_________ SWAT MAGAZINE ISSUE THIRTY JUNE 2000 __________
/ \___________________________________________/ \
/ Brakis-Lopex Interview \
/ by Phreakazoid \
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Now this month, I went ahead and interviewed Brakis-Lopex, or Brakis as
he is known. Brakis agreed to the interview and it went well.
So ladies and gentlemen, boy and girls, children of all ages, I bring
"An interview with Brakis". :Þ
--------------- INTERVIEW START: Sunday 12th June, 00:30 --------------
Me: Ok, hiya mate
Brakis: Hello
Me: To start off, let's have a little introduction.
What alias's/nicknames do you go by, and what others have you
used in the past?
Brakis: Well back in the early, early, early days I was known as Razor
and then Blaster and finally Brakis which has been fucked about
with so much you wouldn't believe...
Me: What about Barakis, how did that come about? Because your nick
is Brakis isn't it?
Brakis: Spelling error, it is Brakis yeah
Me: Ok, sweet
So how long have you been in the "scene"?
Brakis: hphpphphphp fuck, em...... 4/5 years
yeah.
Me: lol, nice..
So how did you get involved, in the early days?
Brakis: I was a silly little kid who enjoyed making crank calls from
phone boxes
Me: heh, what would be your personal favourite one that you did?
Brakis: Well the "Insuring of the Penis" was pretty cool but I have
recently done one where I phone up the Bermuda international operator
and shout SPUNK incredibally loudly (it sounds immature but who gives
a fuck)
Me: lol, nice one
Brakis: Yeah it should be on the website pretty soon
Me: :) So how did you get involved with the bombs/destructive side of it
all?
Brakis: I took GCSE (Standard Grade) Chemistry and found me copy of the
Anarchists handbook, but as far as destruction goes that is just down
to the fact that I am a naturally very angry kind of person
Me: heh, I figured that from the Chris incident (see early SWAT issues)
So, how long have you known FireStarter?
Brakis: We are cousins, so I guess about 6 months(!)
Me: So you are cousins? nice
Brakis: No it isn't. Can you imagine what it is like being related to a nutter
like that?
Me: lol.
How did SWAT come about? gimme all the gory details :Þ
Brakis: Swat came about as a kind of mixture of the two of us just messing
about and causing havock during the holidays.
It was originally known as A&D Anarchistic, but shit just seemed to grow
and grow. In the early days it was crank calls an pipe bombs but it
became so much more (people will remember from the early issues of SWAT
how backward we were back then)
Me: Yeah, I remember
ahhhhh, the good old days
Brakis: 'spose
Me: But they are better now
Brakis: it's like anything, the more it developes the better it becomes
Me: Yeah
I suppose this is a controversial question, but I just have to ask it...
Brakis: Go on
Me: What are your feelings about the group known as Anti-Social (A-S Mag)?
Brakis: erm, they are a bunch of ferret-shagging, cock-sucking, fudge-packing,
dildo-wiping, happy-hardcore loving bunch of script-kiddies who should
enrole in basic literacy skills in night school so that they can try and
spell there names correctly without sending the English Language to that
concentration camp they call and E-zine ever month.
Me: LMFAO
Very nicely put..
Brakis: But seriously, I have a lot of respect for Farmer Gaydon and his vicious
band of Ferret-fucking pixies...
Me: yeah, who wouldn't :)
Brakis: heh, wonderful thing isn't it?
Me: yep, sure is...
We havent seen any articles from you recently. Can we expect to see
anything soon?
Brakis: Yeah, Issue 30 promises some shit from me, unfortunately I have had a bit
of shit recently at work and also with my little girl but at the end of the
day I always make time for SWAT and also there should be some new sound files
getting put on the website.
Me: nice one
should be a good read
Brakis: Hope so
Me: SWAT 30 is looking good so far
Brakis: I should think so too
Me: So, anything interesting happen in your life lately, that you wanna share
with the world?
Brakis: Intersting stuff?
Let's think......
Well my little girl took her fist steps this monday
Me: awwwwwwwww
congratulations dude!
Brakis: Cheerz
Me: Buy a drink on me (after you give me the weed you said you would, on you)
If that makes sense
Brakis: [in a scottish accent] nae prob (I think)
If it was a boy we would have called it Phreakazoid
Me: lol
sweet
Recently, KRASH has declined in number, to now only 3 members, what are your
feelings on the subject, if any?
Do you have any contact with any KRASH members, or the head, Chicane?
Brakis: Well I liked the shit those guys put out, but I try to keep of these
sometimes strange disputes that some groups have. Chicane is someone I have
never really spoken to so to be honest I am fairly indifferent towards him.
Me: ok, that's cool
I mean, FireStarter knows him obviously, as SWAT and KRASH used to have an
affiliation, so that's the only reason I asked
Brakis: Yeah it's cool, like I said I read the mag, liked it but Chicane never bothered
me so I didn't bother him.
But with reguards to the affiliation, it is MY OWN opinion that KRASH were
just using SWAT as a kind of bridge to the bigtime. It was a kind of onesided
"affiliation"
Me: That was the oppinion of quite a few people as well, and now they've made it,
they seem to have drifted, no offence to Chicane, or anyother KRASH members
though, they did a good job
Brakis: Yeah they did and I wish the guys good luck but to be honest if i had my way
SWAT wouldn't affiliate itself with guys who couldn't give as much as they wanted
to take
Me: Is it ok, if at this point we take a little 5-10 minute break? I gotta go
pee.. I mean freshen up... shit, that sounds wrong
Brakis: ok, sure
----------------------------- Interview Suspended and 1:05am ----------------------------
At this point, I went to the toilet and Brakis went off to make a sandwich and get
himself a beer.
------------------------------- Interview Resumed at 1:17am ------------------------------
Me: ok, lol, that took longer than I thought
Brakis: a good Caffreys takes time to settle
Me: You drunk yet?
Brakis: nope
Me: Stoned?
Brakis with all respect mate I dont do that shit so much now
Me: good, I wouldn't want you revealing something and them coming after me for it
Brakis: That would be a shame
Me: ok, recently, there's been alot about Overhead GSP maps, real overhead photgraphs
What is your oppinion on the subject?
Brakis: To be honest, and I say this without trying to give offence, but people who take
stock in this paranoid bullshit I treat with the same contempt and loathing as
the religious nutters who wake me up on a monday morning wanting to fucking talk
about god
Me: lol, ok
I'm gonna try to link this in with Echelon, or to most people, "Big Brother"
Now, there is little doubt that this DOES exist, but it's just hard evidence that
is lacking..
Brakis: Well fair enough, dont get me wrong, there is something in this shit but I stopped
giving a fuck when I realised I couldn't square to the whole world
----------------------------- Interview Suspended and 1:25am ----------------------------
I suspended the interview at this point as I accidently made a noise waking up my parents
So me and Brakis arranged a time to continue the interview the next day.
---------------------- INTERVIEW Resumed: Sunday 12th June, 6:53pm ----------------------
Me: Ok, cool
Before I go on, one thing I forgot to ask...
Brakis: what was that?
Me: How did the nickname "Brakis" come about?
Brakis: When I was 15 (a long time ago) I read a book where the Dark evil Cyber Knight
kind of guy was balled Brakiss... I didn't like the words "Bra" and "Kiss" being
together so I changed it a bit and then shamelessly nicked it
Me: lol
-=Firestarter=- always had me under the impression that you got it off some
japanese instructions for something
Brakis: Oh yeah, about a year after that I saw it, the word came up again, "Bra-Kis",
in my Matsui Video instructions
Me: ok, linking on from what I was saying about Echelon, but not really the same...
... from September, ALL internet traffic though UK ISPs will be sifted through
and monitered closely by MI5. Including e-mails and other things such as web-sites
based in the UK.
What effect do you think that will have on the UK Hacking community, if any?
Brakis: Well while anyone can appreciate the need for security, too much security is a
bad thing but what you have to remember if hackers and phreakers are going to
busted effectively it is not the security equiptment used to catch them that
should be updated, it is the legal systems that are used to try them...
Me: Good point
Brakis: A lot of it stems from the natural paranoia that a lot of people in the
"scene" have
Me: hmmm, true
ok, moving back on to you..
... what do you personally "specialise" in?
Brakis: drinking
shagging
Me: lol
I mean, more underground activities :)
Brakis: seriously, I am a Social engineer and information gatherer
Me: nice
Brakis: I used to have a finger in every pie but nowadays I just stick to what I am good
at
Me: How old are you now, anyway?
Brakis: I'm not telling
Older than you
Me: ok
Do bombs and so forth still play a part in your life as much as they did in the
beginning of SWAT?
Brakis: hmm interesting. well if someone is pissing me off then I am still partial to a
good fire bombing, but there are stolen chemical stock piles in parts of the
country that have lain there dormant since the days of Evil Onion and the Candyman
Me: really??
Brakis: yeah
Me: I think I'm gonna go on a treasure hunt
Brakis: ill tell you more later
Me: nice.... :P
Me: So your still up in Scotland right?
How have things changed for you since the early days of SWAT?
Brakis: I am living in Scotland just now. but I have travelled extensively and lived in
Spain, Germany and Holland but it's like anything, as you get older you have
other commitments that in some cases even override you political and
philosphical beliefs. e.g. my use of credit cards has changed dramtically from
say about two years ago
Me: lol
Do you think the underground, or your activities in it, have taught you any
valuable lessons, or anything else that you would like to share with us
Brakis: Yeah, and this is good advice for anyone.
If you come to a bridge or a wall, that you think you can't get cross because
some prick or company says you can't, you just have to find the balls and
intelligence to get past it.
Me: cool
Ok, to finish with, is there anything else you would like to say to the
good readers of SWAT, or any shouts you want to give?
Brakis: no
Me: heh
Brakis: yeah
no, I would like to thank everone who has kept the mag going for as long as it
has, and shouts out to everyone who I speak to regularly.... except Pred (joke)
Me: nice one
ok, thanx for the interview dude, and thanx you for your time
it's been a pleasure to interview you
Brakis: nae prob, bob
I'm off to the pub
Me: lol
------------------ INTERVIEW Terminated: Sunday 12th June, 7:16pm -------------------
And there ya go people
That was the interview I conducted with Brakis, hope you enjoyed and found it enlightening
into the world of Brakis :)
-
Phreakazoid
==========================================================================================
I'd just like to give a big SHOUT-OUT to all at SWAT, AWOL, KRASH, HDC and everyone else
that I know. Especially, -=The FireStarter=-, Brakis, Odysseus, Deimos, Mirage, TnC,
SyZtem|Krash, raX, Narayan and others from #CocytusUK and #shelloracle on
irc.destructor.net
==========================================================================================
[EOF]