on and off arrange forthe fragile to end up at the bottom and theheaviest on top

scottish dock workers eighteen-hundred-and-eighty-nine we let the wine casks emptyout over the dock like the scabs didwe let cargo with delicate contents fallin the middle of the pier like the scabs didwe will work as clumsily asslowly as destructively

well you see boss you cutta da paywe cutta da shob

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COMMUNE E D I T I O N S

Communicationnow and then when I want half a day off andthey dont give it to me I let the belt slither offthe machine so that it doesnt work and I getmy half day I dont know if you call itsabotage but thats what I do

delay give the wrong number happento disconnect forget

mutter make conversations difficult orimpossible to understand

distort telegrams so that additional ones need to becomposed sometimes simply bychanging a letter from minimum tomiximum then they wont know ifminimizing or maximizing is at stakea letter a punctuation mark to move acomma from access denied, control toaccess, denied control

at the screening of propaganda films place two orthree dozen large moths in a paper bag bringto the movie theater place on the floor in an empty rowthe moths will fly out into the theatertowards the lightand when they climb over the projectorthe film becomes an agitated fluttering shadow play

so they will sound as though they were passingthrough a thick cotton blanket with mouthsfull of gravelso that the line can no longer be used

so they do not movebut flutter disturbthe automated gaze

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In the Organizationtake your time

ask to speak elaboratepaint a picture in words

have many committees with multiple chairsnever be fewer than five

place irrelevant questions on the agenda

nitpick

encourage self-control and cautionappeal to common sense remind of the importanceof avoiding hasty decisions picturedistressing future scenarios

children are there any of you who have a silk dress in the family someonesmother who has a silk dress

a little kid dressed in rags in the front rowsqueaked sure my mom has adress like that

really whered she get it

my dad messed up the fabric and got totake it home

T H E S A B O T A G E M A N U A L S

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As an Executivedemand to get it in writing

insist

delay postpone protract

make sure that crucialresponsibilities are delegated to ineffectiveworkers at unreliable machines

insist on perfect results concerningrelatively inconsequential matters return thosewith the least tarnish to comment uponapprove others whose defectsare not visible to the naked eye

make mistakes send the wrong parts to the wrongdepartment

hold a meeting when the floor is hectic

make back-up copies of all documents

require that three people mustapprove when one should be sufficient

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follow the manual to a T the leadership uses the manual to sue its workersto release themselves from liability to washtheir hands of the matter it is written intoimpossibility through the bodies in line to the dock in the morningthrough the centuries and where the bodies once stoodthe radio waves run warm in the game for todays temp jobsadvertised via text to the uneducable educablesto the overqualified seasonalsthe bodies under 40 and their way of dancingtip-toeing through 24/7 availabilitytip-toeing throughhomelessness rootlessness childlessness but in a presentbut in a present but in a present that holds onin a present that holds you in a present where there is one sales associatefor every seven-hundred applicants in subletsthree four five roommates month-to-monthweekly run into the sand where she waits absolutely loyalwith a wreath of silence around her neckand with a three-hundredpercent increase in tuition she works full-time tostudy part-time effectively market-drivenwith a hunger to flex her way out of the pointlessnesswhere the old become richer and the young poorerduring thirty-six-hour shiftsin the waiting rooms and hallways of the ERthrough double bookings where one home visitbegins before another one has ended where oneold timer begins before another one has ended arm in arm without responsibility without teeth with paper with paper with paper

T H E S A B O T A G E M A N U A L S

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In the Cubicle Landscape

place important documents elsewhere

make mistakes at the copier

confuse names write the wrong address

make one too few copies

say that someone is busy on another line

spread unpleasant rumors

let the crops be harvested too early ortoo late

so the fuses blow as they are turned onat night so they rot so overtime is needed by the copier so theyshort circuit when it starts to rain

the silk is there the loom

the stone is there

send up quantities of stones

the water is there

drown them in water the sun is there

leave them out in the sun

22

On the Flooruse a light hammer instead of aheavy one use a little less force

so when they were mixing green we made sure theyadded red when they were mixing blue wemade sure they added green

interfere in your workwhen you replace components at the latheif you cut design or carry out othermeasuring work measure up twice as oftenas necessary and when you go to the restroom takeyour time forget tools so that youhave to go back and get them

pretend that instructions are difficulteven if they are simple

do not help each other

do it poorly blame the machine that it ispreventing you from doing a good jobcan something have gotten stuck

T H E S A B O T A G E M A N U A L S

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COMMUNE E D I T I O N S

Employer Sabotageemployer sabotage is anti-social byits very nature

like the Phoebus cartel inthe nineteen-twenties

like every year in the western United States in Europefruit and grain that never reaches amarket bananas oranges rotaway gone bad decomposed boatloadsof fruit dumped in the ocean and pricesremain high in New York ChicagoBaltimore Boston

like the count down smart chip technoapoptosin the inkjet printer the price setjust below the expectedthreshold and how many will botherto return the product when itbreaks

anticipated margin of error anticipatedfatigue

seventy-five years ago when cleansilk threads were woven into fabric it lastedfifty years your grandmothers wedding dress

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became your mothers and yours if youmarry but today one pound of silk tothe dye house becomes threeto fifteen pounds

and the gigantic vats of soup thatstood there month after month withoutbeing washed oxidation bloomingvarious life forms and if a mouseor a rat fell in we fished them outand threw them aside before serving

at the Waldorf the Astor the Belmont

the butter was sent back on the little butterdishes and we stuck our fingers in the butterand cleaned out butts and cigar ashand threw the lump of butterback in the butter jar and the napkins from the tables and the syphilis guests and theirbelches were used to wipethe dishes

T H E S A B O T A G E M A N U A L S

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Moral Fiberwork twelve hours a day seven daysa week for two dollars a day inthe Pittsburgh steel mills and they saysabotage would destroy mysense of morality

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General Advice to Lower Morale and Create Confusionafter completed sabotage resist the temptation tolinger and witness the result there areof course occasions when it to the contrary would seem suspiciousif you walked away

.

T H E S A B O T A G E M A N U A L S

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