'''Sabotage''' is a deliberate action aimed at weakening an enemy through subversion, obstruction, disruption, and/or destruction.
Sabotage in war
In
war, the word is used to describe the activity of an individual or group not associated with the military (such as a foreign agent or an indigenous supporter), in particular when actions result in the destruction or damaging of a productive or vital facility, such as equipment,
factories,
dams, public services, or supply storage. Unlike acts of
terrorism, acts of sabotage do not have a primary objective of inflicting casualties (but do not exclude this). Saboteurs are usually classified as unlawful enemy combatants.
Sabotage by radical trade unions
The name derives from the early industrial age, when powered looms could be damaged by the wooden shoes (known in French as
sabots) of the displaced weavers (proto-'''sabot'''eurs) being thrown into the machinery. Literally it means, "clattering in sabots". Radical trade unions, such as the
IWW, have advocated sabotage as a means of self-defense and
direct action against unfair working conditions.
One of the tasks of
security guards is the prevention and detection of sabotage.
Sabotage by criminals
Some criminals have engaged in acts of sabotage for reasons of
extortion. For example,
Klaus-Peter Sabotta sabotaged
German railway lines in the late
1990s in an attempt to extort
DM10 million from the German railway operator Deutsche Bahn. He is now serving a sentence of
life imprisonment.
Literature
- Emile Pouget, Le sabotage (1913). notes et postface de Grégoire Chamayou et Mathieu Triclot, Mille et une nuit, 2004, engl. Sabotage, Order: ISBN 0898754593, Paperback, 112pp, University Press of the Pacific 2001
See also:
External links, Resources, and References
Web Site
"Sabotages" are practical joke websites, in which the user is subjected to a scene or series of scenes, to lull the viewer into a false sense of security, only to have a scary or disturbing picture and/or screaming sound effect pop up, thus "sabotaging" them.
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Category:Disambiguation